Will it Stick This Time?

As part of my multi-pronged approach toward promoting and publicizing 'Less Like Penguins', as well as the other 2 re-issues, I am submitting several songs into the contest on garageband.com. I have been using the site for 9 years and in the first 6 years I completed so many review pairs that I now can still enter 60 songs into the contest.

Right now, 'Fairuza' is in the process and getting some really nice, positive reviews. Its current rating is 4.4 stars out of 5.

But I've been through this before. Usually what happens is the rating will continue to go up, peaking in the mid to high 4s, based on feedback from truly insightful people. Then, in its closing days, the song will receive a slew of reviews from a bunch of newbies who can barely string more than 3 sentences together, and the song's rating will be knocked down to the mid 3s.

I still use the site not to try and win the contest but to reach those rare souls who get what we're about the instant they hear a song. There really are such folk out there.

I have seen no evidence that the site ever leads to song or album sales. Not for a 3 and a fraction band like Bernie Bernie Headflap.

Neddy, Echo, Shot, and me

One of the song's I'm putting on _Fear of People_ is called "Neddy, Echo, Shot, and me (Annihilation, pt. 2)".

It is directly inspired by the novel "Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey" by Chuck Palahniuk, which is a frigging great read. About four different times I thought I had this book pegged, and happily each time I was wrong.

I bought it not having ever read Palahniuk before; it wasn't until I had the book home that I realized, "Oh, this is the guy who wrote 'Fight Club', the one that they made into that Brad Pitt movie". I bought it not because it was a Palahniuk novel (though I'll buy anything this guy does from now on, and have already read "Invisible Monsters"), but because it looked sufficiently and correctly weird, and because the title seemed to draw up images of Beat writing (another song I wrote, called "Tio Male", which I haven't decided should be on _Fear of People_, was inspired by a short story by William S. Burroughs).

Though I've written a song based on one of his novels, I think that'll be the extent of my demonstration of my admiration for his work. I do not plan on having Mr. Palahniuk's signature tattooed anywhere on my person, nor will I be moving out to the Pacific Northwest to be near him; two things that a sizable number of his fans have apparently done.

Sincere

I just like how simple the vox track is. It's simplicity matches the song.

Simple = uncomplicated = no bullshit = sincere


Nothing wrong with trying new stuff out, though. I like the new "Fringe" better than the original, for example.


- Moses

Feelin It

Difficulties with my home recording setup are STILL preventing me from laying down these vocal and guitar tracks I wanna do myself. (You ARE supposed to be able to hear the parts after you record them, right?)

But I have been listening to the roughs of the stuff Moses and Kit did at Second Story, and in the case of "Some You" -- I am in the zone. I know the approach I will take to sing that one. To paraphrase Moses, I will focus my approach.

And against Moses' advice, I do believe I will take a stab at alternate vox for my song "Sincere." Just slightly more dynamic and layered, I think, but very much in the same spirit as the demo Moses thought I shouldn't mess with.

A Newfound Appreciation of Jefferson Airplane

As a kid, I became very fond of several records in my dad's collection, but neither Volunteers nor The Worst of Jefferson Airplane were two of them. In fact there was one experimental, atonal song on Worst of that I grew to loathe because my brother used to lock me in the basement with the lights out and play the song on our toy phonograph. I would cry and cry.

But even their songs with discernable melodies did nothing for me. Didn't like 'em, didn't dislike 'em. They were just there, and I had no opinion whatsoever about them. I react to the music of U2 in almost the same way.

But last night I watched a documentary called 'Fly Jefferson Airplane,' and for whatever reason, the music started to almost reach me on an emotional level. Then the bandmembers started to reminisce about how at one gig, one of the members suddenly started to take one song completely in his own direction -- to fly, the bandmembers kept terming it -- and before long, each member was flying on each song in many individual directions. "Six musicians in search of an arrangement," is what they said the band sounded like at that stage in their career. They might have been quoting a critic from the 60s, I'm not sure.

So that phrase really clanged a bell in my skull as it occurred to me that that is the kind of thing that garageband reviewers are saying, in their own many ways, when they review 'all the mother.' They talk about 'controlled chaos,' about how 'busy' or 'complex' it all sounds, and how the beat keeps changing. All these issues are expressed as complaints, praise and indifferent remarks. Sometimes Sonic Youth is mentioned.

So the thought inevitably crossed my mind last night that the BBH of ten years ago was 5 members in search of an arrangement. Except for that song was meticulously arranged one afternoon in Joe's bedroom, one of our 2 usual practice spaces.

So what were we in search of? I remember I had a plan to try and compare all the local ice cream parlors' chocolate milkshakes, joe really wanted to taste lion meat, and paul... I'm not sure but I could ask him if we get to talk this evening, as we plan to.

Funny, when Paul was in BBH he played a 12 string guitar, similar to the one Paul Kantner played in Jefferson Airplane. As I listened to that music last night, it souded like something was a hair out of tune. I assumed it coulda been the 12 string, because though BBH has always had gear issues, keeping that 12 string in tune was often a particularly problematic one.

For the record, part 2

Yeah.

I used my '72 Telecaster Thinline on "Zen in D", "All I Want to Say to Sting", and "Waiting Game". Mike's Gibson Les Paul I used on "Annihilation", "Concetta", and "Tell Me Now".

The bass parts I played on Al's little Danelectric (if that's the name), which has great tone, even up high.

The drums I played on myriad drum kits that I wouldn't know the first thing about giving the proper nomenclature to, but which were certainly dynamite. I think I remember names like Pearl, Tama, Yamaha, Paiste, and maybe Zildjian.

The bottled water I drank during the sessions was Poland Springs, and the protein bars I ate were either the new Clif bars or MetRx bars.

The vehicle I drove to pick up Al and head to Second Story is a Volkswagen.

Entities associated with the above brands please feel free to contact me with details on endorsement deals. Thank you very much.

- Moses

Fear of People's Progress Part Suchnsuch Subsection Thisorthat

The other session moment I want to describe happened during the recording of my composition, "Livin' on the Fringe." I had made two demos of this short song for Moses and Kit to get the basic idea, a sort of garage rock attempt, and a faster new-wave-metal version. It was decided that the new wave version was a better concept by far, and I guess my demo guitar parts and some of the midi drums will end up in the final version. The song has 2 short sections at the beginning and end each made up of chorus and verses. But most of the song is its bridge in the middle which flies, and I mean flies, thanks to how Moses and Kit played it, off into a structurally sensible but unexpected direction before, with exhilarating and elegant simplicity, landing right back into its opening theme. Like a person walking down the street, nonchalantly morphing into a hang-glider and taking a soar, making a smooth landing that returns said person to nonchalantly walking down the street as if nothing happened, to ultimately stop by the bar where all the morphing hanggliders hang out for a pint, and the door shuts solidly behind after entering.

Yeah.

So, witnessing Moses and Kit working both together and separately, brilliantly, till their parts met with their own satisfaction and the group's -- that was inspiring to see. And again Mike's studio's impressive collection of gear played a major part in creating the scene I witnessed and, more importantly to the world, the compelling audio document of the event.

The song, no matter what genre you want to term it, is a 3 chord (or is it 6?) rocker so Kit played through a vintage Fender amp with a spring verb. So the sonic effect speaks of surf but the particular notes Kit chose during his pizzicatto bursts in the verses just take you t0 some twisted dimension that my questionable reportage can't do justice. (ok, so maybe it was a titter and not a giggle.) Hearing himself caused Kit to quietly comment a few times that Mike had made him sound like the Ventures. This comment was made with increasing volume and intensity each time, till, after we all listened to a rough all the way through, Kit exclaimed, forcefully pointing at the amp with each word, "Mike, you made me sound like the fuckin' Ventures!"

So once Fear of People gets released, hopefully December of this year or not long thereafter, you all can determine whether these songs live up to my effusiveness. Till then I really should concentrate on the three re-issues. Did I mention Less Like Penguins is now available? Well, it is, and I'm trying out a promo service to try and get it on npr radio, along with some print and internet coverage beyond what i've been able to accomplish this past decade.

For the record...

...it was with sincerity that I inquired about the Les Paul. Mike's got some awesome shite lying around his studio.

See, earlier that day, out of Al's earshot, I was remarking to Mike about how goddamn great the sound of my acoustic guitar during "Zen" was, saying, "Mike, how the hell did you pick that up so well?"

He says, very matter of factly, "Well, you're playing into an $1800 microphone plugged into a $3000 preamp."

I shrugged, smiling, and said, "Well, yeah, that would explain a lot."

So when Mike went into the back, I was basically expecting some monster axe, and of course, Mike delivered.

Oh, and though I was ecstatic about the sound that Les was giving me, I don't believe I have ever giggled in my life. :)

- Moses

The Sad Part is How Funny my Mind is Lately

How about a brief interruption before I tell that second Second Story story. A couple years ago I saw an episode of some popular crime drama show in which the victim was raped and murdered after the criminal covered her body with poison. I don't remember the name of the poison or what it actually did: suffocated her, made her drowsy or what?

Anyway: now, whenever I receive a bear hug from a friend or relative, I usually feel good about it at first and reciprocate, but sooner or later I experience a panic attack in which I think, "Oh shit -- so and so wasn't hugging me -- he was covering me with that poison and this very panic attack is the effects kicking in!" And then I expect to drop dead.

The funny part is how truly sad it is that my brain really works this way now. The thoughts are not fleeting and laughed over soon afterwards, as they might have when I was young. They linger.

Who or what did this to my brain?

I just thought these twisted tales of musicians at work in studio needed a light-hearted change of pace.

Fear of People Progress Part Whatever

I thought I'd start describing in more detail some of the scenes I've witnessed as they unfolded around me during the recording of the Fear of People album. These first two stick out in my mind because after each of them I felt as though 1. my composition had created an opportunity for a musician to have some real fun, and 2. my good friend Mike Bardzik's longtime vision of having an awesome studio has become a reality to such an extent that it allows musicians to have real fun as they create quality work.

"Annjhilation." -- Back in January, when Moses and I started to cook up this plan, we agreed that he should have about 7 songs on the album that he would for the most part produce. For one of these, he decided on not one of his own compositions, but "Annihilation," one of our oldest tunes, by myself and Hicks. We only ever made a demo recording of it, and a version that ended up on a 7" but which had veered way off-course of the band's original vision for the song. So Moses thought that the song, done truer to the original concept, would surely fit nicely on an album called Fear of People

So, watching Moses record the bass and drums was cool as always. Sure, watching/listening him do this for his own comps is always cool, but any songwriter will tell you that there's a special thrill witnessing a fine musician at work on something that was born in the songwriter's brain. A shared vision, a common goal, something from nothing.

(I wonder at what age or at what number of songs written / recorded or at what level of success that thrill typically starts to fade?)

So then it came time to record the guitar parts. Earlier in the session, Moses had unveiled the vintage semi-hollowbodied Fender Tele a friend of the family gave his mom to give to him. He told Mjke and me how the friend might or might not have known what it could be worth, how the overwhelmed Moses could not accept it, how his mom hushed him up and told him to. That guitar was put to phenomenal use by Moses on his song, "Zen in D" and a couple others if I remember right.

But after Moses completed the first take of the first guitar part for "Annihilation", I felt compelled to stand up and say, "That was awesome, Moses, but on this one I don't think the Tele... we need something..." I began to gesticulate in a way that made sense to me, and apparently did to both guys as well (such is not always the case) and Mike bolted out of the room.

Moses said with zero commitment to either sincerity or sarcasm: "Oh, what's he getting -- a Les Paul?" to which I muttered "You'd be surprised what he has lyin around here."

I wish you could have seen James "Moses" Crowder's change of expression when Mike came back into the room with a Gibson Les Paul Swamp Ash Studio.

Suffice it to say, we had to wait a bit for Moses to get over his giddiness long enough to capture the aura of tension and dread that the song demands. But between each of the four tracks Moses was right back to behaving like a giggling schoolgirl, in the presence of - and playing!! - this exquisite vintage axe.

Bernie Bernie Headflap is not accustomed to performing on extremely fine gear.

The song still needs one more vocal track, and then mixing and mastering, but even in its present state it is scorching enough to fool any listener out of suspecting that its guitarist was a quivering puddle of girlie-man-ness between every take.

(btw when i first saw the guitar Mike brought into the room, I shit a massive load of diarrhea in my pants. Again. And smeared it all over my face between every take while double-dutching with my imaginary friend Thnoopah. Meanwhile, Mike sat non-judgmentally at the board.)

The other scene stuck in my mind occurred during the song 'Livin on the Fringe," and I'll tell you about that soon.

Hell, yeah

Anyway -- yeah. Kit sure does rock.

An After Dinner Thought

My folks reminded me that prior to my recent visit to NIH, Dr. Gahl expressed his opinion that the left hand thing was not caused by the cystinosis because conditions caused by this disease occur symmetrically. And William Gahl expressing an opinion about cystinosis is like Stephen King expressing an opinion about horror novels. Seems foolish to doubt, imo.

Conflicting Opinions

Anyone who has suffered serious medical situations can tell you that with each visit to an actual doctor, you will receive a differing opinion on what exactly caused the situation in question. Although he did not have all the charts in front of him, the last time I consulted with Dr. WILLIAM gAHL OF THE nih, THE SUBJECTS OF MY LEFT HAND AND MY tia AROSE, AND IT WAS HIS OPINION THAT THE TWO PHENOMENA WERE VERY LIKELY related. Sorry about tapping caps lock there. The one hand typing and all.

Hell, yeah.

I've admired Kit's playing for a long time now. He's always been our guitarist. It's just recently that he's become aware of this. I am extremely grateful for his awakening, and I look forward to the myriad opportunities we'll have to take down the white whale.

- Moses

New Kit in Town

Moses and I have grown lax at updating this blog regarding the progress of the new album. I believe I can speak for both of us when I say it's not due in any way to being soured on or bored with the project. No, not at all. The album is coming along fantastically, and the recording sessions have been loads of fun and satisfying work... well, the work part is all Moses, so you'd have to ask him whether or not he'd call it 'satisfying.'

In my dialysis years, evidently, I suffered a TIA, similar to a minor stroke, the result of which is my left hand is nearly useless. I can pluck a note or two at a time now, but I've known for a while that someone else would have to be brought in to handle the real guitar chores both live and in studio.

Enter Kermit Lyman, known to friends of the Philadelphia area indie music scene as Kit.

Kit joined us for our July 6 and 7 sessions and the results are magic fire. imo BBH has always rocked. but with Kit's guitar stylings thrown into the mix, we smoke and sizzle.

Kit and I talked briefly about his playing with us live and helping us put together our once-a-month shows in the Delaware Valley in the coming months. I would like to discuss all that with him further this week.

Also I need to reassemble my home studio set up these next couple days, and this has been a long drawn out process that gets me very cranky and frustrated. So I have to make sure I choose the time wisely to call Kit, as I don't want to misdirect any crankiness at our new unsuspecting bandmate. I am thankful and psyched about the opportunity to work with Kit. You can check out his band at
http://www.myspace.com/slumlordphiladelphia

Officially a blogger

Okay, so now I'm officially a blogger.

Can't stay, though. Have about six songs to nail down. Bye.

- Moses