Musicians create with computer
By Mary Lichtenwalner
Of the Emerald
With just a touch of a finger, Greg Herman plucks at nonex
istent strings to the lull of a cello in an orchestra. But the sleepy
melody of the orchestra is suddenly silenced as he reaches up.
removes the floppy disc and inserts a new one into the
synthesizer.
Then eerie, haunting chords float about the room, and a
ghoulish voice calls in different tones as Herman’s hands travel
across the keyboard.
One more touch of the finger turns to the sound of a glass
shattering. Another touch — the bark of a dog.
Computerized music — that’s what University students
Herman, 21, and Dave Farrell, 20, create in their hobby-turned
business, HFX Studio.
“It’s converting music into a computer language.” Farrell
says.
A computerized, synthesized keyboard in the studio
“enables you to take any real sound, hold it in memory and trig
ger it to play,” he says. “It’s a computer with sounds stored on
digital discs. Our studio isn’t normal.”
Digital recording makes it unique, he explains. Digital
recording eliminates any wear on the tape, and it also takes
away or minimizes distortion, Herman says.
The word is getting out. Local musicians are coming to the
modest studio inside a little, white house, nestled in a quiet,
Eugene neighborhood.
But the studio is modest only in size, Farrell and Herman
agree, calling it “one of Oregon’s most progressive recording
studios.”
“We feel this quality really rivals studios that charge three
to four times as much,” Herman says.
Farrell and Herman charge $15 per hour for a recording ses
sion. A demo tape costs an average of $150 to $200 to produce —
far less than they have paid as musicians renting time in other
studios.
“We’ve been playing together for five to six years, and
several years ago in Portland we spent $850 to produce a demo
tape that turned out to be a horrid thing. We ended up just get
ting taken,” Herman says.
In their two-member band, 2 Humans, Farrell plays the
bass, guitar and computerized drums, while Herman plays
keyboards and synthesizer and sings. They consider themselves
“technical musicians,” comparing their technique to many
Greg Herman
HARMC0NY
HAIR FAS/HIONS
. . ymc*- ttruzpe t&cdi
Call For Appointment Today!
1504WillametteSt. 9/19
Eugene, Oregon, 97401 345-5Z3Z
DnnA O A
Dave Farrell
English bands.
Farrell had direct exposure to English music last spring
when he went on an exchange program at a London university.
“The Eurythmics’ first album was done in a studio very
similar to this,” Farrell says. "1 think the English are the most
progressive musically. I think (computerized) music is catching,
and Americans need to be more progressive.”
Herman says 2 Humans will release an album this summer,
and he describes the works as “electronic-based, rhythmic
music.”
Herman, a history major and a part-time consultant at a
local communications company, owns the studio. Farrell, a
business major, handles the booking and scheduling of clients,
and assists Herman in the engineering when putting together a
recording.
“There are three other recording studios in town, but I think
our approach is much different. We have things they can’t of
fer,” Herman says.
Good, clear, non-distorted sound is what Herman and Far
rell are after, and they know their clients have the same goal in
mind. . ,
“You’d like your initial recording to be as dry as possible —
completely dry, with no reverberations,” Farrell says. "We can
control that with a digital reverb:”
The two musicians invested in the bulk of equipment about .
three years ago, but they keep up with the demands of the
musical styles they record. "We buy keyboards and make other
changes constantly to keep us state of the art,” Herman says. '
Farrell and Herman say they record creatively, and they'will
record anywhere in the house to achieve the effect they want. “If
vocals are going to sound better in the bathroom, then it’s in the
bathroom,” Herman says with a laugh.
On a recording mixer, Farrell and Herman put together the
sounds after the separate tapes around the house have been
completed.
The average musician takes about two to three hours to
record a song, and mixing takes about one to two hours per
song, Farrell says. But it does vary.
The John Workman Quartet, a local “jazz-fusion” group, is
an exception, Herman says. Workman recently recorded an
album at Farrell’s and Herman’s studio.
Workman’s musical production knowledge helped him
save recording time and costs. “(Workman) recorded the whole
project for slightly over $100,” Herman says.
But, he adds, “It sounds good no matter what the price.”
The type of music that comes out of the studio varies from
jazz to punk rock. Herman says E-13, a local punk rock band,
recorded at the studio.
Although music fans may not see the duo performing in
local bars, Herman says 2 Humans have the potential to be
recognized in the music world. “We’d have a hard time playing
live, there’s simply not enough of us to do it,” he says. “But be
ing proficient in the studio is just as good as being proficient
live.”
Photos by Karen Stallwood
Glenwood Foreign Auto Parts
Quality Used
Foreign Auto Parts
is 90 Day Guarantee ** Student Discounts
is Close to Campus
4530 Franklin Blvd. • 747-7492
We accept VISA, Mastercard
unnean woman
to talk about
Indian struggle
Sofia Painiqueo, a Mapuche
Indian leader from Chile, will
speak on “The Struggle for Sur
vival of the Mapuche Indian in
Chile" on Thursday at 7:30
p.m. in the EMU Forum Room.
The Mapuche is one of the
largest indigenous tribes in
Chile with one million
members. Long threatened with
encroachment of their tribal
lands by mining interests, the
Mapuche were granted the right
to live undisturbed on their
land by Chilean President
Salvador Allende, says
sociology Professor Ken
Liberman.
But those land rights were
nullified by President Augusto
Pinochet, who came to power
following a 1973 coup in which
Allende was killed. The
Mapuche land was ap
propriated by the Chilean
government, and the Mapuche
were moved to relocation
centers Liberman equates with
concentration camps.
“These people have been suf
fering terribly,*' Liberman says.
Since U.S. government sup
ports Chile, it is in a position to
pressure the Chilean goverment
to change its policy toward the
Mapuche, he says.
Painiqueo" is visiting Oregon ’
as part of a three-week “tour of
the United States. Painiqueo
speaks no English, but her .
speech will be translated by an
interpreter. •
Some fliers have been
distibuted giving the '.wrong . •
time for the event.. Painiqueo ■
will speak at 7:30 .p.m., not at
noon. • .
Awards banquet
honors scholars
with high GPAs
About 14.0 juniors will',
receive the junior Scholar •
award at a banquet today in the
Gerlinger Alumni Lounge, says
Eric Bressman, vice president of
Mortar Board.
All juniors with a 3.75 GPA . .
and above will receive °the '
award, sponsored by Mortar
Board and Druids, two honor
societies.
Stanley Greenfield, president
of Phi Beta Kappa and a Univer
sity English professor, will be
the speaker at the 2:30 p.m.
banquet.
Bressman says the number of
students receiving the award
has remained fairly constant
since the award was initiated
three years ago.
“1 was fairly shocked that that
many students had such a high
GPA,” Bressman says.