Cell-phone moe-rons

On the train today, in the quiet car, sleepin’ nicely.  Moron in the 1st seat of the top-deck of the Metra train car directly ahead takes a cell-phone call and starts a conversation.  After about 15 seconds, I say, “It’s the quiet car, you know.”  He gives me a dirty look and goes down stairs and completes his call as I try to go back to sleep.

He comes back up and starts in, “Satisfied? I did what you asked, are you satisfied, huh? Huh?”

I say, “F*** off.”

He says, “Don’t talk to me like that” and so I respond, “Piss off.”

He says, “Don’t talk to me that way or you’ll be sorry” as some woman on the *other side* of the train car chimes in, “Don’t waste your time, he cursed me out one time when I was on a emergency call, blah-blah-bah …”

I recall her; she tucked her head under her arm 3x until I called her “Dumb-ass” and she got up and left.

In the meantime, the doosh keeps jawin’ until he finally realizes he’s got a serious problem, stands up, reverses his seat and says, “I’m not going to sit with my back to you.”

Pretty funny as he was in the 1st seat, had to spend the rest of the train ride looking right at 20 people in the row formerly behind him.

I went back to sleep.

Some notes on “My Morning Light”

These words are collated from responses to others’ comments at lostoverture.com; they may be interesting and aid in understanding some of what we do:

Oh, re the “TFP sound”, the problems is,

a. we are prolific;

b. we are limited;

c. they is jams.

That’s why Grankie makes us so much better; he tightens us up and adds a 3rd voice.  Even Jack White and Prince are better when they have actual bands involved (not that I’m saying we are at their level, just that they are often part of one or 2 muso acts).  As much as I love The Kills, I think Dead Weather is more realized, much as I liked NPG, I think Wendy & Lisa, et al. made better records (1999 thru ZSign o’ the Times).

Of course, if I ended this one at the bass breakdown (and in a collection that might happen), it would not be a jam, would it?  BTW, that guitar solo was done in the time it takes to do it, out the door on the way to my son’s soccer game.  The fade-in, fade out?  Broke the high “E” on my Hohner headless guitar.

=====================================================

There is, of course, a aesthetic involved (not to mention  anesthetics- usually gin, lately – often used  during mixdowns).

I canna remember the last time we recorded a pre-written, pre-rehearsed tune – mebbe January or February 2010 when the diddler was wanking his guitar with us.

These are literally jams, written on the spot.  This one was a first and only take that we started out with.  It was about 10 minutes initially, and I edited it down.

We did three on Saturday in 2 hours; the other two we played a couple-5 times, not so much to get tighter but more because we were changing parts, the feel, tempo, adding breakdowns, etc.

90% of the time I use the last take, otherwise, I use the fecund to last.  But I do save all of the drum tracks to use when I run out of current recordings; they are re-cycled into new songs, especially when they are somewhat different from the already-used take.  For example, Krister might emphasize the floor tom on one take, but the ride on another, we might add or lose parts, etc.  Often,  I’ll flip the parts such that the chorus becomes the verse …

At this point, Krister and I are freakin’ tight as a rhythm section; I listen to his right hand, and he watches my body movements and face for cues.

We so wish for a [local] third player, tho’!

The Friday Project: “My Morning Light”

My Morning Light c. ’11 The Friday Project I can see all of your anger being reflected, It’s not such a surprise when ya realize you’re being rejected, You cannot decide, antagonised, if you’re respected, All your lies, from deep inside, have been detected All your lies 2x I don’t feel  you have the right to stay with me on any given night Don’t have the right   to share my   to share my morning light Many been taken in by your sweet soft cries But way within, it’s a sin, you know you live in lies So let’s begin, over again, it can’t be no surprise That I reject you, disrespect you, spit right in your eyes All your lies 2x I don’t feel you have the right to stay with me on any given night Don’t have the right   to share my   to share my morning light I don’t feel you have the right to stay with me All warm and tight Don’t have the right   to share my   to share my morning light Drums: Krister-yama’s-R16 90 degreeOH’s Bass: HohnerHdls-R16 LdVoc: D421N-Summit-1176 BVmid: MD421N-Summit-1176 BV-L: AKG D310-Eureka- BV-Rt: EV635a-Eureka_A.wav RthmGtr: Left:F100-Elektar-2×12-MXL144-ISA1-VLA2 GtrRt: reverse ChGtrs: HohnerHdls-Elektar-2×12-MXL144-ISA1 Lead Gtr: Elektar-2×12-MXL144-ISA1

68.20.35.210 carpal diem! TFP; THD; vlayman; blog thefridayproject.bandcamp.com thehungrydrunx.bandcamp.com

The Friday Project: “This Is Insane”

This Is Insane
c. 12 The Friday Project

4
This is insane what I’m feelin’ for you
It’s like the worse pain that I ever knew

4&2
Speakin’ of things you know nothin’ about
Is making my ears ring like my brains running out
Ya just go on and on until I want to shout
Ya keep talkin’ ’bout things you know nothin’ about

CH: This is insane what I’m feelin’ for you
It’s like the worse pain I ever knew
4&2

Doin’ all kindsa things and you ain’t even know
Ya just go on and on until I want to blow
And yer shakin’ yer arse like you ain’t even know
2
And yer shakin’ yer arse like you ain’t even know
Doin’ all kindsa things like yer takin’ control
Ya just go on and on until I want to blow
And yer shakin’ yer arse like you ain’t even know
CH 2x
Solo
Ch
This is insane what I’m feelin’ for you
And I don’t think you’ll like what I’m gonna do

Drums: krister-yama’s-R16
Bass: Alvz-R16
RthmGtrs: Tele-Epi-2×12-MXL144-ISA1
Vox: MD421-Summit-1176
BV2: RE320-Eureka
Wildkat-Marshall-MXL144-ISA1
Wildkat-Marshall-635a-Summit
Perc: 635a-Eureka
_________________
TFP; THD; vlayman; blog

Some randumb drum-recording notes

The idear with using 2 mic’s on one thing – other than stereo – is to use one for the main sound, the other to augment.  For example, on the kick I’d get the best kick sound I can with my main kick mic (in my case a E604 with the capsule in the hole, pointed slightly above the beater.  Then I’d use the fecund mic to augment; that might be a condensor out front for more thump, or a dynamic mebbe pointed at the beater.  On snare I’d get the main sound (I’m mostly using 57’s altho’ trying other small dynamics, I have a Beta 58 on the way) and then augment either with a mic on the snares, or a body mic pointed at the side of the drum.  One cool trick is to use a omni dynamic around mid-shin to get both the beater and the snares …

One discussion I have with my band’s drummer is that he likes the ride mic’d.  Now, that is cool, except it only makes sense if there’s a ride part.  Same for the floor tom, what I usually mic, but often for no reason.  I also like to use my OH’s for the rack toms; I like a roomy drum sound, not a dead ’70’s pan-it-all-across-toms-roll thing.  But I do like to emphasize the floor tom when the song (as many of ours do) uses it extensively.

Finally, I feel a room mic is essential.  Now, how I use it changes dependent on many factors; sometimes it’s smashed, sometimes it’s pass filtered to hell so only the snare comes thru or just the top (seldom do you want a lot of kick in yer room mic), I often do the Albini trick and add corrective delay, say.012ms to get a bigger room sound.  It kills for snare, sometimes.

And I often use two room mics, EQ’d and compressed to emphasize different parts of the kit and barely panned, or EQ’d and compressed and gain-adjusted to serve as distant OH’s.  I find, using them as distant OH’s, that the tracks need not be identical mic’s as panning and EQ can serve to allow the tracks to give nice, not necessarily symmetrical, depth.

TFP w/ Grankspoine: “Her Dick (She Misses Him)”

Her Dick (She Misses Him)_w_Grankspoine
c. ’12 The Friday Project

When she don’t feel good
When she don’t feel like she should
When things just ain’t goin’ right
When she don’t think she can make it through
another night

When she feels, when she feels sick
When she feels, she wants her Dick
She knows this man
She knows he can
She calls out “Richard”, “Richard”, yet
again
She knows it even in her mind even as she
takes his hand

She been so lonely
As she drinks her Stoli
She thinks she’s only, the only one
She would be holy, wholly, but Richard
ain’t
the Father, ghost or son

Drums: krister-yama’s-R16
Bass: Alvarez-R16
LdVoc: Senn MD421 II-Eureka
BV’s: CAD M179-Eureka
Stick, bells, organ, synth: Grankspoine
_________________
TFP; THD; vlayman; blog

The Hungry Drunx: “G.A.S.”

G.A.S.
c. ’11 The Hungry Drunx

There’s a disease, if you please –
It’s the kinda thing makes a muso weak in
the knees
I think I got it, I think I caught it
It’s a pain in the ass, It’s G.A.S.

There’s a real bad habit, and mebbe you
have it
It compels ya to run around, buy things like
a rabbit
I think I got it, I think I caught it
It’s a pain in the ass, It’s G.A.S.

When ya spend all yer bucks, and ya don’t
give a ***k
About eatin’ or booze, it’s the life that ya
choose
I think I got it, I think I caught it
It’s a pain in the ass, It’s G.A.S.

Some have gone crazy, some probably to
jail,
Spend more than they got, bad check’s in the
mail
I think I got it, I think I caught it
It’s a pain in the ass, It’s G.A.S.

SOLO (rap)

There’s a disease, if you please –
It’s the kinda thing makes a muso weak in
the knees
I think I got it, I think I caught it
It’s a pain in the ass, It’s G.A.S.

There’s a real bad habit, and mebbe you
have it
It compels ya to seek shite out, do anything
to grab it
I think I got it, I think I caught it
It’s a pain in the ass, It’s G.A.S.

Drums: SNARL
LdVoc: EV RE320-Summit-1176.wav
BV: EV635a-Summit-1176.wav
BV2: MD421 II-Eureka-1176
Bass: HohnerHdls-ARTtps-166x
RthmGtr: Cozart12-Elektar-2×12-MXL144-ISA1;
635a-Summit-Rt+pt012
LdGtr: G&L-Marshall-MXL144-ISA1-Rt;
635a-Summit-L+pt012
Tambo-SM63L-Eureka

G.A.S._320kps

TFP: “Painful”

Painful
c. ’11 The Friday Project

Well, I seen it comin’ down the pipe
And I knew it wasn’t gonna be ver’ nice
As these things go, you know,
it was gonna be painful

CH

Well I stepped back and I tried to cover up
I tried to not get cut
As these things go, you know
I tried to protect my nut

CH
CH  As these things go, you know,
it was gonna be painful

I buried what I wanted and what I had
I knew it was gonna be bad
As these things go, you know,
It was gonna go awful low

CH
CH  As these things go, you know,
it was gonna be painful

Drums: krister-yama’s-R16 (90degreeOH’s)
Bass: P-R16
BV: 635a-Summit-1176
LdVoc: MD421 II-Summit-1176
GtrL: Wildkat-Elektar-2×12-MXL144-ISA1
GtrRt: Tele-Elektar-2×12-MXL144-ISA1

About that snare sound …

Re “I Know A Guy”:

About that snare sound:

I gated and limited the snare track, SM57.

I brought up the OH’s (Studio Projects C5’s) panned 90% to the sides.

But the cool thing is there are two room mics;  slightly left is the MXL144 ribbon I usually use, and on the right is the EV 635a I was using for a cue mic.  I limited both to equivalent RMS and panned ’em 5% to the sides and high-passed ’em at about 450hz.  The figure 8 ribbon, of course is fairly dark, and the omni EV is quite bright.

Onna more open-derrangement like this the extra room mic can be pretty cool.  The onliest problem is, it is my vocal cue mic so I hafta edit out the places where I, eh, vocally cue.

TFP: “I Know A Guy”

I Know A Guy
c. ’12 The Friday Project
4
Sometimes ya feel like you gotta hit back
Sometimes you just gotta acknowledge you
lack
The ability and skills to get done what must
be
And so you come to me.
And sometimes you realize that what you
ain’t got
Ain’t somethin’ that can’t never be had
And if it’s the kinda thing that mebbe ain’t
right
Well, that don’t always mean that the thing is
bad.
CH: I know a guy is leaner than me
I know a guy is meaner than me
I know a guy get cha whatcha think ya want
I know a guy getcha whatcha need
4
Sometimes the times we live thru is rough
And sometimes it ain’t possible to get enuff
But that ain’t mean you gotta lose what ya
got
Sometimes you can get you some pretty
tough stuff
CH
4
I know a guy 2x
Break
Sometimes ya feel like you could lose it all
Sometimes you just gotta make the call
Get the ruff & the tuff to get done what must
be
And so you come to me.

Drums: krister-yamas-R16 (90degreeOH’s)
Bass: P-R16
LdVoc: MD421-Summit-gyraf 1176
BV’-L: SM63L-Eureka
BV-R: EV635a-Eureka
Gtrs: Tele-Elektar-2×12″-MXL144-ISA1

Features me new ‘pressor:

gyraf 1176 (clone)

Slideshow.