C6

Christopher T. Guice

[The android known as] C6 has a love of pop music & culture, a knowledge of many musical styles and a strong melodic, rhythmic and arranging sense that helps bind the American and Latin elements of the band.

nickname:

instrument:

Low Frequencies, Computer Interaction, Slack

birthday/sign:

June 3/Gemini

born:

Neptune

heritage:

Mediterani-Euro Circuitry

punctuality:

On board satellite synced chronograph

attributes:

Loyal, Programmable, Surprisingly Life-like, Hundred dB Voicebox

sample quote:

“My optical receptors are suitably stimulated." "Nature is for outsiders"

most likely to:

Short circut, Access over 1 million song lyrics, Deplete battery life and shut down

favorites:

artists:

Chet Baker, Robyn Hitchcock, XTC, High Llamas, The Clash, Aimee Mann
The Church, Elvis Costello, Wilco, The Beatles, Bright Eyes, Ditty Bops
The Smiths, Belle & Sebastien, The Feelies, Irving
Fountains Of Wayne, The Zombies, Jesus & Mary Chain, The Fall

inspirations:

Paul McCartney, Chuck Rainey (session legend), Paul Simonon (The Clash)
Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), Bruce Thomas (The Attractions), Andy Rourke (The Smiths)
Colin Moulding (XTC) , Andy Metcalf (The Egyptians), James Jamerson (Motown)
Simon Gallup (The Cure), Ray Manzarek (The Doors), Tony Bambach (Lime Spiders)
Brian Nash (FGTH), Steve Kilbey (The Church), Tom "T-Bone" Wolk (Hall & Oates)
Joe Pass, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Marr
Salvador Dali
Ayn Rand, Tom Robbins

albums:
Pink Floyd-Dark Side Of The Moon
XTC-Skylarlking
T-Rex-Electric Warrior
Fountains Of Wayne-Fountains Of Wayne
The Cure-The Head On The Door
The Beatles- A Hard Days Night
Songs I Love: 79 from the 70’s

books:

Ayn Rand-The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand Lexicon
Lemony Snicket-A Series of Unfortunate Events
Chuck Rainey-The Complete Bass Method
JK Rowling-Harry Potter Series
The 33 1/3 Series

films:

The Truman Show, Rushmore
Raising Arizona, Avenging Disco Godfather
Planet Of The Apes (1969), Multiplicity
This Is Spinal Tap, Borat,

currently grooving on:

CDs:
I suppose it was inevitable. Last year I started mining my old 80's favorites and went on an 8 month binge of The Cure. More recently Depeche Mode and Thompson Twins surfaced and now I'm on to The Fall and XTC.

The Fall

The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall

This Nation's Saving Grace, The Frenz Experiment

Extricate, Palace Of Swords Reversed

Robyn Hitchcock

Eye, Jewels For Sophia, A Star For Bram

Perspex Island, Globe Of Frogs

Storefront Hitchcock

I got a mix tape of RH from a friend in the early 90's and it all made sense. Ridiculously catchy melodies, half hilarious stories, half surreal lyric imagery, creative and engaging musical ideas and that English charm...He marches to his own rhythm always. He collaborates with incredible musicians and 30 years on is still crafting interesting work. Altough he is forever linked to his influences (Syd Barrett, The Beatles, Bob Dylan) he has carved out a completely unique niche and built an equally impressive catalog.

songs:

deSoL- Me Llamo James (new b-side)

books/magazines:

Middlesex

Mental Floss

tv/dvds:

Lost (Season 1)

gear:
Lefty Fender Jazz, Lefty Dean Acoustic Bass, Lefty 73’ Music Man Sabre
Stainless Steel Flatwound Strings
Ampeg B4R Amp, Ampeg 8X10 Cabinet, Virgen de Guadelupe tapestry
Korg rack tuner, Countryman DI, white hand towel
iBook G-4, FinalCutExpress, iPod Shuffle, White Chocolate Phone
Callouses, Coffee, Egg Whites And Guacamole

reviews

We’re on the road a lot and in the bubble you don’t always have access to what's current in the world. As much as I love hearing about new bands, books, TV and films, it often takes a good recommendation to turn me on. As such, my reviews in this section will focus on what i'm digging at the moment, not necessarily what's new.

music

01/15/08
Robert Plant & Alison Kraus- Raising Sand
On the other side of my current 80's obsession altogether, is this stunning, gorgeous recording featuring one of the most recognizable voices of the 70's and the so-called "High-Priestess" of Blue Grass Music. Produced by the amazing T-Bone Burnett (Oh, Brother Where Art Thou?) this collection of songs chosen by T-Bone is skillfully and respectfully performed by these two seemingly disparate voices. T-Bone has gotten Plant to lower his vocal range and sing harmony for the first time and the emotion he conveys in these tunes is striking. Likewise Alison Krause is given the opportunity to discover the blues and a depth and darkness we don't usually hear from her. The team of musicains backing them up is no less noteworthy. These gentlemen take these songs and inject them with a subtle, tense spirit that oozes from the speakers. deSoL had the pleasure of all hearing it together for the first time up at our friend Zeb's place in Vermont. He put it on his Vintage Hi-Fi after a delicious dinner and as we sipped good Tequila and Wine we got lost in the incredible atmosphere they create. The recording is so good we felt we were in the studio listening to it happen live. It is, to us, a truly magical and inspiring album.

10/07

Rilo Kiley-Under The Blacklight

Been a fan of Rilo Kiley since seeing them perform the fantastic "Portions For Foxes" on Conan O'Brien back in 2005. Since then, I have enjoyed not only their band releases, but the solo efforts of singer Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins and guitarist Blake Sennett's side group The Elected. I'm almost inclined to say i've liked them more as a whole but will refrain out of respect for the power that the two wield when they are really on together. I feel the Rilo albums are sometimes a bit uneven although filled with some of my all time favorite songs. The solo CDs seem to work better as full albums. Jenny's "Rabbit Fur Coat" and The Elected's "Sun, Sun, Sun" have kept Rilo fan's appetites whetted while the group hunkered down this past year to record the new release. Under The Blacklight finds the band pushing their folk/pop boundaries into disparate areas. Being a fan of music in general and the development of bands in particular, I applaud the push to try new things even if its not 100% successful. The production here tends to be slicker and more experimental with an emphasis in some places on a very contemporary dance sound which i'm not yet sure if its earnest, ironic or somewhere in between. On first listen, I put on my Shuffle and went for a morning jog while we were in Nashville. I truly loved some of the songs like "Silver Lining" "Dreamworld" and "Dejalo" which has a great English Verse and Spanish Chorus, sound familiar? The tunes, as always are strong. Whats ironic is that over the course of 4 full length CDs, the un-evenness of the albums has become a consistent. Jenny & Blake are growing as writers and the band is tight. I really respect what they are going for even if i'm still a little perplexed by some of the production. So I'm forced to give it a + and will be continuing to let it grow on me. Worth checking out if you like classic Pop/Rock.

tv/dvd

01/08
Freaks And Geeks- The Complete Series DVD
To me, every great thing comes from some other smaller great thing thats probably unknown to most people for a variety of complicated reasons. Why this show wasn't a smash is an insult right up there with Arrested Development. The team behind recent world-wide sucesses The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked-Up and Superbad are the current comedy "IT" boys of Hollywood (as featured in last months GQ Magazine). Judd Apatow, Seth Rogan, Paul Feig among others, were responsible for this terrific show that lasted barely one season in 1999. Centered around the fictional McKinley High School outside Detroit, Michigan, the show, set in 1980, follows the lives of Lindsey Weir (The outstanding Linda Cardellini, currently seen on ER), her Brother Sam and their respective groups of friends the freaks and the geeks. Lindsey is a straight A student and senior who is yearning to find a new identity as she gets older and is grudgingly accepted into the social circle of the burn-outs. Her little brother, meanwhile, is a freshman trying to acclimate to High School life with his small group of friends who long to be accepted by the popular crowd. The shows 18 episodes cover many of the pains and triumphs most of us have experienced in our high school years in the context of the late 70's and early 80's. The soundtrack is spot on for the time period and each episode contains equal amounts of laughter, cringing and heart-warming moments. All the characters are well developed and each gets the spotlight at one time or another to entertain us with a look into their different ways of dealing with their lives and there are some great cameos from up and coming actors from 9 years ago. Definitely put this on your Netflix or Blockbuster queue, its so good.

11/07
The Office and Flight Of The Conchords are two shows currently on NBC and HBO respectively that are also completely brilliant. Although my friend disagrees with the first because he prefers the British version starring Ricky Gervais, I maintain that the American version is just as spot on in its delivery. Just finished the first 2 seasons on DVD and have caught a few of the new episodes On Demand. The second, Flight Of The Conchords just finished its first season on HBO and centers around two New Zealanders, Bret and Jemaine who move to New York City to try and make it in the music biz. So far they are failing hilariously and the show is set up kind of like a broadway musical where the action of the show will suddenly turn into a musical number or faux music video. The songs are totally ridiculous and funny. A must see.
Since first writing this, I got the complete 1st season on DVD and have been watching them again in order. Its really right up my alley, surreal and absurd. All the touchstones of being in a band are covered to great effect: Trying to get gigs, promoting yourself, dating the same girls, egos and on and on. This is one of the best shows ever if you like 'em silly and weird.

09/07

I'll admit, for roughly the past 10 years i couldn't have cared less about anything on TV. I boasted for a while of not even owning a TV. However, recently I've been forced to change this stance because of a few DVDs and shows a trusted friend has sent my way.
The first is Arrested Development. This show ran for 3 seasons starting in 2003. A documentary style sitcom, it follows the dysfunctional Bluth family in all manner of absurd situations. The characters are all equally fascinating and the humor is at turns subtle and twisted. It originally aired on Fox. Although it never quite drew the ratings that would make it the smash of say Seinfeld or Friends, it remains an indisputable cult fave. It is one of the few shows that can bring me tears of shear hilarity. Highly recommended.