Another EP review & other news

My good friend and fellow blogger Tyler Conta was kind enough to review my EP. Check it out below!

Also, quick update: I'm just about done with school for the year and will have more time to focus on music. WOOT! Working on some new youtube vids, got some gigs lined up, and even some audio/video recording coming your way.

The Wisdom of Tyler Conta: Album of the Moment: 4/28/11: "This post is coming atcha...TO THE MAX! For today we have a short music review of Andrew Rohlk's A Little Less Rough EP, with a link at th..."

EP Review

So my buddy Spencer Dukoff wrote a candid review of my EP A Little Less Rough (FREE listen & download here) on his blog. A lot of his thoughts are spot on with what I was trying to convey with these songs. It's nice to have another perspective from someone with a natch for writing (especially when it comes to music reviews.)

Check out his blog for music related goodness. He's a supremely cool dude. I wish I had half as much neato stuff going on as him. Ok I'm gushing now, I'm out.

-Andrew

EP Release!!

Today my EP A Little Less Rough is available for FREE DOWNLOAD at http://andrewrohlk.bandcamp.com/

Big thanks to Becca Rohlk (who's 17 today! Happy Birthday sis!) for helping to create the cover art. It may look like some simple finger painting, but it's actually an elaborate process involving shaving cream. She's tried explaining it to me, but I still don't quite get how she pulled it off. It looks fantastic though!

Thanks also to Matthew Huckfeldt for all his support throughout the recording process. He did much more than pushing all the buttons in ProTools as we worked in his bedroom studio.

Thank you to Amy Pontiff, Elizabeth Kiefer, Olivia Small, Dale Price, and Katina Stevenson for letting me goad them into singing the La Da Da's on "What This Will Be"

Thanks also go to Jess Lonett for dealing with all my crazies throughout recording.

And thank you to the folks at Madistrophic and anyone else who has helped in some way that I might have missed. I might be a solo artist for the time being, but that doesn't mean I'm alone and without help.

Where's the music at??

So if you're wondering where my actual music is, I have 3 words for you: HANG IN THERE!

My "A Little Less Rough" EP is still being mastered. I like to think of mastering as the musical equivalent of lamination; it makes things glossier and hold up a bit better. I'm insanely eager to hear the finished product.

Anyway, the whole shabang will be released late March / early April. It's hard to get specifics before mastering is done, so hang in there!

Please and thank you,

-Andrew Rohlk

PS: There will be a pre-release single streaming online soon to help tide you over. Until then, check out my Myspace page or my YouTube page. 

If that still doesn't tide you over, look at this picture of a cat.

Aux Send

This is Aux Send.

Aux Send is a video podcast based on live studio performances of unsigned artists. The guy behind it all, Doug, has a really cool vision and hopes to continue having artists on the show based on recommendations from other artists who have already done the show.

My band Noble Air, a project where I simply play guitar (no singing for me, I'm afraid of getting in the way of Eileen's lovely voice), recorded an episode and now it's up!

Go check it out here.  

Please and thank you.

-Andrew Rohlk

Update on the Music I Make

So I've been working on an acoustic EP titled "A Little Less Rough" for my solo project, and now all that remains are some loose ends that need tying up. The whole thing is going to be released late March/ early April. I'm normally not a good sharer, but boy oh boy am I excited to share this thing with you. So excited that I might even let slip a track or two before the official release..... Stay tuned.

Please and thank you.

-Andrew Rohlk

City & Colour New Album

So pumped for this.

Developmental Stages of Musicians

So I've been thinking a lot about how I've progressed as a musician over the years compared to others I know and have read about, and I think the general development is in the following stages. This obviously isn't true for everyone. Some people get stuck in certain stages, skip stages, or don't follow this arch at all. So again, IN GENERAL this is how I've found the stages of musicianship to progress:

1. What is this and how do I make it make noise.
2. Ok now I know what to do to make sound/play notes, but I suck.
3. Sweet cheeks of a Gerber baby! I can play 3 notes/chords in a row!
4. I'm good enough to learn some songs now. Let's do this.
5. This is hard. I just want to be really good.
6. I can now play something that sort of resembles someone else's song.
7. I have mastered my favorite song by my favorite band.
8. I can play my favorite band's entire catalog.
9. I make up original stuff every now and then, but usually just stick to my favorite band's songs.
10. I wrote my first song, and it sucks.
11. I wrote some more songs, and they all sound like my favorite band.
12. I wrote some new songs, and I think they're pretty original.
13. Nope, they all sound like my favorite band.
14. I wrote some new songs, and you can still tell what my favorite band is, but it's less obvious.
15. I wrote some songs that are good. People don't play the you-sound-like-so-and-so game as much.
16. I've found my sound and don't care about comparisons.
17. ???????
18. Profit.

Add in writer's block/getting stuck in the same habits, riffs, etc. after step 10 or so and you're good to go. Tell me if I missed anything.

Please and thank you.

-Andrew Rohlk

Good Advice From a Dead Guy:

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." 

                                                       -Theodore Roosevelt

Cool Perspective

In this Stereogum article with Fleet Foxes, they discuss their sophomore release and other related topics. It was a good read, but this tidbit at the end made me really perk up.

"After the first record came out, I had to really come to terms with what it is that we actually do. It sounds so pretentious, but in deciding to play folk music there is this almost curatorial aspect to the music you make. You are working within a tradition. Everybody who makes music is making a choice — you see the unlimited options out there and pick the one that feels right for you."

That last line rings pretty true for me. I'm in a place right now where I'm still trying to find and define my sound. I have a lot of music that gets me going and there are several directions I want to explore musically. The tough part is deciding what direction to go in. Unfortunately my choices are limited a bit right now for several reasons, but on the bright side, that buys me some time to decide. 

If you haven't heard of them already, and you dig Folk and/or gorgeous harmonies check out Fleet Foxes here. 

Please and thank you. 

-Andrew Rohlk

Freak Owls

Saw these guys the other night at Clementine and enjoyed it. If you like Folky Indie-Pop, Check'em out here.

Please and thank you.

-Andrew Rohlk

Be Nice to Your Ears

Consider this a friendly Public Service Announcement. I have no endorsement or affiliation with this company, but these bad boys are awesome. If you dig live music, play music, or are around loud music, you kind of need these. They actually make music sound BETTER in my opinion. Most foam earplugs give you that muffled sounding thing that messes with pitch. These are great because it's just like turning down the volume without the muffle or pitch shift. You can hear everything more clearly, because your ears aren't overloaded. They're easy to clean, come with a cool/dorky carrying case, and even have a string you can attach so you can dangle them around your neck when you take them out. You'll be the coolest kid at your favorite music hang! Ok, that's it for this infomercial. Protect your hearing. 

Please and thank you. 

-Andrew Rohlk 

Oh yea, here's the link.