journal
New Single: it's because of...
By Dave on Wednesday, November 20th 2013 1:02 am
I done made a music video for this one.
This song is free to download.
320kbps mp3: it's
because of...
Frank Basile played drums on this one. I played guitar, bass, taurus pedals, and keys.... and I pretended to be Frank for the video.
The song is dedicated to my music teachers. Like most people I've never really taken the time to thank them but I've had some really special music teachers over the years. I guess it is not possible to grasp the impact teachers like that have on your life while it is happening. You don't get a handle on that till later.
I'm toying with the idea of doing another record in 2014, this song would be on it if that happens. Depends if I have enough time and creative mojo to work on the band stuff and this at the same time.
Some new music
By Dave on Friday, March 8th 2013 12:11 am
For the last year plus I've been playing with a couple of old friends from way back.
We took some time to record demos of a couple of our originals. So download
them and have a listen.
Download: Echoes
of Warning (192k mp3)
Download: Big
Sur (192k mp3)
Phil Clute: Vocals
Dave Mills: Drums and
Backing Vocals
Me: Guitar and Bass (plus Moog Taurus Pedals
on Big Sur)
Words and Music by... well we don't have a name for ourselves yet. But it's the 3 guys above.
Echoes of Warning was inspired by that whole silly 2012 end of the world thing and has a lot of references to suicide cults (Heaven's Gate, Jonestown, etc...). Big Sur is a story based on the Kerouac novel, where the character finds himself following in Jack's footsteps - lots of references to the original novel in there.
Also Gino Foti has released a great new CD Xenosonic Journeys. I played guitar on a couple of tracks, "Ten Directions" and "Latitudes and Longitudes". Though my favorite tune on the record after a couple of listens is "Pathless Lands" with its very cool synth introduction and syncopated riffs.
Scenes from the Apocalypse: NEARfest 2012
By Dave on Tuesday, June 26th 2012 12:10 am
Just back from the final NEARfest. Here are some galleries of my photos from the event. Shot with Nikon D50 mostly with with a 50mm 1.8 lens but some with a fast 35mm lens. I was in the front row this year so got some keepers. Photography wasn't permitted during UK.
Click the thumbnails below for galleries.
Aranis |
Van der Graaf Generator |
Helmet of Gnats |
Twelfth Night |
Änglagård |
Renaissance |
Gösta Berlings Saga |
Il Tempio delle Clessidre |
Mike Keneally Band |
NEARfest Friends and Various
Photos |
This was one of my top 2 NEARfests (the other being 2003). The Sweds were terrific (Änglagård & Gösta Berlings Saga) as were the Americans (Keneally & Helmet of Gnats). And everyone (including me) was talking about the lead off Aranis show all weekend. And if that weren't enough UK with Wetton.
Made some new friends this year, the Matts from Discipline (and Jen) were fun to hang around with, got to chat with Ray, Tom and Chris from Echolyn quite a bit (new album is Amazing of course), and even got to know Mattias Olsson from Änglagård (their new album is also amazing). And of course it was nice to run into friends from years past.
Biggest regret from the festival was that I didn't get to play with Mike Keneally and Mattias Olsson at the after party jam. I was signed up to play Back in NYC and got called up, but when I talked to the host he said I needed to have my own guitar. Since my guitars were almost 400 miles away that wasn't really practical.
Goodbye NEARfest, you are going to be missed!
Review housekeeping
By Dave on Saturday, November 26th 2011 4:16 pm
A couple of reviews came in that I hadn't posted about yet. The first was brought to my attention by someone who recently ordered Notes in the Margin. The review is en Francais but here are a couple of excerpts the google translator didn't seem to mangle to badly.
You may be wondering why chronicle an album that came out over a year ago? Well here it is: I started this column last year that when I dropped my old PC, I lost everything and I put it aside. But lately, I was asked if I still wanted to do it and I said yes because I thought it was unfortunate not to speak of "Notes in the Margin."
"Notes in the Margin" is a varied album that will surely appeal to many of you who are looking for something different!
My only regret is not having had the opportunity to tell you about it before! As the saying goes, "It's never too late to do."
The full review is up at Progressive-area.com.
And popular webzine Progressor published a review back in September. Here is Olav's conclusion.
"Notes in the Margin" is a partially instrumental album that explores a sound that ranges from hard prog akin to Rush on the one hand to space and symphonic-tinged themes that share some characteristics with late 70's Pink Floyd. Those who enjoy both these acts might well find Dave Kulju to be an artist worthwhile exploring, and I suspect that this album might also appeal to some of the people who tend to like neo-progressive rock. Overall, this is a good-quality production from start to finish, and one that should have a much broader appeal than most solo efforts crafted by a guitarist going solo.
The full review is up at progressor.net
Review of NitM from Fire of Unknown Origin
By Dave on Tuesday, May 24th 2011 9:33 pm
The review excerpt below is from a relatively new webzine/review site by Raffaella Berry. While the site is new, Raffaella isn't new to the prog scene having written reviews at other outfits for years. Last month she wrote a really thoughtful piece on the really-sad-horrible-no-good cancellation of NEARfest.
Anyway here are some of her thoughts on my little cd.
With superb production values and sterling sound quality, Notes in the Margin is indeed an excellent release, worthy of the attention of even the more demanding prog listeners. It is a pity that – like most studio-only projects – it will probably flow under the radar of many fans in favour of more extensively publicized albums. A labour of love in every sense of the term, classy and literate yet full of endearing warmth, this is a must for everyone who loves melodic, guitar-oriented progressive rock. It would be a boon if, one day, Dave managed to put a band together and perform his music on stage, in spite of all the well-documented difficulties that plague those artists looking for live outlets for their work.
click here for the full review
Which segues nicely to our next subject. Now that the shoulder is functional enough to play I've been jamming with a local bass player and drummer and collaborating online with a keyboard player who also lives in the area. Is it the start of a new band? I'm not sure yet. But it has been really great for putting me in a creative mindset. In about a month I have more than a half dozen different pieces in progress as well as collaborating on a couple of pieces by the keyboard player.
Also I'm working up some guitar tracks for Gino Foti's next solo project.
Finally a quick medical update. I had another followup appointment about a month ago. I'm apparently healing remarkably well, but have to be patient. The soreness, stiffness, and general weakness is expected to persist for another 4-6 months. But the doctor says by the one year anniversary of my fall I should be back to normal.
More end of year accolades for Notes in the Margin
By Dave on Saturday, January 1st 2011 3:28 pm
NitM comes in at #4 on Rickter Scale's Top 40 countdown of the best albums of 2010. The show airs on Delicious Agony Radio this Tuesday, January 4 from 12-3 PM EST.
And if that weren't enough it has also been nominated for Best Foreign Record of 2010 by the Italian site Prog Awards!