Nothing like a little blurb about the ‘album”.

Well, if this wasn’t the longest “album” I’ve ever recorded.  It all started in September 2004.  I just wanted to do something to finish off the year and basically make a “Landing Strip part 2” – that’s actually why the covers look pretty much the same.  Then I sort of shelved the whole thing for about a month so I could remix most of my older stuff straight down to the computer.  That led me to make a 4 CD “anthology” for a friend of mine.  I wish I made one for myself.

Anyways, I started to listen to what I had again around the middle of January and decided that most of it might be able to work out.  And when I whittled out 2 of the slower songs, it started to come together.  And from there I just worked on it and put a lot of time into it.  More than I think I ever had with the exception of The Spy Is The Limit.  And it shows – I’m still no Pavorotti, but I didn’t choke that much on the vocals which is good for me since I don’t stop/record/stop/record but I did put a heavy flange on the vocal for Melted.  I’m not a proud guy.

So, all in all, a fun time.

Track 1 - Here We Go
I always wanted to start an “album” with a short, almost-intro song.  So I did a minute and a half of me saying Hi.

It started with my Taylor Baby – no click track either.  Then I put a bass on it and then the kick drum.  I did the vocal and a solo at the same time.  When I listened to that solo, I thought it could be better.  So I recorded over the bass track with my big Taylor and kept that.  And I kept everything real, real dry – like I’m in the room with you.  Kinda scary-like.  Then it kicks in with…

Track 2 - Coffee Stains
I was thinking of Albert Collins’ I Got A Feeling – same key too.  It’s just one chord with really no changes.  And for the words, the tune was a perfect fit.  And if you’re unsure of what coffee stains are, well, I’m sure you’ve made a few of your own or helped somebody make their own – even if you or them don’t drink coffee.

This one was fun for me because the main guitar was my SG Classic, even though I did it again with the Les Paul Studio. The SG was the keeper, since it was more Strat-y, but I didn’t mind playing the song twice.  The solo ended up being one of my better ones and it was the Les Paul Studio with the Vox wah and a Boss Octave.  I did the whole track with that setup, but redid everything on that track - but the solo - with the SG again.

Track 3 - Knocked Up
I like doing mock-country things.  I was going to sing it with a southern drawl but I thought it would take away from the words when you get to the chorus.  Don’t worry, I didn’t knock anybody up during the making of this song. Honest!  I don’t want to spoil it anymore – just listen to the words.

Well, it started with my Baby being fingerpicked and then I thought about only having one other guitar to fill it up but I ended up ponging it with the rest of the “band”.  At first I was going to have an Elvis-ish, Les Paul sound on the lead guitar but I ended up using the SG Classic so it would be more Telecaster-ish.  The big Taylor in the left ear was fun to do – the tune’s in ¾ again, so the upstrokes are on every 3.  That’s about as tricky as I get, kids.

Track 4 - Always Tasty
This is an old song that I did originally back in 2000.  I never liked the chorus part so I thought if I ever redid it, I’d change the chorus – so that’s what I did.  Easy.  Anyways, I’m not The Lean Cuisine for nothing.

I kept the arrangement pretty faithful to what I had originally except I sped it up a bit.  It’s the SG Classic with an Octave.  Man, I get my use out of that pedal.  The solo was the Les Paul Studio again with – surprise - the Octave pedal and my Maestro Phaser.  Anyways, it was better than what I had 5 years ago.

Track 5 - Checkin’ In
The other oldie of the “album”.  Done originally at the same time Always Tasty too.  It’s just about the visit to a hotel – I forget if I stayed the night or paid hourly.  Anyways, pretty groovy and it ended up being the big jam of the “album”.  Unfortunately, I had to edit it for the site.

I had a fun time with this one.  The Les Paul Studio is in the left ear and the Gold Top is in the right.  The vocal was better than I thought – B is a little high for me but I hit most of the notes.  That’s an accomplishment since the original, I did one low and then a falsetto and put those together – and I was still out.  I never thought if I kept slugging it out I’d finally get it, but persistence can be a good thing.

Track 6 - Things To Come
Ever have a dream and you were hanging with somebody that you know (but it’s not really them in the dream but you’d swear it was)?  Anyways, this song is about one of those and then waking up and trying to remember what happened.

There’s a few guitars on this one.  The first guitar was a clean SG Classic going through an Alesis Quadraverb for the rotating speaker effect.  Then there are 2 big Taylors – one in each ear.  And the Les Paul Studio gets the solos – my first full solo without a pick too.

Track 7 - Melted
About melting the heart (among other things) of the coldest woman – of course, since it’s my song, I do.  In the real world, I prefer something a little more normal though.  Nobody should be too distant.  Anyways, I liked the riff.

Well, the Les Paul Studio gets the nod for this one; both for the rhythm guitar and solos.  And I got to use the Vox wah-wah and harmonizer pedal just for fun.  The flange on the vocal was done the same way I put the backwards echo on Dry Spell from Landing Strip.  I used the Effects Out on the 4-track, lined it in to the Digital Delay, then back into the input of a new track.  Then when mixing, I got to goof with the levels of the dry vocal and flanged so I got to make sure the flange wasn’t too harsh.  It kind of worked out anyways.

So that’s about it. I think my favourite part about this one is how the songs go into the next and also it’s pretty consistent – not too many highs or lows.  Also, I realized that I can burn through these pretty quickly if other things don’t come up.

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