Week 2 - "Yes, I Knew" b/w "I Just Wanna Say (Uh-Huh)"

Holy crap, I've done it again! I actually managed to finish two more songs this week, things are starting to snowball now! Feel free to listen and download (for free by entering 0 when it asks you to name your price) by using the player below or by visiting http://michaelmorse.bandcamp.com/album/single-a-week-challenge-week-2



It has come to my attention that my first two posts are painfully long so I will really try to keep this as concise as I possibly can (just 10,000 words as opposed to 80,000).

This week's songs are called "Yes, I Knew" and "I Just Wanna Say (Uh-Huh)". When it first occurred to me that I should write and record just to write and record, I picked up my little Martin Backpacker guitar and these two songs just started to come out. They've been floating around with me in fragmented form for several months now, I even performed unfinished versions of both at an open-mic (where I ended up playing for a solid two hours, the mic was REALLY open). 50's Rock 'N' Roll and Rockabilly has always been very important to me. It was such a truly exciting time in music and culture. Listening to Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, Chuck Berry, young Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis (and plenty of others) you really  get a sense that those guys could feel that something important was happening and they were so damned excited about it. This week's single was my attempt to try to capture a little of that excitement for myself.

tools of the trade

 Admittedly they are not my strongest writing samples but why should they be? Why do things have to be overwrought with complication? They don't! Simple is pure and wonderful! I want to proclaim my love and lust with no doubts or fears. Last week's songs were full of doubts and borderline cynicism but that is not what life is always like or about. It feels good to be able to remove all the emotional weight that comes with age and indulge in new young love. I wanted to use this challenge to try writing from different life perspectives which I have done with these songs and know I will continue to explore that in the coming weeks and months.

Snoopy: "Is there no one to rescue me?!?"



Surf's Up!

 For the recording, I just used one guitar and amp, my surf-tastic daphne blue Fender Cyclone II (basically a Mustang with Jaguar pickups, a Strat trem, and racing stripes) and my tiny but tonally versatile Vox VA5 amp. Each song has two guitar tracks, rhythm and lead, and bass courtesy of my Hofner copy Rogue Violin Bass. I've always been fascinated with Buddy Holly's back-up singers and their bizarre voices and line repetition (a style which really didn't make it out of the 50's) so I decided to bring them back on "Yes, I Knew. They got a little buried in the mix as did other elements, I'm still figuring out how to use my equipment. I'm having a pretty hard time finding the tones I want. Maybe as this goes on I might be able to upgrade my stuff (that is if I find some generous patrons wanting to throw money at me).

Another goal of this challenge is to force me to learn my how to use my instruments better. My drumming still needs a LOT of work! I don't have my full kit together because several vital pieces have been misplaced in my most recent move (specifically the bass and tom heads and stands). I used only a snare on "Yes, I Knew" but attempted using high-hats, snare and bass on "I Just Wanna Say" which didn't exactly work out. My playing seemed to work during recording but sounded awful in the playback. I finally just laid down a steady bass drum thump just to give it a little percussion. I should mention that I constructed my bass drum used in this song by throwing a t-shirt wrapped microphone inside a blanket draped cardboard box and hitting it with a kick pedal (a tip from an old drummer who said I could get a decent sound that way for recording).



My Makeshift Bass Drum

 The cover image was taken by my mother when I was getting ready to audition for the role of Elvis Presley in a play. I didn't get the part but some of the test pictures are pretty cool. I looked up as many 50's Rock 'N' Roll single and LP covers as I could find. I didn't base it really on anything I saw, just used my research as inspiration for a cover that I think looks pretty retro cool.

Well that's it for this week. This is a huge learning experience about my own shortcomings as a musician and sound engineer, but I am hoping that I can use this year to overcome many of them. Remember, if you are taking the time to listen (and read this nonsense) please take the time to let me know how I'm doing and/or offer some advice or constructive criticism.

Alright, that is 2 down, 50 to go!

http://michaelmorse.bandcamp.com/album/single-a-week-challenge-week-2

MJM