Silber Blog http://silbermedia.com/blog a blog about artistic survival Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:39:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6 Effectiveness http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/effectiveness/ http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/effectiveness/#comments Tue, 30 Jan 2024 13:57:16 +0000 Brian John Mitchell http://silbermedia.com/blog/?p=7102 These days it feels like age is really effecting me.  It used to seem like I could function at a decent level 12-16 hours a day & I can’t really say if it’s age or a change in lifestyle, these …

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These days it feels like age is really effecting me.  It used to seem like I could function at a decent level 12-16 hours a day & I can’t really say if it’s age or a change in lifestyle, these days I feel like I am only functioning at a high enough level to work on Silbery things like art & writing & music 4 hours a day & unfortunately those 4 hours are usually gobbled up by a combination of the day job & parenting.  At any rate I have no complaints about this fact.  I think it’s a natural part of the aging process, but just wanted to let you know so you understand why things are moving slow.

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Hey, Hi, I’m The Problem, It’s Me http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/hey-hi-im-the-problem-its-me/ http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/hey-hi-im-the-problem-its-me/#comments Sun, 28 Jan 2024 12:53:26 +0000 Brian John Mitchell http://silbermedia.com/blog/?p=7096 I haven’t updated the Silber blog or website in years.  I have a soft goal to do that over the course of 2024.  Just found out the blog had been hacked with entries edited to have random spam added.  Occasionally …

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I haven’t updated the Silber blog or website in years.  I have a soft goal to do that over the course of 2024.  Just found out the blog had been hacked with entries edited to have random spam added.  Occasionally trying to spend a little time fixing that.  In the meantime, follow us on Bandcamp is the easiest way to keep up with things.  Planning about 20 releases this next year.  All digital only.

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I Assure You We Are Alive http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/i-assure-you-we-are-alive/ http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/i-assure-you-we-are-alive/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2023 22:23:44 +0000 Brian John Mitchell http://silbermedia.com/blog/?p=7012 Hard to believe I haven’t posted to the blog in a couple years. Remember when Silber was super active and I posted every day? That was 15 years ago!
Anyway, coming soon are a limited version of Droneuary, a 5in5 …

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Hard to believe I haven’t posted to the blog in a couple years. Remember when Silber was super active and I posted every day? That was 15 years ago!
Anyway, coming soon are a limited version of Droneuary, a 5in5 from Small Life Form, an album from Bryce Eiman, & an EP from Electric Bird Noise.

 

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Winter Love From Silber – Silber Newsletter December 2020 http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/winter-love-from-silber-silber-newsletter-december-2020/ http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/winter-love-from-silber-silber-newsletter-december-2020/#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2020 09:39:27 +0000 Brian John Mitchell http://silbermedia.com/blog/?p=6833 Hello,

I hope all is well.  I haven’t reached out in a while with the newsletter.  I hope you are safe.  It’s been a weird few months.  A lot happening doing the renovations for the future Silber artistic home The

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Hello,

I hope all is well.  I haven’t reached out in a while with the newsletter.  I hope you are safe.  It’s been a weird few months.  A lot happening doing the renovations for the future Silber artistic home The Eyelight. Did you know after a day of installing sheetrock when you stop by the grocery store they act like your a crazy homeless person?  Then again I’m only a home away from being a crazy homeless person.  Of course the pandemic is still here with an overwhelming sense of dread & depression & my family decided it was in the dronecub’s best interest to send her back to physical school, which has been super scary, but getting a five year old back to happy instead of dwelling on existential dread is good for the household.  The school she’s in never closed & has had zero cases so it feels safe.  Anyway, on with the music news from the past three months & there has been a lot.

In September we released “September Stories”, a collection of spoken word, love stories, poetry, & audio books.  The inspiration was the same as most things around here, “What am I personally interested in?”  I’ve found myself listening to more & more audiobooks & podcasts than music lately, so it made sense to ask my pals to help explore the genre.

A couple hours & you’ll probably find some of it interesting.  https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/september-stories  Oh, & it’s free & currently a Bandcamp exclusive.

Jamie Barnes has a new album.  It’s been ten years since his last album & while Jamie’s polished singer-songwriter accessible sound has often stood out as different than the majority of the Silber catalog, we’re pleased to help you hear some of his new work.  Check it out on Bandcamp, Spotify, or pretty much anywhere.
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/ex-voto
https://open.spotify.com/album/2RJHCadU8MzvPeSAC0ESYo

For Christmas this year we did another compilation of people doing the same song, this time “Jingle Bells”. Small Life Form, Martin Newman, Ocean in a Bottle, Heavy for the Vintage, Remora, Philip Polk Palmer, Sans Fixer, & fornever offer takes from ambient soundscapes to darkwave to guitar aggression to something close to a straight cover.  It’s fun, it’s free.
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/jingle-bells

Yellow6 of course comes in with his end of the year collection of orphaned songs, “merry6mas2020″.  Ambient guitarscapes, you know the drill.  Jon’s ability to keep up such a high level of productivity & quality over decades is inspiring.
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/days-merry6mas-2020

Eletric Bird Noise also has an annual Christmas offering.  This time out it’s based around percussion & reverb instead of guitar.  Free download.
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/ruof-evif-ni-susej-ybab-rof-staeb
https://open.spotify.com/album/6IkqKHctx3wDvNyV6D7uKO

Zach Corsa continues his winter EP series with Nonconnah.  Ambient guitar walls, tapes glitching, cool soundscapes.  Free download
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/winter-ep-iv

Small Life Form’s winter/Christmas release this year celebrates the discovery that was integral to the project back in the 1990s, taking sounds & slowing them down massively. If 5 seconds of feedback slowed to 26 minutes sounds like a good idea, this is definitely for you!  Free download.
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/slow-season

Phil Dole (X-Bax, Grand Kali Ma, Chord) is back with us under his own name.  If you’ve never checked out his guitar ambient, this is as good a place to start as any.  Free download.
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/please-come-home

Speaking of Phil Dole & Small Life Form, Phil put out a Small Life Form seven inch which it looks like somehow sold out!  But you can still check out the sounds & maybe contact Phil through his bandcamp if you want a copy.
https://secularpineapple.bandcamp.com/album/darkness-light-hope-is-here

It seems like everyone I know is doing those Instagram live things.  Even I did one of a session with Martin Newman.  Ambient guitar & Stoogian riffage.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CI9ntLBJX5p/?igshid=17ye2wfdte0xy&fbclid=IwAR2GCOLYRRWoKVtwpg-mFb3apr3YZult7XPr6TocCQOLR76vrKSnhJItk0Q

Coming soon is new music from Vlor, The Undermasks, Grand Kali Ma, Small Life Form, & Day2Alliance & the return of Droneuary.  Also hopefully I will get all the interviews I have for QRD proofed & finally get the new issue out (as promised for a year now).  Also I have not been updating the Silber website at all in the past several months & I’ve just been using Bandcamp to post new music & hopefully I will get that updated soon.  I’ve also not been sending out newsletters as much as I once did because of problems with my main email being blacklisted as spam, so the best way to keep up is following on Bandcamp, Twitter, or Facebook.  Stay safe & thanks for your continued interest & support.  If you want off the newsletter mailing list, just let me know.

Hrt
Brian John Mitchell
www.silbermedia.com

 

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Silber Newsletter August 2020 http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/silber-newsletter-august-2020/ http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/silber-newsletter-august-2020/#comments Sun, 09 Aug 2020 08:18:36 +0000 Brian John Mitchell http://silbermedia.com/blog/?p=6831 Hello,

I hope all is well.  Life is fluctuating between hope & fear & dread on a daily basis here in Silberia.  A pandemic, economic instability, rising factionalism, lack of civility, more work to do than there is time to

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Hello,

I hope all is well.  Life is fluctuating between hope & fear & dread on a daily basis here in Silberia.  A pandemic, economic instability, rising factionalism, lack of civility, more work to do than there is time to do it in — this is not the sci-fi apocalypse I asked for; in fact it makes me question if I could thrive in any apocalypse.  But we’re still moving forward with a lot of projects, including a new release from Chvad SB.  More info on everything below.

Drone ambient. Minimalist. Hopeful melancholia. Like a lost piece of Brian Eno’s 1970s catalog, Chvad SB’s San Fixer defies easy categorization while putting you in its own unique world. With a nearly 30 year career in the underground often leaning towards an aggressive & industrial edge, Chvad SB brings us over an hour of peace & reflection at a time when we need it.
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/sans-fixer
https://open.spotify.com/album/3tawCshuw8Urvwd9w7uxR9

Starting in September we’re going to be doing another daily release series.  This time it’s going to be something different & new to us.  For the past several years while doing my data entry job I’ve listened to a lot of audio books & spoken word & storytelling stuff (music sucks me in too much & I become ineffective at my work) & so we’ll be releasing a different spoken word or reading or story for as many days as it lasts.  At this point I don’t think it will turn into the massive project Droneuary has been, but it should still be fun & interesting.

As some of you may know, me & Bride of Silber have been talking about opening a coffee & comic shop.  We made an offer on a pretty cool building (1940s movie theater) & it looks like it’s happening.  It’s going to be called The Eyelight & here’s its Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/TheEyelightSanford/ & I have started selling some comics & graphic novels on Ebay – https://www.ebay.com/str/theeyelight  It is a huge space & we have lots of ideas for how to use the space for artist meet ups & art classes & performances & helping build community because we can still have room for folks to do things from six feet apart, but we’ll just have to wait & see what works.

Recently my daughter got roped into a sticker chainletter.  It reminded me of back in the 1990s there used to be artist chain letters & the weird little art books that people mailed around.  So I’m starting a chain letter, sending out little art cards I draw on & then you make some & send them.  Just a small thing to give some joy & creativity to the world.  If you want to take part, let me know.

Coming soon is new music from Vlor, The Undermasks, Grand Kali Ma, Small Life Form, & Day2Alliance.  Also hopefully I will get all the interviews I have for QRD proofed & finally get the new issue out (as promised for a year now).  Also I have not been updating the Silber website at all in the past several months & I’ve just been using Bandcamp to post new music & hopefully I will get that updated soon.  I’ve also not been sending out newsletters as much as I once did because of problems with my main email being blacklisted as spam, so the best way to keep up is following on Bandcamp, Twitter, or Facebook.

Stay safe & thanks for your continued interest & support.

Hrt
Brian John Mitchell
www.silbermedia.com

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#1000DaysOfGratitude http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/1000daysofgratitude/ http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/1000daysofgratitude/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2020 12:53:06 +0000 Brian John Mitchell http://silbermedia.com/blog/?p=6702 About a year ago I heard about a novel about making a daily gratitude list & the positive impact it had on a woman’s life.  It sounded like a good thing to do, but I’m slow & lazy.  Here I …

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About a year ago I heard about a novel about making a daily gratitude list & the positive impact it had on a woman’s life.  It sounded like a good thing to do, but I’m slow & lazy.  Here I am a year later & it seems like most people are angrier & less respectful to others & less gracious than ever – especially on social media where things have become nearly exclusively negative energy in my feed no matter how many filters I try to put on it & I would abandon it completely if it weren’t the main way of keeping in touch with friends that at this point in life I am willing to admit I may never actually see again (just a part of growing older & having a family).  So I started my hashtag #1000DaysOfGratitude & I’m hoping to broadcast some positivity out to the world.  Thanks for letting me share.

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April Fields & Luka Fisher – Ambient Sounds from Silber Records http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/april-fields-luka-fisher-ambient-sounds-from-silber-records/ http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/april-fields-luka-fisher-ambient-sounds-from-silber-records/#comments Wed, 27 May 2020 11:41:41 +0000 Brian John Mitchell http://silbermedia.com/blog/?p=6700 Hello,

I hope all is going well & all that’s been happening in the world the last couple of months has not too negatively impacted you.  Right now I’m feeling really upbeat after a productive week where I have gotten …

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Hello,

I hope all is going well & all that’s been happening in the world the last couple of months has not too negatively impacted you.  Right now I’m feeling really upbeat after a productive week where I have gotten a few records pretty close to coming out as well as getting one out & getting some comic work done & getting to spend some time doing family things.  Just a lot of hope right now, so let me go ahead & tell you what’s been going on.

First of all our April Fields field recording series was completed with 33 artists & 53 tracks & around 7 hours of field recordings & structures built from them. Near silence, ambient walls, industrial noise, & even electro no wave – we’re very pleased with the variety on here.  Free download.  Worth noting, most of these tracks were rejected from Spotify for not actually being music.
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/april-fields

Second is a new album from Luka Fisher.  On Just The Hits, Luka Fisher creates lofi, darkwave, experimental, world music, ambient landscapes impossible to classify; but the music of Popol Vuh, Indigo Girls, & Brian Eno may be touchstones. So get in your broken camper van, your beat up corvette, or ride the bus & feel less uniquely alone with Luka Fisher.
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/just-the-hits

I can’t remember if I mentioned it before, but my wife & I are working on opening a coffee & comic shop & while we’re still working on securing a physical location I have started buying comics to have to sell & slinging some of them on Ebay.
https://www.ebay.com/usr/silberspy

Remora, Jon DeRosa, Jessica Bailiff, Lycia, Yellow6, Thorn1, If Thousands, & a ton of other folks appear on a compilation to help benefit the World Health Organization that you might want to check out.
https://veniversus.bandcamp.com/album/love-in-the-time-of-covid

In a similar vein, Azalia Snail did a single called “Stay Put Human” you may want to check out.
https://azaliasnail.bandcamp.com/track/stay-put-human

Coming soon is new music from Space Sweeper, Whalt Thisney, Vlor, The Undermasks, Grand Kali Ma, & Sans Fixer (Chvad SB).  Also hopefully I will get all the interviews I have for QRD proofed & finally get the new issue out.  Also I have not been updating the Silber website at all in the past several months & I’ve just been using Bandcamp to post new music & hopefully I will get that updated soon.  I’ve also not been sending out newsletters as much as I once did because of problems with my main email being blacklisted as spam, so the best way to keep up is following on Bandcamp, Twitter, or Facebook.

Stay safe & thanks for your continued interest & support.

Hrt
Brian John Mitchell
www.silbermedia.com
PO Box 883
Sanford, NC 27331, USA

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Silber Stimulus Package http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/silber-stimulus-package/ http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/silber-stimulus-package/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2020 12:13:40 +0000 Brian John Mitchell http://silbermedia.com/blog/?p=6694 Hello,

If you follow closely you may have heard there would be a Silber stimulus package.  Unlike the government, we don’t mysteriously make money for you to buy goods with; instead we mysteriously make music for you to enjoy life …

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Hello,

If you follow closely you may have heard there would be a Silber stimulus package.  Unlike the government, we don’t mysteriously make money for you to buy goods with; instead we mysteriously make music for you to enjoy life with.  So just reach out to me with 5 releases you are interested in getting from Bandcamp for free & I’ll send you some download codes along with a few extra to share with your friends in our small attempt to bring some small amount of hope, joy, & connection to the world.  Thanks for your interest & support & stay safe.

Hrt

Brian John Mitchell

https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/

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Silber Newsletter – Droneuary, April Fields, Storytime Noir, & the Apocalypse http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/april2020newsletter/ http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/april2020newsletter/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2020 11:07:59 +0000 Brian John Mitchell http://silbermedia.com/blog/?p=6679 Hello,

I hope you are doing well.  There’s a lot going on in the world with the viral/economic apocalypse & I’ll talk about that in a bit, but first I’ll give you the Silber news.

We finally finished Droneuary 2020 …

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Hello,

I hope you are doing well.  There’s a lot going on in the world with the viral/economic apocalypse & I’ll talk about that in a bit, but first I’ll give you the Silber news.

We finally finished Droneuary 2020 with it going all the way until March 31.  91 tracks & over 16 hours of music.  You can hear most of it on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/user/silberspy/playlist/45NXvsMgDQ2c9a0rB7LK0G  (a few tracks are missing for various reasons) or it’s available for free download on Bandcamp – http://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/droneuary-2020  I know a lot of you these days don’t download at all & use the Bandcamp library feature & if you are in that group let me know & I’ll give you a free code if you agree to pass along a few free codes for your friends.

Meanwhile we started a daily free field recording series entitled April Fields.  Varying from harsh industrial noise to ambient beauty, it is quite a diverse collection.  It already looks like it will be spilling into May & people wanting to take part is a sign of success.  You can check them out for free on Bandcamp – http://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/

We do have upcoming releases from Chvad SB/Sans Fixer, Whalt Thisney, Small Life Form, Space Sweeper, Luka Fisher, Grand Kali Ma, The Undermasks, Vlor, & Phillip Polk Palmer – all of which would be out if all the time for Silber hadn’t been taken up by the daily releases.  So I apologize for the wait on those both to the artists & the fans.  I have bitten off a little more than I can chew in the past year, but I think I’m generally pleased with the results of having done these massive daily projects.

I also started this thing on YouTube where I read kids’ books as crime novels called Storytime Noir – https://tinyurl.com/storytimenoir

So on the apocalypse bit… everyone I have been personally in touch with seems fine.  I know a couple folks who seem to have gotten it, but not that have been ill enough to be hospitalized & that’s a real blessing.  Meanwhile I know a couple hundred people (including myself) who’ve been hit pretty hard by it economically.  This is not the apocalypse I was promised as a kid watching Battletruck & Dawn of the Dead & The Crazies.  No action & adventure & hope, all dread & depression & fear for the future.  Will loved ones in ill health eventually catch this & die?  Will my daughter have to wear a mask whenever leaving the house when schools & parks re-open?  What are you supposed to say to your 4-year-old child when she’s in tears because she wants to promise you’ll never die & it’s a promise you can’t make?  Will I ever play another concert?  Will the venues I used to play at regularly all close down?  Will the music & comic industries that already have been teetering on unsustainability fully collapse?  I don’t know & it all adds high anxiety to an already stressful life & makes it harder to get work done.  But there’s still hope.  I’m small enough to not have as far to fall & pick up to continue on.

Stay safe & thanks for your continued interest & support.  If you want off the newsletter mailing list, just let me know.

Hrt
Brian John Mitchell
www.silbermedia.com

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Somewhat Relevant: Ice Cream Man #18 http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/sr-icecreamman18/ http://silbermedia.com/blog/index.php/sr-icecreamman18/#comments Fri, 28 Feb 2020 15:34:06 +0000 Brian John Mitchell http://silbermedia.com/blog/?p=6657 Ice Cream Man 18
So I don’t really read a lot of comics as they come out.  I started getting Ice Cream Man a few months ago because of Robbie on Pop Culture Philosophers toting it & it is a great book.  Each issue …

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Ice Cream Man 18
So I don’t really read a lot of comics as they come out.  I started getting Ice Cream Man a few months ago because of Robbie on Pop Culture Philosophers toting it & it is a great book.  Each issue works by itself & most of them are suburban horror stories & they are bleak, touching, & in their own way fun.  This issue is about a man dying & losing his memories & a real gut puncher & it feels like something I would write, but without it being palatable to other readers.  So this comic came out a couple days ago & I am pretty sure I’ll still be talking about it 5 years from now.  So go into your local comic shop & when they don’t have it in stock, ask the guy behind the counter if he can order it for you.

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