Stopgap Sam's Last Stand is on the way!

 My new double CD "Stopgap Sam's Last Stand" has been completed! 

Currently the highly talented Greg Gierowski is designing the cover. As I have once again worked on my music too close to the Christmas season, I'm hoping to have copies available for mailing by sometime around mid-January, followed two weeks later by a Bandcamp upload.

As soon as I have some "official" artwork, I'll be converting my "Dunning Kruger" blog into a "Stopgap Sam" one-stop shopping blog. Watch this space!

https://dunningkrugereffectdinodimuro.blogspot.com (copy and paste link)

Following is some boilerplate background to help reviewers:

Stopgap Sam’s Last Stand is a double CD (also available for download on Bandcamp) which is made up of new guitar instrumentals, a few cover tunes, and archival jams with my friends.

While not a sequel, Stopgap Sam’s Last Stand is a follow-up to a three-cassette album I released in 1994 (Stopgap Sam’s Steamin’ Stew), which served as a stopgap release between my last “official” cassette and my first manufactured CD. Those three tapes contained outtakes, jams, and new songs, though almost nothing was of good enough quality to include on an “official” release. 

Like many others, I began the Covid lockdown by recording new music. In my case, I bought a new Ibanez guitar and started recording solos using the whammy bar, something I have almost never done. After taping over six hours of solos over three weeks, I decided that with judicious editing, I could release these as another “Stopgap” collection, but this time making sure that all new songs and jams were of the same quality level as a regular release.

I want to stress that in no way do I consider myself a “guitar virtuoso” but I do have my own unique (if not terribly proficient) style. The inspiration to do this kind of album was the Frank Zappa “Shut Up and Play Your Guitar” series. Also, on every guitar song I’ve played all the other instruments as well, including drum kit. 

Normally my songs are very short, between one or two minutes. This double album gave me a chance to stretch out, though there are shorter songs as well.

A Whole Blog Devoted to The Dunning-Kruger Effect

 Just what are you WAITING for??

https://dunningkrugereffectdinodimuro.blogspot.com

Reviews, photos, links! See you there!

Dunning-Kruger CDs!

On Tuesday, August 11, my shipment of Dunning-Kruger CDs arrived! I was anxious to get them and start mailing. This project felt overdue: I'd finished all my own parts several weeks back, but was waiting on a guitar solo from Chris Assells and final artwork from Greg Gierowski before I could print. I'd always envisioned mid-August as my release date, though, so everything worked out fine.

For some reason, I'm really feeling a surge of postpartum depression on this project. The day the CDs were to arrive, all I could do was putter around the house, doing little chores here and there. When the box came at around 2:30, most of my mailers and letters were already printed, and I stuffed envelopes like crazy so I could get to the post office.

With the slowdown of mail - something I've already experienced as an Amazon reseller - even the excitement of finally shipping this album was tempered by fears that some of these packets would wind up in the trash. It's not impossible: a box with 15 copies of my previous CD which I handed to a postal clerk disappeared without a trace, even with tracking!

But ultimately it's hard for anything to rain too heavily on my parade. I'm overjoyed to have this album printed and out in the world, and can't wait to hear what people think. 

The next album - a double guitar instrumental CD - is already 70% complete (thanks, COVID!) so I'm taking a little breather and catching up on family pictures, letters, etc.

The Dunning-Kruger Countdown

The wait (by ME, at least) is almost over!

Music and Artwork for THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT have been approved, and the presses are rolling!

Very gratified to get a second CD out this year, with another project due by November!

More news soon. Tell your friends!

Looking For New Sounds!

INDIE MUSICIANS! I would like to meet and trade CDs with like-minded independent musicians. I want to get beyond download links and actually build new relationships centered around music. My influences run from Zappa to The Who to Beefheart to Beatles, 90's Alternative, Classical, Blues, etc. Though I have a Bandcamp account (https://dinodimuro1.bandcamp.com) I very much want to trade physical CDs or even cassettes and vinyl. Thanks for your attention! Contact me at recordings@aol.com - Dino

The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Wow! Been a while!

Since I last posted, I retired from my job (been off for a year) and released my first new solo CD in almost 10 years: I DON'T KNOW TOMORROW.

Our lease at the Gower house was ending last March, and Sharon and I had been seriously looking to pull up stakes for a move to the Oregon Coast. We looked at several houses but none of them were right, and after Sharon's job at Vintage ended, there was some uncertainty about her work situation.

I finished I DON'T KNOW last November, and it took my friend Greg a few weeks to deliver the Artwork, which is wonderful. As soon as I was done, I started packing up my music gear, thinking I wouldn't be able to start a new project until after the move. I was sad, because putting out a new CD really got my fire roaring again, and I already had the outline for the follow up: "The Dunning-Kruger Effect." And the next two after!

Anyway, Sharon DID get a new, permanent job, and we didn't find anything close to the perfect house, so we made the tough but reasonable choice to stay here at least one more year. Of course I immediately resumed work on my music and have been cranking away much faster, having ironed out many of the kinks last year.

Even though retired, I also did a few days a month for my friend Mike Wilhoit at Westwind Post in Burbank, which was just enough to keep my skills sharp. Even before the pandemic, the work there dried up and I don't see anything else happening until possibly next year.

But it's amazing to me how things worked out for our family. I cannot even imagine what it would have been like to be moving right now, with the added pressure of masks and social distancing and with so many businesses closed. Another thing that happened was that Sharon's Mom got very sick just about the time we would have been leaving, and though she recovered, it would have been quite stressful not to be nearby.

Today I am about 70% finished with Dunning-Kruger. I am dealing with a boring pass of micro-editing that many artists wouldn't even bother with (but they probably play better than me, so...) and then it's time for drums, vocals, and final mixing.

My friend Greg, when he turned over the artwork for I DON'T KNOW, kind of laughingly said: "Slow down! I may not have time for the next one!" However, like most of us he wound up at home with more free time than expected. He just wrote and told me he had three out of four mockups ready, which really put a bullet in my butt. People are gonna actually hear this thing! I wanna make it good, but frankly this music will be a lot more challenging and there may be fewer nice emails after it goes out. But so far, I'm very happy with it.