User:Dancingteacher/SIDzCarbonatedMilk

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SIDzCarbonatedMilk is a metro-Detroit, MI Electro-Funk Fusion project ensemble founded by former [|George Clinton] P-Funk inside man SIDney Howard (A.K.A. “Hard Software”). The group is best known for "I Love Polyester", “Dearborn”, "SIDon ‘S’on the Map”, “’Call Lee’ Ante", “Can I Fly Away w/U?”, and “Cancer”

In 1979, alone on his island of analog synthesizers and electronic effects arrayed in his college funk band Ebony Specktrum’s practice room in Mississippi Valley State University's Student Union Building, Carbonated Milk began in the makeshift sound-lab of founder SIDney Howard. SIDney recalls, "I would hang back during rehearsal breaks, dim the lights, and put on a Sci-Fi sound-show for corridor passersby. It was interesting noisemaking that I could make all by myself." This the primordial SCM sound had very little in common with that of the deep south Blues and R&B for which the Mississippi Delta was most famous.

Though raised in the area on the MVSU campus (even attending the same Catholic elementary school), former "Ebony Specktrum" band-mate Mark Drummond [featured Mµne-Pi Parables" rhythm guitarist] and SIDney, had their musical minds set in far away places. Mark ventured into English Rock and the Hendrix-inspired style of Isley Brother Ernie; and SIDney followed Santana's Tom Coster, P-Funk's Bernie (Worrell), Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Stevie Wonder.

Over the four following years—as technology allowed, SID's dream concept of a project-ensemble (a la Alan Parsons Project) materialized…albeit fully "manned" electronically. By 1983 [|MIDI] technology had evolved to connect synthesizers with relatively inexpensive micro computer controlled digital sequencers—in this case, Dr. T’s Keyboard Controlled Sequencer via a [|Commodore 64]. SIDney immediately began converting compositions to MIDI sequences, that he had intended to later record onto 2” 24-track multi-track masters.

By 1989, the first Carbonated Milk album release "Fragile" was nearly complete. The title cut was an electronic reworking of one of his senior project compositions that was originally arranged for and performed in concert by a Jazz big band SIDney conducted. Collaborator, friend, and longtime Carbonated Milk co-producer Jack Marchbanks took on the task of shopping it, utilizing contacts he'd established during his years as a songwriter for [|S.O.L.A.R. Records]. Meanwhile during this process in 1992, SIDney was commissioned by video producer Tom Conner to arrange an album of Carbonated Milk-styled Christmas carols for [|Suncoast Motion Picture Co]. It was titled "A Family Christmas Treasury", and in fact in effect technically became the band's first Carbonated Milk release unofficially. Featured on it were vocalists Lori Couturier and SCM vocalist Rodney Hoskins. The official credit read: "music performed by Carbonated Milk"; but as an occasion-appropriate joke, SIDney changed the on-screen credit to "Carbonated Nog".

Just a year later, Jack Marchbanks received news that Motown was starting a new Jazz-oriented subsidiary label called Mo Jazz Records, and that someone influential liked what they heard of "Fragile". By then the haunting harmonica-led ballad "Eyerise" had been added to the project. SID's presumptuous quasi-fear that "Eyerise" might trap him into a typecasting, garnered his glib treatment of an internalized plea, Please don't make us make multiple harmonica ballads as "Please Don't Harmonica". Being an infinitely more fitting Carbonated Milk title, SID composed a title track and Carbonated Milk I was on its way. This first original Carbonated Milk features on guitar: longtime friends J. Carl Robinson, Rufus Harris (with whom SIDney had performed twelve years in the Christian Rock band Jubal), and mixed in P-Funk Allstar vocalist Paul Hill on "Wound Up Mister". The album was an attempt at resurrecting Corea-esque Jazz Fusion at a time when Smooth Jazz was taking off and taking over. Mo Jazz Records passed on "Please Don't Harm Monica". And discouraged by the heavily commercial-favored change in the U.S. Jazz climate, Carbonated Milk went dormant.

While working a day-gig selling mid-level high-fidelity stereo equipment at the presently defunct [|Circuit City] store chain, SID met co-worker Mike Walker. A man of ecclectic musical tastes, Mike would demonstrate the merchandise he’d pitch with CD's of Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers, Enigma, along with sundry Acid Jazz artists. A year later, SIDney encountered Matthew, a young Canadian customer in the department who'd recently spent some time in England ingesting underground music such as Drum-n-Bass/Jungle and other comparatively exotic flavors. And a few days later he returned and presented to SID a mix-tape cassette of the music he'd described. …along with an account of how an old United Sound Systems studio acquaintance [|Jeff "The Wizard" Mills] had then recently received a quarter of a million dollars to deejay an open farmland [|Rave]. The money piqued interest, the music whet his appetite for the genre, then Bjork's "Homogenic" sealed the deal. An interest in Acid Jazz was exercised on SCM vocalist SiloamPool's "Colors of Black and White" EP—co-composed and co-produced by SIDney and Siloam for its Scales Records released in 2000. As for SCM the course was set for their own surreal brand Electronica-Funk Fusion.

"Strange Sounds from Behind My Eyes" had begun pre-production and re-production in 1997, a year before SID was to leave day-jobs for good. It was a mix of existing material that dated as far back as 1979 with "Duophonic" and fresh new compositions created especially for its release. One pre-existing piece was inspired by SID's fortuitously making the acquaintance of singer Rick Hamilton at Detroit's famed United Sound Systems studio—where, at the time in 1993, SID was renting its abandoned original (NBC) Studio-C space for his computer-based recording studio. Rick, a Detroit native, was just in from years spent in Europe where he was a signed Electronica recording artist. Then USS studio manager/head engineer J. Carl Robinson had first met/"discovered" Rick, but SID and Rick's electronic music commonality made for a more natural collaborative partnership. Out of their Studio-C collaborations and subsequent S.A.S. Studio-Avery recording sessions, "I Love Polyester" emerged as the most promising song for single release from "Strange Sounds…” Other songs from that writing period include "My Brain Is a Fat Man", "Alice's House", “Dearborn”, and "Malabala" that featured impromptu glossolalia contributions from respective four and six-year-olds: "The Mµne-Pi Parables" videographer and featured vocalists respectively…siblings Niles Howard and Sarah Jjira (Howard).

When finally the project was near completion and packaging became necessary, SID's graphic art side took over. He experimented in [|Photoshop] with a graphic he'd created using [|MS Window]'s very basic "[|Paint]" application. It was a crudely mouse-drawn [|16-bit] color drawing of an alien spaceman on a "comic book cover". One striking permutation produced a red-orange slightly-translucent image that looked like dead men frozen solid in Martian ice. "Strange Sounds from Behind My Eyes" was change forever to "The Men In Martian Ice".

The 22-song anthology was released in 2000. It was critically well received by Underground Indie electronic music mavens and published critics alike. Unfortunately, the [|MP3]'s were uploaded intact on the now defunct mp3.com site, where no one felt compelled to buy the cow when they could get the carbonated milk for free.

Also around that time, while searching "Carbonated Milk" online to survey awareness and glean responses to the work, it was discovered that there existed a few bands nationwide that had adopted Carbonated Milk as their name. While the trademark was pending and their 1992 Suncoast Motion Picture Co. video release showed that SID's Carbonated Milk predated all latecomers, it was decided to just simply change the band's name to SIDzCarbonatedMilk.

Adding to the array of impediments, partner Jack Marchbank's day-job as a political consultant had him busy working in the 1999 U.S. Presidential election. Jack's fateful words: "The election is just this Tuesday; after that, I'll be freed up to get on the promotions." Those who know history, remember the Florida "hanging [|chad]" debacle that extended the electoral process into December of that year. Christmas season was afoot, so the then label SIDzWreckartz decided to rest plans and start fresh at the beginning of the following year.

The first week in January, SIDney Howard was called into jury duty—usually only a minor obstacle to business endeavors. However on the third day of service, the Howards were notified that their landlord had sold the land under their rented home and that they had just ninety days to find other shelter. Putting first things first placed "The Men in Martian Ice" last in priority. But even so prioritized, SID and family failed to meet their deadline.

After the Howard family of four had spent a month together in a single hotel room, they finally found a three-bedroom home where SID immediately had to began designing and constructing another studio. At the very beginning of the build-out, a much needed industrial film scoring assignment came about—a call that had to be taken. The momentum quelled, Jack and SID became broadcasting musicologists—producing audio documentaries as Entejé for national public radio stations and establishing the very popular website: ohiofunk.org.

After a seven-year respite and nibbles at production of a third SCM album project [codenamed: "NT3"], SID toyed with the idea of releasing a single to spark interest in "NT3" before releasing another entire album. A little instrumental piece composed in the month-long confines of the Red Roof Inn that featured a modeled human voice running Middle Eastern scales was chosen: "SIDon 'S'on the Map".

Almost immediately, Language Universal Recording Society (SIDzCarbonatedMilk's new label) decided the effort in promoting a single would be better utilized on an extended-play compilation of seven instrumental songs. Five of the instrumental pieces were developed into full-production valued vocal pieces. Fifteen more songs were added to the original seven. A chance encounter with a box of "Moon Pie" confections at a Cracker Barrel restaurant inspired the album title, and SIDzCarbonatedMilk IV was born: "The *Mµne-Pi Parables" …the *Morality µ (=Resistance) Nimbly Engaging Purehearted Intellectualism).

Interestingly, "NT3"—the next release, is actually the third SCM album, and will be released fourth in discographical order. Such is the CarbonatedMilkisian way of things. From its solitary near-monastic origins, SIDzCarbonatedMilk's army grew to twenty-eight contributing members—including even a Tap artist. Mµne-Pi's cast of 28: SIDney Howard, Farouk Aboukar, Reuben Yabuku, Theresa Maybee Bolinger, Torence Carey, Mark Drummond, Rodney Hoskins, Rufus Harris, Kenny Watson, SiloamPool, Rick Williams, John Holkeboer, Erin Barger, Jack Marchbanks, J. Carl Robinson, Vito Lafata Jr, Carey Denha, Tim “X-Mann” Mann, Jason Gittenger, Ron Otis, Tiren Jhames, Sarah Jjira (Howard), Cindy Young, Lish, Cye, Ralf Patterson, Phillip Van Buren, and Linnon Wells has added more fizz to the Funk and Fusion of SIDzCarbonatedMilk, by infusing it with delicious human-factor aleatoric variety. The message is still that every battle is a battle for the mind, and therein control overall shall be either maintained or relinquished. NT3 is still a work in progress that is due for release in early-ish December 2012.