DL13
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| | 22/06/09 at 10:39 PM | | #1 |
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JUNE 22ND 2009... The first day of recording is usually little slow in starting because everything has to be mic'd up, with sounds and relative headphone balances gotten before anything is played for keeps.
We're looking to record 15 songs in the 4 days alloted for basic tracks.
We did 4 today.
I guess I could start listing song titles.
Some you might know, others I'm sure you won't.
We started off the day with This Guitar.
Very interesting sounding track.
Creates a nice environment to tell that story.
"This guitar has had it rough, yes, it's seen it's better days
Had it's share of ups and downs, I'm amazed that it still plays
Guess it don't know when to quit, tho it never gets too far
It's just stubborn...this guitar"
Not exactly what I heard in my head when I wrote it or played it alone.
But, very cool and all the better for getting it outside of my head.
There is such a thing as getting too inside these songs, which, I suppose, you have to do to write them.
But, once you have creative, intuitive players demonstrating to you what your song suggests to them, it's fantastic.
More than you could have ever dreamed alone.
The plight of the only child.
Having had already been there for a few hours, setting up, etc, we took a brief lunch break before carrying on
The second tune we did was I'm Impressed With Myself.
"I'm impressed with myself 'cause she loves me
Yes, I must be a hell of a guy
She's cute, she's cool, she's nobody's fool
But she melts when I catch her eye
I don't know what I've got but she likes it
I'm not gonna analyze it to death
She makes me feel like a really big deal
And man, I'm impressed with myself"
Lovely Hammond organ on this track by Richard Milner.
He's such a spontaneous, surprising player.
Paul Beevis is the saving grace of these sessions.
The drummer is always critical.
If that particular component is wrong I'm ready to pack up and go home almost immediately, but I could tell right away, at the first rehearsal, that the groove was in much more than capable hands.
Paul makes everything feel so good.
All I can say is PHEEE-EEWWW!
The third track done was The Sound Of A Train.
Not a brand new song, but one that I haven't really dragged out much.
Written as an antidote to every romantic train song that ever rumbled down the track.
"The sound if a train, it blows right thru me like a bitter winter wind
And I swear that love won't do me wrong again
The sound of a train, so soft and lonesome, like a songbird in the rain
Makes me long for the one I love...
How I hate the sound of a train"
Might have played it somewhere, once or twice, but, if so, I couldn't tell you where right now.
Maybe a club in Nashville?
As I've said, the songs on this album were composed over a long period of time.
Some more recent (still finishing the lyrics to one), while some I've been waiting, hoping for an opportunity/excuse to record for goodness knows how long.
I played Pete Brown alot of stuff on our first sitdown, without much qualification or back story and let him choose what he liked.
I figured as long as we were dressing me out of my closet, chances are I'd be happy with how I look in the end.
The last song of the day was a new one titled Call Me.
This turns out to be the surprise of the whole album for me.
I wasn't sure it was finished. I had alot of words I liked but it didn't seem complete somehow until Pete suggested we add some bars of rhythm in between the verses and BANG!
Magic!
Mike Nichols plays a bubbly West African bassline on this track that propels it along happilly and effortlessly.
It's a song about, well, just what the title says.
"If you're ever feeling wide awake and restless in the middle of the night...call me
The hour doesn't matter, you could never be a bother, and I don't do too much sleeping anyway
If you're stuck in traffic and you're late for your appointment, take a breath...call me
I just like to hear your voice, it always cheers me up and I don't mind if you have nothing much to say
Call me..."
Let me say a couple words here about my production partner here.
Pete has been invaluable as a sounding board, song-screener, in assembling the players (including a few horn players that will be in later in the week), finding the right studios, rehearsing the band, getting everyone CD copies of those rehearsals and so much more.
Pete is also engineering the sessions and will contribute all manner of things with strings before it's all over.
A great asset to this project.
We're back in at 10AM tomorrow and should be running something by about half 10 or so, after 'good mornings' and cups of tea.
It's a brisk 20-30 minute walk from my hotel to the studio and, now that I know where I am (Camden Town), that's exactly what I'll do.
Walk briskly and wake my silly ass up on the way.
Supposed to be nice weather all week, I hear.
Typical.
Just in time to get a 'studio tan'.
Ah, but a small price to pay, if you ask me.
All in all, a very encouraging, exciting day.
And, it tickles me no end to know that the songs will sound just like this when we do them 'live', next year.
Did I say PHHHEEE-EEEEWWW?
Well, then let me add YIP-F8CKING-EEEEE!!!
More as it unfolds, folks.
~
All lyrics copyright Dennis Locorriere ~
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DL13
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Registered: 04/04/07
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| | 23/06/09 at 10:17 PM | | #2 |
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JUNE 23RD 2009...
Walked to the studio from the hotel. Maybe 2 miles.
All uphill, as I slowly discovered.
Was on my phone when I reached my destination and strolled (well, marched is more like it. I don't tend to saunter or stroll very much) right by the front gates.
Added about 10 more sharply inclining minutes to my trek.
Walking back down the hill a bit wasn't any better at that point.
Anyway, arrived at the studio on time anyway, thanks to my brisk pace and long strides.
We got rolling about 10:45 with Don't Seem Right.
Nice to have it recorded at last, after seeing it's 'debut' quite awhile ago on the Alone With...DVD.
'Hey, old friend, so what do you say
Do you think we can make it thru another day
It hasn't been easy, better hold on tight
These things don't work themselves out overnight
Have you made your mind up?
Am I gonna wind up sad...so sad?
Can't we both be patient, put a little faith in what we had?
If I had to gamble on one thing I would put my money on love
Because it's such a shame and it don't seem right somehow
To come this far together and give up now'
The guys did such a lovely job on this track.
Grabbed it pretty early. Maybe second time thru.
That's when it's the best.
When everyone is just listening to each other and playing, rather than thinking too much.
We moved on to Different Faces next.
This is a song that I wrote and started playing in concert right away.
I was kind of surprised at all the wonderful comments I got about it.
I ended the show with it, if I remember correctly.
A pretty ballsy thing to do with a new song, some might say, but the lyric is very true to who I am and how I feel and I trusted it would come across that way.
'To anyone I've ever hurt, I'd like to say I'm sorry
If I made you cry or feel like dirt
If I caused you doubt or worry
There are no excuses I can give
Your compassion holds my fate
We learn these lessons as we live
Sometimes a little too late...'
Very nice track with alot of open space in it.
Serves the lyric perfectly.
Ran thru Ask Her a time or two and realized the canteen was going to close in a short while, so we held that thought and broke for lunch.
Came back and nailed it quickly.
A jaunty affair.
Playful and dark all at the same time.
Like the song, I guess.
When I first wrote it I couldn't wait to get to play it for an audience.
Another one that I trusted would make it's point right away.
'I'm a monster, a heartless bastard
Don't consider anybody's feelings but my own
I'm not worth knowing, nevermind loving
I deserve to be unhappy and alone
Cause I'm a taker, I'm a user
Anyone who likes me is a loser
I'm a waste of the air I breathe
A first class jackass
That's the story, take my word for it
Or go straight to the source if you prefer
Ask her...'
Teef8ckinghee!
Fourth song we did was She Don't Care.
Kind of a jazzy, shuffly little thing.
'Does she worry when they whisper as she walks by?
Is she nervous when they stop and stare?
Does she wonder who's believing all their dirty little lies?
Oh no, she don't care...
Will she stay home from a party 'cause she broke her fingernail?
Say she just can't do a thing about her hair?
No, she'll turn up resplendent in her gloves and ponytail
Cause that girl, she don't care...'
The band really seems to enjoy the songs we're doing.
It's a nice validation coming from such great players.
The fifth and final song was Crashing Down.
I have done this song 'live' only a couple of times and probably nowhere that many folks would have heard it.
Has always been an important song to me.
I posted the entire lyric on the blog several weeks ago, before I even knew we were going to record it.
Pete really liked it and suggested an interesting way to do it.
A radical departure from the way I wrote it, actually.
But he was so right.
The song is so much stronger as we did it today.
So, another five songs done today.
We have five more to do together...
and one other one that Pete thinks I should do 'on me tod'.
Hell, might as well have one 'only child' endeavor on the next album, huh?
Back at it in the A.M.
Yeah, I'll walk again, becuse that's the kinda guy I am.
It'll probably seem like a quick sprint without the extra bit I did today.
Later. ~
All lyrics copyright Dennis Locorriere ~ |
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DL13
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Registered: 04/04/07
Posts: 756
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| | 25/06/09 at 01:40 AM | | #3 |
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JUNE 24TH 2009...
The alarm on my phone didn't go off this morning!
I'd set it for 8. I woke up at 7 and thought 'OK, one more hour'.
Fortunately, I don't sleep very soundly when I'm in hotels or when I'm working on something full on...or ever, actually!
I lay there, half in and half out of consciousness, until something in my brain said 'Hey! That's a pretty long f8cking hour, innit???'
Looked at the digital TV clock and it said 8:53.
Yoiks!
Got up, called John, told him to let everyone know I would not be there on time at 10.
Not a disaster because there were things they could do without me, like overdubs and a few bits and pieces, here and there.
I don't have many cosmetic concerns in the morning, so I was up, showered, dressed and in a cab in no time.
Made it to the studio only 15 minutes past schedule.
We started the day with a new song called You, Yourself and I.
I know the title isn't grammatically correct, but I don't care.
It's a jumble of 'you and I' and the expression 'my, myself and I'.
A nice waltzy feel with a bit of an edge.
'You censor yourself whenever we're talking
There's always a couple of things that you simply don't say
And I fill in the blanks wherever I need to
'Cause I believe in long run it's better that way
Then I can be sure and just hear what I wanna hear
And, these days, that's OK with me
And you can be careful to keep what you wanna keep
Safe, under shackle and key
And say nothing, eloquently...'
I was playing what I had written of this song at a soundcheck last Fall and, when I was thru, my son shouted up to me 'Dad, what was that?'
I told him it was something I was working on.
His response was (and I quote) 'Thank f8ck for that! I was just thinking what a great song it was and was hoping it was one of yours'.
So, I played what I had for Pete and he loved it too.
The second song was Sinking Ship.
Never recorded, this song has been resurrected from the dead because Pete loved it.
I played this song with Hook on the tour after Sawyer left.
The one before The (One and Only) Farewell Tour.
'Sinking ship...we're about as buoyant as a sinking ship
Abandon all your valuables, your heart and your pride
And roll with the tide til someone hears the cries of our sinking ship
Nothing's gonna save her, it's her final trip
So let's get on the radio and signal our distress
Let's send an SOS
Say we never saw the iceberg, just the tip
But we hit it hard and it tore this hole in me and you
Now we're sinking fast and there is nothing we can do
We don't even have each other now, to hold on to
But I'm not blaming you
For our sinking ship...'
Proud to see the old girl sailing again.
Number three was Dance On Daddy's Feet.
This song, written with LeRoy Preston, has become a real concert favorite over the years tho it will only be seeing it's recorded debut on the new album.
I love what we've done with it.
Fresh, but without losing the essence of the song that so many people seem to love.
'She gets home after six
Too beat to even fix and bite to eat
She pours a glass of wine
And tries to ease her mind and rest her tired feet
She glances thru her mail
A few bills, a sweater sale
Too many of her days seem to end this way
What ever happened to running home after school?
The laughter in her eyes, the color in her cheeks
Back when she knew for sure, she'd burst right thru the door
To be lifted off the floor to dance on daddy's feet...'
Took me long enough but there it is.
Standing As Tall As I Can was the next song up.
Composed with Michael Snow, another name that should be familiar to you if you've been following my work.
A very strong track.
'Don't cry with me, don't cry for me, just ignore me, and I'll be fine
I don't need pity, I don't need sympathy, don't need another sermon
I just need time
From where I'm standing things could be much better
But, on the other hand, I've seen whole lot worse
I have had my share of trouble
But I ain't no superman
I'm just standing as tall as I can...'
Brooding, serious and, like I said, very strong.
Last up was Deeper Than Sleep.
Snow co-write again.
The song was written as a pretty dark little piece but Pete wonderd what it would sound like with a bright 60s pop feel...so we gave it a shot!
Wow!
I'm gonna have to live with it awhile, but it's already grown on me alot.
'If she's got something to say she'll cut straight to the chase
She ain't no fancy dancer
And if you ask her a question
You better wanna know the answer
She's deeper than sleep
Sweeter than nectarine
Brighter than a laser beam
Stronger than steel
Her manner is sensual, her thinking unique
She's multi-dimensional
She's deeper than sleep...'
One more song to be recorded on my own.
More about that when it's done.
I cannot say enough about the level of musicianship on this album.
Pete, Paul, Rich and Mike have blown me away everyday.
And, they'll get to do it again everynight on the 2010 tour.
Rehearsals were great, but the very best things we got 'on tape' were not planned.
They just happened 'on the floor', as they say.
Lots of first and second takes are being used, musically and vocally.
We're back in tomorrow to start Pete's guitars, etc and a clarinet player is in at 11AM.
It's pushing 3AM now and my alarm goes off at 8 (I hope!).
Home tomorrow night.
More from there. ~
All lyrics copyright Dennis Locorriere, except where noted.
Dance On Daddy's Feet (Locorriere/Preston)
Standing As Tall As I Can and Deeper Than Sleep (Locorriere/Snow)
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DL13
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Registered: 04/04/07
Posts: 756
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| | 26/06/09 at 02:32 AM | | #4 |
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JUNE 25TH 2009...
Good day, tho different than the first three.
Just me, Pete, engineer, Nick (Cervorano), John Taylor and, later in the day, Adrian.
Pete started the day by adding a nice mandolin rhythm to Deeper Than Sleep.
Then, the most wonderful clarinetist, Julian Springle, came in just before 11AM.
By 12:15, he had given us so many great pieces of music to use.
Pete had absolutely raved about him all week, so I was expecting him to be excellent, but, once he started playing, I reckoned Pete had undersold him.
Fabulous!
When he left it was finally Pete's turn to get to play the bits he'd been waiting all week to play.
He had been behind the glass, with his discerning ears trained on what the rest of us were playing.
Quite a marathon performance day for him today, but he rose to it, over and over, and we got some great stuff.
It was while we were working on Different Faces, of all songs, that we heard the news that Michael Jackson, a man of many different faces, had died.
It's very surreal, isn't it?
With a guy like Michael, you were always shocked by whatever you heard about him, but, the weirder it got the more you realized that nothing was really all that unbelievable.
Needless to say it's not gonna be hard to recall where I was the day he 'beat it'.
A great talent, overshadowed by a even greater freakshow of a life.
A real pity.
We're back at it, Monday thru Friday, next week.
Then, off at the weekend and back at it for another five days, beginning again on Monday.
Oh, I may be doing a bit of a left turn to take part in a 'special' show in Liverpool during the second week of July.
More details if there turn out to be any more.
OK, I'm home and I'm going to go take the liberty of being here.
So far, so good on the album.
Later, folks. ~
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