Find more about the band at sunspotmusic.com
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Free Downloads of new Sunspot songs
In case you missed the party at the Frequency, we've posted the MP3s of our newest songs for free download now.
Each song is available in four different quality bitrate of MP3s.
Click here for "Square Root of All Evil"
Click here for "Uncanny Valley"
Please take a listen and let us know what you think! And if you enjoy the songs, we'd be thrilled if you'd forward them on to your friends.
We're still working on the video for "Uncanny Valley", so stay tuned for that in the next few weeks.
Also, I'm working on changing up our web site a bit so all of the singles, videos, Road Mania episodes, and upcoming show dates are easier to find. Lots of exciting new things for the new year!
Each song is available in four different quality bitrate of MP3s.
Click here for "Square Root of All Evil"
Click here for "Uncanny Valley"
Please take a listen and let us know what you think! And if you enjoy the songs, we'd be thrilled if you'd forward them on to your friends.
We're still working on the video for "Uncanny Valley", so stay tuned for that in the next few weeks.
Also, I'm working on changing up our web site a bit so all of the singles, videos, Road Mania episodes, and upcoming show dates are easier to find. Lots of exciting new things for the new year!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Happy Holidays from Sunspot!
And great job to Wendy for putting the image together. We hope everyone is enjoying the day off!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Hancock and Mama Mia
You never know what you're going to get with Will Smith. Sometimes it's a big ol helping of cheese, but he actually uses foul language and drinks in this one. The character is sweet because he's like superman (who Mike can't stand) only he's a drunk. Good special effects and nice plot twists.
With Mama Mia, don't waste the 4 bucks at Blockbuster. See it on the big stage with some real singers. Pierce Brosnan is charming as usual and I know they allowed him near Denise Richards in 007, but he should not be allowed near a microphone. I can't figure out what makes me more sad: that he probably spent weeks in vocal coaching just to get to the point he is at, or that some producer somewhere thought it would be okay to release the songs he sings on to the masses.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sunspotmusic.com is down * BACK UP *
Just a server problem, no worries! We'll be back up in a little while.
As of 7am on Christmas Eve, we're back up.
As of 7am on Christmas Eve, we're back up.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
MOTO
The great Masters of the Obvious are at the Crystal Corner tonight. If I can make it through the snow, I'm definitely gonna check it out. But either way, they're always awesome live.
Here's a link to their MP3s page if you want to check them out.
Here's a link to their MP3s page if you want to check them out.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Time Travel?
A modern Swiss watch was found in a Chinese tomb thought undisturbed for 400 years. Weird.
I hope they didn’t step on any butterflies.
I hope they didn’t step on any butterflies.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Best article I've reading explaining Near Death Experiences
Here’s a great crash course in Near Death Experiences. It’s one of the first truly balanced articles I’ve read on the subject. I love the idea of “mind out of body”. Whether or not it’s a scientific provable, it’s still a cool thing to think about.
I especially like the idea of using “hidden targets” near the ceiling of rooms where people are having cardiac arrests to use in the study. It’s another great idea and makes me want to have a heart attack in Swansea (and the beer’s cheap there, so it doesn’t sound like a bad idea.)
What I like that they talk about in the article, though, is how people’s beliefs change over time. That two-hundred years ago, a NDE would be a no-brainer. Of course, you see the tunnel, of course you see a light. Because you’re headed to the next place. And now, we dismiss those people as crazies. Well, what’s crazy about it? If you’re going to believe in one crazy thing, why not another? I’ve always had this argument with my mother (who is a living saint, mind you) because she doesn’t believe in ghosts, aliens, or any of that stuff. Yet, she goes to Mass every week and hasn’t missed it since the 1950’s. So, if she’s cool with believing in a guy that can walk on water, raise the dead, and turn water into wine (Jesus’ sweetest superpower), doesn’t that open up everything else as a possibility as well? I know it’s impossible to be really consistent (even though Richard Dawkins tries his heart out) with beliefs, but if you take the Bible on faith, which people don’t consider weird (especially at this time of year) then it’s all fair game in my book.
Not that I’m dissing on religion, people should stick with whatever gets them through the night (and I pray when someone’s sick and make deals with God in desperate situations just like everyone else does, I like to hedge my bets!) And I was thinking about this because I heard someone making fun of the whole “suicide bomber gets 700 virgins when he goes to heaven” thing. Yeah, that sounds a little crazy, but what’s the difference between that and hoping to meet your dead parents or spouses in heaven? Besides the whole carnality of it, is it really that much less believable than a talking plant or oil magically burning for eight days? I’m quick to judge people I deem crazy and always thought that people who’ve had NDEs are probably loony, so I guess I’m just trying to be a little more accepting. I don’t want to feel like too much of a hypocrite, but I don’t think that’s possible. Probably because it’s the Holidays and I’ve got a Virgin Birth to go shopping for.
I especially like the idea of using “hidden targets” near the ceiling of rooms where people are having cardiac arrests to use in the study. It’s another great idea and makes me want to have a heart attack in Swansea (and the beer’s cheap there, so it doesn’t sound like a bad idea.)
What I like that they talk about in the article, though, is how people’s beliefs change over time. That two-hundred years ago, a NDE would be a no-brainer. Of course, you see the tunnel, of course you see a light. Because you’re headed to the next place. And now, we dismiss those people as crazies. Well, what’s crazy about it? If you’re going to believe in one crazy thing, why not another? I’ve always had this argument with my mother (who is a living saint, mind you) because she doesn’t believe in ghosts, aliens, or any of that stuff. Yet, she goes to Mass every week and hasn’t missed it since the 1950’s. So, if she’s cool with believing in a guy that can walk on water, raise the dead, and turn water into wine (Jesus’ sweetest superpower), doesn’t that open up everything else as a possibility as well? I know it’s impossible to be really consistent (even though Richard Dawkins tries his heart out) with beliefs, but if you take the Bible on faith, which people don’t consider weird (especially at this time of year) then it’s all fair game in my book.
Not that I’m dissing on religion, people should stick with whatever gets them through the night (and I pray when someone’s sick and make deals with God in desperate situations just like everyone else does, I like to hedge my bets!) And I was thinking about this because I heard someone making fun of the whole “suicide bomber gets 700 virgins when he goes to heaven” thing. Yeah, that sounds a little crazy, but what’s the difference between that and hoping to meet your dead parents or spouses in heaven? Besides the whole carnality of it, is it really that much less believable than a talking plant or oil magically burning for eight days? I’m quick to judge people I deem crazy and always thought that people who’ve had NDEs are probably loony, so I guess I’m just trying to be a little more accepting. I don’t want to feel like too much of a hypocrite, but I don’t think that’s possible. Probably because it’s the Holidays and I’ve got a Virgin Birth to go shopping for.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Square Root of All Evil
Video for Sunspot's November Song Release, "Square Root of All Evil". Special thanks to The Frequency in Madison and Neighbor's Social Club in Waukesha.
Click here to download the full-quality video!
Click here to download the full-quality video!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Article in today's Isthmus
If you're in the greater Madison area, be sure to pick up a copy of the Isthmus. Rich Albertoni wrote a great story about us that I think you might enjoy. Thanks Rich!
She-3PO
Just the title of this one gets me (I wish I woulda thought of it.) The future is now because this Canadian guy has already developed a robot girlfriend. I love how shameless this dude is. He’s got a fricking robot girlfriend and he just acts like it’s no biggie and then throws some shit out about how she’s the “perfect woman” like it’s 1950. No wonder he’s gotta get a Stepford Wife.
I guess I never actually thought much about sex with robots (okay, I’m lying, well at least not lately. Okay, I’m lying again) until I heard David Levy discuss his Sex and Marriage with Robots on Coast to Coast early this year. Yeah, it’s pretty much inevitable, isn’t it? With all the porno on the Internet, most men nowadays don’t know what a non-silicon based breast looks like so they’re already used to “augmented humans”, I don’t think it’s a big jump to make the move to robo-mance (sorry, but at least it’s better than bromance... I think Jay and Silent Bob said it better.)
So, big question- would you bang a robot? I guess it’s a trick question for the dudes, but I’d love to hear your thoughts nonetheless.
As long as the Pleasure Model looks like Number Six, I’m cool with it (just as long as no one gives up secrets of the Colonial defenses!)
I guess I never actually thought much about sex with robots (okay, I’m lying, well at least not lately. Okay, I’m lying again) until I heard David Levy discuss his Sex and Marriage with Robots on Coast to Coast early this year. Yeah, it’s pretty much inevitable, isn’t it? With all the porno on the Internet, most men nowadays don’t know what a non-silicon based breast looks like so they’re already used to “augmented humans”, I don’t think it’s a big jump to make the move to robo-mance (sorry, but at least it’s better than bromance... I think Jay and Silent Bob said it better.)
So, big question- would you bang a robot? I guess it’s a trick question for the dudes, but I’d love to hear your thoughts nonetheless.
As long as the Pleasure Model looks like Number Six, I’m cool with it (just as long as no one gives up secrets of the Colonial defenses!)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Busy getting ready for Saturday's Frequency Show
We’ve been putting a lot of work into getting ready for Saturday’s show and release and we’re really excited about what’s coming together for it. It’s pretty much all that’s been on my mind all week. For the November and December songs we’re doing a Sunspot First and recording and mixing everything ourselves and it’s been a real learning experience. While we’re used to shooting and editing video now, actually doing the recording and working hard to make sure that the quality of the sound does justice to the material and the ideas that we’ve created. We’re finishing up all the recording today mixing tonight and tomorrow. It feels a lot like writing a paper in college with the deadlines, presentation, and managing information and time to make it happen. Either way, we’ll have everything ready on Saturday.
The song a month really has been a different process from recording an album. Add to it that we’re doing videos much more regularly and it feels a lot more hectic actually. But it’s awesome. There’s little wait from the creation to hearing it actually floating around out there and by keeping ourselves on the schedule it’s made us more creative than less. I know others might debate the merits of putting inspiration on a timeline and yeah, that sometimes is kind of a pain, but it’s certainly fun to have something new for everyone all the time.
This has been a great week so far. It’s been entirely dedicated to new music and coming off a weekend where we had two long shows that turned out really well despite the cold (thanks to the people who came out and made Elkhorn and Waukesha ridiculously fun), it’s good to feel like we’re racing towards the end of the year and with Saturday’s show we’re going to finish in a big way. Anyway, I’m just really turgid downstairs about what we’ve been doing lately and I wanted to share my excitement for Saturday’s show. I know you’re going to love it. So, um, yeah, I’m ready to party.
The song a month really has been a different process from recording an album. Add to it that we’re doing videos much more regularly and it feels a lot more hectic actually. But it’s awesome. There’s little wait from the creation to hearing it actually floating around out there and by keeping ourselves on the schedule it’s made us more creative than less. I know others might debate the merits of putting inspiration on a timeline and yeah, that sometimes is kind of a pain, but it’s certainly fun to have something new for everyone all the time.
This has been a great week so far. It’s been entirely dedicated to new music and coming off a weekend where we had two long shows that turned out really well despite the cold (thanks to the people who came out and made Elkhorn and Waukesha ridiculously fun), it’s good to feel like we’re racing towards the end of the year and with Saturday’s show we’re going to finish in a big way. Anyway, I’m just really turgid downstairs about what we’ve been doing lately and I wanted to share my excitement for Saturday’s show. I know you’re going to love it. So, um, yeah, I’m ready to party.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Line 6 GuitarPort
So, I’m playing with the Line 6 TonePort UX2 this morning. Which is a pretty great recording interface for the price (and of course it’s always fun to model 100 different types of amps and guitar tones), but then I discovered this feature called GuitarPort online which is a learning and tone interface and I have to say it’s unbelievable.
It’s a subscription service and I just jumped on the 30-day trial but I might keep it, and if I was someone just learning guitar I’d definitely keep it. When I was learning to play I would buy guitar magazines just to get the transcriptions for songs that I wanted to learn and then I’d sit around and play along with the CDs to learn them. but on GuitarPort, they have a selection of lots of great guitar songs (Van Halen, Metallica, Godsmack, etc.. even Free!) and they’ve got guitarless tracks where they show you the tab and you can play along with using the amp model to make it sound just like the original guitar tone. I spent my practice part of my morning working on “Here Comes Your Man” and “Don’t Fear The Reaper” and was having a great time. If you’re someone that’s in band, I don’t know how useful it is, but if you’re just starting to play guitar, it’s a godsend. If you know any kid serious about learning rock guitar, I’d recommend the Pod and GuitarPort, it’s an awesome way to learn. I know that a ton of people buy guitars just to never pick them up again, but with this thing, I don’t think it would ever just sit there because you can learn and play damn near instantly. Really, with this and Guitar Hero, I don’t think we have any excuses as humans for crap guitar work anymore.
It’s not often that I see a product that blows my mind (and I know how many purists hate amp models, but I like them just fine) but this one really did astound me. It’s definitely worth checking out and for a subscription service that costs a couple dollars more a month than the guitar magazines did that will help you with your tone, and let you work on “Wasted Years” with full backing tracks at half-tempo is something exceptional.
It’s a subscription service and I just jumped on the 30-day trial but I might keep it, and if I was someone just learning guitar I’d definitely keep it. When I was learning to play I would buy guitar magazines just to get the transcriptions for songs that I wanted to learn and then I’d sit around and play along with the CDs to learn them. but on GuitarPort, they have a selection of lots of great guitar songs (Van Halen, Metallica, Godsmack, etc.. even Free!) and they’ve got guitarless tracks where they show you the tab and you can play along with using the amp model to make it sound just like the original guitar tone. I spent my practice part of my morning working on “Here Comes Your Man” and “Don’t Fear The Reaper” and was having a great time. If you’re someone that’s in band, I don’t know how useful it is, but if you’re just starting to play guitar, it’s a godsend. If you know any kid serious about learning rock guitar, I’d recommend the Pod and GuitarPort, it’s an awesome way to learn. I know that a ton of people buy guitars just to never pick them up again, but with this thing, I don’t think it would ever just sit there because you can learn and play damn near instantly. Really, with this and Guitar Hero, I don’t think we have any excuses as humans for crap guitar work anymore.
It’s not often that I see a product that blows my mind (and I know how many purists hate amp models, but I like them just fine) but this one really did astound me. It’s definitely worth checking out and for a subscription service that costs a couple dollars more a month than the guitar magazines did that will help you with your tone, and let you work on “Wasted Years” with full backing tracks at half-tempo is something exceptional.
Friday, December 05, 2008
In Elkhorn tonight and Waukesha tomorrow
We’ll be in Southeastern Wisconsin this weekend for two free shows, so here’s a map so you don’t get lost!
Tonight we’re at the Elkhorn Saloon starting at 9pm.
View Larger Map
Tomorrow we’re at Neighbor’s Social Club in Waukesha, WI starting at 9 as well.
View Larger Map
Tonight we’re at the Elkhorn Saloon starting at 9pm.
View Larger Map
Tomorrow we’re at Neighbor’s Social Club in Waukesha, WI starting at 9 as well.
View Larger Map
Thursday, December 04, 2008
My Name Is Bruce
of cheese and the Q&A was side-splitting. He's in The Cities this
weekend, you won't be disappointed!
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
This Is Why I Love John Barrowman
He takes his junk out at a moment’s notice. Oh Captain, my Captain...
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