During the latter half of 2008 a motley group of unlikely musicians from across the world started work on a crazy musical project. Guided by the firm hand of Casia the boys began developing idea's for an album of rock songs with a rather wacky sideways view of life ...... madness to blow your socks off....Enjoy the lunacy!!!

Stonehead (Ian Burrage): composition, drums, vocals, mix, lyrics
Aidan (Billy Playle): composition, lead guitar, vocals, mix
Andy (Andy Gupta): composition, bass, lyrics
Jaaman (Jay Schankman): keys
Casia (Katherine Wong): lyrics and poetry, moderator

Stonehead:

1) Instrument(s):
Drums are my main instrument (Alesis DM5 pro midi kit/ Pearl acoustic kit Paiste cymbals) however I fool around with acoustic/electric guitar (Jackson) and bass(Westone).I have various software synths and sequencing software systems(Kontakt,Chris Hein,Hypersonic,Absynth) and I have just bought a new vocal mic (AT4040).I have developed into studio recording and use various computers running Cubase SX3, Sonar 7,many vst plug ins

2) Age you started playing music and transition of instruments to what you do now
I have been playing drums since I was 10 years old after watching my uncle play in his country band. Over the years I have played many different styles from a banjo band through to Heavy Metal by way of Pop Rock Reggae and jazz.I started to experiment with guitar and recording mainly when frustrated with bands as they started and then failed and as I started to have song idea's that couldn't be recorded without melodic instruments. Recording started with an old Tascam 4T cassette machine then progressed to a Fostex 8T Reel to Reel machine and naturally to computer based systems via an Amiga 500 running octamed tracker programs then a PC running Sonar 1 and then Cubase.

3) The bands you have played in
Wow LOTS including "My Uncles Funeral" "Ominus Klunk" "Little Red Men" "The Halflife""Canis Strange" "Airstar" "Fenrir" These bands were all gigging bands but there have been other recording projects or practice bands ...I just love playing.I have always found festival open air gigs to be the most fun provided the weather is good.

4) Musical influences
Too many to list as I listen to just about anything ..I have never restricted what I listen to ... basically I will usually find something that interests me. I love AC/DC, Melisa Etheridge,Alice Cooper,Tom Waits,Greenday,The Barbs,Fiona Apple,The Eals, Sass Jordan,Juliette and the Licks,VAST.... Hell all kinds a great stuff

5) When creating a piece of music, how do you stay unique
By not being able to play .... seriously.... I play by ear and feel and to my limits. I have never had lessons and I really don't know what I'm doing...It works though. It's a bit like the theory that according to the laws of aerodynamics a bumble bee should not be able to fly ... but no one has told the bee... please if you tell me I can't fly make sure my feet are close to the ground.

6) Influence of the internet
What can I say ...BRILLIANT.... it has to be ..we wouldn't be here otherwise would we.

7) Anything else you want to add that would be of interest to others listening to your music
If I can do it so can anyone so get off your butts and start making music ...it's fun
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Aidan:

Billy Playle Musical Background

It all started way back in the early 70’s when I went for a trip on the London Underground. It was then that I heard this marvellous sound coming from just a busker singing and playing his guitar. I stood there in amazement as he belted his heart out. I knew I had to get a guitar and learn to play. I always listened to my transistor radio on the way to school and heard bands like Steely Dan, Led Zeppelin and 10cc. By 1976-77 punk had really caught on and so me and a couple of friends from school decided to form our own punk band…..”Legal Aid” the band was born. We had 3 songs and decided the world was ready for us. Unfortunately we weren’t ready. After a few rehearsals we argued about how best to develop our sound and so due to artistic differences we split up. The lead singer wanted to go swimming that afternoon….rock ‘n’ roll!!

Around about 1980 I started to get into reggae music and formed a band called “Providence”. My brother Chris also joined us on keys myself on guitar and Milligan on bass. We had this marvellous West Indian singer called Kelvin Griffiths on vocals and a friend of his played drums for us. We wrote about 8 songs and went into a studio (no home recording facilities in those days I’m afraid). We made an album but unfortunately I don’t have a copy anymore which is a shame. Good times!

In the mid 80’s I started to get involved in jazz and Brazilian music and again got a little band together…this time consisting of Brazilian musicians living in London. I learnt a lot from those guys and even now I have a passion for Latin music.

In the 90’s I formed another band called Blah Blah Blah. It was a sort of Indie Rock band including a female lead singer from Sweden (Jenny). In the late 90’s I started to learn to play keys because I knew that soon music was going to be transformed by technology. The home PC was a phenomenal success and so it wasn’t long before great strides were being made in the sampling world. It was and is exciting times as composers now have at their disposal a whole range of instruments that can be loaded up into samplers using midi (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) and thus can bang out songs by the dozen.

Now I’m writing more than ever due to the birth of collaboration sites such as Fjam and Musicians Collaboration Studio. This gives us all a chance to meet and work with a great many talented people from around the world.
Andy:
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Jaaman:

1) Instrument(s):
keys - transitioned from multiple hardware synths to a software based rig, a couple of years ago.

2) Age you started playing music and transition of instruments to what you do now:
started plucking on a piano at age 3. started formal lessons at age 10. Trumpet, then clarinet, oboe, bassoon, sax. Aquired a piano at age 12 and started playing that almost exclusively.. have owned a couple of guitars, but never spent the time necessary to learn to play fluently. Majored in music in college and studied formally under Herb Drury in St. Louis for a few years, jazz improvisation. Great teacher, terrible student. But I did pick up a few things despite my resistance to discipline.

3) The bands you have played in:
Various basement and garage bands. First performace with a rock band at age 15. The band Spectre was the precursor to Spinal Tap. after playing halfway through our first gig at a 'teen night', our singer left to rock and roll with some chick in his van. Upon his return to the stage, we threw him into the pool and that was the end of that band. Later played with various blues and top 40 bar bands in the St. Louis area. I decided I enjoyed studio work more than 3 hours of load in/load out time a night playing to loud drunks that could care less how well we played. Oh, I did sing backstage once with Brad Whitford from Aerosmith to an audience of 6 or 7.

4) Musical influences:
Too many and too varied to list. My Grandpa was my chief influence. He was a classically schooled violinist and played radio, tv and movie appearances. At the same time he survived a 35 year career with the St. Louis Symphony. But in his early days (late 20's early 30's), he played violin through an amplifier as a lead soloist in various jazz bands. Grandpa was an innovator, I think. My Grandma says the chicks really dug him. And isn't that what music is all about, guys?

5) When creating a piece of music, how do you stay unique
I don't try to be unique, I can't help but be different. I'm not sure if that carries over to my music or not. It's not something I think about, really.

6) Influence of the internet:
Huge. met many compatible bandmates and am able to choose through a large pool of talent. In the old days one would put up a small 3x5 card in the local music stores to fine potential bandmates to audition. The net has made the process so much more efficient.

7) Anything else you want to add that would be of interest to others listening to your music
Someday I will fade away into obscurity and almost no one will notice. So if you enjoy what I do, you have my sincere gratitude.

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Casia:
Muses Muse Lyric Contests
January 2008 - 2nd place
March 2008 - 3rd place
March 2008 - 3rd place (rookie contest)
May 2008 - 2nd place
June 2008 - 2nd place
June 2008 - 1st place (mini competition)
July 2008 - 3rd place

I Love to write. About five years ago I began writing children’s novels. I completed two novels, one with a sequel pending, complete with ancient maps and a coded language, trading cards, the whole shebang and now it sits covered in dust in my filing cabinet. I then transitioned for a very short period into poetry which then took the form of lyrics. I began entering contests and having my worked critiqued. Although I am pleased with my results, I know there is always room for improvement and I constantly strive to do something different, write something unique, say things in ways that have never been said before.

In June of 2008 I happened upon a group of on-line musicians who have changed my world – quite literally. They have taken my lyrics and turned them into full-fledged songs and I am ever so thrilled with the results. Some of my lyrics have reached No. 1 on a few different on-line music charts – wow, again!

I now collaborate with musicians from all over the world and it’s so exciting to meet all these wonderful people who have the same interests. In August of 2008, one of my Russian collaborators sang one of my pop lyrics at the 2008 Golden Stag International Pop Festival in Brasnov, Romania. It was televised live on Romania’s largest national television network, Televiziunea Romana. I am currently working on two albums. One with an amazing Pop vocalist from Russia and a rock album with a group of musicians from England, U.S.A. and Canada. I look forward to sharing our songs with the world.