Dan Tuffy, musician, producer.

  • Story Song Time

    The new record COUNTRY STAR came out on 2 June and gigs are planned for July & August in Australia, and for the fall in Europe (tickets in link!). There has also been attention in the music press like the story below from Music Maker in The Netherlands. They wrote that it was a “beautiful organic sounding” record. The title translates roughly to “Rough Textured Alt-Country via Black & White TV tubes”. The Dutch language is all about precision and exactness. Clearly, I overdid when I was asked me about my gear. I told them all about my new-old stock 1957 General Electric television vacuum tubes that currently occupy my main guitar amp – for a long time. They ran with it.

    Then there’s this: by the time an album comes out I’ve heard it so often that I’m ready to move on. I’m rehearsing for my upcoming shows at the moment and I should be going over the stuff thats just come out or other things I want to play live, but I find myself mucking about on some new riff, groove or song fragment instead. Is this a problem? I will no doubt find out the next time I walk onto a stage in front of you. Meanwhile, if you havent had a listen to COUNTRY STAR already, wrap your listening gear around this and wish me well!

  • Taking it slow in mix-down

    Zlaya is working from a semi-permanent studio in a hotel basement in Barcelona that he’s recently moved into. I dont have a picture of him or his set up. Thats a bummer really he deserves some attention as his role as a partner in this adventure is crucial. But here are a few more pics of the SONG CREW I recorded with in Studio 150 in Amsterdam back in May instead. So yeah – getting started on mixdown took a while because Z was between work spaces, and now that he’s into it its taking a while again coz it just does when you start trying stuff out. I like it this way tho. No deadlines. Do what you can when you can….and get it right is the motto. I just got a rough mix of a song from him today that Im pretty happy with it. Ive also decided to record a different version of it. So…the mixing is part of a circular process not a straight line to the finish…more like a meandering trail with some side-tracks and back-tracks and re-records as new sounds spark new ideas. Focusing on the finish line just takes me outa the process and away from dealing with what comes up as it comes up. And…. Im enjoying the process…. it merges mixing with performing. Getting it right. Everyone in a hurry – fuck that. We got all the time in the world (photo Misha & Madelief).

  • Shows come and shows go but the music sticks around

    A show will come in out of the blue then dissappear into thin air like a bubble bursting the moment it hits the surface. Thats what Covid is like. Ive had 3 or 4 of these tenuous, transient offers come up in the last few weeks. Here one second gone the next. My gig list currently has 3 shows on it – they seem to have survived so far. Im not looking any further into the future than that. Everyone in the business is hedging their bets. So am I. Covid has just intensified things by putting what was already shifty onto even shiftier sands. I learnt long ago that it’s best to just focus on the things I can influence, like finishing a song or an album, enjoying the day job, being with family…stuff like that. The latter is a tough call for me because half of my family are locked up away from me in Fortress Australia. Shows come and shows go but all I really want to do is write music and record it so I can hear it back to see what it sounds like. It helps. Thats it..the shows can wait. The picture below reminds me of how we are hard wired for survival. And how the music sticks around.