IMPORTANT NOTICE! Tragedy Strikes
H.F.I. Servers
Due to a business squabble between owners of Chapter Zero Hosting Gary
Darna and John Cornell all of the data stored on our server is gone, apparently
forever. That data includes well over 100 student songs and five years
of work. As a teacher I look for the lessons in everything and an important
lesson I learned from this experience is that one should pay a little
more and go with the big, proven hosting companies. I have also learned
time and again in the classroom of life that major setbacks can catalyze
major advancement if dealt with positively. I am determined to make this
the case. My sincerest apologies to the students past and present who
relied on this site to showcase the work we are all so proud of. I have
most of the songs backed up and with the help of uber-mensch-web-designer
poisonkitty we will get what we can back up over time.
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Salem Orchid’s Black Metal
Eric, the sole producer behind Salem Orchid uses the virtual-studio to
compose as a one-man band. He composes the drum and synth parts in FL
Studio. He then plugs his guitar in and records a rhythm and lead part.
Lastly, he plugs the microphone in and sings/shouts/growls. In keeping
with the general themes of the Black Metal genre his lyrics tend to be
dark and the other students in the room look at him a little funny when
he’s recording. Still, you can’t argue with his musicianship
(and since he is the only one in his band there isn’t anyone to
argue with anyway) and it is always nice to hear some musical diversity
in room 302. Check out “Black Dimensions” and “Arch
Path from Thee” to hear his metal. If you really like it you can
dedicate ten minutes to listening to “Euphoric Manifesto”.
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Keyboard Finds Happy Home in 302
Students at Dickinson have been hearing some “heavenly” (student’s
description) music coming from the beat up piano in the auditorium between
classes and during lunch. Upon looking in they would see John behind the
keys making the beat-up piano that somehow survives in the audi sound
a lot better than it looked. Since the only two music teachers at Dickinson
deserted last year I pillaged the music room and brought one of the Yamaha
Motif ES8s up to room 302. Since the keyboard has been in 302 so has John.
He has been spending lunch time up here and lately there have been some
nice collaborations between him and Clinton. Check out his composition
“I Don’t Know” and his keyboard solo improvisation of
“If God Was One of Us” on the Sites and Sounds Page and look
for more from this maestro in the near future!
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Documentary Divides Time
I will attempt to justify the trickle of updates lately with the fact
that I have been devoting a lion share of my time to a documentary I am
producing with my Pops for New Jersey Studios. The
Diary of Immaculee is the inspiring story of one woman’s experience
during the genocide in Rwanda. It is available on DVD from Amazon.
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Varsity Beats Mix Vol. 1 Video
The kids from Dickinson High in Jersey City produced a video mix of their
best beats and lyrics. Shot and edited by long time Varsity Beats member
turned Director Jenn Carmody this video showcases the talent and school
pride of Dickinson High’s Varsity Beats Club and The Rabid Ram Video
Club. The video starts out with Aje rhyming on one of Ace’s beats,
then Ace picks the mike up and flows over an Extrodinaire (a.k.a. Joel
Zaro, a.k.a D.J. EX) beat. Next, Da Boi Al and Ignite tag team over a
J-Wize beat. The video shifts into Reggaeton mode as Nepto flows en Espanol
over Executive Producer D.J. Vany’s Reggaeton riddims. J-Wize waxes
poetic over one of Extrodinaire’s beats and finally Varsity Beats
newcomer Young G rhymes over a J-Wize beat. Jenn chose one of her own
songs for the credit role. It was an ambitious undertaking and I am so
proud of the students’ work on this project. Way to go!
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New Sounds from a New Site!
H.F.I. collaborated with some poets from the New Jersey Championship
Slam Team to develop a new program at a new site; the Morristown Neighborhood
House. The program is called Rhythm and Rhyme and it builds on the Music
production aspect of Varsity Beats by combining it with poetry and lyric
writing workshops. Some kids produced music, some kids wrote and recorded
poetry, some kids did both. Check out Ashlei’s “CrissCross”,
Rachael’s “Chameleon”, and Patrick’s “Pluck”
for some examples of how Morristown gets down.
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Young G takes Varsity Beats by Storm
I sent Aje on a recruitment mission one afternoon and he came back
with this Junior he knew from lunch ciphers known as Young G. This kid
had a big book of rhymes and spent his first few days going from producer
to producer blessing their beats with his poetry. When he turned to producing
himself he took the club to the next level with his sampling prowess.
Check out “Your Love (fadin)”, “Bellydance”, and
“I Was a Dealer” to hear what I am talking about.
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Some new and interesting sounds coming out of Dickinson High!
Lyricist Aje has been recording some rhymes. Check out his “Flowers
for the Dead”, an amazing elegy to his departed grandfather. Aje
captures the sentiment of this topic perfectly with his lyrics. This kid
is on!
Luis Andrade has been quite prolific lately. His newest songs continue
to combine Reggaeton with dubstyle production and special effects further
developing his signature style. Check out “Tu No Puedes” and
“Reventon” to hear this exciting hybrid form.
Donnell has been keeping busy, as usual holding down his “Executive
Producer” position. Although not a conscience collaboration his
new song “Backspace” portrays an eerie soundscape similar
to Jenn’s song of the same title. Eerie coincidence? Listen and
find out. Donnell has added to his club remix repertoire with “Mozart’s
Club Work 2”, “America is All That”, and “Wedding
in da Club”. These feature a virtual orchestra of synthesizers and
other virtual instruments over his trademark ecstatic drum mayhem.
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Jersey City’s Poet Laureate came to Dickinson High School’s
Varsity Beats program for an afternoon of poetry and music. Aaron “Middlepoet”
Jackson listened to students’ poems and even read a few of his own.
Stephan Febo performed “Tears” and Luis and Miguel performed
their latest Raggaeton track “Tiraera y Sandungueo” which
is available in the sites and sounds
section of the site. Middlepoet made quite an impression on the students
as evidenced by his guestbook on www.middlepoet.com.
Jenn also has a couple of new “experimental” tracks. Check
out danceable “Un-violence” and “Backspace”.
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A new school year is well under way and the Varsity Beats program at Dickinson
High School has some new tracks ready for the net. Jon Marino is a dedicated
rookie who already has three tracks under his belt. An ominous tone and
subtle dance beat are the hallmarks of Jon’s trilogy. Karen Narvaez
is another newbie. Her song “Eternally Transitioned” is an
interesting interplay between a plucked instrument and an electric guitar.
Finally, Varsity Beats’ Executive Producer Donnel Gertrude shares
“My Story”.
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New site and sounds! Harmonicfrequency.com is proud to welcome the Compass
School, a private school in Vermont that is using H.F.I.
programming. Under the supervision of site director Amah Greenstein the
students are creating some unique music. The girls who composed Brain
Freeze took a different approach than most HFI participants. They used
actual instruments, (some for the first time) and used software for recording
and mixing purposes demonstrating the flexibility of “virtual studio”
software. I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg from this
small but solid school; expect to hear more music from them soon!
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Massive update at harmonicfrequency.com!
New features added to the site. Check out harmonic frequency Radio for
a continuous selection of songs made by participants at H.F.I. sites.
Click on the continuous box then a song title to listen.
You can also explore the Links/resources section for great information
and free software.
The Sites and sounds section has been re-organized and you can keep your
eyes peeled for the latest H.F.I. News here!
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