No Fun

In 2003, I was the bassist in a band that fit me perfectly, musically. In that context, I was able to express myself so well, to create in collaboration with some incredible musicians. I was a large creative force in the group, and my efforts were returned with the technical knowledge that I didn't have beforehand.
Unfortunately, the drummer was a tremendous prick. We argued quite a bit, and it lead them to search for my replacement behind my back. Always unsuccessfully. Either they couldn't find anyone that would suit them better than me, or the talented ones wouldn't play with them due to their personal reputations.
After a huge fight in the studio, the drummer crossed a serious line and I quit on the spot. They felt betrayed, as they had taught me so much about the industry. I felt that I had to leave to preserve my integrity and self-respect. Similar to girl/boyfriend breakups, I guess. Hence the song...


No Fun - I never hurt anybody but you
That's the price of love
At least a love that's true

I never used up anybody before
I'm a bastard, I know
I never used up anyone
Until they were No Fun

No Fun - Backed in a corner I let you fall
To your own disgrace
You still don't see it at all
No Fun - I didn't mean it it's what I do
To hold myself above
To protect me from you

I never used up anybody before
I'm a bastard, I know
I never used up anyone
Until they were No Fun

No Fun - Next to you everything went pale
Your ego ruled your world
And now you're tired and oh-so stale.

Guest Vocalist?

My girlfriend, Kate, is a trained opera singer and actress. I am neither.

I am not a big fan of my own singing voice. I sing my own songs mostly out of pragmatism: it's much easier to do it myself than to try to explain to someone what and how I want them to sing.
However, I'm always looking to improve my product and try new things. So I've asked Kate to sing on 'Overture'. I had already wanted her to perform the backup tracks, but she's going to go whole-hog and do the lead tracks too. We're going to start with two tracks to see how it goes. She'll be singing 'No Fun' and 'Pop Song'.
I spent some time transcribing the vocal melodies into sheet music, which was a challenge unto itself. To sit at my keyboard and plink out what I think I was trying to vocalize. Now I have printed sheet music that looks more professional than my usual scribbles.

I'm really not sure how this will work out. She's definitely got a beautiful voice, but I worry that it may be too sweet, the annunciation too precise, just too... correct for music like mine. But we'll see. She's professional enough to understand if it doesn't work (as long as I can communicate that properly). Who knows? If it works, my project will be that much better. And she'll have yet another addition to her repertoire. If it doesn't work, I'll have 'alternate takes', with both my voice and hers as options...

Tonight: Slow Show (of brilliance)

My plan for this blog is mostly to document what I'm doing, but I also want to express what I think about other musicians.

Tonight I'm going to see one of my favourite bands, The National. A year ago I saw REM and Modest Mouse, and The National was the unknown opening act. I couldn't have cared less about them, when I knew the headliners that were coming up.
About 30 seconds into their first song, Fake Empire, I was captivated. They were by far the highlight of the night. I went out the next day and bought their Boxer album. And in the 12 months that have passed, I've only occasionally been able to listen to anything else. Occasionally I feel a tear coming on as I revel in the tracks on this disc.
They've inspired me to style 'Overture' the way I have, using more organic-sounding instruments than in the past.

So tonight they're playing at The Koolhaus. And I'm VERY excited.

Here's an example of their greatness:
Feel free to turn off my music on the right, just for this...



Slow Show
Standing at the punch table swallowing punch
can’t pay attention to the sound of anyone
a little more stupid, a little more scared
every minute more unprepared
I made a mistake in my life today
everything I love gets lost in drawers
I want to start over, I want to be winning
way out of sync from the beginning

I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I’m very, very frightening
I’ll overdo it

Looking for somewhere to stand and stay
I leaned on the wall and the wall leaned away
Can I get a minute of not being nervous
and not thinking of my dick
My leg is sparkles, my leg is pins
I better get my shit together, better gather my shit in
You could drive a car through my head in five minutes
from one side of it to the other

I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I’m very, very frightening
I’ll overdo it

You know I dreamed about you
for twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for twenty-nine
You know I dreamed about you
for twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for twenty-nine

Overture Update

Yesterday was a holiday Monday, celebrating the birthday of British Queen Victoria.
Know what that means? Yes, a whole extra day to work on my next album.
Drums: done.
Bass: done.
Primary guitars: done.
Piano: done.
Guitar overdubs: at least 90% done.
Vocals: next.

This project is sounding better than I had planned, I can't remember being this excited about a disc.

And since this project is actually a collection of my older (but never heard) songs, I've tentatively named it 'Overture: The Greatest Unheard Hits'.

What do you think?

Inspiration

I've had writer's block lately. Music comes easily, but I have trouble writing lyrics that make me proud.

The other day I woke up at around 8am, and turned on Mr. Coffee. While waiting for it to finish, I picked up my acoustic guitar and strummed out an old tune. Then I played a second one that never got past the rough demo stage.
Suddenly I decided to take my favourite never-heard 9 or 10 songs, and re-record/ re-arrange them. The only thing I kept were the lyrics and the basic chord progressions.
I realized around 2:30 that afternoon that I still hadn't had breakfast, and forced a quick break. Then I was right back to the recording. I stopped at about 10pm that night. I recorded for 14 hours straight - the first time I've done that in a couple of years.
I got the drums programmed, basslines written and recorded, and the main guitars tracked for 9 songs. They've all got vocal guide tracks, and a few have piano lines recorded.

It's feeling pretty awesome.