GS: Good. Well Dean (Budnick) asked me "When's the Miracle Orchestra getting back together?" And...

GS: Exactly‚ we still play together.

GS: I would love to. I think I'm really proficient at all kinds of music‚ so I think I could produce... say‚ a hip-hop album. I have a lot experience working with audio editing software and a lot of the things on the electronic side. That's not really my gig‚ but I would love to do that eventually. Right now I don't really have the time‚ but it's definitely something I would like to pursue at some point. If someone approached me tomorrow and said "We're doing an album‚ we would love for you to produce it‚" I would respond by saying "I'm the perfect man for the job (laughs)."

GS: The concept‚ you know? I think making a great album is one of the more difficult things to do... I think it's hard enough to have a great song. I think a great album first relies heavily on great playing. More so than the recording‚ the playing has to be good. I think it goes in this order; first you need good songs‚ and then there has to be great playing‚ and then the recording quality. For instance‚ you could be listening to Charlie Parker and the material is great and Bird's blowing an all‚ but the recording sucks. He sounds great‚ the tunes are there‚ but the recording quality is lacking. So then there's something like Dark Side of the Moon‚ which is a masterpiece. You have great songs‚ great playing‚ and it's an incredible recording. I think the idea of having good songs comes from waking up in the morning and needing to write a song‚ not that you get paid to‚ or because you're supposed to‚ but because you have to; it's within you. If you're paying attention‚ you're affected by all of life's surroundings and then you just have to get it out. If you're living with your eyes open‚ you know. But then again‚ you can write music while you're sleeping.

GS: It's twisted around a bit‚ but essentially writing music can be brought on by other things like smell‚ or taste‚ but it's musical through something that might be physical‚ those kinds of ideas‚ you know. Sometimes it could be specific chords and colors that go together. I can hear in my sleep‚ or at least hear my thoughts‚ so yeah‚ sometimes I write in my sleep. The other day I woke up and had a whole chord progression and I sat down and learned how to play it. It's this unconscious thing where your dreams become musical‚ so you're not necessarily writing‚ but you're hearing in your sleep.

GS: It's something you have no control over‚ it just happens.

GS: It's the same with listening or dancing. You can go to a concert and lose yourself by listening‚ the same way you can by playing. It's like auditory hallucinations.

GS: Where you're seeing what you're hearing‚ or hearing what you're seeing.

GS: What's even deeper is emotionally hearing. I can play a chord and it can make you sad‚ or you can play something and it can make you remember‚ it makes you nostalgic. I mean how powerful is that? It can make you feel tense; it can make you feel relaxed. I know some sounds that are supposed to make people relax make me really tense. Like New Age music makes me really tense (laughter)‚ you know‚ that stuff is supposed to make people relax. I like dark chords‚ and listening to Miles Davis fusion era stuff relaxes me where that would make most people tense.

GS: The idea is to have a Web site that supports the individual artist. I guess in the Boston area a lot of the people I'm playing with are in the same situation that I am in. For people who write music and are involved in all different projects to have a place to come and network‚ give their bio‚ and put some mp3s of their music up for downloading. I just started this so it's going to take some work‚ but the idea is to promote the individual artist. The idea is that if you're not in a touring band‚ there's an outlet to promote your music. So we may feature an artist every month‚ we have a calendar of events‚ and I guess it's about getting people to collaborate.