The year was 2000. After acquiring and experimenting with the Alesis-Adat system, the process of recording was onto analog tapes, then transferred manually into digital formats. The end product would be mixed and converted to the appropriate file types. It was an arduous, and time consuming task to say the least.

Amidst break ups & reunions of TEB, music was still spawning. It was the crescendo of the Analog era and the beginning of the Digital transition. Approximately 3 or so albums would be written & recorded in this hybrid fashion. It wouldn't be long until all material was Digital, start to finish. Even though we would spend years of manipulation, in order to replicate the warmth and presence of Analog recordings, it was hard to ignore the efficiency of Digital tools.

Guitar_Keyboard_Loops & Percussion Programming_Bass_Vocals: Madrigal Bass_Vocals: Davidson Vocals: Rivas

Chewbacca’s Habachi 2002

Sometime in early November of that year I started trying to get some gear together for recording season. It’s kinda foggy, but I guess I didn’t own my own computer yet, or maybe it was that I didn’t have the software or something?

Anyway, I wound up borrowing a computer from Juce that belonged to a friend of his, from that techno side project he did. So I had maybe 5 days with it. In a whirlwind of smokin’ and composition, not only did I achieve my 11 song quota, but managed to mix and master the whole thing in that timeframe.

In retrospect, I’m just now realizing that this was the first album I did completely in the digital format and pretty much said farewell to analog recording.

Well I had an album, now I needed a cover. Back then I was a huge pain coming up with artwork for a cd. Juce had the advantage of his art school material, so if he needed something he’d just dip into his portfolio. I mostly drew on paper plates, or scratch paper that was laying around. So not really an option for me.

One afternoon I came by his workplace to dupe some copies,(he worked at a local studio and we would use their shit after hours). One of the main sources of income for the studio was restoration, duplication, and transfers. It just so happened that someone bought in their prized barbershop quartet collection for digital transfer. There were so many records. So I was flipping through them and came across one of the same year as I was born. The instant I pulled it out of the milk crate, all the pieces came together. I excused myself and walked across the street to Walgreens, where I purchased the nerdiest pair of glasses for a dollar I could find. Upon returning I explained my intentions with him and after we laughed for half an hour, the photoshoot began. The angle and lighting were crucial to pull this illusion off.

As you can see it’s flawless.

So a little bit of history on the record. There were moments on there that I attempted to redo some vocal tracks, but the fact that there was barely enough memory on this pos computer to function, it was prone to locking up. It did that a lot. So between that and the loan time, I was forced to release it , flaws and all. Nowhere more noticeable than on the track,” Re-Connect “.

It was also at this time I I noticed more people responded to each song in positive way , due to the looped drum tracks and sound clips via Fruity Loops studio. I used that fomular for a few albums , until “The Ninja’s Handbook”…

The year was 2004 & times were tough, working for peanuts & shit on the daily. Back then all I had was a week of vacation a year. I always did the same thing. It was me, inspiration, & a home studio. Somewhere in between finishing our album & the last gig, we, (T.E.B.), were presented with a contract that would essentially mean that the label would own All of our music not just this album, but past & future compositions as well. The one perk we had going for us was the “Jam Pad”. The label rented out a very spacious room in a downtown building. It was pretty much the whole floor. It was transformed into a Recording studio, as well as a practice room. I originally wanted to borrow the studio microphone & just do the album at home, but was denied. So I gave Juce $20 to let me do it at the jam pad. The interesting thing about this album was that I created most of the drum tracks on my PS2 via Music Maker. The rest was done on the ol” trusty ALESIS SR 16. There were a lot of” firsts “ on this album. It was the first time anyone was present during the recording, as I did everything alone in a room. Laying down the music was easy & smooth, the intimidating aspect was the vocal tracks. The guy sitting in the control room hitting F12 was the singer of the band, & was incredibly talented both vocally & musically. Even though this was supposed to be another solo album, he persistently kept doing impromptu back up tracks. That was another, through out our musical journey the formula was most often me coming up with the riffs & he would do his thing on the mic. We called it Electric Buffalo. Towards the end, I had a couple of tracks without lyrics. It took little convincing as he already had a pen & what ever was laying around to write on. The last track was something I had intended to sing, instead he gave me his interpretation. One of the first times he used my lyrics. I was happy with outcome, even though this would be the last album we would work together on, for change was just around the corner.

1. Rivas_Drums,Bass, Engineer,Vocals R.Madrigal_Guitars, Vocs, & Masterminding

The Album no one saw coming... In 2011 the month of March brought a bounty of freshness. Immediately after receiving my tax refund I purchased a 27" iMac & the Digi 03 with Protools 9.  I knew almost nothing about these machines, or more importantly, how the OS operated. I literally had to reverse all my knowledge thus far. I have never really been technically inclined, when it came to computers.  I was efficient enough to get the job done. It all started with an idea and ended with a key stroke.

I finally worked out all the compatibility quirks.  It was time to write a new album...

I was heavily into Soundcloud at the time. I decided to try a different approach to this project. Normally one would sit and write a bunch of songs, then refine and sort out the best 10-15 tracks.

Initially, I believe, my intention was to create a body of work with whoever was in the studio with me at the time.  This was a list of 3 people, all whom I considered brothers.

1. Ronnie Kornejo:

Friend and confidant.

A skilled rhythms-man.

Strengths: humorous, cocksure, & an amazing ability to retain and execute most compositions within 2 listens. Extremely open to ideas, both percussive and compositional. A true professional and a joy to work with! Ronnie is really the only former member of TEB that I work with, and I am blessed to do so. Impromptu drum tracking at it's finest!

Credits:

"ForThe Record"-Drums

1. Michael Carbajal: Cousin.

Jack of all trades.

Strengths: Snide, and hilarious. At this point already a well versed studio engineer, on top of being an accomplished musician, in his own right. A musical chameleon, of sorts. Mike can sit in any chair in the studio, and be effective. Not limited to the most common four basic instruments. He has the added abilities in the mexican wind & percussion departments in his arsenal.

He is also notorious for his "ideals & work ethics", pertaining to any given scenario, even if not asked...

Credits:

"Land Of The Centipede"- Bass, Drums, & Trumpet

Ismael Hernandez:

Brother.  Funny, infectious laugh.

Izzy is the Son of a great local musician, back in the day.  His first instinctual weapon is the bass, like his Father before him. He can play the guitar as well.  Izzy is left handed, Although everything he learned was right handed. I do believe he is ambidextrous as well.

This is what makes his input unique. I'm almost positive that we never played the same notes. He was in the right key, just always had his own interpretation of the material, but it usually works.

Credits:

"Don Pancho"-Bass

Izzy pretty much wrote the riffs for this track. All I did was slapped guitar tracks on it. All his changes.

In the end, I released each track as it was created in the studio.  Towards the end of the sessions, I started to experiment with smaller instruments. I borrowed a mandolin from Rob Davidson, ( bassist of TEB ), and purchased my first ukulele. The last four tracks were a prelude to an entire different realm for me. Theses sessions seamlessly bled into what would become,"Elemental"...