Peace & Love & Randy
It's getting hottt around here. Two squirrels having relations in a sock hot. Conversely, my little above ground pool is freakin' freezing. But it does offer some relief. Heat stroke to hypothermia in 40 minutes - that will clean your pores!
Wednesday the band worked up another new song... "Somebody New" - this is one that had actually bonked around a couple years ago but never really stuck. I wrote the majority of it in the same period as Completely I think... which is funny because lyrically it's the exact opposite of that song. Sometimes that happens. You follow the musical idea or theme down a rabbit hole long enough that you want to do something completely (pun intended) different next time. So that song was written in a batch with some other tunes but I was never satisfied with the chorus. Nevertheless, we banged on it a few times with a very fast shuffle beat but eventually it got shelved.
The lyrics are from the perspective of the man talking to his ex about how absolutely fabulous his new girlfriend is - all the while it's completely obvious he is still obsessed with her. We've all been there, yes? Denial, the songwriter's catnip.
A few months ago I came up with a quick little chorus without a home and realized that it was the missing stone in the path. Before the rest of the band arrived I was setting up the recording equipment and banged the elements together. I think what brought it all back is for some inexplicable reason the lyrics for the song (originally titled "The Point") where laying defiantly on the music stand. Why, I have no idea... but I quickly cobbled together the two ideas written a couple years apart and thus a song was born anew. Huzzah!
Randy & Preston and Jim walked in and we kicked back up with "Strawberries & Beer". It sounded even livelier and more confident than last time. Encouraging. The grove had a little more bounce and although I forgot most of the lyrics I was having more fun playing with the talking/rapping verses. This will be a fun song to explore as the months go on - trying different phrases and whatnot. Maybe we'll debut it tomorrow at the little acoustic show.
Next we worked on "Everybody Knows", punching up the bridge & intro. I wanted it to start off a little harder... and I think we came up with some cool stuff for the bridge.
After a couple hours of work I threw back out for consideration "Somebody New". Within a few minutes we had a good working version of it... it's a fairly simple song. Jim came up with some excellent Police-esque beat shifts for the song and I was able to bring back my old "wah" guitar sound. It feels like finding a perfectly fitting, in-style shirt in the back of your closet. Or something more manly than that. Whatever!
Jim rolled out at this point and Randy, Preston & I worked on some acoustic arrangements for Saturday's show. We may have some surprises for you - it's always interesting hearing songs that you've played a thousand times stripped down to bare acoustic arrangements.
Oh yeah... we played "Never Be Enough" for the first time in a LONG time and I had this complete out-of-body experience during the guitar solo... it was very strange. This solo has always been a tremendous challenge (I curse myself for writing it - damn you Dave!) and as the third chorus ends I always get a flash of anxiety - I have to play it perfect! Well, my hands & brain & heart went somewhere very strange and I played it pretty much spot-on... I don't know how it happened and I doubt it could happen again but for a moment there I wasn't sitting in downtown Cincinnati in our rehearsal space... I was in whatever la la land is reserved for savant-esque moments of inspiration. A rare visit, to be sure. Remember that moment in the movie "Somewhere In Time" when Christopher Reeves gets sucked back into modern day after finding the penny? No? Hmmmm... well, then think of a manly movie then and pretend I never said that.
Well, that's the haps down here. Three new songs, some big gigs coming up, and a lot of album still to mix. What's new with you?
Dave
Wednesday the band worked up another new song... "Somebody New" - this is one that had actually bonked around a couple years ago but never really stuck. I wrote the majority of it in the same period as Completely I think... which is funny because lyrically it's the exact opposite of that song. Sometimes that happens. You follow the musical idea or theme down a rabbit hole long enough that you want to do something completely (pun intended) different next time. So that song was written in a batch with some other tunes but I was never satisfied with the chorus. Nevertheless, we banged on it a few times with a very fast shuffle beat but eventually it got shelved.
The lyrics are from the perspective of the man talking to his ex about how absolutely fabulous his new girlfriend is - all the while it's completely obvious he is still obsessed with her. We've all been there, yes? Denial, the songwriter's catnip.
A few months ago I came up with a quick little chorus without a home and realized that it was the missing stone in the path. Before the rest of the band arrived I was setting up the recording equipment and banged the elements together. I think what brought it all back is for some inexplicable reason the lyrics for the song (originally titled "The Point") where laying defiantly on the music stand. Why, I have no idea... but I quickly cobbled together the two ideas written a couple years apart and thus a song was born anew. Huzzah!
Randy & Preston and Jim walked in and we kicked back up with "Strawberries & Beer". It sounded even livelier and more confident than last time. Encouraging. The grove had a little more bounce and although I forgot most of the lyrics I was having more fun playing with the talking/rapping verses. This will be a fun song to explore as the months go on - trying different phrases and whatnot. Maybe we'll debut it tomorrow at the little acoustic show.
Next we worked on "Everybody Knows", punching up the bridge & intro. I wanted it to start off a little harder... and I think we came up with some cool stuff for the bridge.
After a couple hours of work I threw back out for consideration "Somebody New". Within a few minutes we had a good working version of it... it's a fairly simple song. Jim came up with some excellent Police-esque beat shifts for the song and I was able to bring back my old "wah" guitar sound. It feels like finding a perfectly fitting, in-style shirt in the back of your closet. Or something more manly than that. Whatever!
Jim rolled out at this point and Randy, Preston & I worked on some acoustic arrangements for Saturday's show. We may have some surprises for you - it's always interesting hearing songs that you've played a thousand times stripped down to bare acoustic arrangements.
Oh yeah... we played "Never Be Enough" for the first time in a LONG time and I had this complete out-of-body experience during the guitar solo... it was very strange. This solo has always been a tremendous challenge (I curse myself for writing it - damn you Dave!) and as the third chorus ends I always get a flash of anxiety - I have to play it perfect! Well, my hands & brain & heart went somewhere very strange and I played it pretty much spot-on... I don't know how it happened and I doubt it could happen again but for a moment there I wasn't sitting in downtown Cincinnati in our rehearsal space... I was in whatever la la land is reserved for savant-esque moments of inspiration. A rare visit, to be sure. Remember that moment in the movie "Somewhere In Time" when Christopher Reeves gets sucked back into modern day after finding the penny? No? Hmmmm... well, then think of a manly movie then and pretend I never said that.
Well, that's the haps down here. Three new songs, some big gigs coming up, and a lot of album still to mix. What's new with you?
Dave
| Permalink | E-mail this post 
