TagYerit gets a feature article in the Valley Advocate

TagYerit gets a feature article in the Valley Advocate

Check out this article that explores our music and our toilet paper collection. Pretty funny I hope.
The Valley Advocate

The Toilet Paper Museum travels to WMAS

For this brief moment in time, press has been falling into our laps like a succession of dominoes.
After having had our toilet paper collection on the web for over 10 years, the Smithsonian Channel filmed us talking about our collection for an upcoming episode of their series "Stories From The Vaults". Using that domino, we sent out a press release. The local paper, the Springfield Union, thought the story interesting enough to feature our collection as a cover story to the great delight of many of our friends who report their first reaction at seeing our faces in color on the cover of the newspaper out on the news stands was to fall over laughing.

But they weren't the only one's to see the article. So it came to pass that Lopez from WMAS 94.7 invited us to their station for a quick interview on the collection. One cool thing about this is the location. WMAS studio is in the Basketball Hall of Fame building. For once a destination that's hard to miss - The building is in the shape of a basketball. http://www.hoophall.com
Once we got there, the first stop of course is to get some toilet paper from the bathroom so we can get Kellogg Krew D.J.'s signatures.
What should I see on entering the bathroom than this electric hand dryer in the shape of a basketball. And people make fun of our collecting obsession? Really?


Once in the studio we get to meet Chris Kellogg, Dina McMahon and Lopez. We had a fun though brief interview. I guess there's no point in holding up signed toilet paper to show a radio audience, so the listeners would have to trust that Chris, Dina & Lopez would be able to verify that there was no sleight of hand happening.
As I said, it was fun. - but our adrenaline was in overdrive and we could have gone on talking for a long time, which thankfully they didn't let us do. It's always great to see DJs at work. When they're on the mike it seems as if their brains shift into gear. They know just what to ask and when to keep it moving. From our perspective, being in front of a microphone in a radio station is almost the complete opposite experience to recording music in the studio, where everything is measured and precise. Anyway, the Kellogg Krew were great and they were gracious enough to sign some tp for us afterwards.



Most likely, they'll be broadcasting our segment either Friday 8/21/09 or Monday 8/24/09 on their show which airs from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. (E.S.T.)
You can listen live at:
http://www.947wmas.com/article.asp?id=538543

Finished! Pressed! Printed! We've got it - we're psyched! TagYerit's new
CD "Shimmer" is in our hands. It's been a long wild road from the inception of each song to this little package. It's like a Song Mixvah! For us, it represents years of creative play-work. So now it's another exciting moment for the songwriter (that's us - Rich & Flo) ...will the music reach out and 'strike a chord' with you, the listener? Touch you? Transport you? Crack you up?
We've been working in a vacuum, so the "Listener" is the other
important part of the equation.

Since we're not exactly your love-song-pining-over-relationships kinda
songwriters - here’s some of the subjects we’ve explored:
- There's an examination of ‘collection’ addiction and hoarding as
expressed in "Neat Junk". - OK, we admit it, it could be just a touch
autobiographical ...
- You'll run into the strong willed "Pirate Bride" who's damned tired of
being stuck ashore - She deeply longs to rule the High Seas herself.
- In "The Trick or Treat Trials" Flo recounts the Halloween fixation she
and her best friend Sylvia (and others) had as they meticulously planned
their costumes & plotted out their routes in their attempts to amass huge stockpiles of chocolate. Things didn't necessarily turn out as they had hoped..
- And who was the mysterious carver on Mt. Katahdin who left the beautiful but anonymous words etched there in stone? These words inspired the song "Mt. Katahdin" and became its chorus.
- You'll also share in a rather disconcerting chance meeting in the woods
with a dryad that Tolkien might have suspected was a Close-Encounter-of-the-Entwife-Kind.
- ... and more ...

There's plenty of humor, true-life mishaps, reflection and melodic story
telling. - and then there's the rousing return of the "Vulgar Boatmen"
(originally heard on our "Heavy Construction" CD) as they add their
unique blend of voices to yet another song.

If you're interested in getting a copy (No presha, pal!), it's available
for $10 (plus $3 s&h) for CD ($7.50 for digital download) at
http://www.tagyerit.com/music.htm

A video of The Whole World Toilet Paper Collectors

As part of a news story on our toilet paper collecting, the Springfield Union photographer also took this short video. I'll post the article when they put it up.

Toilet Paper collecting video

Studio wrap up

It's been a busy few weeks. Ed was free the week of Monday April 20th to Friday, so it was an intensive week. By the end of Friday we just didn't want to listen to any more music at all. Not by no one no how.

Monday 4/20 - Flo putting down back up vocals for "Accelerate" & "Sylvie".

Greg: (peeking through the glass window) Are you out there?
Flo: Yeah!
Greg: Find your center
Flo: My placenta?

Greg: You just have to pick a note that actually IS a note!
Greg: That was an interesting note. - kind of a 'Thomas Dolby ate my Buick' note

Ed: That was a good idea. I liked that
Greg: Flo had a good idea? Mark your calendars.

Greg: Are you ready? I have faith in you, You're a woman. (sings)
"I am woman. Hear me roar. In numbers too great to ignore" -
They should have taken away women's rights after that song.

Greg: We watched "A Shot in the Dark", the Pink Panther movie last night with Elke Sommer. You know it's going to be stupid, but you laugh hysterically. It's exercised stupidity
Ed: That's what we should call TagYerit - exercised stupidity

Flo: That's kind of weird
Greg: Even for you
Flo: I'm throwing that in there, in case Ed wants to use it.
Ed: Don't worry, there's toilet paper in the bathroom

Ed: Maybe we'll have them (the backgrounds) come from outer space.
Flo: Maybe we should get rid of this crap.
Ed: No, we have an idea for this

Flo: (referring to the lyric she just sang) Do you think "birth" was okay?
Greg: Yes
Ed: It's the afterbirth we're worried about


Overheard during the lunch break ...
Ed: (to Greg) Have you got a napkin?
Flo: He's got paper towel.
Greg: I have to fold it for you nice
Ed: It's a napkin, not an effen flag

Ed & Rich reunite as The Vulgar Boatmen (last heard on the background of"Joy 1995). This time they're singing "licka the lollipop / tell us our teeth will rot". Well maybe singing isn't the right word.

Ed: I'm getting nervous about our having to sing our parts
Rich: Really?
Ed: That means Flo will have to supervise us
Rich: Oh? Now I'm nervous

The banter is low key on Tuesday & Wednesday
- 4/21 Flo sings her background vocals on "Neat Junk" & adds guitar tracks for "Neat Junk" & "Sylvie". Then Greg & Ed Mix "Accelerate".

- 4/22 Ed & Greg spend the day mixing Pirate Bride. There are many tracks to go through and it takes the whole day to mix.

Ed: Here's how I picture it. At first that guitar is like a boat coming in from way out in the horizon. From quieter to louder and wetter to drier on the bass and the fuckin' guitar. I could be wrong. This could suck. You know me. (Greg tries something). See that's way too tasteful.
Greg: (laughs) I'll have to work on this.
Ed: There's 4 figures, each one should be less wet. You know what I mean - so it's moving from far away and moving closer.
(note: "wet" refers to reverb effect. More reverb is wetter, less is dryer. )
Ed: So the last one will be normal
Greg: (silence working on the board)
Ed: Are you listening to me?
Greg: I hear you - just choosing to ignore you
Ed: That's okay so long as you'll know later why you find yourself on the floor.

Ed: (mumbles something)
Flo: Don't hate today
Ed: Why'd you say that?
Flo: That's what YOU said
Ed: I said, what'd you eat today?

Ed's getting pissed that Greg is fussing over the intro so long
Flo: If he (Ed) gets a little food in him - he won't be quite so cantankerous.
Greg: "Cantankerous" is his hobby - he's like a playful little gerbil that bites you sometimes.

Greg: I've got to figure out what these guys are doing (referring to Flo's background vocals)
Ed: Sounds like heroin

When Greg played back one of Flo's vocal tracks, we can hear her say quietly, "Oh my god that's awful"

Thursday 4/23 At the end of each day we take home a copy of the mix and listen to it to check for any possible problems. It's different listening to the mixes on a car stereo, small computer speakers and other inexpensive equipment. Keep in mind that the mixes are created in the studio on beautiful sounding speakers. Under those circumstances, we decided that Pirate Bride still needed work and it took almost 2 more hours till it was the way we wanted it.
Now back to the banter ...

Ed: Greg I'm talking to you
Greg: (stops what he was doing) Did it ever occur to you that maybe what I'm doing is more important than some petty thing you're interested in.

Rich: I registered Piratebride.com
Greg: Did you hear that Marilyn Chambers died?
Flo: Who's that?
Ed: made movies
Rich: Porn
Flo: Did you say that piratebride.com is a porn site
Rich: No, I said Marilyn Chambers was in porn movies
Rich: Maybe she was in a pirate bride movie
Ed: Well she did have booty and a great chest

Fortunately mixing "Sylvie" (aka The Trick Or Treat Trials) went pretty quickly especially after Pirate Bride had taken so long.

Flo: There's still a ghost voice
Greg: Well there's supposed to be a ghost, it's a halloween song.

We were also able to mix "Neat Junk."

Friday April 24, 2009
- Flo recording background vocals for "Mount Katahdin"

Flo: Can I tap my foot?
Greg: Sure if you want it on the track .... You could take your shoe off
Flo: OK
Ed: Take your pants off too. that will help.

Greg: Are you ready?
Flo: Yeah
Greg: Just remember what Eddie said. You don't want to make him mad.

Greg: Just in time - click your toes together
Greg: What you should do is join a marching band over the summer
Ed: You can carry the drums
Greg: A uniform - Rich will like that ...do you like feathers?

- Rich played the chime (bell - singing bowl) on "Mount Katahdin" ... well, Rich hit the chime and then Ed & Greg moved them on the track to where they sounded good.

Thurs. April 30,2009
- Flo recorded background vocals for "Dryada"

Greg: Are you ready?
Flo: Yeah
Greg: Do you want me to tell you a joke
Flo: No, I heard enough on the ride over.

Flo: That part repeats do you want me to redo it
Greg: Yes, If I have to suffer, then I want you to suffer along with me. I've given up on my christian philosophy. So you WILL do it again.
Flo: Okay
Greg: You're awful accepting of my change in philosophy.

Greg: If you died tonight we have one good enough, but seeing as how you're here, let's get a better one.

Thursday May 7, 2009

Some math whiz decided that 5/7/09 is Odd Day, one of 6 events in a century. It's where the month/day/year are consecutive odd numbers. (unless you use the European notation). I suspect fans of set theory can find other numerical anomalies to fill up the other 36 thousand plus days of the century.

Not that I can't relate to a fascination with insignificant numerical displays. I have a thing for digital clock numbers - Any that read the same right side up and upside down ... like 9:06 & 11:11



Flo explains what background vocals she'll be adding to "Neva Prepared"

Greg: Where does this start?

Flo: in the beginning

Ed roars



Greg records one through: Sounds pretty good, but I need to record the beginning again.

Ed:I'm not happy

Flo: Ed you can get rid of any of this you don't want.

Ed: Okay. You're done. Come on in. No, no - I'm just kidding.



Flo (sings): "A startled snake"

Greg: I've been taking new medication for reptile dysfunction

Ed to Greg: don't you love me?

Greg: That's one word for it


Rich & Flo add the shout outs on the tag at the end. Greg processes some of them to sound like they're coming through a telephone. He's been wanting to use this effect on other songs. Finally got his chance. Then he spent some time getting the bass on the D part to be more dominant. He tried a number of approaches. The Max Bass program did the trick.


Neva Prepared is the last of 8 songs. We'll take a short break from the songs before mastering, so we can hear them with fresh ears. In the meantime we'll be working on the graphics.