Original jazz rock tune I composed in 1984. This 1987 recording was done on my Tascam 4-track using a Roland 808 drum machine, a Roland GM-70 guitar synth and the usual Ibanez GB-10 guitar and Fender Precision bass.

Bertisms

Future Trade 1987

Recorded at Morgan Whalen's Limelight Monday open mic at Barnacle Bill's in St.Thomas back in 1986. Composed by Jake Myer and Earl Shuster, with Jake on keys and vocals, Earl on bass, Patrick Whatule on drums, Calvin Dallas on trumpet, and Bert on guitar. At the end, Morgan says, "What do you call that, a little bit of original fusion rock with a little bit of Hughie Masekela thrown in."

Take Me to the Movies

An early demo of Imaginary Journey. Recorded on a Tascam 4-track with guitar, Roland GM-70 guitar synth with MKS-50 sound module, bass, and Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer.

St. Thomas, USVI 1987

Imaginary Journey

My friend Jean got a Roland D50 digital synth when they came out in 1987 and it lived at my house on Garden Street for a bit. One afternoon while trying out the sounds I put together this composition. Recorded on the trusty Tascam 4-track.

St. Thomas, USVI 1987

Garden Street

Another demo from the archives - acoustic & electric guitar, bass, Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer, Roland GM-70 guitar synth, mono synth drone.

St. Thomas, USVI 1987

Anurhada

An exploration with my bandmate Jake's Roland Juno 60 analog synth. A meandering of sonic washes over multiple tracks. Best with some kind of mind-alteration.

St. Thomas, USVI 1986

Ocean Tiger

During this time I was enamored with breaks in the middle of songs that stepped away from the overall genre, like Mahavishnu's "Smile of the Beyond" or Pat Metheny's "Minuano". Two guitar tracks, vocals, bass and Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer. 

St. Thomas, USVI 1986

You Came in to my Life

I wrote and recorded a demo of this on October 30, 1984. I did not know at the time, but it was almost at the same instant of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination. When I awoke the next AM and heard the news, I named the tune accordingly.

That demo was pretty rough, so I created another demo in 2010 using two guitars. The Quartet recorded a version on our Imaginary Journey album.

Cape Cod, MA 2010

Indira

A quick little demo of this Polytone MinuBrut II my friend Jean-Louie loaned me. The sound is straight out of the amp with just a little reverb added in the mix. Ibanez GB-10 hollowbody plugged directly into amp. Thanks, Jean-Louie!

Demo

Blues for Jean-Louie

A little warmup at a mid-winter rehearsal with Bert, Scott Lariviere on bass and Kareem Sanjaghi on drums.

Hot Winter Jam/Wicked Trio

Here, find some things from the archives - old recordings from my trusty Tascam 4-track Portastudio, some one-off experiments, and quick demos. The good stuff lies in the dusty boxes.

Check out my website bertland.com for albums, singles and videos, as well as any upcoming shows.

Bertlandia

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