http://www.lulu.com/content/compact-di sc/+ross---gunshy-%28cd%29/8085642

ROSS - Gunshy - 2009

Here's what's cooking in Ross' musical oven!

1. Excessum Ex Machina
2. Saving Face Machine (Acoustic Demo)
3. E Pluribus Machinum
4. Sources For Possible Ignition
5. Hotel NJ (v1.2)
6. Proof Or Not
7. Brown Recluse
8. As If (Solo Acoustic Demo)
9. Helena, Batshit Crazy
10. Icarus, Curmudgeon
11. Alkaloid Chemoreception (Fade Out)
12. Twin Flames
13. Pride
14. Just Being

All songs and art by Ross Allaire.

This is like a mix tape, or random shuffle through my library of other stuff, or older stuff, or stuff that just is what it is... ross music. Some old favorites and unreleased material have never sounded so good, remixed and remodeled for this album. Thanks. And good luck.

Find more at http://stores.lulu.com/rossallaire my storefront page at Lulu.com.

Thanks.

Happy Hanukah
Happy Xmas
Bonsoir

[+R]

I updated the mix of "E Pluribus Machinum" so it's much louder and clearer now. if you downloaded it, do it again!
also, the game it's attached to SHOULD be out by the end of the year, perhaps even the end of this month. By Johnny, it's "Prismatica 2" woo-hoo!

potential cover songs:

1) "state trooper" by bruce springsteen
2) "breathe me" by sia
3) "with or without" you by u2
4) "echoes" by pink floyd

well, i had hoped to do some recording today, but there's still some time so it might just happen.

i started a new file on my computer called "the docket" to help me keep track of the songs i'd like to record or re-record. scrolling through the file of all my lyrics is not enough anymore, especially since the file is getting very big! i thought it was a lot of lyrics before, and then i wrote all those new songs like 'on an -ism' and 'this is it' and it's become somewhat cumbersome. but still very well organized. big bold letters across the top "IN ALPHABETICAL FUCKING ORDER" so there's no mistaking how it's supposed to be.

it's a very weird list, "the docket" is. one of the songs, this one called 'kicked' was originally done on a demo i recorded in summer of 1999 on a four track recorder. it had acoustic and electric guitar, vocals, and all the percussion on that demo was done with a black trunk, a single drumstick, and a crash ride cymbal. fuckin crazy stuff. i don't feel like it's a redo, even, because it was so long ago.

two of the songs are basically folk songs, but i may turn one into a punk song, or just turn the end of it into punk rock. "folk? that's crazy!" i know. but that's what they are. one is of course, in the great folk tradition, a political song, with lyrics that are as cryptic as they are plentiful. six verses? something like that. the other folk song has some of the darkest lyrics i've ever written, set to (of course!) a beautiful, upbeat melody. it's like, the brighter the melody is, the darker the lyrics have to be for me to be able to sing them seriously. that's how i roll. that song was written in autumn of 99, and if it had been a few months earlier it would have gone on that same demo that featured 'kicked' because that whole demo had this great folk sound. [it was called "the lion's den" if you care to know, for Ross trivia purposes. ;)]

that's about all i can say for sure, for now. everything else is kinda up for grabs, except the new stuff you're hearing now.

[+R]

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen /279486

Listen.
Headbang.
Vote.
Review.
Download.
Share.
Then drive into a tree.

[+R]

coming soon, "Hotel NJ (v4)" with some changes; 3 lines in each verse, 1 less line in bridge vocals, 2nd solo during heavy break (starting out as 1 guitar part, then splitting into two), and still keeping the 2-minute ambient outro.

next will probably be version 3 of 'four fucking chords' with some changes too. plugged in and distorted, but attemptedly-in-keeping with the spirit of the original acoustic version. then maybe "as if" plugged in, or something else entirely. i try not to plan too far ahead. i just listen to my heart and brain to get an idea of what's jamming around in there, and then i record it. it's just that simple of a process, and it seems to serve me well. my muse or muses will let me know what the next step should be.

so, in the next few months i hope to record a bunch of new songs, some of which may not go here on newgrounds, but a few of them will. i'm not trying to be a commercial dick about it, but most of that material will be leading up to my 2nd (or 3rd) album (depending on how the retro album works out). i'm thinking of just sticking to posting the grunge material here, since 'general rock' is such a wasteland, and it's basically controlled/manipulated by others. so fuck it. i'm not here to dominate every genre. i'll just stick with what i've already dominated. :)

2 of the new songs have major tempo changes halfway thru them, so that'll take some time to engineer and mix, but i'm confident it'll work out nicely. a little luck and a lot of patience will go a long way with those.

there are times when i lament my tattered shoestring budget, and other times when i wouldn't have it any other way. example: while i was producing "on an -ism" there came a point where i thought it was missing that extra something, and realized the snare drum sound really wasn't powerful enough. i was using my standard ludwig snare sound (as heard in 'terra angelica'). i love that snare, but it wasn't doin the job. so, i plucked a new one from my vast database of sounds and threw it in there. and it was done. i thought about it, 'man, if i wasn't using fruityloops to do this, it might have been impossible! if i was recording in a studio with session players or a band, that little change would have been a huge pain in the ass. it would have meant re-recording the entire drum track, from scratch. but the way i do things, all i had to do was click and drag, and save. easy.'

so, fear not. i'm still working. this machine is up and running. and i still have loads more songs to work with. i just have to record them. :) ttfn. pray the web bot is full of shit.

[+R]

http://stores.lulu.com/rossallaire
http://www.zazzle.com/gunshy

UPDATED UPDATE: RUNNING VOTE TALLY

terra angelica - 6
waiting to die - 4
four fucking chords - 3
this is it - 2.5
as if - 2
saving face machine - 1
afterbirth - 1
punishment fits - 1
twin flames - 1
hotel nj - 1

----

i can now report to you that i am officially 99.9999999999999% done with the layouts and text for the new retrospective album "Gunshy" so please be patient with me! all the art has the running theme of decay to kinda compliment or continuation of Manifest Destiny's apparent theme of destruction (crack in a windshield, death), also possibly ironically fitting for a retro album of older material... decayed?

although most of the songs have now been remixed for better sound quality, so they actually haven't decayed at all. dare i say many kept well, and some are like wine.

i have the job of a doing that little bit of quality assurance before this thing goes public, (ordering it myself and pouring over every detail) and then i'll post the link for it's purchase on here, myspace, and everywhere i can think of. i'll still be using lulu.com, even though it looks like they scaled back their website a bit (not recession-proof, i guess), but i'll stick with them as long as i can - until something better comes along.

SONGS: i'll confirm a few of the songs on the lineup - the original "saving face machine," in fact the two other 'machina' songs (inspired by/featured in Krysys Productions games the both), also "just being" will be on there; a remixed fade out version of the original techno "hotel nj" as well as my very first song that ever broke the weekly Top 5, remixed, "alkaloid chemoreception"
also, a secret song! oooh!

DÆMONSTRATION: it may be a separate issue, but i'll probably just go ahead and make all the songs unedited (with curse words) because... well, it's easier. later, after some more re-recording of older songs (including "waiting to die" - *shrug*) i think THEN i'll be ready to have a radio-friendly-type thing to release. but for now, it's shit piss cock cunt motherfucker tits and that's the way it's gonna be. as for the songs on said demo, i really don't know what the lineup should be anymore. ugh. that is to say, I CHANGED IT AGAIN. Now it's three songs (which for now i'll keep to myself), but I'd really like to open up the floor to ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS for what songs should go on a demo of my work, which i will take under advisement... please help. i do want the demo to be relatively shorter songs, and i'd rather all of them have vocals and lyrics, so bear that in mind, but basically just give me what would be YOUR TOP 3 SONGS of mine.

anyone?

anyone?

bueller?

thanks.

in the meantime, new low low price for THE FIRST ALBUM ON CD, so check that out. It's also available for DOWNLOAD there at Lulu.com, along with all of my books. Some of them are in hardcover, and that's just damn cool to me.

[+R]

Yeah, yeah... i ditched the last post, but feel free to continue out discussion here on what songs should go on my demo. 3 or 4 songs... best ones. Go!

-

NEW SONG! OOH OOH OOH NEW SONG!

"This Is It (The Title)"

what am i gonna do?
what am i gonna do?
ooh with you?
what am i supposed to say
with conviction meant to convey
something or other?
doo-dad whatcha-ma-callit

this is the title of the song
which i will proceed to repeat ad nauseam

oh true love has lost its home
discredited and foreclosed
for a few broken bones
bankrupt like the morals that we espouse
frozen in a credit hell
and gains no interest
true love moves no units

this is the title of the song
which i will proceed to repeat ad nauseam
this is the title of the song
which i will proceed to repeat ad nauseam
this is the story of
all our hopes and dreams
and deepest sympathies
all but forgotten
home sweet home
all but forgotten

(this is the title of the song)

i just want to live in peace
i just want to live at ease
not on my fuckin knees
we - yeah, all of us - are free
but only just so free
as much as can be
just as free as we let us be
only as free as we let us be

this is the title of the song
which i will proceed to repeat ad nauseam
seriously
this is the title of the song
which i will proceed to repeat ad nauseam
this is the story of
all our hopes and dreams
and deepest sympathies
all but forgotten
common sense
all but forgotten
even magic
all but forgotten
only as free as we let us be

AND

comin up with a new album soon, a distinctly Newgrounds collection of songs, ranging from featured material to acoustic demos (remixed) to plugged versions of otherwise acoustic songs (guess which one!) and some other stuff i hope you'll enjoy. i have the lineup down now (first three songs have variations of 'machine' in the title, i'll say that much), so i'm just working on the text and all that jazz. kudos and thanks to all who bought THE FIRST ALBUM and of course much appreciation in advance to any and all who would help support my musical ambitions... namely conquering rock n roll!

...and getting a new computer with which to make even more delicious music!
making more music more delicious?
something like that.
help!

[+R]

p.s.: i put up a bunch of foam in my studio, so now the vocals should sound a little better. and actually the vocals for the new song were done (except for two lines, literally) before the foam, so if you think it still sounds bad, just wait til next time. and fuck you. :)

status report for Ross, aka "Gunshy"
a la TIME's weekly index
07-08-09

1. returned, back from vacation
2. recording new track; had been stuck in head for all of previous entry's subject; attemptedly recorded then deleted at last second before catching flight to honolulu
3. recovering from sunburn; acquired at sandy beach - aloe, aloe, aloe
4. back at work day after return, still running on honolulu time - now simple insomnia
5. previous re-recordings of "blurred horizon" in its entirety takes a backseat because new song won't wait
6. previous misgivings about band-forming begin to melt away
7. previous reservations of direction of life clear, slightly; social status is secure, only insecurity is own insecurity - see previous
8. fear or at least major annoyance of flying seems mightily torn down a few solid notches; 8 flights in all, including day trip to big island for kilauea, candies, and ken's for late breakfast and early dinner
9. perplexed at having technically been in phoenix 4 times total so far, having never stepped foot outside the airport
10. recovering primary mission goals
11. choosing area of study, narrowing down selection of life ambition or at least beginning instruction in practical, certified knowingness - either social work or education, both of which involve psychology, either of which seem a great way to go - all the while feeding income and spare time (what little there ever is) into acquiring closeness to dream occupation, precisely the production of media
12. resolved to acquiring rights to production company name in 2009
13. resolved to continue writing in every facet of my current abilities - music, lyrics, prose, scripts, etc.
14. resolved to more emotional closeness with family - blood-related and otherwise, and to say to hell with the rest; with exception to such case where emotional closeness includes physical/romantic/ideological closeness, and/or sex
15. resolved to write, create, change, love, and hate whatever the fuck i want, whenever the fuck i want; with special regard for subjects of #'s 6, 7, 11, and 14
16. resolute in being esoteric and deadpan honest at whim
17. amazed by the simple excitement and mystery of all things - a cat's purr, a moon over a mountain, the nature of the world; cynicism tempered with optimism backed by benign blue-collar paranoia and the boy scout motto
18. resolved to fucking doing this thing; resolved to rock

[+R]

so, Saving Face Machine [was, ending 06-08-09] number one on the site4 for the all-time best score, which of course due to the attention has now pushed the score WAY far down, so far down in fact i'm not sure it'll ever recover.

so i'd like to thank everybody who made it possible for Saving Face Machine to even be up at that top spot, it's been awesome seeing that song creep into the number one spot in grunge, but man i never expected number one on the site, and that's truly an honor. its not just some dumb oscar-night cliche. it's not. it's true.

plus, anything to draw attention to [me and] my other work in and out of the grunge genre is always appreciated... not in an ego-way... that's why the voting down is such a pity, like i expected it to happen and of course it did because i know how it is here... ...but i'm still honored by the attention, honred by the listening to of my music, even if it is a bunch of noobs, a bunch of assholes, a bunch of well-reasoned musical opinions that happen to completely differ from my own, a bunch of idiots, another bunch of idiots, a bunch of intellectuals, the moderators, and a few psycopaths... and me.
that's NG for ya

but with small steps, with bigger and bigger leaps, and this machine could really be up and running full speed, full time, making great music for everybody to enjoy.

OR JUST A SELECT FEW, either fucking way.

UPCOMING: been working on a song for an upcoming flash game (by Johnny, as per usual) and we're both really excited to see this project come though. i won't spoil the game, that's his job :)

but the song, i can tell you all about!

space rock electronic trip hop hardcore downbeat chill loop

does that make any sense?

i just adore bending genres.

[+R]

http://www.myspace.com/rossisnotgunshy
http://stores.lulu.com/rossallaire
http://zazzle.com/gunshy
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ROSS/486 96261009