231. The Melancholy (Study in Three Voices) & PATB Video Release Today

DAY TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE

Photo credit Jessie Southern

How does one wake up from sleeping feeling melancholy?  It’s just sleep.  That’s all it is.  It was even a dreamless sleep.  Profoundly confounding.

I tried a bunch of stuff this morning.  I even got out my accordion after a million years of not playing it.  I recorded several different things, but The Melancholy didn’t want anything.  So I did this in three tracks, largely improvisational.  Reverb.  Lots of reverb makes things better sometimes, too.

The Melancholy (Study in Three Voices)

PEARL AND THE BEARD “40K” VIDEO RELEASE TODAY

Pearl and the Beard released a zombie video today.  It is premiering on WNYC’s Soundcheck.  We’re very excited, and we hope you like it.  You can watch it here.  You know what eats away melancholy?  A zombie.

Pearl and the Beard is opening for Ani DiFranco in NYC

And to top it all off – we are completing the last two days of our amazing tour with the stunning Ani DiFranco today and tomorrow.  She’s leaving the road for a while, so if you’ve ever wanted to see her, now is your chance.  If you’re in or have friends in the New York City area, there are still tickets available for tomorrow night’s (11/17) Town Hall show in Manhattan.   Ticket link here.  (Tickets for tonight’s show (11/16) at Music Hall of Williamsburgh are sold out!)

229. The Art Film Cello Trio (trial #2)

DAY TWO-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE

Emily Hope Price in St. Louis, MO – photo credit: Allan Crain

It’s funny how events in your life lead you to people who introduce you to people who introduce you to other people and so on.  I met a man through a girl I performed at Puppet Playlist with in New York who creates web documentaries who was looking for music to add to his films.  She put me in contact with him, and he recently contacted me to do some work for him creating instrumental pieces.  He doesn’t really ever need anything longer than 1.5-2 minutes, so it’s really nice, but also challenging to fit what he needs in that space of time.  He’ll send a request saying: (This isn’t an actual request, but they kind of sound something like this), “This is going to go into a short documentary about an art collector from the Sao Paulo, Brazil.  There will be voice overs, so something minimal but moody and moving forward and building to a climax at the end.”  I really like him.  He’s patient, enthusiastic but honest and straightforward.  He’ll tell me straight away if it’s not working.  It’s great working with him.

This piece was created from his request that I either compose or improvise something over a drum track he sent me (which you can hear a solo section of in the beginning).  He gave me specific direction on mood and what he was looking for, but not so specific that it was limiting.  I ended up creating 4 different trial tracks for him to use.  This being the second one, it wasn’t until he sent me an actual clip of the scene I was writing for that I understood what needed to happen.  This version was much too busy and chaotic especially considering there was to be quite a bit of voice over.  I need to finesse the end as well.  He ended up liking the 4th, much more Philip Glass-inspired, composition I sent him.  Ever heard of Philip Glass?  I highly recommend him – look him up and have a listen.

I’ll be honest and tell you that this is largely an improvisation – responding to each of the three cello voices as they were added on top of each other.  For those of you who have followed the 365, you know this is my preferred M.O. a lot of the time, but I enjoy traditional scoring as well.  In this case, where I was sent a drum track that ebbed and flowed within itself, it was easier to feel it out improvisationally rather than a formal score.

CONSTRUCTION/RECORDING:

1. Original drum track sent to me

2. 3 cello tracks

I moved to Brooklyn last year into a very small apartment, and I’m still trying to find the sweet recording spots hidden within it.  This recording was done a little hastily as I was leaving for tour and wanted to get something out as soon as possible.  Someone should publish a book on how to build a quickly collapsible recording space into the tiniest apartment  - because you still have to walk around, cook dinner, and play with your dog while tripping over all of your recording equipment in the corner of the room.

Here you go:  Hope you’re doing very well.  Thanks for listening, reading and sharing.

The Art Film Cello Trio (trial #2)

227. Tiny (Improvisation – VIDEO)

SONG TWO-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN

Tiny - Emily Hope Price, image - Harvey Robinson

Technology. Technology is allowing me to type this on my stupid cell phone in the middle of a show! AMAZING!

Today’s song is so special, it’s crazy. Tonight, we are in Asheville, NC. We drove here after a two-day stint in Greensboro helping out our friend Harvey Robinson. I mentioned him and his production company, Monkeywhale, in an earlier post. Well, last night during our Greensboro show, I busted my C string, the cello’s thickest string, right in the middle if the set. Today, as I was putting on a new string, Harvey came up and said, “Have you done your song of the day yet?” “No”, I said. “I want to film the song today!” “I haven’t started it yet,” I replied. “Just improvise it…”

Well, I did. And he filmed me doing it. Harvey has been awake for nearly 3 days now with only a few naps because of the 48 Hour Film Project – and he is still in a great mood! Thank you, Harvey for capturing a 365 song in such a beautiful way.

You’re the best, Harvey and Carolyn!

Tiny (Improvisation)

226. Disease

SONG TWO-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX

Harvey Robinson

I missed yesterday… but would you believe me if I told you I actually worked on SEVERAL songs yesterday, just can’t show them to you… You should believe it because it’s true!

Pearl and the Beard is in Greensboro, North Carolina working with Harvey Robinson/Monkeywhale Productions on his 48 Hour Film. If you’ve never heard of the 48 Film Festival, you can research it here and be enthused and blown away.  It’s an amazing feat of artistry that must be completed in 48 hours.  For more about the festival click HERE.

Well, we were recruited by dear friend Harvey to help on the soundtrack to his film this year.  We showed up yesterday at noon, ate lunch and headed to the studio where Ben Singer, Wayne Reich, and Matty Sheetz were there waiting for us to arrive.  Truthfully, I was worried this was going to be a painful experience.  I’ve done soundtracks to film, and it can be as slow as tar, tedious and frustrating.  But I was welcomed with the warming arms of organization: these guys were amazing.  They were ready with ideas they had recorded before we got there, and, though they hadn’t seen the footage to what they were scoring, they had ideas and were moving on them.  Wayne is a wonderful violinist, and we were able to do some free improvisation together as a violin/cello duet, which I haven’t done in such a long time.  Free-improvisation is so… well… freeing.  If you have the inclination to do it with anyone using any instrument, I highly encourage you to find a friend and just play!

Rule #1 to Free Improvisation: 

There are NO WRONG NOTES. There are NO mistakes.

That’s it.

A personal guideline I have when doing free improv is to listen.  Listen to what your partner is doing.  React.  Remember you are not playing by yourself.  Space is also a great tool, especially when recording a free-improv.  With including space in a performance you can cut sections and move them around where necessary.

We finished around 9:30 pm.  Late last night we were able to hear a rough mix of what we had done during the day.  I wish I could post the duet for you to hear: what a cool moment!  We did several takes of it, each one different in its own way.

Speaking of improv – done in only a few minutes, the song today is improvised everything.  Sometimes things just come to you and you can craft them into something wonderful.  You feel the movement forward and you pat yourself on the back a little.  But sometimes, there is the hugest brick slamming over and over into your brain prohibiting any ideas from coming forth.  This is where I am.  This is where I have been for several months.  The best way out?  Just do it.  Keep doing it.  Keep working through it.  So, here is an improvised, one-take song, Disease.

Disease

206. I Don’t Like Your Tone

DAY TWO-HUNDRED AND SIX

I Don’t Like Your Tone

Have you ever written an email and the reply you get is: “I don’t like your tone.”?  Perhaps unsurprisingly, this has happened to me much more than once, and I usually, absolutely do not see it coming.   It happened again today.  So, again, unsurprisingly, I used it as fodder as the 365 today.

What is tone?  (Taken from the online dictionary!)

1.

any sound considered with reference to its quality, pitch, strength, source, etc.: shrill tones.

2.

quality or character of sound.

3.

vocal sound; the sound made by vibrating muscular bands in the larynx.

4.

a particular quality, way of sounding, modulation, or intonation of the voice as expressive of some meaning, feeling, spirit, etc.: a tone of command.

5.

an accent peculiar to a person, people, locality, etc., or a characteristic mode of sounding words in speech.

6.

stress of voice on a syllable of a word.

This is 8 cello tracks staggered and starting on f#, e, c…etc.  The notes themselves are bent to each other just a little, adjusted to micro tones as they’re played.  Sometimes the sound is made “unlikable” by rougher strokes (changing the weight or speed of the bow on the string) and intonation, and a bit more “likable” by being more kind in general.  I find it very hypnotic, but I didn’t run it for very long.  I wanted you to hear the whole thing.

Pearl and the Beard arrived back in New York yesterday, and I have been arranging ever since. I’ve got a few recording projects outside the 365 that needed attending to, and they’re still not finished.  But not to worry!  I’m posting my brains out for the 365!

202. Bells and Cello in an Empty Room (Improvisation)

DAY TWO-HUNDRED AND TWO

My bedroom is now cavernous.  I put a mic in the middle of the room and did some heavy improvisation to play with the sound.  I stacked 2 cello tracks, both being in different places in the room.  I also gave myself a time limit.  I liked trying this even if it’s a bit haphazard.

I like the bells sound I got out of today, and I might use it later for something else.  Instead of lifting off the mallet after the strike, I left it on the bell, stopping the vibration.  There is no effects on these tracks… all virgin!

I am sick as a dog, but hoping to be better by Saturday.  Hie-ho! Hope you are doing splendidly.

Band recommendation of the day: Lost in the Trees.

Lost In The Trees - Ari Picker, Drew Anagnost, Mark Daumen, Leah Gibson, Emma Nadeau and Jenavieve Varga. Photo by D.L. Anderson, April 9, 2010.

Saw them live on Monday at Mercury Lounge here in New York (for the second time and yet again: AMAZING.)  Also, read about what they are doing with orchestra kids in this awesome program: Project Symphony

Bells and Cello in an Empty Room (Improvisation)

198. Part II

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHT

Lacey dislikes moving, too.

It dawned on me that this next week will be the last songs recorded in my first “real” New York apartment. (I moved into a sublet the size of a closet for a month when I first moved here years ago.)  It’s sad for me as I’ve learned and experienced a lot in this place, and now I move on to a temporary living situation until the next “real” New York apartment.

Today’s song is simple, improvised and short.  I have spent the last several days taking smaller moving trips instead of one big one to lessen the burden later next week.  I am eager to get this done.  It’s important for me to do the hard things first and very quickly, that way I can kind of forget I did them at all.

Part II

193. Neverfound (Jim Altieri)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE

Jim Altieri at The Bell House

This is a collaboration!  Jim Altieri is a good friend of mine, a fantastic composer, violinist, accordionist, guitarist, and all around hilarious conversationalist (of additional note: this guy is probably the most dependable guy I know outside of my own house.)  You can hear is compositions here – http://tweeg.net

Jim can do a million different kinds of musics: silly songs, sad songs, serious songs, atonal pieces, tonal pieces…the sky is the limit with Jim, and he’s a very selfless musician, which can be hard to find nowadays.

I went to his house and found that Jim had just obtained some very nice, new mics, so I was lucky enough to get to break these in with a collaboration for the 365!  The first thing we did was do some free-improvisation.  (It’s very freeing and I would suggest it to anyone.)  After some walnuts, Jim decided we should:

1. Lay down an accordion drone

2. Stack cello and violin on top, a few tracks of each

3. Put vocals on top.

The only rules: we could only do one take of each.  I like the danger behind knowing you can’t take things back once you’ve done them.  Mistakes don’t really exist in this realm for me because everything is just a part of the music and you use those things for good, not bad!

The lyrics: Next to Jim’s bed is his dream journal (which he doesn’t write in anymore).  We opened it up and found a dream he had written about and used what he had written as our lyrics!  The words we used are almost word-for-word from this book though we cut and changed a few lines and moved things around to keep the flow.

My one observation: In improvisational mode, I’m noticing that I use a particular interval in my vocals.  I think I could go back to other songs I’ve done improvised vocals for and pick it out.  What’s that from, I wonder?

In any case, we finished up and Jim did a really quick mix and sent it my way.  He has such a great musical imagination: I hope you enjoy!

Neverfound

By myself at night

Remote control cars on the sidewalk

Bare feet keep me from food I want to eat

Karen left me gifts and surprises

Band-aid folded up in bed

Note on inside of my blanket

“By honey, have fun.”

Tapes a book to the ceiling

I would never find

159. Ptarmigan! (The Anti-Rap)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINE

I asked Jon to give me the first word that came to his mind at the count of three.  It was Ptarmigan.  A Ptarmigan, or Snow Chicken, is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family.  It is the official bird of Nunavut, Canada, and is a popular festive meat of Icelandic cuisine.  Ptarmigan’s don’t have underwear, let alone dirty underwear.  This is the anti-rap.  I felt like taking it easy this weekend and doing a song that was quick.  Featuring Jonny, the Accordion.

Pearl and the Beard had a really fun show in DC Friday night.  We drove and drove, and now we’re home.  How are you?

Ptarmigan!

Ptarmigan, Ptarmigan

Bring me your birdies

Ptarmigan, Ptarmigan

Bring me your dirty underwear

(Not that you actually needed me to write these out for you, but maybe you did.)

140. The Armory Improvisation #2- Quiet Song (Guy Capecelatro)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY

I struggled with whether or not to post this one.  This a live performance song from Boston with Guy Capecelatro at the Armory show, but next to the recorder that was recording the song was a cell phone… so interference occurred through the entire song.  I realized that if I panned everything to the left you couldn’t hear the interference… which in and of itself is kind of dumb.  Post a song that only plays from the left!?

Well, good luck!  Both Guy and I were improvising our parts melodically and harmonically.  Guy had these lyrics in his book and wrote them out for me to sing in a quiet voice.  The funny thing was (or sad actually) that the Armory in Boston is having trouble with neighbors constantly telling them they are too loud (which is unfortunate because the venue is so awesome), so we decided to do a very quiet improvised song on my set.

I am falling asleep after driving all day back to New York from New England on tour with Pearl and the Beard… looking forward to getting some rest and getting some good work done on some projects (many of them for the 365).

One thing I totally forgot to mention is that a few days ago a blog called All Our Noise mentioned The 365 Project and has made 3 songs from the project available for download… which ones are they?  Well… read the blog and go see for yourself!  Yay!

Quiet Song