River of Time

For the Black and Blue 2009 Christmas Single, we ended up recording a re-roast of an old Munson chestnut called “River of Time.”

Matt wrote and recorded this song solo with the TASCAM four track, way back in the first year of the band’s existence – no one really knows exactly when, because Matt mostly kept it under wraps. Why? Matt never seemed happy with his creation. To the contrary, over the years he seemed slightly embarrassed whenever I mentioned it.

I suspect it was the lyrics that really bothered him. It was kind of a stream-of-consciousness blank verse thing, a bit resigned and philosophical, with loads of nonsensical lines and disconnected phrases. Possibly the Michael Stipe influence was too overt. While admittedly not a GREAT song, I always found the music charming, and used to bug Matt to dust it off and finish it.

So flash forward to 2009. While racking my brain for a Christmas song idea on Thursday December 10, I hit upon the notion of rewriting “River of Time” with Christmas lyrics. I was fighting a cold and felt miserable, but Matt was due to arrive in town for a recording session, so I put on my songwriting hat, and later that afternoon I had a clutch of verses ready to try out.

As it turned out we didn’t turn our attention to the song until the weekend. When we did, I dropped a couple of hints and Munson guessed what I was up to pretty fast. Frankly, I am surprised that we ended up recording it, but we didn’t really have any other promising concepts. So, after some perfunctory editing and arranging, we emerged from my garage with a new Christmas song. The recording turned out pretty decent too. Not amazing, but workmanlike and fairly entertaining.

A few days later, I experienced a sudden insight which may reveal another angle to Matt’s distaste for the song.

My big insight into “River of Time” was that the rhythm seemed similar to one of my own songs “Above You,” which was written and recorded right around the same time.

Don once pointed out that my songs often have a quasi-shuffle rhythm to them (not very well suited for radio play), and that “Above You” was a perfect example. After recording Matt’s old song, I could suddenly see a kinship between the two, at least in terms of rhythm.

So, maybe after all these years I can figure out when Matt created “River of Time!”

It would seem to me that all the pieces were in place by early December 1992 for Matt to write and record “River of Time:”
• By Halloween, Matt had acquired his Ovation acoustic guitar which sounds to have been used on the recording of “River of Time.”
• By the first of December, Matt and I had recorded “Above You,” which Matt mixed down and played for his coworkers over the loudspeakers at the Wherehouse, where the track was reportedly praised. Matt had not been familiar with “Above You” prior to the recording – and in fact that song was not actually completed until the day of the recording. The rhythm of “River of Time” may have been inspired or subconsciously influenced by “Above You.”
• Sometime during Autumn 1992, and possibly as late as the band fight in mid-late December, the band had rehearsed “Penthouse Pauper,” which contained elements that Matt has cited as influencing the lyrics in “River of Time,” specifically the use of the word “pauper.”
• The TASCAM seems to have been in Matt’s possession for most of December 1992, and then sporadically with me during late December and early-mid January. Matt may have taken it home to record vocal overdubs during our “Month of Recording” in December/January. He also did a solo Ovation guitar overdub for Better Off Alone during the “Month of Recording.”
To me, the most likely scenario involves a December writing/recording session for River of Time by Matt at his Brentwood apartment, probably during early-mid December.

So now, I have refined my best guesses at session dates for the three known Munson solo TASCAM recordings from 1992-3:

Trials and Tribulations – late September to mid October (after the “Drive My Yaunch” songwriting session in September, but before Matt’s Ovation guitar acquisition in late October). Probably a follow-up from the songwriting session and recorded while I was in the Sierras doing dam research.
Even When You’re Gone – late October to November or early December (after acquisition of the Ovation, but while this song still retained currency – after the fifth of December concert we basically stopped playing the song). Possibly inspired by the Ovation purchase.
River of Time – December. Probably spurred by the “Above You” recording session. Could also have been January. It may make sense to lump “River of Time” with the “Month of Recording.” Seems doubtful that he would have done it later, when we started getting near another band breakup.

So here is the revised list of Classic Stickmen recordings from the late 1992 period:

Trials and Tribulations TASCAM session – Sep/Oct 1992
Halloween concert video – 31 Oct 1992
Even When You’re Gone TASCAM session – c. Nov 1992
Comic Quest practice tape – c. late Nov 1992
Above You TASCAM session – 1 Dec 1992
December 5 video – 5 Dec 1992
Harvey Mudd video – c. mid-Dec 1992
You’ve Got the Look TASCAM session (lost) – late Dec 1992
Month of Recording TASCAM sessions – late Dec 1992 – mid Jan 1993
Don’s Wedding Reception video (lost) – c. Jan 1993

Classic Parenting

Memory Lane

Classic!

I Played a bunch of old Stickmen songs today, which I don't do very often. Just me and my Martin acoustic.

I'm a better musician now, and most of the songs turned out quite fun, for having been fairly beaten to death last decade. But I forgot the rhythm of "You Never Win," which I never thought possible!

Anarchy Plus Fifteen

15-year anniversary of the Great Halloween Disaster of 1994. Actually, we played two shows: one on October 29 (the worst live rock-and-roll train wreck I have ever known), and another on Halloween proper, which actually went OK, but nobody remembers that.

The best part, of course, was the seven-foot glowing sarcophagus that rose up out of the fog after the first song, and opened to reveal Matt, microphone in hand, dressed as Batman. Matt appeared only on the video monitor at the beginning of the concert, singing live via closed-circuit TV on our opening number "Evil Under the Ground."

The video monitor content then switched over to "Yitch-Vision," which was my big contribution to the atmospherics. It was mostly footage of nuclear tests and scenes from "Carrie" synchronized to our signature song "Spontaneous Human Combustion."

All of this trickery was executed by Rich Amtower, who was mixing the show and also joined us briefly on keyboards (much to his disadvantage)! I took the stage dressed as Zorro, but for some reason added a bright, battery powered light inside my mouth, which produced a strange effect when I sang, but did nothing for my guitar playing.

Vic, resplendent in horns and red paint, played a bass guitar heavily modified to appear as a giant skull, spinal column, and pelvis. Don, lacking an actual costume, steadily emitted articles of clothing from behind the drums into the audience between songs, with the inevitable end result. Meaning Janet broke up with him when she saw the videotape.

I came into possession of the sarcophagus - created by Victor especially for the show - when Vic's parents moved to Montana. Amazingly, the sarcophagus was still in their garage. It is now in my garage, and I will never be browbeaten into disposing of it. An amazing, glowing, cumbersome artifact of an unforgettable, nay, unforgivable night.

Interesting Stones Tidbit

Brian Jones Death Revisited.

Munson Gets "Back On Road", Just Like Song

I spent the weekend in Chicago, and it was loads of fun! I will try to upload some pictures shortly, though plenty can be found on my facebook profile.

It was a really amazing trip! I left friday afternoon, and arrived late friday night. Got up nice and early and had a good workout at the hotel gym. I headed out to a fantastic local eatery, then took a trip to the top of the sears tower. Or Willis tower, as they call it now. I then took a 2.5 hour double decker bus tour of the entire city. I saw a bunch of places I had visited as a kid, and a few I hadn't. Also saw a ton of locations from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. So cool!!

Then it was off to the Cubs game at Wrigley field to see them murder the Mets, 11 to 4. Nice! A train ride took me back, and included a lap on the famou "L" of Chicago.

I spent the evening sipping Margaritas and updating my facebook profile from the lobby bar at the W Hotel, only to wake up early the next morning for another work out and breakfast with some local friends.

I pushed off at about noon, only to arrive back in Columbus six hours later. Along the way I stopped at a roadside produce stand, and picked up a lotto ticket at a farm town I passed through on the final leg.

Overall, an amazing weekend!

now if we could just finish that album!!

The Second Time Around You Made My Queezy.

Not much to report here out in Ohio, other than the fact that we've been gypped once again. Witness:




More good news is that Bill recently sent me the "Pee Pearl-It Squirt Bird" Lucky Lager bottle cap VIA TXT! Which I think officially propels us into the 21st century, and allows us to count ourselves as "cool kids". Still researching that last bit, but early results indicate a true positive.

I have done a first draft of my Potbellie flyer. Yes, the wheels of change spin slowly in Ohio also, but hey, at least they are spinning. I hope to submit my flyer along with a couple of the CD's to the manager by next week.

carry on.

Swamp Update

Actually spending time in the swamp, playing the guitar.

Rest In Peace, Rich Grinnell

Another sad piece of news to report today. This evening, Rich lost his battle with Cancer. His wife has put together a website that chronicles his last few weeks, and the brutality of the hard war he fought against his own body. Truly, an emotional rollercoaster that I've never witness so close at hand. It's a really heart-wrenching read, and I feel great empathy for those close to Rich, and a great deal of sorrow for the passing of the man himself.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/richardgrinnell/journal

Since this blog is about the Stickmen, it's only fair to discuss Rich in that context. I think the long and the short of it is that the band NEVER would have happened were it not for Rich. If there is one single common denominator that brought the band together, it was the Comic Quest, the comic book store owned by Rich and Lisa back in the day. That was our hang out, our meeting ground, and ultimately our practice studio.

Thinking back, I can recall the countless hours we spent there writing songs, playing music, planning our next adventure/gig, or whatever. NONE of that would be possible without Rich and the store. I may have never even met the rest of the band members were it not for Comic Quest. A debt of deep gratitude is owed, and I don't think it can ever be repaid. Maybe we should dedicate the Black and Blue album to Rich's memory.

Sad days indeed. Rich is the first person I've known in my adult life that I have seen pass. I knew a girl in my freshman year of high school who died shortly thereafter, but I didn't know her all that well. We just hung out once or twice. But this is different. Rich played a huge role in my young adult years, and even though I haven't spoken to him in years and years, it's still very sad to think that he is no longer of this earth.

Rich Grinnell, you will be missed!

World Domination, Step Two

Not really a big update, but Rome wasn't built in a day. I called the Pot Bellie today and asked to speak to Rob, the manager, only he was gone for the day! oh no! I did leave my number with the girl who answered the phone, but you know how those things go. I figure if I don't hear back from him by monday, I will give it another shot.

So, progress, though not much!!

New Munson Guitar: a Retrospective

While I was abed with fever recently, I got a morale boosting shot of Classic Stickmen news.  In a surpise move that removes a major roadblock preventing a return to the concert stage by at least one of the "Classic Stickmen," Matt Munson has purchased a stage-ready acoustic guitar.

Yeah, maybe it's kind of jarring that a dyed-in-the-wool rocker like Munson doesn't just always have such a key article close at hand - if not slung right over his back, as he rides his motorcycle, Vanilla Ice-style, right down main street.  So why would he need to buy one?  

Bear with, we'll hash this out.  

Anyway, now that the beans are in full spill, here's the only photo I have seen of Matt Munson's new "club."  (or "axe" if you prefer the archetypal description of a guitar used for rock-and-roll music, but that seems to imply an electric instrument.)

Okay, so far so good.  Looks like a basic, dreadnought-style guitar, making itself at home in Matt's Central Ohio Pad (COP), with the song notebook gig bag close at hand, another auspicious sign. 

But what say we just read a first-hand account from Matt Munson?

The new guitar is pretty nice. Well, let me be specific. It's a used Yamaha. FX-310, to be exact. 

So I got here to Columbus, and without my computer or TV, I don't have a lot to do :) So I got it in my head to go buy a guitar. There's really only ONE street I know in Ohio, so I got on it, and headed east. I figured I'd hit a music store eventually. (man, this story is starting to sound like the stuff of legends!!) 

Anyhow, sure as pooh, I only drove about two miles before I saw a music store in a strip mall. Pulled in, hopped out. Pretty much your cookie-cutter small town music store. there was a punker kid (maybe 12 years old) with a shaven head and a loud t-shirt sitting in the corner "wailing" away on a Fender Strat. The dudes behind the counter looked on with apathy, as if wailing was so old hat. 

My goal was to pick up a beater. just something that I could play until the Epiphone shows up. Oh, I left the Ovation in storage. So my plan was to get a "classic" acoustic guitar, though not a "classical" acoustic. Know what I mean?? I asked if they carried Seagulls, and they had one behind the counter that they wanted 800 bucks for. Not what I had in mind. Closer inspection revealed that they primarily deal in used gear, which sounded cool to me. 

I headed over to the acoustic section.  They had about 20 guitars. A few were immediate rejects. Either the wrong strings, wrong look, or undersized. Whittled it down to about five. I played all of them, and the prices were all between 90 and 200 bucks. I decided I would not leave without buying one. 

The last one I played was the Yamaha. Action was pretty nice, had a solid, deep tone to it AND it had a pickup, with gain tone sliders. Extra nice, if I decide to do an acoustic gig lately.  I tested the pickup, and it worked fine. Grabbed a gig bag, and I was out the door. 

Looking at the price tag, you can tell that the guitar has been in inventory for a long time. I peeled off the layers of stickers, to see that it's original price was $499. I got it for $119. But the real beauty is that it sounds good, has a solid neck, and it stays in tune nicely. So maybe not the best guitar in the world, but quite nice.

Right on, go Matt.  The new Yamaha should at long last provide decent stage accompaniment that does not disappoint with unpleasant tone or major tuning problems.  Not that there haven't been worthy guitars up until now, but ....  Okay, maybe I should back up and provide some historical context, to highlight the significance of the latest instrument.  Or maybe I shouldn't, but too late now.

So, here goes: A brief history of Munson guitars, from my perspective:

1. Classical guitar "Natalie," acquired c. 1991 - Nice guitar for a recital, but not much use for rock and roll applications.
2. Blue Fender Squier solid-body electric, acquired early 1992 - This was the exact same guitar I had when we first started the band (only mine was black).  Might have been the right choice if we had been a Malmsteen cover band.  But with our style of music, and tendency to play outdoor concerts in inclement weather, we needed guitars that could stay in tune; we could have survived without the 22 frets, whammy bars, Floyd Rose locking bridges, and five-way pickup selector switches.  Wanker nonsense.
3. White Ovation shallow-bowl piezo-acoustic "YD," acquired late 1992 - This guitar was a major step forward, and made us a viable four-piece stage act, but those Ovations reek of the late eighties:  they have have a very brittle, kind of harsh sound, which the shallow bowl and piezo pickup tended to accentuate.  I thought it worked OK live, especially when paired with an electric, but I could tell Munson got more reluctant to use it as the road years ticked on by, and in the studio he usually used my 1963 Gibson acoustic.
4. Fender Stratocaster with hard tail (i.e. no whammy bar), acquired mid-1993 - Just plain bad luck here.  This should have been a great guitar, but every once in a while you just draw a "stinker," and this Strat just had presistent intonation problems that no one could ever solve.  Matt used it on and off, but more often than not it seemed to sound "sour."
5. Vox teardrop solid body electric 12-string, acquired mid-1994 - Matt sold this one right away, having picked it up at a garage sale dirt cheap.  Too bad.  It could have been pretty interesting, in a Brian Jones/Johnny Marr sort of way.
6. Dark sunburst Epiphone semi-solid electric "Coca-Cola," acquired c. 1998 - Finally a good electric, this guitar became Matt's primary stage guitar.  Being very similar to the Gibson ES-335, it had humbucking pickups, same as my Epiphone Les Paul, so I tried to avoid putting the guitars head-to-head because they tended to jumble together - a very minor issue (I had the Rickenbacker anyway).  Only real problem was Matt never had a proper amplifier to go with it, just a PA system that doubled as a guitar amp.  During this period, the Ovation went into eclipse.  I did miss the acoustic + electric lineup, which was probably why I started bringing my Martin acoustic into our regular stage show.
7. Yamaha FX-310 acoustic with pickup, acquired 2009 -  Honest, conventional acoustic guitar, with pickup, including tone control.  Should be a live workhorse.  Too late to help The Stickmen/My New Invention, but no doubt perfect for Black and Blue and/or solo stuff !!

Bottom line: great news, sweet deal, excellent matchup.  Mind you, I have yet to actually hear this thing, but come on.  I strongly suspect that this could pan out into an actual Munson "Slave to the Grounds" style date.  OK, the recent "My Laurels" post was also kind of a tip-off, but either way ...

About freakin' time!

A Minor Curiosity

After my recent post about resting on my laurels, I got to thinking: just what the heck are my laurels? And does it hurt if you put too much pressure on them for an extended period of time? Is that bad for your back? Your skin??

So I turned to google, and learned this:

RESTS ON HIS LAURELS - "Is satisfied with what he (or she) has achieved, so that he stops striving for success or decides that further effort isn't needed. The Greeks awarded wreaths of laurel leaves to the winners of the Pythian Games, and the Romans gave similar awards to distinguished citizens. For some winners, as with winners of gold medals in modern Olympic games, the award is enough; they have reached the pinnacle. Emanuel Deutch's 'Literary Remains' (1874) carries the suggestion: 'Let them rest on their laurels for a while.'" From "Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Ballantine Books, New York, 1985).

who knew?

My Laurels

Just so the fan base doesn't think that me spending most of my time in Ohio means I'm resting on my laurels, I'm here to tell you that I'm not.

I am of course speaking about my rock and roll laurels, mind you.

Today I called up a local sandwhich shop that has live music and made my first swipe at becoming their latest act. Got the name of the manager, when he's available, and what I need to do to put my name into the hat.

So that's pretty much step one in the process. I'll make another call tomorrow to talk to "the man" and see where it goes from there.

Here's a link to the particular store I'm hoping to play

I will def keep the blog posted if there are any updates.

Just One Dollar

Posting this just so Bill can see it:

Stop all the Poppin'!!!

This past Sunday, which I guess was the 26th of April, Bill and I got together for some rock and roll fun. Seems that we are both seriously missing the good ol' days of recording one song per month, so we thought we would give it a try.

With the obligatory dorking around with the kids taken care of early, we headed into the studio. (For the sake of full disclosure, I should point out that it was actually pretty fun playing in the back yard with Bill's kids. They are all very cool kids, and with the new back yard in place, there's all kinds of room for scooter rides and wheelies).

We fell into "jam" mode, and ran through a few oldies before coming up with the idea of recording "King Of The Road". I think we were both feeling sort of uninspired, or maybe we just forgot how many songs we knew. Bill dragged out a very old copy of "High Tides and Hot Sh!ts", which at one time stood as the sum of all stickmen knowledge. Now it just makes for an interesting trip down memory lane.

We ran through KOTR a few times, and it was sounding good. I think we were getting to a point where we were ready to record. Then lunacy struck! I forget who started it, but we basically started playing a game of lyric swap. Bill would play the music for a song, such as Nothing Special, and I would sing the lyrics to Spontaneous Human Combustion, but using a new melody. Bill switched to piano, and I picked up a guitar, and we must have done that for about two hours. It was a lot of fun, and had us doing a lot of laughing.

Naturally, I'm telling this story out of order. I totally forgot the part where we re-recorded the guitar solo for "Friend That I Once Knew". I don't know what went wrong the first time we recorded it using Coca-Cola, but it was all out of pitch. So I re-did it using the Les Paul. While Bill voiced his disappointment over Coca-cola not making an appearance on the album, I believe that sadness was trumped by the fact that we now had a serviceable recording of the solo. Nice.

Bill of course switched into "can we try it" mode (as usual) and produced a stunning piece of musical comedy using only a guitar. I don't know exactly what the methodology is for producing this effect, but he basically played the same solo I had recorded, but down two frets. This created a very "Hotel California" style solo which has us both doubled over from laughter. Good stuff Bill! I would have been up for recording it, but I think it just sounded SO off the wall that we didn't bother. It did sound cool though. Don't get me wrong.

We made a trip to Carl's (Natch) with full Fischer Family in tow. Not quite a Black and Blue first, but the fact that we all stayed there together for the entire meal was indeed a first. Good stuff too. Will and Erika are absolute riots, and I had them saying "I want to rock!!!" all day long. Very inspiring! The fact that they are already comfortable behind instruments (though not terribly proficient) certainly bodes well for the oft-imagined "MNI Mark II". Children, the future is yours.

But today was REALLY supposed to be all about mixing. Though we got distracted with play time and recording and jamming, we did spend a bunch of time listening to and commenting on the current batch of mixes. Overall, the reviews are positive, but with constructive criticisms and ideas along the way. You know, a little more volume here, bring up the drums there, drop out the tambourine here, etc. The overall conclusion is that we're both quite happy with where things are going, though it's just not going fast enough ;) With my aggressive travel schedule and Bills family committments, it's hard to find time to really sit down and just crank out a few songs. But it will happen!!!

To spice up this post, I do have a few photos to show.

First up is the popper stopper we purchased a couple of months ago. The impetus for this was a botched vocal track for "On The Road" which was rendered useless by a couple really loud pops on the "Purchase Price of happiness" line. We had the choice of the standard "panty hose" style stopper, or this metal one. Having worked with the former previously, I can tell you first hand that they usually smell pretty awful. I guess the saliva of the singer tends to gather in there, and it doesn't come out. So after a few weeks of use, it smells like month old bad breath. Nasty. Thanks, but no thanks. While the metal one cost a few more bucks, I figure that will add to its longevity, and also prevent said malodorous eminations.



And here's the man himself, Bill Fischer, standing next to his boom-stack.



Also noteworthy of this session is the fact that Bill had prepared a timeline of the past year, documenting in an executive summary form the work we accomplished through 2008 and into 2009. Good stuff, band historian! You go!!!!

I think our next meeting will really focus on listening to the next round of mixes, and seeing how they sound in different listening situations. We've targeted two different cars, and iPod, and the monitor speakers in Bills den. Er, I mean his recording studios. My main goal for the next couple of weeks is to work on normalizing the volumes across all the songs, and ironing out the last couple technical tweaks. If I had to estimate, I would say we are more than fifty percent done with mixdown chores.

Safe.

Dormer Daze

Not quite a foom, though it could be.

The ‘Splosion Continues

Tonight turned out to be a very productive night for me as far as mixing goes. I did another round of mixes of almost every song on the album. I’ve been using an iterative methodology for song development, and it has served me well so far. Here’s the basic strategy:

1. Put together a mix of the song, to the best of my abilities
2. Load it onto the iPod
3. Listen to it a bunch of times, taking notes along the way about things that I think could be improved upon.
4. Go back into cubase and make the changes that my notes suggest
5. goto 2

I find that listening to the songs on the iPod, outside of the context of the mixing “studio” gives me a lot of insight that I don’t often get while “in the zone”. Turns out that sitting in front of the computer for a few hours at a time tends to dull your senses somehow. Having the songs on an iPod lets me listen to the songs anywhere, and also I can hear them up against other artists songs.

For me, I think the most fun part about this process is finding and fixing the technical glitches. I should probably call them performance glitches, seeing as how the technology actually had no part of it. For example, one of the things I fixed today were a couple of flubbed drum fills on Girl # 134. Throughout the song, there are about 10 drum fills. Three of them were pretty clumsy. Not terrible, just not as smooth as the others. A trick I recently discovered involves transplanting “working” parts over to the “damaged” parts. Works like a charm, but sometimes the grafts don’t fit quite perfectly, so I need to do a little stretching or reorganizing. I’ve gotten good enough at it that I can do it pretty quickly, and it also sounds very convincing. I also did a little lyrical fixing in The Friend That I once Knew. One of the common problems I find in our songs is that the vocal performances won’t match perfectly. On a lot of the songs, Bill and/or I lay down multiple takes. On “Friend”, I have two takes that play simultaneously. I find that the difference in performances makes for an interesting sound. However, there were a few lines that I just sang a little differently. I have created a technique to cut up the individual sounds and words so that I can line them all up visually, allowing the performance to be changed to sync up perfectly. It’s kind of weird, and something that just wouldn’t be possible using the type of equipment that we used when recording our first album. It’s wild.

Anyhow, there was a laundry list of little technical fixes that I got done, including tightening up the very final deedles on “Rockville”. The thing I like about the fixes is that they are very subtle. It’s not like there’s a glaring patch over the recorded work. In fact, if I did my job right, you’d never even notice it was done.

The punch line to all of this is that I think I have finished all of the technical fixes for the entire album. Of course, I’ll need to go through another iteration of listening, but I’m feeling confident that I’ve captured them all. I’ll leave room for a couple sneaky ones that may have slipped through the cracks, but it’s really come a long way.

In other news, I listened to the entire “album” in one sitting today. In fact, I was sitting out by the pool and tore through the whole album. Mixing issues aside, I think it’s a really solid album. There isn’t a song on there that I’m not proud of.

Oh, I also broke down and swapped out my vocals for Bills on “Let Me Be Your Guitar Playah”. Tough pill to swallow, to be sure, as that song is shaping up to be one of my favorite songs on the album, if not THE favorite song. Still, it sounds really good with Bill’s vocal, so it’s not like it’s a total loss. Hah!!

I’ve got another trip planned soon, and I will use my travel time to listen to the songs and write another todo list for my next iteration.

First Mix Of The Entire Album

Today I finished up preliminary mixes of every song on the album. A couple are just about done, other still have a long way to go. But still, it's a pretty big day.

The total running time, assuming we include all 13 songs, is 45:10. Not bad. Might even be a little high. I'm under the impression that most albums average 40 minutes. So we're doing good. Means there's room to cut if there turns out to be a stinker. But so far, I'm liking every song on the album.

Here's the final rundown of songs that we're mixing:

April
Girl #134
Above You
Big Tin Truck
Rockville
On The Road
Second Time Around
Armageddon Is Here
Bordered In Black
The Friend That I Once Knew
Bitter Break Up Song
Come My Way
Let Me Be Your Guitar Player


And let's take another look at this list, this time with notes about who sings lead.


BF - April
MM - Girl #134
BOTH - Above You
MM - Big Tin Truck
MM - Rockville
MM - On The Road
BOTH - Second Time Around
MM - Armageddon Is Here
BF - Bordered In Black
MM - The Friend That I Once Knew
?? Bitter Break Up Song
BF - Come My Way
BF - Let Me Be Your Guitar Player

That's 2 songs where we both sing lead, 4 songs where BF sings lead, 6 songs where MM sings lead, and one unknown. Bill has made subtle complaints about his being mixed out of the lead on Rockville, which could always change. I'm not married to a mix of ANY song, though I gotta say, I would consider some serious horse trading to be allowed the lead on Guitar Player. Not only do I love the song, but I am a fan of my performance. Yeah, I know, that sounds pretty lame, but the thing about the song is that the melody gives me a chance to sing in a wider range than I usually write for myself. so fun! I suppose I should count my blessings that Bill let me hijack 'Truck, as it's one of my favorite songs he's ever written.

Bill was originally talking about dropping "Above You" from the lineup. As of right now, I'm on the fence about it. I think it's a good song, but the recording leaves something to be desired. I dunno, it just sort of seems... wonky. I don't know how to describe it. First, my bongo playing totally sucks. It's all over the place, and is not very consistent. Second, my tambourine playing totally sucks. It's all over the place, and is not very consistent. See a pattern?? Vocally and guitar-ally, it's good, but that is sort of lost in the out of sync bongos/tambourine. I think it's a fun song, and it was cool to do the historical re-creation of the original recording, but it kind of smacks of amature hour when placed in the context of the other songs we've recorded. No disrespect intended to the author or performers on the song. This was simply a very early outing in our recording experience, and our lack of it sort of shows.

Anyhow, that's where we stand as of today.

Review

I was digging through some old emails today, and found this. I should have posted it a while ago, but here it is:

Matt Munson and Bill Fischer were rock-and-roll stablemates from Southern California quartet My New Invention, a band whose existence roughly coincided with the Clinton Administration and caused slightly less controversy and heartache – a shortcoming mostly due to the band's confined geographical range.



But during their spare time offstage, Matt and Bill enjoyed switching to acoustic guitars and hamming it up with wide-ranging songs, duets, and gimcrack instrumental blasts performed for friends, lovers, and folks just passing through. Over time these just-for-fun sessions evolved into a jokey "splinter band" that came to be called Black & Blue.



Now by some folks reckoning, that moniker is a bit mysterious, and Bill says he can't really remember how or when they chose it, but it might have been inspired by the execrable 1975 Rolling Stones album Black and Blue. Or, it could have been that shiner Matt received in a 1993 wherehouse brawl during his days as a shipping foreman. And then again, maybe it referred to the colors of those matching Fender Squier electric guitars the two axe-men played during the band's earliest days.



Whatever the original meaning, Black & Blue has come to represent an attitude, a devil-may-care indifference to the glancing blows and haymakers thrown around by fate, and a determination to suck in your gut and keep on singing those magical old songs – and some just written – anything so long as it's a fair piece of alright, that's got a good riff with a spring in its step, and a bittersweet harmony – like their new single, "Second Time Around." Yep, those are songs that sneak up on your troubles and club them like baby seals – with occasionally disarming honesty and and a good beat. That's Black & Blue, to a "T."



- Chuck Bacon, New Beat Monthly, January 2009

Let Me Be Your Guitar Player

Drinks Are On My Lyrics

On the off chance we end up recording this song sometime in the near future, I thought it a prudent move to decipher the lyrics from the video I recently posted on youtube, and on this blog. There were a couple lines I couldn't figure out, but I got most of it. Here she be:

smoke filled room, 'dust on the floor.
In come the boys looking to score.
Thirsty as ever knowing what to drink.
The bar may be empty but they don't even think.

(something something something), drunk and creally shot.
(something something something), puts the evening to it's start.
First round goes out to them, put it away quick.
Evening's getting started, the temperature is getting thick.

now. pick it up.

Shine your shoes? A dollar. "Whiskey Neat for six".
second round comes and goes, the smoke is getting thick.
Third and fourth round come and go, The band begins to play.
All your worries and your troubles, they all... go away.

Now the evening is rolling, the fun has just begun.
the bartender is getting rich, pouring another one.
finally the call the goes out, Varner screams aloud...
"Drinks are on me!!" is the call that goes across the crowd.

Smoke filled room, dust on the floor.
Out go the boys, headin' for the door.
Thirsty as ever, knowing what to drink.
The bar may be closing, but they don't even think.


If you can figure out the parts that say "something something something", please post them here and let me know. I have NO idea what I'm saying.

To my knowledge, the lyrics used in this performance were not saved anywhere, though it would not surprise me to learn that Bill has them somewhere.

Writing out the lyrics was actually kind of fun, as it reminded me of a lot of the quirky little bits and pieces to the song. For example, I don't know if anyone realizes that when I say "Dust on the floor", I'm of course referring to saw dust. Not the type of dust that collects in a dark and dingy dwelling. When I wrote the lyrics, I was imagining a western bar, with an electronic bull, and folks standing around wearing those bright red plaid cowboy shirts with the mother-of-pearl snap buttons and big ten gallon hats.

I still can't remember where the "Shine your shoes" line came from, though I find that one interesting. I think my favorite line of the whole song is the part where Varner screams out "Drinks are on me". Something he has never done in my presence, but I think it's a good image, and smacks of something that he would actually do. At least, the Don Varner that inhabits my memories would do. I have no idea if he's actually like that, but then, I really have no idea what Don Varner is actually like. So there you go.

Speaking of Varner, I'm told there is momentum afoot to record this song with him on Drums. I think that would really rock. Bill and I have REALLY REALLY REALLY learned a lot from recording the Black and Blue album, and I'm sure we could parlay some of that knowledge into a really good recording featuring the three of us. Best of all, I wouldn't have to learn the drum line, which actually sounds kind of complicated. There's something Don is doing with the snare that I'm not sure how to do. I think it's some kind of rim-work (yeah, you heard me). Combine that with the very irregular bass drum, and you've got a drum line that would be quite challenging for me.

Still, we'll see what happens. Personally, I'd love to see it come together. I think it would be really awesome to have a studio quality recording of this song in the can. Yeah, I said "in the can". So sue me.

Black & Blue Make Their UK Debut.

Yes it's true! I was recently in England, and had a chance to spend an evening in London with some new acquantances and old friends. Of course, this gave me an even better chance to trot out my latest monkey tricks, which naturally included a copy of the recently unveiled B&B single, "Second Time Around".

I'll try to set the scene a bit. Better yet, I can post a picture. I was hanging out in London's trendy East side when I whipped it out. The CD, that is. Duh. It was promptly placed into a mac laptop and hooked up to the speaker system.







The crowd/fan reaction was overwhelmingly positive, but then again, I WAS in the same room, so maybe that reaction should be taken with a grain of salt. The entire CD was played, and though nobody was listening closely enough to enjoy the lyrics of any one song, the "sound" of the music was much appreciated. Or so it seemed.

Either way, it was cool to have our music heard on the other side of the pond, and even cooler to have it seeminly appreciated.

Time To Declare This Year's Theme

After a phone call to Bill this evening, I think it's safe to say that 2009 will be the Year of Stickmen: The Movie.

The technology is all in place, the 2008 album project was recorded on schedule, so it's time to bite off more than we can chew. What better way to do that than to finally put together a movie idea that has been kicking around in the back of Bill's head for twenty years now.

Though the format of the movie has yet to be ironed out, one this is for sure: it will include interviews and concert footage.

And speaking of concert footage, it's only fair that I drop this one on you:



I actually did not know this existed until tonight. I've been editing together this performance from two different cameras, and it wasn't until I was watching the final product that I noticed this song was included. How did I miss it??? Well, the last 10 minutes of the concert are missing the center camera footage. My guess is the battery konked out or something. This means that I had no need to plow through that footage during the editing phase, as there was nothing I could do with it. So I missed this very rare recording of "Drinks Are On Me". I think this was the only time we ever performed it, and after this, Von Darner put the kaibosh on ever playing it again.

Good news is that we've got it recorded here, and I think Bill and I could reproduce it in the studio.

Stickmen: The Movie - Proof of Concept

Adobe Premier has this neat little feature called Multi-Camera Edit, which basically lets you switch camera angle by just doing one mouse click. I have some footage of a UCI concert that was filmed by two cameras, so I lined them up in Premier, and played around with this feature. Here is the result:



I think it turned out pretty good, though frankly, the switching back and forth is not that visually interesting. Though it is about FIFTY times more interesting than a single, static camera shot, it's not quite what I hoped it would be. To muddy the thinking further, it just so happened that one of the cameras was being moved around during this particular song, which makes "Camera A" a more interesting than it is for the rest of the show. This song is not really representative of the rest of the concert for this reason.

Still, it was a fun little experiment, and really didn't take much time at all to put together. There really aren't that many concerts where we shot with multiple cameras, but there are a couple. Should make for some interesting editing opportunities.


Oh, and we finished recording the new album too.