Video

Song of the Blue Guitar

VIDEO: Song of the Blue guitar — Applachian trance improvisation played by Killick Hinds. Blueburst Spearfish guitar is the gorgeous creature lending colors.

I’m always excited and delighted to get time with Killick. We have an awesome friendship across domains including hiking, philosophy, audio production, and of course music. You’ll remember his excellent melodic bass playing from our Pollinator Jam last July.

While he was on tour last month we scheduled a day here in the studio to capture…well, whatever decided to manifest in his hands on our particular day. Part of the magic of Killick’s artistry is EVERYTHING is ALWAYS an improvisation.

Create, publish, move on to the next moment.

At breakfast the morning of our session I asked if he had any specific expectations for the recording, and if not, would he be open to some unusual production ideas. The concept is an evolving mix, blending sources as the song progresses to forming a sense of spatial movement.

We would limit ourselves to natural acoustic spaces and mic techniques.

As you listen, note the blending between: Schertler contact mic on the neck, AT4050 close mic strings, Noble DI, SM57 on Tweedle, Symbiote, and AT4050 room mic (in a different part of the studio).

PHOTO: Killick adjusts tuning on Symbiote. Symbiote has two sets of bass strings, with discrete outputs, allowing for multiple tunings. Strings can be plucked, bowed, or become passive sympathetic resonators as seen here. Note the block of wood connecting Tweedle amp to Symbiote to convey vibration.

USM Earthshine

PHOTOS: USM Earthshine™ 6-string guitar. Quartersawn redwood body with birch surfacing. Quartersawn flame maple neck. Carbon fiber, aircraft aluminum. Patented and patents-pending Pisces™ tremolo system. 3D™ control system with 10-way switching. Bare Knuckle custom pickups.

Center city Philadelphia skyline, visible on the horizon, is not lit green this year. Eagles distracted themselves with internal politics, spiraling into the Delaware River, forgetting to come up for air.

The dog and I outside in the January evening darkness just now. Her senses alert to the movement of large animals, green eyes of deer bobbing in the field at the limit of my flashlight’s quick glance. I wonder what she thinks of the human hand’s ability to conjure light at will.

My attention is heavenward. Orion is our companion, now and for some months ahead. Jupiter too, alone this year for the most part, playing a solo in contrast to last winter when Mars and Saturn were constant accompanists.

Too much light at the moment, maybe Bortle 8. When we repeat our steps in the hour or two before sunrise, mankind will be asleep, skies maybe Bortle 6 here in the northeast. Perhaps visible a string of 19 space jewels moving south to north, a wink from Elon.

VIDEO: USM Earthshine. Fractal FM9.

Which Exit?

VIDEO: “Which Exit?” live studio improvisation. Chris Buono slots Wildcat ’67 guitar into tight crosstown traffic with snap and spank via noiseless custom single coil pickups designed by Steve Blucher (DiMarzio). Patented & patent pending Rick Toone™ tremolo. Watch his fingers. Then watch his feet on the pedalboard.

If you’ve ever lived in Jersey you’ll get it.

Turnpike
Parkway
Expressway
78
80
287
195
295

Bumpers locked tighter than NASCAR but turns in both directions. Don’t blink. Don’t brake.

Here’s a survival tip…

Draft a semi. Find a skilled pro and shadow him. He will run interference through traffic because he is higher than you, can see farther than you. And he stops much slower than you — so if things pile up you’ve got an offensive lineman.

How do you know he’s skilled?

Owner/operator with a clean truck. Consistently above the speed limit. When he passes he glues the driver side wheels to the left lane line and moves decisively, never lingering alongside another semi.

PHOTO: Killick shows how deep exit identity goes. After three decades in Athens, GA, he will always know the way home. (photo courtesy: Snorri)

Meat Computer

VIDEO: “Meat Computer” live studio improvisation. Chris Buono, Killick Hinds, Rick Toone, Adam Wilson, enjoying a moment of friendship and documenting the special creative empathy when human minds collaborate. (7.10.2025)

“Brilliant.
Like a guitar version of the German group Harmonia.”
(DavidH via YouTube)

Earth’s entire existence, the only form of autonomous decision making has been carbon-based. Every life form, every sentient organism, has always been carbon-based.

The ladybug (Hippodamia convergens) exploring my laptop screen, the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) gathering acorns near my porch, the oak tree blowing in the remnants of Hurricane Melissa, the turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) also enjoying the winds in the blue October sky above, my dog curled peacefully on her bed in the next room — carbon-based.

I am carbon-based.
You are carbon-based.

Every extinct species was carbon-based.

Flora & fauna, together we carbon-based life forms create a complex system with all of us making decisions based on the simple will to survive. Because we seek to live, our patterns are predictable enough that each species finds a niche within this beautiful blue Darwinian organic recycling system slinging through space.

Will a silicon-based autonomous decision-maker value carbon-based life?

Aquamarine Porpoise Avenue

VIDEO: Chris Buono swims boldly through tremolo waters with Lawrence Haber on upright and Dave Moore thumping skins. ’67 guitar nicknamed “Pole Position” into dual Fender Deluxe amps. I really enjoyed recording these guys. Magic afternoon in the studio.
PHOTO: Pedals.