This week I recorded a guy who has won all nine battle of the bands he’s entered, including one earlier tonight. Paul Spring and his band are all amazing musicians, so it was a treat to produce “Plum Street.”
Jeffrey Schwinghammer made this music video right in our living room. Special thanks to former Song-a-Weeker Jason P. Schumacher for helping out with lighting and other random tasks.
Plum Street
by Paul Spring, featuring Dylan McFarling, Danny Mittnacht, and Jed Anderson
I would be lying if I said that I didn’t worry Because all my friends got hitched in such a big hurry I sit round thinking what’s the rush? But then again I’ve been drinking and sleeping too much.
I better start making some money off playing these chords, Because I’m developing high class habits that I can’t afford. They tell me I gotta change, But I don’t want to sing a song that’s out of my range.
I want someone who doesn’t need me A woman of her own A girl who can’t stand me But won’t leave me alone
A wise old man gave me a kindly reminder He said “As soon as you stop lookin, that’s when you’ll find her.” He said “Impatience is the greatest sin of all. It’s why we lost paradise and it’s why we’ll fall.”
I want someone who doesn’t need me A woman of her own A girl who can’t stand me But won’t leave me alone
Paul Spring – vocals and acoustic guitar
Dylan McFarling – electric guitar and backing vocals
Danny Mittnacht – bass
Jed Anderson – drums and backing vocals
I finally met Paul this past week after seeing him around St. John’s years ago, playing awesome shows while he was still in high school. Strangely enough, I had a hand in producing a Paul Spring song about 4 years ago. Jed was recording some drums for my senior project, and we ended up recording a drum track for one of Paul’s songs. It was about Mountain Dew. Apparently he had (or maybe still has) an obsession.
All of these guys were startlingly efficient at recording. Whereas my own guitar playing seems to require 50 takes per song, Paul did one. He sang the lead vocals twice. Jed and Danny nailed their parts in just a few takes. Dylan was spitting out so many sweet guitar riffs, it was painful to let them fall by the wayside. Hopefully these guys will remember me someday when they’re off touring the world, being musical guests on SNL, picking up babes, etc.
This week’s recording is a special treat. Straight from Stoke-on-Trent, England, the band Lazerwülf has come out of a 24-year-hiatus to record “Breakthrough”:
Lazerwülf (top to bottom): Nigel, Freddie, and Clive
An Intimate Moment with Lazerwülf
Charlie: Did you ever think Lazerwülf would be playing music together again?
Freddie: You know, I think deep down we all wanted to make music. But if a keytarist plays a single note in the middle of the wood, late at night, and no one is around, will anyone hear?
Charlie: Probably not.
Freddie: Our fears exactly. It seemed the world didn’t have a place in its heart for Lazerwülf anymore. But then something magical happened. I was on my way to Brent Cross, when a young lad passed me wearing one of our “Wank the World ’84” tour t-shirts! Can you believe it?! To me, this was a sign that the youth was once again ready to, as we like to say, “howl.”
Charlie: How did it feel going back into the studio without your lead bassist and dear friend, Geoffrey Follisworth?
Freddie: Recording without Geoffrey was like bangers without mash, tea without digestives, bubble without squeak, d’you know what I mean, mate?
Charlie: No, not really…
Freddie: Well, we missed him dearly on this one. If he could have just kept his nose clean, maybe he’d be with us here today.
Charlie: Cocaine overdose?
Freddie: No mate, bogey overload.
Charlie: Sorry to hear that. Well, have you been making any music since your glory days in Lazerwülf?
Freddie: Well of course everyone remembers my two successful solo albums Freddie’s Outta This World and Starlight Manifesto.
Charlie: …those must have been a bit before my time.
Freddie: Well perhaps you recall a little band called Stink Out?
Charlie: Umm…Nigel, Clive…what have you guys been up to?
Nigel: I can honestly say I don’t remember the last 24 years, whatsoever.
Brian Laidlaw and Ashley Hanson wowed me with their debut concert as Alpenglow a couple months ago. So I was excited to get this talented acoustic duo over to record “Mountain Man”. We even have a music video this week, courtesy of Jeffrey Schwinghammer.
It isn’t safe for a sailor boy to live far from the ocean His lungs will start to dry out if he doesn’t get his quotient He’s in his happiest state When his fingers are calloused And he’s ferrying freight To provide his own ballast
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
Give him something old to love, give him something new to covet If he’s seen it before, then I know he’s likely to love it
When it’s worse to live inland than to die on a reef, When he’s not beside the ocean, he’s beside himself with grief
It isn’t safe for a mountain man to live far from the highland Whatever voice of god he used to hear will soon fall silent But when his spirit is battened To the top of a glacier He’ll never be flattened By the force of erasure
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
Give him something old to love, give him something new to covet If he’s seen it before, then I know he’s likely to love it
Now walking through the flatlands is a flatline postmortem When he’s not beside the ocean he’s beside himself with boredom
It isn’t safe for your lover to be miles from where your home is Wherever he should lay his head he’s sure to feel homeless Now he’s far from the bedroom Where your moves are the cleverest But he’s looking for headroom From Manhattan to Everest
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
Give him something old to love, give him something new to covet If he’s seen it before, then I know he’s likely to love it
Now the cities are empty and the landscape is haunting When he’s not beside his lover he’s beside himself with wanting
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
Give him something old to love, give him something new to covet If he’s seen it before, then I know he’s likely to love it
Behind the Video
Jeff upped the production value by at least 47% with his new slider
We ended up tracking the song AND shooting the music video in one night! We shot it right out on our Halloweeny porch (thanks to Mitchell Johnson). Brian and Ashley stuck out the cold weather for about three hours as Jeff filmed shot after awesome shot. You should probably start subscribing and/or following Jeff on YouTube and Twitter.
It turned out to be a great way to meet our uptown neighbors. A couple guys about our age dug the music and came out and invited us to play pool. An older Native American guy came up to us and wanted to go on camera to say that he’s the “most dangerous Indian you’ll ever meet.” It was hard to tell if he was joking. Another one of our neighbors from across the street came out and said he was having a horrible day until he heard Brian and Ashley playing. You would think playing any sort of music on our porch at midnight would get the police called on us. I think it’s a sign that Alpenglow is destined for fame.
Behind the Mix
Ashley and Brian have so much chemistry in their live performances, we considered recording everything simultaneously (vocals, guitar, ukelele, and drums). But we decided to track it all individually to give me more control over the mix.
When I record acoustic/electric guitars, I generally only mix in a little bit of the direct output, since putting stereo mics in front of the guitar tends to sound much better. But Brian’s guitar sounded really good plugged directly in, so I mixed that in at about the same volume as my mics.
For Ashley’s electric ukelele, I used some tricks I usually use with electric guitars. I plugged it directly into my mixer and also recorded her picking with a mic. Then I played it back through her amp and re-recorded that sound. When you want an electric guitar to have some natural amp distortion but you might still use the clean signal, this is the way to go. I actually didn’t end up using Ashley’s amp sound at all (it sounded slightly muddy in the mix), so I’m glad I recorded the clean, direct in sound.
Brian’s kick drum, as awesomely unique as it sounds in real life, didn’t sound very awesome at all in the recording I got, even though I placed four different mics around it. Since it’s stuffed with a pillow, the recording sounded like a really dead knocking sound. Here’s the original kick:
So I had to get a little creative with this one. I added four different effects to it to give it more oomph and a little more sustain. It sounds a little strange on its own, but mixed in it works pretty well. In this sample, you’ll hear each of the four effects on their own, then the composite of all of them, then the kick drum mixed into the song:
Four effects I created for Brian's kick drum in Ableton Live. The right side shows the EQ "tuning" I did to it.
What’s going on here?
The first sound is close to the original kick, but with compression and some EQing to get the tambourine out of this track.
For the second sound, I used EQ to bring out a tone in the drum. Since the song is in E Major the whole time, I essentially “tuned” the kick to the note E.
The third sound uses an Ableton Live grain delay effect. It’s also tuned like the second effect, but it has a little more low end and a little more grunge.
The fourth sound is a noise effect that sounds a little like rushing air. It makes the drum sound more soft and pillow-like. To be honest I happened upon this effect by chance. I put a vocorder effect on it and just toyed with the settings until something cool came out of it.
It was a pleasure working with Ashley and Brian. They have a whole collection of great songs not yet recorded, so if you’re in the twin cities area, you should check out an Alpenglow show – facebook.com/alpenglowmusic. Brian is also having a solo CD release show on November 17th at the Turf Club. Visit facebook.com/brianlaidlawmusic to get a preview of his album Wolf Wolf Wolf.
WC Tank (Wesley Charles Tank), avant-garde director, actor, and rapper, can now add “star of a musical” to his credits. We joined forces this past week and created a three act, thirteen-and-a-half-minute-long song, based on short scripts Wes wrote a while back. Nicole Mellas of Spencer McGillicutty added her lovely voice to the song as Wes’ lady counterpart.
Achoo (Right click to download)
By Wes Tank, featuring Nicole Mellas and Charlie McCarron
Act I
And then there was you The gosh of my gush By floss or by brush The pup of my slush
You The source of my rush How indulgent You are captivating I looked up the word “indulge” in the dictionary And it was colloquial To yield to the wishes of oneself or another It wasn’t what you thought it would be The exact opposite Use indulge in a sentence A hat tip to indulge a fellow pedestrian No, no! The wind indulges a toy boat’s tiny sail Take me captive in your tiny boat You might indulge me You think that I am able to float As boats may float? No, as aeroplanes do
And then there was you The gosh of my gush My floss and my brush The pup of my slush
Darling, are you strange? Or are you estranged? Which would you wish me to be? You answer questions with more questions That’s a calming strategy that proves rather boring, don’t you think? Did you happen to visit The produce aisle of the Outdoor farmer’s market? Yes How large was their selection? Copious Did they have orahnges? Yes Und dee tomahta? Ja Chaquita Banana Oui Tofu? Si Spice? No, no, no Why no spice? Because . . . . Because Ah-chooooooo
Act II
I love you, dove, oh yes Please! Calm me down with a cool washcloth on my forehead Bead me with it, that I may not overheat! But dab, don’t scrub! Oh!
The word is out, and the body sank like a stone tablet Don’t diddle with doodles of great dawdling Deliver, like a sweet goose with no feathers! Please! I can’t say anything more In other words, hush
Eye burn and the No sleeps and the Blister feets He’s got the going aways and the Tomorrow todays and the Can’t waits A beauty queen with a bag on her head smiles on the inside
I can’t breathe Probably cause of all of the smog But I’m going to attribute it to you Because I’m feeling dissatisfied in this relationship How could you do this to me? Attributing the world’s problems to me Without a care in the world? Screw the world! Your fly is down The barn door’s open so the cows may mow through How dare you stomp on the bubble gum streets And breathe the hairspray air That dogs once licked and parades once passed And parrots . . . once breathed What about the ozone layer? Hark, a train travels quickly down a steep pass! Perhaps we could be married in that train, someday That’s out of the question Out of what question! There is no question! I demand you marry me! You must! Oh silly boy, you should go eat a cake
He’s got the Eye burn and the No sleeps and the Blister feets He’s got the going aways and the Tomorrow todays and the Can’t waits A beauty queen with a bag on her head smiles on the inside
She’s a lady friend with an eye for fashion And a doubt to pass round the table I’m sickened by my efforts It’s all for nothing No one will ever love me! Look at how pitiful I am Look! Look! I am pitiful! Pity me now! Look! Look! I am pitiful! Pity me now!
Got the Eye burn and the No sleeps and the Blister feets He’s got the going aways and the Tomorrow todays and the Can’t waits A beauty queen with a bag on her head smiles on the inside
I am a mule A stupid, stupid fat mule! Oh lord, spare me of this miserable person You’re absolutely right! What about the ozone layer? You can hardly see it anymore Humanity is a disease! And I am the one to blame
Act III
It’s not poetical, something much more lackadaze Something you can’t break off without smearing We can become ambidextrous when we kiss A hot commodity of errors and true humanness and peopledom It’s no hazard, my billiard’s coupledom compels me to come forth Well then, bring your guns and your horses, but do not swagger How becoming of you my driftfulness
Pretty is as Pretty does Listless, adorn You can human me to death, and I won’t budge but an inch Please! Penny for your budge? There is nothing more that I am above
How do you figure, in this great amount of dark twinkling? May I ask you, what is heaven doing in there, but practicing? Hark, you’ve turned me No less the crisp than the madrigal How’s about a sweet one, right on the kisser I shall not be compelled with you, yet Perhaps another time in some far away living room? Perhaps, then What shall I bring? A carefree attitude
Pretty is as Pretty does Listless, adorn You can human me to death, and I won’t budge an inch Please! Penny for your budge? There is nothing more that I am above
I am keen enough to witness that you’ll not be bludgeoned Oh, you can hug me that I never lose my balance Something sweet in that piety Why do you freeze me? Because a smile you’re wearing like saran wrap Oh, I want to remember you, but should I forget I am the belly button of the world, you said The center of everything Something you can’t wipe off without smearing
And then there was you The gosh of my gush My floss and my brush The pup of my slush The source of my rush My indulgent, begrudgeoning crush And then, there was you
Behind The Scenes
Wes is a shoo-in for two awards in this song a week challenge: longest song and longest distance driven to get here. He came all the way from Milwaukee! Wes and I met last year through Jason P. Schumacher’s film The Telephone Game, in which Wes plays an egotistical but loveable theater director. It seemed like I knew Wes before I met him, because I spent hours and hours editing his character’s dialogue. So it was pretty funny meeting him and seeing that he’s not “Marco”; he’s actually a very humble and awesome guy.
Wes pulled in to Minneapolis around 11pm on Friday night, and we knew we were going to be up late brainstorming. He had these three scripts ready, but not too many musical ideas yet. So we played around with them, and it was surprisingly easy once I came up with some chord progressions for Wes to sing over. Sometimes the first ideas are the best. We ended up getting the first two acts fully written in the wee hours of the night. I would have no idea how to translate un-rhymed, rhythm-less prose into song lyrics, but Wes really pulled it off.
We spent Saturday recording all of Wes’ vocals, while he was in town. Then Sunday morning Nicole came over to record, and wow, did she add a lot to the song! That afternoon Wes headed back to Milwaukee and Nicole and I headed off to a corn maze.
Listening back to Wes' vocals
I ludicrously thought I’d be able to finish the track in one weekend. Ha! Not with all the stuff I wanted to add to it (including some of my brother’s African drums for Act II). All in all, it was an epic undertaking even in one week. But I’m really happy with how it turned out, and I’m pretty sure we’ll be collaborating again somewhere down the line.
This week I recorded a song by Andy Price, a longtime friend and the bassist in our old high school band. Andy’s son Ethan was his muse for this one. Enjoy!
Start of the day I’m on patrol Don’t mess with me I’m in control I feel the wind as it blows beneath my cape The time is now I’ve got a city to save
My mild and manner have disappeared And I’m the one the villains fear My muscles are strong and ready to attack My awesome powers will stop them in their tracks
When the sun is up above my head I won’t have to go to bed And I’ll stay the hero of the day
He’s plotting to freeze the entire town But I wont let the people down The bigger they are the harder that they fall And now I’ve got him up against the wall
As I land the final blow The sun is setting the shadows grow I’m getting worried as the sunlight fades I’m helpless as my powers slip away
When the sun is up above my head I wont have to go to bed And I’ll stay the hero of the day
The end of the day I lie in bed The shadows are moving around my head My heart beats faster as the darkness grows The sun’s gone down and now my nightlight glows
My muscles are tight my eyes are closed My fists are clenched and I don’t know If I’m alone or something’s under the bed And I’m the one that needs a hero instead
Andy Price – Lead Vocals, Bass
Matt Schubbe – Vocals, Keys
Rob Carmichael – Drums
Charlie McCarron – Vocals, Guitar
I was really excited to see what Andy would come up with, since he hasn’t done much solo songwriting, or singing for that matter (although you wouldn’t know it from this awesome song he came up with). It all started in Andy’s basement last Wednesday night. Andy had a bass track down already, so I tried out some potential guitar ideas.
Jamming in Andy's basement (photo courtesy of Ethan Price)
Later in the week, Rob and Matt joined in to help fill out the song. I won’t go too in depth on the production of this one, because there’s a much more fun behind the scenes video right here…
