“I used about ten different apps, with a total cost of about $50,” says Gary Gorzoch, aka DJ Shag, whose 2011 album Made with My Phone was recorded using his iPhone 4. “It’s a totally portable studio that can be used like a regular four-track to record vocals, instruments, anything. The different methods of inputting sounds into the phone include sampling from the phone’s internal mic or using an input device to enable a quarter-inch jack input.
“I was always looking for music apps that had great sounds as additions to my current sound banks and samples, but I needed a solid sampling drum machine type of app. Intua’s BeatMaker app was $19.99.... I can now bounce out four-bar sequences and loops of each sound in the phone, transfer them to my computer over a Wi-Fi network, import them into protocols, and little to no mixing is needed.”
He may be the first person to release an entire album and video created on a portable phone. “There’s an iPad synth project by the Gorillaz, [but] when I first started making beats with the phone, no one believed me. They pretty much had me perform something in front of them to prove it. I know there will still be some people out there who don’t believe me, but I’ll show them on the spot, anytime.”
A “Made with My Phone” performance video was shot on the same iPhone 4, using cinematic lens adapters. “It shoots in 720p HD, although it’s the lower end HD. I was checking gadget sites and found an adapter that enables a 35mm lens to be attached to the iPhone and the special housing. The wide-angle mount cost me $119, the other adapter was $199, and the 35mm Nikon lens was $150.”
Made with My Phone features local vocalists Blame One, Jimmy Powers, Sojourn, Kaus, and the Anti Citizens. Says Powers, “I was amazed at the bass he got out of it. It was incredible.”
DJ Shag has worked and produced in San Diego since the late nineties, becoming involved in various musical projects, first with Undersound Experiment and later with Supa Unknown, Mantis, Joint Response, Blame One, the Others, Capital D (All Natural), Pumpkinhead (Brooklyn Academy/Plague), Dannu (Visionaries/Writersblock), and Icon the Mic King.
His CD From the Depths is a compilation of tracks from his 13+ year career. Half of the album is instrumental, encouraging other emcees to freestyle over the beats. In early 2011, he released an animated video “Made With My Phone” with local vocals from Blame One, Jimmy Powers, Sojourn, Kaus, and the Anti Citizens. Download the entire Made With My Phone album (made with his phone) free at madewithmyphone.com.