Something more imaginative than “Update”.
KeithHandy posted in Playing, Producing on December 3rd, 2007
The reason I’ve been so non-prolific in my posting lately is that I have a bad habit of flirting with the lower levels on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs from time to time. I usually mis-manage the levels, by trying to focus on something a level or two higher than I’m actually at, and letting something go unattended on a level or two below me. This is all one fancy-schmancy way of saying my unemployment ran out a few weeks ago and I’ve been in too much of a panic to write coherently.
Then again, occasionally writing about something unrelated to my rent would help to assuage the panic and refresh my mind. I’ve intermittently done some work on recording projects in the interim, both to take a breather from the mental tension, and to make some actual progress. (It’s important to remain creatively productive in less-than-ideal circumstances, even if you can’t realistically expect to be at your peak. If nothing else, this keeps the whirlpool going, and it tells the universe you haven’t given up.)
In these periods, where I allow myself to “forget my troubles” (as they would have crooned back in the great depression), here’s what I’ve done lately:
Current stuff
I’ve put the main vocal down for Rival Big Bang. This is a big leap for me. It still needs harmonies on parts of it, because I intend for it to have a sort of CSN sound to it. I don’t know exactly why I’m so sure of this; I just am. There’s a video on YouTube of me working on the part that’s done so far. I was teaching myself the song as I went along, so I was a little nervous about posting it… but who cares.
(Similarly, when I do the vocal for Bemoaning Moments, that will be another big leap. It’s been starving for that vocal to go down, and it’s a fantastic bit of music.)
After a few months of “existing somewhere out there in the Rochester area”, trumpet player Paul Gaspar finally got in contact with me, so I invited him to try his hand (or, rather, his horn) at filling the void in the instrumental break of Curtis’ Classic Collection of Comforts. I posted highlights from that session on YouTube as well, featuring two differently approached takes out of a total of approximately ten. For the video I of course left his sound natural and organic, but for the final mix I may run it through a resonant filter and/or octaver to make it sound more like a synthesizer. Not to “fix” anything, mind you, just as an artistic choice.
Old junk
Because discussion is underway for the film version of Through Forbidden Black Doors (where I think it stands a better chance of being “gotten” by an audience than as just a recording), I do have to continue tying up loose ends on my remix. Said remix got way out of hand, and I may have put more hours into that than into the original recording project itself, if that’s even possible. Most recently I’ve been bringing things close to the home stretch on the “fourth quarter” of the rock opera (”side four” in vinyl lingo), which would mean This Is Your Chance, Almost Outside, The Operation, The Thing That Happens Next, and Nicole’s Thoughts.
I backed up one song prior to those and put a significant amount of work into Do You Remember? as well, which mostly consisted of manipulating Kim’s vocal — pitch correction (without flattening vibrato or other inflections), timing adjustments on certain phrases, and evening out the volume overall. Since it’s such a long and vocal-dominated song, with no instrumental “relief”, the more pleasing I can get that vocal to sound, the better the chance that people can endure it happily. I’m not saying this is a tough one to like, since a lot of people singled it out as one of their favorites back in the day. But my lyrics oscillate between brilliant and cringe-worthy, and like all of my recordings that go back that far, there’s a tendency for the whole thing to sound like a demo to my 2007 ears. The goal here isn’t to eliminate the “oldness” altogether, though; just to present it as charmingly as possible.
Oh yes, I almost forgot that I checked out and ran off a mix of Smile!, which is just before that (and didn’t really need much work). So that will (soon) put the last seven out of twenty tracks at a point where I don’t need to touch them anymore. Being able to put a whole string of tracks out of my mind like that is always a stress reliever, because look at how much smaller it makes the potential “to do” list for the remainder of the project.
The Operation has been a tough one to produce right, because I keep doing too much with it. Every time I remove something, and “hollow it out”, making it cleaner, I wind up liking it better. For some reason, I’ve always assumed it needed to have distorted rhythm guitars through the whole thing, because it’s supposed to be evil. Well, the fact of the matter is, the song is so fucking evil that it doesn’t need distorted rhythm guitars. It can be a keyboard dominant song, and the evil still shines through. One thing it does need, though, and finally has, is a real bass guitar. Once again, you’re invited to my studio to watch. My rhythm isn’t consistently tight on up-tempo music like this, but that’s what editing is for. I forget exactly what’s in the video version of the mix, but in the actual working version I think I can finish tightening the bass part, add a new hi-hat, and I’m good to go.
Overall, the rock opera is a restoration project, and will never be a “current” project. Making the film will be like making a tribute film; I want to produce it well, and creatively, as a respectful send-off, but I don’t want to immerse myself in the dystopian view that it presents.
Back to reality
Just to show you an example of things I need soon, but I’m putting off buying, because I’m that tight right now:
- Soda (!!!)
- Coffee filters (using paper towels)
- Athlete’s foot spray (just don’t scratch)
- Fingernail and toenail clippers (using scissors)
- Replacement window for passenger door of car (saran wrap)
- Rubbing alcohol (to clean scrolly ball in mouse)
- Dandruff shampoo (soap)
- Facial cleanser (soap)
…and of course, on the upside, I can’t afford cigarettes. I should use this time to come up with something better to do while standing outside for a few minutes, because I’m in danger of being able to afford them again soon. The thing is, if a stranger walks by and you make eye contact with them while taking a drag, it’s normal. If you’re just standing there, though, doing nothing, and you make eye contact with people, you look suspicious.
I suppose I could start taking “apple breaks”.
