New Site Is Indeed in the Works

So this site is now located at oldsite.bryk.com

The BBS and search engine are still out of service while we switch to phpMySQL apps after moving to Dreamhost (can't say enough about how affordable they are for such a turnkey, user-friendly operation...)

We've also implemented a new email list system we run from our server, which means no more unwanted advertising (or suspected subscriber database peddling) from Yahoo Groups. Keep checking back for the new site, and keep an eye on mp3.com/bryk for new tunes. Thanks for hanging in there! Sept. 26/2003

You're Out of Touch, I'm Out of Time

The BBS is temporarily out of service while we change our website provider. Thanks for your patience while we try to reconfigure a bunch of old scripts... April 23, 2003

Apologies for the lack of communication. Mass delays on the proper Dan Bryk record and the rock band thereof... sorry, it's out of our hands while we're out of our minds. It's not like there's a huge rush or anything... as discussed in some recent press, Scratchie/New Line passed on the last set of demos, so we're kind of looking at our options while the sky continues to fall on the music industry.

Bryk's back in the 'sauga to finish the Bicycles record (strings and horns... skiis and bikes!) work on some people's recordings and design projects, maybe even get his ACTC certification and work on "If I Were You"...

Delving deeper and deeper into the cavernous sonic universe of Logic Audio, Dan continues work on his side-project "If I Were You", an album of willfully obscure covers created literally solo at home from start to finish, using no real musical instruments--it's all software synths and VSTi and waveform generators and modelling instruments and lots of samples. The only line in so far is the microphone for vocals.

It's sort of a experimental approach so far... he's started about 15 songs and kept working on about half of those. Surprisingly, much of it sounds like, well, a rock band. A really adventurous wedding band. (A rough mix of the Furniture's "I Miss You" from "If I Were You" is up at MP3.com.) Make that a wedding band with vibes and custom mu-tron pedals and... waveform generators. More sounds and a release date to follow.

You can finally purchase Dan Bryk CDs online from MapleMusic, CDBaby, teenage USA and the ubiquitous Amazon.com. Scratchie still hasn't rectified Lovers Leap being unavailable in stores in the US, so we've updated our online ordering system to include PayPal payments as well as major credit cards.

As always, thanks for visiting and don't forget to say hello on the message board, where Dan has been blogging his Weight Watchers progress. It's an addictive mind-cult, sort of like Waffle House in reverse. Mar 2003

The Bicycles record was recorded over two weeks mid-May both at Sledge Mahal in Chapel Hill and here at Flabby Road. It was a lot of fun... they showed up on the doorstep with a sign on the back of their car reading "Record or Bust!" I am now officially the "fifth Bicycle", playing most of the keyboards and adding an extra harmony here or there. They're "shopping" the record now, whatever that means nowadays. Sure I'm biased, but it's a sweet and beautiful record with some "rock" moments you might not expect, and even after they slept in my living room for days, they're still my favourite band.

Things are coming along sloooowly with my own record, Sledge is pretty much at co-producer status, and while the muse has been uncooperative as of late, the songs that have stuck around seem worth it. I snuck one of my new demos on my Live 365 station "popsicle" but with the new CARP/DSRP fees I don't know how much longer I can justify the expense of the station... you might want to give popsicle a listen if you haven't yet. It was something I'd wanted to do for a long time, and it was fun doing the PSAs and stuff, but it's a hell of a lot of work if only a few hundred people listen to it. It was, indeed, fun while it lasted.

I have my last show for a while at the Rivoli in Toronto August 2nd, opening for John Southworth and (MMMitch Willer's) Young Ideas while I'm back in town for a week. Come to think of it, I do have a pair of fine new songs to drop on your shoulders for that show. There's yet another one called "Appetite for Discussion" ;) but that still needs a bridge.

Lovers Leap is still temporarily out of print in the USA, but still available at shows and stores that still have it, including teenage USA online and Amazon.com.

The Nova Social split single is in third round of battle: after dozens of Flabby Road overdubs (lead vocals, mellotrons, harmonies, a ludicrously over-amped organ solo sort of like the one from "Light my Fire" and a Patrick Moraz polymoog lead straight from the Moody Blues Long Distance Voyager) and now the CD-R payload of AIFF is on its way back to the Novas for more damage! Their new CD is very good. Give it a listen!

And once again, thanks for visiting. DB July 2002

SXSW officially "a good time"

Speaking of Austin my first time at SXSW was a hell of a lot of fun! I played a pretty good gig although my set was sort of lacking in advance publicity. I was pretty fortunate in that the stage was on a patio and apparently I managed to lasso in some new fans and a few professional listeners. The vibe there was incredible. If I'd arrived straight from the T-Dot, Austin would have seemed like music heaven, but after spending a few months here in the Triangle i'm already feeling really really spoiled.

It was fantastic to see a bunch of great people I'd never had a chance to see before like Tom Freund, Toni Price (who joined Lyle Lovett at a teary-eyed but beautiful musical wake for Champ Hood--thanks to my two gracious hosts Mike and Kerrie for the Austin history lessons and making sure I didn't miss out on an incredible moment), Mary Lou Lord (busking!), Spoon (by themselves and sounding quite like Chairs Missing-era Wire as Sally Crewe's backing band) and my new favourite band Clem Snide. (I'll even forgive a few of the above folks for not accepting my embarrassed personal invitations to check out my showcase...*sigh*) Thanks to Jim Testa for sending me the live photo to the left.

The final night I joined Spookey Ruben's band on synthesizer, along with Steve Pitkin and Henri Sangalang from the Flashing Lights. Ran across town immediately to catch Brendan Benson and waited in line for 20 minutes as we slowly shifted towards the door, only to be KICKED OUT of the club when the bouncer determined my photo-less badge (the one that clearly read "valid with wristband") was a forgery. 5 minutes of heated argument with the SXSW rep (and near-fisticuffs with the bouncer) later, I was barely enjoying the last ten minutes of Brendan's set. I guess it was someone's honest mistake, but it was an unwanted reminder that artists are almost always the chattel for someone else's business venture. If I wasn't so damned lazy I would have demanded an apology from SOMEONE. My dampened spirits were soon picked up by an amazing meltdown NXNE showcase, hanging with my homies from Canada and watching the Dears and the Sadies, wherein I ran into Lovers Leap bass-monster Maury Lafoy! We headed over to the Whataburger around 3am or so and killed an hour or two catching up before I had to get to the airport for my 6am flight back here. Good times!! (The above photo by Tyler Clark Burke was stolen from Chartattack's excellent SXSW coverage) April '02

Anyhow, sorry it took so long to update this site. GoLive kept crashing when I tried to open this particular page, which was very frustrating I'll tell you. There will be more news very soon and a full site redesign in time for the next album, and if you subscribe to the list there will be some fresh demos for your enjoyment. A bientôt...

AUDIO and VIDEO BEING UPDATED

As Vivendi-Universal owned MP3.com gradually shifts to an artist-paid model (like the rest of the music business apparently) we are joining the 21st century by gradually replacing the audio and video content on the site with RealAudio "G2 SureStream" files that adapt to whatever bandwidth your connection is. Those of you with cable, DSL or (gasp!) T1 will notice a major improvement in sound quality. Those of you with 28.8 modem connections can compare and contrast with any wax cylinders you just might have lying around the house. (Old school note: Did you know this site is still fairly legible with Lynx? Try that with your fancy DHTML frames and Flash MX...)

JAPANESE TOUR RAW LIKE SUSHI

Bryk's Japanese tour with Stephen Malkmus and Jicks was a smashing success! Lovers Leap is in stores in Japan as we speak, and there's even a Bryk website in Japanese, including special bonus songs that can only be unlocked by the Japanese CD-ROM. There's also a feature interview with unbearably cutesy pictures at eastreet music.com. Other Japanese interviews and reviews are on the press page.

Dan posted a quick Japan travelogue on the message board.

There are also some Japan photos! Thematically sorted for E's and Whizz with wise-ass captions like you'd expect. There are still more photos to join them when the site gets its much-vaunted 2002 update. Hang in there baby!

BRYK PERFORMS INTIMATELY FOR YOU AT

Dan was recently invited to the offices of Spin.com to lay down a couple of solo tunes for the cyber kids there.

Of course, not playing an acoustic guitar meant Bryk pumped the ol' P-80 through the editor's stereo system, the fire alarm kept going off, everyone sat on the ledge behind the editor's desk... and the results are as geeky and/or heart-rending as you'd expect.

While you're there, you can also catch up with SPIN.Live sets by famous rock stars like David Gray and Creeper Lagoon and our own personal rock-folk-punk-esoteric-soul faves Royal City.

BRYK NOT LIKE A BIRD?

We recently found this rambling, fairly amusing Fantastic Pop Festival interview from Complete Chaos Zine online.

BRYK ELICITS SOUND OPINIONS

Dan's SXSW set (and the state of the whole music industry, naturally) debated by Jim De Rogatis and Greg Kot of WXRT 93 Chicago's Sound Opinions, "the world's only Rock & Roll talk show." Bryk swears up and down he certainly did NOT say "I write songs about fat chicks", but hey, what's an article about Dan Bryk without a misquote? Listen to the archived show here

WHAT'S BRYK LISTENING TO LATELY?

BRYK LIVE AUDIO ON WFMU ARCHIVES!

Dan spun some favourite records, played some originals and intriguing covers live on air, and generally talked sh*t with host Pseu Braun. Interview begins around 30 minutes in and lasts for two and a half hours. Whooo!

DCN LIVE VIDEO AT THE HORSESHOE

What a mess! It took about five songs to figure out someone messed with the tuning wheel on the back of the piano, then everything was great except for the usual pitch issues. We hear practice makes perfect. We got rid of that piano, anyhow.

BRYK MUSIC VIDEO AT UMBRELLA MUSIC

She Doesn't Mean A Thing To Me Tonight, plus a couple of interviews are archived at Canada's finest music content site. Type the magic word "Bryk" in the search box.

SURE, THE CRITICS LOVE LOVERS LEAP, BUT THEY DON'T ACTUALLY BUY RECORDS, DO THEY?

An A minus from Christgau ("gemlike acts of idiosyncratic genius"--oooo!) accusations of girlish wussiness from the New York Daily News, next-big-thing notices from Amplifier, four stars from the All-Music Guide, and pretty much nothing from the Toronto media. Well, of course! The one thing all the critics seem to agree on: Dan Bryk is Fat! All the above (and some pans for good measure) are archived for your browsing pleasure. Go ahead, believe our press.

An enchanting, copyright-defying TURMELL Screensaver is now downloadable online for your screen enslaving pleasure in both Power Mac and Windows formats.

Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home.

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