Monday, January 28, 2008

April Revisited

First of all, congratulations to the Fischer family on their new vehicle. The race is on for a nickname for the flashy new "crossover", so suggestions are welcome.

Saturday, after celebrating the purchase with some mixed drinks, we descended in to the garage to do some remixing of "April". Actually we descended into the half of the garage left available after some deft maneuvering on Bill's part to get the new car into the other half.

After getting comfortable together in tight quarters, we spent an hour doing a pretty decent remix, and were left with a few thoughts. First of all, Bill has to do a new guitar dub of the actual riff that goes with the song. This was left out of the original recording due to the injury sustained when Bill couldn't handle my ball properly. I mean the ball I tossed at him. You know what I mean. Anyways, we also decided that a new mic setup was in order for the acoustics from now on. One will be next to the strings, and one a couple feet away. A new vocal harmony track is also in order. I think Matt should give a harmony track a try, just to mix it up. Finally, the drum mics will be moved, one more will be added to the snare, and we'll do a quick drum redub.

The good news is that the remixing session will definitely help with the future sessions, reduce future mix times, and allow for more time doing actual recording. Also, the discovery that mixed drinks assists with mixing sessions will allow for more experimenting.

I'm excited to see what Matt and Bill can pull off when the studio is put back together, so that we can test our setup on what is quite possibly my favorite Stickmen song - Girl 134.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Don't Worry Don...

There's enough to go around.



"Maybe if you and Fischer stopped with the queer business you'd get more photos scanned.
Or maybe I wish someone would give me a backrub, too." - DV. Blogspot

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Notes on April (The Song)

I enjoyed listening to the recent recording of the song April, and had some notes after listening to the recording several times. Before that, let me just say that the recording and playing quality was surprisingly good given the fact that was done in one session in an actual garage.

1. Add different intrument(s) at end. The song seemed a little stale towards the end. Maybe some keyboard or electric guitar.

2. Go out to different riff with more excitement, then bring it back at the end.

3. Remove the second vocal track. It sounded weird, and Fischer's voice can carry itself.

4. Drums need less crashes, hi-hat lifts. Still, I'm impressed at Munson's drumming.

5. Vocals can be quieter (not volume, but less strain) until the chorus and the end, when more effort can be put in.

Some things I'd like to try on the drums:

Start song without drums, bring them in late.
Try different tempos.
Add some ride in.

If you don't want my advice, too bad. That's why it's called "unsolicited".

In-Style Sessions Captured

In strict adherence to this years policy of digitizing everything in sight, I've just put the finishing touches on scanning in all of the photos from the Nov 23, 1995 rehearsal lovingly known as "The In-Style Sessions".

Here's a sneak:




I have to admit that scanning photos is not the most fun thing a person could do with their free time. The rewards come at the end though, when all is said and done. Not only do I end up with an easily transportable and duplicatable copy of the photos, but it also makes them easier to share online and view. Flipping through pics on the PC is so much more fashionable than busting out the old cloth covered photo albums of yester year. I mean, honestly people.

All told, there were just over 185 photos in this session, totally just over half a gig of memory. Small price to pay for photos of this quality.

In other news, I have a minor retraction to print. I earlier made the claim that the Peak photo shoot was complete, and took place on a certain date. Both claims were false.

In reviewing the previously-thought-of-as-complete archive of the Peak photo shoot with Axe-grinder Bill Fischer, it became obvious that there were some photos missing. I had it pegged for a roll or two. At home, I have the photos broken down into two stacks, which I originally believed were duplicates. On stack is about three inches thick, in no discernable order. The other stack has photos broken down into batches of roughly 25, grouped with negatives. My original thought was that the big stack contained the dupes of all the photos in the other, broken down stack. Wrong. Turns out that ALL of the photos are unique. The good news is that this means there are twice as many photos to scan. The bad news is that there are twice as many photos to scan. Follow? Yup, more work. But in the end, you never win. Wait, I mean, but in the end, it'll all be worth it.



The other part I got wrong was the date. It was actually Feb 8, 1997. That's good, as it means it was only 11 years ago, instead of 15. Still, 11 years is pretty crushing. I wonder if we still look as young? Probably not. Oh well. Time marches on, and so does my new Epson scanner.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Livin' the Dream

Never let it be said that the Stickmen don't sometimes stick to their plans.

This Sunday marked the first recording session of Black & Blue's vision of 2008, to record one song per month. Out of the gate, and we've got our first hit.

Well, maybe not a hit per se, but we did actually finish an entire song, from start to finish. But let's cut to the chase.

You can download the new song here.

This is a song written by Bill Fischer MANY years ago. I think during the Mudd years. I'll leave it to him to give the exact details of the songs genesis. But it's something we never had a full band recording of. There are some four track stabs at it, if I recall correctly, but nothing of this magnitude.

The recording session probably could not have gone more smoothly. Bill was elected as the producer for this song, putting him in the position to have the final say in all creative decisions, and also burdening him with the responsibility of keeping the session on track. We also set some time limits, in order to avoid falling into the trap of endless noodling.

The initial takes had Munson on drums, Fischer on acoustie and vocals. Broken finger prsent. We did a total of 15 takes of the song. I'd reckon about half of those were false starts, or mid-song bomb outs. We very quickly nailed a serviceable track. I think it might have been take 3. But we wanted another, just in case. I think around take 10 we had another solid track in the can, but I thought we could do even better. By take 15, we had it. The key to this first track was simply to get a good recording of the drums. Everything else can be done in overdubs. Being a novice drummer myself, I have to say I was quite pleased with how well the drum track turned out. Though it was a simple beat, with very little variation, it came out sounding really good.

We overdubbed a second acoustic guitar played by me. I think I got it in two or three takes. A separate tambourine track was done with me playing. We did some experimentation with lyrics, and ultimately settled on the dual-Fischer vocal track that you hear on the final one. I laid down some vocals that just didn't seem right. Nothing against the vocals themselves, natch, they just didn't seem to fit the song.

Fischer of course laid down the harmonica track. The most challenging part of the whole song was the bass line. Previously, the song had no bass line, so this was all new ground. Bill was to record the line, broken finger and all. We kicked around a few different bass lines. For the most part, Bill would play something, and I would give feedback. I kept pulling him in with the classic line "keep it simple", which seldom gained traction in the original Stickmen lineup. The bass line came together in under a half an hour, but recording it proved to be a bit more troublesome. not only was it a brand new bass line, not only is Bill not a bass player, but he's also got a shattered finger. However, that said, I have to admit it turned out just stunningly, and I believe is one of the anchors of the song. Upon listening to an early mix down, it really hit home to me just how critical a well written a delivered bass line is. The bass line in this song sells it, if you ask me. It really fattens out the low end of the song, and has a melody of its own that is complementary to the main melody. Very well done Bill Fischer.

My hope is that every song turns out to not only go together this well, but come out sounding so good. I'm very pleased with the final results. I truly believe that this recording is on par quality wise with anything on our first album. The fact that two of use threw it together in a frozen garage in Torrance says volumes not only about the people involved, but the equipment available.

In our next recording, I will be producing the first ever complete studio recording of Girl #134. There are other recordings of this, but none with a full arrangement, and none that have reached final mix-down status. I believe G134 to be the strongest song I've ever written, and I'm looking forward to seeing it put into final form. I think my only lamentation is the fact that my guitar (which I lovingly call "coca-cola") is currently residing in England, and will be unable to attend the session. It is this guitar that I was hoping to use to record this song with. Still, I may just draw upon YD, the old acoustic standby to pull it off. It will of course change the tonal quality of the song, but perhaps for the best. We shall see.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

The "Peak" Of Our Careers

File under: Hard To Believe it's Been 15 Years.

That's right, dear reader, the infamous "peak" photo sessions were almost 15 years ago. According to the written Stickmen history (as opposed to the oral history, which is another story entirely) it was on Feb 8, 1993 that the Stickmen took to to the streets of Santa Monica for a giant photo shoot. The intention was to not only get lots of attention, but also to get photos which might be used for album artwork. Well, that's how I remember it, but it may very well be the case that we simply did it for giggles.

Cuz we're like that.




What makes this entry more interesting is that I've just finished scanning in all of the photos from that fateful day. So now they're preserved digitally. Just need to get them onto a DVD, and they'll be EMP proof too. And we're all about defending ourselves from nuclear attacks and the like. I kid you not. Now granted, we're not digging bunkers in our backyards (though Bill could be, I suppose). But there is a historical precedent of protecting stickmen history against global thermonuclear war. Years ago, Bill and I kicked off "Operation M.A.D." This acronym naturally stood for Mutual Assured Destruction, one of the hallmarks of any nuclear effort. The plan was basically to create 2 duplicate, geographically separate, complete copies of the stickmen video archives. This projet was completed on time, under budget, and with top quality. The separate archives remain in place today in Torrance and Irvine.

Anyhow, I have digressed. The point is, I'm attempting a similar effort for all printed matter. But it's not just limited to Stickmen stuff. I'm also scanning in all of the Munson family photos. It's a pretty huge undertaking, but I think one flood, fire, or earthquake will make it pay for itself.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Don Varner Weighs In:

To the Chinese, 2008 will be the year of the rat. To their restaurants, it will be the year of the rat, dog, and cat. And to me, this will be the year of peace, love, and cultural sensitivity. Wait, that was last year. This year it's all about getting even.

But first, here's an actual quote from a recent phone conversation with Bill's sister Janet:

Janet: "I'm so stoked!"
Me: "About what?"
Janet: "Your mom!"

Well played, Janet, well played.

Holiday travel, a bout with fetal alcohol syndrome, and my invitation getting revoked weren't enough to stop me from blogging on Classic Stickmen. After a well-placed phone call to the man in command, I'm here to clear a few things up, then muddy the waters even more with a few well placed turds. Consider me the fat drunk dirtying your freshly-cleaned toilet with a few pounds of half-digested items from Wendy's 99 cent menu. Which recently began featuring the double-patty burger, much to my suprise and delight.

Let's clear up a few inaccuracies that have popped up in this blog so far:

Don has animosity towards Matt
True

There you go, folks. If I find any more errors in my fellow writers' efforts, you can be sure I'll clear them up, too.

Now on to the steamy droppings. Since readers of this blog can probably barely count past 10, I've compiled a list of facts and rumors just short enough to keep your tiny TV-addled brains' attention:

1. I am not the best player in the band. The fact is, I have a good idea of my limitations at drums, so sticking to the basics and keeping time seemed the best course of action. Every other member of the band knows more about their instruments than I do, but seem to delight in pushing the envelope (eyeing Victor's formerly fretless bass with gasoline and matches in hand).

2. The only way the band will ever record a decent song is as a whole. Bill and Matt can try to make me jealous with the whole "Black and Blue" project, but it won't have the same feel without the strife and drama of the original Stickmen. And no, I don't mean those whiny bitches from back east that seem to think playing random chords with heavy distortion and lots of double bass drum make them musicians instead of stupid assholes that need haircuts and lots of deodorant.

3. We don't sound like REM or They Might Be Giants. So stop saying that.

4. The comeback train is rolling. It's going to be like they put the short bus on the Southern Pacific, and the tards are shoveling in a mighty tard frenzy. Look for a new album, and an old feud to be rekindled from the ashes of My New Invention.

5. There is no five. If you made it this far, congratulations, you're a loser. Look to invest in a garden hose and enough gasoline to keep your car running in the garage for an hour or so.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Don's Drums

"My name is Don, and these are my drums".

It was with these immortal words that the oft-maligned stick-rag "Trials & Tribulations" reached new heights. The column entitled "Don's Drums" was often the briefest, yet most amusing entry into any given issue. Darn it, I miss them! Whether he was correcting previously mis-published claims, railing on other local bands, or just being himself, Don's Drums seldom disappointed.

I was digging through some photos today, and stumbled upon this one, which is one of my all time favorite photos of Donaldo, or "Von Darner", as his evil German counterpart is known as.



There's a great story behind this photo. But in order to keep this blog from sliding into another episode of "The Way I &*^%ing See It", I won't go into all the gories. Let's just say that this photo cost me something like 20 bucks to acquire! Also, for the record, that was THE final nail in the coffin for me on that subject.

But I digress, as I am prone to doing.

Anyhow, what can I say, Varner rocks. Though I think he and I have always had some kind of background animosity, I've always found him to be one of the most unpredictably histerical people I've ever known. I should be more clear: I think Don secretly (or not so secretly) holds a good deal of animosity towards me. Fact of fiction, I'll probably never know, but that's my read on him. There's tons of good historical reasons for Don to dislike me. Some of them based on truth, others not so much. Still, at the end of the day, Don was the backbone of the Stickmen. I've said this before, and I'll say it again, without meaning any disrespect to the other band members. Don was the most proficient at his instrument out of all of us. I sang decently, Bill played guitar very well. But Don was a stellar drummer. He played better than us faster than us. That is to say, he was good at drums a lot faster than I was good at guitar.

Don played drums a lot more than we played anything else. He was always in another band, usually practicing and performing way more than the Stickmen ever did. Good for him! It made the Stickmen all the stronger.

Anyhow, I'm just rambling now, so I'll cut this short.

And yes, this is nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to get Don to post to this blog in some way... if only to set the record straight on a number of pending questions!!!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

The Year of the Digital Archive

For the past few years, I've been giving each year of my life a theme, and a title. It sort of sets the stage for what is to come, and establishes my expectations (or hopes) for the year. Here's a list of the past few years names/themes:

2007: The year of the industrial Revolution
2006: The year of living dangerously
2005: The year of the life less ordinary

2007 was all about building R2, and learning new machining skills. Though it was very intense for the first few months of the year, it slowed down for the remainder. It certainly didn't stop, but the learning curve got less steep.

2006 had me living all over the world. France, Australia, England, Italy, Virgina and San Francisco. Crazy year.

2005 saw me beginning to re-direct my life and career. Took a lot of risks that year, and saw a lot of the world as a result.

So 2008 has really one focus: getting every memory inducing artifact digitized. I doubt it will take the whole year, but that's the theme. I want to scan every photo, slide and negative. i want to convert ALL my video to digital. of course, this will include a lot of band related stuff, which is why I mention it here. All of Bills band photos fall into this category, and so do his videos. One of the products of all of this digitization will be the beginning of the long awaited "Stickmen: The Movie", which Bill has had in the back of his head for something like ten years now.

So that's the deal.

The other MAJOR effort that will be undertaken this year is the recording of the debut "Black and Blue" album. B&B is of course a splinter band formed by Bill and I. Lots of good originals, and a few covers will probably make it onto the final album. The goal set forth in a phone conversation a day or two ago is to record 1 song per month. If we record more, that's great, but the goal is one. To accomplish this, bill and I have tasked ourselves with getting the recording studio set up "bisquick" style. This basically means that if we want to record, all we have to do is step into the garage, and press play. Well, record. But you get the idea. Everything will be in place and set up, no matter what we might want to do at that moment. it is my belief that one of the biggest barriers for us is simply not having everything set up. We get the idea to record something, but we have to spent three hours plugging everything in, running cables, firing up the compyoodie, and debugging connections. GIANT pain in the butt. I think if we can cut that out of the pipeline, we'll have a better chance of success. Bill made some headway today, but I'll leave it up to him to report his progress. Or lack thereof.

However, I have completed my "to do" item, and am here with a powerpoint deck to do my presentation.

hello?

Just kidding. But here we go. I put together a few lists with proposed songs for the album, or simply as recording exercises.

Songs we should do
Girl #134
On the Road
Fade Away - Oasis cover
Wandrin' - Folksmen cover
Big Tin Truck
Friend that I Once knew


Songs that are EASY to do
Act naturally
Why don't we get drunk...
Dead Flowers
Don't Pass Me By
King of the Road
Margaritaville
When I'm 64

Would be Nice to have a good recording of
April - might be a "should"
Sympathy for The Devil
Rockville
I'm not the Type
Happy Fathers Day - might be a "should"
Hurricane days - might be a "should"
Spider and the fly


As you can see, there's no shortage of songs we could probably sit down and belt out pretty good performances of right away. There's easily a half a dozen songs there that would make for a great debut album, with most of them being originals. So that's pretty encouraging.

Anyhow, I've still got some research to do for my lists, so there may be more to come soon.

Amazing New Discovery

Typically, I am unamused by new fangled internet gizmos. I'm jaded. However, a recent find yielded a stunning revelation:

An anagram of Bill Fischer is...

Brief Chills.


How frickin' cool is that??? William T fischer produces 'Whimsical Lifter', which I quite fancy. Matthew Munson yields "Mutant Showmen". Matt Munson produces "Man Most Nut".

While "tit smecken" is a band favorite, I think I prefer 'Heck Smitten' as a good anagram for The Stickmen.

For hours of wasted time at work, point your browser here...
Anagram generator