ch-ch-ch-changes...

Today marks the end of one path and the start of a new path.
I have parted ways with Amduscias Records in search of greener pastures and broader horizons.
This means my music will no longer be available for free download at The Internet Archive.
During this time, I will be keeping my Soundclick store current.
You will be able to purchase my work there as usual.

I may also be reviving a record label I started a few years ago, Groove Rhythm.
I have several options and I will keep everyone posted with my progress as usual.
Thank you all for your continued support.

PS - While aspects of my production takes a new shape, I still broadcast weekly on lowercasesounds.com. Continue to count on great sounds from djsquelch & Phase Shifts!

reminder

tuesdays, 8-10pm est
djsquelch - labor of love
http://www.lowercasesounds.com
http://72.36.137.189:8000
dig it, plur…

coming of age...

have you ever thought about the concept of coming of age? most people have and many have gone through some sort of ceremony that recognizes them as an adult, or at least having reached a certain level of maturity. many cultures and religions practice this rite. debutantes, bar/bat mitzvahs, seijin no hi... these are just a few ways young adults are recognized to have come of age.

what about the rest of us who dont undergo some ceremony? does it really matter? would everyone be better off psychologically speaking if they could be recognized ceremonially to have come of age? well, it certainly wouldnt hurt and the chances are that it might improve the results of how many might lead their lives (versus their lives leading them).

i never had any such ceremony other than birthdays, which i never felt were particularly critical to assessing where i was in life- that is, until i reached my mid-twenties and then i started to pay a little more attention to how things were going and what i was accomplishing. when i was 18, i had to sign up for selective service, which means i became old enough to die for my country if that was what my government decided. however, i was still not yet old enough to legally drink alcohol (in a non-religious setting). in my state, virginia, i was also old enough to legally have consensual sex and vote. so i was a man and yet i still had limitations as to what i could and couldnt do. at 16 i became legally allowed to have a license to operate a motor vehicle, personally i didnt get mine until i was in my mid to late twenties. at 21 i finally could drink alcohol legally and yet it was anticlimactic as i felt like it was long since overdue. all these things together seem to sum up adulthood, as with them comes greater responsibilities, and yet they are broken down into three critical stages that are separated by a great deal of time.

this made me realize that the world had very little regard for my coming of age. as a classmate in high school said, " if i am going to be old enough to die for my country, i would like to have a drink first." it may seem silly to some, but considering that alcohol is undeniably an adult beverage which most children dont even like the flavor, most feel special when they are finally allowed to have their first beer (or other alcoholic beverage).

while growing up, i had jewish friends who went through their rite of passage. in high school, i knew a girl who became a debutante. some families decide to give their kids a small celebration in honor of graduating high school, others give it when they have completed college. some families dont do anything, ever. i never really went through a process that officially declared me as a man religiously or socially. my family celebrated my birthday, but it just felt like any other day, even though i was allowed to have an alcoholic beverage. personally, alcohol never made me feel like an adult and i had tried it on several occasions before. i recognize alcohol to be more ceremonial and social, not a major milestone in my life.

no thing or person ever declared a defining point where i was suddenly a man, or even an adult. i picked up responsibilities, jobs, dealt with difficult issues on my own, but never felt a defining point where i had suddenly come of age. yet somewhere along the line it happened, or did it? sure, legally i meet all of the qualifications, but does that really mean i have come of age? nothing spectacular happened to signify it.

because of various personal issues, a lot of things did not transpire in my life as even i would have anticipated. i never completed college yet i have spent 6-7 years in 4 colleges. i never lived away from home yet i have travelled on my own on several occasions. i do not own or rent my own home as i have spent all my time living with my mother or my grandparents. i am not married as a 5+ year long relationship failed and completely shook my world. i have no children. i am no longer employed due to several problems including depression, scratched cornea with complications, and 2 back surgeries also with complications. not to mention 2 years ago, i moved again and i am still with my mother even though i live on a separate floor in what is still considered my grandparents' house even though they no longer live here. it feels a little like an apartment, but i have no bathroom nor kitchen on my floor, nor can i access the outside from my floor although i have a pretty sweet fireplace next to my bed which ive never had before.

i have no way of affording things on my own financially and have to rely on the sometimes financially available kindness of my mother. i owe her a great deal. in some ways i feel like i am less of an adult now than i was in my twenties since i was more self-sufficient then and fairly dependent now.

i work hard on a dream of becoming a dj and producer. most of my work has never seen any monetary compensation. i have done these things for years and even more earnestly in recent years. i dj on the radio, though usually it is online only. i have a modest discography that has seen substantial popularity via online downloads, yet not a soul has purchased any of them. i had a created a record label which folded after about a year when the hosting company folded and i lacked finances to rebuild something that had no fiscal motion. i would like to resurrect that label again.

so have i come of age? yes, somewhere in time i suppose i did and yet i never realized it. like love, it is hard to define as it is more conceptual than material. imaginably if i had gone through some traditional ceremony to announce my coming of age, i might have felt different psychologically, but that didnt happen and anything past that act is simply speculation, even if signs indicated that does make a difference in a person's life.

in the mean time, i live at home, with family, single, broke, and without regular income from an employer. regardless, i continue to try to make things work on my own in the best way i know how. this year, i turn 34 on march 28th.

new album...

Hey there,
I just wanted to let you know I have released a new album through Amduscias Records. It’s called Recycled Sound. I hope you all will enjoy it. The common flavor throughout this album is ambient. This work fuses the elements of multiple genres together in a variety of combinations. You will hear layers of ambient, spoken word, and avant-garde combined in various ways. I like to fuse elements of various genres together to make new conceptual sounds that you may find thought provoking, not unlike scoring you might hear accompanying a movie or other visual presentations. The theme of this album is historical speeches and sound bites set to musical patterns which are interpretations of the mood evoked from the various speeches. As usual, I have provided front and back cover art in case you wish to burn a cd so you can have the complete album as it was intended. Thank you for your continued support.

You can download my new album for free here:
http://www.archive.org/details/AMR103

Here is a list of my work (in no particular order) on the Internet Archive. It lists all my albums and allows you to download them for free! Check it out now because they are free for only a month…

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Aamduscias%20AND%20creator%3A%22Phase%20Shifts%22

…then you can purchase my albums here:

http://www.soundclick.com/Store/byArtist.cfm?bandID=600809

This will be the last album of the year from me. I will have more releases available next year. I will keep you informed on each new release. Thank you for listening.

So, who wants some free music? =)
plur…

new album available for download...

Hey there,
I just wanted to let you know I have released a new album through Amduscias Records. It’s called Ghosts from the Past. I hope you all will enjoy it. The common flavor throughout this album is acid. This work fuses the elements of multiple genres together in a variety of combinations. You will hear layers of acid, techno, industrial, and a hint of noise combined in various ways. I like to fuse elements of various genres together to make new conceptual sounds that you may find thought provoking, not unlike scoring you might hear accompanying a movie or other visual presentations. You will notice a co-authorship on this album. This work represents a collaborative effort with Turmoil, the owner of Amduscias Records. As usual, I have provided front and back cover art in case you wish to burn a cd so you can have the complete album as it was intended. Thank you for your continued support.

You can download my new album for free here:
http://www.archive.org/details/AMR098

Here is my page at on the Internet Archive. It lists all my albums and provides a way to download them for free! Check it out now because they won’t be free forever…

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Aamduscias%20AND%20creator%3A%22Phase%20Shifts%22

If you would like to purchase my albums, you may do so here:

http://www.soundclick.com/Store/byArtist.cfm?bandID=600809

I’m working on another album now so I will keep you all updated…

So, who wants some free music? =)

plur…

info update...

i no longer have a specific page with amduscias. instead, i have been placed into a collective with all the artists. from now on its best to start here: http://www.amdusciasrecords.4t.com

new album available for download...

Hey there,
I just wanted to let you know that a new album has just been released through Amduscias Records. It’s called Chernobyl. I hope you all will enjoy it. The common flavor throughout this album is ambient, plus a couple surprises. This work fuses many elements together in a variety of combinations. You will hear layers of ambient, avant-garde, industrial, and noise combined in various ways. A lot of it will drone and be very dark. I felt the subject begged to remind the listener just how disturbing the incident was. In other words, I fuse elements of various genres together to make new conceptual sounds that you may find thought provoking, not unlike scoring you might hear accompanying a movie or other visual presentation. Also, you will notice this album’s theme- the nuclear disaster that occurred over 20 years ago in Chernobyl. It is a serious situation that continues to exist; a situation that affected animals, plants, and people of all ages; a situation that still needs to be covered up, literally. All the flawed theories, accusations, and blame in the world won’t fix it, nor will a cover- a cover, which caused me to do a lot of reading, picture viewing, and research- a story which should never be forgotten, not by anyone. They say history repeats itself. All of mankind would be fools to let this happen again. As dark as these tracks may be, as dark as the feelings within the words, none of it is as dark as what happened. Remember that… As usual, I have provided front and back cover art in case you wish to burn a cd so you can have the complete album as it was intended. Thank you for your continued support.

You can download my new album for free here:
http://www.archive.org/details/AMR069

Here is my page at Amduscias Records. It lists all my albums and provides a way to download them for free! Check it out now because they won’t be free forever…
http://amdusciasrecords.4t.com/Page5_1.htm

While you’re at it, a lot of other new work has been released through Amduscias by some great artists. You can find it all conveniently listed here:
http://www.archive.org/details/amduscias

If you would like to purchase my albums, you may do so here:
http://www.soundclick.com/Store/byArtist.cfm?bandID=600809

I’m working on another album now so I will keep you all updated…
So, who wants some free music? =)

plur…


P.S. I have not yet decided whether to sell this album. I do not want to exploit a disaster, but rather bring about awareness. If I do sell this album, the proceeds will go to a charity. If you would like to donate to a charity, here is a list of organizations all over the world: http://www.belarusguide.com/chernobyl1/chlist.htm

broadcast schedule update...

i finally have a new schedule with a new station. starting 10/30/07, i will be hosting labor of love on lowercase sounds every tuesday night, 8-10pm eastern. tune in and kick back as i play deeply chilled sounds. broadcast sessions will be focused around ambient music, ambient sounds, and other chilled genres and tempos applied in an ambient nature. often resulting in delicious fusions that promote relaxation and an upbeat vibe. i already have a couple mixes posted for free download and i will have more to share soon.
check out the site, bookmark it, and get ready for a weekly adventure that will rejuvenate your souls.

http://www.lowercasesounds.com/
i will provide additional updates as changes occur.
tune in, feel the vibe, dig it.
plur…

work history...

recently it occurred to me that work is work whether i am payed or not. with that thought in mind i felt it would be good to mark down my work history which details more than paid employment. i started to do that on facebook, but they only allowed me 5 entries and i have much more than that.

self employed as a dj and producer
the local music store
promo for speed demon
discount cigarettes/cigar vault
leadership now (or something to that effect- it was a corporation dedicated to the empowerment of women)
radio shack
promo for monkey crew (i forget the name, i have a flyer somewhere and i recall mikey was nuts about monkeys)
self employed via ebay
radio freedom
ran two of my own internet radio stations and had my own site, groove rhythm
radioation
lazy station
self employed via soundclick
amduscias records
promo for pla productions
lowercase sounds...

this started in 1995 and has run off and on to present date.

nicknames...

the other day it occurred to me that i have had many nicknames in my lifetime. i dont think i offered a single one as a nickname yet they had a way of sticking. fortunately, most of them were terms of endearment.

when i was little, my uncle used to call me chooch. when i got older, it eventually stopped. when he had his daughter, she started calling her chooch. to be honest, i was disappointed because i thought it was something special he and i shared, however i guess he felt he could call anyone chooch.

chooch was not the only nickname i had when i was little. my mother had several for me, such as chip, critter, and scotter. then of course, there were all the typical names a mother calls her offspring. scotter is obvious- a derivation of scott. apparently, chip is short for christopher. ive only known one other person to be called chip, and weve since grown apart and he is in fact on another continent as far as i last heard. on a side note, i am so happy he has reached a satisfying place in life. critter, on the other hand, may be my fault. when i was little, i was unable to say christopher, which is my first name. all i could manage to say was critter, which my family just loved as i would tell strangers everywhere, "hi, my name is critter scott cherry, gran'son." christopher wouldve never even been an issue except for some reason, my grandparents insisted on calling my christopher. scott was my mother's choice.

along came the elementary school years and with it came a slew of other nicknames. most of these names were names that rhymed with my name, such as scotty potty, hot larry (which was actually my 5th grade music teacher's fault and upon instant realization that i didnt like it, the name stuck with my peers well into highschool- a name i still dont care for, but obviously no longer eats away at me.), and the time my classmates confused me for christopher columbus when my preschool teacher was trying to teach us about the reason for columbus day.

i didnt get many more nicknames until i was attending my second college. the guys in the art wing used to call me techno man because i always had headphones on playing electronic dance music (edm). the guys i used the hang out and hack with on the other side of campus knew me as sweat angel. one day, after a heavy session of hacking i lay down on the cool cement while everyone was taking a breather. when a friend helped me up, there was a sweat mark on the concrete where my body had been and he dubbed me sweat angel. the mark reminded him of a snow angel. not only was i not offended but i thought it was rather funny and the name stuck while i was still there.

the funny thing is none if my nicknames have every jumped from one circle of friends to another. when i worked for a tobacco shop, one guy used to call me lucky, as in lucky charms because i wore a green jacket. a store manager knew me as "the gnome" because of my beard. my best friend in the store i started in called me scott dawg. he even printed it out on a labeler and stuck it to my coffee/tea mug. since then, the mug has broken, but i have kept the label out of sentiment.

i would say, however, that most ppl are usually inclined to call me scotty/scottie. even my grandfather started calling me scotty during my college years. my grand mother still insists on calling me christopher for some reason, however i havent talked to her in ages so thats a moot point. these days it doesnt really matter was ppl call me. ive outgrown the need for validation from others.