Monday, May 31, 2010

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy - Session 6



Went to Allan's last Monday & did guitar parts for 'In the meantime' & 'Only a fool'. These are two of the last four songs left so I'm stoked that things are coming along. I'll be pretty happy once all the recordings done & I have something to show for all the years I've been playing & writing. The plan at the moment is to get them pressed to vinyl and sent away to a few record companies & of course some select friends. I think it's gonna be a pretty good record from how it's coming together so far & has the potential to be even more than that if the universe is smiling on us & all the pieces fall into the right place. I can hear how good it can be & what I want it to represent so I'm just allowing the whole thing to come together how it's meant to & trying not to get too anal about the whole process. The professionalism's not important for this record, the idea is to capture the essence of the song & make it sound like a great record done on the cheap. I have a feeling that no matter what I or the band does in the future, this record will be a lot of people's favourite work of ours, because of the amatueurism. Anyway, the session went ok. I'm loving 'In the meantime', I forgot that Graeme actually started the song, it gives it some real anticipation, particularly when Mike brings the drums in then counts me in afer four bars, it's a pretty awesome beginning to the song. I'm going to try to convince Allan to ask his piano player to put some backing on it, I think it'll sound pretty sweet. 'Only a fool' didn't go so hot, in fact I may do the whole thing again. For the life of me I couldn't remember the right sequence for a major chord progression in the song. It's amazing how something so basic, that I've been playing for so long, can go completely haywire when you have to stop & think about how it's played. & I couldn't get the timing right for the opening chords. Mike counts me in & I play the first eight bars alone before they come in. I just couldn't stay in time with him, I was either too fast or too slow. So annoying!! & my stupid Vox pedal wasn't working so I couldn't use it, I have to get it sorted because it's crucial for 'Fallen' & 'Secret Garden', the final two tracks. That's Angie there taking selfies cause she got bored. : )

Monday, May 10, 2010

Lordy, lordy, lordy. Session 5

Went to Allan's last Monday night to add vocals to 'City Streets' & 'I'm your lover'. Ended up putting a shaker onto 'portrait' which adds a really nice country feel to the track. It's amazing what one instrument can do to change the sound of a song. Allan suggested it might be an idea putting subtle bongo's on it as well, which I gotta admit did appeal a little but I'm conscious of overdoing things. I don't want it to sound like I've thrown the kitchen sink at it, I'd rather it sound as minimalist as possible. After that I did a vocal take for 'Lover', which sounded really thin, it had no grunt to it at all. In order to beef it up I did a second one & also a second cabasa. It lends some substance to the vocal which is needed as the riff of the song is one of the strongest on the album. I want this track to open the record so it's important it's done right. I've now got two guitars, bass, drums, two main vocals & two cabasa's. The second guitar only comes in for the main riff on the chorus, which is to emphasise the riff itself. I want it to really explode when someone puts this record on for the first time, when the guitar kicks in they've gotta know that that they're listening to something with substance. It's crucial for holding their attention for the full 10 songs. I think I'm done with the track now, it's all gonna come down to editing when we're mixing it down.. Next up is the electric guitar tracks, 'Only a fool', 'Secret Garden', 'In the meantime' & 'Fallen'. 'In the meantime' & 'Fallen' particularly are gonna be difficult, not least because the timing is so weird when we drop out & come back in. There's no particular spot where it happens so it's gonna be a hit & hope! I'm hoping to put piano on 'In the meantime', it'll really help to bring out the rock'n'roll in the song if I can find someone to do it.
Speaking of piano, I'd love to play a 'Oh my' on piano at our next gig. Bonnie's looking at doing another Tugboat show, but Mike's not keen so I'm gonna do it solo. Having a piano track up my sleeve will really open up the possibilities for the show. The whole thing with playing solo sets is having variety in your songs. Harmonica, slide, accapela, piano, anything different is gonna help hold people's attention when you're solo, rather than just playing guitar song after song.
With Mike pulling out it definately emphasises how important a solo career is as well as a band. I can't allow my future to be put in other people's hands so the more solo show's I can play the better which emphasises how important it is I get myself a uke & piano. I have to start learning diverse instruments to have the ability to play 90 minute solo sets. Exciting! : )