Live Recording

Last weekend, Gojogo recorded our first live album.  Saturday night we invited twenty friends and loved ones, most of whom have supported Gojogo since its humble beginning, to a small recording studio in Berkeley.  The band was nestled in the corner amidst a few well placed microphones and softly glowing lamps.  Audience members lounged on pillows and sofas just feet from the musicians, sipping beers and bubbly water.  All cell phones were turned off.  At the helm of his laptop sat recording engineer Myles Boisen, a fixture of the Bay Area music scene highly respected for his skill and artistry.

Nothing about this recording project has been typical.  Unlike our past two albums, the compositions on this album were written as a set with a common concept as opposed to being a collection of individual pieces written over several years.  The theme that unites the pieces is unique in that we were inspired by abandoned military bunkers and batteries whose concrete remains are slowly being reclaimed by earth and plant.  These odd landscapes are weird, evocative, and beautiful - architectural blueprints for music.  

Unconventional inspiration leads to unconventional recording.  The decision to record our album in the presence of a living breathing audience partly stemmed from the fact that we had simply never tried this before.  Like any new experience, recording live provided its share of risks and thrills.  We also wanted to capture the emotional high that accompanies live performance - the focus and camaraderie amongst  musicians and the profound connection with listeners.  This spirit cannot be simulated in a conventional studio recording.

At points in our live recording, we played the same song twice.  Unexpectedly, our audience eagerly voiced opinions on favorite solos, introductions, and endings.  This unusual recording process was also unlike any concert we have given.  Between songs, audience members offered jokes and suggestions.  The living-room atmosphere quickly eased our nerves.  In fact, we soon felt that Gojogo had twenty five band members instead of only four. 

Most pieces went fairly smoothly but there was this one..... The Nike, as in Nike missile.  Well, it has a lot of notes.  Fast notes and we had never completely nailed it in a performance.  After several false starts and one unusable pass, we decided to leave it until the end and try one last time.  By ten o'clock, several audience members went home leaving a smaller group of listeners.  With fatigued muscles and over-extended minds, we decided to give The Nike one final go.  By this point, everyone in that room wanted it as much as we did.  Our friends called out words of encouragement and support, and every note fell into place.

Thanks to our wonderful friends and family for helping us capture more than notes on this very special album.

Photos by Steve Starkweather (stevedood) and Myles Boisen

Spring 2014

This April, Gojogo will complete our long-awaited third album.  This album is unique for two reasons.  First, we have a concept that unites all the songs into a theme.  The album was inspired by the abandoned military batteries that dot the Golden Gate (the entrance to the San Francisco Bay.)  See our previous posts for details.

The second reason this album is special is that it will be recorded live with actual people in the audience.  Gojogo loves to perform and we hope to capture the energy and connection that we experience on stage in this recording. 

We have enjoyed preparing for the album and upcoming show.  These days rehearsals are a  welcome retreat from busy daily schedules and parenting routines. 

Composing Together

This Spring, Gojogo took up residency in three local middle schools as part of the Composing Together program.  Under the direction of composer Katie Wreede, Composing Together brings creativity to music classrooms by engaging students in the process of writing original music.  Students explore elements of composition like meter, tempo, key, and articulation in order to express color, mood and emotion through music.  After several composing sessions, their final drafts are rehearsed and premiered by professional ensembles like Gojogo. 

Gojogo at Edna Brewer Middle School in Oakland

Bea and Alfie Perney enjoy a morning rehearsal for the Composing Together program.

Battery Project Update

Thanks to a generous grant from the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music's Musical Grant Program, Gojogo is currently hard at work writing new music for our concept album. The music is inspired by the history and and evolution of military batteries that dot the coast and entrance to the San Francisco Bay. We have made many visits to these strange and beautiful sites this summer, experimenting with the odd acoustics within the batteries and taking in the amazing environments that are reclaiming the concrete ruins. At the end of July, we will go to the studio to record a demo album with engineer and co-producer Monte Vallier. The demo will inform us of unexpected possibilities the music could take and spark its evolution into a full-length album next year. Eric and Roger hard at work on the album. View through a gun hole in an abandoned barrack. Former barrack being reclaimed by the Earth.

Gojogo's Battery Project

Gojogo is about to embark on an exciting new project: a concept album.

As a muse, Gojogo has chosen an unlikely subject: the ruins of military batteries that dot the Golden Gate. Armed from the Civil War through the Cold War, these armored fortresses were never used in combat, and yet they harbor enough history to be preserved as monuments. Now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, they are slowly being reclaimed by earth and elements. They are strange, out-of-place sites to visit. Gojogo is fascinated not only by their past but by the odd sound world these abandoned castles embody. The empty brick and mortar barracks contain vast echo chambers that transform everyday sounds into otherworldly music. As part of their composition process, Gojogo will visit various batteries and record resonations in the space. These recorded samples will be blended with Gojogo’s instrumentation on pieces throughout the album. In this way, Gojogo will include the space itself in an album that explores its history and transformed existence.

Built for use in World War II, Battery Wallace features an enormous gun chamber in which sound reverberates for several seconds. Such a space is irresistible for Gojogo's recording project.

Just down the road from Battery Wallace, visitors can experience a missile launch simulation at the Nike Missile site. Armed for the Cold War, these batteries could launch an 80 foot missile in less than one minute's notice. The missile could travel 100 miles in 35 seconds. Even the demonstration is a hair-raising experience.

Music in the Redwoods

Thank you to everyone who turned out for "Music in the Redwoods" with Mirah and Real Vocal String Quartet. This is a wonderful concert series curated by Christine Manoux at the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens. Concerts take place amidst towering trees in the Redwood Grove. This magical space is truly one of our favorite performance spots.