This one came together quickly on the guitar, but took quite a bit longer to put words to it. Borrowed ideas from a NPR story on the Bonus Army, post WWI vets who camped out in Washington during the Depression for an adjustment allowance they had been promised. They had a lot of popular support but ended up having their camp torched by our government. Then they got their bonuses a few hard years later. Anyway, I may have overused my new fuzz pedal on this tune... on bass, guitars, I think even on part of the keys track. Then I had fun with the bitcrusher effect built in to Garageband on one guitar in the last half of the song.
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Credit for this song's title goes to a fellow RPCV and friend of mine, Aaron Brownell, who once uttered this punchline to a joke to Timothy Shriver, all while making a serious point. Wrote the beginning hook to this song on the piano and would have centered this song around the piano if I could easily move my recording equipment. Instead the wurlitzer is used for those parts, and then the guitars and organ fill it out and add some other parts. Wasn't planning on adding a catchy refrain to this one, but that just happened by itself... part of the recording magic as we say in the business. No? Who am I talking to here?
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Need better headphones, because I work on a song for days on end hearing it that way and then it sounds pretty different on speakers and after whatever "mixdown" occurs getting the song out of Garageband. Or I need to use a real recording program. Anyway, my old bandmate, Tim Skoog, gets a writing credit for the opening repeating guitar line, as he started playing that one practice and then I put the rest of the song together underneath that. I resisted the urge to put a toy piano on the last little breakdown part, but I couldnt resist putting a banjo line into the mix... it felt pretty complete before I added that, but I thought it might counterbalance the spacey effects of many of the other tracks, like the bass, which has a bass synth pedal effect throughout and the guitars and keyboards that use a lot of delay. Not sure if it succeeds in bringing the song down to earth or if it is a bit too distracting in places, i.e. during the vocal portions. I really missed being able to record my actual piano upstairs, but that would entail moving my old mac tower and the rest of the setup... so I had to use the piano sound on my Nord which is nordtoriously bad -- wow, sorry -- but I think I got it to sound passable and interesting by running it thru my Electrix and putting delay and distortion on it. But enough divulging of the secrets. Nobody likes to know how sausage is made. Enjoy the sausage.
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Be we? Couldn't bring myself to name this song as straightforwardly as the lyrics -- i.e. when we were stars, or something like that. Part of my aversion to seriousness that must be a serious mental shortcoming of some sort... so if you make it past the title, there are some serious thoughts in the lyrics themselves, not so removed from actual events, from the actual march of time, etc. These chord changes all came a bit too easily perhaps on the banjo, and I spent the rest of the recording process trying to convince myself this wasn't too simple of a song. I'm hoping the upright bass (midi version), organ and electric guitar add just enough to make it interesting. I'm not happy with the little breakdown part towards the end, had a whole bunch of vocal tracks which I ended up backing out of the mix because I'm not a blues choir, or certainly wasn't creating the impression of one very well. So I put more "lead" guitar tracks in there instead, which might grow on me or might not. Anyway, it's kind of a relief for me listening to it to get back to the main chord progression at the end. Anyway, got one song I wrote with the Cabin Kings that I might try to record next, or one brand new one trying to come together as well.
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Bit of a weird one perhaps, "Something Gives" that is, but a fun groove that I came up with jamming with the Cabin Kings and later with my brother a bit. Think it's a pretty natural mix of blues form and eastern-sounding scales, made a little electronica/rock/pop sounding with the effected "techno" drums. Overusing the Electrix effects on the lead guitar parts to mask my poor playing. But this could be my "Stairway," they're saying. Okay no one's saying that. It's been a long week and I'm over-tired. But playing music is better than sleep. Happy 4th everyone!
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Had to record a version of this song that I wrote with the Cabin Kings, as I've since come up with some different chord changes for the verses and a piano part. I think Tim Skoog gets a writing credit for the D to C guitar riff that set us off and running with this tune... I just put the verse chords and lyrics together underneath that. Just about ready to move on from garageband though if I can get another program up and running on my Mac or my PC... building drum loops in garageband is a bit tedious and there are minimal effects to put on the canned drums to make them sound decent, although I found this auto filter to put on the drums for a few measures towards the end of this song that sounds interesting, I think. But mostly I just distort them and put some reverb on them to get them sounding more raw... although I think that leads to what sounds like a lot of microphones clipping or getting blasted out, but whatever. My lead guitar playing is also pretty pathetic in this song since I lack the patience to practice lead guitar. Too anxious to move on to record 2 or 3 other new tunes I have percolating...
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Work in progress, about half done. Still needs drums, maybe some organ, and might redo the vocals, as this was the product of a few quick takes. I kind of like the sparseness of how this one sounds half done though.
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Okay then... had to shorten this song a bit to get it under 8MB so that I could upload it here. But the last part probably went on too long anyway. This song was inspired by an NPR piece on a soldier who came back from one of the many wars we're fighting now (and winning? are they winnable?) and, suffering from PTSD, ended up in an armed standoff with police. It was a captivating story as I sat in traffic and the chorus for the song came to me right away. I proceeded to sing the song for all the 2-year-olds at Isaac's daycare, which got me confused and concerned looks from the kids and caregivers there. No that didn't happen. Anyway, will try to "rock" this tune with the Cabin Kings most likely.
I didn't post on my previous song, Be Mine, which was sort of a non-Valentine's song recorded around Valentine's Day. Not sure I have a bluesy enough voice for it, hence the distorted vocals. It was fun to do the Motown-like post-chorus part, during which I found it impossible to not add in the most overused lyrics ever, "be my baby, be mine tonight, blah blah, feels so right..." I literally couldn't stop myself from singing that, so let's pretend it's tongue in cheek.
Anyway, why are you reading this? Isn't there a third war this country is getting involved in somewhere? What can we do about that?
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I've wanted to record this song for at least half a year now... been playing it with my band, the Cabin Kings, for a while. This is an acoustic version and how I first envisioned the song. I like the energy that the band brings to it, and that has translated a bit back into this version, I think. Tried to make up for the lack of electric guitar with harmonica, toy piano and even a little bass solo in there under the toy piano. Isaac makes his recording debut with a mournful shout at the end of the toy piano track... I was recording a couple tracks with both kids running around the basement and invariably fighting with each other. Some people go to great lengths to minimize background noise in their studios. I chose to roll with it here and I think it works leading into the vocal refrain. Why not.
Happy 2011!
-Eric
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Eric Friedman / Blog
Bonus Army Blues
This one came together quickly on the guitar, but took quite a bit longer to put words to it. Borrowed ideas from a NPR story on the Bonus Army, post WWI vets who camped out in Washington during the Depression for an adjustment allowance they had been promised. They had a lot of popular support but ended up having their camp torched by our government. Then they got their bonuses a few hard years later. Anyway, I may have overused my new fuzz pedal on this tune... on bass, guitars, I think even on part of the keys track. Then I had fun with the bitcrusher effect built in to Garageband on one guitar in the last half of the song.
Reply
Leggo my Ego... why don't you
Credit for this song's title goes to a fellow RPCV and friend of mine, Aaron Brownell, who once uttered this punchline to a joke to Timothy Shriver, all while making a serious point. Wrote the beginning hook to this song on the piano and would have centered this song around the piano if I could easily move my recording equipment. Instead the wurlitzer is used for those parts, and then the guitars and organ fill it out and add some other parts. Wasn't planning on adding a catchy refrain to this one, but that just happened by itself... part of the recording magic as we say in the business. No? Who am I talking to here?
Reply
The Devil Song
Need better headphones, because I work on a song for days on end hearing it that way and then it sounds pretty different on speakers and after whatever "mixdown" occurs getting the song out of Garageband. Or I need to use a real recording program. Anyway, my old bandmate, Tim Skoog, gets a writing credit for the opening repeating guitar line, as he started playing that one practice and then I put the rest of the song together underneath that. I resisted the urge to put a toy piano on the last little breakdown part, but I couldnt resist putting a banjo line into the mix... it felt pretty complete before I added that, but I thought it might counterbalance the spacey effects of many of the other tracks, like the bass, which has a bass synth pedal effect throughout and the guitars and keyboards that use a lot of delay. Not sure if it succeeds in bringing the song down to earth or if it is a bit too distracting in places, i.e. during the vocal portions. I really missed being able to record my actual piano upstairs, but that would entail moving my old mac tower and the rest of the setup... so I had to use the piano sound on my Nord which is nordtoriously bad -- wow, sorry -- but I think I got it to sound passable and interesting by running it thru my Electrix and putting delay and distortion on it. But enough divulging of the secrets. Nobody likes to know how sausage is made. Enjoy the sausage.
Reply
We be stars
Be we? Couldn't bring myself to name this song as straightforwardly as the lyrics -- i.e. when we were stars, or something like that. Part of my aversion to seriousness that must be a serious mental shortcoming of some sort... so if you make it past the title, there are some serious thoughts in the lyrics themselves, not so removed from actual events, from the actual march of time, etc. These chord changes all came a bit too easily perhaps on the banjo, and I spent the rest of the recording process trying to convince myself this wasn't too simple of a song. I'm hoping the upright bass (midi version), organ and electric guitar add just enough to make it interesting. I'm not happy with the little breakdown part towards the end, had a whole bunch of vocal tracks which I ended up backing out of the mix because I'm not a blues choir, or certainly wasn't creating the impression of one very well. So I put more "lead" guitar tracks in there instead, which might grow on me or might not. Anyway, it's kind of a relief for me listening to it to get back to the main chord progression at the end. Anyway, got one song I wrote with the Cabin Kings that I might try to record next, or one brand new one trying to come together as well.
Reply
what gives, something gives
Bit of a weird one perhaps, "Something Gives" that is, but a fun groove that I came up with jamming with the Cabin Kings and later with my brother a bit. Think it's a pretty natural mix of blues form and eastern-sounding scales, made a little electronica/rock/pop sounding with the effected "techno" drums. Overusing the Electrix effects on the lead guitar parts to mask my poor playing. But this could be my "Stairway," they're saying. Okay no one's saying that. It's been a long week and I'm over-tired. But playing music is better than sleep. Happy 4th everyone!
Reply
Too Big to Fail
Had to record a version of this song that I wrote with the Cabin Kings, as I've since come up with some different chord changes for the verses and a piano part. I think Tim Skoog gets a writing credit for the D to C guitar riff that set us off and running with this tune... I just put the verse chords and lyrics together underneath that. Just about ready to move on from garageband though if I can get another program up and running on my Mac or my PC... building drum loops in garageband is a bit tedious and there are minimal effects to put on the canned drums to make them sound decent, although I found this auto filter to put on the drums for a few measures towards the end of this song that sounds interesting, I think. But mostly I just distort them and put some reverb on them to get them sounding more raw... although I think that leads to what sounds like a lot of microphones clipping or getting blasted out, but whatever. My lead guitar playing is also pretty pathetic in this song since I lack the patience to practice lead guitar. Too anxious to move on to record 2 or 3 other new tunes I have percolating...
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Anna Lynn (the making of)
Work in progress, about half done. Still needs drums, maybe some organ, and might redo the vocals, as this was the product of a few quick takes. I kind of like the sparseness of how this one sounds half done though.
Reply
PTSD
Okay then... had to shorten this song a bit to get it under 8MB so that I could upload it here. But the last part probably went on too long anyway. This song was inspired by an NPR piece on a soldier who came back from one of the many wars we're fighting now (and winning? are they winnable?) and, suffering from PTSD, ended up in an armed standoff with police. It was a captivating story as I sat in traffic and the chorus for the song came to me right away. I proceeded to sing the song for all the 2-year-olds at Isaac's daycare, which got me confused and concerned looks from the kids and caregivers there. No that didn't happen. Anyway, will try to "rock" this tune with the Cabin Kings most likely. I didn't post on my previous song, Be Mine, which was sort of a non-Valentine's song recorded around Valentine's Day. Not sure I have a bluesy enough voice for it, hence the distorted vocals. It was fun to do the Motown-like post-chorus part, during which I found it impossible to not add in the most overused lyrics ever, "be my baby, be mine tonight, blah blah, feels so right..." I literally couldn't stop myself from singing that, so let's pretend it's tongue in cheek. Anyway, why are you reading this? Isn't there a third war this country is getting involved in somewhere? What can we do about that?
Reply
Cut Flower
I've wanted to record this song for at least half a year now... been playing it with my band, the Cabin Kings, for a while. This is an acoustic version and how I first envisioned the song. I like the energy that the band brings to it, and that has translated a bit back into this version, I think. Tried to make up for the lack of electric guitar with harmonica, toy piano and even a little bass solo in there under the toy piano. Isaac makes his recording debut with a mournful shout at the end of the toy piano track... I was recording a couple tracks with both kids running around the basement and invariably fighting with each other. Some people go to great lengths to minimize background noise in their studios. I chose to roll with it here and I think it works leading into the vocal refrain. Why not. Happy 2011! -Eric
Reply