The History of Mic Stimms
Classic Rock and Techno converge Mic Stimms mixes today’s music technology and yesterday’s classic rock style into a powerful and moving music experience. Founded by original members Ryk Allyn and Jamie Park, the band’s brooding lyrics are laced within techno loops, classic keyboards, and powerful guitar riffs. The band’s influences span different generations and genres of music such as - Pink Floyd, Van Halen, The Cars, Pearl Jam, and Nine Inch Nails. Mic Stimms began as a music project by Jamie Park in the late 80s. Ryk, Jamie, and Clancy had all played together on and off in various rock bands around the Cleveland-Akron area. By the mid-80s, Jamie and Ryk had developed a small catalog of original material that they interlaced between their copy sets during their live shows. Jamie decided to focus solely on original material while Ryk continued to work the live venues. In 1989, Jamie completed a set of 10 tracks titled “You and I” – the title track being one of the songs Ryk and Jamie had developed earlier. The catalog of tracks were laced with acoustic guitar, keyboards, and very primitive drums but carried themselves well. Ryk sat in on a couple of the songs – specifically “You and I”. Jamie had originally used Mic Stimms as a pseudonym and would now use it to name the CD. In 1990, Jamie and Ryk worked together to create “Fusion by Name” – a collection of 10 tracks containing solid guitar riffs, keyboards, creative sound effects, and abstract vocals. The teaming of the two musicians began the formation of the Mic Stimms sound. The CD contained powerful tunes such as “Come Walk with Me on the Sun”, “Fusion by Name”, and “Exobiology/Energy in the River”. In 1991, Ryk Allyn met with an indie record label and the two musicians signed a two year contract. They also completed another 10 track compilation titled, “Drowning in Technology”, which followed in the same style and format as the previous "Fusion by Name" compilation. In 1994, Jamie and Ryk completed their 4th compilation of 11 tracks titled, “Drop the Gun”. The compilation continued to show the maturity and talent of this duo and also saw the return of Clancy Gwynn laying down bass tracks most notably on “Next Town”. In 1995, Jamie and Ryk decided to focus on live performances and put away the writing materials. They continued playing in the Cleveland-Akron area for the next three years. In 1998, Jamie Park stepped away from the music business and chose to focus his time and energy on his family and primary career. Ryk continued to be successful playing regularly with various bands and musicians. In 2005, Jamie Park and Ryk Allyn decided to team up once again to see if they could recreate the Mic Stimms sound. Jamie Park spoke to us over the phone, “A lot has changed in the past ten years. The technology is more advanced and flexible. Our access to the public – a public that we could never have accessed ten years ago - is now possible.” Jamie and Ryk stepped into a new studio in August of 2005 to begin work on their latest project, “Shades of Grey”. "This CD is our best work yet. I listen to these tunes and I am really surprised that we could get together after all of this time and put something this good together”, Ryk said laughing. Jamie added, “It is all there – as if nothing changed. Ryk just knows the right riffs to place at the right time. It’s like he’s in your head. He can put down a riff and you’re like – yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear!” Ryk then added, “Jamie lays down the basic song structure and writes the lyrics. I then take the song and start adding my influences.” Mic Stimms – “Shades of Grey” marks the 5th CD released by the band and this set of songs remains true to their original form – from the 80’s rock sound of “Waiting for You” to the dark and subtle title track “Shades of Grey” - the band drifts through the spectrum of rock taking the listener on an ethereal ride through their unique music style. The lyrics are well written and vacillate from the obvious “Maybe” - about a couple struggling to find the answers to their relationship issues – to the abstract “Great Strange”. The songs are further supported by syncopated drum beats and solid bass lines supplied by veteran musician Clancy Gwynn. Biography – Jamie Park 
How did you get into music? My interest in music started at a young age. My parents used to hold these country music parties on the weekends at our house and my grandpa and uncles would come over to join my mom and dad in these all-night jam sessions. My brother and I would sneak down in the morning and experiment with the equipment that was still lying around. I was around 12 years old when I asked my dad to teach me how to play the guitar. He pulled out this enormous Gibson six string acoustic that had a neck that seemed to go on for miles. The fingerboard felt like it was as wide as a car! Anyways, he sat me down and showed me the D chord. I remember the pain I felt in my fingers when I pushed those strings down onto the fret but over time the pain went away and I began actually making chords. Ryk had been learning to play the piano over at his house and through some weird form of osmosis we began showing each other how to play. Ryk became more serious about the guitar and I became more serious about the keys. I believe my first experience playing in front of a crowd was in a talent show in Junior High School. I played a duet with a girl I was dating who was also into music. We learned Hotel California and Band on the Run for the show. Ryk formed our first band, Cobra, and became the band leader from that day forward. We went through a number of band mates until we finally settled in on a few people. We have continued to play with the same crew off and on throughout our music career. Do you have any other interests? I have several different hobbies and I tend to bounce back and forth between them. I am an amateur ham radio operator with a general class license. That is a hobby I have had since high school. I dabble in electronics and I’m also into computers, motorcycles, and playing MTG when my "geek" alter-ego kicks in. What kind of gear do you use? I am a big fan of the B3 sound – I love working the drawbars and rotor to get that driving vibrato in a song. I had a Roland VK-7 and I enjoyed using it in live shows. I have since moved to computer tools and I use the Native Instruments B4 II software for my Hammond organ. It is a sweet piece of software – I recommend it to anyone interested in playing the B3. I also have a collection of Korg keyboards via the Korg Legacy collection and KLC Digital Edition. We used a real Poly Six on our “You and I” CD and you can’t tell the difference between the original Poly Six and the software version. It’s unbelievable! For those techno loops and other special effects, I have the PropellerHead Software’s Reason 3.0 software collection with various associated Reason add-ons. I use an HP Pavilion zd7000 notebook to hold all of the software and connect it to an Evolution MK461C USB MIDI keyboard controller. In order to keep the latency to a minimum I have added the MAudio Fastrack audio interface to keep the notes moving along without interruption. What kind of gear do you use in the Studio? We primarily use a BOSS BR1600CD 16 track recorder and we take advantage of the virtual tracks on the machine quite extensively. All input is sent to the board in stereo so you can only manage 8 inputs at once on the board. We utilize a matrix model where virtual rows 1 and 2 are for demo tracks, VR 3 is for percussion, VR 4 is guitar, VR 5 is keyboard, VR 6 is vocals, and VR 7 is for other inputs. VR 8 is used to bounce each virtual row into a stereo track and then it is all mixed to VR 9 track 9/10 for a final mix. That mix is then mastered to a VR 10 track 9/10. We used the BOSS drum kit exclusively in “Shades of Grey” but we have now gone back to the Emu Procussion drum module as our drum machine. We MIDI the output of the drum sequencer in the BR1600 unit to the Procussion drum module and send its output back to the system. We use a Studio Project B1 condenser mic, which has worked surprisingly well. We also use a Behringer HA4700 headphone amplifier for our Sennheiser HD280Pro headphones. Biography – Ryk Allyn 
We interviewed Ryk on the phone while he was waiting on his flight to Florida... How did you get into music? Hmm...its been so long now. I was always making some kind of noise; we had a cheesy sounding organ I played, and later my mom got a piano I messed with. Around the same time my older brother got a drumset for Christmas. When he wasn't around I was in the basement banging on it. I had received a guitar one Christmas but I guess it didnt take right away...lol. I soon got alot better than my brother on the drums so I sorta inherited them. Friends would come over and play my guitar while I played drums. Every once in a while I'd hear something on guitar I liked and asked them to show me how to play it. Soon I was learning chords on my own. How did you get involved with this project? It was around the same time I learned I shared a love of music with my long-time friend (from diapers,lol), Jamie Park. His family would have these country jamboree things in their living room. J knew I could play so he invited me to one. I was out of my league with these players, but afterwards, J's dad showed both of us some moves on this big old Gibson acoustic. And then it happened...Jamie and I heard Pink Floyd for the first time. From then on I was determined to have a band of my own. I talked J into asking his parents for an organ on his birthday that I found at a local pawnshop, I had my guitar; the rest is history. After countless bands and years on the road, J decided to focus on his originals and I continued to bang my head in different bands and studio projects. One day J came over and let me hear what he had been working on and I was blown away...totally blown away! He asked if I would beef up some guitar tracks for him. He didnt need to ask twice, I was there baby! It just progressed every day, every year, to where we are today. The gigging slowed down and the studio side picked up. When Jamie and I are together...its hard to explain... we're of one mind. We've known each other all our lives, we were each others best man at our weddings. When we write/record our music, its like we're kids again, making each other laugh til we cry. It feels like the first time we heard Floyd. It feels perfect. It feels right. Do you have any other interests? Well Im a new dad! I have a beautiful set of blue eyes that keeps me occupied. My family, of course. Ive been into computers pretty much since their dawn. Im a gadget freak, electronics engineer (u need to be in the music biz). I was an amateur magician early on...pretty much have been on stage in one way or another my whole life. What gear do you use? I mainly stick to guitar these days. I started out playing 80s Deans but old Kramers are my fav, not the new junk, u need to get the REAL 80s Barettas or Pacers, not the fake ones on ebay (sorry guys, alot of vintage Kramers up there are fakes). I pretty much have all the major pre-amps (Im a gadget freak) and use whatever the mood of the song calls for. Amp-wise I stick to solid-state for reliability. I like old Crates, Line 6, and occasionally Marshall. Speakers are Celestion 12s or JBL 15s. I have quite a collection of analog kybds I play from time to time as well...but no drums lol! What kind of gear do you use in the Studio? We do most of our tracking at Jamie's studio; he likes Roland stuff. If we need to transfer anything we do it at my place. I have a digital 24 track setup as well as ADAT capability. I also have an analog Tascam 8 track if we need the warmth. I use whatever mic is hanging around at the time for voice and always go direct for instruments. Headphones are either AKG or Sennheiser. Biography – Clancy Gwynn 
We caught Clancy before he jutted off to Connecticut... How did you get into music? I went to school early one day and I was following a girl around and she led me to the choir room where the new choir teacher was starting a guitar club to teach people how to play. And then in 2nd period the same day during Study Hall the teacher came up to me and asked me if I wanted to learn how to play the string bass. And it went from there. How did you get involved with this project? When I was around 15 years old my dad introduced me to the son of a guy he worked with who played guitar. He called me up and said he was trying out for a band and they asked him if he knew a bass player. I showed up at Ryk's house and although they didn't like the guitar player they wanted me to play bass. I later found out that Ryk said I had the biggest amp that he had ever seen. We went through several other guitar players and singers until we settled in on a five piece ensemble that Ryk named Cobra. I continued playing with Ryk and Jamie for many years off and on in various bands. When Jamie started developing Mic Stimms he asked me to sit in on a few of the tunes and add what he called the "jazzy bass riffs" to some of their songs. I was asked to come back again after their hiatus and lay down some tracks on the "Shades of Grey" CD. It was like old times again. Do you have any other interests? Yes – Poker, computer games, and history. What gear do you use? I have a Hartke bass rig, 10s and 15s, and a 3500 head, usually I play four strings but recently I got a five string but haven’t used it as a five string much. I own five guitars for some reason but only three basses. They are an Alembic, a Peavy Cirrus, and a Yamaha Attitude Limited II. What kind of gear do you use in the Studio? I use a Behringer V-Amp Pro series to warm up the low end. 
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