What The Hell Is Going On…

atwitch — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 17:37:04 +0000

Well I’ll tell you… It’s been a ridiculous winter. Perhaps some of the most stressful several months I’ve ever experienced. This is good and bad for the same reasons. I’ll spare you the soap opera that has been my life this season, and the social commentary and simply say I’m saddened yet excited to have moved out of my studio space, relocated just around the corner to a normal cozy apartment. A much needed exercise in discipline. I’m going to miss the occasional debaucheries of loft living for a while, but ultimately I’m too busy and lack the focus to operate calmly in that realm. The plan this year is to buckle down and finish my nearly complete solo record, and the long overdue MEND full-length which is already gaining some good traction due to a handful of excitingly successful shows and great local support.

There are some BIG ideas on the table for future releases…solo, collaborative and otherwise. Wildly immersive visual components will be in development all year long. The goal is to transpose the music to visual, engaging and interactive platforms. The turnaround wont be “quick” but it will be worth it. I’m really excited for what’s coming, and I’m excited to refine my surroundings to make room for the next wave of whatever…

In related news, if you’re in the Chicagoland area, join us for the return of Sunday nights @ Rodan! “Living Sunday” will occur every first sunday from 9p – 2a.

In slightly related but mostly unrelated news, heres a picture of my co-worker and I on the job at PAX East, getting cozy at the Octodad booth…

Dec 16 @ (Un)familiar Music Series: (Re)New Amsterdam

atwitch — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:28:45 +0000

Click the image for a nice blurb about an upcoming gig I’m excited to perform at. December 16, at the Empty Bottle, 1-5 pm. Huzzah!

Coming Soon To Some Kind Of Media Outlet Near You!

atwitch — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 23:45:51 +0000

Trying Something New…

atwitch — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 21:23:04 +0000

Ideas for new album…

MEND Live @ Renegade Lights Chicgao 2012

atwitch — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:15:41 +0000

MEND is excited to be a part of the 2nd coming of the SF vs CHI round of Renegade Lights! We are aiming to go big this time around… We will have hand pressed and stamped EPs available for cheap as well. Come check us out… Click the flyer for more info.

Remix for Confess 2.0 by Jillian Ann

atwitch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:13:56 +0000

I’m glad to be a part of this 2nd run release for Jillian Ann’s single, Confess… Re-mastered and along side a bevy of other slammers. Available through Beatport (below) and itunes… Be sure to check the video as well which was partly shot at our studio, Catatlyst-Sound in Chicago.

Official Press-Release:

An ethereal ride through the underworld, accompanied by Jillian Ann’s guiding voice, characterizes our newest feature “Jillian Ann – Confess + Remixes”. The composer, songwriter, producer, dj, is no stranger to this territory, following up last years highly successful “‘Know Us’ Remix LP”. Taking her multi-faceted roles as electronica artist dj actress, model, and director into consideration her cohort of collaborators on the project included some of the realms most respected and diverse bass artists. Simplify has once again assembled a group of musicians to rip and rinse Jillian’s newest contribution; the melodic track gets VIP treatment from Kraddy, Unsub, Henry Srange, Great Scott, Robert Vadney & more! From Phrenik’s beastly monster to The Abominable Twitch’s twisted remix, Jillian and co. deliver sounds that would be welcome on anyone’s playlist.

GET IT HERE:

8 Album covers for shitty bands that probably don’t exist but would be famous if they did…

atwitch — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:02:40 +0000

I stole pictures from the internet and made 8 bands in 8 minutes… I claim no rights to anything here. And if you start a band with one of these personas, I dont want to hear about it…

Remix for The Flashbulb’s “Terra Firma”

atwitch — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:26:13 +0000

Super excited to be a part of Benn’s latest and greatest “Terra Firma” featuring a great remix from Bartel as well as one from myself. This was the last bit of music I produced before all my gear got stolen… I’m glad I had time to get it out! Pick it up for only a few bucks via bandcamp.

MEND: “Unfamiliar Ceilings” for Renegade Lights Debut LP (Digital / Vinyl) and more…

atwitch — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:37:58 +0000

As some of you may or may not know, the MEND full length has been postponed due to a lot of stolen gear and finished material… Working out what we have for a slightly less than full length for digital release only. BUT, we have a fun track out with SF outfit Renegade Lights for their debut compilation. This deep selection of tunes is available via image to your left, or double vinyl. Pre-orders are being taken now, and vinyl to ship very soon.

We also have a remix coming out for another local Chicago group…Details on that TBA.

ALSO, super sexy secret ABt remix coming out for a special someone very soon. More on that later…

Working on a couple new aliases for fun. Planning to drop a couple EPs this winter, more remixes etc. About to launch into a new studio as well. THINGS HAPPENING.

thanks for your patience…

-m

Act a Fool and Hope for the Best: A Thank You Letter

atwitch — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 02:24:59 +0000

Summer is gone, and about this time, I feel the “new year” more than I feel it come January 1st in the middle of hell freezing over… I have been thinking a lot about the people and places that have affected me so massively in the last year and I keep jumping back further realizing I cant truthfully acknowledge the importance of last year without acknowledging the year before that and the year before that etc…

For a cornucopia of reasons, this has easily been the most emotionally twisted, and heavy year of my life thus far. Saying “I’ve learned so much” seems an almost naive and vastly inadequate justification. Of course I’ve learned so much…but beyond that I’ve almost felt like a teenager again, confused and excited by things I should very well be familiar with by now, but apparently have no solid understanding of. We can spend an entire lifetime trying to figure out how to love someone to the best of our ability or be as productive and diligent as humanly possible, but in the moment, we are infinitely capable of acting like complete fools. The key seems to be finding that rare group of people, or one, that appreciates and understands your foolishness and not only embraces it, but helps transmute it into some twisted kind of inspiration. The point is, I feel like I have been largely ungrateful to those I am close to, that have helped me along in this delusional and undoubtedly enlightening jaunt through life; those who may or may not embrace my foolishness.

I’ve spent the last 7 years writing music, touring, playing gigs all over chicago with my favorite people, building studios, learning trades, smashing walls, building new walls, driving through deserts, sitting on beaches, smoking cigarettes on balconies, throwing champagne bottles off of rooftops, falling in love, blowing up speakers, buying gear, selling gear, cooking food, eating food, taking drugs, sleeping, not sleeping, so on and so forth…all enabled by those that embrace the inherently foolish and experimental nature of humanity. Sometimes we try things not because it’s the best idea in the world, but because it’s fucking fun….. Or it will look good on camera, or make a ridiculous story later. Sometimes you walk away with a bunch of severed nerves and your knee is gushing blood and you can’t walk straight for 3 months, but somehow it was worth it and somehow I still feel compelled to say “Thank you.”

This isn’t to say we are always fools. Sometimes we get it right. We know when we get it right, because suddenly things just start working… It’s during these moments when I feel the most vulnerable and I end up forgetting that I can still be a fool, and it will still be ok. I might catch myself thinking, “I figured it out and I’m going to win this shit…” and suddenly I’m a fool again. It’s a delicate balance and as much as I would love to conquer any number of things by myself, as to satisfy that primal survivalist urge to stay on top, I can’t stress how wonderful it’s been to be surrounded by a vast support network that simply delivers because that’s what they do. My only worry is feeling like I don’t deserve it for whatever reason, and that I may not have something of equal value to return…maybe that’s bullshit, but isn’t that the fundamental struggle here?

It seems a horribly shit cop-out thing to say “Some day…I’ll get you…” but maybe that’s what I have to say, and if it’s true and if I really really mean it, then HELL YEAH some day…

So THANK YOU. For everything and then some…

max g