Stuart Keith Gort
We are I
and I are we
Together we are company
Without us there is only me
Narcissist though I may be
Hear me well - hear me through
and I will do the same for you
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
The band is just me.
I always sang and began playing guitar at 12 years old. At 20 I had an oppotunity to use a multitrack recording facility and shortly realized that the things in my head could come out.
This music is created in my basement and recorded on my computer.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
No. I did a few times but I can't enjoy it. I'm pertrified of it. I did go into Guitar Center and impress the staff - once.
Your musical influences
I always listened to music. It doesn't matter what kind but I always gravitate to harmony and cannot tolerate poor reproduction. So....Bach is an influence because the church I grew up in had a wonderful organ and a wonderful organist. There was a lot of classical music around me growing up. My mother was a talented pianist and vocalist.
My older sister exposed me to the music of the late '60's and early '70's. Think of the movie "Almost Famous". That sister is mine and that kid is me. She listened to Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Cat Stevens, Hendrix, Beatles, Stones. I loved all that but when I began choosing my own music it was, Beatles, Queen, Zeppelin, Yes, Tull, Floyd, Cars, Who....that stuff.
Now I listen mostly to classical.
What equipment do you use?
Les Paul, Fender Strat, Taylor 814 CE, Fender Jazz bass, Yamaha S90 ES....among many other instruments. All electric guitars go through a Line 6 Pod XT Pro and straight into Sonar.
Mics are stereo Ocatava MK-012-01 for acoustic guitars, Rhode NT1000 or ADK Hamburg for vocals. All mics are fed through Studio Projects VTB1 - V series preamps.
Drums are EZ drums.
All effects are processed on board using the Sonitus plug-ins provided by Cakewalk in Sonar.
Anything else?
I write, arrange, perform, and record all the parts. The guitars, vocals and bass are recorded performances. Sometimes I splice pieces together to create a part but mostly I play them through. The keys are played and edited via midi. Drums are all programmed. On most of my songs I program each note of the drums and rarely use clips - or canned patterns. I use drums to emphasize musical phrases.
