Putting down sound

So TTW is starting to record.  We have set up shop in two basements.  One in Lansing and one in Fenton.  We've been toying around, but the project pretty much officially began(one of the most official, but non committal statements I've ever made) on Wednesday, March 3.  By that I mean things that were recorded that day have a chance to make it on the EP.  We think the drums will be one of the major hurdles in getting a really good authentic sound.  Moving away from the last project, we have decided to pretty much use acoustic, mic'd drums exclusively.  Finding the balance between setting a mic in the middle of the room  recording things on one take per song and having the instruments so produced that you lose the soul of the band.  We aren't good enough to just plug in and play.  I heard an interview with Mick Jagger and he mentioned that he doesn't allow his band to do more than a few takes per song.  Errors are Ok because that 15th time you do a part and land it it is missing all the emotion you interjected at the beginning of the session.   There is something in that statement.  I was listening to a friend of our band that released his CD.  His album was produced a member of Third Day who is a grammy wining producer.  It's pretty amazing.  Everything is perfect.  In the right place.  Balanced.  EQ'd.  Each part carefully orchestrated.  I think that works well for him.  He is a solo artist who is a lead singer and not a musician.  The music was designed to be perfect and compliment his singing.  That type of producing is amazing.  However, I don't think that is the route a band like TTW should take.  Our goal is to record the band, not make an awesomely produced recording.  Not that it isn't going to be awesome.  Just that we don't want to lose the soul of the band.

Broken Bells

One group that I really like is the Shins.  Although the song writing, lyrics and producing is awesome, they can be somewhat unpalatable to some people.  The lead singer is on a new project.  Broken Bells.  I have only been able to sample music from the myspace as the Cd is not out yet.  At first glance, I would say a cross between, The Gorillas, The Shins and Beck.  If the presentation is anything like The Shins, I will only be listening to the tracks and never looking to see them live.  For as much as I loved the Shins, I caught them one time when they were on SNL.  The sound didn't translate to live music and the stage presence was basically of the attitude that "we're not really trying to entertain you that much."  Maybe it's part of the persona, but it didn't work for me.  That said, something about this video, Pink Bullets is pretty cool.  I love this part of The Shins.

Anyways, I digress.  I love pretty much everything I'm hearing.  The CD doesn't release until 3-9-10.  I'm definitely going to make it one of my next downloads purchases.

Otis Taylor - Ten Million Slaves

Just watched the movie Public Enemies.  Awesome!  The sound track really enhanced the movie.  Most was of it was classical in nature, but I loved the song Ten Million Slaves.  I've become interested in songs with banjo of late.  Most of the time blue grass.  I believe this was used in some of the trailers.   Kind of a blues dirty guitar/bluegrass type thing going on.  A song that perfectly fits a period movie yet still can fit nicely in my regular music listening collection.  I downloaded it off of itunes almost right after the movie.  I haven't checked out much more of Otis Taylor, but I think I will filter through his work and probably will end up with some of it in my collection.

Original Soundtrack of Our Lives

I discovered Original Soundtrack of Our Lives a while back and have gotten back into listening to them.  Good song writing.  They have a song called Big Time that is awesome.  Very much in the vain of Oasis or the Doves.  Maybe a bit dreary if you listen to the cd all the way through, but good songs to put in a mix.

David Grohl thoughts

I was watching Foo Fighters most recent story tellers episode and David Grohl was talking about the song Hero and said it was written during rehearsals.  He just filled in some words to fit the melody and they ended up sticking.  That has happened to me before.  Sometimes, I have a set of words written down then sit down and write a melody, but more often I start plucking away at a song and use filler words or even just syllables that seems to fit the cadence and character of the song.  Later, when I go to write 'official words' down, sometimes the words that I was mumbling seems to stick.   A new song the band is playing called Proclaim is a good example of that.

Kenna

So I'm a big fan of this song, Sun Red Sky Blue.  Kenna's story about getting noticed by people very high up in the music industry and not being able to break through to mainstream music was referenced several times in a book I've been reading.  I had to check him out.  Easy to see by just sampling why his marketability tests for radio play have pretty much failed.  Despite this, he has quite the cult following.  Love the music.  The closest thing in my collection to compare is Mutemath.

It Might Get Loud @ 1st glance

Pretty awesome movie. I’ve only watched It Might Get Loud one time so far and due to people sleeping in the house, the volume was down and I missed a little of the dialogue. I find it interesting how much I love narratives. After watching this and hearing more about Jack White, I immediately started sampling White Stripes. I already knew a lot about the Edge, but was surprised at how little I knew about Jimmy Page. One  particular point in the movie that struck me was when Jimmy put on an old record he likes. He closed his eye, got lost in the music and did a little air guitar like any other guitar fan would do. It’s hard to imagine someone like Jimmy Page day dreaming about playing someone else’s music.