MY LIFE IN TWELVE EASY LESSONS......By Mike Murphy Class 2B.

I grew up surrounded by music in Nashville Tennessee in the late 60's early 70's, dad, an Englishman from Eltham Kent had ended up getting involved in the early Traditional American Folk scene in the early 60's. Mum or should that be Mom, a "Southern Belle" from Alabama married the old sod and before too long ...... well..... there I was. With musicians turning up at our house all the time, and music leaking out of the most unlikely orifices, it was just a matter of time !

We moved to England in 1976 and a few years later I was playing the piano badly and having lessons with a scary double bass player from the womensTrinidadian military band. Well that was enough to make me give up, go buy an electric guitar and play it without an amp for a year,...... boy was I shit ! Later when I got an amp the police would pop round and tell me to turn it down, it wasn't long and I was wigging out to Hendrix \ Hawkwind \ Led Zep \ early ZZ top, old blues, trippy music, rock music, two tone.... you know the score, ANYTHING BUT 80's SHITE !!!!!!

Later I got a band together called the Purple Frizbeez that played and did well locally, but no one really understood what I wanted to do and the other band members didn't really like me telling them (in no uncertain terms) what I wanted, get the picture...... yep petulant git,... that's right.

It wasn't long before I realised that making music on my own, at home, would be a more successful idea, i.e., 100% input = 100% output, even if it did turn out to be rubbish it would only be my rubbish.

I endeavoured to buy a computer and teach myself how to run it, writing with midi etc. Previously a very acoustically minded musician I found it an enjoyable struggle to get more organic with the digital restrictions a good quality studio puts the budget beginner in, even these days.

I pride myself in my mixing which considering the very restricted system I have is "top bloody hole".

This year, I have mostly been influenced by "Mezzanine" by Massive Attack.

I've made it my goal to produce a finished product in the shape of a cd. every now and then, to give me a focus, this one "The Last Songs On Earth" took a whole year and I threw out a lot of material that had taken months to finish for three tracks that I put together in the space of a week, sometimes it's important to gather in and display that spontaneity that sequencing often irons out of arrangement and mix,.... methinks.

A little while ago an underground label from London "Digidub" seemed interested but I won't hold my breath, I'll just do what I do...... make music, I've spent too much time trying to satisfy you the punter, and it screws me up, so now I'll just make music because that's what I do, that's me ! THE LAST SONGS ON EARTH in the main is pretty damn fantastic and if you don't like it that ain't my problem, I know this time with little doubt that the only thing between me and a Grammy is a poorly equipped studio, certain peoples indifference and good old fashioned luck of the Irish, which I just don't seem to have enough of.

MIKE MURPHY @ sanctuary Oct 1999. Thanks to Mick and David at Sanctuary for the web space, and big up the whole Sussex Posse. Jah liveth itinually in the hearts of all men, until such time, SELAH.

Influence list in order of god \ goddess like status. NICK DRAKE \ JIMI HENDRIX \ U-ROY \ LEE SCRATCH PERRY \ AUGUSTUS PABLO \ MASSIVE ATTACK \ TOM WAITS \ VAN MORRISON \ KING TUBBY \ SCIENTIST \ MAD PROFESSOR \ RAS MICHAEL AND THE SONS OF NEGUS \ THE CONGOES \ FOO FIGHTERS \ STEVE VAI \ FRANK ZAPPA \ CAPTAIN BEEFHART \ THE BAND \ J.J. CALE \ HANK THOMPSON \ HANK WILLIAMS \ CHEMICAL BROS. \ BRIAN ENO \ HAROLD BUDD \ PHILLIP GLASS \ INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC \ BOTHY BAND \ JONI MITCHELL \ DONOVAN \ EDITH PIAF \ SHEILA CHANDRA \ SANTANA \ ......................... JUST BLOODY F**K LOADS REALLY !

EQUIPMENT LIST MACKIE 16 INTO 4 VLZ MIXING DESK \ ALESIS QSR SOUND MODULE \ DIGITECH STUDIO QUADRAVERB \ AIWA D.A.T. MACHINE \ SONY MRZ RECORDABLE MINDISC \ 486 PC. DX4100 PROCESSOR, 8 MEG OF RAM 540 MEG HARD DRIVE.... IT'S A MIRACLE AIN'T IT. \ ROLAND AXIS CONTROL KEYBOARD \ AWE 32 SOUNDCARD \ SURE SM58 MIC.\ DIGITAL MIC'S FOR THE MINIDISC. \ FENDER TELE SQUIRE \ YAMAHA DB50 DAUGHTERBOARD \ IBANEZ ROADSTER (EARLY TO MID 70's) \ LEVIN JUMBO BODY ACOUSTIC \ LAPTOP STEEL GUITAR (CUSTOM MADE BY MY DAD) \ MANDOLA (CUSTOM MADE AGAIN MADE BY MY OLD MAN) \ TIN WHISTLE \ KAZOO \ OLD PLASTIC THING THAT LOOKS LIKE A MICROPHONE.

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