Jim Konen (aka mr botty)
Due to requests regarding "who are you mrbotty" ?
Here's some bio info to put-in-your pipe and smoke.
lets see... oh yea,
I began my musical adventure as a kid.
I became interested in a guitar I found at my grandparents house which belonged to my grandfather. It was a Sears Silvertone arch top. I often wonder what kind of songs he played on it. I never heard him play and never even knew he did. I was very young when he passed on so, I have no idea. At the time I was young and just enjoyed plucking the strings and messing with the tuners. At the time of my first lesson and much to my disapointmentI I discovered his guitar was unplayable.
I began performing around town with a slew of local Detroit bands one of which, "The Bottles". We were kids doing "Top 40" but we had a manager who had us opening for the likes of some of Detroits most sought after bands at the time. Bands like the MC5, The Stooges, Ted Nugent, The Rationals etc... This was the late 60's an exciting time for "Rock n' Roll" here in Detroit. The professionalism of an act like the MC5 was something to behold. Many of the big acts of the time like Led Zepplin, Jeff Beck Group,The Who, etc..were performing at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. Music history was in the making and I was 16 or so in the middle of it. I remember shaking Jimmy Pages hand on their first tour here. It didn't take long for all this to have an effect on me.
In my last few years in high school I was lucky to be asked to play in the school stage band. They needed a guitar player for the rock/funk material. This was a great learning experience too. My teacher Mr. Stone was a good drummer and, a cool guy. He liked what the young kids were listening too (rock, pop, funk) I learned a lot of new chords, got to play with a horn section and perform music different than the rock music I was used to. So during the week I got to play at school and on the weekend I would open for the biggest acts in town. By the early 70's I was out of school living in Pittsburgh Pa. living the musician life there and on the road in Ohio, West Virgina, New York, Florida, and Michigan. I was part of a glam band named Scarab. We were a high enery rock band presented as a theatric freak out often ending with the singer ripping into his wrists with his bare hands till they bled and then vomiting fake blood. Theres a lot more story wise to that group to be sure and, we were the focus of controversy at many venues. I once remember some religious group turning off the electrical power during a performance and start praying for us. We were very popular, regionally we played lots of shows with national acts of the time like Johnny and Edgar Winter, Canned Heat, Fleetwood Mac, Jethro Tull, to name a few.
During this time, I happened to hear a copy of "Bitches Brew by Miles Davis one night at a party and found myself attracted to his music. By mixing jazz with rock Miles was again changing the musical landscape. This ushered in the "fusion" movement. Guys like Chick Corea ,Stanley Clarke, John Mclaughlin, and Wayne Shorter, all allumni of Miles bands provided a unlimited supply of influence. I was also listening to "Art Rock" bands like King Crimson, Yes, and ELP. and as such became more interested in developing some "chops" and learning how to mix jazz with rock like Miles did. I joined a "jazz-rock" group that played locally. I spent my free time studying music theory and jazz guitar.
In order to make a living, I performed locally at disco and funk clubs in town. As regrettable as this sometimes was. Many of the musicians were good players and, like me were trying to make a go of it. Together we all made it a not so bad experience and it also broadened my musical abilities. I continued my studies and began to include composition and score writing as well. I also realized the value of recording your own music and merchandising it. Recording my music compositions helped me to "see" my music and provided insights into shaping it. I bought a used TEAC 4 track (Reel to Reel), mixing board, fx etc... to record my music.
By the mid eighties I was on an upward climb with a local band called the ERGE. A Pop/Rock band fronted by a female singer. We wrote and recorded our own music, released a Single and generated some buzz locally. It was enough to grab the attention of a Manager which did evolve into a small record deal with Geffen Records. I relocated to L.A. for a year and watched things fall apart. I returned home more determined than ever, to do music on my own terms. I purchased a sampler/sequencer and started writing, recording and performing solo with it. Rap, and electronic music were emerging as new music forms. DJ's were slicing up old school hits and remixing them into new ones. Detroit was once again becoming a leader in electronic music as well. This inspired what began as the seed for the music now heard on this site.
The internet really opened up opportunities for indie's like me and many others to market their music. Many of us who make music have discovered that there are wonderful people like you out there who seek us out. You are not just interested in what's been marketed to you. Your looking for music perhaps...like the kind I make here and... you BUY it! (cool).
Since then, I have continued to evolve my music and this site. Rock, Jazz, Electronic, Looped and Improvised music is a part of what this music is about. I have heard the term "techno jazz" applied here...sounds good to me! Naturally, as a disclaimer, I, would never want to incur the wrath of either camp if they should at all feel insult as a result of hearing this music. I am the product of my influences.
Thanks for listening
mr botty