Blue’s Professional Bio Page 2

Producing & Collaborations

After the release of his third album in 1993, Blue began producing records for Erik Mielzarek (aka Erik Shock, and later, Erik Anders). A number of albums and compilations were recorded with Blue providing instrumentation, vocals and co-writing as needed. These recordings were released under various brandings such as: Erik & the Dragtones, Erik & the Bluetones, and Erik Mielzarek’s Gypsy Blues. The works explored the rockabilly, psychobilly and punkabilly genres.

The first solo-penned rockabilly song Blue wrote, "Cats are Rockin'" was ultimately recorded with the legendary Sun Records artist, Billy Lee Riley with Mielzarek playing bass guitar.

The pair drove to Memphis with Blue's 8-track reel-to-reel in the back of the van. They performed a show on Beale Street, then the following day they drove to Arkansas and recorded Riley's tracks in the legend's living room.

“Cats are Rockin’” was released as a single in 1994 along with a
B-side co-written by Blue and Mielzarek.

“Cats are Rockin’” remains a staple of Blue’s live sets to this day.

Audio Engineering and Production

Blue’s most prevelant artistic compulsion is recorded music. He enjoys live performance, writing, collaborating, and most creative acts in general, but recorded music has always been his prevailing passion and medium of expression. Audio engineering and production has been a life-long focus of study for him.

Blue’s obsession with audio engineering and production led him to work as the head engineer and house producer for Pierce Recording in Arlington Virginia in 1993 and 1994 as well as maintaining his own personal studio.

Naked Acre Compound

Blue and longtime partner Christina purchased a home in Boyce Virginia in 1997. The property featured an 800 square foot space for the recording and housing of Blue's eclectic collection of instruments. This space became known as the Naked Acre Compound Studio and was dedicated to facilitating whatever artistic whimsy might snag Blue's fancy.

Blue refined and tweaked this studio for 21 years - creating a considerable body of music and other artwork there.

Naked Acre Compound Films

Armed with a camcorder and a fondness for filmmaking, Blue began making lo-fi short films toward the end of the decade. He formed Naked Acre Compound Films as a division of Sanity Check Musec, Inc. to facilitate the efforts.

With the aid of friends and co-conspirators he began creating regular pieces he dubbed, “flix” which were uploaded to his website on a weekly basis for nearly two years. This was 1999. For perspective, YouTube didn’t exist until 2005.

Blue created the musical themes and soundtracks for all of the Naked Acre Compound Flix.

Church Of Chaos

This era also saw the creation of Blue’s Industrial-Dance multi-media project Church Of Chaos with the mockumentary Church Of Chaos - Vibe ’n Groove ’n Video.

Blue wrote, produced and co-directed the mockumentary which included five nested music videos from the faux-band's debut album, Buy Your Salvation.

Buy Your Salvation was followed by the second COC album, Snow White & the Seven Deadly Sins in 2001.

Metal Machine

One of the regular NACF performers was actor/musician Terry Miller, the frontman for the rock band Dirty Deal. Together Terry and Blue formed the Metal Machine project and released the self-titled industrial rock album, Metal Machine in 1999 and its follow up, Kinked Slinky in 2002.

Terry Miller portrayed Fairy Dust in the COC - VGV and Roland James in Flat among other NACF roles.

Flat

Blue took his short films, Everyday and The Church Of Chaos - Vibe ’n Groove ’n Video to a number of film festivals and participated in a number of Q&A sessions, particularly about the advent of digital work in independent movie-making.

The movie-making efforts culminated with the six-minute short film FLAT which went on to win the Jury Award for "Best Dramatic Short Film" at the New York International Independent Film Festival in 2001.