Cup of Coffee - Studio Recording

Recorded around 1990, Cup of Coffee was the second of two studio recordings with Art Bennett on Drums. It also was the fifth cut on the last studio release by Birkin Grif called Was Never Was. Pictured (from left to right): Andy Ganse, Art Bennett. Picture taken outside the Willis Street studio in the late 80s.

South of Somewhere - Studio Recording

Recorded around 1990, South of Somewhere was a faster piece for Birkin Grif and one of two studio recordings with Art Bennett on Drums. South of Somewhere was the first cut on the last studio release by Birkin Grif called Was Never Was. Pictured is Art Bennett serving up the beat in the basement of the Willis Street studio.

Unreleased #2 - Potter House

Potter House was a 2 bedroom prefab where Birkin Grif got it's start. The first recordings were done there on a Dokordor 7140 in the '70s. Potter House 1 was the original sketch done to get the idea down quickly. Most of those sketches were rough with bad timing, wrong notes, etc. But, the idea was captured to use later. It was recorded sometime in 1976 or early 1977. Potter House 2 was recorded recently. Pictured (from left to right): Alonzo Powers (playing Fender Jazz Bass), Dave Donnell (acoustic guitar).

News Flash - Gentle Giant Back Together!

I know, I'm as surprised as you are. 3 of the original members; Kerry Minnear, Gary Green, and Malcom Mortimore , have formed a group called 'Three Friends'. They are playing the old Gentle Giant originals and writing new material. Check out their web site at threefriends.net. I also found a good history site for Gentle Giant here. The Three Friends web site and YouTube have
video of them in concert. While I was out ferreting info I also stumbled upon a hilarious video of The Muppets doing 'On the Edge of Twilight'. You've got to check it out. Crazy, man.

What Are They Doing Now #6

Sequential is a recording done in 2007 using loops and samples along with live instruments. The technology of recording has changed dramatically since the 70s. During that period echo was created using tape loops. The only loops used in the 80s (at least for us) were patterns created on a drum machine that were used (through midi) to trigger keyboards. Today it is anything you can record, any digital audio file, or midi all combined together. The male choir voices are samples used in the GForce M-Tron digital emulation of the Mellotron. The Mellotron was a popular keyboard from the 70s. Each key triggered a tape loop to create sound. It was used for strings, choir voices, and other symphonic sounds. Quite the beast from what I've read. I saw a new version at NAMM in 2007. Looked the same. Nice thing about the digital version is it doesn't go out of tune.

Centuries in the Making - Studio Recording

Centuries in the Making is a cut from Birkin Grif's first release, Movement in Egg Flatt. Pictured (from left to right) : Alonzo Powers, Dave Donnell - winter of 1974 -1975. The amp behind Dave is a Fender Bassman with 2 15s. The amp was used for guitar instead of bass. That gave the guitar a warm rich sound over the traditional guitar amp. A small stereo amp was used as a preamp into the Bassman. The guitar was plugged into the left channel of the stereo, the output of the left channel was looped into the right channel, then the output of the right channel tied into the Bassman. S-u-p-e-r Overdrive, man!

Autumn - Studio Recording

Autumn was a cut from Birkin Grif's first release, Movement in Egg Flatt. Pictured (from left to right) : Dave Donnell, Alonzo Powers. Photograph by J Yount & M Lauby

Seventh Day

Seventh Day is a experiment in combining sound and visual. Title relates to Biblical creation. On the seventh day God rested. Animation and sound by Alonzo Powers.