THE MEADOWLARK (2.9.11)
Courtesy of Jimmy Iles
Hey guys - just wanted to share a link to a new song from my very good friend John Whitaker that he played live on WFPK in Louisville, KY. Just follow this to get to the broadcast.
ARTIFACTS
Do any other musicians out there have ideas in their heads that appear right as they’re doing something that prohibits them from being able to record them? Sometimes this happens to me when I’m doing something else that takes precedence or when I’m unable to muster the ability to divorce myself from my surroundings and capture that idea so I can work on it later or even right then for hours on end. Where do those ideas come from and where do they go afterward? Do they reappear someday in the future and make me think hey I feel like I’ve heard this before? Or are they gone forever, a promising notion that simply evaporates back into my psyche? I prefer to believe the former, since the idea emanated from my brain in the first place – if it surfaces again, it will only be from a different version of me, somewhere down the road, hopefully, wiser.
UNRELEASED NUMBERS
Below are five tracks that were recorded at the Gallery in Brooklyn back in late 2009 during the sessions that would ultimately lead to By The Numbers. I'll go into a short explanation for each of them so you can get a better idea of where they came from and why they didn't make it onto the final product. None of them have any vocals because we never got that far, but all the instruments are pretty much in place. Anyway, here we go...
I originally wrote this idea on the computer in Prague. It's in a strange time signature (13/4) and never had any lyrics, which made it a contender for an instrument track. This was the only song (other than NYC 05 below) to be recorded by a full band tracking together instead of a series of overdubs. Everyone happened to be there at the studio that night, so we decided to give it a shot together and find out if we could capture anything worthwhile. There's some very cool stuff here, especially Brian Forbes' guitar solo near the end. Ultimately it didn't fit alongside the other songs that were leading the pack - but it was a fun exercise. It was also the first time I had played with a band in almost four and half years, so that definitely counts for something.
I had high hopes for this tune. I liked its energy and thought it could be very accessible. Unfortunately, it never coalesced with the other ideas enough to make sense to include on the EP. I'm certainly going to re-record this song (as well as numerous others) into something more cohesive. Even though you can't hear them, the lyrics are story-based and have a lot of dark humor to them. And good gracious, Aaron Steel played some amazing drums on this track...
This song was written in New York sometime either in late 2008 or early 2009 (I can't remember exactly when). As you'll hear, it's fairly harmless in its current state, nothing of much consequence in my opinion. The words to this song also contain a liberal smattering of dark humor, which I thought was necessary at the time to offset the politeness of the chord structure. A few other story/character-based songs also came out of this period, all of which were fun to write, but didn't quite fit into the overall scheme of the EP. There's definitely a complete project in my head where all these types of ideas exist - it just hasn't make it to print yet.
This song was written in New York in early 2009. The original demo was on acoustic guitar and was also part of the series of dark humor story-based songs that I was apparently into creating at the time (this one has some unfinished lyrics about zombies I believe). We recorded this on the same evening as PRAGUE 39 - much like that track, this one has some weird time signature changes here and there. Overall I really like the structure of this song - if I can finish the words I think it will come together.
The demo for this idea came near the end of my time in Prague (55 out of 57). I'd been writing a lot of electronic compositions and just needed to rock a bit I reckon. And, as with most of the Prague ideas, I wanted to keep it short and succinct. Again, Aaron played magnificiently, as did Dan Asher on bass guitar. We'd recorded everything except the vocals when I came to the conclusion that this was a perfectly acceptable song that just didn't fit with the others. Once again, the lyrics were story-based and not overtly connected with the numeric theme of the album. I'm sure this will be reworked at some point because, well, it rocks.
Anyway, that's it for these ideas. If you have any questions feel free to email me.
HOME AGAIN HOME AGAIN
We were finally allowed back into our apartment on Saturday evening after a fairly tense 24 hours at a friends house, mostly spent wondering if we'd return to anything at all. It was definitely strange to see large plumes of smoke coming from the nearest ridge across the street from us - thankfully the firefighters were able to contain the fire overnight and prevent it from spreading much further. Thanks firefighters - you guys are kind of awesome.
EVACUATION
I was ordered to evacuate my home this morning after a fire broke out in the hills near our apartment. Deciding what to take and what to leave was quite the process. Although I'm fairly optimistic that our home is going to be survive the flames, I'm certainly a little wary of what the next few days might bring. Thankfully, I had time to grab a few important things before we left - a couple guitars, clothes, my toothbrush, and hard drives (always the hard drives). I'll try to post some updates they come along, even though I may be a bit busy with this in the near future. More soon...
Photo by Paul Aiken
TESTING THE WATERS
I've been going to a lot of shows in Denver over the past few weeks. Before we moved to Colorado, I'd heard some good things about the music scene, but wasn't exactly sure what it was about all because I couldn't experience it firsthand - I guess I'm an empiricist.
Regardless, I'm very impressed with the extent and caliber of what I've witnessed so far, as well as the enthusiasm of those in attendance. Live music (performing and supporting it) is undoubtedly ingrained in the culture here. There are tons of clubs and a myriad of local, regional, and national bands in town on any given evening. It's all very invigorating - and I'm excited to become a part of it.
REEXAMINATION
A few days ago I finally listened to the songs I was working on back in July. It was interesting to hear them again after a couple months away from the project, which actually feels very beneficial in retrospect. My life is completely different than it was two months ago. And my assessment was fairly different as well. I reckon it’s another lesson of the advantages of stepping away from something, then coming back to it in a new light. Hopefully I’ll remember that…
FIRE NEAR HOME
A large forest fire started this morning a few miles west of Boulder. So far it's consumed around 3000 acres, including a number of houses. Hopefully all the people close to the flames have been evacuated and the firefighters are keeping safe. Here's a photo...
SEA LEGS
Everyone rides a bike in Boulder. And since I now live in Boulder too, I suppose that I should ride one as well. It's been ten years since I've ridden a bicycle, ever since mine was stolen in college, probably because I'd adopted the intelligent practice of not locking it up at night. I guess I had other priorities that were more pressing.
Anyway, I went bike shopping a couple days ago and found one that looked like it might work for me. No sooner did I get it outside and step up onto it than I subsequently fell to the ground in what must have been at least moderately humorous for pretty much everyone within viewing distance. Looking back, I'm not really sure how it happened. But it happened. Regardless, I go forth undeterred and will, one way or another, respectfully join these local legions of velocipedes.
But when I do, for the first few days, you know, watch out.
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
We arrived in Boulder last Friday after the long drive out west. Things have been fairly busy since we arrived, opening box after box, putting everything in its place and so on. We found a place to live near a mountain with several trails leading up into the wilderness that we hope to start exploring soon as well. Good gracious this is a different environment than New York City, but altogether very pleasant and extremely welcoming. And though I'm sure it will undoubtedly take time to learn exactly how we fit into this little burg, the future appears to be very promising indeed...
THE MASTERING TRIP
Here are some photos from a recent journey to Asbury Park, New Jersey to master a new album I've been working on lately.
THE PORT AUTHORITY
THE WAITING AREA DOWN BELOW
THE BUS
THE INSIDE OF THE BUS
LEAVING NEW YORK IN THE RAIN
THE STUDIO
A CELEBRATORY BEVERAGE
WALKING TO THE BEACH
THE BEACH
THE BOARDWALK
THE GARDEN OF JOY
WAITING AT THE TRAIN STATION
THE TRAIN ARRIVES
TRANSFERRING IN LONG BRANCH
INSIDE THE TRAIN
CLIMBING FROM THE DEPTHS OF PENN STATION
PENN STATION
AND I'M BACK...
OF AN IMMIMENT ENSEMBLE
Over the past two years, I've been playing solo acoustic shows here in New York. It's been a wonderful experience to be able to gather up my guitar and take the subway or walk to every show. Since the end of 2004, I haven't played with a group of other musicians except on very rare occasions, all of which I've appreciated immensely. I'm really looking forward to getting out to Colorado and having the ability to put together a band in earnest again, learning new things from other musicians, sharing the energy that exists when a group of people play the same song together - you know, 'rockin out', as they say. I know it will take some time to meet people, find a place to practice, and all the other logistics that accompany such an endeavor - but I'm optimistic that it will all come together eventually.
