Safety First, thats what I always say. I emailed Michael Swart (maker of the amp) just to give an email Hi Five, and he responded right away, seems like a good guy. I don’t think Marshall or Fender would send me a personal email, so I like him already. TB and I had a small guitar session at the house, breaking out the various axes and turning it up in the living room, positive results all around. The battery on my fulltone distortion pedal died mid rock out, thats always disappointing. I need some more effects. Maybe an Octave pedal?
I ordered a Stylophone a few days back, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylophone I’m very much looking forward to it. Sometimes new instruments bring new ideas, and I think the recent acquisitions are proving this to be correct. I’m in the process of some new recordings, wonderful sounds all around.
Also, can I say that Ryan Adam’s blog is far superior to mine in both content and craziness? He makes entire metal band videos just for the blog, writes impromptu songs, completely whacked out poetry, its really just genius. He even chronicles himself dying his hair blonde. He is pretty much my idol in every aspect of life…except that whole Speedball Ingesting thing, and most of those albums post heartbreaker, and those moon boots he wears sometimes. But everything else, I love it. So I’m going to try to adapt his style a bit…here we go
When things get busy, one constant source of entertainment for me is LOL Cats.
Spring time. Allergies. Apocalypse.
I just had a conversation with my 5 year old homegirl, it was the first conversation we’ve ever had, i’ve known her for 2 years.
The orange juice I drank with lunch was like drinking a King Crimson album.
There are certain times when your goals and opinions change. I’m speaking of course musically, you think I would discuss career or relationship ambition on the blog? Seriously man, seriously. For the last year I’ve been obsessed with a new amp for recording purposes. Like any other instrument, when you’re young you get a small practice amp to start, its not enough so you buy a 100 watt monster, then you realize somewhere along the line that its too loud for most practical applications other than live performance, so the quest continues. Its a big myth that louder bigger amps sound better. I hear you saying “I still don’t believe you Steve, can you give me 3 pertinent examples?” why yes dear reader, I never thought you’d ask…
1. Layla, Derrick and the Dominoes, one of Eric Clapton’s most important albums, recorded solely on a Fender Champ.
2. The Rolling Stones. A secret weapon of Keith Richards is a 5 watt 8 inch speaker early Fender Champ. He now uses a Victoria champ replica, but its the same thing mannn.
3. Led Zeppelin. That early stuff was recorded not on a giant ass Marshall stack… but a small Supro combo amp.
Serious stuff? Why yes. So the thing is, you see the Champ is popular, but the one these guys used is a 1950’s tweed thing, in short supply, incredibly expensive, and incredibly fragile. I just don’t have that kind of dedication anymore. Amp repair is expensive, so are old parts. So then a while ago I heard of the Swart amp co, after seeing the one and only Jeffrey of Tweedy playing one. The sound was serious, as you could imagine. check it yo:
Thats it on the left. Its a modified champ thing, in a weird 1940’s looking cabinet, love at first sight. So it took a long time to find one. There were no dealers anywhere near me. Theres always mail order, but when spending a large amount, and making a serious commitment, you want to test drive, ya know? So last night I came home and randomly checked the Swart web site. Well….Ludlow guitars is the first NYC dealer. As they say…it was on.
So I went to work in the morning, pre passover, and gave a call. They did have it in stock, the tension was building. As quickly as I could, with the MTA on my side, I made it from midtown to the lower east side in record time. Even the infamous F train was there right as I needed it. Once at the destination, it was perched on top of a few other amps….a shining beacon of awesomeness. As I walked up to the counter to ask to plug that mofo in, another guy walks in, guitar strapped to his back. I inquire about the Swart, the dude behind me goes “oh I’m actually here to try it too, I brought my own guitar to test it” yep, those were fighting words. Luckily as the rules of the house go, I was there first. So he hovers over me the whole time as I’m trying it out. I can’t really blame him, I might have felt the same way, but I wouldn’t have gotten all up on his shit about it. He was moving the amp as I was playing, annoying stuff. So after like 2 minutes, it was decided, this amp is fucking awesome. Its beautiful, sounds perfect and everything. So i wave to my homey behind the counter, typical rocker dude named JJ, tattoos, long hair, I say “so, I know this guy wants to try it and all, thats cool, but I’ll take it” and the other dude kind of give a “Oh shit” look, yeah, take that! The store dude (and he most certainly was a dude) was on my side, hes like “as soon as you want that guy off the amp, just let me know, I’ll gently nudge him out” So the guy gave me minimal attitude, and I was on my way.
In a cab, a few blocks walk, on the PATH, then home through JC, it was not too much of a burden. Tonight being passover, I did travel back to the Hillsdale, a good excuse to bring the amp and crank it up at the house. Well…
This thing is the Secret weapon. Think the Stones “Sticky Fingers” album. Its just pure and wonderful. Extremely detailed, your guitar volume knob does most of the work, as there are only 2 controls on the back:
Yeah, they do go to 11. The low end on this thing is just plain silly. Its 1- 8″ speaker! how does that happen! Its gotta be this cabinet design, its a little taller than the Champ’s I’ve seen, and its supposedly some badass finger jointed pine thing, hand made by one dude, so extra love is a key component. Mine is serial # 236, still made by the one dude, Michael Swart, so I’m hoping he goes into mass production, so I can claim to have one of the originals. But all that stuff aside, this thing is beautiful. It sounds like a monster in a tiny package. And also, what other American products are still the best on earth? Think about it. Technology? umm, no Cars? haha, yeah, umm, ok. Clothing? Luxury goods? Anything? Guitars and Amplifiers. You come up with a better example, I’ll buy you a cheesesteak. God Bless America.
Of the great American songwriters, how many are truly badass and versatile? Start the list….it doesn’t go too far. Dylan is kind of versatile, depending on the era, not really. So we come to Paul Simon, who does not get too much respect in the “badass” arena. Just for the record, I do not like Simon and Garfunkel. I just can’t identify. Shoot me. But everything afterwards starts to get a little more interesting. There was a time when several tracks from Rhythm of the Saints were my main jams. So, when this BAM series was announced, a month of Paul Simon spanning various eras…I jumped. The obvious prize was “Under African Skies” a mix of Graceland, and Rhythm…featuring David Byrne and a bunch of others. Its like watching God and Jesus kick it for a bit on stage. Well, you get what I mean.
Yes, we were far back, but it was a small theater. And also yes, thats Steve Gadd on drums. Look up his list of credits, he’s a legend. I think thats Alex Acuña on the right, and Cyro Baptista on the left…a serious drum section to say the least.
The evening opened with Ladysmith Black Mombazo, of Graceland fame, the 9 piece African vocal group. Just sheer beauty in their voices. Simon didn’t appear until 3 songs into the set, and seemed to take it easy. He was clearly happy to be there, doing some excellent little dances (he is a tiny tiny fellow) lots of joy in the room. A few semi forgettable guests later, Luciana Souza took the stage, and brought out David Byrne as her backup vocalist. Right off, he owns the stage. Coordinating dances with the rest of the band, he looks like a cartoon character, 8 feet tall, shiny blue shirt, shocking white hair. His voice instantly cuts through the 11 other people on stage.
Simon and Souza leave the stage, handing it over to Byrne, who looks like an excited 10 year old. He bounces back and forth from left to right, ready to tear it up. His dance moves are probably the greatest I have ever seen. The crowd is in the palm of his hand, he can do no wrong. He tears up Born at the Right Time, a song I am not so familiar with, then launches with incredible force into “You Can Call Me Al”, a somewhat cheesy song, which seems like it was written for The Byrne.
Just plain amazing. It was worth the price of admission to see Byrne’s 2 songs.
So they take a little encore break, and Ladysmith returns to the stage, just 9 dudes, and does the a capella intro to “Diamonds On The Souls Of Her Shoes” and its goddamn fantastic. There were no words to describe it. Simon even came out and could barely contain his joy, he had a hard time getting the words out through a giant ridiculous smile (I mean, we could see it from the nosebleed seats) and the band was just non stop. Amazing stuff.
Its reassuring to know that once an artist reaches that level, he doesnt just hang out and count his money, buying expensive cars and banging models and shit. He puts together a flawless band and tears up a month at a small theater in Brooklyn. I once heard some review of a giant amphitheater Simon show, and they called his band “note perfect” which is pretty much exactly how they sound, but not as rigid as that term implies. Not one note sounded out of place, but the feel was beautiful, the band breathed as one giant piece. Very serious stuff.
We also saw Mike Jorgenson from Wilco at the restaurant we had dinner at, but the Cuica Sugimoto was not a Wilco fan, so it was not a big deal. Cyro Baptista did play a cuica at one point in the evening, so it was exciting nonetheless.
This is a wonderful week of live music, with tonight being possibly the greatest show ever performed on the east coast…Paul Simon and David Byrne doing some African music…oooooh…but lets focus on last night for the time being.
Spoon.
Ok, so Britt Daniel had me fooled, and I will tell you why. From every photo I have seen, he looks to be commanding the guitar with the utmost authority. Good posture, good guitar, thats about it. He looks confident with the Axe and writes some good songs, what else is there? Check out this photo for reference
Well Texas Man, you duped me. His playing is choppy as hell. Their albums are tight little masterpieces, but it just doesn’t translate. It took them about 8 songs to really get going. The last few jams had it together, but the entire opening of the show just didnt work. He sounded like he was straining vocally, the tempos were not syncing up…just kind of eh. But, here’s another photo
They did have some kick ass guitars, a great old Gibson J160-e, the John Lennon acoustic, and a badass looking ES-335. Serious business. Try as they might, they just couldnt get it together. Several horn players were on hand for a few tunes, a recipe for awesomeness. But still…nothing. They even missed that kick ass part in “The Underdog” just after the chorus where there is an alternating acoustic strum thing happening, listen to it, you’ll know exactly what I mean. They played it with one electric…the 2nd guitar/keyboard player just playing tambourine. Yeah,really, come on dudes.
Anyhoo, this new Terminal Five venue is a little freaky. For one, they’re suddenly sponsored by Camel. Wasn’t there some law passed against that? There are video screens with constant cigarette commercials between bands, which was just disturbing to see- i mean, have you ever seen a cigarette commercial? Just a lil weird. Also giant neon camel signs everywhere, check it out:
It was just odd. Everyone was noticeably uncomfortable with it. Also, I was very uncomfortable with this incredibly foul smelling Canadian in front of me the whole night. This kid was just offensive, and it was really packed in this venue. I need to carry some fabreeze, or a tazer.
So, I’m not going to suggest any previews for tonight’s show, I’ve been looking forward to it for months, we’ll see what happens…
For years I spent hours upon hours searching out a particular era of Gretsch drums. Do distance was too far, some prices were too high, but I somehow managed to build a nice collection. 11:00pm on a Wednesday night? Sure i’ll drive to upstate NY to check out a kick drum! But after a while, it got excessive. Where am I gonna put all these things? I can’t play more than a few at once…whats the use? So, I switched back to my trusty Ludwig 70’s workhorse, it has never let me down. It still sounds good, so whats the big deal? Well, this is where the problem is introduced. I went back to the parents house Saturday morning en route to a recording thing, and had some time to kill. After the water heater in their basement exploded (i’m still convinced it was an elaborate plot by my mom to get all my instruments out of there and re-do the carpet) The drums were forced to my childhood bedroom. Several sat unplayed for months. So, why not, I set up a gretsch tom I never put much thought into. The bearing edge was a chewed up mess (the point of the shell which the head sits on), there was an extra hole drilled in it, one hoop is not original, nothing special. But….oh my god, it sounded frikkin amazing. I couldn’t stop playing it. Just plain ridiculous. I hate small toms, sometimes I dont even bring one out, but now…oh man, my whole opinion has changed once again. This also kind of pisses me off, because it does in fact sound significantly better than the tom on the Ludwig kit. god damnit.
So, continuing on the inspiration path, I set up the Elvin kick, which happens to match the tom, here are some photos:
So, thats that.
I saw the one and only Rhett Miller last week in a solo acoustic performance, at my favorite venue ever, Maxwells. Now, I learned something, which I learn over and over again; The difference between a pro and an amateur is very apparent, very quickly. Some neck tattoo sporting jackass opened the show, and constantly blabbed about his songs on Veronica Mars, and all sorts of hollywood shit, but he just plain did not cut it. When he hit a high note, he would grit his teeth and not really open his mouth, I wanted to throw a bottle at him, something I rarely feel towards performers at a show.
But as soon as Rhett took the stage, it was all different. Yes, he was a little drunk, and forgot more than a few verses, but no one cared at all. The show consisted of just him and one acoustic guitar, but he flung himself around, screamed his little lungs out, and we all left satisfied. His writing is getting better, not that it was anything to scoff at in the past, but the new Old 97’s material played seems strong, I’m psyched. I tried to take some photos, but as we know I do not believe in using a flash, and the club has maybe 1 stage light, so, deal with that.
So take a listen to this, its among the greatest 15 seconds in music, I came across the entire multitrack session, some intense possibilities, here is a small mix of just some vocals:
EDIT: I’ve continued to listen, and I cant stop here. so on we go
All sorts of things float around the internet. Some entertain you, like a small monkey riding a motorcycle in Thailand. But rarely are they as signifigant. I think someone found a solo vocal of DLR singing Runnin With The Devil, and while awesome, it was not phenomenal. So I got 24 wav files, they only had 24 tracks in those old days…pshhh. There are all sorts of iffy analog punch ins, harmonies cut out in the middle of takes, guitar solo licks that were never included, but beneath it is some incredibly serious music. If this solo vocal does not give you chills, you are not human my friend:
Next time you listen to some bitch ass whiney imitation of a rock vocalist (hmmm..My Chemical Romance? Fallout Boy? Blink 182? oh how the list goes on!) go back and listen to one verse of Freddie. This was before auto tune, pitch shift,I doubt they even had a compressor. thats some raw shit right there. Notice the breath edit just before “as if nothing really matters” Damn man, damn.
Then we have some of this:
Honestly, how did these guys do it. There are no effects on the vocal. Thats 5 vocal tracks combined, and a cymbal played with mallets, It does have a flange on the percussion though. You think Coldplay sits around the studio, just musicians, charting out beautiful vocal harmonies? When the older crowd bitchesabout musicians not having it together or sounding like the “good old days” this is pretty much what they mean.
Then why not, here’s a guitar solo
So I’m going to go lock myself in a studio and try to figure out how they did this. At least I’ll have a kick ass beard when I come out.
Last night and incredible combination of food and music was pulled off, it required much thought, much careful planning…no, it didn’t really. Sara Q Robinson, Ditcher Of Ditchers, joined me for some serious BBQ and Smokey Hormel. A Combo that works well just by name. I have a habit of telling people that certain musicians or bands are “the greatest ever in the entire world”, I favor the superlatives. But each time I say these things, I do in fact mean it. But when I say this dude is the greatest guitar player alive, I pretty much mean it even more. The show was at a strange fake western themed bar, but there were peanut shells on the floor, always a welcome sight. Lets get straight into it, and discuss the solos. As previously mentioned, I haven’t been a guitar solo an in many years. But recently, Nels Cline and Hormel have changed my mind. At one point, I turned to the Robinson and said, “I would give an arm to be able to play a solo like that” it was briefly discussed that I would need both arms to play said solo, so it was determined that the arm exchange would be made after the solo was played. His melodic phrasing was serious business. It sounded like Django Reinhardt, if he were wearing a cowboy hat and hung out with Speedy West. (that was a totally esoteric elitist hipster pedal steel reference, but seriously, look him up) I somehow need to learn to play like that. I bought the Milton Brown and His Brownies western swing box set….thats the first step.
So, that Idolater gawker blog just blew my mind. There’s this whole Velvet Revolver thing happening, with the Stone Temple Pilots guy not really cutting it anymore…what if Rod Stewart took the gig!?! It would be like The Faces on steroids, lets somehow make this happen. I saw a VH1 Classic show recently, a very old British Television Faces performance. The sound was off, so I youtubed it a few days later…how come they weren’t as famous (perhaps more famous?) than The Stones? I’m thinking Mick and Keith saw this performance, and were like “yep, Ron Wood is the guy, lets lure him away with our money, power, and perhaps controlled substances”
Lots of shows all around this week, western swing, singer/songwriter indulgences, world music, its all over the place.
Also, here is the secret to recording happiness. Ready? Here it is:
Delay.
Yep, thats it. Go easy on the reverb. Take a drum overhead, just add the slapback. If vocals are recorded in the near future, this technique will also be attempted. There is a project in the near future, so hopefully there will be a chance for experimentation. Example, well, I’m glad you asked….
Did that work? TB will be so proud, lets hope so….
