I haven't blogged much in the past year, partly because I've been working intensely on a project called "The Organism". What is the Organism? In short, it's customized software I'm designing to run my live performances. Of course, that short description begs the question, "Well then why use some fancy/weird/ominous name like 'The Organism' for something so straightforward?"

To all of Lectronin's friends and fans, I’m posting this because I know and have worked with Kevin.

Robert "Kevin" Tracey, a guitar teacher from Vancouver WA, was attacked while cross-country skiing. The people who attacked him left him for dead and stole his vehicle. They are still at large. Kevin does not have health insurance and the medical bills are adding up fast. Unable to teach, and without his vehicle any more, he is in trouble!

There is a benefit concert & auction being held March 8th at the Cascade Tavern on Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver, WA. Many local musicians are doing all they can to help him out. Music instrument manufacturers Washburn & Hohner have committed donations, too. If you could offer any donation big or small, it will help a good man in some bad times.

Some links from local news channels on the attack have been included below.

Thank you,
Will Stewart, aka Lectronin

This link contains information on how to help financially:

Recently I’ve been pondering why I love making music with synthesizers so much. Ever since I was young, I’ve been fascinated by a well executed synth lick or a crazy pulsating arpeggiator. There was something about the visceral powersynths of Van Halen’s “Jump” and Tony Banks sometimes subtle, sometimes brazen work on “Invisible Touch” that led me to traipse down to my local music store to pore over pamphlets from Roland and Yamaha, dreaming of the synth-based studio I hoped to someday own.

So, I'm officially working on material for the new album. 2008 was a busy year. I ended up signing a new group (Radio Way) to my record label (HiCap Records), and tomorrow we're going to release their debut EP. This has involved a lot of work recording, producing, and even putting out a music video. I also devoted a good portion of the year to a hard rock band project that unfortunately didn't work out. So, as anyone can imagine, it was a busy year.

I've decided to try my hand at something new. It's a generative music project called ex nihilo. The basic idea is to write a program that creates music and put out regular updates so everyone can hear the progress. I don't expect the first few releases too terribly interesting by themselves, but I think tracking it over period of time would reveal an interesting evolution.

OK, I admit. I'm both a geek, and an Apple fanboy. Not that I truly think that the sun rises and sets with Apple, I have my criticisms of them as well, but I do appreciate the way they create and integrate their products. Right now I'm waiting eagerly for the new iPhone 3G to debut. I think the device has plenty of potential to develop into a whole new "computing" platform on par with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.

I've used Mac computers for years, and just recently bought Logic Studio. It's a pretty huge program, and I'm just scratching the surface, but I think I've come to understand why electronic music producers all over the world use it as part of their creative workflow. It's almost difficult to imagine a day when I didn't have an entire studio loaded into my laptop, even though just a decade ago, something like that was a pipe dream.

It's been a while since I've played in public or released a recording. A big reason for this is that I've done a major overhaul of my setup.

OK, so I'm starting a blog. I'm going to be posting here about whatever I'm working on, thinking of, etc. It's my effort to keep everyone in the loop. So, let me know what you think. (That is, once I enable comments, ahem . . )