Matt Swift

Little Black Dress Fundraiser

2012-01-28T08:25:00.001-08:00

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but my wife (Kate Kudelka) is an actor and playwright. Her company (along with partner Lise Maher) Little Black Dress, is hosting a fundraiser to help cover costs for their upcoming piece "Ladies In Waiting." It will be performed in the Toronto Fringe Festival this summer.

LBD has put together a great list of gifts for a raffle (including 5 guitar lessons from yours truly). Quilts, vocal lessons, gift certificates from local establishments, and much more are all up for grabs.

Details are here - check it out! http://www.littleblackdresstheatre.blogspot.com/. All proceeds go to a great cause - the artists, actors, and writers that give Toronto such strong live performances.

Woodshedding & Bloodshedding

2012-01-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

Hi,
Remember me? I’m that indie songwriter that you may have heard?
Sorry I’ve been away so long, would you believe me if I said it was all to better the way I give you what I give? It’s partially true…

So what’s been happening? I’ve been quite busy over the last few months. After seeing Bryan Ferry at Casino Rama, and being overwhelmed by guitarist Chris Spedding, I decided to “woodshed” for a while. That’s where a musician isolates himself and focuses on improving his skills. I hadn’t noticed mine slipping until (watching Spedding milk the perfect sounds from his guitar) I thought “I could do that. No, wait, that’s a lie. I USED to be able to do that.” So I’ve spent a lot of my time practicing.

I’ve also started rehearsing with a band called “The Boys From County Hell.” They play Irish folk music (and Pogues-style rock). It’s interesting because I’m totally unfamiliar with these songs. I’m learning them mostly by ear, but having to remember which song is what, what key, what rhythm… and to boot, the songs are all named “the irish somethingorother” or “the whiskey something” or “rover”…
It makes for a confusing time, but I’m loving it. It’s good to be challenged like this. And I’m SHEDDING FLESH AND BLOOD for this. My fingers haven’t split (yet), but I’ve got no feeling left from all the calluses. And I’ve rubbed all the skin from my right forearm from friction against the body of my acoustic guitar! Thankfully it’s been just missing my tattoos. That might change how proud I am of this sacrifice to the music gods…

As for the Matt Swift music, I’m still tweaking the next album. I’m loving these songs so far. There’s one point in “Your Loving Song” where it’s all I can do to not jump or dance!
I’ve written a couple of more songs, and right now I’m trying to decide whether to put them in this 2012 project, or maybe hedge my bets and keep those on the backburner for 2013…

It’s an exciting time, but hard to write about the incremental progress. It looks great to me, but I wonder how much detail anyone else really wants…

Guitar Inadequacy, or The Ferry Supremacy

2011-10-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I saw Bryan Ferry perform at Casino Rama.
I saw Ferry in 1988 - my first concert and the moment I became a fan. In the last 23 years, I was sure I'd built the memory up into this fantastical, fictional account of what was likely a good concert, but not the "be-all, end-all of live music."

Well, if the 2011 show is any indication, I was wrong. The almost 2-hour performance was the best live concert I have EVER seen. Ever, ever, ever. Better than any of the half-dozen David Bowie performances I've attended (and that says something). Better than The X-Pensive Winos, which previously held either the #1 or #2 slot... Just phenominal.

One surprise was how guitar-oriented the setlist was. Another was how impressive Chris Spedding was as one of Ferry's guitarists. I've seen lots of DVD footage of Spedding, and knew it was good. But the lines he played last night were awe-inspiring. I've never seen such intricate slide-guitar skills, for one. Wow, wow, wow.
Now I feel quite the fool for not seeing his rockabilly performance last year at The Cadillac Lounge. His skills put mine to shame.
In fact, he's inspired me to improve my own guitar technique. I have been playing for 23 years now, and have been pretty confident with my abilities: whatever I want to play, I am able to play. Saturday night I saw lines plucked that I COULD NOT repeat. And I want to.

So now it's Tuesday morning. I am sitting in a hotel room with my wife. We're taking a mid-week holiday to celebrate our first anniversary. And my acoustic guitar is sitting in the corner, waiting for me to lay my hands on it. I'm about 5 minutes from that right now...
I WILL become a fantastic guitarist. I will, I will, I will. My plan had been to take piano lessons to improve that facet, but f**k that - the guitar comes first.

Idol Worship

2011-10-08T05:40:00.001-07:00

Tonight I'm heading up to Casino Rama to see Bryan Ferry.

In August 1988, a wee lad of 14, my parents had an extra ticket to his Bete Noire tour in Toronto. I agreed to go simply because there was nothing good on TV that night. I hated Ferry and his Roxy Music cohorts. Ugh, that was music my parents listened to. There weren't nearly enough gritty guitars... But I went.
We got to Exhibition Stadium, and I looked at all the middle-aged, middle-class fans with distaste.

The lights dropped, as the steam rose from the audience. As the curtain dropped, the first notes of Limbo started. 60 seconds in I was hooked. I was dancing on my chair for the entire show, a 100% convert. At the end of the show, I elbowed my way to the front of the queue to buy a t-shirt.
I then spent 10 years obsessively listening to Roxy Music and Ferry's solo material. Weathering the barbs of friends who didn't "get it." It wasn't fashionable to like glitter and glam. In the late 90s, it suddenly became trendy, and fellow musicians were jumping on the bandwagon.
For a laugh, i wore my Bete Noire memento to a rehearsal and my drummer gasped "where did you get that?" At the concert, I glibly replied laughing on the inside.
Around that time, his portrait was tattooed on my left forearm, along with similar icons of David Bowie and Keith Richards.

I have spent the last 23 years trying to see him in concert again, and always in vain. The first tour that hit Toronto after '88 found me broke and unable to afford a ticket. The next couple, including Roxy Music's reunion in 2001 (ish), found me forced to be elsewhere.
A few months ago, he announced a North American tour. I noticed that while there was no Canadian gig listed, there was a suspicious 6-day break between New York and Ohio. That's too long a break... I trolled the internet until discovering a sneaky, not-well-publicized stop in Rama.

So now I've got fantastic seats to tonight's show. Prepare to be bombarded with posts about one of my musical idols and more Ferry-inspired music blasting from my studio in the near future.

Pop Songs, Pop Songwriter

2011-10-02T10:55:00.001-07:00

This morning I wrote a new song. So far it's called 'Tonight'.

It occurred to me that this is the socond song I've written that shares a name with an Iggy Pop song. Well really the third - I once wrote a song called "Some Weird Sin," but I intentionally took that name from one of the tracks from his Lust For Life album. How could you not write a song with a catchy line like that?

A few years ago I wrote No Fun. Same name as the old Stooges song, but purely coincidental. And now Tonight...

As long as I don't write a song called I Wanna Be Your Dog, i think I can still claim innocence.

Life After LIE

2011-09-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

Love Isn't Enough is selling steadily (thank you!), and i'm quite pleased with that. The reviews and comparisons are surprisingly flattering. So if you haven't bought it yet, join the masses, HERE!
Reverb Nation, my online distributor is selling MP3 downloads as well as physical CDs. I was surprised the other day to see that they also sell hoodies, t-shirts, water bottles, and bags! I'm thinking about branding a few of those too - we'll see how that goes...

I've started writing the next batch of songs, although it's still too early for the next album to have much definition. Still, (tentatively titled) You And Me, Not My Song, You're A Star, Crazy, My Clown, and Your Loving Song are pretty-well flushed out at this stage. Whenever I have free time, my wife can usually find me with my Takamine strapped on, belting out one of these tracks.

I've also been asked to play guitar in a part-time "irish rock" band. They generally get together each February/ March and play a few shows around St. Paddy's Day. There's no committment yet, but I'm interested. It could be a lot of fun, and I miss playing live.

That's it for now. Keep on rockin in the free world (and elsewhere).

First Words

2011-08-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

LIE has been online now for a couple of weeks, and the first comparisons are coming in. Quite good, in fact. A surprising number of people have noted a "Mark Knopfler" sound. I really didn't expect this - while I like Dire Straits, i've never thought of them as an influence.
I've heard "Bowie-esque," and that one was quite flattering. I could never hold myself up anywhere near that, but apparently there's an influence showing through.
One or two have mentioned "a stripped-down U2." Another good one.

You know, i don't think there have been any bad comparisons. Apparently i'm not influenced by "a steaming pile of deaf dung."

A couple of reviews have noted that the vocals are a little "pitchy," and i can accept that. I refused to use a pitch-shifter to perfect them, and was happy to get them to the level they attained. They're HUMAN.

This is getting off to a good start.

edit: One flummox - 'Wow' was called "dripping with sarcasm." It was actually expressing my awe of Tim Booth, of James. The man is one of the most eloquent pop stars in action these days. I guess people just assume that I don't give compliments...

Fait Accompli!

2011-07-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

It's done! Last night I did the final tweaks to Love Isn't Enough.
When my wife came home, I was busy uploading to ReverbNation.com and setting up the packaging for sales. She saw what I was doing, and got excited. After congratulating me and being very excited, I think she noticed that I was somewhat blasé about the whole thing.

After listening to it literally hundreds (if not thousands) of times, I had to admit that I was in the close-out processes of this project. I don't perform live, so this is the end of LIE as far as my own interaction goes. Now it's just thrown at the Web for listening (and hopefully sales). There's a link on the right side of this blog to either buy or listen.

This morning, I left our apartment with my MP3 player blasting the album. When the first chorus hit in Don't Pity Me, I got chills. I'm excited. I'm proud. I feel like I've raised a child that is now leaving home. I want to see how it is received into the world, and whether it can stand on it's own feet without support.

As it is, I've spent the morning listening to it again and again. I like it.

Cover Art

2011-06-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Barrie came up with a fantastic cover for Love Isn't Enough.

While I piece everything together and master the record, feast your eyes on this:

Mixed!

2011-06-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

Love Isn't Enough is mixed!
All i need now is a quick mastering job, and the final artwork. The mastering won't be an issue as I have no intention of compressing the life out of my project (unlike the general industry tendency these days).

For now, here are a couple of YouTube clips. At various points, these two tracks show the improvement a year's singing lessons can accomplish (thanks KH!).

Finishing The LIE

2011-06-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

It's 10:30 on a Sunday morning.
I'm listening to the final mix of LIE, and can't sit still. I'm pretty anxious to throw this one out to the world.

LIE: Love Isn't Enough has been a long time in the making. Not just the 6 months or so that I've spent recording. The oldest songs, Love Isn't Enough and What To Say might be 18 months old at this point. But then there's the history. I've spent 37 years causing havoc, and it's these memories and experiences that have shaped me and my writing. Loving crazy women, loving one that's crazier than the rest, revenge, bitterness, awe, regret and ambivalence. They're all here. And they're all deeply embedded in my muses.

A year to write, 6 months to record, 47 minutes to air-guitar.

I may have to have a Sunday Morning Beer to calm myself down...

Plans For LIE

2011-06-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

I think one more day in the studio should finish mixing Love Isn't Enough.

I have a cunning plan:

LIE: Status: LIE

2011-05-26T04:32:00.000-07:00

Oh, are you still here? Wow, thanks. I've had my head stuck up my studio for so long I wasn't sure if anyone would be reading when I returned....

I've got LIE half mixed so far. I posted The Dream and All That Mattered on a production forum to get advice on my mixes. Some of the suggestions I followed, and some I didn't. However, I've now got a baseline set for the 8 others to follow. The really strange thing is that the two songs are very different but both got 'sounds like Pink Floyd' references. Don't get me wrong, I think The Wall is a fantastic album, but I don't get the comparison at all. This isn't as weird as the guy who once wrote "Matt must have a TON of Tom Petty on his iPod."
Then again, my favourite comparison was being called "Bryan Ferry on crack." This was especially flattering since his cocaine-fuelled 'Let's Stick Together' is one of the greatest pop albums of all time.

Anyway, here's the status:
All That Mattered - done
The Dream - done
Love Isn't Enough - done
What To Say - done
Swagger & Twirl - almost done, a little tweaking needed
Welcome To The Nighttime - almost done, a little tweaking needed
Home - tomorrow
Don't Pity Me - almost done, a little tweaking needed
Wow - tomorrow (hopefully - this one will be complicated. I'll be saying 'wow' once it's finished)
Burn - tomorrow

And if you're curious to hear The Dream and All That Mattered, click HERE for a temporary preview.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

2011-05-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

When I wrote my last post, I was about to re-record the vocals to my new album. I woke up early on that Saturday morning, blogged while having my coffee, then got to work setting up for a day's recording. Mic set up, levels checked, lyric sheets found (I have a terrible memory), backing tracks levelled…
The upside to singing these songs so often during the 'development' and 'recording' stages is that I'm pretty well rehearsed at this point. I quickly ran through What To Say, All That Mattered, and Wow. Tracking took a few hours, so I stopped to give my voice a break. While resting, I started listening back. I was pretty angry when I heard the same sonic issues that made me re-record in the first place!
Then I randomly spotted a wavy icon in the corner of the monitor. WTF was that???? It turns out that I had a strange filter automatically set on all my vocal tracks! As soon as I clicked that off, the original tracks sounded great. I didn't need to redo all those songs. I guess this is one of those errors that they teach you to avoid if you actually get propper schooling for this task...

So now I'm half-way through the mixes, and getting more and more excited by the day.

More good news: Jonathan Barrie has offered to create the album cover. I've been a big fan (and a close friend) for years now, and I'm flattered that he's interested in this project. He listened to my rough demos for inspiration, and came back with some fantastic ideas! He also had some new questions about my sanity, but that's a whole other story... One sketch was so good that it inspired a name-change. The album will now be titled "LIE: Love Isn't Enough." Once you see the cover, you'll understand the need for change.

Anyway, back into the darkest depths of the studio. See you soon!

Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

2011-04-30T07:31:00.001-07:00

I made rough mixes of Lies & Speculation. Then I fiddled with the mix. Then I fiddled again. And again.
No matter what i did, I couldn't make the vocals sound the way I want to. They're pitched properly, but have an awful brittleness that I can't get rid of.

I recorded this album with the same microphone I did Overture with: An AKG 2000B condenser mic (nice, fancy). This time, I've also recorded some last-minute clips with my Shure 58 (industry standard, indestructable average mic) and they sounded much better.

So i've realized that I have to re-record almost all the vocal tracks AGAIN. And i have to do it this weekend, as it's the last one i'll have until mid-june at best. This schedule is brutal....

And of course it's the first nice weekend Toronto has had this year and i'd rather be spending it outdoors. But, this is the choice I've got to make.

Dream Analysis

2011-04-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

Permit me to be a little self-indulgent here. Because it’s MY blog… haha.

I’m really loving ‘The Dream’ at the moment. It’s the only song with a decent mix, and it’s getting some incredible reviews. I was just out on my balcony smoking a Monte Cristo, and listening to the song again. Suddenly I saw (imagined) it on another level.

The introduction: steady, like a freight train. If you work hard, you’ll get what you want.

The first verse follows suit: Put your nose to the grindstone, slow and steady wins the race.

The first bridge section: a crash, an explosion: Life gets grandiose, but there’s a trip-up, a stagger. Don’t worry, you caught the beat fast enough and kept to the path.

Guitar Riff: Who’s that cocky bastard that jumped the beat, getting in before the starting gun? Flashy, showy SOB aren’t you?

Second Verse: You’re still following the path, the straight and narrow. But that cocky guitar keeps interrupting, jumping in and out, distracting you. Something’s not right. It’s not flowing as simply as it did.

The second bridge section explodes: Similar to the first graduation, but there’s a little more tension in here. Stumbling again, catching yourself and moving on. But you know what’s wrong.

The chorus: That’s right, this is life. Speak your mind, it’s the only way to get what you want. Need help? Ask for it. Wanna barrel through? Try that too.

Afterwards: What’s this? This is weird, and it’s not comfortable. Pretty isolated and lonely huh? Way to go, you’ve really locked yourself into something haven’t you?

Another bridge section: This one’s got a little more struggle in it. You know what you’ve done wrong, now fix it.

Chorus number two: If this song was a Rocky movie, this would be the training montage. Get yourself back into shape. Remember that man you used to be? The one you respected? Let’s get you back there.

Guitar Riff: Yes, that cocky SOB is back. And he’s not deviating this time, he’s unstoppable. You know he’s going to end it with a balls-out bash! When he’s good and ready.

I hope that wasn’t too arrogant, I just really felt the need to express that. It wasn’t too far from my thoughts when I wrote and arranged it, but some introspection came to me tonight. Maybe it’s the beer and cigar, maybe it’s because I just hit a major milestone in my life tonight (finished my university qualification), or maybe I’m just full of it.

Pre-Release

2011-04-04T06:47:00.001-07:00

I'm not a patient man. I can't wait to get Lies & Speculation mixed. So here's a rough mix of 'The Dream.' Enjoy!

The Dream

2011-03-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was in the studio, mixing ‘The Dream’.
It’s one of my favourite new tracks at the moment, and changes constantly. I originally wrote it as a swampy slide-guitar song, set incredibly slow and morose. Then, on a whim, I played an upbeat, almost rockabilly, version. That one was a lot more fun, and exciting. I developed both the fast and slow versions at the same time, preferring whichever one I was playing at that moment.
I suddenly had a brainwave – do BOTH in the same song. A little quick math, and a lot of slow practice, and I figured out how to do make it work.
However, recording two different songs as one means a complicated mix. Lots of settings, equalizers, compressors, and even instruments change mid-way through the song. So it took quite a while to get it right.

And here’s the beauty of self-producing: when my wife came home, I was really excited and asked her to critique the track. She made a good suggestion, EQ’ing out some high-end frequencies from the bridge-section acoustic guitars. A couple of quick knob-turns and the result proved her right. After the song ended, she commented that the lead-guitar ending was too long. She might be right, but I can never resist air-guitaring Keith Richards-style when it gets to the end of The Dream. It’s some great playing, and I can’t bear to pare it down.
With nobody to answer to, I get to write, arrange, and produce my songs my way.

This mixing process is really slow and time-intensive. And every once in a while you need something like this to reinvigorate, to give that electrical charge that makes artists do what they do.

Fait Accompli. Nearly.

2011-02-28T05:52:00.000-08:00

Like George W. Bush in Iraq, I jumped the gun a little calling the job done. Two months ago, I triumphantly posted that Lies & Speculation was complete. I had tracked all the instruments, and was ready to start mixing.
When I was setting up for the mix, I didn't like the vocal tracks. The benefit of a home-based recording studio is that I can be flexible with my workload. So I quickly changed hats from Mix-Master to Iconic Lead Singer. After setting up the microphones, adjusting everything in the room, I pulled on the headphones and hit RECORD.
This is when I discovered that the cat had chewed through the cable. At this point, I decided to back off for a few weeks. I would spend another $400 replacing the destroyed headphones, and at the same time spend more time rehearsing the songs.

For two weekends in February, I re-recorded the vocal tracks to all ten songs. (I also went to Antigua for a week, but that's a different story. )
Then, this weekend, I restarted the mix. And this time, it's GREAT!
I just did a quick runthrough, setting up a basic structure so I can listen to the tracks on my MP3 player. And with each song that comes on, I think "oooh, this is my favourite!" And then the next one starts and I think "ooooh, that's a sexy slide-guitar line - this is my favourite!" and so forth… Maybe it's like children? You can have a few, and love them all equally. When one shines, you're proud. Then the next one shines and your heart melts.

Recording complete.
Next up: Mix

Cool Again

2011-01-27T08:41:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I helped out a friend and had a great time doing it.

An extremely talented pianist, he now wants to learn how to play the guitar. He knew enough to spend a reasonable amount of money for a quality instrument, but didn't know what attributes he wanted. So, he asked me to accompany him. Whatever instrument I liked best in his price range, he would buy it. Great for me, I get all the pleasure of shopping but without the cost!

I knew the best options off the bat, so when the salesgirl approached I noted requirements for a built-in preamp and dreadnaught-style body. I played quite a few guitars, and we narrowed the options down to two really nice Tanglewood guitars. I'd never heard of them before, but they're pretty awesome. My next acoustic might just be the same one we bought for my friend.

Checking the resonance and intonation, I was playing chords that involved droning open strings along with frets up at the high end of the neck. For some reason, I started playing "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by Iggy & The Stooges. An old punk classic.

Suddenly our salesgirl, replete with pompadour and shitty rockabilly tats, got excited. This old fart with grey in his moustache and a Blackberry on his hip… was hip! She gave me "props" for "rocking some acoustic Iggy."

For the brief moment that I held some long-lost cred, I encouraged her to buy "Please Kill Me," by Legs McNeil - a compilation of fantastic interviews with 1970s punk legends.

That "cool" feeling kept me going for a few days.

Temptation

2011-01-15T05:08:00.000-08:00

Last month, I triumphantly reported that tracking had been finished for Lies &Speculation. In a whirlwind of joyous noise, I raced through the 10 songs. Then I took a few weeks off to recover from the stresses of wage-earning, school, Christmas, etc , etc, etc.

Last week I returned to the mixing desk and started digging through the tracks. And they were crap! I was really disappointed with the vocals. On takes where the inflection was right, I was usually singing a little sharp. And where the pitch was right I didn’t like the way I was annunciating.

This is where it got weird. To experiment and play (that’s the beauty of artistic pursuits), I brought an auto-tuner into the track. I clicked ‘on’, chose the key of Emajor, and clicked Play. My jaw dropped. Coming from the speakers was exactly what I’d been trying to accomplish! Pitched properly, with just the right amount of attitude, the singing was perfect. In 3 simple mouse-clicks I had rectified what would have been weeks of re-work.
For about 10 seconds, my jaw agape and eyes glazed, I reveled in the finished product. The album that would define the last few years of my life. Suddenly, like coming out of a bad dream, my eyes went wide. “No,” I screamed as my hands slapped the desk. As fast as I could, I deleted the auto-tuner.

You see, the auto-tuner is the biggest detractor to modern music. Anyone who can’t sing can easily run their voice through one of these and sound like a star. Think Paris Hilton, Keisha, Britney Spears… That’s all you need. No musical skills, just a nice rack and cute bum. Or in Hilton’s case, money.
Even talented stars are now auto-tuning everything beyond perfection. I’ve been told that Justin Beiber can actually sing, but everything I’ve ever heard of him is computerized out of reality. There’s no skill or substance needed anymore, just the packaging. And I just saw how easy and cost-efficient it can be. I’ve been taking singing lessons with a great teacher for 8 months now, and spent days trying to accomplish what I could have covered in 2 hours with auto-tune help.

I pride myself on being primarily a musician. I really do. Not a singer, not a guitarist, not a songwriter, or producer. A musician. I’ve been playing the guitar for over 20 years and am able to play the things I want to hear without much effort. Most other instruments I can warble a basic melody from, if you give me a few minutes to figure it out. And I’m happy that I can actually express myself in this way.
And because of that, I’m uninstalling the auto-tuner, reverting back into pre-production mode, and going to practice, practice, practice. And when you hear me sing these songs, it will really be me. I don’t need perfection, just humanty. That’s what life is all about.

Happy Christmas

2010-12-24T06:10:00.001-08:00

I'll be spending the holiday weekend holed up with The Wife for our first Christmas as a married couple. Sleeping in, big greasy breakfasts (hopefully), gifts, etc...
I'm hoping to get a day in the studio again this coming week, to do a few edits and re-takes. Just clean up the recordings a little before starting to mix.

So Happy Christmas/ Kwanza/ Hanukkah, whatever you celebrate. And if you don't celebrate, then enjoy the time off, overtime pay, and/or Boxing Day sales.

Tracking - DONE

2010-12-20T07:19:00.001-08:00

I woke up on Sunday morning still hungover from Friday night's Christmas party. The plan was to lay on the couch, watch bad TV, and recouperate.

That didn't last long. By 10am, I had my guitar in hand and was writing another song. This one's about the time I caught my girlfriend cheating on me at the bar, she held onto my coattails as I walked off down the street, and I ended up having to pry her arms off my taxi and throw her backwards into a pile of garbage bins. All as a patio-full of people watched.
I'm sure it'll be a hell of a song…
The inspiration stuck around, and I quickly connected the vocal mic, set up the PC, and got to some serious tracking. The end result: Lies & Speculation is completely tracked. All recording is complete.

This doesn't mean it's ready to pollute the airwaves yet, but it's a hell of a milestone. Next will be mixing. I could end up with an organ-and-maracas version of Welcome To The Nighttime…. I doubt it, but anything's possible. And that's actually how I recorded the vocals - there was so much going on musically, that I couldn't pitch my voice to the right places. So I muted the drums, bass, and guitars. All that was left was a sparse organ and maracas to keep time. It sounded pretty awesome, but I don't think it'll stay that way - too boring. But that's a great example of how songs can change mid-mix.
In fact, if you listen to Porno and Porno Guitar in the player on the right, those were actually the same recording! I just changed the volume on the instruments!

So for now, it's recorded. And I'm off for a week of non-music celebrating my first Christmas with the Lovely Wife. Have a great holiday season!

Breakthrough

2010-12-10T06:19:00.000-08:00

I've been having trouble in the studio lately.

All the music has been recorded. Drums, bass, guitars, percussion, keys, synths, all DONE. I just have the vocal tracks left to lay down. And this is where it's getting tough. Because of all the day-job BS and night-school, the rare couple of hours I have for music has left me too exhausted to accomplish anything.
In all fairness, given the training I've received this year I'm holding myself to a higher bar as far as singing goes. My 3-note warble has grown into a 2.5-octave range of solid notes. And like everything else I do, I try to do the best I can.
Unfortunately, over the last few weeks, I haven't been able to sing properly. When I've tried, my voice just sounds tired, not quite… there.

I've also decided to upgrade my Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). That's the studio setup, from the mics and mixers to the soundcard and PC. I was hesitant to upgrade my software in the middle of a project, but figured I had nothing to lose. With no deadlines, I can do what I want. And the benefits to the "new&fancy" could pay off. And they have, in unmentionable computer-geek ways.
This came into play last night. The migration to new software meant a lot of housekeeping, cleaning up and organizing projects and songs. Lots of hours spent staring blankly at the computer doing very unmusical "secretary jobs."
In the midst of a reorganization, I suddenly needed the music. I opened the Sonar file to "All That Mattered," plugged my vocal microphone into the stand, twiddled a few knobs, and burst into "I ran away, I left you to stay with the problems that I left behind…"
Over the next five hours, I laid down the vocal tracks to All That Mattered, Swagger & Twirl, The Dream, Love Isn't Enough, and What to Say. That's half the album done! Verses, choruses, middle-8ths, and background oop-she-doops, ALL DONE!

Keep in mind that Home, Wow, Don't Pity Me, Burn, and Welcome to the Nighttime are all still waiting in the wings...

Telecaster Love

2010-11-17T06:59:00.001-08:00

Last weekend I recorded all the guitar tracks for Lies & Speculation. It was my favourite part of the recording so far, but that’s not surprising. Aside from the fact that I’ve been a guitarist for over 2 decades now, 9 of the 10 songs were written on the guitar. For me, because of my familiarity with the songs and the instrument, recording the guitar was easy and fun.
The acoustic guitar parts were all done with my Takamine. It has a great full, somber sound. Even though I have 7 or 8 electric guitars, I only used two: My 1974 Fender Telecaster Custom, and my 1991 Fender Telecaster Standard.

I’ve had a love affair with Telecasters since first hearing the Rolling Stones. Keith Richards’ primary sound relies mainly on the Tele. Because of that, once it looked like I was going to keep up my music lessons, my parents bought me one for Christmas (1991).

Other than the obvious importance of the Tele’s SONIC QUALITIES, I love the way they look. Especially as they age. The maple neck on Fender guitars age really nicely. I love that as you play them, the finish wears off and the wood starts to erode. It looks really cool, shapes how you play the instrument, and gives each guitar unique qualities – almost a personality.

On Saturday morning, preparing for the 2-day endurance run (10 songs, averaging 3-8 guitar tracks per song), I changed the strings on both guitars. I had to stop and admire the ’91 Tele’s neck – it’s starting to erode:

My ’74 has a lot of head start. Not only is it 17 years older, but has spent most of it’s life in a working, touring band.

Hopefully the ’91 Tele will catch up. I really do love these guitars – after stringing each one I played it for a half hour or so, reveling in the feel and sound.

Remembrance Day

2010-11-11T05:33:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up with Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" in my head. Not much of it, just the first line: "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun..."
I've been a Floyd fan for around 25 years, but today for the first time it made me think of my grandfather.

My family is British, and when World War 2 broke out everyone joined up. Everyone. My grandfather was 16 or 17, and went to enlist on Day 1. He wasn't old enough to know to lie, so when asked his age he told the truth. The enlistment officer flatly told him that he wasn't old enough to join the army. He would have to leave, walk around the block, and come back when he was 18. So what did he do? He left the office, walked around the block, and came back saying "I'm 18 sir."
He fought in North Africa and Italy. He was captured at Anzio and saw some horriffic things happen. Stories that I recently heard from my parents that are worse than you see in films.

When the war ended, he went home. He polished his medals and put them in the back of a drawer.
36 years later, he was dying of prostate cancer. He pulled his medals out of the drawer for the first time, shined them, mailed them to Canada and died. I was very close to my grandad, and it meant a lot that he wanted me to have those icons. I received them after hearing of his death, which was quite hard.

These medals sat for for another 30 years in a box hidden away in the various bedrooms I've had since then. For Christmas, my wife had them set into a shadow box along with my only photo of him. This display is mounted on the wall just as you enter my apartment. It serves as a memorial to my grandfather, and also as a reminder to live my life with the honour he did, to make his memory proud.

Thank you grandad, I miss you.

Lie, to me

2010-11-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

I’ve started recording the bed tracks that will become 'Lies & Speculation'. As happens so often, songs are still pretty dynamic and morphing in unexpected ways.

On Saturday afternoon I was in the studio, laying down the bed tracks for Love Isn’t Enough (LIE). When I demo’d the original, I had a crappy MIDI track playing what was meant to be a violin accenting in the background. The melody was good, but I couldn’t get the violin to sound like anything other than a cheap 80s synthesizer.
So I tried my usual fallbacks: I tried it on a piano. That didn’t work. I tried it on a guitar. That didn’t work either, but wasn’t as bad as the piano. So I kept banging away at the guitar.
On a whim, I picked up the slide and plucked a completely different melody. IT SOUNDED AWESOME!!!! In about 3.5 minutes, I had worked out a beeeauuutiful slide line to flush out the chorus. I wouldn’t need the crappy MIDI violin anymore. A couple of knob-twists, a couple of button-pushes, and I had a new track set up to record the line.
In one take, I got exactly what I wanted. My eyes were watering with excitement as I put the guitar down and set up the PC to playback what I had just recorded.
With almost post-coital bliss I relaxed, a huge smile on my face. Suddenly something moved. The glass slide slowly rolled off the desk, shattering on the hardwood floor!
There would be no Take 2 today. Thankfully Take 1 got the point across. It would retain the magic that appeared, so that once I buy a replacement I can do a proper job of it.

Of course, the new guitar line necessitated changing the drums. And then the bass. And then the background vocals. Kinda like when my wife buys new nailpolish and suddenly realizes that the whole outfit should be replaced.*

It was a really exciting day. I had just hit a new level with this album. LIE would turn out to be the star I first envisioned when I wrote it 2 years ago, and it will pull Lies & Speculation up with it.

* she doesn’t really do that.
* but if you buy more of my albums, we might be able to buy her more clothes

Time Flies

2010-10-11T06:06:00.000-07:00

I got married.
Serenaded my wife with a surprise performance, a 4/4 version of Unchained Melody arranged for a bluesy acoustic guitar. Made her cry. Made other women swoon (i imagine).
Spent a week in Halifax for our honeymoon. Saw some great bands, and a passionless William H. Macy lookalike warbling his way through classic rock tunes.

Yesterday was the first day in a month that I've been able to work on the new album. The songs are evolving.
The Dream needs to be a few bpm faster.
The last verse of All That Mattered was written yesterday.
Burn needs a more sparse rhythm guitar. Maybe drop it out completely for the riff... (i can't believe i wrote that)

So it's coming along slowly. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

To tide you over, watch some of these clips of The National performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It's been giving me goosebumps and making my eyes water.
Any fan of pop or rock music NEEDS to hear them. They're easily the best guitar-based band going, and are putting out the only albums worth paying for these days.

August Update/ Monthly Apology

2010-08-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I'm being horribly neglectful to this blog.
Part of it is being busy earning money to pay for the recording I'm about to embark on.
Part of it is being busy earning money to pay for the wedding I'm about to embark on.
Part of it is enjoying the hot Toronto summer.
Part of it is working on the next batch of songs.
I've been kinda busy.

The next album, not yet titled, appears to have been written. The basics are covered and they're looking like a solid family ready to party. They're not flushed out as far as they will be, but the demos have been recorded.

So, unless any surprises appear, the track listing should be:

Love Isn't Enough
What To Say
Wow
Home
The Dream
Don't Pity Me
Stagger And Twirl
Burn
Welcome to The Nighttime
All That Mattered

While I don't expect the production to be different, the songs themselves are structured quite differently due to my newfound singing ability*. You'll hear more than 3 notes sung on this one, my friends!

*Thanks Kate H. - the singing lessons are awesome.

Burning

2010-07-15T05:49:00.000-07:00

Again I've been neglecting my blog.
I recently got a message asking if I'd be interested in playing for a local band. Sort of a rockabilly/celtic/punk (think Pogues, apparently) type of group. I've never really listened to them before, so I picked up their Greatest Hits package. And I'm really liking it.
I haven't met with the group yet, so I don't know if it'll work, but it inspired me to write another song:

Burn

I found out what you did, You admitted that it’s true
I forgave your indiscretion
Well, you lied to me and you didn’t stop, And you crawled into my bed
You didn’t notice my expression
I walked into the room With a can of gasoline
Pack of matches and a pint of beer
Well, I drank my beer and watched you sleep
And promised you so true
That I’ll always keep you near

I’m gonna watch you burn
You never ever learn
The plans are set, you lost the bet
I’m gonna watch you burn

You had a moment, Another spark in time
If that was all, live and let live
But you lied to me, you lie next to me, And you still stink of him
That’s one thing I can’t forgive
I walked into the room With a can of gasoline
Pack of matches and a pint of beer
Well, I drank my beer and watched you sleep
And promised you so true
That I’ll always keep you near

I’m gonna watch you burn
You never ever learn
The plans are set, you lost the bet
I’m gonna watch you burn

I’m not the kind of guy who goes looking for revenge
That’s never really been my kind of plan
But when I’m done and the fire’s out
The ashes have gone cold
Grab another beer and I’m looking for your man

(c) Matt Swift 2010

Swagger & Twirl

2010-06-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

I haven’t been blogging much lately. I keep thinking that nothing is really progressing, and then BAM – i write 2 more songs before lunch!

I wrote a good one last weekend, titled (for now) Swagger And Twirl. It describes myself around a decade ago, in the depths of Glitter/Glam rock. Let me explain (yeah, TRY to stop me)…

I’ve always loved old-school punk rock. The Stooges, MC5, New York Dolls, that sort of thing. Rude, aggressive, and dirty – that’s one of the things I admire most in art. That goes for photography too, I’d rather see a shot of a burned out urban factory than a pretty landscape anytime.
Physically, I’ve usually been on the ‘nicer’ side of fashion. Before shaving my head, I paid a lot of attention to my hair and makeup. I thought nothing of dying my hair teal, and slapping on some eyeliner and whore-ish red lipstick. There was also sightings of designer shirts, leopard-print tights and red patent leather shoes, blending with my extensive tattoos to set up a unique visual. I wasn’t always put together in the best taste and have literally stopped traffic on Yonge Street with gawkers.
I’ve had to stop the makeup and hair dye – as I age it’s looking more and more like Buffalo Bill from The Silence of The Lambs. But there was always an appreciation for nice suits, watches, and the like.

The glam and glitter scenes really combined these two, personified in 1970's David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and the like. Glitter often had a prettier musical side, but that was cool in it’s own right. Once I realized that one could present a tight, stylish image with a balls-out guitar-driven sound, I knew my place was somewhere in that. Really starting in the early 70s, images started appearing of a lipsticked, fashion-conscious guitarist, Les Paul slung low, blasting out obscenities in a cloud of cigarette smoke. Blending the swaggering confidence and aggression of the iconic rock’n’roll guitarist with the staging presentation of the fashionable created a unique and multi-faceted scene that has withstood many deviations over the decades.

Having dinner with my fiancé the other night, we were talking about attitudes and egos with performers. How the need to feel confident in your abilities can be the only thing that keeps you going. I commented that there was a time I’d walk into a club with the attitude “I am the king of all I see, and fuck those who disagree.” We scrambled for a pen and a napkin, and the song started to take shape.

Swagger And Twirl – the perfect combination. Maybe that can be the song for entering the night. Leaving the night will require a sequel: Stagger And Hurl.

Maybe…

Alien

2010-05-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

In 2005 I got engaged and moved from central Toronto to a small town 1.5 hours away, to live with my betrothed.

I’ve never felt comfortable in rural areas, and this time was no different. I agreed to move, and own that responsibility. However, the impact was much harder than I’d expected; instead of a relaxed life, I felt unsafe, unwelcome, pretty much un-everything. I couldn’t find a single person or activity in the town that suited me. Even my spouse seemed happy to disappear, leaving me lonely in this quiet empty space.

Still, ever the optimist (haha), I focused on my writing. Alien pretty much epitomizes that stage of my life.

Alien

A foreign street
A promise kept
So out of place
So out of time

Alien space
I’ve come for you
So out of play
So out of mind

Unfriendly air
Is closing in
To choke me down
I’ll somehow win

Endurance run
I would repeat
I do for you
Do what you need

Don’t see the pain
This way we win
I’d lie for you
My only sin

My life for you
In foreign land
Give up my home
To hold your hand

As an aside, this song also worked as a fun experiment. I took the vocal tracks (with no music whatsoever), copied them to a CD, and handed them to a group called Electric Colony. My only comment was that it was recorded at 80beats/minute and the chord changes were Aminor, Fmajor, Cmajor, Gmajor.

As they had never heard my versions, what came back was an entirely different being. I really love that music can be interpreted so individually…
Both are available on this blog’s player. Mine is ‘Alien’, and EC’s is the "Elecolonized Remix."

Voicing My Opinion

2010-04-16T04:04:00.000-07:00

First off, I'll be honest. I have never particularly liked the sound of my voice. I am a good guitarist, bass player, I'm a reasonable pianist (for what I need to do), and can fake my way through a 3-minute song on bongos and congas. I can drum, but only if I don't use my feet; this is one of the reasons that I program my synth to play my lines. Oh, and I can clap to a 4/4 beat.

I have been writing and recording my own albums (easier to write than "group of songs") for 15 years, and outside of band projects I've only had ONE person play ONE bassline on ONE of my songs. Part of it is my controlling nature, part of it is my wanting to pitch this as "all me, good and bad," and part is artistic respect: I don't feel right telling another musician or artist exactly what to do. So, I know how I want my words to be presented and have to do it myself.

After 15 years, I have just arranged for singing lessons. I have a few go-to notes that I regularly use in my songs, but they're pretty weak. Singing my own songs is not a problem - I write the music around my vocal limitations. But I can almost never sing someone else's song. Most of the time my voice wavers close to the right note, and sometimes it flies off into left field. I want to gain a few more notes in my repertoire, improve my delivery, and find a better way to start on pitch. I've got a good teacher, and I'm really looking forward to starting next week.

So who knows? Along with a set of songs i'm REALLY loving, this upcoming project could sound quite different...

OPM - Other People's Music

2010-03-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the rare opportunity to spend the entire time alone at home (except for drinks, pool, and a cool jazz quintet on Saturday night).

Without much to do, and not feeling rushed to work on the new album, I spent hours playing acoustic versions of some old favourites. I haven't had so much fun in ages, and only stopped when my voice started giving out.

As a brief sampling, the setlist included With Or Without You, Heroes, Working Class Hero, Wave Of Mutilation, Irish Heartbeat, Let Me In, and about a dozen others. All simply one acoustic guitar and one vocal.

When I was learning to play the guitar, it was a huge help to learn a multitude of covers. Since I started writing my own music in the late 90s, for the most part I stopped playing others'. I may have to change that...

Guitars – A love story

2010-03-24T07:00:00.001-07:00

I received my first guitar for Christmas when I was 14. A low-end acoustic, it still managed to spark my interest. For my birthday 4 months later*, I was given a cheap electric model. That was enough to get me into lessons, and learning songs like The Stones’ “Miss You” and AC/DC’s “Hells Bells.”

I saved my pennies, and on Thanksgiving Monday 1991, my Dad drove me and 4 friends around Lake Ontario. The purpose: to stop at Rochester NY’s famed House Of Guitars, picking up a Fender Telecaster. This sole instrument would propel me in my goal of becoming Keith Richards.

The 1991 Fender Telecaster (with current modifications):

I bought this guitar in 1991 for $300. New models are almost twice the price.
I upgraded the pickups twice. The first was to put Heavy Metal-type pickups in, unfortunately due to my tastes of the time. A couple of years ago I replaced them with a Fender Texas Special in the bridge, and a Fender Gold Dual-Lace Sensor in the neck. I also replaced the bridge ($1 on ebay) and the tuning keys. I actually had to cut the pickguard to fit the new bridge, but didn't have a saw. If you look slightly behind the centre of the guitar, you can see the wobbly edge of the white, that I cut with A DRILL. When you don't have the right tool, use a drill. Really, only the body and neck are original. And there’s a really cool Skull pin glued into the body, which I bought at the X-Pensive Winos’ Massey Hall show in 1992.
This guitar was my primary instrument from 1991 on. I used to to smash a padlock (dent on the upper front of the body). When I played with Lovejoy in 2000, I performed with them 9 days after meeting and hearing them for the first time. I played so much learning the set, that my finger split while onstage, smearing blood all down the neck.
It has 18 years of extensive wear, eroding my favourite places on the neck. Like water running through a stream, the fretboard has slight indents where it’s most used. This subconsciously directs fingers to specific notes and patterns.

When I was 15, at the height of my Rolling Stones/ Keith Richards obsession, I saw a poster of him with a 1972 Fender Telecaster Custom. It was the most beautiful guitar I had ever seen, and I swore then that I would own one. It’s a classic model, and highly prized. Given the value and rarity, I decided that I’d accept either a 1972 model (first year produced), a 1974 model (my birth year), or a 1973 (because it’s in-between). A 1975 would be worthless to me.

In late 2008, I suddenly came into an unexpected few thousand dollars. After 19 years, I still hadn’t been able to afford my Holy Grail of Guitars. So I quickly went on Ebay and found a model better than I’d ever expected:

The 1974 Fender Telecaster Custom, with a factory-installed Bigsby tremolo system:

The Bigsby isn’t rare in and of itself. But they were usually added after the purchase. Mine has the Fender ‘F’ logo instead of the Bigsby script. Rarer. And the body wasn’t drilled through for strings, like the after-market installs were. The only part of this guitar not original is the bridge pickup, which someone replaced with a Seymour Duncan model. I plan on buying a Fender ’74 pickup, to put it back to 100%.

This guitar has been played by other people for 35 years. It is road-worn. It has a soul, a presence. The fretboard has been eroded by others’ personal tastes, routing my fingers to new and unexpected phrases. These notes and positions are NOT usually my favourites. This actually caused conflict when I first played the guitar, it felt decidedly uncomfortable. I resolved it by locking my ’91 in the closet for 6 months playing nothing but the ’74. It worked, and the 1974 Telecaster Custom is my (musical) dream-come-true.

I do love the history of my guitar – it suits me perfectly. The Ebay seller gave me the name of it’s previous owner, and I google-searched him. Here’s a pic of my instrument with it’s other lover. This pic is wonderful, and I hope to be able to live up to it’s Dead-Elvis past.

This 1974 Tele Custom had a huge impact on the production of Overture. It’s the only electric guitar on the entire album. I wanted to make the songs sound the way the guitar looks, if that makes sense to anyone else.

Hope you enjoyed this history/guitar-geek ramble.

* do the math, it’s coming up soon!

If You Love Music...

2010-03-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

If you love music, PLEASE READ THIS LINKED ARTICLE.

One thing you might notice about my recordings: they are noticeably quieter than most 'store-bought' discs. That's on purpose. I put a lot of time into writing and recording these songs. I put a lot of effort, practice, education, and frustration into mixing and mastering these songs. I don't want to waste it by squashing my product to death.

There's an industry-wide process that squashes the life out of music, for the sake of making it louder. If you make the loud bits quieter, and the quieter bits louder (also known as compression), this lessens the dynamic range of the track. With less dynamic range, you can then boost the volume so that the quiet parts are loud, and the loud parts are LOUD! The louder the song is, the more noticeable it will be, the more likely it will be to make money.

This has been going on for over a decade, progressing more and more until reaching a point last year where (rumour says) Metallica's mastering engineer requested to be omitted from the credits. He was so ashamed of what he had been forced to do by the labels. The album was all over the news as fans returned discs either thinking they were defective, or out of disappointment from the quality of the product.

Unfortunately this overcompressing, "Brick Wall" mastering ruins the sound. What it doesn't tell you (and even this article doesn't address this) is that it also causes ear fatigue, increased migraines and headaches, and eventually hearing-loss.

Enjoy whatever you want to listen to, but please - protect your ears and give the musicians some respect. It's probably too late to get back to where the quality was in the Nineties, but hopefully it won't get much worse...

For more information, google "Loudness War" and see what comes up.

Wow - Writing Jag

2010-02-23T10:07:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been negligent with this blog. After a few weeks focussing on other aspects of my life, my muse has returned. I've been writing like a fiend!

In the last couple of weeks, the next album has been born. Along with 'What To Say' and 'Love Isn't Enough', I can now add 'Home', 'The Dream', and 'Wow' to the set list!

Wow

What do you think, to bring up words like that?
So poetic, not for me.
Whenever I try I always fall down
I can only say ‘Wow’

How did you learn to present like that
So emotic, just for me
You hold the charisma, you turn me around
I can only say ‘Wow’

How do you live with yourself like that
Open-shuttered, not like me
I couldn’t decide, I don’t know how
I can only say ‘Wow’

How do you excise your demons like that
Show no fear, breaking free
I’d love to follow, but I can just bow
I can only say ‘Wow’

(c) Matt Swift 2010

Written to force the end of writer's block, I was listening to the latest James album, Hey Ma. I've been a fan for years, but it finally struck me how great a lyricist Tim Booth is.

Disenfranchised

2010-02-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

Warning: High-and-mighty Soapbox-style preaching on it’s way…..
There – you’ve been warned. If you’re still reading, I’m assuming you have given permission for me to speak my mind.

A couple of years ago, I read a fantastic article about the devaluation of music as an art form. It discussed how a piece of music had been devalued from AN EXPERIENCE, to AN ALBUM, A SONG, eventually ending up being worth $0.99 on iTunes, or free from online file-sharing. Thus, music is now considered worthless by most of the western world.
Blame it on lossless, virtually free, distribution. Blame it on the general quality of the product (commercial music as a whole). Blame it on kids that weren’t raised properly, and the parents that (mis-) taught them. Who knows, who cares?

I seem to be alone with this pet peeve, but I really hate seeing two people sitting next to each other, sharing headphones. Someone wrote and arranged that music, recorded it, mixed it, produced it, and stamped their name on it. And the listeners have chosen to ignore 50% of that. Not to mention that a stereo recording is never meant to lose one side. It throws off the other side, along with omitting (in some cases) entire melodies or themes.
Comparing art forms, you’d never go to an art gallery to see a specific piece and see a curtain draped over the left side of the painting. If you did, you’d see a furiously screaming artist demanding respect for the work he’d poured himself into. And chances are you’d understand his point. Music? Get’s none of that respect.

I complained about this to a friend, Celeste, who pointed out that as a consumer the listeners had every right to use the product as they saw fit. That I, as the creator, had sold my rights for the $0.99 paid. And she’s not entirely wrong.

So, I’ve removed the BUY option from my Soundclick page. Now it’s only available for streaming. Now it’s my GIFT, and it comes with a condition: Treat it with the respect it deserves, or ignore it altogether and move on.
I didn’t write or record this music for profit. I did receive some, and I’m thankful to those that bought. I earned enough to pay for my divorce in fact, but it’s not worth selling the respect I have for the art.

I’m dropping out of the industry side. For the love of the art, it’s pure again. Love it or leave it.

Naked For Jesus

2010-01-19T13:34:00.000-08:00

… I THOUGHT that title might get your attention.

I moved to Toronto in early 1996, from a little (a$$)hole-in-the-wall town in Southern Ontario.
Walking down Bloor St one day, I ran into an acquaintance from high-school. He told me that he was looking for musicians to start a band. Together we put it together:
We ended up as a 4-piece: two acoustic guitars playing punk rock guitar, a bassist, a Sarah McLaughlin-esque soft singer, and a dancy-techno drum machine. We called ourselves ‘Naked For Jesus’ and played exactly ½ of a show (a complete set, but only one guitarist and the singer were there).

We recorded a 4-song demo that I wish I still had.

Naked For Jesus could have been great. But I ended up "dating" the singer.
After a month or two, I found her laying on a friend’s kitchen floor making out with a homeless guy. AT MY BIRTHDAY PARTY. A homeless guy who had been stealing from my vodka bottle all night…. I stepped over the couple, took my bottle, expressed my anger at his swiping my liquor, and went home.

Ever the professional, I had no intention of leaving the band. It was too awesome. Neither did she, and agreed to be friendly. When it was time to choose cover song ideas, I suggested ‘Loose’ by Iggy Pop. Honestly, I thought it would sound fantastic, with raw acoustic guitars, a dance-y beat, and a soft vocal.
Unfortunately the singer didn’t believe me. Something about the chorus (I stick it deep inside, I stick it deep inside, ‘Cause I’m Loose) didn’t feel right to her…
She got offended and quit, breaking up the group before we ever really got our start.

I never saw the bassist again. I heard that the singer dropped out of school around the time her homeless boyfriend got beat up for being a Nazi. The other guitarist and I remained friends for a few years, until alcohol and a hectic city pace drew him back to small-town Ontario. We never played together again.

********
Also when I moved here, I was listening obsessively to The Velvet Underground. They appeared on my MP3 player this morning and I thougth about NFJ for the first time in over a decade.

Neglect

2009-12-30T04:13:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I've been busy this month doing non-musical things. Work, Christmas parties, family visits, etc etc etc...

I've been making eyes at my Telecasters, and I think they've been winking back at me. I'll let this flirtation run for the next couple of weeks, but I'm sure we'll be hooking up soon.

C'mon baby, we could make beautiful music together. Or at least rush through a few bars...

Naive

2009-12-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

The first week of January 2005 I got dumped. It was actually the only time in 35 years that it's happened to me, and it was crushing.
That first Saturday night, I hid at home alone and got really drunk. I remember waking up Sunday, and opening another bottle of gin.

Wallowing in self-pitty, I sat at my keyboard and started hammering out the notes that made sense at the time. Stopping only to scribble my thoughts, everything melded to be 'Naive'. I think it took about an hour to write.

So drunk that I could barely stand up, I programmed a strange 9-bar drum pattern that would repeat throughout the verses, only omitting the 9th for choruses. I think it accurately portrayed the anger and frustration I felt at the time, while the piano expressed my sorrow and hurt.
The off-kilter guitar line at the end spoke of my disorientation (and tipsiness).

Within about 3 hours, Naive went from being a twinkle in the Bombay Sapphire to a written, arranged, recorded, and produced track already been posted online.
I tried to encompass the only relationship (at that point) that I had believed to potentially last a lifetime. That was the girl that made me realize that I could spend my life with one person. The abrupt end was an experience that I (thankfully) have never had to go through again.

Recreating the song for 'Overture', I felt guilty over-writing the original performances. Unfortunately in my drunken stupor I had deleted the files as soon as i posted, intent on keeping it pure.
So I redid the track, keeping only the original guitar performance that I found somewhere random on my PC. I wasn't able to sign with the same swagger or hurt inflecting, but maybe that's just a sign that I'm much better now. I can't completely reconnect with the Matt that wrote that in a near-suicidal plea to my self-conscious.

Naive
Thought I'd want to spend my life with you
Told me that you felt the same
I let you in, I dropped my guard, tore down my wall
It left me so Naive

Blaming no-one but myself for this
Malice never was your style
Here alone, I'll think about what I gave in
To make me so Naive

Never want to love again
You hurt too much to be my friend
Don't understand, I can't believe
You got this far, I'm so Naive

Faith in no-one but myself from now
Tarnished soul that I'll conceal
Humanity I'll never feel a kinship with
It left me so Naive

Never want to feel this way again
Dead and breathing, just the same
An open sore for all to see, I'll wear with pride
I'll never be Naive

Never want to love again
You hurt too much to be my friend
Don't understand, I can't believe
You got this far, I'm so Naive

Rushing Along on the Current

2009-11-29T09:20:00.001-08:00

So "Overture" has started selling fairly well, and thanks to everyone buying.

Recording the album was a great pleasure. I really do love those songs and was happy to strip them down and put them into different poses.
Mixing the album was... interesting. I'm still learning how to do this properly, and in ways that suit me as opposed to "the industry." It took a lot of patience, trial-and-error, and care. I'm happy with the end result, i think I got it to around 95% of what I had wanted. That other 5% would only come from professional assistance, and I am happy to trade that off for the pride in it being a self-produced endeavor.
Mastering the album was more frustrating than interesting. Honestly, it's the part i like least. There's very little creativity, it's just adding that last little "sheen" to the project. Equalizing all the tracks so that they sound like one package (and not 11 isolated, random bits), compressing and controlling the volume, and such. Nitpicky, and not my thing at all.

I was happy to take a little time off after this job, but am now back to work! Aside from the batch of new songs I'm working on (title tbd), I also found a piece that I did a decade ago: I scored a play that ended up falling apart a couple of days prior to opening. A shitty script, but I really enjoyed the musical aspect. Along with writing and arranging the new songs, I am side-tracking to modernize, edit, and re-work this score. Who knows what it will become...

Musical Tangent/ Shameless Plug

2009-11-17T12:55:00.000-08:00

My fiancee and I are saving up for our wedding next year, which means no holidays. However, the other day I discovered a contest for Hilton Mexico.

I had a very short time to write a song on why Kate deserves to win a vacation, make a video of it, and submit it to Hilton.

So as of Tuesday, you're able to watch the video, and if you like it
VOTE FOR ME HERE!!!
You can vote again daily, or more often if you run between internet cafes.

Enjoy the video, have a good laugh. it's kinda catchy too...

I'll be taking down loads of Triscuits and maple syrup, and returning with lots of bottles of Mescale, by the looks of it. hahaha

No Fun

2009-10-27T05:28:00.000-07:00

Years ago, I played in a truly amazing band. However, like many creative teams, ours fell apart due to conflict within the group. Mainly myself and the drummer.
After a year of arguing, which really escalated in the last month, we went into the studio to record the latest album. Things were said, tempers flared, fists nearly flew.
I quit that night. One does need to put up with a certain amount of BS in life, but when you hit the wall you have to fix it. I remember the singer sitting at the mixing desk, head in hands, wondering what to do. "You learned so much with us," he said wanting me to reconsider. I had learned more with them in 3 years than in the decade prior, but it was irrelevant.
Unfortunately, even with our issues, the drummer and I had a great connection. We grew up with the same musical influences, and could read each other. We knew what the other was about to do, without usually discussing it.

We were a great band, i'm proud of the work we did, and I won't do it again. The weekend after quitting, I wrote No Fun:

No Fun,
I never hurt anybody but you
That’s the price of love
At least a love that’s true

I never used up anybody before
I’m a bastard I know
I never used up anyone
Until they were No Fun

No Fun,
Backed in a corner I let you fall
To your own disgrace
You still don’t see it at all
No Fun,
I didn’t mean it it’s what I do
To hold myself above
To protect me from you

I never used up anybody before
I’m a bastard I know
I never used up anyone
Until they were No Fun

No Fun,
Next to you everything went pale
Your ego ruled your world
Now you’re tired and oh-so stale

I never used up anybody before
I’m a bastard I know
I never used up anyone
Until they were No Fun

History Re-viewed

2009-10-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know when this was - sometime between 2000 and 2003. Canadian Music Week, if I remember correctly.

Damn, I looked cool smoking on stage!
hahaha

Overture: The Greatest Unheard Hits

2009-10-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

That's it! It's done!
Overture: The Greatest Unheard Hits is finally complete.
Songs that were written over the last decade, but I was never quite happy with them. Either the arrangement in the original (private) recording wasn't quite up to snuff, or there were a few lines that needed amending...
One morning I got up, and while waiting for the coffee pot to brew I picked up an acoustic guitar. Strumming what had always been a piano-based tune, I suddenly had the idea of recording my favourite songs with a bare-basic acoustic guitar/percussion setup. It obviously didn't stay that way, as Naive only has guitar in the lead while the song exits...
I'm really proud of these songs, and the way that they've evolved since being written. While not a cohesive group of songs like 'Reflecting', which was all about the failure of my marriage, 'Overture' is a handful of snapshots covering the hectic and strange past decade.

I finished mixing the disc on Tuesday, and spent Wednesday and Thursday mastering it. Once all the songs were EQ'd properly, and sounded like a cohesive unit, I burned to a CD.
Listening to the living room stereo, it was a little tinny. Listening on the bedroom stereo, it was a bit bassy (the exact opposite). Listening at my studio was fine - that's where I recorded and mixed the record. Putting it on my iPod, it was a little bassy. Not overpowering, but a little more than I'd wanted. I've left it a little too bassy - most people these days are listening to music on their computers, which cut out the lower frequencies. Hopefully my mix will compensate for that. If you like it, that's great. If it's too much bottom end for you, then shake your own.

So go ahead, and give it a trial here. The songs get clipped after 2 minutes, and to hear the full versions you'll need to buy them. I also have three of the tracks on Reverb Nation, with the full songs, but without download capability (in case you want to hear the surprise endings).

Enjoy!

Canadian Democracy

2009-10-13T06:16:00.001-07:00

Did Axl Rose lose all his money along with his hairline (apparently he's got a weave)?
If so, did have to record Chinese Democracy in his home-studio? That album took 10 years to come out - it feels like my record is trudging along at a similar pace.

I've been extremely busy with night-school for the last month or so, so Overture has remained at about 95% complete. The mixes still need a little tweaking, but I haven't had a chance to address them. It's REALLY frustrating.
I'm constantly being asked when it will be completed, and I'm tired of having to say "soon."

I have thought of spending a grand to have a pro mix it, but I'm just worried that it wouldn't come back how I want it. That's why I'm doing this all myself: I write it, I record it, I perform it, I mix it... this way it'll end up what I want. Eventually. Adding another person, no matter how competent, adds another point of (mis)communication and opinion. And that's what I'm trying to avoid.

I've taken the next two weeks off work, and I'm counting on Overture being done by the end of next week.

Oh, and aside from the next album that's mostly written I'm also thinking about a total abberation: a techno project! Just for fun, to see if I can...

PS. I recently re-discovered Pulp's 'Different Class' album. Brilliant!

Mixing Holdups

2009-09-24T03:58:00.001-07:00

Mixing Overture is turning out to be a bigger deal than I'd expected. Mixing 'Reflecting' took a weekend. Other albums I've worked on (granted we hired engineers and producers) took a long day or two at most.
Doing 'Overture' myself, things are different. Perhaps it's the more acoustic-guitar-based aspect? Perhaps it's the songs themselves, or the arrangement?

I've remixed four of the eleven tracks to a point I'm happy with. The other seven are about 90% done. I won't release it for public ears until I'm sure it's right. I guess that's the beauty of being indie - the only pressure is from my own need to do this.

No Fun and Porno are still up for your listening pleasure, but even they are on the Seven Left list (for minor EQ adjustments, mostly)!

****************************

On a tangent, I went to see U2 at the Rogers Centre last week. With Peter Gabriel, U2 was the only band left on my Must See list. And they were surprisingly mediocre.
They played a pretty good set list. They could never cover everybody's wants - there was no Bullet The Blue Sky, nothing from Zooropa, etc etc etc. But they played the usual favourites, and a few cool obscurities. The sound degenerated through the long set to the point where it was a blurry mush. Bono really is a fantastic frontman, the banter was rich. But I just found the show to be... lackluster. I'll be glad to get back to my live dvds of them.

Porno/ No Fun

2009-09-11T04:05:00.001-07:00

I spent the long weekend tweaking the final mixes for Overture, and planned to master it at the same time.
Mastering is essentially adding an equalizer, compressor, and setting the volume so that each song sounds similar as a whole.

I got through Porno and No Fun quickly, excited to post a couple of tracks as soon as possible. Working for about 12 hours, I was happy to complete it. I sat back, lit a cigar, opened a beer, and played my music. It sounded awful - my ears had become fatigued, and I had to toss out the whole project. Hopefully I can complete the final 9 in the next 7-10 days.

But for now, have a peek at Porno and No Fun. The streaming is free, and once the whole album is done it'll be up for sale, similar to Reflecting The Broken Mirror.
Feel free to critique - the good and the bad!

And To Follow...

2009-09-04T04:17:00.000-07:00

It's another summery long weekend, and you know what that means: MORE TIME IN THE STUDIO!!!

A couple more tweaks to the mix, finish adjusting the levels on Shadow, and it's off to Mastering. Then Overture: The Unheard Hits will see the light!
Hear the light? That doesn't make sense either...

Oh well. I'm off to earn some money to pay for the recordings.

Rebound/ MultiTracking

2009-08-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Gotta love multi-tracking.
In the old days, a musician or band would huddle around a microphone to record a live take, all in one go. This meant that you had to have the arrangement and all the parts decided beforehand, distances from the mic set to make the volume consistant, and if anyone screwed up you had to start all over again. Les Paul developed the multi-tracking system, where you could record something, and then play along with it to record another instrument on the same tape. For those not in-the-know, think of a cassette: four tracks. Side one - left, Side one - right, Side two - left, and Side two - right. If you could play them all at once, you'd hear Side One properly and Side Two backwards.
Dear Departed Les worked out a way where you could record all four tracks on the tape, and that would be your song. You could put the drums on one, the guitars on another, the vocals on a third, etc... Then, you could manipulate each track separately, adjusting volume for example.

In the 50s and early 60s, musicians used 4 tracks at most. The Beatles' Sgt.Pepper album was recorded on two 4-track machines wired together. It's an amazing example of ingenuity, recording such an intricate, grandiose album on something so limited.
In the 70s, engineers developed 24- and 48-track systems, giving the musicians many more options.

Now, with computers, we really do have unlimited track options. The only block we have is the RAM in our PCs. With this freedom, pop musicians often record instruments and ideas that never, ever make it onto the version you hear on the radio. I've seen video clips showing U2's producers (Daniel Lanois & Brian Eno) showcasing weird guitar and organ tracks that never made it to The Joshua Tree. I find that stuff fascinating.

And that's where my inspiration has come from this time. I was working on Porno, which is basically a heavy-drum/piano track. There area also a dozen guitar tracks going, some synthesized saxophone, etc etc etc, that were good but didn't fit the mix. So I was pleasantly surprised when I accidentally solo'd an acoustic guitar bashing through the verse.
I muted the piano and drums. I turned up the bongos and shakers. I manipulated what I'd recorded, and turned it into something else.

So now I have ELEVEN songs for the album. Along with Porno, the piano/drum version, I also now have Porno Guitar. This adrenaline rush also helped me finish Pop Song and Stormy Weather.
A couple of tweaks, and Shadow is all I've got left. I'm almost done, and back on track!

Are all artists this flaky?

Second Thoughts

2009-08-21T06:07:00.001-07:00

Don't Fall For Me has been tracked, mixed, and is waiting to be mastered for final album completion.
No Fun has been tracked, mixed, and is waiting to be mastered for final album completion.
One Night Stand has been tracked, mixed, and is waiting to be mastered for final album completion.
Love Song has been tracked, mixed, and is waiting to be mastered for final album completion.
Let You Go has been tracked, mixed, and is waiting to be mastered for final album completion.
Naive has been tracked, mixed, and is waiting to be mastered for final album completion.
Pop Song has been tracked, and is almost done being mixed.
Porno has been tracked, and is almost done being mixed.
Shadow has been tracked.
Stormy Weather has been tracked.

I've been in this position for the last 3 weeks or so, for two reasons. Reason #1 is that I got engaged to my lovely girlfriend, and the excitement of her moving in combined with starting to plan the wedding has taken up all our time.
Reason #2 is that i'm starting to second-guess the songs. I like them, but I feel that I can do better. At what point do you show your cards? I do love these songs, but I feel that they're not quite 100%. Do I hold off and rework, possibly ad infinitum? Or do I just take the leap and release as they are?

Crack

2009-08-10T06:08:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, I bought an amazing Takamine acoustic guitar on Ebay. Got an amazing deal too, about $600 off the MRSP, as it was a 'factory second'. That implies that there was some sort of imperfection, anything from a blemish in the woodgrain finish to the headstock falling off and being glued back on.
A couple of years ago, a friend was playing it and noticed a hairline crack in the finish. It was so small that I'd never noticed it before. That was probably what qualified it as a 'second'. No biggie, it still looked and sounded perfect.

Last night Toronto had one of the worst storms I can remember. I watched the black clouds race across the entire horizon in about 3 minutes, my patio furniture was smashing against the railings, and I saw half the city lose power.
I had been watching the TV and stopped strumming the Takamine to set it on the couch beside me. As the storm raced in, the air pressure must have changed. I heard a loud CRACK coming from the far side of the couch. I saw the hairline crack suddenly quadruple in size.

Tomorrow I'm bringing it to Capsule Music for a repair estimate. I may have left it too late, but even if I have to pay a few hundred dollars it'll still be cheaper than if I'd paid full price. But if anyone can fix it, it'll be Capsule...

Rebound

2009-08-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, sorry for the neglect on this blog in the last couple of weeks. My OTHER job has been taking all my time and energy...

A couple of weeks ago, I got my hands on a bootleg video of The X-Pensive Winos' 1993 concert in Boston. This was Keith Richard's (far superior) sideline for when the Rolling Stones weren't busy. I saw the Toronto stop of this tour at Massey Hall and it holds the title of Best Concert Ever, even after 16 years and hundreds of competitors.
So you can understand that I was pretty excited to watch the professional-but-never-released recording of a similar experience. I sat down, turned it up, and hit play. Overawed, stunned, gob-smacked, none of those words explain how I felt. I actually got a little teary at the showmanship, technique and style exposed. Those older than me think of Keef as the junkie side-kick to Mick Jagger, and those younger than me know him as Johnny Depp's inspiration for Cap'n Jack Sparrow. Somehow in the noise, what gets overlooked is his ability to play the perfect note at the perfect time. The essence of taste. The video reminded me of why I got his portrait tattooed on my forearm eight years ago. Reminded me of why I became obsessed with The Stones in the mid-eighties. Hell, it reminded me precisely why I wanted to learn the guitar and bought a Telecaster! I wouldn't be doing this today if I hadn't discovered Keith Richards.

The downside was that this video shamed me, gave me an inferiority complex. I couldn't grasp 1/10 of his talent. Realizing this took the wind from my sails, and I quickly lost direction and interest with finishing Overture.
Luckily, it was shortlived. I met a guy at work with amazing musical taste. A former musician himself, he's a fan of Joy Division (actually had a ticket to see them before Ian Curtis's suicide), Buddy Holly, Iggy Pop, rocksteady, reggae, Detroit Motown, etc etc etc... Admitting to being a songsmith myself, I somehow forgot to mention my influences but emailed him a link to Reflecting The Broken Mirror (the disc playing on this site).
He was impressed, enjoying what I wrote, but commented that he couldn't define it. Without being told who I listen to, he couldn't identify the musicians that inspire me. Showing the intelligence not to bandy about random names, he admitted that it wasn't an obvious copy of something good. This compliment restarted the stutter that was holding back Overture. Like it or not, I seem to have squeezed Bowie, Richards, Iggy, Ferry, Roxy, Motown, The Pistols, Japan, Placebo, The Sisters, and everyone else, into my very own recipe of Matt Swift.

So now I'm back. I have mixed Don't Fall For Me, Let You Go (why can't i), No Fun, Love Song, One Night Stand, and Naive. And I should have the last four done by the end of the long weekend...

* for the record, the best compliment I ever received was being called "Bryan Ferry on crack." I don't think it was meant positively, but since Let's Stick Together is my Ferry Fave, and was created in a frenzy of cocaine, I'll take it well.
The worst was the guy who said "Swift must have every Tom Petty album ever released." Not that I dislike Tom, but I haven't listened to him since my Full Moon Fever cassette got eaten by the car stereo...

Another Happy Accident

2009-07-13T03:40:00.000-07:00

As promised (to myself), I finished tracking Overture on Canada Day. 2.5 days of singing, with the occasional last-minute musical addition.
Yesterday I started mixing the project. I put together Don't Fall For Me, Let You Go, No Fun, and Love Song. I'll probably have to go back and tweak something, but they're "done."

Don't Fall For Me was interesting. When I started the mix, I noticed a strange harmonic coming from a guitar track, but couldn't tell which one. Isolating the instruments, I muted the drums. Finding the culprit, I slapped an EQ on it to fix.
Getting back to the mix, I was air-guitaring as the intro played. And that's where things got weird...

DFFM has been kicking around for almost 10 years. And it's ALWAYS been the same: fast, almost punk-lite, driving. So why didn't everything join in with a beastly crash?
I frantically scanned my options: is a speaker broken? No. Are a bunch of tracks turned down? No, they're all set properly. Is a cat sitting on my keyboard? No, they wouldn't dare. Wait - what's that little yellow icon doing there? Yes, I had accidentally muted all the drums.

As I reached for the little yellow button, I hesitated. It sounded kinda good with just a strummy acoustic guitar bashing out the first chorus... I ran through it a couple of times, and quickly fell in love with this new arrangement. All it took was a fast edit to decide when to actually start the drums, and it was done. A decade-old song that's just been given a new sheen.

Hopefully by the end of the week I can post a clip, a taste of what is to come...

Studio Update

2009-06-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, June 30. Day 2 of my studio run to finish Overture.

Yesterday morning I woke up and put on a pot of coffee, anxious to get to work. Other committments have been swamping me for the last few weeks, leaving me unable to finish the last bits of Overture. Also, this last bit is the hardest; i'm a good guitarist and bassist, can program drums well, and am an adequate (for me) pianist. However, my vocals are tough. Along with her obvious talent, my wanting to avoid was a big reason for trying Kate as a vocalist on this album. Unfortunately, that didn't work out as well as we'd hoped.

So I was waiting for the coffee to brew, at around 8am on a Monday morning. It's not surprising that I just slumped in the chair, realizing that I had no inspiration or energy left. Maybe I should have slept in and waited? But no - while waiting for Mr.Coffee, I set up the first track, Don't Fall For Me. And by the time my first cup was brewed, I was excited again.

Monday covered DFFM, Let You Go, and Love Song, along with a bunch of "housekeeping" needed to clean up and streamline the projects. I was pleased and a little surprised to get through so much on Day One.
Day Two started slowly. Kate was here, and I'm way too self-concious of my singing to start tracking when there's such a talented vocalist within earshot. She left for work, and I jumped to it. No Fun, One Night Stand, Pop Song, and Porno are already completed.

This leaves Shadow, Stormy Weather, and Naive left. Hopefully they'll be done later today.

And did you notice that they're being tracked alphabetically? I had to do them in the order they appear in the Project Folder, otherwise I'll probably forget something. I had already planned out 'Overture: The Greatest Unheard Hits" as a 10-song collection, covering the favourites from my last 3 or 4 unrecorded projects. And on Monday I realized that I had miscounted, only including nine. Luckily I found a tenth that fits stylistically as well as just being a damn good song. That's 'Naive', and the reason it's out of order.

Well, that's enough of a break - back to work!

An Exciting One Night Stand

2009-06-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know, my recording studio is in my home.
This morning while getting ready for work, I felt the need. I powered on my setup, and loaded One Night Stand (without any vocals yet).
I repeated it 5 or 6 times while brushing my teeth (etc.). I'm REALLY excited about this project...

ps. Don't try to sing along with ANYTHING when you've got an electric toothbrush and mouthful of paste...

Knowing When To Quit

2009-06-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

One of the drawbacks to independently producing your own album is that there is nobody telling you when you’re done. A producer can work as both an editor and a boss, two things that can come in very handy in a project like this.

Since my studio is PC-based, I’m not limited to a certain number of tracks. I can record as many things as I like, and edit for content later when I’m mixing. The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” album was recorded with two 4-track machines. They recorded the drums on two (for stereo), the bass, a few guitars, vocal tracks, and the weird effects that they became famous for. For such an elaborate, intricate recording, it is incomprehensible to do it with only eight tracks. Most of the Overture songs are currently running between 15 and 24 tracks. Eight for the drums alone! Most songs have 4 or 5 guitars weaving in and out. And I haven’t even gotten to the vocals yet… Later, I’ll worry about editing; right now I’m just throwing ideas into the bowl with a basic recipe that I’ll let develop on it’s own. I already know that there are some parts that I'll omit from the mix completely - that's par for the course. The soft piano drifting along in 'One Night Stand' may not fit with the slidey gritty guitar. One will win, the other will be silenced until I find a reason to remix.

My other issue is schedule-based. As this isn’t being recorded for a record label, and is completely self-funded (thanks for buying Reflecting – you’re enabling me to do this one), there is no rush to complete. What could have been done in 2 weeks, originally planned as a bare acoustic-guitar-driven project, has now grown to 2 months. And the stripped-down theme has gone out the window too. It’s still based on acoustic guitar songs, but it’s much fuller. The are more guitars, the drums are bigger… there’s a lot of stuff that you might not notice when you first hear the songs.

Over the last few weeks, whenever I’ve thought I was almost finished, I’d hear something missing. Setting up to sing, I’d suddenly decide that I needed another guitar quietly whomp-whomping in the background. So I’m locking out the week of June 29 to finish recording. I promise to complete all tracking by Friday June 3, just in time to take Kate out for her birthday. Whatever doesn’t get done by then, won’t. Unless I get laryngitis or something, this promise isn’t absolute. But if I don’t set a schedule, I’ll twiddle forever and never finish.

As an aside, this guitar seems to be inspiring Overture. The songs are honest: not really pretty, but good. They were written by a man sometimes beaten down, but resolute. And those are all qualities I see in my '74 Telecaster.

Lara's Guitar

2009-06-12T04:18:00.000-07:00

Since I started selling 'Reflecting The Broken Mirror' last year, I've had a few comments about one track not really fitting in with the rest. Lara's Guitar is the only instrumental, it's simply one acoustic guitar being strummed for around 3 minutes.

In 2007, my best friend got married. Along with being his best man, he asked me to write and record the music for his bride to walk down the aisle to. How's that for an honour??? I gladly accepted.
I instantly thought of using a half-written song I've had tucked away for a couple of years. It's a pretty piano-based melody, but still cool enough to not be cheesy wedding music. I adjusted it a bit, and gave him a quick test recording. "Pretty," he replied. "Get rid of that fucking piano - you're a guitarist!" They were having a Teddy-boy styled wedding, so I decided to make it really cool. Keeping the basic structure for the song, I added some simple drums, a swinging bassline and some twangy, tremolo guitar. Very cool, it made me think of Buddy Holly with a goth edge. I proudly sat him down and played him the track. He STILL didn't like it!
Back to the drawing board I went. I was unsure of where to go from there, and reminded of why I don't want to write music for a living: I do what I want, not what you want.

One night I stayed home to watch Apocalypto. As most musicians do (to the annoyance of our partners), I sat a guitar on my lap and plucked away absently while absorbed in the movie. During the rape/pillage of the Mayan village, I suddenly got distracted by the funny sounds coming from the box on my lap. Without realizing it, I had started to play the progression that would be perfect for my friend's wedding. Excitedly, I stopped the film and got to work.
Shane loved the music. It was simple, guitar-based, and just the right length. His bride, Lara, didn't even care to hear it beforehand. She said that her faith in me (she also begged me to not let her groom dress as Ziggy Stardust) was enough.
Instead of recording it for the ceremony, I was able to bring my guitar and play it live as she entered the room. That's when I realized how right it was for them, and made it actually mean something to me.
Shortly afterwards, my friend moved to Ireland to live with his new family. This songs is a connection between us (one of many) and it seemed important to be included in the collection of songs I was putting together.

I don't think I ever told them that it was inspired by a horrible scene in a movie about a nearly-extinct culture.

Tangent

2009-06-08T05:55:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a Lush bubblebath, complete with Cuban cigar and a couple of beers, while watching Hard Core Logo on my laptop, the machine resting safely on my toilet lid. Yes, I’m THAT Rock N Roll.

Out of nowhere, I had a great idea. I have never really been happy with the kick drums in my recordings. They’re usually more of a ‘hit’ than a note. If you listen to some Detroit-era Motown, you can hear what I want: The Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself" is a perfect example. Phoom, ch, ba-boom ch… Not my ‘Thud, ch, thu-thud ch’.

So what if I tracked the kick-drum as I have done, but then mimic the beat with a really soft synthesizer, quietly following the chord progression? Even with the drums on their own, you’d still get the impression that you knew the basics. To make that 'Thud' a 'Phoom'...
I spent the last two weeks recreating the kick-drum patterns, making sure that the synthesized notes were subtle enough, and the right sound. I made sure each track followed the song’s chord progression perfectly.

And yesterday, I realized that it made absolutely no difference. Not a sausage. Nil. Once the other instruments are blended into the mix, the synth notes are either too subtle and unnecessary, or they’re too powerful and muddy up the track.

Oh well, when these ideas succeed they create the magic and innovation that IS music. Unfortunately, more often than not, they don’t.

No Fun

2009-05-31T05:29:00.000-07:00

In 2003, I was the bassist in a band that fit me perfectly, musically. In that context, I was able to express myself so well, to create in collaboration with some incredible musicians. I was a large creative force in the group, and my efforts were returned with the technical knowledge that I didn't have beforehand.
Unfortunately, the drummer was a tremendous prick. We argued quite a bit, and it lead them to search for my replacement behind my back. Always unsuccessfully. Either they couldn't find anyone that would suit them better than me, or the talented ones wouldn't play with them due to their personal reputations.
After a huge fight in the studio, the drummer crossed a serious line and I quit on the spot. They felt betrayed, as they had taught me so much about the industry. I felt that I had to leave to preserve my integrity and self-respect. Similar to girl/boyfriend breakups, I guess. Hence the song...

No Fun - I never hurt anybody but you
That's the price of love
At least a love that's true

I never used up anybody before
I'm a bastard, I know
I never used up anyone
Until they were No Fun

No Fun - Backed in a corner I let you fall
To your own disgrace
You still don't see it at all
No Fun - I didn't mean it it's what I do
To hold myself above
To protect me from you

I never used up anybody before
I'm a bastard, I know
I never used up anyone
Until they were No Fun

No Fun - Next to you everything went pale
Your ego ruled your world
And now you're tired and oh-so stale.

Guest Vocalist?

2009-05-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend, Kate, is a trained opera singer and actress. I am neither.

I am not a big fan of my own singing voice. I sing my own songs mostly out of pragmatism: it's much easier to do it myself than to try to explain to someone what and how I want them to sing.
However, I'm always looking to improve my product and try new things. So I've asked Kate to sing on 'Overture'. I had already wanted her to perform the backup tracks, but she's going to go whole-hog and do the lead tracks too. We're going to start with two tracks to see how it goes. She'll be singing 'No Fun' and 'Pop Song'.
I spent some time transcribing the vocal melodies into sheet music, which was a challenge unto itself. To sit at my keyboard and plink out what I think I was trying to vocalize. Now I have printed sheet music that looks more professional than my usual scribbles.

I'm really not sure how this will work out. She's definitely got a beautiful voice, but I worry that it may be too sweet, the annunciation too precise, just too... correct for music like mine. But we'll see. She's professional enough to understand if it doesn't work (as long as I can communicate that properly). Who knows? If it works, my project will be that much better. And she'll have yet another addition to her repertoire. If it doesn't work, I'll have 'alternate takes', with both my voice and hers as options...

Tonight: Slow Show (of brilliance)

2009-05-21T06:07:00.001-07:00

My plan for this blog is mostly to document what I'm doing, but I also want to express what I think about other musicians.

Tonight I'm going to see one of my favourite bands, The National. A year ago I saw REM and Modest Mouse, and The National was the unknown opening act. I couldn't have cared less about them, when I knew the headliners that were coming up.
About 30 seconds into their first song, Fake Empire, I was captivated. They were by far the highlight of the night. I went out the next day and bought their Boxer album. And in the 12 months that have passed, I've only occasionally been able to listen to anything else. Occasionally I feel a tear coming on as I revel in the tracks on this disc.
They've inspired me to style 'Overture' the way I have, using more organic-sounding instruments than in the past.

So tonight they're playing at The Koolhaus. And I'm VERY excited.

Here's an example of their greatness:
Feel free to turn off my music on the right, just for this...

Slow Show
Standing at the punch table swallowing punch
can’t pay attention to the sound of anyone
a little more stupid, a little more scared
every minute more unprepared
I made a mistake in my life today
everything I love gets lost in drawers
I want to start over, I want to be winning
way out of sync from the beginning

I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I’m very, very frightening
I’ll overdo it

Looking for somewhere to stand and stay
I leaned on the wall and the wall leaned away
Can I get a minute of not being nervous
and not thinking of my dick
My leg is sparkles, my leg is pins
I better get my shit together, better gather my shit in
You could drive a car through my head in five minutes
from one side of it to the other

I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I’m very, very frightening
I’ll overdo it

You know I dreamed about you
for twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for twenty-nine
You know I dreamed about you
for twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for twenty-nine

Overture Update

2009-05-19T06:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a holiday Monday, celebrating the birthday of British Queen Victoria.
Know what that means? Yes, a whole extra day to work on my next album.
Drums: done.
Bass: done.
Primary guitars: done.
Piano: done.
Guitar overdubs: at least 90% done.
Vocals: next.

This project is sounding better than I had planned, I can't remember being this excited about a disc.

And since this project is actually a collection of my older (but never heard) songs, I've tentatively named it 'Overture: The Greatest Unheard Hits'.

What do you think?

Inspiration

2009-05-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

I've had writer's block lately. Music comes easily, but I have trouble writing lyrics that make me proud.

The other day I woke up at around 8am, and turned on Mr. Coffee. While waiting for it to finish, I picked up my acoustic guitar and strummed out an old tune. Then I played a second one that never got past the rough demo stage.
Suddenly I decided to take my favourite never-heard 9 or 10 songs, and re-record/ re-arrange them. The only thing I kept were the lyrics and the basic chord progressions.
I realized around 2:30 that afternoon that I still hadn't had breakfast, and forced a quick break. Then I was right back to the recording. I stopped at about 10pm that night. I recorded for 14 hours straight - the first time I've done that in a couple of years.
I got the drums programmed, basslines written and recorded, and the main guitars tracked for 9 songs. They've all got vocal guide tracks, and a few have piano lines recorded.

It's feeling pretty awesome.