Date: Thu, 7 Mar 96 01:00:01 CST From: numan@cs.uwp.edu Reply-To: numan@cs.uwp.edu (Gary Numan) Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #207 Gary Numan Digest Thu, 7 Mar 96 Volume 1 : Issue 207 Today's Topics: "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince" An amusing story or two Dumpo Records excited.. Gary's radio and TV interviews Gary Numan Digest Gary Numan Digest V1 #206 (2 msgs) inevitable comeback? More Celebrity Numan fans Music wars Numan Story (2 msgs) NuWorld and NU-Zone Radio One Sound Quality (2 msgs) Things ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 16:59:57 +0100 From: fabas@fabas.se Subject: "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince" To: numan@cs.uwp.edu I have a question for oll of you Numanoids! Did Gary Numan cover the songs "1999" and "U Got The Look" by The Artist Forerly Known As Prince? If so can anyone get me a copy of them? Let me know! Thanks Stefan btw/ Urban Lundqvist if you read this mail me at fabas@fabas.se ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 04 Mar 1996 00:22:43 GMT From: dpepper@vidville.zynet.co.uk (David Pepper) Subject: To: numan@cs.uwp.edu SUBSCRIBE Regards, David _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ David Pepper (dpepper@vidville.zynet.co.uk) They're not Typo's, It's my spelling! _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 22:39:08 -0500 From: annagrey@sover.net Subject: An amusing story or two To: numan@cs.uwp.edu You'll all love this one. Matt, a close friend of mine who was my roommate for a year vowed that he hated Gary Numan for the coldness of his music and lyrics. So, he tells me last week that his friend Juliet (a offline fan) has this incredible mix tape, upon which is this one amazing song that he absolutely loves.........Cars. Can you believe it?? Of all of Gary's songs, it has to be Cars.... One of my bosses walked into work yesterday whistling Cars....and everyone hums along with AFE....heh....the conversion has begun . Clea -- CASHP #25-95 Numanoid Duchovnik MPPB **annagrey@sover.net <--home work--> vtcookie@sover.net** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1996 18:34:26 -0800 From: bmcgibbo Subject: Dumpo Records To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Greetings! I just wanted to let everyone know that I recently ordered some Gary Numan singles from Dumpo Records and that I received the items within a week. I got exactly what I ordered and they even confirmed the receipt of my order via e-mail so apparently Dumpo is for real. On the same subject, does anyone out there know where I might obtain a copy of the 'Strange Charm' album? Any format would do and any help would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Brian Mc bmcgibbo@ix.netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 4 Mar 96 12:37:13 GMT From: P Lindsay Subject: excited.. To: numan@cs.uwp.edu everyone... I'm more excited (and optimistic) about a numan revival than I have been in a long time. The last couple of weeks exposure with a new greatest hits coming out soon and the Carling ads seem to be creating the highest profile he's had since about '87 (or the last remix of Cars :-) ). It was great to see him on The White Room alongside artists like Sting and David Bowie. Maybe his contributions are finally going to be acknowledged. (I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who finds numan audiences quiet, also 'cause I'm travelling up to Glasgow where the crowds seem to be a bit more lively !) I really think it could happen. Phil ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 3 Mar 1996 12:07:05 +-200 From: Gavin Moffat Subject: Gary's radio and TV interviews To: "'numan@cs.uwp.edu'" Hi all, I'm a self confessed lurker - but I'd like to come our of the woodwork to find out if anyone has copies of or will be making copies of Gary's appearances on TV and Radio in the UK. Obviously South Africa is the last place on the map that these interviews are going to crop up and I am willing to pay all the costs involved in getting these copies. If anyone could help, please email me. Thanks Gavin Moffat spmoo@iafrica.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 06 Mar 96 08:53:04 -0800 From: ash Subject: Gary Numan Digest To: numan@cs.uwp.edu I would be interested in being added to your mailing list Thanks Julian Ashcroft Isle of Man ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 04 Mar 1996 08:33:36 +0000 (GMT) From: Andy Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #206 To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Gary's live performance of Cars and Are Friends Electric on the UK national mucid show, The White Room, was a real thrill. The opening credits finished and one of Garys's typical atmospheric intros strated up, so I mistakenly assumed he was gonna do a new song. Anyway, he was introduced and ran through Cars which he really seemed to enjoy Later on in the show he performed AFE, which was rather dissapointing I thought both from the choice of song, and somehow it lacked the usual power. I'm not sure if Gary's "Whoa"s worked in a situation outside a gig situation as thats normally where people chant along, so it seemed a little dissapointing. Anyway, it was a real thrill to see Gary performing live on British TV again, and hope fully next time we see him it'll be on Top Of The Pops ! Im so glad I missed it because it could have been SO embarrassing ! Stephen Barret> Maybe the reason you do notice the supposed bad quality of Garys later work is because you have such an expensice stereo! Ive never noticed anything wrong with it myself, but then againmy CD player cost me 100 pounds at Dixons ! :) Andy ------------------------------ Date: 4 Mar 1996 12:01:54 BST From: Prof Graham Westbrook Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #206 To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Saw Gary on "The White Room" over the weekend - WOW! Liked the style Gaz! Just wondering though - why a revamp of AFE, rather than one of his newer songs? Anyone know? Vanessa ******************************************************************* * G.K.Westbrook JANET: G.K.Westbrook@uk.ac.bham * * School of Earth Sciences INTERNET: G.K.Westbrook@bham.ac.uk * * University of Birmingham * * Edgbaston * * Birmingham B15 2TT UK * * Tel: 0121 414 6153 Fax: 0121 414 3971 * ******************************************************************* ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 13:57:08 -0700 (MST) From: Diana Gerdenits Subject: inevitable comeback? To: Numan Mail list I dont know if I would use the term 'Gary's inevitable comeback'. His older music had amazing creativity in terms of musical composition and lyrics. Perhaps for many of us, his fans, its his lyrics that have us so mesmerized. But the 90's here in North America have been going through alot of grunge music, and industrial. It may be possible for Gary to break ground by doing what he did when he was 18-19yrs old. Just by seeing a popular style that he didnt like(punk) and improving on it. I dont see Numan as the Next Nine inch nails or skinny puppy. He doesnt have to be... Diana Gerdenits ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 01:42:21 -0500 From: MidgeUre@aol.com Subject: More Celebrity Numan fans To: numan@cs.uwp.edu I pulled this off of a transcript from an America Online Q&A with actress Parker Posey ("Dazed and Confused", "Sleep With Me"): >>> Question: HEY HOST ASK WHAT PUNK BANDS SHE LIKES!!! >>> >>> P P0SEY: I dunno. I was into the Jam a lot, and still am. Recently into Gary >>> Numan, he was genius. and the list keeps growing... Dave ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1996 16:30:23 GMT0BST From: "E.Stein" Subject: Music wars To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Could someone pleeeease tell me something more about the film "Urgh, a music war", which featured Cars as far as I know. I know nothing, and can find nothing about it on the net, and the soundtrack is supposed to feature a number of other artists I like e.g. Wall of Voodoo. Has anyone actually seen the film?! I agree with Phil's comments on Numan crowds. The atmosphere when the intro music starts up is absolutely electrifying, only to be succeeded by fans simply standing there in "admiration". For goodness sake show Gary that you are ,at least, alive! Another niggly point is that I believe Numan concerts could be just that little bit louder (CERTAINLY on the Dream Corrosion tour). Maybe it's just my ears. Going deaf for a living, Erik. P.S. Any Residents/Tuxedomoon, etc. fans out there? ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 96 15:03:26 EST From: Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com> Subject: Numan Story To: Numan Digest Hi, I'd thought I would share this story with everyone. I wrote it for Matt Holbrook's Nu-Zone and is located in his Nu-fan stories section along with pix of me as a teeny bobber and Gary. It occurred to me that not everyone has web access, so since I took the time to write the story, I want to share it with as many people as possible. Enjoy. Let me know what you think. Mike ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 96 15:03:47 EST From: Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com> Subject: Numan Story To: Numan Digest Before Life Got Serious, There Was "The Ritz" It was the beginning of October, 1982 and as a high school senior, I did what most seniors did. I went to school, went to work, tried to get into college, and listened to music. Music was a big part of my life back then . It still is today, but I often find myself listening to the same groups I did in the 80's. Music helped me channel the usual frustrations of adolescence, and helped me make sense out of things that didn't make sense. Now, everyone in school listened to music and if you walked past the cafeteria, gym, or parking lot, you would hear Pink Floyd, Led Zep, The Go Gos, The Cars, Billy Idol, or anything else you may have seen on VH-1 " The Big 80's". The only difference between me and almost everyone else was NUMAN. Ever since Eric introduced me to Gary Numan and Tubeway Army in 1980, I was hooked. Since I was a keyboard player and my parents were cool enough to buy me an electronic piano and amplifier, I could play along with all the Numan albums ( that's albums, not Cds). Although my keyboard wasn't a Roland Juno-60 synthesizer ( which was my dream ), I was happy and thankful to have it. With money I had saved from working at Caldors (shudder), I took the bus to White Plains and bought a phase shifter from Sam Ash. At least my piano would sound a LITTLE funky. I Die:YouDie was my favorite song to play. My favorite lineup of songs to play were Airlane, Cars, We Are So Fragile, IDie:You Die, Down in the Park, and Tracks. That's about all I could really play before my mom would bang on the door ( dinner was ready ). Let's digress a minute. After "Dance" was released, it took us all some time to get used to the new Numan style. I remember watching a cable television video show which was run from a local High School ( I can't remember the kid's name who did it). He devoted a whole show to the Dance Album and would type messages on the television screen while the music played. I remember that kid writing "This is really boring" while "Slow Car to China" was playing. Oh well. You all have to remember, MTV was still around a year away! I immediately called Eric, who knew nothing about it. We joined forces and ran to the Sam Goody's in the Cross County Shopping Center. We ran back to my house, just as quickly and listened to it. Keep in mind that the shopping center was a mile away and Eric lived over two miles from me! Well, as most of the Numan fans remember, "Dance" was quite a change. It didn't grasp you as quickly as "Telekon" or "The Pleasure Principle" but is grew on you! just as strongly. I've always been partial to "Stories" myself. When MTV did come out, I remember seeing the "She's Got Claws" video only once. It was the same with "We Take Mystery" a few years later, although I was able to tape about 3/4 of the video. Remember also , at the time, VCRs were just becoming affordable. Now, as I said, it was the fall of 1982 and Eric, Dennis, and I were listening to the new Numan album. "I Assassin". "We Take Mystery.." was our favorite but we didn't know what to think about "1930's Rust". Eric had a real problem with that one. The song starts out with snapping fingers which contorted Eric's face past the point of recognition. As we all listened, Eric kept getting more and more irate until he screamed out "What's next, @#@*&$^&#$! harmonicas?". Guessed what we heard next. That same night, Eric gave me a call and had great news. Numan was coming to New York to play at the Ritz, October 25th. I quickly called Dennis to give him the news and to see if he wanted a ticket. His answer was not surprising. Eric and I went to the ticketron and bought the tickets. Now all we could do was wait. I had a problem though. I didn't really ask my parents if I could go to the concert. Now don't get me wrong, they were pretty cool ...as parent go ( I hope my little girl thinks the same of me when she is 17). They agreed to let me go but on one condition ( there always is). Since the concert was on a school night, I had to go to school the next day. No problem, I figured the concert starts at 7:30PM. So lets see, we hop on the train at 5PM, get to the Ritz around 6PM so we get in front of the line ( the Ritz was standing room only), Gary goes on around 7:30pm, we get out around 9:30PM, hop back on the train and I'm home free at 11PM. That was about when! I went to sleep anyway. Piece of cake.........NOT! We wanted to get all decked out for the show so we decided to meet at Dennis' house to dress. . We always seemed to migrate there. It was a warm and wonderful house to be in. Dennis' outfit was laden with various buttons and pins attached to his black apparel. Eric and I were also dressed in black. We both wore the ties we bought at the Galleria mall in White Plains a year prior. These ties were the ones Gary and his band wore during the "Pleasure Principle". Mine was black and purple satin, Eric's was black and red. I borrowed one of Eric's shirts ( he had a lot of cool clothes), put on my tie, and places a button on each end of my collar. One was a Tubeway Army button, the other was a yellow circle with a black stripe through it ( ala Replicas ). When we arrived at the Ritz, we expected all kinds of crowds and mayhem but...... nobody was there. We all exchanged looks of puzzlement and bewilderment. Eric's face was contorted, yet again. We went up to the ticket counter and were told that the show was postponed until tomorrow. Over all the noise of New York City, you heard three loud crashes of disappointment. On top of all this, it started to rain. We ran into a nearby pizzeria, had a few slabs, drowned our sorrows....and went home. The next night we decided not to dress up, for reasons I can't recall, and were determined to see Gary at any cost. Just riding on the number 4 train from the Bronx to the City was dangerous enough. We arrived at the Ritz about 5PM and we were first on line. We stood for over two hours and met some interesting people in the process. Behind me was a short, fat, obnoxious, psychotic, dark haired punk rocker who was really nice one minute and really mean the next. Of course, the idiot magnet inside my body zeroed right in on her and up to me she came. Anytime she asked me something, I made sure I was talking to the happy version before I answered. There was also a guy passing around a book called "Numan by Computer". I've come to learn that Gary hates this book, but back then it was new, and it was about Numan......all that mattered. Things were starting to get boring until Gary and his band came out the front door and walked right by us! All of us were dumbfounded. Eric managed to say hi and patted Gary on the back. Someone else said "Welcome to America!" and God only knows what psycho-babe yelled out. I managed a half-assed wave and Chris Slade (the drummer) was nice enough to wave back as they all disappeared down the street. Eric was like some ten year old who got his first kiss. "I can't believe I touched Gary Numan" he said. Well that was perfect ammo for Dennis and me. "I guess you'll never wash that hand again" Dennis chided. Knowing Eric, he probably never did. Not for touching Gary, but just because he probably never did. Not long after that, a bus pulled up and Gary's parents entered the theater looking quite dapper and respectable. Everyone greeted them as they walked by. I wonder what they were thinking as they looked at all of us. I'm sure psycho-babe didn't give a good impression ! ( depending on what version of her they saw ). I supposed they're used to things like that. It was starting to get dark...... and late by the way! Some guy came out with a microphone and headset and began describing the scene to someone ( I can only guess it was Gary ). We all started screaming Gary, Gary!!! into the microphone. Well, they finally let us all in around 8:30pm. We stood and stood. I remember they showed some Human League videos and Japanese cartoons on the viewscreen. There was a booth above the stage where the performers would stay before a show. Every once in a while, Gary would peer through the blinds and everyone would cheer. It was about 11pm and we standing for about 6 hours now! The lights finally went out and smoke started coming up through the stage floor. The curtains opened and there they were dressed in white suits and hats. The lights were ultra-violet so they all glowed. You couldn't see their hands or feet or even heads due to the glow so they looked like puppets dancing on a string. Pino Paladino, the bassist, was on stage right with Gary in the middle, and the his brother and the other keyboardist on stage left. Chris Slade was in the back on his white tubular drum set. He kept throwing his sticks up in the air and always missed them when they came down. He laughed a lot at that. They opened up with "This Is My House". The biggest thing about that song I can remember was that everyone sang the WHOA, WHOA parts along with Gary. I realized he could reach those high notes just as easily live that in the studio. I was worried that they wouldn't play any of the old material since Gary took strides to change his musical style but when they started to play Films, my fears were abated. They played the following song! s: This Is My House, I Assassin, Remind me to Smile, Films, Crash, Music For Chameleons, She's Got Claws, Every Day I Die, Down In the Park, White Boys and Heroes, Cars, War Songs, We Take Mystery (To Bed), This Wreckage, We Are Glass, Tracks. Gary took out a red guitar and started playing "Crash" ( I think ). Anyway, he was really good at it. His showmanship with a guitar was pretty impressive. I was disappointed because he didn't sing " You're hung up on time, your hung up on age" , which was my favorite part. I guess he wanted all of us to sing it. Someone gave him a note during the show and he smiled while reading it. He also sat on top of some amplifiers and drank some Coke during a song. I got a good picture of that. I took 36 pictures and only God knows where the negatives are. Dennis took 12 telephoto shots and, unlike me, was smart enough to save his negatives. At one point, Gary laid down on the front of the stage and asked what songs we wanted to hear. We shouted "We take Mystery!!". He said "WHAT!", we repeated. He screamed "WHAT?" again, and we screamed even louder. The drumroll then started into that song. It was great. Gary didn't say much during the concert. He played for around 90 minutes or so and then that was that. Most of my pictures are of Gary wailing his hands out into the air and screaming into his microphone. I took a nice shot of his keyboard setup, but it came out dark. I never heard a more talented fretless bass player than Pino Palladino. He just stood there and played at his heart's content. Truly amazing. Chris Slade's drumming was even more fantastic when you consider he was able to create the same beats as the drum machines used in the studio. And what can I say about the keyboard players? They stood surrounded by electronics and were constantly rotating around the setup playing synth after synth in almost mechanical, rhythmic, motion. I loved doing that myself when I played my daily concerts in my room after school. After the show, we all bought I Assassin T-shirts. They were the black sleeveless type with the I Assassin album cover on the front and the tour dates in the back. My shirt was lost over time, although I still have the ticket stub and the pictures. When all was said and done, I arrived home around 3:30 AM! So much for my brilliant planning. As I finish writing this story, listening to a tape of that same concert someone was nice enough to send me, over 13 YEARS after the fact, I realize how very special that day was to me. I also find it amusing to watch my two year old Victoria dance to the same music. I guess we can all look forward to a whole new generation of kids discovering Gary . One thing I will instill in my little girl, when she's not so little, is to rack up as much fun and as many experiences and memories as she can. It will only enrich her........Jesus, that concert seemed like it was only yesterday! ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 96 13:26:05 EST From: Sean Francis <100557.3713@compuserve.com> Subject: NuWorld and NU-Zone To: Digest Numan Surfers, Do you think, like me, that the "excellent County Internet" service provider run their business on ZX81s ? I have a 486DX2 66, 32 Mb RAM PC hooked up to a 28.8 modem, using a 14.4 line into a Compuserve node connected to the Web running Compuserve's Mosaic Web browser. In laymen's terms, this is a pretty capable piece of kit. However, trying to get anything out of NuWorld or NU-Zone takes ages. The other night (and don't talk to me about machine load or network traffic) at 12.30 am, it took 18 minutes to transfer less than 10K of data to my humble PC. What the hell is going on ? Mathew and Gary - your audience deserve an explanation !!!! Anyone else have this problem ? As Bob Hoskins would say, "It's good to run up your 'phone bill because the systems you dial up are so damn slow they cost you a fortune in connection time" ! Sean - frustrated in the UK ! ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 96 09:06:48 EST From: Sean Francis <100557.3713@compuserve.com> Subject: Radio One To: Digest Numan Folks, A few postings have arrived at the Digest about Gary's appearence on the Radio 1 breakfast show hosted by the arch grinning wally (and I'm being kind) Chris Evans. As Numan fans, what exactly are you doing listening to the Beelzibub station, Radio 1 ? Shame on you all ;-) Was it any good ? Later, Sean. ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 96 09:06:51 EST From: Sean Francis <100557.3713@compuserve.com> Subject: Sound Quality To: Digest Numan Digesters, In Digest #206, Stephen commented on the 'poor' sound quality of Gary's recent recordings. To an extent, I must agree especially if I compare the quality of reproduction with some other recent albums by other artists. I too have, what I consider to be, a good quality hi-fi separates system, so I don't think it's my hearing or my equipment. Not wishing to startup the whole Bowie/Numan debate again, but Bowie's "Outside" album does sound very crisp and clear on my system, the bass especially sounds 'rounded' and 'punchy'. Most of the bass lines on "Sacrifice" sound 'muddy' on my system - and before the real hi-fi anoracks start at me, I listened to a number of Numan tracks on the hi-fi combination I bought before I bought it. In fact, "Down In The Park" sounds incredible on my system; how much more bass response do you need ? "Sacrifice" is the only tape album that my car stereo objects to, the speakers vibrate noisily under the pressure of the bass. Any one else notice this ? A few years ago I spent a day in Gary's studio, with him at the controls, etc. During the day we chatted and he talked about the acoustics of the room. He has had a sound engineer in to check out his studio. Assuming that he's not changed things around since I was at his house, Outland studio is just an ordinary room in his house. There's no special sound proofing or damping equipment. He has 2 huge Tannoy speakers either side of a massive mixing desk and to the right is his rack of synths, effects modules, etc. Next to that is the 2" tape machine he masters onto. According to the sound engineer, the placement of the instruments, the speakers, etc. is all 'acoustically' wrong. Gary thought that was all "crap" ! However, he told me that the company he used to actually press and reproduce the albums told him that his recordings (made at Outland) lacked some "bottom end" - that's bass to you and me. This does have something to do with the room apparently. Gary has to beef up the bass to compensate for this. Does he always get it right ? I certainly wouldn't start an argument with Gary about recording technique - I have enough bloody trouble with my 4 track - and some of the things I've recorded really do sound crap. Or is that my playing ? Anyone else have any thoughts on this ? Later, Sean. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1996 13:55:41 -0500 From: Angelzero@aol.com Subject: sound quality To: numan@cs.uwp.edu in digest.206, sbarrett@iol.ie (Stephen Barrett) asked what the deal was with gary's seemingly suboptimal sound and recording quality, and i thot i'd pitch in with what i know. several years ago, i was a "musician" in a "band"; we eventually got hounded out of the music industry by the lawyers, but prior to that we did exclusively electronic "music" sequenced, mixed and recorded in our home studio. and while i don't know precisely what gear gary's got in >his< home studio, i suspect that much of it is the same: sequencing/recording on a macintosh, mixing boards, DAT decks, that kind of thing. first, FWIW, stephen here is not the first person i've heard from who's a bit down on gary's sound quality; a friend of mine who is a composer and auidophile harshes on gary's home studio technique all the time... anyway, based on my experience and the experiences of other home studio musicians i have known and worked with, the likelihood is that the problem is in the mixing stage. (mind, i am by no means an expert on digital recording, so this is just my opinion based on my experience.) SHARPNESS: i don't recall if gary has said he does hard-disk recording or not, but we know he sequences on his computer. presumably, then, when he's ready to record his master, he either plays the music from the computer to DAT, or has the computer trigger the gear to record to DAT. either way, the sound is going through a mixing board. mixing boards are tricky things, and i'm going to assume that gary's is nicer than ours was. nice boards have little noise, cheap boards are noisy. i would assume that gary has a decent one, and i'm also going to assume he's fully proficient with it: he's been listed as a producer on virtually all of his albums in the last 10 years (or more), so he must know how to do a mix. during this mixing process, a lot of people use devices in conjunction with the mixer to alter the sound. for instance, you can use a spectral enhancer to clean up the sound, make it more crisp, etc.. thse are not amazingly expensive, and i would think gary would have one, but it's conceivable he doesn't. the lack of an enhancer could explain the muddy sound. LEVELS: setting the recording levels on the DAT deck can be troublesome. like when you're making any recording, you set your levels so that the highest peak is only so high. but one serious problem is that levels reflect sound, bu not necessarily audible sound. if, for instance, you have an amazingly fat 808 kick drum on your track, most of that sound is going to be subsonic, and you'll feel it rather than hear it. but as far as the DAT is concerned, that kick drum might be your loudest thing. so if you turn the levels down to cap the kick drum, the whole rest of the mix gets quieter as a result. if you recognise the kick drum as the problem, maybe you can just lower its track on the mixer (if you have so many tracks that the kick is alone), or even affect its volume in the sequencer or on the drum machine itself, but not necessarily. OVERALL QUALITY: ultimately, though, it might not be a problem with gary's mixing process (since he has the experience, and presumably the equipment) or his recording to DAT. the other aspect of mixing down is that the musician mixes according to what sounds best to him. sound reacts differently with all people, however, and changes a great deal from one environment to the other. it makes a different if gary's studio is spacious, or cramped. it makes a different if he's got tons of bookshelves and carpet, or stucco walls and wood floors. it makes a different if he cranks his music out over amplifiers, or works in headphones. it may be that gary's mix sounds perfect to gary's ears in gary's studio. the reason big-time professional albums sound "better" (such as the duran2 you mentioned) is that they're all done in studios optimsed for recording, with a sigificantly higher recording budget. studio time is painfully expensive, and we know that gary is working on his own, at home, in part to curb those expenses. so refardless of mixer quality and experience and noise-gates and spectral enhancers, the difference in sound quality may be purely subjective, based on the fact that gary is working out of a room in his house, and the perfect sound mix there is not perfect everywhere. those, anyway, are my thots on the subject. i don't know how live recordings fit into this, but i can imagine that recording a decent mix from a concert hall must be tough... IMO, all live recordings sound weak. back to the laboratory. end of line. ------------------------------ Date: 6 Mar 96 19:11:43 GMT From: Ashley Pomeroy Subject: Things To: numan@cs.uwp.edu News of great import- Gary got a good review! Teletext reviewed 'Cars' on March 4th, giving it four our of four and praising Gary to the skies! He was, apparently, a 'master of synth melodrama'. Not only that, there was an exclusive interview with him elsewhere on Teletext (it seems that Paul Goddard, Teletext music writer, is a fan). Needless to say, I didn't copy them down, so you'll never know how they went (the interview was very small- Gary doesn't like much modern Britpop music, and he was sad that he was getting so much attention for his old music and not his new. He plugged 'Exile' quite effectively too). So, Gary has now had two good reviews in his career. The New Musical Express also 'reviewed' Cars, in the sense that they wrote some text about it, although they didn't really say whether they liked it or not (presumably they didn't). Basically, they suggested that Gary was a Nazi, told us that the song was from a Lager commercial, and revealed that the reviewer used to sing 'Here in my car, I can see your mum's bra' when he was younger. All in all, Gary got off quite lightly. Oh yes- the Plymouth Virgin Megastore has a shelf devoted to Cars (at the top it just says 'Cars', so, presumably, the single is more well- known than Gary, unfortunately), it's in a good position, but they've surrounded Gary with cut-price Eighties compilations (the eighties revival continues). I bought the 7" picture disc as well. Mine's number 3082 (or thereabouts). So there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- These are the days Impossible oat Would it get some my friends these a You say? wind for the sailboat ---------------------------------------------------------------------- http://area51.upsu.plym.ac.uk/~arp/ Einstein on the Beach ------------------------------ End of Gary Numan Digest ******************************