Posts Tagged ‘Rock & Roll’
Sing To Keep Your Demons At Bay
Good thing Jamie Leonhart told me she taught voice after I roped her into singing a few songs with me for “The Invention Of Everything Else” (due June 18th from Authentic Records!); had I known in advance, I might not have had the nerve to ask. I first came to know of Miss Leonhart as…
Read MoreMixing “The Invention Of Everything Else”
Jon Locker, bless his heart, seems to be remaining calm. The Nadas’ bassist (and bonafide producer) is mixing my new record, “The Invention Of Everything Else” (due June 18th from Authentic Records!) at his Sonic Factory Studios in Des Moines. As you might guess, it’s a not an assignment to be taken lightly, as my…
Read MoreTen Reasons I Should Have Taken Up Needlepoint Instead
The last few weeks in the studio have been sort of painful. It all came to a bit of a head last night when I found myself preparing dinner between takes and swearing under my breath — well, maybe not so much “under.” Abbi said, “I’ve never seen you so moody!” Which was a really…
Read MoreStudio Chicanery (Or, My Weekend In The Closet With Chris)
Just how long does it take to nail a guitar solo? Even if you’re only a casual Rolling Stone or Spin reader, you’ve probably read the same B.S. I have about first takes. Yunno, Slash is talking about the “Sweet Child Of Mine” solo on “Appetite For Destruction” and he’s all like, “Yeah we just…
Read MoreThe Dirty Life And Times Of Warren Zevon
I’m pretty sure I’m not a tortured artist, though I may be a masochist. Most readers flock to best sellers, pap like Joseph Hellerman, Dean Koontz, or Scott Turow. Nothing wrong with that; I enjoy a blockbuster page-turner like the guy in the next seat on the plane. My pap, though, is the rock bio.…
Read MoreThe Rock & Roll Husband
I distinctly recall standing next to Abbi in Brooklyn, staring way down Flatbush Avenue towards downtown Manhattan. We were testing the waters together, trying to find a neighborhood in which to move. The process, though, was pushing some other buttons. “But it’s so far away!” I whined. Later, on the subway, I articulated what I…
Read MoreYou Feel Like Home To Me
I blame Jason Walsmith. It was last June. The 30th, to be precise. My wife, Abbi, and I had flown into Iowa City that morning, then streaked westward on I-80. My pal, Josh Davis, was performing on the Authentic Records’ stage at the Des Moines Arts Festival when we pulled up to Western Gateway Park.…
Read MoreThe Astronaut’s Lament
It’s Friday night at 6:43 and I’m still at the office when it dawns on me. ‘Shit, I still have to pick up the master tapes.’ Master files, really, but what’s a little nomenclature between friends? All I want to do is go home, grab a beer and hang with the wife. But Travis Harrison…
Read MoreKilling The Blues – Video
We’re twenty minutes into the “Invention of Everything Else” recording session when we start hearing a loud, arrhythmic clicking sound in our headphones. Travis stops rolling. “Ok,” he says. “Who’s got the bum cable?” Chris and I aren’t plugged in. Tony protests. “I checked everything before we started,” he says. “Battery?” Chris and I are…
Read MoreYou Are The Star Tonight
Mulholland Drive follows the ridgeline of the Santa Monica Mountains from Hollywood westward all the way to the Pacific Coast Highway. The two-lane, meandering road was built in 1924 by a consortium of Hollywood Hills landowners hoping to turn a buck by bringing development to the Hollywood Hills. There’s David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive,” and Lee…
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