Sybil Records

Pearhead - New Album Sneak Peak

2011-11-13T09:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple alternate versions of songs from the new album. First up is the single edit of Going Nowhere Fast. A longer edit is slated to close the album.

Next up is a stripped down mix of She's A Dancer.

The album is nearing completion. Look for a release sometime in early 2012.

New Site!

2011-11-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

We have opened a new site for Sybil Records. Our hope is that the new site will allow more content and better navigation. This site will not be going away but its focus will be changing slightly. We will still announce new projects and provide links to download here but the new site will be the place for more info about the projects and the artists. Here we will talk about works in progress as well as posting individual songs that otherwise might never be heard. One off recordings such as covers, originals and jam sessions that have no obvious place in a larger project. The hope is for weekly posts but I wouldn't hold me to that.

You can find the new site at sites.google.com/site/sybilrecords.

To get things started here is a cover of Chuck Berry's Memphis/My Marie on ukulele. This is an Uncle Dan recording that joins Chuck's Memphis Tennessee with its answer/sequel song My Marie. Daniel Brooks performs all instruments and vocals.

Ben Kammin - seventunes&threesongs (2001)

2010-05-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to post this album for a long while but because I had nothing to do with this project I needed to get the OK from the artist. Ben Kammin is a fingerstyle guitarist in the style of Michael Hedges and Leo Kottke. I first ran into Ben many years ago when he was playing at a Barnes & Noble bookstore. I ran into him a few more times before striking up a conversation with him. There was a lot of common ground between us as musical influences go and I really wanted to work with him in some way. It took a few years but I finally got him into my basement studio to do some demos. These are not them.

What we have here is Ben's first CD. Recorded and released in 2001 it predates our demo sessions. This CD is sold out and out of print with no plans at this time to reissue. I wanted to share this for many reasons but mainly to give more people access to this album. More often than not I have had to listen to Ben tell inquiring fans about the unavailability of this CD. So with Ben's approval I am putting this up here for all to download and enjoy.

jesu, joy of man's desiring -j.s. bach (arr. david qualey)
amazing grace -traditional (arr. randy scruggs)
solitude -ben kammin (chorus by william blake)
the happy couple -michael hedges
too much saturn -francis dunnery (arr. ben kammin)
dreamsketcher -billy mclaughlin
ojo -leo kottke
let them in -anonymous (melody based on an arr. by david wilcox)
song for robbie -peppino d'agostino
first to go -leo kottke

For more information about Ben and his performance schedule go to his website (www.benkammin.com) then go out and see him, you won't be disappointed.

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The Road to Mallow [Peter Mulvey]

Here is one song from our demo session. Ben often plays this live and this is a fine rendition.

xxxCelerators - 2010

2010-02-13T20:52:00.000-08:00

Here are four songs from a friend of mine Brian Wurch (rhymes with lurch or birch). While I had no hand in the production of these songs (although the bass line on track three is modeled on the line I did on the original demo) the CD these songs come from were mostly produced and engineered by me.

These songs originally were released on a 12 song CD called Book of Detroit by Brian Damage and the Accelerators. That band slowly mutated into The xxxCelerators and assembled in my humble basement studio over three nights and recorded some songs so that I could gain some experience with my new recording gear. We re-recorded the other eight songs from Book of Detroit along with five new songs.

Over the course of the next three years Brian and I layered more guitars, keyboards, horns, mandolins, violins and anything else we could onto those basic tracks. We also recorded one more song and added these four songs from Book of Detroit that we did not re-record to fill out the CD to 18 tracks.

Well after three years of dubbing, mixing, re-mixing, tweaking and more dubbing and mixing we have finally reached a point where we can do no more. It is done, finished. complete. To give you a taste of what's coming and while we wait for funds for duplication and packaging so we can get this baby on the market here are the four songs from Book of Detroit.

Nighttime
Blue Dress
Good Good Girl
Cathy

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The Spectaculars - Live at Maloney's (1994)

2010-02-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

In celebration of the release of Supercomet's debut release here is a live set from Eric Olson's previous band. The band included Eric on guitar, his brother Mike on drums, their dad Leon on bass and on occasion playing harp was Southside Jimmy. Vocals were traded from song to song between Eric, Leon and Jimmy.

While their repertoire consisted of mostly old blues standards and rock classics their sound was modern and unique. Showing off their influences that ranged from classic blues to SRV to Hendrix to Pink Floyd to big band, they covered allot of ground. Although I had no input or took part in the creation of this music I did shoot the video that the audio was ripped from.

This is the amazing Spectaculars at the peak of their game. Recorded live using a video camera which was then dumped onto a DVD then the audio was ripped from that. Sound quality is surprisingly good but don't expect studio grade sound. The performance is typical of the band at that time which translates to amazing. Unfortunately I was dragged from the venue by my ride home so I was unable to catch the later sets which would normally get better and better.

I have included some studio demos that were done when the band was being courted by Alligator Records and features original material, the standout for me being Power but the other two are great also. Of note is a version of The Stud that predates a version that was recorded by another local blues outfit that Jimmy was also working with between gigs with The Spectaculars.

1. Quarter to Twelve
2. Wait on Time
3. Rock Me Baby
4. Walking to My Baby
5. Bama Lama
6. Scratch My Back
7. Running Shoes
8. Down the Road Apiece
9. Nineteen Years Old

Bonus Tracks Studio Demos

10. The Stud
11. Power
12. I Lost My Marbles

You can listen to Eric's new project at his myspace page, his page at ReverbNation or his page at BandZoogle. He also has a fan page on Facebook.

You can listen to Mike's latest project at the Emanate myspace page.

Both are well wort checking out.

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Pearhead - Barefoot on a Gravel Road (2009)

2009-06-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

This project grew from some simple guitar and vocal demos which were slowly layered with, well, just about everything. Kenny Parisot wrote all of the songs, sang lead vocals, and played guitar and banjo.

Pat produced and engineered while Daniel acted as associate producer and 2nd engineer. A small group of friends jumped in and played a little bit of everything and a good time was had by all.

Out of all this emerged a core group of contributors (Kenny, Pat, Jay, Dan and Ryan) who have continued to record under the Pearhead name. We have already begun the next album and have done some sporadic impromptu gigs.

1. Remember Love
2. Red, White and Blue
3. Tell the Wind
4. Ghetto Song
5. Cinnamon Roll
6. Whisker on a Kitty
7. Set You Free
8. Michelle
9. Norwegian Girl
10. Brown Guitar
11. Rocky’s Place
12. Soft Mattress
13. French Girl
14. None and Slim
15. Feather in Her Hat

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Kenny Parisot - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo, piano, song writing

Pat Brooks - electric guitars, keyboards, production
Jay Showman - acoustic and electric guitars
Dan Brooks - bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin, keyboards
Ryan Carter - drums

The Southern Hospitality Sunshine Singers -
Barb, Saxon, Ben, Charity, Pat, Sam, Ben, Dan

Guest appearances by:
Barbara Meyer-Spidell, Brett Burrow, Brian Johnston, Tam Lin, Mark Schoemann

Uncle Dan - Wasted Time (2009)

2009-01-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

I believe it was DiVinci that said that "a work of art is never finished until it is abandoned". Well the time has come to let this go. Not that I'm comparing this to any great work of art, it's just time to release this into the ether and move on the the next project.

In the course of recording these songs many songs were recorded multiple times and many others were dropped along the way. This is the stuff that didn't suck.

Wasted Time
The River Runs Deep
Escape
Is This Love?
What Am I Gonna Do
This Crazy Love
I Don't Cry
Just You And Me
As I Fall

All lyrics and music written and copyright by Daniel Brooks

All vocals and instrumentation performed by Daniel Brooks except:
Lead guitar on Is This Love by Zak Hanson
Lead Guitar on What Am I Gonna Do by Pat Brooks

Artwork by Daniel Brooks

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For more info about Uncle Dan visit his MySpace

Baby Strange - Borders Are Patroled (1987)

2009-01-10T08:46:00.000-08:00

The mighty Baby Strange. Hailing from Waukesha Wisconsin, Baby Strange's brief existence only lasted two years. But from 1986 through 1988 this band was a beast refusing to be tamed. Made up of two sets of brothers, Scott (drums) and Jerry (vocals) Halverson and Pat (guitar) and Dan (bass) Brooks, Baby Strange struggled to find its place within the local music scene.

This band gave me some of my highest and lowest points in my music career, sometimes both within the span of fifteen minutes. No matter how much we rehearsed, each performance was like starting over. Sometimes we nailed it, other times we crashed and burned.

This is a collection of songs gathered from the few existing rehearsal tapes. It contains covers and originals, some of which Pat would record later with Tony Bear and even later with Heavy Nova. But many of these songs died with the band. Songwriting was a collective collaboration with lyrics coming from Pat, Dan and Jerry and music mostly from Pat then finally arranged by the band as a whole.

Due to the loss of the original files and the lack of enthusiasm to remaster these tapes. these are presented in a lowly bitrate of 128, but with the low quality of the source tapes you're not missing anything anyway.

Jerry Halverson - Vocals
Pat Brooks - Guitars/Backing Vocals
Scott Halverson - Drums
Dan Brooks - Bass

Solid Steel
Fight Back
Train Kept-A-Rollin'
Warrior
Years Ago
Borders Are Patroled (PGJ)
Pain Maker
Frustrated
Cry No More
Sad Sadie
Running From Myself
Captain Midnight
Green Manalishi
How Many More Days
Radar Love
Wild Thing

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For more Baby Strange, check out their MySpace page.

Blind Prophet (1979-83?)

2009-01-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

Four Guys, Four cases of beer, three and a half songs and no documented proof.

Kevin - Guitar (All other chords and melodic solos)
Dan - Random bass (Low E goes plbplbplbplb)
Pat - Guitar (Chords I-IV-V and noise solos)
Clint - Drums (No cymbals) Band transport and beer runs

Blind Prophet was our first band (sort of). We had a lot of fun but we never really got anything done. Like most first bands, we played more at each other than with each other. Rehearsals were more social events than practice sessions. We would camp out at Clint's house for the weekend where we would play for a couple hours then break for a couple hours then play some more then another break and so on. Some of us were more serious than others. Kevin is a dedicated guitarist, Pat is in a working band, I was more a music tease (sometimes I enjoyed it, sometimes I didn't care), Clint has disappeared. In all the time we spent jamming we only ever played three songs completely through and none of them more than once or more than one during the same session. All in all though they were good times and I would do it all again if I had to.

The picture above is the only documentation that the band actually existed and that actually dates from a "reunion" in the early 80s. There are no tapes of any kind that we know of so there is nothing to download, just a lot of memories and too many stories than space allows.

Heavy Nova - Alternate Routes (2009)

2009-01-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

Heavy Nova is Pat's current gig. They play around the Milwaukee area when the mood strikes them but put on a great show and is always a good time. This is a collection of alternate takes, mixes and live tracks. Tracks 1,3 and 6 are alternate mixes of tracks found on their debut CD Miles of Cock. Track 4 is an alternate take from the sessions for that album. Track 9 was created from unused tracks from the solo section of Dangerous Tonight, also from that album. Tracks 2 and 7 are demos recorded prior to sessions for the album. Tracks 5 and 8 are live recordings of two songs never recorded in the studio and are no longer being performed or at this time being considered for their next CD.

Heavy Nova is:

Brian Johnston - Guitar
Brett Burrow - Bass
Pat Brooks - Vocals/Guitar
Mike Hoke - Drums

Dangerous Tonight (Big STT Mix)
Reflected (Attic Demo)
Fade Away (Wood Mix)
Government (Early Take)
Going Nowhere Fast (Live Shank Hall 8.18.06)
Take My Heart (DeePer Mix)
Broken Glass (Attic Demo)
Running From Myself (Live Shank Hall 11.18.06)
Dangerous Reprise

DOWNLOAD

For more Heavy Nova visit their website at heavynovarocks.com. There you can find info on their album Miles of Cock and how to get it, bios of the band members, pictures and video clips and the latest info on upcoming gigs.

Silent Rage - Breakfast With Dick (1984/5?)

2008-12-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Milwaukee's Silent Rage was one of those bands that never left the basement but should have. They only played once in front of a paying crowd with this line-up but left them wanting more. These recordings were done straight to cassette during rehearsals but what they lack in sound quality they more than make up for in high energy performances. With a reputation of obsessive perfection the attention to detail shows in each song. Though they lacked original music their excellent skills as musicians was never compromised. So here it is folks, the legendary Silent Rage.

Silent Rage
Breakfast With Dick

Pat Brooks - Vocals
Geof Fischer - Guitar
Dale Jensen - Bass
Greg Adisac - Drums

Running Wild
Night Hunter
All I Want
Hell Bender
Shout At The Devil
Another Piece Of Meat
Take It To The Limit
Tell No Lies
She Used Me Up
Two Timer
Backs To The Wall
Crash Course In Brain Surgery
Suicide Solution
For The Future
Grinder
Misunderstood
Rock And Roll Child
Long Live Rock And Roll

If any of the former members would like to correct any information or add to this please do.

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Slider - Project 1 (1986)

2008-12-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

Slider was the first collaborative recording project between Pat and Daniel Brooks. It was recorded on a Fostex X-15 4-Track cassette recorder. There are actually three different groups of recordings; the first group are completely solo recordings by Pat, another are solo recordings by Daniel and the third are true collaborations. This last group of recordings were achieved by passing the recorder from one to the other and then back, building up to a finished product. Pat enlisted the keyboard skills of one "Ninja" Bob Lapp to
flesh out some of the songs.

The final results are a pleasant listen and not bad for a freshman effort. Daniel has re-recorded many of his songs over the years usually with better results or at least better sound quality, although the version of "Two for the Love of One" here remains the definitive version despite the low recording quality.

The Bonus tracks are all from around the period when the album was recorded. Mostly ideas that went no further (Trowerrip, Floydianbass) or Accidental oddities (Kids Fight Back).

Slider - Project 1

A Short Prayer*
Misty Morning Sunrise*
Piece of Mind+
Strong Emotion+
To Be One With The King*
Walking With The Dead*
Two For The Love Of One-
Impatience*
I Remember Sara+
Alone At Last+
All In Time+
A Short Prayer (Reprise)*

Bonus Tracks

Trowerrip*
Floydianbass+
pirrewort*
Kids Fight Back*
Guitar Mayhem*

Pat Brooks - Guitars, Vocals, Bass
Daniel Brooks - Guitars, Vocals, Bass

Saxon Brooks - Vocal on Strong Emotion
"Ninja" Bob Lapp - Keyboards on A Short Prayer, Misty Morning Sunrise, Two For The Love Of One, Alone At Last

* Written by Pat Brooks
+ Written By Daniel Brooks
- Written by Daniel Maytum/Daniel Brooks

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Uncle Dan - Legacy (2005)

2008-11-20T06:50:00.000-08:00

Uncle Dan is an ongoing project of Daniel Brooks. Mostly a one man band/living room music type thing he is often augmented by friends when needed/available or just happen to be there at the right time.

Legacy volumes 1 and 2 are collections of songs written over a period of 20 years. They were recorded in Daniel's basement between 2002 and 2005 and originally released as a single CDR. This re-release splits the CD into two parts to make the album downloads more manageable.

Volume 1

Peace of Mind
Not My Place
Our Love (Will Take Us Far)
House of Strangers
Blue Monday
East of Eden
Louise
Sweet Solitude
O My God

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Volume 2

Conversations
Easy Now
Far Away
I Remember Sara
Forever Lonely
My Only Dream
The Dance of Death
Here I Go (I'll See You Later)
Be Still
2 4 the Love of 1

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All lyrics and music written and copyright by Daniel Brooks except 2 4 the Love of 1 Lyrics by Daniel Maytum, music by Daniel Brooks.

All vocals and instrumentation performed by Daniel Brooks except Lead guitar on Here I Go (I'll See You Later) by Eric Olson.

Visit Uncle Dan's MySpace

Comming Soon!

2008-11-20T06:34:00.000-08:00

Sybil Records netlabel. An eclectic collection of music from the production team of the Brooks Brothers.