An Experimental Project (Lawrence Wise And The Cosmic Funk Orchestra), and a Loose Funky Jammer (OSMOSIS). 2 separate sides, the very same dude.
Hello. Lawrence Wise And The Cosmic Funk Orchestra/OSMOSIS is actually a One-Man Home Recording Project that has been my 'stress relief' (ha ha!), since about MAY, 1981. I'm from that first wave of DIY Cassette-Tapers ('analog'--and PROUD OF IT!). Hell, the majority of my material between '81 and '99 was done on the earliest large-model Casio Synthesizers (the MT-68, MT-400-V and MT-200), with a Yamaha thrown into the mix (on occasion).
Recently, I've started posting my material on the web (after transfering it from cassette-tape to digital disc, and then to MP3---a very hard process, considering the AGE of some of the tapes). It was in these past 2 1/2 years on the web that I discovered that, despite the ridicule you're going to get, there IS an Audience for your music--no matter how different it is.
I've been telling some of my friends and peers for years to NEVER get rid of ANY of their recordings, no matter how 'crappy' you were (of think you were), because having a 'Back Catalog' is a damn good thing. You MAY have been sitting on some GEMS, and not even know it.
And, when I discovered that a 21-year-old jam I posted on MySpace recently ROCKED a lot of folks as far away as SCOTLAND and AFRICA (!), I felt pumped. It means that this was a 'dream' that came thru in the end.
Story behind the song
OK, OK, OK---
This track is WRONG!! It is ILLEGAL in 51 States of Mind!! It is 'Piss-Your-Pants' worthy!! So, just HOW did I DO this, and WHO was the BACKING GROUP?!
First off, "The Killer Cockroach" literally shows it's (now)25 1/2 years, as far as the sound is concerned. Bear with me, but I took out as much "hiss" as I can over the decades without destroying the integrity of the recording. After a generation, this 2003 digital transfer is the BEST version.
Now, for the RECORDING: there are NO--repeat!--NO INSTRUMENTS. It's all a'cappella. There are (count 'em!! no, really: COUNT 'EM!!) exactly 7 different vocal overdubs--all me!! All overdubbed back-and-forth between TWO flat tabletop dictation tape recorders---this explains ALL the "HISS" on the tape. You see, to those of ya'll BORN DURING OR AFTER THE ANALOG ERA (as in 1980!), recording quality degenerates with each successive overdub.
And when you do said overdubs 'air-check' (a.k.a. LIVE, into the tape recorder mic!), the "hiss" from the previous dub adds on to the "hiss" from the current dub, and so on and so on, 'til you get either something you can probably--and safely FILTER (like THIS track), or something that destroys all the pitch of the previous overdubs.
ALL OF THAT--to an extent--HAPPENED on this August, 1982 track. Here's how the dubbing breaks down:
TWO sets of Vocals each (one BASS, one TENOR/ALTO); The 'Mellow Harmonics' were recorded first (the "Ooooooh-Oooooooh"s), Bass, then Alto--both vocals performing FINGERSNAPS (as a means of 'Timing');
The "Doo-Wops" were next up (the "Doo-Doo-DooDoo-Doo-Waaaaap"s), Bass, then Alto--both along with 'Fingersnaps' (which by this time,began to produce an 'echo'!);
The "Background Singers" were next, Bass, then Tenor, along with 'Fingersnaps'. By this time, the previous vocal dubs were starting to 'thin out' and 'echo', with the pitch becoming higher and the timing of the fingersnaps delayed, creating a weird 'crunch'.
Finally, the "LEAD VOCAL"--yes, even with 'Fingersnaps'. The final vocal result resembled a huge Doo-Wop group, but the recording itself was terribly regressed.
It's a good thing that this was a COMEDY TRACK about a (wo-)Man-Eating swarm of Cockroaches, because the quality of the track wouldn't allow it to be anything but.
NOW, you're gonna ask "Was the song 'created' due to the recording quality?'. NO, "The Killer Cockroach" was written as it was--a song about a killer roach--and was meant to be done a'cappella, gorup-style. Just couldn't help the recording, due to my RESOURCES (or, lack thereof) at the time (and the fact that this is the first time I done such a 'vocal experiment').
Now, to answer the other (more obvious) question: "What's up with the backing vocalists ' b*** ing' at the 'Lead Singer'?" THAT'S THE GENIUS OF IT (as well as the PUNCH LINE) of the song: It was written and choreographed as such. Meaning: EACH vocal did it's 'harmonic part', then on cue, each one got 'Freaked-Out'---
and NEITHER Voice SAID the SAME THING during those 'breaks'. It was ALL improvised (listen closely, and you'll hear some real funny stuff!).
So, here we go. Completed in late August 1982, "The Killer Cockroach" was slated as BOTH a 'cassette-single' (smart move on MY behalf for NOT issuing it as such), AND a B-Side (almost made it on the B-Side of "Godzilla", from "THE TOKYO CONNECTION" Cassette-Album, but "Extraterrestrial Funk" settled that problem!).
Instead, as a move to FILL-OUT the remaining time on "THE ANCIENT ASTRONAUT THEORY (or 'The Truth About Cosmosis')" in January 1984, "The Killer Cockroach" wound up as the FINAL TRACK on the Cassette-Album. ODD as Hell, especially considering that the original album was supposed to CLOSE as it OPENED, with a variation on the "Title Track".
Oh well, what's done is done, and this wild piece of sh** FINALLY makes it's Internet Debut.
HOPE YOU HAVE A 6-Pack CLOSE BY!!
