Pictured: Warrick/Vanderburgh County Line, Fall, 1982
Porfiry (por'-feer-ie)
began in or about one windy October in 1992 and
greened in a small sprinkling
burg 'pon the Banks of the Ohio.
The first Porfiry record was Beyond Belief.
It was
released on
White Lightning Records in 1997. The second Porfiry record was
State, and it was released in September of 2000, also on
White Lightning
Records. The third Porfiry record (as yet untitled),
recorded mostly during 2002-2004, awaits completion.
Pictured: The original locale of the Dark Town Strutters' Ball, Marais,
FR.
The founding members of Porfiry are:
Jason (keyboards,
programming, vocals) and
Bradley
gene (guitars, programming, ukelele).
Additional Porfiry personnel have included:
Charles (farm
and barn implements) and
Andy (additional
guitars,
vocals, percussions).
All four were born in Indiana.
Songs were recorded at the following locations: Dead Man's Hand (Newburgh, IN), The Seminary (Greencastle, IN), Furniture (Indianapolis, IN), White Lightning (Pelham, MA), and The Henry Swank Club (Florence, MA), R10 (Sunderland, MA), and The Henry Swank Club II (Northampton, MA). Photographs of some of these locations can be viewed on this site.
Pictured: Florence, MA, February, 2001
Jason and Bradley gene have left Western Massachusetts for more urban environs. They are looking forward to completing the third Porfiry record, someday. As they now live in different cities, they are experimenting with methods of collaboration. Instrumental tracks are completed for eight tracks on the new album, which will proudly be released on www.subcircuit.com, Charles's online record label and digital community!
Pictured: Where it all began --- Dead Man's Hand Studio, Newburgh, IN.
Many
years ago, Porfiry began their work using the Roland U-20 RSPCM keyboard,
the Boss DR-550 drum machine, the Akai SO1 sampler, and some Korg effects
processors. They
sequenced first with the Alesis MMT-8, and later with the
Kawai Q-80. (With these tools, they created a PiL-esque version of
"Rubber Ducky.")
In 1993, Porfiry began recording with the Apple Macintosh. Their first album, Beyond Belief, was made using a Roland JV-80 and an Emax II in Opcode Vision on a Macintosh IIVX. Live tracks were added using the AKAI DR4D four-track hard-disk recorder. Bradley gene played Bruce's G&L Stratocaster through a Zoom 9150. Jason played an Ibanez RG. Charles contributed some loops from his AKAI S2000 and various samples and effects from his Sony Laptop (running SoundForge). Beyond Belief was mixed on Charles' 12-Channel Korg Digital Mixer.
Porfiry's second album, State, was made on a Macintosh G3 running Opcode Studio Vision 4.5.1. Keyboards included a Kurzweil K2VX, a Roland Juno-106, the Emax II, and the Roland JV-80. Bradley gene played a Fender Telecaster, an Epiphone Casino, and the "No Pussyfooter" through effects processors by Alesis, Zoom (the 9050 and the 9150), and Line 6. Jason played a Fender Jazz Bass through a Countryman. Andy played a modified Fender acoustic 12-String, as well as the "No Pussyfooter." Charles played a Kurzweili K2500 and did some sequencing using Emagic Logic. Vocals and WeaselPercussion were miked using a CAD Equitek microphone.
Pictured: A New Single?
Porfiry began recording their third record with MOTU's Digital Performer 4 and 5, using the MOTU 24i/o interface on a Power Macintosh G4. They have now switched to Apple Logic Studio on a Mac mini, using the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. The Emulator E-5000 replaced Porfiry's humming Emax II. In turn, the Emulator was replaced by Native Instruments Battery and Kontakt. Piano sounds come from the Roland FP-3 and Native Instruments Akoustic Piano. A variety of lame supporting synths come from the Roland JV-1080. The K2VX and the JV-80 are still used occasionally. Guitars go through the Line 6 Pod Pro and Native Instruments Guitar Rig. Additional keyboard sounds come from Propellarheads Reason, Bradley's Korg Poly61M, Arturia's MiniMoog V and Prophet VS, and Native Instruments' B4, Electric Piano, FM7, Reaktor, and Absynth. Vocals and acoustic guitars are recorded with a GT66 mic through a DBX 286.
Pictured: the original locale of "The Film is On," in Helsingør,
DK.
Click here for "The Pre-History of Porfiry" by John the Louse