Guitar Accompli

Well, it’s been almost a month. I’m still slugging away at the album, but these songs are seriously kicking some ass!

Let me backtrack a bit. A month ago, I was recovering from a f’ed up hand. It was slowly getting better, but the knuckles for my pinky and ring finger were starting to get cramped and stiff. For some reason, I decided to grab the 2 fingers and lightly pull. They pulled out about ¼”! That was a little scary for a minute, I thought I’d pulled them off! They instantly started to feel better, and have been fine ever since. I guess they just needed realigning.

As for the record, I just finished the guitar tracks on the weekend.
I tried a new routine this time. Normally I’ll record in this order:

1. drum programming
2. bass guitar
3. acoustic guitars as a foundation
4. electric guitars
5. keyboards, pianos, synthesizers
6. vocals

This time I switched it up a little. I recorded all the electric guitars first, then added the acoustic guitars. I wouldn’t have thought it would make a difference, but it really has. Instead of having a fat acoustic bulking each song, they’ve become more of just an accent on some tracks. Sure, some have a driving acoustic rhythm behind them, but on others it’s just a chord here and there or a subtle riff. On a few of the songs it’s really changed the feel. I also did most of the synths and keyboards before the acoustics. I’m really loving these tracks. It’s not unusual to find me rocking out these days with the speakers blasting!

Next up: Vocals.  I haven’t done any real singing in over a year, except for the live stuff with The Boys From County Hell. And for the live shows I usually can’t hear myself and just shout while hoping I’m getting close to the right notes.
I have notes from my signing lessons, and am going to spend a few weeks going through those and rebuilding my vocal chords. Like an athlete’s muscles, they get flabby and weak if you don’t practice and keep them in shape. Once my throat is buff again, I’ll be ready to step up to the microphone.
I'm getting close!

Introducing The Uke

I buggered up my left hand a few weeks ago quite badly, and haven't been able to do much work on the new album.  I don't think it was anything major.  I spent a week or so doing the squeezy-squeezy thing on my hands, comparing the damaged left with the healthy right.  There was some swelling, but the bones didn't wiggle anywhere that they shouldn't.  Probably just some tendon damage.  So I've been letting it heal by itself - all a doctor would offer is "rest it" or "surgery."  Hopefully "rest it" is working.

I can play for an hour or so now before it starts to ache, so it IS healing.  It's just taking longer than it should because my other passion, sailing, has been putting a strain on it every time it starts to get better.


So here's a product endorsement and story to tide you over...

In June, I was at the Beaches Arts & Crafts festival with my wife.  Tired of the usual hand-made rugs, toys, and paintings, I leaped when I saw a small tent packed with ukuleles and banjos.
I ran over, talked to the luthier, and started plucking away on his wares.  I fell in love instantly, and came home $200 lighter with an amazing handmade Tenor Resonator Ukulele from Rosbilt*.
I've spent the summer playing it and getting used to the size and chords - ukes are new to me, but I'm a solid fan now.  If you're curious, check this guy out - Ross Stuart.  He makes some incredible instruments!   Mine has perfect intonation, sounds metallic yet strangely fragile and soft, it's a bit louder than standard wood ukuleles, and even after daily playing it only needs a minor tuning adjustment maybe once a week.

Sitting on the couch one weekend morning watching TV, I started plucking away absentmindedly on the uke.  An interesting melody came out, and my focus instantly changed to the instrument.  I rushed down to my studio and powered everything up.
I didn't want to bother setting up a microphone for the ukulele, so I decided to play it on an electric guitar.  Just get the damn thing recorded before it's forgotten!  30 minutes later I had a basic drum track programmed and a full song arranged.  Still, I wasn't ready to leave it alone.
While listening over and over to the song, I reached for the harmonica I had sitting on the mixing desk.  Virtually instantly a counter-melody came out of the instrument that, again, I had to get down on tape before it disappeared.  Again, no mic.  So I set up a synthesizer and played it on the keys.
And listened to it over and over and over.
The song was too good to leave alone, so I finally set up the mic and sang whatever came to mind.
Less than 3 hours from when I first plucked that melody from the uke, I had a full song written:  drums, bass, guitar/uke, harmonica/synth, and vocals.  Just wild...

I love the song, it's one of my strongest.  And it'll wait in line for the project after the one currently in production, to give it a little time to "mature."  One of the things I love about it is that it was written on 2 instruments I'm not particularly adept with, ukulele and harmonica, but built itself into beauty.  And yes, the uke will be on the record, it's just too cool to omit.

God, sometimes I just love music.

*and for the record, I have no professional interest in Rosbilt.  Ross (can I call him that?) has no idea that I'm writing this, and likely doesn't remember me at all.  But CHEERS to him!

Mr. Bass Man

Drums? Done.
Bass?  DONE.

I just completed the bass tracks for all ten songs in the new project. The big surprise for me was that I did them all in one single day.  Normally this should have taken 3 or 4 days I think.
Perhaps it's due to this album being in "pre-production" for a year.  Just not having enough time to record it, I've spent the last year tweaking the songs.  With rough demos done on a computer, I can mute the recordedguitar and vocal trackss, set up a mic, plug in my guitar, and play along with the drums, keys, and bass.  Or I can just mute the bass and play it live.
I've been doing that constantly, changing the lines I'm playing to see what's working best.

So I got it all done in one day.  I ripped through each song one right after the other.  I don't think any song took more than 2 or 3 takes (with maybe 1 or 2 punch-ins).  My fingers are numb and callussed, but those are war wounds I'm proud of.

I'm pretty anxious to get started on the guitar tracks.  These shouldn't take long.  The vocal tracks, that's what will take long...

Post-Graffiti's

Thanks to everyone that came to see The Boys From County Hell yesterday!

We had a great time, and it seemed that most of you did too.  I got to meet a few new people, and I really hope to see them all again soon.

To those that weren't there:  You really missed out.  It might have been our best show yet, everything gelled and we were in sync. 

One guy told me that he liked how obvious it was that we were enjoying ourselves.  I'm glad he noticed, and I'm even more glad that he actually told me.  I'm pretty picky about who I play with.  Not that I'm a snob, more because I don't want to do something I'm not 100% proud of and into.  Phoning in a performance happens to everyone occasionally, but it's unfair to the audience that has given time and money to see you.  And it's unfair to the other musicians onstage.
I try to play every show like it's my last.  Give everything I have.  Because you never know - it might be your last show.  And if you don't give your all, your next show just might not have an audience.


Anyway, I'm really happy to be playing with Cliff, Vera, Johnny, and Jonathan.

The Boys From County Hell, Sunday

There's a great band I play guitar with, called The Boys From County Hell.  Even though there's a girl in it, the name is sticking.

We play (mostly) rowdy Irish folk songs, some more 'rock' than others.  And there's a smattering of traditional reels in it to add some fun.  Lots of Pogues and Dubliners songs.

And it's always a DAMN GOOD TIME.

We're playing this Sunday (july 29) at Graffiti's, 170 Baldwin St, Toronto, from 4-7pm.

If you're in the city, come and check it out!


Here's a clip of The Dubliners playing 'Whiskey In The Jar'.

Overload

A couple of weeks ago, I started working on the recordings that will become my next album. For all ten songs, the drum tracks have been programmed. I’ll wait until the actual recordings are complete before running them through the synth (Toontrack’s Superior Drummer) and rendering them to audio. Just in case I want to make changes as the other instruments shape the songs…

I’ve been practicing the bass-lines, as these will be the next parts recorded.

And here lies my dilemma: The new album has been written. They are ten songs, with fully written and edited lyrics, arranged and organized as I want them. But since starting the “final” drum programming, I’ve written another SIX GOOD SONGS! This is unprecedented for me. My normal practice has been to write 10 that I’m proud of, and throw them on a disc. As it stands these should wait for the 2013 project. But I don’t want to put them on the backburner.

Should I:
a) Record the new album with the planned ten songs and leave the new six for later?
b) Record all sixteen songs and choose the best ten?
c) Record all sixteen songs and sell as a sixteen-song album?
d) Put all sixteen on the backburner and work on the album of cover songs that I can’t legally release anyway but has some pretty cool arrangements?

Goodbye

For my mother, who passed away 4 months ago...


Goodbye

The last words that I ever spoke
The last time you'd understand
Simple words, no room to cry
I think I knew we were saying goodbye.

Wander through the darkness
Clouded memories lifting to fly
So much history, so alive
I think I knew we were saying goodbye.

A young boy, first day of school
Watching his family drive away
Stand alone, young man, stand high
I think I knew we were saying goodbye.

A grown man stands by your side
The same hollow, trying to hide
A strong voice, a tear in the eye
I think I knew we were saying goodbye.

The last words that I ever spoke
The last time you'd understand
I told you that I loved you
I think I knew we were saying goodbye.



(c) 2012 matt swift - steal this one and you're in for some EVIL karma.

Studio-Ready

Wow, what a month!


I booked an entire 5-day stretch to finish building my studio. With cinderblock walls, the sound was brutal. I couldn’t record anything without boomy echoes ruining every take.

I bought 48 Auralex Wedgies and spent a couple of weeks planning the locations and methods to mount them on the walls. The plan was excellent, the execution was not. My plan was to mount wood strapping up near the ceiling, and hang the 12”x12” panels like artwork from the strapping. I borrowed a hammer drill, and bought tapcon screws and a drillbit. Nothing would go into the cinderblocks. Plan#1: Fail.
I headed back to Home Depot, to purchase some industrial-strength tape. Taping the strapping should hold, after all the weight of the wood and foam might be 1lb for each horizontal foot of wall. The tape wouldn’t grip. Plan#2: Fail.
I went back to Home Depot for the third time, to buy some hardcore glue that was “guaranteed” to work on wood, concrete, and foam. Guess what – it wouldn’t hold either. Plan#3: Fail.
Then I had a brainwave: the tape would hold for a few hours before falling off, and the glue probably didn’t have enough time to get a grip before falling off. So I put tape on the wood, and then glued the tape to the wall. The tape should hold long enough for the glue to set. Plan#4: SUCCESS.
That only took about 3 days to work out.
Then I had to mount the foam wedgies on the wall. I bought 100’ of 1” wooden strapping, and had it all segmented into 12” lengths. The plan was to mount each foam square onto two 12” pieces of wood, one vertically on each side. Then I would put a picture-hook into the top and hang them from the wooden strapping like frames. As the entire 24-pack of foam weighed a total of 4.5lbs, I wasn’t worried about strain on the adhesive. The industrial-strength tape looked simple enough, run a foot of it along each 12” piece of foam frame, and stick the foam to the frame. I tried this, and the foam dried out the glue on the tape. No go. Plan#5: Fail.
I tried putting the hardcore glue that was “guaranteed” to work on wood, concrete, and foam. Guess what – it wouldn’t hold either. Plan#6: Fail.
I gave up – I contacted Auralex, and was convinced to buy their proprietary glue spray. It’s the only thing guaranteed to work. Unfortunately you can’t buy it locally, but must purchase online. I ordered it from LAMusic on a Friday, and it was delivered to me on the Monday. Great turnaround time. This worked like a charm. Plan#6: SUCCESS.

I also bought a KRK ERGO unit, to address any remaining sonic deficiencies. I spent yesterday configuring that and testing the room. It’s sounding much better. There was a lot of frustration, trial and error, but the end result was well worth the struggle.

Now I’m ready to start recording the new album!

Musical Memories

A few months ago my mother passed away.


My parents had a surprisingly large influence on my musical tastes – they weren’t like most of my friends parents. My childhood home had a fantastic record stash including Simon & Garfunkel, Blondie, Roxy Music, ABBA, and many other bands that I still love. They took me to my first live concert, Bryan Ferry’s Bete Noire tour in 1988. I hated Ferry at that time, I was into hard rock. I went because they had an extra pair of tickets and my cousin and I had nothing better to do that night. Ten minutes before the show started, I was still mumbling “Bryan sucks – kill the synths!” Thirty seconds after the first song started, I was a convert. I danced through the entire concert, in awe of what I was seeing and hearing. As we left Exhibition Stadium, I elbowed my way to the front of the merch-booth line, buying a T-shirt. I still have it.

So obviously my parents encouraged me musically. When I was 14 and learning to play the guitar, my mother had a piano. She wasn’t especially good, but loved plinking away at it. We used to play David Bowie’s “Space Oddity together.” Only that song, nothing else seemed to work – we just weren’t that good.

As Mother’s Day is coming this weekend, I was thinking about how my surviving family will deal with the weekend. I thought I’d be fine. Then I heard ‘Space Oddity’ on the internet radio and my heard dropped.

I miss you Mum! Happy Mother’s Day!

My Clown

Last night I was in the studio, programming MIDI drum tracks for the new album.

This was an enjoyable process – I have basic patterns completed, along with “scratch tracks” for bass, guitar, and keyboards. These are used to guide through the song so you know whether you’re in a verse or chorus, but will be replaced with the real instruments for the final version. A bit like wooden support beams in a building, in place until the concrete sets.

So I had the drums up louder than everything else (I was focusing on them, after all), and had set up a microphone to sing along. I’ve found that this helps to give me a “live” mindset, the ideal I’m going for with this album. So back to the drums, I’d sing along stopping when something needed adjusting – “no, that kick doesn’t work there, it should push the beat a little,” “ouch, that sounds weird,” that sort of thing. And over the course of a few hours, I had the drum tracks programmed for 3 of the 10 songs. And to be honest, I replayed them a few times afterwards just having fun jamming along with myself.

Late in the evening, I was working on ‘My Clown’. It’s a soft, brooding acoustic song. Humming along waiting for the first verse to arrive, I “ahhhh’d” a really cool line. Since my voice isn’t my strongest instrument, I grabbed a nearby guitar and plucked the riff on it. Suddenly a jolt went up my spine – AN IDEA! I saved a backup version of the soft song, and started a new one. A 4-bar aggressive disco/house beat was looped. I copied the organ line from the slow version, sped it up, and added it to the drum loop. I then hit ‘Record’ and laid down the idea with a dirty overdriven guitar. Within 15 minutes I had the new version of ‘My Clown’ laid out. Aggressive and dirty, sexy in a way that didn’t exist before.

My Clown’s an evil clown.

After the adrenaline rush wore off, I went back and listened to the original version. There’s a creepy tension that didn’t translate into the sexy funk version. And I’ll probably stick with the original.
But who knows - this song now has 2 completely different identities that I can get to know.

Holdup

I’ve had the new studio set up for a couple of weeks now. The boomy reverb is still a big problem.
The bed tracks for the new album have been started. I’m programming the MIDI drums, and laying down a temporarly bassline that will guide the song. There’s really not much else that I can do until I put up some sound-diffusing foam on the walls. That will probably be a month or two. An agonizing month or two – I want to get back to work on this batch of songs, I’m REALLY excited about them. So excited that, this morning while listening to the Your Loving Song demo on my MP3 player, my eyes started watering. It was all I could do not to stop on Queen St, pose a rockstar pose, and start singing and air-guitaring! I’m seriously loving this project, and can’t wait to build it and show it off!

There is an upside to this delay. I’m my own boss, there is no record company pushing for a release date and I don’t need the sales profits yet (I can still buy my own beer this summer). So there’s nothing but my own lack of patience to push the release. My plan is to rehearse the songs over and over and over. Play the guitars and keyboards against the bed tracks, sing karaoke-style with them.
This “pre-production” should help improve the songs in more subtle ways. Maybe a kick drum will seem out of place and I can fix it, maybe I'll discover that something should change after the first verse… I’ve already decided to chop a measure from the middle of Little Rose Tattoo and add screaming background vocals behind the guitar solo (yes there are a couple of those on this record) in a song currently being called You’re A Star but might get changed to When You Are Gone or something completely different. With time, I can keep workshopping these new songs.

So yes, there’s a delay. And yes, it’s pissing me off. But there’s a positive side to it, and I’m going to exploit that to the best of my ability.

Studio Update, and Another LIE

This was a great long weekend.
I managed to set up my studio. Unfortunately it needs some work. The blue cinderblocks look great, but the sound bounces right off them. I knew it would be a problem, but didn’t know how much until yesterday. I was laying down an acoustic guitar track, so I had a microphone set up in front of the Gibson’s soundhole. It’s a small guitar, and has a thin, whispy sound. That’s exactly what I wanted for the song. I sat down, adjusted all the levels, and recorded the slide-guitar track.
When I listened to the playback, there was a deep, boomy reverberation. The sound was bouncing off the walls, and overpowering the microphone. It made the signal unusable. It was really frustrating – that was a tough guitar solo to play cleanly, and it took a lot of practice to get it right.
A few hours later, I realized that I could get an equally-cool sound from one of my Telecasters. And I could run it directly into the PC, so the echo wouldn’t affect the sound. Ten minutes later it was done. Then I listened to the song a dozen times, thrilled with the way it’s building.

This isn’t a new song either. I was sitting on the sofa watching TV one night, plucking away on the above-noted Gibson acoustic (we keep it in the living room, for emergency access). I absent-mindedly plucked one of the guitar licks from “Love Isn’t Enough,” but at a really slow tempo. Suddenly I realized that this song would work well in a new genre. I rushed down to the studio, programmed a basic drum pattern, and very quickly laid down bass, guitar, and vocal “scratch takes” before I could forget what I had in mind.
I’ve built on it now, but it’s a sparse and lonely take on LIE. I can’t wait to polish and release it online (once the studio echo is resolved).

Found: Fender 12-string!

Over the last few weeks, I have been moving my home (and recording studio).
Everything is still dismantled, and of course this is when i'm having my flood of ideas - right when i can't make a quick musical sketch of them. I have lots of scribbled notes like "change 3rd line of Kill Me to The finish was always my favourite part," "Am brkdown in Crazy - cut out everything but rhythm guitar" and things like that. Hopefully i'll remember what i'm talking about when everything is set up again...

One surprise was clearing out the big closet next to my recording desk in the old home. I grabbed what I thought was an empty soft-shell guitar case. It was heavier than expected, and I found my Fender acoustic 12-string guitar! It had been hidden away in the closet for years, and I'd totally forgotten that I owned it. And I'm sure it'll come in handy on one or two new songs.

Hopefully I can get the new studio set up in the next week or two and get to work!

St. Paddy's Review

The St. Paddy’s Day shows with the Boys From County Hell went really well. Two shows, five sets, two or three encores (I can’t remember), seventeen worn-down guitar picks, five musicians, no broken strings, one hell of a day! Oh – and too many pints of beer and shots of whiskey to count.

After the last song at the Cloak & Dagger, the last song of the night, I was ready to keep playing. I think the others were too. Unfortunately our voices were all disappearing and exhaustion was setting in.
This was the first time I’ve been onstage in years, and I’d forgotten how much I love it. We’ll have to book a few more shows this year. One thing that I didn’t forget – I always look angry or annoyed onstage, even when I’m having the time of my life!

Cheers, and I hope everyone else had as good a time as me!

... and that's a shamrock fake tattoo on my forehead, as I didn't have anything green to wear.

Stagefright

I used to get a really bad case of stagefright. I don’t really know why. I’ve always known what I was performing. Knew I looked and sounded good, and had a show well worth the admission cost. But they were still there.
The jitters eventually subsided, but it took a long time. And once they went away, I missed them. I missed the butterflies in my stomach, the nerves for the day before a performance, when I would constantly run the set through my head, ensuring I knew my parts and wondering what I didn’t know I didn’t know. Without them, performing got quite hum-drum. "Okay, it’s time to get back onstage… guitar – lights – put it in autopilot and go."

I haven’t played publicly since 2003. Not including my wedding, where I whipped out Unchained Melody (guitar and vocals) for my bride. And THOSE jitters had nothing to do with the music!

Tomorrow I have a couple of shows with The Boys From County Hell, and the nerves are back. My main concern is that I’m playing Irish folk music, and until 6 months ago I’d never really listened to it. I’ll be playing these 3-set performances of unfamiliar songs without cheat-sheets to hint at the chord changes. I’m sure I’ll be fine, i've done a lot of rehearsing, but there’s always the things that I don’t know I don’t know… Especially for the first performance with a new group.

I’ve got the stagefright jitters, and I like it!

Boys From County Hell - LIVE

Me. Live. Excited.

In ten days, I may betray my British heritage. I’m playing guitar in an upbeat, and somewhat aggressive, Irish folk band. A band which I believe has NO Irish members…

Anyway, it’ll be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to performing live for the first time in almost a decade (my wedding notwithstanding).

The Boys From County Hell
Saturday, March 17
at The Cloak & Dagger, 394 College St, Toronto
10pm-2am. ish.

Musical Eulogy

My mother passed away almost 2 weeks ago.

I had been writing a song about her, and it's about 1/2 finished. I may leave it as it is, and never play or record it for anyone...

Little Black Dress Fundraiser

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but my wife (Kate Kudelka) is an actor and playwright. Her company (along with partner Lise Maher) Little Black Dress, is hosting a fundraiser to help cover costs for their upcoming piece "Ladies In Waiting." It will be performed in the Toronto Fringe Festival this summer.

LBD has put together a great list of gifts for a raffle (including 5 guitar lessons from yours truly). Quilts, vocal lessons, gift certificates from local establishments, and much more are all up for grabs.

Details are here - check it out! http://www.littleblackdresstheatre.blogspot.com/. All proceeds go to a great cause - the artists, actors, and writers that give Toronto such strong live performances.

Woodshedding & Bloodshedding

Hi,
Remember me? I’m that indie songwriter that you may have heard?
Sorry I’ve been away so long, would you believe me if I said it was all to better the way I give you what I give? It’s partially true…

So what’s been happening? I’ve been quite busy over the last few months. After seeing Bryan Ferry at Casino Rama, and being overwhelmed by guitarist Chris Spedding, I decided to “woodshed” for a while. That’s where a musician isolates himself and focuses on improving his skills. I hadn’t noticed mine slipping until (watching Spedding milk the perfect sounds from his guitar) I thought “I could do that. No, wait, that’s a lie. I USED to be able to do that.” So I’ve spent a lot of my time practicing.

I’ve also started rehearsing with a band called “The Boys From County Hell.” They play Irish folk music (and Pogues-style rock). It’s interesting because I’m totally unfamiliar with these songs. I’m learning them mostly by ear, but having to remember which song is what, what key, what rhythm… and to boot, the songs are all named “the irish somethingorother” or “the whiskey something” or “rover”…
It makes for a confusing time, but I’m loving it. It’s good to be challenged like this. And I’m SHEDDING FLESH AND BLOOD for this. My fingers haven’t split (yet), but I’ve got no feeling left from all the calluses. And I’ve rubbed all the skin from my right forearm from friction against the body of my acoustic guitar! Thankfully it’s been just missing my tattoos. That might change how proud I am of this sacrifice to the music gods…

As for the Matt Swift music, I’m still tweaking the next album. I’m loving these songs so far. There’s one point in “Your Loving Song” where it’s all I can do to not jump or dance!
I’ve written a couple of more songs, and right now I’m trying to decide whether to put them in this 2012 project, or maybe hedge my bets and keep those on the backburner for 2013…

It’s an exciting time, but hard to write about the incremental progress. It looks great to me, but I wonder how much detail anyone else really wants…