122. War (Trial Version #1) Previously: Missing in Action

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO

Original Post:

Hello this is Jonathan here to tell you that Emily is in Keene NH and does not have her computer.  I am posting an acoustic version of War that she recorded a while ago.  I don’t know any details about the recording process for this song, so just sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy.

WAR

In leaving my computer in Portsmouth, New Hampshire stupidly for two days, I became suddenly aware of my own preoccupation with posting for the 365.  Songwriting for the project is a huge endevor in and of itself, but the whole posting thing has become a bit of an obsession.  I have become later and later in my posting time having previously been a stickler about adding the new song and post at midnight the day before… it has now migrated to nearly midnight the day OF.

At the end of the day, the posting is important, but not as important as writing.  I still feel very strongly about the posting aspect of the 365, but hope you will be understanding should my absentmindedness leave my recording equipment in a totally different city.  In the meantime, I had Guy Capecelatro record on his iPhone (what in the world did people do before this thing?!) the songs for the 365.  We have just returned this evening to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, so I’m hoping to get back on track.  Now, I’m getting a little messed up in my days, and if I’M confused in the 365, I hope you aren’t!

WAR: In any case, I called Jonathan up this morning and asked him if he wouldn’t mind posting for the 365, as I was unable to do it.   I thought what he wrote was so great and to the point that I wanted to leave it.  He chose to show you a “Commercial Break” song I have been working on for quite some time.  I have a loop pedal “reversal” song I play live but for which I have no actual recording.  I have been working on this for the past few months on and off (okay, mostly off.  I did this in one sitting and haven’t revisited it since), so what you’re hearing is a trial arrangement.

I also did a bunch of new song writing with Guy Capecelatro this morning, so, as soon as I get the iPhone file from him, I will post it!

See you tomorrow!

EHP

33. Cowboys and Ukes (+BONUS TRACK)

DAY THIRTY-THREE

EHP - circa 1984 (No, not yesterday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

My dear friend,

Okay. This is what I’m going to do:  I wrote a song yesterday with the new uke my dad sent me and because UPS carefully delivered it to my door, and I sent this silly song to my friends in UPS (Ugly Purple Sweater) just because.  Now, this was not supposed to be the song for yesterday.  I had every intention of writing a totally different song for the 365 today, but, because of my show at The Knitting Factory last night, I didn’t end up getting home until 3 am and was totally delirious.  I considered staying up and completing the task at hand, but it was impossible.  So, after a few hours, and starting a whole new song today, I have decided to allow the UPS-Uke to fill the gap, though I’m openly disappointed, it’s not all that bad.  After all, I am still within the perimeters of the goal: it is any length, any genre, and I wrote it yesterday.

However, I have also decided to include extra, non-365 songs for you hear just for fun… I mean, it’s a Friday.  Friday is a good day for catching up on the past, no?

Cowboys and Ukes

_______________________

This is one of my most favorite cello pieces ever written.  I used to play it all the time with my pianists friends.  Recorded in 2002 for my senior recital, I added just this movement onto a few of my recitals following my graduation- including my Master’s recital in 2004.  I think it’s one of the most moving pieces of work for the cello and piano (it is, after all, very much a duet for the two instruments)- though the repertoire for cello is immense and wonderful: there are gems around every corner.  I suppose I’m posting this only because we have now spent a month together: you reading and listening, and me talking at you, and I wanted share more, I guess.

Photo by Bryon Darby - http://www.bryondarby.com (Love his work! Picture is linked.)

My classical roots are riddled with memories, good and bad, and very heavy weight, both good and bad as well.  Posting my classical recordings is for me, in a way, the ultimate musical nakedness.  Let’s just say I’m working on dumping my baggage when addressing my musical roots and deal with what was, what is, and what will be.

Classical playing is so challenging and requires an intense mental and physical stamina.  To be frank with you, I’ve lost some of my dexterity and strength, which I’ve calmly, though at times very angrily, accepted as a truth and a kind of toss of the dice so-to-speak.  (Though I know I could totally change this with enough discipline and organization of practice time.)

I’m generally happy with this performance, (though it is almost 8 years old and three degrees later, yikes!!!), as it was the last thing on my program, and I remember just being really happy to finally get to the end of it.  Though I am nervous for you to hear it, knowing it’s imperfections (this nervousness a part of the residue that I’m hoping this 365 will actually help me face), I’m happy you might hear it and sense just a bit of my love of this instrument and it’s relationship to my past.

Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19, Movement 3 (Emily Hope Price, cello and Alessandra Volpi, piano)

Working on song for tomorrow, so I must run.  Hope your Friday is treating you well!

-EHP

32. Study On Imperfect Dissonances (Or just scroll to the bottom for a song with words)

DAY THIRTY-TWO.

I hope we’re friends.  Would you understand me if I told you I’ve kind of lost my marbles?  Would you forgive me after I lost them and then got them back?  Would you believe me if I told you this doesn’t happen all the time, just on those occasions that I have a solo show at the Knitting Factory falling on February 4th?

EHP @ THE KNITTING FACTORY,  Thursday, February 4; Doors at 8:00; $10, with cellist Brent Arnold and Kelli Rudick.

I’ll be bringing with me only 20 of some new 365 EPs I’ve put together that have 5 songs from The Project.  They’ll probably be buried in the lining of a chair soon enough, so get them while you can still find them!

Today, in light of my show tomorrow night, and the fact that I’ve been completely looney and sensitive today, I thought I might test my own patience, and yours as well.  Rick Gribenas, my teacher and friend I talked about in song #1, made a comment about the final piece I did for his class.  I had the entire class sit in a circle and I surrounded them with tape recorders.  Each tape recorder had the same recording on it, but each played at a different time.  The sounds contained thereon started as pops, scratches, etc., but gradually moved to a Bach Prelude toward the end.  Each sound had it’s own moment and then faded away.  He made an interesting comment to me about each section, “The second I thought I was going to get bored and start tuning it out, it changed and I was brought in again.”  I think about this comment all the time.  Rick had an amazing ear and patience for sound that I don’t think I’ve seen on very many people.

Given this information about patience, I will now tell you a short story about what happened to me today:

I got my cello bow rehaired, and I left to pick it up this morning.  On my way home, I saw a guy sitting in his car with his windows rolled down.  With music blasting, I heard vocals rising from the CD that was playing in his car.  The man started to sing along completely off key.  What a cool sonic experience for me today.  I heard a recording with instruments and a vocal melody line, and this guy is just sitting in his car having a good time and singing a melody that is completely unrelated tonally.  It was such a cool sound that I wanted to recreate it somewhat today.

Another part of this entry is this: I was listening to a friend’s song recently, and I realized that the main harmony in the bass was just a tritone repeated over and over again.  Tritones are so cool (A tritone is an interval that spans three whole tones.)  Want to sing a tritone?  Are you a West Side Story fan?  Remember the song Maria?  The first two notes of the word “Maria” are a tritone.

Okay, so today’s song:

It is eleven different tones cut up and repeated for about 2 and a half minutes.  The first tone is a tritone, then an interval of a minor second (think Jaws Theme) on top of that and so on.  Basically playing with as many dissonances as the memory in garageband would let me.  It crapped out at 11.  The last track I added was a “I’m feeling totally weird today and feel like a total idiot in general,” kind of track- arbitrary information set just underneath the dissonances- a huge weight crushing it.  *Shows are a cause of great happiness and complete anxiety for me both at the same time.  But all will be well.  And then I will have a cookie.

I understand that this might be a little out there.  So, because I love you-  I really do- I am including a live version (newly re-mixed!) of a song I wrote called War.  It’s tonal, loud, and I use the backwards option on my loop pedal.  I’ll be performing this song tomorrow (War, not today’s posting…)

I guess today’s point is the idea that we keep our ears open as much as possible without immediately judging and assigning a quality.  (I’m totally guilty of this…)

As my bow repair guy, Tom Barilla (who is moving to Pennsylvania in March! Saddness!) always says right as I walk out the door: Be well!

EHP

Study on Imperfect Dissonances

War – Live at WhySound, August 6, 2009

Start a war

Brain on Fire

And the tide comes in from the north

Break the skin

Burning through

And I feel the fire

You

Righteous hands

Solid ground

And these bones they’ve thinned

These bones they’ve thinned this skin I’m in

You

Start a war

Brain on fire

And these bones, they’ve thinned

These bones, they feel the fire.

**GLORIA RE-RECORDING:

**I have re-recorded and posted a new version of Gloria (day 3) for you to hear.  The live one has great moments, but the quality wasn’t superb, and I needed a better version.  Happy Listening! -ehp