Carl Weingarten
Encyclopedia
Carl Weingarten is an American guitarist
, photographer, and founder of the independent music label
Multiphase Records. Regarded as "one of the truly great indie musicians working today" by the San Francisco Chronicle
, he is best known for his atmospheric sound and use of the slide guitar
and Dobro
. Weingarten has played a significant role in progressive
underground music
for nearly 30 years, recording several solo and collaborative instrumental
albums and signing various musicians to his label.
gift. By junior high, Weingarten moved on to shooting Super 8 film
s. However, in high school, he also aspired to teach himself how to play slide guitar
after his first exposure to blues
.
Weingarten later earned a degree in cinema production which would go hand in hand with the atmospheric music he would later become known for. According to Weingarten, "The cinematic tone in my music comes from my visual arts background. I try to paint it all in sound." However, breaking into the film industry proved difficult, and he began writing and recording his own film score
s and other music for modern dance companies. But as Weingarten stated in a 2007 interview, "I had been my own creative boss for too long, and my attitude got me chased off one too many movie sets." This led him to join the indie label movement.
Weingarten founded Multiphase Records in St. Louis in 1980. The following year, he released its first album, Submergings, in collaboration with Dale Ormiston and Phil Neon. That same year gave birth to Weingarten's instrumental synth rock band Delay Tactics. The group, featuring Walter Whitney on synths
and guitarists David Udell and Reed Nesbit, took heavy influence from Robert Fripp
and served as more of a recording unit than live act. They were, however, among the first of such indie groups to use digital delay
s in both studio recordings and live looping
performances. With two albums under their belt, the group disbanded in 1986. A third record would be released under the Delay Tactics name in 2003.
In the 1990s, Weingarten moved to San Francisco and continued producing his own solo and collaboration albums and toured. He reunited multiple times with Walter Whitney among other musicians in producing a broad catalog of studio recordings. In 1995, several musicians were brought together under the Court Musicians moniker to record an album fusing various cultural styles; two of such tracks featured Weingarten on guitar, and his experience with the project's Indian
themes had a profound influence on him musically. He has more recently moved to Alameda, California
and continued releasing new music throughout the 2000s.
Weingarten's records have received praise by media outlets such as All About Jazz
, Muze
.com, Music Web Express, Exposé magazine, and Allmusic among others. With influences spanning Ennio Morricone
, Brian Eno
, Antonio Vivaldi
, and Robert Johnson among others, his albums have often been described as sounding more akin to a thematic soundtrack
than a more formal collection of songs, and his innovative style blending and experimentation have been widely commended. In 2002, Weingarten released one of his most critically acclaimed works, escapesilence. The record would become an NPR staple and the winner of the "Listeners Choice Award" from the syndicated PRI
program Echoes
.
Despite his success in the music industry, Weingarten is still an avid photographer. Today, a gallery of photos can be viewed at his website focusing on subjects like urban landscapes and architecture, natural landscapes, concerts, and nightlife. The site also offers digital restoration
of old photos, and his work has been featured in exhibits such as the Frank Bette Center for the Arts.
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, photographer, and founder of the independent music label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Multiphase Records. Regarded as "one of the truly great indie musicians working today" by the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, he is best known for his atmospheric sound and use of the slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
and Dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
. Weingarten has played a significant role in progressive
Progressive music
Progressive music may refer to:*Art rock*Progg*Progressive bluegrass*Progressive country*Progressive electronic dance music*Progressive folk*Progressive metal*Progressive rock...
underground music
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
for nearly 30 years, recording several solo and collaborative instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
albums and signing various musicians to his label.
Biography
Before acquiring a taste in music, Weingarten gained an interest in photography early on; at seven years old, he received his first camera as a ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
gift. By junior high, Weingarten moved on to shooting Super 8 film
Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
s. However, in high school, he also aspired to teach himself how to play slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
after his first exposure to blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
.
Weingarten later earned a degree in cinema production which would go hand in hand with the atmospheric music he would later become known for. According to Weingarten, "The cinematic tone in my music comes from my visual arts background. I try to paint it all in sound." However, breaking into the film industry proved difficult, and he began writing and recording his own film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
s and other music for modern dance companies. But as Weingarten stated in a 2007 interview, "I had been my own creative boss for too long, and my attitude got me chased off one too many movie sets." This led him to join the indie label movement.
Weingarten founded Multiphase Records in St. Louis in 1980. The following year, he released its first album, Submergings, in collaboration with Dale Ormiston and Phil Neon. That same year gave birth to Weingarten's instrumental synth rock band Delay Tactics. The group, featuring Walter Whitney on synths
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
and guitarists David Udell and Reed Nesbit, took heavy influence from Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
and served as more of a recording unit than live act. They were, however, among the first of such indie groups to use digital delay
Digital delay line
A digital delay line is a discrete element in digital filter theory, which allows a signal to be delayed by a number of samples. If the delay is an integer multiple of samples digital delay lines are often implemented as circular buffers...
s in both studio recordings and live looping
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
performances. With two albums under their belt, the group disbanded in 1986. A third record would be released under the Delay Tactics name in 2003.
In the 1990s, Weingarten moved to San Francisco and continued producing his own solo and collaboration albums and toured. He reunited multiple times with Walter Whitney among other musicians in producing a broad catalog of studio recordings. In 1995, several musicians were brought together under the Court Musicians moniker to record an album fusing various cultural styles; two of such tracks featured Weingarten on guitar, and his experience with the project's Indian
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
themes had a profound influence on him musically. He has more recently moved to Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
and continued releasing new music throughout the 2000s.
Weingarten's records have received praise by media outlets such as All About Jazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
, Muze
Muze
Founded in 1991, Muze, Inc. is a business-to-business provider of media information, metadata, and digital preview samples that enable search, discovery, and purchase of digital entertainment content...
.com, Music Web Express, Exposé magazine, and Allmusic among others. With influences spanning Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
, and Robert Johnson among others, his albums have often been described as sounding more akin to a thematic soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
than a more formal collection of songs, and his innovative style blending and experimentation have been widely commended. In 2002, Weingarten released one of his most critically acclaimed works, escapesilence. The record would become an NPR staple and the winner of the "Listeners Choice Award" from the syndicated PRI
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
program Echoes
Echoes (radio program)
Echoes is a daily two-hour music radio program hosted by John Diliberto featuring a soundscape of ambient, space, electronica, and New Age music. The program features in-depth artist interviews and intimate "living room" performances. Interview subjects have included Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel,...
.
Despite his success in the music industry, Weingarten is still an avid photographer. Today, a gallery of photos can be viewed at his website focusing on subjects like urban landscapes and architecture, natural landscapes, concerts, and nightlife. The site also offers digital restoration
Image editing
Image editing encompasses the processes of altering images, whether they be digital photographs, traditional analog photographs, or illustrations. Traditional analog image editing is known as photo retouching, using tools such as an airbrush to modify photographs, or editing illustrations with any...
of old photos, and his work has been featured in exhibits such as the Frank Bette Center for the Arts.
With Delay Tactics
- Out-Pop Options (1982, 2000 re-release)
- Any Questions? (1984, 2000 re-release)
- I Dub Thee Vampiris (2003)
Solo
- Living in the Distant Present (1985)
- Laughing at Paradise (1988, 2003 re-release)
- Pandora's Garage (1992, 2000 re-release)
- Slide of Hand (1992)
- Redwood Melodies: A Traveler's Companion (1995, 2000 re-release)
- The Acoustic Shadow (1995, 2000 re-release)
- Blue Faith (2000)
- escapesilence (2002)
- Hand in the Sand: A Collection - 1990-2004 (2004)
- Local Journeys (2005)
- Lost in the Air (2008)
Collaborations
- Submergings: A Study in Sonic Ambiance w/ Gale Ormiston & Phil Neon (1981, 2001 re-release)
- Windfalls w/ Gale Ormiston (1983)
- Dreaming in Colors w/ Walter Whitney (1986)
- Primitive Earth w/ Walter Whitney (1990, 2000 re-release)
- Critical Path w/ Joe Venegoni (1991, 2000 re-release)
- At the Court of the Chera King, featured on two tracks w/ The Court Musicians (1995)
- Silent Night w/ Kavi Alexander (1998)
- Invisibility w/ Forrest Fang (2006)