So, my 365 project turned into more of a song project. I keep telling people, “I’m going to finish it! I will!” Well, the words slipped out of my mouth and into the air, and after a while I didn’t believe it anymore. Months and months would pass, and I always find an excuse.
No more. I’m sitting here at this computer dreading even logging into my wordpress account, feeling my own damning inner disappointment. I talked to Brian Speaker, the friend who inspired the 365 Project through his own (totally completed) 365 Project called Spiral Notebook. His advice? “The 365 Project is what you want it to be. If you’re done at day 200, you’re done. You set the rules, and no one can say any different.”
I started the 365 with an All-Or-Nothing mentality. I did just fine, with only a few missed days, until 214. I remind myself that that number is huge, and I’m not a disappointment even though I didn’t finish by January 4. I remember when that day came and went. I was rushing to finish the movie score I had picked up months earlier, and now, I have 214 songs and an entire soundtrack behind me. Not so bad, and now I’m telling myself: finish. I miss the 365. And really, even though I’m not sure exactly how many are listening out there - I miss you.
Between Two Trees – Lady Lamb the Beekeeper Cover
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper has been heard at least twice here at the 365. Her voice is unmistakable and unforgettable. I recently saw her open for Beruit in a magical-only-Aly-Spaltro-could-command-that-big-of-an-audience-all-by-herself kind of performance. She played this song that night, and I recalled when I first heard it. Pearl and the Beard was in Maine doing a show in Portland on a mini-tour. The evening consisted of Dylan Metrano from Tiger Saw and Lady Lamb the Beekeeper.
I am posting a video of my cover of this song as shot by incredible photographer Josh Maready in a subway tunnel in New York City. It was almost 2 am by the time we finished. Trains were about 5-10 minutes apart and the song is somewhere in between there in length, so we had a hard time finding a quiet spell. This take was the only one not interrupted by an arriving subway train, until, serendipitously, one arrived right at the end of it like a period on a sentence, taking the sound away and out. I suspect Rick Gribenas might be a little pleased, wherever he is. It worked great, but it was the only take where I forgot lyrics…sacrifice for the greater good I suppose.
I recorded this song live in 2008 at Sidewalk Cafe. Funny enough, it was recorded by Bryan Speaker, the very same friend who inspired the 365 project. I re-edited it and sold it on a live EP for about two seconds and then took it off because I thought it was a horrible performance of it. A photographer friend of mine used it on a video she did which I will try to find for you to see; it’s really moving.
It is all done with a single Boss loop station. In the middle of it, once the loop is set up, I got up from my chair (I sat and played then), and used another vocal mic that was set up with a bunch of reverb. Listening back to it, it’s not nearly as awful as I thought it was, and I’m actually surprised it worked as well as it did. Many good thoughts to you on this very cold March day. Good will and good thoughts.
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…
A STUDY ON THE WESLEY HOOK and THE INDIE POP SONG. We’ve written you an indie pop song. Yay!
Wes Verhoeve: Yes, his hair is actually that awesome in real life, too.
First of all: I’m feeling very overwhelmed by the generosity of the artists who have thus far participated in this project with me. So many hours are being spent writing and recording these songs: every single musician I have worked with has been so generous, giving, and enthusiastic. I’m so honored, and, frankly, feel very undeserving. Very undeserving. Thank you so much.
*This is a revised article. The original posting is still here, but, as you’ll read, I started falling asleep. This morning at 6:30, I am making additions with a new, rested capacity for thinking in complete sentences.
Just a little bit about hooks today. I’m not really good at them and, frankly, have avoided them because I always had it in my mind that it was a sell-out gesture (not true! Hooks can help drive a song’s direction and aid in people remembering it for all time!), but my dear friend and Pearl and the Beard manager is great at identifying a hook. (A great example is contained in the song Lost in Singapore [accordion by Franz Nicolay!] from PatB’s album, God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richarson. The music box plays a melody that Wes’ came up with!) So, I asked him to write a song with me. (As a side: Nadia Ali, my ultra gorgeous, incredible singer friend, is FAMOUS for creating hooks. We spent a good chunk of time once going through her iPod identifying hooks as a help for me. I never realized Radiohead hooked so much in their music. It was a weird realization for me.)
I’ve just had a really lovely evening with Wes Verhoeve of Family Records‘ fame, PatB’s friendly family record label. Wesley V., the Dutchman, and Family Records, has taken Pearl and the Beard under their wing, fostering us and our music. We love him. I thought it only made sense to ask him if he would write a song with me for the 365.
Hook: A means of attracting interest or attention; an enticement.
The Construction: I met Wes at his office at Engine Room Audio down by Battery Park at about 3:30. (Though we were in an office that had a $1,000,000 recording studio, we were across the hall using my crappy little stereo mic and garageband: it was awesome! I much prefer this to a studio at the moment.) We worked until about 10:00 pm. We began writing at about 4:00. Wes had in mind a specific topic for this song, and we used a lot of images from Wes’ experiences in a relationship from a while back which were very endearing and lovely. This song was really challenging for me lyrically. Wes brought with him an interesting guitar riff he’d had on him for a while which we began molding into the start of our song. Again, I was challenged by the style of speech the song was requiring, as my writing is much more cryptic usually, so this required a lot of my brain power to come up with something a little more Ben Gibbard than EHP. So, I did my best. A lot of inspiration actually came a Death Cab for Cutie song. I like Death Cab for Cutie, but I’m only a casual listener, and I’m not totally familiar with the specifics of their music. I did my best to keep up, drawing from things in my past that I thought paralleled.
Early on, we decided that we’d split things up: he would write and sing in his perspective, and I would write and sing in the girl’s perspective. I found a good the chorus, and he shaped hooks and found initial melodies and together, we finessed it as a whole, finding our own voice within a conversation between two people who once were lovers, now meeting as friends. (I’m really proud of those chorus lyrics, actually. I literally asked myself, “What would Ben Gibbard say right at this moment?” I’m not sure that’s exactly what he would say, but that’s what I would say thinking of myself as B.G.) These kinds of songs based onsomeone else’s actual event can be difficult I’m finding. In order to choose language and make smart word choices that I enjoy hearing and reading, I have to dig around in my own actual event, too, or use empathy. I used a lot of empathy here: How would it feel if this happened to me? If I were this woman, what would I say? How would I think? It’s a fascinating study in the human mind and healing actually. Also, I found my own intensely personal experiences turning up inspiration like dry wells, but the experiences I haven’t really weighted as being that significant are helping me out the most in this circumstance. This isn’t always the case but certainly was here.
Recording: Initially we wanted to track the song (do everything separately), so we initially recorded the guitar first, then laid down Wes’ vocals. (I’m am learning I need to organize my time better for this project when it comes to recording. I haven’t been very realistic. It needs to take less time or we’re both just too tired at the end of it all.) I realized after finishing all the recording that it was 10:00 and there was no way I was going to be able to make it home, over-dub my vocals, a cello part, maybe something else, mix everything and write about the song before tomorrow. So, solution No. 2 was to just record it live, which is what you’re hearing here. I would have loved to have recorded cello on this or redo my vocals because they’re very quiet and hard to understand, but it will have to wait. When I got home, I had Jon listen to the basic mix I did on the one live track. Not getting home until 11:30, I was already discouraged and frustrated and felt I didn’t have enough time, he said, “It sounds great and lo-fi. Ben Gibbard did the same thing in his basement on a 4 track recorder.” Maybe it’s a good sign?
I must tell you, it is taking me quite a bit of personal persuasion to not stay up half the night rerecording this or that or trying different instrumentation. (I, personally, am shuddering at my performance in this song. But, whatever.) It needs major cleaning up: I messed up on the end when we performed it live. Wes was supposed to sing that by himself, so we overdubbed his last vocal, but as I tried to put it in, it sounded just slapped in there no matter what tricks I tried and now it sticks out like a sore thumb. I will revisit this song, but in the meantime I did my best with what I have to give today. Today will have to be one of those songs that needs to be an uber-demo song, so I apologize if the experience listening to this song isn’t as nice as it could be.
I don’t think I have been to bed before 3 am in the past week and a half, and my body wakes me up at 6 am. Literally. Even then I can’t get back to sleep, so I’ve just been staying up all day until the next night when it’s 3 am again. (I’m falling asleep at the computer!) I need sleep or I won’t make it through tomorrow, so I’m offering this song to you as a very low-fi version of a pop song. So I’m off to bed then:
THANK YOU WES! I HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME WRITING THIS SONG WITH YOU! YOU’RE THE BEST!
So, tonight I’m ending it here, with a kiss goodnight to you and see you tomorrow!
Love,
EHP
Caps, Sweaters and Scarves
Verse 1
I’ve got new caps and sweaters and a scarf you’ve never seen
We put up a fight we had to let go
I drove the last ten miles alone, alone
Saw your face in the front of my mind
Over time, over time
Verse 2
My town has flooded I can see you from my roof
The water’s making it so I have to let go
You put me up though we were strangers then
Could I be in the front of your mind now
You will find there’s a lot to learn
Chorus
Form a synapse to remind you, remind you
Place a call so you might hear me, can you hear me?
Verse 3
I put a note behind the frame that’s on your wall
When I come over I’ll show you where it is
Closet’s full, photo for every memory
To the back, I’ll climb deep inside
Over time, over time
Chorus
Form a synapse to remind you, remind you
Place a call so you might hear me, can you hear me?
Verse 4
You had to carry yourself three thousand miles from home
To find it didn’t change you at all
Your voice has changed, I can recall with ease
Moments when you first spoke my name
You will find there’s a lot to learn
Chorus
Form a synapse to remind you, remind you
Place a call so you might hear me, can you hear me?
I can hear you.
This is a long-ass entry mainly because I add some totally extraneous, grand-ole-EHP-insight into my covers, technique, etc. (Also known as, “Blah, blah, blah, blah”.) You can also opt out of it and just listen to the song, of course. Have at it, I say!
Today marks the first cover of the 365. (Purists: relax. Covers count because they’re arrangements, yo!) I chose this song because Jonathan and I were on the train going to see Avatar (holy crap: see this movie in the theatre!), and he turned to me and started singing a House of Pain song (I know, random, but that’s how it works…). Something in what he sang, and the loudness of the train, made me think he was singing this song, and I remembered how much I love it.
I Only Have Eyes For You was written by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film Dames where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. *Wikipedia
My dad, up until a few years ago, owned a 1952 Ford Crestline Victoria. It was a yellowish-cream color with a dark green top. I loved how it drove; how it smelled; the tan leather heated up in the summer, and its scent became so familiar to me. We would only get it out of storage during those summer months because a car that old had to be kept cooped up in the severe Utah winters. The radio was original, but I’m not sure why my dad used only a slightly newer radio he kept in the glove box. We would take evening rides for ice cream, just look at the scenery, or even check up on a sprinkler head (my dad did service maintenance when I was growing up). We’d attend the Lewiston, Utah parade in this car, entered the famous Cache Valley Cruise-In, and drove across the valley at casual, small highway speeds with the windows down and the triangle mirrors turned out. It was a great car, and, without fail, my dad would switch on the radio to a pre-set oldies station. This song would play, or maybe a different one, but it didn’t matter, because we were driving. Driving. Driving.
My main influence, obviously, was The Flamingos 1959 version of this song (Please, how could I not link to this video?!). I love this version. There is something special about it for me. Is it the strangely repetitive pedal piano deep in the mix? The vocals? (After studying the vocals for a while, I’m hearing tiny, tiny details in how he sings each word, uses each breath, how long or short he holds consonants, syllables. It’s incredible to me, frankly.) It’s rhythm is so sensual, so intimate.
A Word on Covers: Covers for me are a very special deal. As much as I love covers, they are hard for me to do for a few reasons: I can’t remember anything. I have a hard enough time remembering my own lyrics, let alone lyrics someone else wrote however long ago. Another reason is that I have this brain clog when it comes to performing them: I can’t just perform them as I know them, I have to make them different, at times even unrecognizable. This keeps me from working on them because they’re so time-consuming. For this reason I usually stick to performing covers I absolutely love doing, so I’ll memorize lyrics and figure out a way to play them that I’m happy with. (If you’d like, you can watch my cover of Bjork’s Come to Me, I’ve done about a million times since learning it a few years ago. Ignore the fact that it’s a terribly old video. I should really retire this song by now! But I just love it.)
However, I really tried to change my attitude with this arrangement. As much as I love this song and felt like I knew it, when I sat down to arrange it, I found I didn’t know it as well as I thought! With the altered tuning I was using on my cello I had to learn how to configure the chords just right, which I still need to clean up. Though I was careful and studied about finding the right sound-color for this arrangement, I stopped myself when I started to turn it inside out (attempting to play it in 7/8- blah!). For me, this is a hasty arrangement of a cover. I am learning to be purposefully hasty.
The Cello Part: I love playing with the tuning on my cello. Sure normal A, D, G, C is great, but you can get some amazing color by pulling everything down at least a whole step, then playing around with each string from there. You can hear a ticking as the strings are hit: it’s my finger. I’m not plucking, but making the strings sound by striking them from above, hitting them with a finger. I think in future versions, I’ll change it up a bit. It gets a bit too much all the way through the song like that for me. (If you’re super curious about this, I actually used a similar technique on a Nadia Ali arrangement of her song Rapture for her MTVIggy performance a while back. I had forgotten I had used it there until just now! Nadia is a beautiful singer: maybe she will do a song with me! Nadia?!)
The Recording: The recording process for this kind of freaked me out- I felt it was stealthy on my part, at least. My plan was, at first, to record in my bathroom because this was such a quiet song, and New York is noisy. But something in my mind told me to try doing it in the hallway of my building. Embrace the noise. I live in a building of many musicians and artists, so it’s not rare to hear an instrument or singer (I live below a harpist), but it wasn’t until today, for the first time, I realized a bassist had moved into the building! Hello, my brother!
When the thought first occurred to me I might try to record in the hallway, I immediately got anxious: it was 9:15 pm, kind of late for some people, early for others. Would someone try to stop me? (And wouldn’t that be terribly inconvenient?) I wasn’t even sure if I’d like the outcome anyway. I quickly went out and tested about 20 seconds of the song, went back in, listened to it and loved it right away.
Arranging/recording probably took a little over an hour. This is the second take of two. I so badly wanted to see what arco cello over-dubs would sound like, but I resisted, thinking maybe the intimacy of this infant recording might be more interesting in a minimal kind of way…? There’s actually something really special that happened in the first take: I was extra nervous playing out, so everything is very still and subtle, but the second was by far the better performance. I breathe really heavily in the beginning in an effort to relax myself. I was in the hallway at 9:30 at night playing a cello in front of a microphone! What?! I also didn’t feel quite prepared enough to record this song, but wanted to capture the moment with the practicing bass downstairs before it got too late. There are no effects on this song. It’s all natural reverb from the hallway. I’m starting to see that I will have to invest in a better mic.
Things I like about this recording that I was planning on- I love that the bassist is practicing on the second floor. I really wanted to capture the “duet” between two instruments “cut from the same cloth”, coming from the same mother register. Bass! It’s so John Cage! After I finished, I listened to it for a second time, trying only to hear noises in the distance: the elevator, the bassist, doors shutting. It’s a bit surreal for me.
Things I like about this recording that I wasn’t planning on-I’m such a sucker for naturally occurring “artifacts” in recordings- breath specifically, and though I can annoy myself with my own breathing, I like some if it here: Anxious breath at the start, totally running out of breath before the bridge, and an interesting gasp at 1:34. How at times you can hear the vibration of the strings become interrupted by the next hit of my finger: that’s such a cool sound (i.e. 4:02).
This one was really fun. I enjoyed myself in part because the song was already in existence (leaving a few responsibilities at the door) so it gave me more time to experiment with other detailed things like the recording itself…
Until tomorrow, my friend. Thank you for reading and listening. For being you. Have a fine, fine day.
This one’s for you, Dad.
I Only Have Eyes For You
My love must be a kind of blind love
I can’t see anyone but you.
Are the stars out tonight?
I don’t know if it’s cloudy or bright
I Only Have Eyes For You, Dear.
The moon maybe high
but I can’t see a thing in the sky,
‘Cause I Only Have Eyes For You.
I don’t know if we’re in a garden,
or on a crowded avenue.
You are here
So am I
Maybe millions of people go by,
but they all disappear from view.
And I Only Have Eyes For You.
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…
Good day to you, my friend. I hope this day finds you well, and, should the weather permit, may you attempt a Slurpy run sometime around noon. (I knew a girl who added vanilla ice cream in the middle of hers. It was surprisingly tasty.)
Lady Lamb and the Beekeeper! You are the reason jealously is running through my veins this evening… the voice, the hair, the menacing guitar, the screaming! (Insert any obligatory “Woo“, “Hey” or “Yeah” here.)
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper (Aly Spaltro). Photo courtesy of G. Capecelatro III
This song was written in approximately 15 minutes in the larger Portsmouth, New Hampshire cemetery beneath a lovely, lonely tree. Aly and her lovely traveling companion Maisie, drove an hour to Portsmouth just to write this song with me for the 365. (I’m so grateful!) Guy Capecelatro came to our aid yet again by, not only choosing the location to write this song (genius), but also carefully and skillfully tied my stereo mic up in the tree above us and has a thumb piano solo! If the wind hadn’t been blowing so fiercely, I do believe the sound quality would not have frustrated me as much in the editing moments of this posting. Not only was the wind a bit of a trial, but, for some reason, the video recorder on my mac decided to jump here and there which made matching up the garageband recording of the live performance impossible. Why did we shoot a movie for this song, you’re asking yourself? Well, I’ve been to Portsmouth, NH a few times now and each time I go I realized why I want to go back. It’s just beautiful there, and I thought, for a little change of pace, I’d actually get video of the song today. Everything seemed to fall into place, and I love it. I hope you do, too. (Again, sorry for the quality all around. These things do happen, but I wanted you to see it anyway…) Anyone interested in matching it up, let me know: have at it! I’ve resolved to post everything as it is and say: Love to you! (Oh, and who is the genius who got rid of the old iMovie and created this waste of space new version?! Who?! There is a reason I don’t put movies up anymore, and that program is it!)
EHP and Lady Lamb the Beekeeper in Portsmouth, NH. Photo G. Capecelatro III
As I mentioned earlier, I met Lady Lamb, also known as Aly Spaltro, when I was on tour with Anna Vogelzang a few years ago. She caught my attention then and still manages to pull me in, years later. I am enthrawled with her performance and writing style, and I will admit to you here that I had a hard time while recording and writing this with not feeling envious of her voice: so unique and beautiful.
Collaborations do a lot of wonderful things, but they can also bring up that little voice in the back of my mind that’s always critiquing, envying, and, even, punishing. I don’t know a musician who doesn’t struggle with this aspect of the craft. It’s a game we play with our own self-consciousness and awareness: Who am I, and how I can assure myself that I’m here and have something to offer as well. Grass is always greener, no? But I’m working on it.
Aly came up with her lyrics very quickly. A few weeks ago, I had heard on the news of the death of a young South Korean supermodel who was once quoted as saying, “The more I gain, the more lonely it is…I know I’m like a ghost.” I thought, though so sad, it was beautifully poetic and wrote it in my lyric book. This became the Ghost in My Teeth. (Something of interest: Guy only suggested right before we left for the cemetery that we go there to write the song as well, not just to film. I had already planned on using that line with Aly before we even started writing.)
Aly (Lady Lamb) and EHP in Portsmouth, NH. Photo G. Capecelatro III
As far as the actual collaboration, she and I talked a little about ideas while driving to the cemetery, but decided in the end to just let stuff come as it wanted. We only performed this song once, so what you’re hearing is the result of the 15 minutes we took to write it in the freezing cold. (Motivation!) We went to the Friendly Toast for dinner (go there!), and we all had this song swimming in our minds. The exciting thing about collaborating is the opportunity to revisit songs at a later date, fill them out, complete them if necessary, and make them even more awesome. I hope Aly and I will get this opportunity soon. Love you, girl.
Ghosts in My Teeth
instrumentation: guitar, cello, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper
What a sight you are for a night at the sea side
How the wasp watches you turn and toss
With the waves as cold as ghosts in your teeth
Where will you go? Will you wait for…
Where will you wait, where will you wait for…
Where will you wait, where will you wait for me?
Typed in "Day Three Cello". Found friend & SLC street cellist Eli. Fate! Photo by Taylor Barnes
The past few days I have been totally spoiled: rehearsals have been moved and other projects have been postponed at the last-minute, so I’ve had some awesome creating time. In the back of my mind I’ve been fearing the very busy schedule that will commence in only a few days.
I’m having visitors in from out of town, and I’ve been able to incorporate my guests in recording today’s installment! I started recording it as a multi-track but was frustrated with how it was progressing. I opted to try recording a live performance for my friends instead. I found that, despite a missing a lyric or two or goofed vocals, the performance went smoother than the multi-track version I was slaving over, so I’m just going to post and try not to worry about it too much. (Though, I’m totally worrying about it. Damn you, insecurity!) Posting this version takes out all the other nice bowed cello lines I had planned, but it’s still alright naked.
Pizzicato (plucking of the string) or Arco (bowing of the string)? I wasn’t going to address this yet, but, why not? Given the choice, I prefer to sing to a plucked cello rather than a bowed cello. Ben Sollee has garnered himself a reputation as fantastic singer/cellist and has an arsenal of folky bowed vocal songs that work very well. But, in general, I find I prefer the sonic conjunction of the pizz and voice (or maybe just my voice, I guess). On the list of songs to do is a self-convincing vocal-bow piece, so there’s something to watch for…
Gloria. Okay, my original intention was that this project would consist of songs written in 2010. But, I’m here to confess that the majority of this song was conceived in November. However, I just solidified a middle section today. It’s important for me to just push it out because I have a horrible tendency to wait forever on a song, telling myself that it’s still not done. I have a bunch of stuff like that, and it never gets out. Well, here it is, regardless of its idiosyncrasies. There’s actually a ton of information behind the construction of this song, so I’m going to attempt a brief Michel Gondry explanation without nearly the same amount of quirk and charm. (Okay, it’s not Gondry at all, just a random excuse to throw in his name because I like him and link you to his video):
Some years ago now, I was living in Salt Lake City. They have a large farmer’s market every Saturday that takes place in a tree-filled park. I was there one Saturday morning and saw a woman walking a black pug. (I don’t favor pugs as a type of dog to own, personally, but that knowledge is superfluous…) Looking back, I remember very clearly the moment when I saw her but don’t recall what she wore or exactly what she looked like (though I do remember she had a clutch covered in multi-colored buttons and a primo hair-cut). I think for a while this Stranger-Woman became a weird alter-version of myself. Her presence struck me specifically as being something I needed to remember for a later time, and it’s a bit weird to try to explain the experience to you now. Has something like this ever happened to you? Without a specific reason, I decided at some point that she looked like a person who might be named Gloria. Since I didn’t actually know her real name, I started calling her Gloria, The Girl with No Name. I also forgot to mention the inspiration of Martin Sexton’s amazing song Glory Bound. Man, this guy kicks so much ass live.
He Dreams in Actualities. There is a really fantastic documentary about New York City put out by PBS (Netflix!). In it I learned about actuality film and the first line of this song was born. I really love this line and have become really attached to it. I eventually start wondering who the He’s and She’s are in songs I like. I’ve heard Carly Simon’s You’re so vain is rumored to be about Mic Jagger (nope! Rumor: David Bowie!); didn’t some guy pay millions just to find out if that was true? Anyhow, there’s a He in this song and, though I didn’t write it about him, my mind has begun to attach it to a kind friend back home who loves music. He just might dream in actualities.
I won’t go anymore into intention or specific meanings here, but I’ll talk more about lyrics and how awesome and totally evil they can be at a later date. Again, this song has become very visual for me since its birth, and I hope it is for you, too. For now, here is a live performance of this song including my response to a the comment “The Cosby Show was taped before a live studio audience” right before I started playing. (Sigh)
Gloria (Live Version No. 1)
February 4, 2010: I was in need of a better quality recording of this song, so yesterday I sat down and did about 5 takes. I’m not even sure what number this is. Though there were better moments in other takes, and I like the original version, I opted for this one because I felt like the overall delivery was better, though it’s still left me wanting. Regardless, happy listening!
Gloria (Version No. 2: Re-recording)
Pretty face with swollen eyes
He dreams in actualities
He dreams in actualities
Drawn with visions shown in black and white
Eyes weighed down in reverence show
Eyes weighed down in reverence show
He mocks and laughs at solemn passers by
Relieved to find he’s one of them
Relieved to find her at his side
Gloria, Gloria, Gloria
Homeward bound and not a nickel saved
Capsized by the raging sea
Far greater than the sea was she
Mother waiting, blessed corona
Arms softer than the covered sky
Arms softer than the covered sky
To her breast she will fold him in
Safer than when lover stood
Safer than when once he called her
Gloria, Gloria
Tie up my mind, Gloria
In the middle of the night
You were here and so without
And all these things, we will let go
Gloria, Gloria
Tie up my mind
Gloria, you were mine
(Though I love sharing songs and posting lyrics for you to read, please, please, please don’t steal them for your own devices. This whole writing thing is hard stuff! If you need anything, please ask! -Thanks)
growing up). We’d attend the Lewiston, Utah parade in this car, entered the famous Cache Valley Cruise-In, and drove across the valley at casual, small highway speeds with the windows down and the triangle mirrors turned out. It was a great car, and, without fail, my dad would switch on the radio to a pre-set oldies station. This song would play, or maybe a different one, but it didn’t matter, because we were driving. Driving. Driving.
