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Original Notes:
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”.
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. 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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