McStine & Minnemann - S/T

[goo-goo]

Very power pop kind of music. Some kickass playing by Marco. Just released today and it has a very refreshing sound.

https://mcstineminnemann.bandcamp.com/

[King Postwhore]

The CD is in my mailbox as we speak.  Can't wait to listen to it!

[ytserush]

The CD is in my mailbox as we speak.  Can't wait to listen to it!

So how is it?

[King Postwhore]

Just got home. I'll upload it to my Ipod and I'm going to listen to it tomorrow mowing the lawn.

[The Letter M]

The album was shorter than I expected, but a fun listen nonetheless. Both Randy and Marco crafted some fine songs with the kind of expert performances you'd expect of them. Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of either or both!

-Marc.

[HOF]

Planning to check this out at some point. I really like Randy McStine and he and Marco Minnemann seem like a good pairing.

[HOF]

Streamed this last night, and it was a really fun listen. The songs are short but packed with a ton of instrumental craziness, and they always seem to come back to a really catchy chorus. Gonna need more listens to digest, but I think this is going to be something special.

[King Postwhore]

Randy has a knack of catchy choruses.  1 listen and I love it's quirkiness. 

[SoundscapeMN]

well McStine did do a Kevin Gilbert tribute, so I'm not totally surprised.

I may have to check this out.

[ytserush]

Randy has a knack of catchy choruses.  1 listen and I love it's quirkiness.

Quirky sounds like it's right up my alley. Adding this to the list. Thanks.

[King Postwhore]

I think you'll really dig this album.

[HOF]

Finally ordered the CD from Bandcamp and have been listening to the download since last night. Such a great combination of performance and hooks. Love how they pack so much into really short songs while still keeping them catchy. It’s also really unique sounding too. Can find hints of other artists mixed together, but it’s definitely it’s own thing.

This is probably my front runner for album of the year so far.

[HOF]

Very cool interview with Randy McStine about his background as a guitarist/writer/performer as well as the new album.

http://www.museonmuse.jp/?p=10938&fbclid=IwAR3veb5meKvKgUh4o8Jv3amDY9M47SwVM75lsDYuYy5mEhK9tGJ4H-vHfA4

[MinistroRaven]

Very cool interview with Randy McStine about his background as a guitarist/writer/performer as well as the new album.

http://www.museonmuse.jp/?p=10938&fbclid=IwAR3veb5meKvKgUh4o8Jv3amDY9M47SwVM75lsDYuYy5mEhK9tGJ4H-vHfA4

Thanks for sharing

[ytserush]

I think you'll really dig this album.

I think I will too. A massive new CD binge is imminent.

[The Letter M]

Just announced!
https://www.facebook.com/100000446058354/posts/3702815469743285/

McStine & Minnemann II will begin pre-orders next Friday, October 2nd, on their bandcamp page!

-Marc.

[King Postwhore]

Can't wait!  Love the 1st album.

[HOF]

Definitely excited to see what they’ve done for a sequel.

[goo-goo]

Nice! Loved the 1st one.

[The Letter M]

Just announced!
https://www.facebook.com/100000446058354/posts/3702815469743285/

McStine & Minnemann II will begin pre-orders next Friday, October 2nd, on their bandcamp page!

-Marc.

The release date will be December 4th! Wow, two albums in one year! Sure, the first one was a bit short, but the second one, comprised of all new material written after the first album, will be ten minutes longer than the debut, and will feature 16 tracks. Pre-orders will be up exclusively at their bandcamp page, and for 24 hours on Friday, bandcamp will waive their revenue share on all sales to give 100% of the proceeds directly to artists, so if you're going to pre-order this one, definitely do it on Friday so they can get the most of your money!

The pre-orders will be for digital downloads and CDs, which will be signed by both Randy and Marco. Like with the first album, those who support the CD release will also receive weekly updates from them, along with discussions on each song.

Their debut was a sleeper-hit for me this year, definitely an underrated rock album for 2020, so I am excited to hear what they've got coming in December!

-Marc.

[HOF]

I got this email update from Randy:

Hello!

As you may or may not already know, we have just announced our second McStine & Minnemann album, which is appropriately titled "II."

You can view a couple of short album trailers here (1, 2), along with a comprehensive list of details we've put together below.

Twelve Things You Should Know About McStine & Minnemann “II”

1. There are 16 tracks on it. 
2. It’s about ten minutes longer than our first album.

3. “II” was recorded in 4 different locations - Minnemann’s house, McStine’s apartment, McStine’s friend’s house, McStine’s in-laws’ house

4. The two of us have written, produced, and performed everything on the record, with the exception of a song called “Big Wave,” which was co-produced by Tim Palmer (Robert Plant, U2). Tim added additional sprinkles of guitar, keyboards, and percussion to the song, making him the only additional musician on the album.

5. Forrester Savell is handling mixing and mastering duties for us again, with Tim Palmer mixing two songs; “Big Wave” and the album intro, “Love Before Algorithms.”

6. We started writing and recording “II” while our first album was being mixed, so none of the songs are leftovers from those sessions.

7. There are close to two dozen different guitars used on the record, along with several basses, two different drum kits, many “classic” keyboard elements, glockenspiel, various percussion (including plastic bag and sugar packet), and so forth.

8. Stylistically, “II” locks in all of the elements explored in our debut, but significantly expands on them. Hard Rock, Art Pop, Thrash Metal, Progressive Rock, Folk Rock, Ambient, Noise, Punk, Funk, Spaghetti Western-style Film Music, Blues Rock, Jazz/Rock…

9. Pre-orders for “II” open on Friday, October 2nd, exclusively at www.mcstineminnemann.bandcamp.com. For 24 hours, Bandcamp will waive their revenue share on all sales to give 100% of the proceeds directly to artists. As independent artists, every pre-order directly affects our ability to continue creating and presenting our music properly.

10. McStine & Minnemann II pre-orders will be available for digital download and CD. CD copies will be signed by both of us. All supporters of the CD will also receive weekly updates from us, where we’ll be discussing the origins of each song on the record.

11. “II” will be released for download and streaming (only on Bandcamp) on Friday, December 4th. CD copies will ship at that time.

12. One of the reasons we’ve been able to offer “II” in such a timely manner is due to your overwhelmingly positive support towards our first one. It’s incredibly gratifying to see that our music is connecting with so many people during these challenging times, and we thank you for encouraging us to continue.

Wishing you good health and happiness,

McStine & Minnemann

[HOF]

There are two new tracks now available on the Bandcamp site (in addition to the short intro track that’s been up). Both sound really cool (as anticipated):

https://mcstineminnemann.bandcamp.com/

[King Postwhore]

I can't wait but I'm holding of listening until the release.

[goo-goo]

Nice surprise today. The digital version got sent out to those who pre-ordered. Official release is this Friday.

[The Letter M]

Nice surprise today. The digital version got sent out to those who pre-ordered. Official release is this Friday.

I downloaded my pre-order last night and gave it a casual spin. Not too bad, a bit longer than the first one, and there's some good stuff on there. I'll definitely need more listens, but this is a great collection of short, digestible pop-influenced prog rock with some expert playing by both musicians. A worthy follow-up to their first album!

-Marc.

[HOF]

Waiting until Friday (Bandcamp Friday) to order this since that was the original release date. Will check it out then but the first few tracks they released sounded good. Does seem a bit lengthy track-wise. On Facebook Randy just called it the best album of his career though so that sounds promising!

[HOF]

New EP from McStine & Minnemann out today on Bandcamp.

https://mcstineminnemann.bandcamp.com/album/any-kind-of-light

Some really fun tunes on this one. Bottom Feeder Blues was a McStine solo piece that they put a cool little instrumental section on (a lot of the M&M songs started out that way). The title cut is very cool too. I love their “short prog” ethos.

Truthfully, I only liked about half of II, and judging from the lack of discussion it seems like people here didn’t get much out of it either. The songs that were good were really good, but then you had some mostly unlistenable ones. I did get a big kick out of Girls at the Gig.

Still, I love these guys’ creativity. They’ve been doing these short jams back and forth by recording parts and sending them to each other and posting them on Facebook. They’re constantly making music and I’m guessing we’ll get a third full album before long. They recently included Jordan Rudess on one of their jams, which was cool:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8X7ghUWo_FM

A pro tip, I signed up for Randy’s fan club/support thing (the RSM Community) for $6 a month. It gives you access to his whole catalog on Bandcamp (which is extensive), including this EP, the Lo-Fi Resistance stuff, and all of his solo stuff. There is a very cool new track that is exclusive to the RSM Community with Nick D’Virgilio and Dave Kerzner called Guide which was the main reason I decided to sign up. You can cancel at any time though, so it would be worth it just if you wanted to check out this EP or a few other things.

[The Letter M]

https://www.facebook.com/100000446058354/posts/4451300488228109/

McStine & Minnemann & D'Virgilio will be playing at ProgStock in NJ on October 2nd this fall!

-Marc.

[HOF]

https://www.facebook.com/100000446058354/posts/4451300488228109/

McStine & Minnemann & D'Virgilio will be playing at ProgStock in NJ on October 2nd this fall!

-Marc.

I love these guys’ creativity. The new EP is fantastic if you haven’t checked it out (I think it’s only on Bandcamp). 

It’s interesting how Nick seems to be focusing on bass a lot more lately. He recently did this video for Sweetwater jamming on bass with Ray Luzier on drums, which is very cool:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hMLrTfcsP_g

[HOF]

https://www.facebook.com/100000446058354/posts/4451300488228109/

McStine & Minnemann & D'Virgilio will be playing at ProgStock in NJ on October 2nd this fall!

-Marc.

And Mike Keneally! What an interesting band arrangement. Wonder if there will be two drummers and two guitarists, or if the guys will switch up instruments or what (they all play a bit of everything).

https://twitter.com/ndvmusic/status/1415691918294532096?s=21

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I just enjoy how great they seem to enjoy working together, the perfect pair I guess. They both seem quite like-minded and brilliant at their respective fields.

https://www.facebook.com/100000446058354/posts/4451300488228109/

McStine & Minnemann & D'Virgilio will be playing at ProgStock in NJ on October 2nd this fall!

-Marc.

And Mike Keneally! What an interesting band arrangement. Wonder if there will be two drummers and two guitarists, or if the guys will switch up instruments or what (they all play a bit of everything).

https://twitter.com/ndvmusic/status/1415691918294532096?s=21

D'Virgilio on bass, that's awesome. I've actually seen him play a little bass but didn't he was that commited to it.

[HOF]

I just enjoy how great they seem to enjoy working together, the perfect pair I guess. They both seem quite like-minded and brilliant at their respective fields.

https://www.facebook.com/100000446058354/posts/4451300488228109/

McStine & Minnemann & D'Virgilio will be playing at ProgStock in NJ on October 2nd this fall!

-Marc.

And Mike Keneally! What an interesting band arrangement. Wonder if there will be two drummers and two guitarists, or if the guys will switch up instruments or what (they all play a bit of everything).

https://twitter.com/ndvmusic/status/1415691918294532096?s=21

D'Virgilio on bass, that's awesome. I've actually seen him play a little bass but didn't he was that commited to it.

Nick played a lot of the bass on his recent solo album. He also did this recent video for Sweetwater grooving on bass alongside Ray Luzier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMLrTfcsP_g

[devieira73]

Nice vídeo, thanks for sharing!

[Kram]

NDV is a fantastic musician.  Just wanted to state that lol.

[The Letter M]

NDV is a fantastic musician.  Just wanted to state that lol.

Agreed! Anyone who is a fan of his and hasn't yet listened to his latest solo album Invisible is missing out!!

-Marc.