We played a very, very small show in Memphis, Tennessee. Though it was small and ill-attended, we met some really great people. Smokey bars really suck, however.
Today’s song is something Jeremy started singing as he was trying to get to sleep. Joc and I kept him up by attempting to record something else, so he just started singing this, and I went with it. I like the laziness of the sound of his voice because 1) he is trying to sleep and 2) he is laying down.
The other problem I’m having with recording is that I’ve lost my headphones at a house in DC and Jeremy’s headphones broke today, so all mixing and tracking has to be done with headphones that only have the left ear working.
Jeremy and Jocelyn both speak spanish (well, at least Jocelyn speaks pretty fluent spanish; I’m not sure about Jeremy actually). I did nothing but study french, so I’m useless, though I do want to do a song in a different language for sure.
Jeremy recorded first, then Joc, then me. It was an experiment in remembering and responding. We recorded everything once. As you’ll hear, Jeremy gets a little…. well.. Jeremy in the middle of it, so we had to work with that, too.
We have a show in Little Rock, Arkansas tonight. I’ve never been this far south, and I’ve never seen so many places to eat fried food in my life. Hoping you are well today!
Ven aquí, mi amor.
Ven aquí, por favor.
Porque yo quiero besarte.
It is now late (again) and Pearl and the Beard have offered their help for the song today… this is a little improv number for you…
I’m sorry these postings have been so brief and nondescript. Things have been pretty up and down and quite busy. We head off to Nashville tomorrow, which I’m quite excited for, actually. I leave for Utah Saturday morning to attend Jonathan’s father’s funeral then return a week later to play two shows on April 2 and 3 in Salt Lake City. There are some very hard things to do and other, much different things to do in the next little while… I suppose this is part of what life gives us, no? I don’t know how else to look at it except from far away like you look at a painting in the museum: seeing the whole thing as a spectator; close enough to kind of understand it, but far way enough from it until you’re ready to see how it’s actually put together in its detail and be affected by it wholly.
Writing: This is another example of how a song can be born from virtually nothing by improvising. I purposely made Jeremy’s guitar out of tune to achieve that old wonky guitar sound, and somewhere in the middle tried to create the sound of a musical saw with my voice as an experiment.
I hope your Monday morning feels less like Monday and more like a Wednesday or Thursday even.
Thank you for visiting and reading…though I have been a bit distracted lately, I’m so glad you’re here.
It is so quiet. So quiet. It is raining and raining in DC tonight. I am the only one awake at 2 in the morning in a large house over-looking a small street in Mt. Pleasant.
Pearl and the Beard just got home from playing a show in DC, and I needed to do a song. So, right before we went to bed, we gathered around the mic. Jeremy picked a topic randomly (secrets) and started beatboxing, and we were off. One take. One improv. I can’t say that this actually means anything significant, or if it added to my knowledge of songwriting…though you coud say it was a study on rhythm: does rhythm make something a song? However, it did make me grateful for friends willing to put up with my project whilst on the road.
Do you know this guy? You should. He’s awesome: The Bow Legged Gorilla. He and Jeremy beatboxed when in Baltimore a while back: it was pretty amazing.
I hope you are aright tonight… today. Get lots of sleep nad dream peacefully.
We have arrived in DC. The District of Columbia. We are playing a show in a venue tonight called The Red and Black. I’ve had several friends tell me that the area this venue is located in is super sketchy, and a few friends aren’t coming because of the high number of murders that have occurred in the area. How depressing. We don’t want anyone to be murdered, but we want people to come to our show. What a quandary! Happy show to us! Yay!
Writing: In the discovery of this murderous news, we did a sketch song! I almost didn’t use this recording, but I felt, and Jocelyn agreed, that this is a good way of showing you another way a song can be written, especially within a collaboration. We were all sitting around a table in Baltimore yesterday afternoon and someone just started singing this as Jeremy was playing his guitar. We did this twice: once just goofing around and once again to make sure we got it on tape.
Recording: Because this is a sketch, it was just recorded using the external mic on my computer. I hate the external mic, but it’s a really fast way of getting things down, so I can’t complain. Hey, at least there is a mic, right?
This is actually how Pearl and the Beard writes some songs; not all, but some. Sometimes we’ll sit around and improvise like this and a song will come out. We’ll record it and revisit it later and make it a proper song. We’ll give each other visual cues to change strum patterns or start a different section as we go. It’s important too that everyone gets a chance to participate. It’s also important to see it out: we’ll keep going until it either peters out or we all intuitively end it together. It can be a really fun time (as you can tell).
Jeremy’s School of Park and Dark Rhyme: Nothing rhymes with park but dark. Nope, not shark or lark or stark. This is a constant joke within Pearl and the Beard, and now you’re in on it, too.
You know, on this tour, and on previous tours, I’ve thought to myself: I’m the luckiest person alive. Jocelyn and Jeremy are the funniest people on earth. When we were on tour with Ugly Purple Sweater and all packed in their van, we actually had to pull over a few times because we were laughing so hard. That’s what it’s like driving with them now. I am the luckiest person alive. I love these guys.
Murdered in DC
(It’s recording)
Can’t wait to be murdered in DC…
(I don’t remember how it went) (It doesn’t matter, don’t think about it)
Be stabbed in the face by a big gay hillbilly
Get murdered in the face with a big old machete
Murdered in the face, get stabbed by a guy named Eddie.
Get murdered in the face,
Murder me.
Can’t wait to be murdered in DC!
Can’t wait to be murdered…
In DC.
I’ve never looked so fabulous before!
My mom called today and then she said, “Hooray!
You’re coming, you’re coming, you’re coming to town!”
Then she said, “Oh friend, I got a bag for you,
It’s got rocks in it so put it down.”
So my dad… Go ahead.
So my dad called, oh wait, he didn’t call at all.
He never calls.
Jeremy has no dad/father.
Maybe that’s the guy who will be the very guy
To implicate our martyr.
Can’t wait to be murdered in DC!
Can’t wait to be murdered…
In DC.
The wind was a flash of lightning
Over the town!
Bullets and lightning bolts and rabbits were flying (Pshoo pshoo! Laser sounds)
All around and around and around!
Oh, my hair went flying off!
The blood soaked my dress
And off it came into the street!
We went to the park and indeed it was dark!
So you held my held my hand until you understanded,,,
Can’t wait to be murdered in DC!
Can’t wait to be murdered…
Dixie Chicks never saw it comin’!
Here comes Pearl and the Beard
Comin’ atcha!
In DC.
Love, I’m gone,
I’m gone the way of the dodo.
Yeah, done!
Apple S that.
My dad surprised my mom with an early 20 foot Valentine in the snow. It says "I love u Lowie, Pooh".
Pearl and the Beard got together the other day for a rehearsal and wrote a very special Valentine’s Day song. It is in A-B-B rhyme scheme. Jocelyn is playing the spoons. Jeremy is playing the guitar. Emily is playing the cello.
Please tell someone you love that you love them today.
I don’t want to be alone tonight
Fourteen miles on down to Omaha
Thirteen nights I’ve starved for your delight
Dozen times I’ve thought of you tonight
Snake eye’d boots I’m here to roll the die
Ten on black and throw my money down
Nine more lives, I’m burning through this town
I don’t want to be alone tonight
oohhh
867-5309-ee-ine
Seven numbers can I call you love?
Half a dozen scenes I’m dreaming of
High 5, High 5, High 5 – Tonight’s the night
Four, four, four down on the floor
Three’s not a crowd
Two, Two I feel it, too.
One one, ONE MORE TIME
oohhh
I don’t want to be alone tonight
Shooting video for Lost in Singapore for Harvey’s Kitchen. EHP touching Jeremy’s guitar. Jeremy holding Emily’s bow. Weird.
I love my friends. Jeremy Styles wrote this song with me today. I went to his house in Brooklyn at 12 pm. We started writing at 12:30, and I left his house at 5:00. So, overall, a really productive afternoon, and I’m really happy.
Writing: Jeremy and I had the beginning of a different song I thought we were going to flesh out when I got to his house today, but he played me fragments he had of this song instead. He had the first two verses and a chorus. After hearing them, we sat on their meaning, taking out and putting things back until we felt like we were capturing the story we wanted to tell. At first listen, this song seems to address a moment between two people, a man and a woman, seemingly in a relationship either in the present or past. The truth is, meanings in this song are many for both Jeremy and me: capturing probably several thoughts at once, though we did use a storyline of sorts to build the song. In listening back to it, only speaking for myself of course, I can hear what I wanted to say and actually see who is present in the words for me. So, trying to explain it to you out right is complicated, and probably unnecessary. It’s more important what it means to you anyway.
*Of particular note: Sam McCormally introduced me to a site called The Online Etymology Dictionary which I have used for a few entries now. I’m not even sure if I’m using it the way it was intended, but it has assisted in finding many a lyric! I encourage all to peruse! (An etymology use for today: The line “It is Being.” came from looking up the word sin. “…like a breath”, from looking up ghost. Again, not even sure if that’s how it works, but whatevs! It’s a song! Not a doctoral paper.) I’m also finding myself with tendencies towards numerical hyperbole. (Thousand, millions, Ka-jillions) And how’s this for AP English analysis: the title “Such a Fool”, in the way the lyrics are written out here, comes right in the middle of the song.
Arrangement: Jeremy and I actually wrote this song on his guitar. The plan was to record it on his guitar, too. However, as we worked and struggled through the lyrical process, we found certain clichés to be unavoidable without stressing out about it. So, we eventually decided that if it was going to be cheesy, let it be cheesy, and someone might like it. This is a great lesson actually. I spend a huge chunk of my writing time trying to avoid cheese writing, when perhaps if I just relaxed about it and just finished the damn song, I could figure out alternatives then. In our case, we finished the song and almost started setting up to record when I had a sudden thought: I wanted to hear this song with just voice and cello pizz. Specifically, I wanted to hear Jeremy’s voice with cello pizz only. (I’m selfish that way.) Jeremy has one of the most crooney voices: beautiful and low when he wants it to be. He has a solo song I make him perform for me on a regular basis that captures the amazing color of his low range. When I tried this on cello, I tuned the strings down: The A – F#, D – B, G – F#, C – B. This tuning made forming chords a little more difficult but not too bad, and the color ended up really nice, I think. I’d like to rework how I voiced the pizz in each chord change: it’s a bit redundant, but it will get there. And, somehow, when Jeremy and I ran through this version of it, we were struck how it changed the meaning of the song almost totally: the cheesiness of the lines we were worried about seemed to disappear.
I do want to point out that in the chorus we sing, “You got that wall up in your heart again” which we discovered sounds like “You got that wallop in your heart again.” This was a part of Jeremy’s original chorus, and I asked if he thought we shouldn’t change it to just “…wall in your heart”. He was pretty adamant that it stay (he loves puns and is a master at finding them in any situation). And now, listening to it, I realize that it is appropriate. For me, it helps to not take ourselves too seriously: this is, after all, a short work of fiction, though based on real events or people every now and then. I like that it represents a little playfulness within a work of such serious things. (Also, I’m not totally happy with my lyrics on the bridge, but I can rework them later if it bugs me forever… )
I want to talk about an aspect of collaboration I have yet to address specifically. I can talk about this comfortably on Jeremy’s song because he is one of my best friends here in New York. We’ve toured together, we play music together, and we write regularly together with Jocelyn Mackenzie as a part of Pearl and the Beard. I think this is the first time we’ve written a song together without Jocelyn (a part of me feels like I was cheating, but Joc will do a 365 with me soon, so it’s okay).
I wonder if you have felt this, too, if you’ve done any kind of collaboration with someone else. It’s an interesting phenomenon: the connection between two people when they’ve created something from almost nothing. In our case, with this song, we sat for a while talking about who the man was, how he functioned in his own sphere, what kinds of things he wanted. Is he selfish? Or selfless? Is he even aware? Who is this woman? What does she want? Etc. So, in this process, talking about personal experiences is inevitable and you end up sharing very personal, private things with someone you might know very well or not at all. Certainly, this isn’t always the case with every collaboration, but when it happens it’s uncomfortably wonderful. The most interesting thing for me as I’m collaborating and recording is that audio footprints are being created: lasting as long as there is sound, and it is a record of a moment in time when two people communicated on a level not that many people get to experience. I consider myself blessed.
Recording: This recording is probably the third take of three. We recorded this live while I played the cello. We positioned the mic facing the two of us sitting. I didn’t want room noise, so we did a little experimentation with positioning, but it didn’t take long. I’m pleased with the sound we got. I actually put down an arco (bowed) cello line to see what that might do by way of supporting things and creating color, but in the end, the two voices with the one cello just seemed more appropriate. Another thing that’s struck me just today is the vocals in these 365 recordings. They are completely unpracticed and raw. I’m finding that I have little vocal quirks that I’ve never noticed myself do before (like a weird breath, pick-up kind of thing before “And you’re keeping me in,” for example.) These realizations are good so I’m always aware and can fix them or leave them if I like them. (Maybe you didn’t even hear it, but I’m lame, so I did.) These kind of idiosyncrasies are the kind of thing I was taught in school to listen for in my cello playing specifically. Stuff this picky might sound OCD, however, but I really appreciate my education and how it’s helped me form my ear, though I still wish I was better at it.
Jeremy: you are the man.
Thank you for listening. I hope you’re alright today and that you find a twenty dollar bill just laying there in the street so you can buy yourself and a friend lunch with it.
Can I stay
Just tonight?
I want to kiss your face
In the morning light
I feel I’m home
Like I’ve arrived
I’m where I wanna be
You I can’t deny
You got that wall up in your heart again my darlin’
Don’t you feel at home with me?
I’m alive,
Though like a breath.
It is Being.
Like a thousand threads.
Such a fool
A broken causeway
Strength of a jealous man
Veins to strip away
You got that wall up in your heart again my darlin’
And it’s keeping me in
I know what I should do
I know what you will do
Can I stay
Just tonight
I want to kiss your face
Let me stay the night
You got that wall up in your heart again my darlin’
And I’m keeping you in
I hate to say I warned you, Jon Barker. But you give lyrics to a member of Pearl and the Beard, there is a high percentage they will try to rap them.
Some interesting developments have occurred. The 365 Project has recently been the subject of a few people’s attention. I have been contacted by a some people who have sent me either lyrics or music requesting that I work on it and use it for the 356. So cool!
Here is the first example that came to me a few days ago. Jon Barker is a very devout Pearl and the Beard fan from England. We met him in person at our New Jersey show while on tour with Ugly Purple Sweater. He has sent me lyrics with which to set music. I read through them and realized: I am totally reading a RAP! (Sorry if this isn’t quite what you hand in mind, Jon…but do know that these lyrics are cool! Nicely done!) I sent the lyrics to Jeremy, who, in turn, came up with a sweet beatboxing groove which we looped with my loop pedal (we only used it because his guitar/beatboxing multitasking skillzzz were a little rusty.) Joc came in with some sweet, sweet vocals for the chorus.
We recorded it 3 times and took the second version. I love Jeremy and Jocelyn!
And yes, this is me. Rapping. I wanted to try it at least once in the 365 days. This project is forcing me to be brave. BE BRAVE. (But you will probably never hear me rap again… and that’s totally okay. phew…)
Well, Mr. Barker. It’s probably not what you had in mind, but now you can tell all your friends that Pearl and the Beard rapped your lyrics! Thanks for being cool!
“God Bless Your Weary Soul, Jon Barker”
Jon, hope it’s okay, but I included your entire original email. It was an awesome time! Thank you for contributing!
Hi, this is actually something I wrote several years ago hoping to have a female vocalist – my singing voice isn’t strong enough. I don’t tend to write full songs anymore. I get verses down, and they tend to be faster tempo/hiphop, but at the time, this felt better sung than anything else. I hope you like it, and if you have any ideas I look forward to seeing how that goes.
Jon
—
incomplete, so discrete, sitting silent every week
mind a mess, added stress, and i find that i’m depressed
will i ever now be free from my insecurities
or will pressure bring me down?
’cause i don’t have a life when you’re gone
i stopped living, i can’t bear it anymore
stopped giving, gave my all – it left me raw
don’t have much more to lose, or things to do
without you here, i’m missing you
segregate, separate, why this pain will devastate
all alone, come back home, i no longer operate
fever breaks as i collapse, and all my worst words i retract
please don’t leave me here alone
’cause i’m anxious, alive nevermore
i stopped living, i can’t bear it anymore
stopped giving, gave my all it left me raw
don’t have much more to lose or things to do
without you here… i’m missing you
obsolete from my peak, as i fall from being weak
dead and void, your exploit, will i ever be employed
by your love and trust with you
as a loving pair may do, as a husband and his wife are two
or one, where have you gone? i don’t know
i stopped living, i can’t bear it anymore
stopped giving, gave my all it left me raw
don’t have much more to lose or things to do
without you here… i’m missing you
Thanks to Jeremy’s roommate Mike for steppin’ in as the FLYBOY… nice…
Jeremy, EHP, Jim, Jocelyn: Really, we can't see anything without our glasses.
Jocelyn Mackenzie: Glasses-wearing, drumming, lyricist-to-the-stars-improv-ing, rap-geniusing, angelic-voicing, uber-knittering, glock-hitting, shaker-ing, member of Pearl and the Beard.
Jeremy Styles: ALSO glasses-wearing, bartending, ladies-manning, guitar-strumming, sometimes drum-hitting, and sexy-vocal-tantalizing member of Pearl and the Beard
Jim Altieri: ALSO glasses wearing, computer-knowing, violin-sweeping, sweet-composering, Jocelyn-loving, temporary accordion-squeezin’, for Pearl and the Beard’s Mercury Lounge show, January 23. (This Saturday!) *Jocelyn and Jim are also in the band Poo Poo Jim and Pee Pee Girl
Jeremy, Jonathan, EHP, Jim, Jocelyn!
These three lovely people came over tonight for a rehearsal for our show coming up. Yet again, captured artists + EHP needs a song for today = collaboration with Pearl and the Beard, Jim Altieri and Jonathan Clark! YESSS! I told them we were going to write a song in 15 minutes and record it in 10, so they agreed to do it, and I do believe we actually did it in that time. In fact, we may have written it in less than 15 minutes (considering the words are minimal!) I had come up with the words and melody for “I can’t see anything, anything without my glasses,” a few weeks ago and had planned on doing it with someone. I shouted it out, and that’s how the song came to be. I love doing songs like this with lots of minds thinking and lots of care free grabbing of instruments. I even made a shaker out of Tupperware and rice! I am happier because this songs exists… I love you guys so much.
This is Jocelyn Mackenzie. This is Jocelyn Mackenzie’s word salad. Jocelyn is improvising here. (I get so jealous she can do this!) I mean, “Don’t kiss ‘em under a waterfall cause those glasses will get fogged by waterfall droplets”?! This totally kills me. This is nothing, friend. Just wait until you catch her in full-force. She can unleash an improvised rhyme or verse on you at any moment so hard that your face will melt to the ground! (I haven’t even attempted a rap yet. To be sure, I will do it with her.) And, as I mentioned yesterday, today’s song marks the first song within the 365 to contain: A SWEAR WORD! Get ready!
Also of personal note: I am playing the shaker! And one of my favorite parts is hearing Jonathan and Jim come in with their low and grumbly registers starting a chorus…yessss!
Yet again, another hilarious and entertaining evening creating the 365. We did two versions for you: an mp3 and a video version. The “lyrics” below are from the the mp3. See you tomorrow!
I Can’t See Anything
instrumentation: Jocelyn Mackenzie: glockenspiel; Jim Altieri: violin; Jeremy Styles: guitar; Jonathan Clark, omnichord beats. EHP: shaker
I can’t see anything, anything without my glasses
Jocelyn:
Yo, girl, you know sometimes when you’re walking down the street or whateva
And your glasses fall offa your face and you can’t see nothin’, girl
Well, that don’t mean I don’t love you cause I can’t see you
Even when I can’t see your face you’re beautiful.
I want to kiss you on your face
But especially I want to kiss you when I put my glasses on cause I can see you better
The visually impaired have one problem and one problem only
and that is that they can’t see shit without their glasses
So, get your lover, get your glasses, get your lover’s glasses
Find the person nearest you wearing a pair of glasses
Kiss ‘em right on the mouth
Don’t kiss ‘em under a waterfall
Cause those glasses will get fogged by waterfall droplets.
Okay, everybody, so I’m just sayin’ I love you girl, you’re beautiful
I can’t see you without my glasses, girl, but that don’t mean I don’t love you.
I can’t see anything, anything without my glasses.
Jim:
…At all…
