Tag: weaklazyliar

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10 Jan: studio

NOW WAIT FOR LAST YEAR
me – vocals

also
studio 12 Jan 2002
w/ weaklazyliar
backing vocals on:
“Secondhand”
“Empty Space”

Thursday I was at the studio, finally. We did backing vocals for NOW WAIT FOR LAST YEAR. Nothing that took more than one pass for the most part, some doubling of some of them. After doing a few bits we decided to re-do the lead vocal on a different mic for a warmer sound. This song, as I’ve said before, has undergone about 4 different versions, I think. Though I had originally intended to have it on the CD it ended up dropped. Too many slow songs and, at the time, it was one more. But now it’s back (at least in the running to be on the CD, we’ll have extra songs in the end) in 4/4 form, and somehow, when all was said and done, a verse long since dropped has reappeared somewhat at the end of the song.

This song was written before “Slumberland” was written, though they came in succession. It was the song where I began to realize that I was heading in a different direction than the rest of the old band. There were long discussions about its length, and it was the first time that I ever flatly said I wouldn’t change a song. To be honest, though, I was wrong, and it was too long. Funny, too, because I did make a lot of compromises on “Slumberland” with the band, and when it was finally recorded solo it ended up being very close to it’s original form. Where as this song is probably closer to what the band had wanted (faster and shorter). But at the time I wanted something different… moodier and slower (I’ve written plenty of that in the interim, so changing this song up now is fine), but really I think it was more about asserting a growing self-confidence in my songs at the time.

The wacky world of my brain.

Saturday afternoon I went to Zero Return (another Atlanta studio. Rob from Man or Astroman is the co-owner and is producing their CD) to do some backing vocals for weaklazyliar. They are re-recording the CD they had been working on, from scratch. It’s paying off for them, though, because I think the sound they’re getting now is exactly what they were going for. The drums, in particular, sounded much better than they did before, and the acoustic guitar as well. As I type they have probably finished mixing it, if they were able to keep the schedule they set. I had a catch in my throat that would not go away but everyone seemed happy with the results. Which was good, because I was really hoping to sort of make a subtle pitch for myself with the studio. When I was recording Thursday I got into a sort of depressing conversation about what my goals are with music (info like, a friend of mine, Josh Joplin, is out with his band playing halls, opening for Matthew Sweet and the like, but is still only getting paid $150 a gig or so). I think my goals are a little too vague at times. To be honest I would be happy at this point to somehow manage a living between music and freelance web design, if only I could also manage some national notoriety at music. It’s funny to realize suddenly that you really ARE just doing it for the music, and that you just want to be respected for what you have to say and how you say it. The upshot being that the discussion was depressing but didn’t leave me depressed, if that makes any sense. So, I decided in the course of it that I was going to try and make music more of an actual CAREER as well.

Unfortunately I’m still not quite sure what that entails. I don’t mean I want to get into the industry again, but I would like to get paid to sing and play, to subsidize what I do. So my current first step is making myself known to the other studios in town, for backing vocals and the like. It’s not going to feed me but it will at least help pay for the CD in some capacity.

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23 Dec: Atlanta

Eddie’s Attic (Atlanta, GA)
with Pat Walsh and weaklazyliar

Sometimes I think I should type up these show reports immediately after a show, but I never do. Invariably I feel like I’ve lost the mood of the thing by the time I talk about it.

My sincere gratitude to everyone who made it out. It really was a sort of Christmas party/present to myself, to basically have all of you in one place.

Pat Walsh opened up the show with Dave Condra and Tim Porterfield. They are getting even tighter, particularly on the harmonies. I had intended to maybe sing of 3 or 4 of their songs, but after they sound-checked I decided against it because I didn’t want to force one of them to not be able to sing. I did sing the lead vocal on one song, and song I had learned from pat a while ago intending to cover it at some point. Funny that when I did it was on stage with them.

Then I came up and did a song solo, and then Tim and Dave came up and backed me on “1985 by the Get-Go’s.” With no rehearsal, mind you, just having listened to my CD. Needless to say, they’re very good. Gerlinda came back up, along with Greg from Chain Poets, to sing with us on the Beatles’ “Something.” Then weaklazyliar came up to play “Guy Fawkes Day” with me, with Gerlinda singing. Then I sang back up for them on “Waiting for the 8:05.”

From that brief description you can see how the night progressed, and what the point was. Weaklazyliar and I played for about 2 hours, switching off, backing each other, doing covers. No real delineation between one act or the other. Without just describing the show from start to finish, I’ll just add that we did a cover of U2’s “Bad,” which ended with me handing a small white flag (about 6 inches square) to the audience and going on a Bono tirade. I thought it was funny, hopefully everyone else did, too. Also, Robi hopped up by request to sing “Heatmiser/Snowmiser” with me.

I was actually disappointed when the night was through. I’ve seen Gerlinda’s description of the evening already, and she’s right when she says the crowd seemed a bit subdued. I think I was disappointed because I was pinning my hopes on the show to be the thing that turned this holiday around. It’s been a very weird one for me this year, and for so many other people I know. I think I had an unrealistic hope that this show would somehow rise above that, and we’d all come together in one of those moments that only happen when they’ve been scripted for PAX TV.

This did not happen.

But, in retrospect, it was foolish to think it would. Gerlinda said, “It’s like, we’re all a little quieter; we’re all a little nicer; we’re all a little more tentative.” And that clearly seems to be the case. And so my disappointment has changed to merely gratitude, that people would allow us the chance to play some role in their lives, to make the attempt to let them forget other things. It’s a frustrating career choice a lot of the time, and it can lead you to forget what an amazing thing it is to be up in front of people who are there to hear you, and the weird, cliched sounding thing that happens when you do it.

I can never express enough how much I appreciate the support you’ve given me, and I hope I am offering something of equal value to you in return. Thank you, and happy holidays to everybody.

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9 Nov: Atlanta

If Coffeehouse (Atlanta, GA)
w/ Kate Simpkins, Eva Sotus

This was a good weekend for feeling like a musician.

Friday’s show went well. More amazement at hearing Kate play. She and Eric are really good, and I’m glad a lot of the people who came to see me got to see her, too. I sang with them on a couple of songs, our voices seem to blend well, though I wasn’t sure how well my choices went, but it seemed to work. Actually rehearsing (rather than coming up with ideas in my car singing along with her CD) would probably be a good plan, but we didn’t have the time for it before this show. When I came up afterward, she had to leave but really wanted to sing along with “Forget the Forget,” which I hadn’t planned on playing, but, who am I to turn down the chance to hear her singing along, so off we went, and she did an amazing job, I thought.

I played a set, and after writing these lately I’m not sure what to say about it specifically. The in-between banter was okay, a quiet crowd is always tough to work off of, but it seemed to go well and they got somewhat more responsive to my endless self-deprecation toward the end. I suppose dancing like a monkey has that effect on people. I kept getting told afterward that I had been really “on” and I certainly didn’t feel very “on” but I suppose there are those who will tell you that I never do.

There was a lot of lingering after the show, which is always good, getting to talk to people afterward. If you’ve got the time to kill and the patience always feel free to stay after a show and talk. My ego is so needy, people, you should really make use of it.

Saturday rolls around and it’s time to rehearse with the Million Box. Normally I wouldn’t bore you with the details except that it was part of an entire schedule of events this weekend. We don’t rehearse again, sadly, until the day of the show (Nov 29) and that’s a little frustrating, but it’s just trying to work within everyone’s schedules. It’s the tradeoff I decided was worth it, and this is the price I pay for it. Whether it becomes a price I grow unable to deal with is hard to say. But rehearsal is good, nonetheless, with the extra bonus of suddenly deciding to stick a hidden track on the upcoming CD. It will actually work out well, since the song is pretty upbeat and pop, and the way the CD ends (very darkly) it’ll be a nice counterpoint.

Saturday night I head down to the Hard Rock where weaklazyliar are playing. Hop up on stage to do backing vocals for them on “Snow.” They played a great set, given the weird acoustics of the place from the stage they give no sign that it affects them at all. A really strong set, and they seem to be getting much stronger overall. I love watching that. Gentle Readers played next, and played a number of songs I hadn’t heard them do before. Talked with them after the show and they want me to open for them at Eddie’s on Dec 20 (which I agreed to immediately, even though I have a show there 3 days later, but I don’t care and neither did they). Chances are I’ll do a song with them (they’re playing in their seventies cover band incarnation the Susi French Connection) during their set.

I thought that was the end of the weekend, and planned on writing this Sunday night, but Sunday morning I get a call from Rob asking me if I can stop by the studio later that day to track some backing vocals for Lithp. I end up going there around 8pm, Josh is recording a Christmas song and I do some high backing vocals and some hand claps.

Twice this weekend I have referred to myself as a “vocal whore.” I really would love to be able to supplement myself by doing vocals for people, it’s something I enjoy and I seem to be relatively good at it (quick, if nothing else). I just have no idea how you go about doing that kind of work, short of what I’m doing now, which is that I’ve been around Rob long enough that he knows me and brings me in when it comes up, and that I meet other bands and let them know that I’d be happy to work with them if they ever need it.

Anyway, there’s my busy (musically speaking) weekend. I can’t say I’ve had one like that in a long time, if ever.