May 23, 2007
Blog
Tue, May 1st, 2007 8:37 AM PDT
addendum (Moses)
If I knew Al's middle and confirmation names, I'd have used them, too. :)
Mon, Apr 30th, 2007 10:38 AM PDT
the white whale, part two (Moses)
All right. Here's what Al's referring to:
AL: Moses, right there after the second thing, I want you to play kind of higher and flittier.
ME: Flittier?
AL: Yeah, just take off.
ME: Uh, okay. Now what "second thing"?
AL: You know, the second time you come in, after the bridge.
ME: Okay.
(As he begins to play, our hero realizes that the end of the song is totally different from the version he has been listening to)
ME: What the hell was that?
AL: (looking confused, then with the voice of someone who's speaking to a 5 year old) That's the new ending.
ME: What new ending? There's a new ending?
AL: Well, I e-mailed you the new version. I assumed you'd listened to it.
ME: Which new version? AAAAAAAAAAA!
(Editor's note- Al sends me multiple copies of each song, and I submit that no mere mortal could ever remember what the latest one is. Besides, my job keeps me so busy that I have to learn the songs on my drive out to the studio, so if I don't have it on disc I can't learn it.)
MIKE: Ready? Okay, recording...
ME: AAAAAAAA! Damn you, Alan McCabe! What the hell are you playing there?!?
AL: Um....
ME: Well?
AL: That's a B-flat, then F, then the fifth of F...um....
ME: C?
AL: Yeah. C. That's it.
(Our young sailor hero Moses improvises in the aforementioned keys and produces a sound, that, along with Al's recorded track, sounds like the rapid emptying of the insides of a yak's colon)
ME: B-flat, then F, then C? You're *sure*?
AL: Yes.
ME: (listening) Alan McCabe, that is *not* a C. Hang on...
(our hero listens intently, frantically trying to figure out the song ending as our patient man at the rudder, Mike Bardzik, plays the recorded track a time or two.)
ME: Alan f-ing McCabe, that's F, then *B-flat*, then *A-flat*.
AL: No it's not.
ME: Yes it is.
AL: No it's not.
MIKE: (watching me as I figure out the new ending) Yes it is.
AL: Are you sure?
ME: You don't even know what you played!?!!
AL: (shrugs shoulders) Now, at the very last part of the new ending, it changes to, um...
Sun, Apr 29th, 2007 3:46 AM PDT
"Fear of People"'s Progress Part III
Another recording session yesterday. I thought things were about to get dicey when Moses started addressing me by my flrst and last names. Lucky for me he did not escalate it to using my middle and confirmation names too. But it was all warranted because I forgot the chord changes to my own songs and just told him to play whatever. (I think I TOLD nicely, though,)
To clarify, Moses makes up his own basslines when playing my songs. I just tell him the chord changes.... well no evidently I don't even do that. He gets the idea by listening to my demos. Sometimes I might offer some suggestions. Like on a song we did at the first session, "Room for Doubt," I definitely knew I wanted a Stonesy feel. We knew from Ursinus days that we both liked late 70s disco-ish Stones best, so the bass line captures much of the spirit of Wyman's work from that era and the drum work pays homage to Watts (his work throughout Stones' entire career, not just the disco era) , as filtered through Crowder. Imagine Watt and Watts as your rhythm section. Huh. I never thought of that before.
But "Room for Doubt" was two weekends ago. This past weekend's results were possibly even stronger. No photograoher's strobe this time and maybe being a little pissed off might have helped. Plus being less rusty. This is all based on first impressions, hearing the songs performed and then played back a few times in the studio. At some point this week, Mike will drop off the roughs and separate tracks and I'll spend hours giving them real close lidtens.
Thu, Apr 19th, 2007 11:52 AM PDT
the white whale, part one
My hands are finally in shape to type now after that last workout.
Not used to pulling triple duty, I guess. It was harder than I thought to run the sails, man the harpoon, and keep the engine room going.That damn click track gets me all the time. I think my timing's much better when we don't use a click, but Mike was at the rudder, and he's a stickler for that kind of thing. Then Al starts throwing down suggestions from the crows' nest (how the hell'd he get up there?), and then it starts raining strobe flashes and I'm trying to get things done while bouncing around in wake, right? Now, I'm not complaining. I'm just not used to being in the spotlight.
Anyway, I think they turned out just fine. I particularly like the last one we finished up. It's an oldie but a goodie.
- Moses
Mon, Apr 9th, 2007 1:34 AM PDT
"Fear of People"'s Progress II (Alan)
Moses and I worked on more demos on Friday. Sounding REAL good. This week, I will be chatting with Kramer regarding his mixing/mastering of 10 of the songs on the album. I am shooting for there to be 16 tracks in all. On Saturday, Moses and I are to go to Second Story Studios where Mike Bardzik will record Moses' first basic tracks. I'm recording my parts here at Size McWaives.
Wed, Mar 14th, 2007 3:47 AM PDT
"Fear of People"'s Progress (Alan)
The current NEW album that BBH is working on is called Fear of People. I started working on demos a couple years ago. Moses stopped by my house this Monday and we started recording demos of his songs. As Borat would say, "Nice!"
Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 3:34 AM PST
Top 10 $$$-earnin' BBH Downloads/Listens
1. Christopher Walken
2. Icicles
3. Art
4. Jealousy
5. Modern Science
6. You Probably Cannot Stop the Funk
7. What's Wit Got to Do with Love?
8. Jack Rabbit
9. Cara Mia
10. Patrick in the Past Tense
Gone are the days when BBH can claim with artsy snootiness that commercial trends are not influencing our creative processes. Based on these stats, expect (based on track 1) more songs about and titled after the names of celebrities (I'm working on one now called Ron Howard and Drew Barrymore) and that (2 and 3) our album-openers will better reflect our strongest material. (6 and 7) The general trend of having interesting titles seems to be working , so that will continue, so (6) I'll keep asking for suggestions from original drummer Chris Wirtalla (and I'll pray that Creeping Weeds never discover the goldmine they have sitting at the skins!)
Sat, Feb 3rd, 2007 1:52 AM PST
I am the knuckles down low end harpoon thrower
Time to throw down the anchor and harpoon the whale
Sat, Jan 27th, 2007 7:20 AM PST
BBH 2007 addendum
Scratch those digipaks. We're sticking with jewel boxes.
Thu, Jan 25th, 2007 8:32 AM PST
BBH 2007
There used to be a thing called Vaudeville.
But that's not important right now.
A century later, there was a thing called mp3.com. It still exists, but it's nothing like it used to be.
Similarly, there was, and still is, a site called godsofmusic.com. They review bands' songs when those songs are available for free on sites like what mp3.com used to be.
Back in 2000, I asked them to review a demo of a song called "Some Emotional Situation" which I had posted on mp3.com. They did, and the reviewer quite liked it, giving it an 8 out of 10. And he predicted, prophesied even, that BBH would be well known and well respected by 2007.
I always remembered that part of the review in particular.
I mean, when the GODSofmusic speak, one should listen.
So I've decided to do my part to make 2007 a very good year for Bernie Bernie Headflap.
First off, I'm gonna release all 3 of the cds that I made available through mp3.com's DAM CD program, those being:
Less Like Penguins
The Royal We
Bernie Bernie Headflap Loves Polly Polysyllable.
Each one will be newly mastered, come in full color digipacks with new artwork by who other than Mike Piontek, and have some bonus tracks which were not included on the DAMs.
I'm hoping all 3 will be available by mid 2007.
In the second half of 2007, hopefully, look for up to 3 NEW Bernie Bernie Headflap CDs, the 2 mentioned earlier in this blog and one more... rhough I suspect that THAT one won't be ready till 2008.
ALL releases will receive full coverage on the pages of this website, and will be for sale on CDBaby.com, and through their digital download program, available on just about every website that sells song and album downloads, except allofmp3.com, 'cause I just don't see them winning that 1.65 trillion lawsuit, as much as I'd like them to.
And all of this because of one prophesy and a thing we had called Vaudeville.
Thursday, March 31st, 2005 1:55 PM PST
I've been noodling with the lyrics for the title track "Fear of People" for many months now.
The first line is definitely "I'm not going to the party."
Today I came up with a second line: "Lest I be exposed for the dullard that I am."
Thursday, March 17th, 2005 12:00 PM PST
Song idea forming, vaguely.
Title: "eventually."
Refrain: "It'll all make sense eventually/ In a moment of psychosis."
Monday, February 14th, 2005 2:33 PM PST
Today I worked on a song.
This may not seem like big news coming from a so-called songwriter, but I am excited about it because it comes after months of writer's block-induced dormancy.
Also I'm excited that I seen to have rediscovered the approach to songwriting that I originally had. like the songs on Cheese on Wheat, where conventional chord changes are out the window.
This song will probably remain an instrumen'al. It's got a wicked synth line and some industrial-ish percussion noises. Working title is "That's why they're called Inner Demons." It has a haunting sound, like some of the instrumentals on Stone Cold Blue.
Tom Selleck did not consult me ragarding the naming of his new tv movie Stone Cold.
By the way at this point I am working on the next TWO cds, tentatively entitled "Fear of People" and "Mood Stabilizer." For the first one, all the songs, 17, are in varying stages of incompletion, most of them just missing verse lyrics, similar to how I worked on "Stone Cold Blue."
Till next time... hopefully it won't be months before I have another song idea.
Friday, February 4th, 2005 7:07 PM PST
Updates coming soon!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
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