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  • Where do bad Americans go when they die?

    Current mood:pensive

    Ah, yes, I have branched out into the world of harmonies. Indeed, a highly finicky business, one which well executed cause tears to trickle and eyes to enlarge, let alone ears to become elated. I, a mere foetus in the womb of recording, have lots to learn, but they say neonates learn extraordinarily quickly the world in which they become drowned in at birth, so there is hope.

    I confess, this took me a good while to record compared to previous recordings. Not only did I continually mess up the original track, but it took many times to decide on what second guitar to use, and let's not talk about the harmonies used; getting the levels right, the actual harmony right, etc. etc. As you will have heard they are not perfect. Nevertheless, they get better as the song progresses so give a listen to the end to see an improvement within the 3 mins. I have a certain pride, which I am aware is a wrong doing, in the harmony on the last verse right on the 'San Francisco' line. I was very pleased with it on recording.

    Well, it is a funny world in which we live as there are some coincidences within the song and my present state of affairs, ones which I am not going to disclose, but nevertheless, it's interests me to see these sweet mysteries become pronounced without being conscious of it. There is a subtle hint of death in the song and loss of loved ones and it all boils down to Oscar Wilde.

    This song was inspired by Oscar Wilde through and through. I once watched the film adaptation of Lady Windermere's Fan and being a fan of quotes, I noted down some of the gems from the dialogue, then went scrabbling through my copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray to find more quotes. Soon, the song materialised and included the classic from Wilde; 'When good Americans die they go to Paris'. Where do the bad ones go? America! I am due to hit San Francisco next spring, it's a good thing I am English.

    It has been a song that I never really played too often once it was written, perhaps because it was written after a turbulent day early in 2009, or perhaps I didn't think it deserved to be played, however, I am feeling it has developed into a butterfly having been in a cocoon for over a year and finally it's ready to see the sunlight, but like the butterfly in it's adult form it may only survive a week, or it may live for a good year or so. Well death is funny thing at the best of times and one has to question whether things die at all. Does the night die when day breaks only to perish itself come nightfall? If someone lives in my memories are they actually dead? Perhaps we're all dead and in dying we are actually reborn elsewhere? Well, I just did a quick quote search and was interested to see, on a page full of 'after-life' quotes, quotes from Socrates to Dumbledore, what a marvellous world we live in. To say we 'live' may imply that we die... What a quandary.

    'You cry when you're born, so rejoice when you die'

    I know someone who is in Paris right now. I wonder who i'll see in San Francisco?
    7:55 AM

  • Independence Today

    Having just passed both Canada Day and American Day of Independence I feel it somewhat apt to write about the latest song I uploaded on here; Independence. According to Wikipedia (a reliable source of knowledge...) it is also Independence Day in Venezuela, Algeria, and Cape Verde.

    It feels strange to me to feel know that a year ago I was road trippin' across Saskatchewan to Manitoba having just had the most wonderful 5 days in the States going to Yellowstone Park. The next chapter of 2009 led me to a farm in Saskatchewan just west of Saskatoon in a town called Biggar. Jason and I worked on a cattle ranch for three weeks or so, which was extraordinary. Having the opportunity to ride horses and fix fences and process cattle was an experience I may never have again. Clear definitions of household roles and routine schedules including the afternoon nap, an essential part of the day. Here at this particular junction of my life I was in the midst of a war within myself. One with self confidence, pride, and patience on one side fighting despair, uncertainty, and self loathing. I recall many a letter was written at this farm to various people, perhaps as a means of cathartic relief for these internal battles. I truly believe it helped especially the letter to my brother. Indeed I played guitar as often as I could in my spare time,when I wasn't playing Dutch Blitz or crokinole, and once again I played the same ol' songs that drove Jason that little bit more insane. I recall playing the little blues medley, as I knew Louise enjoyed it, also playing John Martyn's Fairytale lullaby and May You Never.

    With this use of alternative tunings I began messing around with DADF#AD and started playing some sort of tune where I tried to sing Roll Your Stone Away by Mumford and Sons. I started to write some lyrics regarding how the cattle ranch; the relationship with myself and the farmer's, was affecting my sense of self. A quandary indeed; I felt the same, the same but different. Perhaps it was the beard. Well, I had two verses by the time we left Saskatchewan and whilst in Yukon during August, falling in love and living a new life I wrote a couple more verses, the first of which I recorded and uploaded. I certainly feel some battles still remain but that's just how I am, I suppose...

    Luckily, the song evolved from it's early birth, which sounded like the offspring of a Mumford and Son's and Greenday folked up fornication. Earlier this year in February or so I had begun to play this with a beer bottle as a slide and ramma-jamming the 12 bar blues half way in to give it some umpfh, but I didn't record it such. It's quite a special song for me for many reasons and I doubt I will play it live many times, but often I say things like this and the exact opposite usually happens. Alas, time will tell.

    Celebrating Independence is a strange thing. I have just recently cut my hair, last wednesday 30th June, and perhaps this is was in celebration of my independence. Who knows?
    2:50 PM

  • What Time Is It Over There

    Current mood:hungry

    Ah, the dreaded second blog, pressure to entertain strikes again. Let's put the mood in context; the sun is shining, the sky is blue and calm, the grass is actually green and the trees are in bloom. In the basement apartment I now reside it's a little more gloomy and cool, perhaps I should venture out into the world soon.

    Last night I played an open mic in Whitehorse and it was a new venue and was thoroughly enjoyable. Having watched previous performers come onstage and do an excellent job I wondered what songs to sing. Naturally I played my new song Never Ever Have, which I still am rather fond of; I now play it capo 5th fret... Well, the crowd was the usual bar folk, doing what the bar folk do; sit and chat over a pint. This is great because there is a lot less pressure on me to play well and subsequently I play well. The second song I played was The Shape I'm In by The Band. I introduced it as "this is a song by the band, I have learnt it recently and thought I'd give it a go tonight, hopefully I don't make a mistake, not that anyone cares anyway..." To my surprise, having played the first few down strokes of the G chord, it's rhythmic nature seemed to ignite movement in these attendees and people were up dancing and singing along, and to contradict my previous statement; it was a wonderful feeling seeing people actually watching you play and having a good time; Oh you don't know the shape I'm in. I played a third song, It's A Hard Life, but it was an error going from a punchy up-beat song to this slow song, nevertheless, it's these times that help us learn what works and what doesn't. I should've played Subterranean Homesick Blues...

    Well, I would like to give a little bit of context to another of my songs; Alright. I wrote this one in my final year of university and I remember writing the lyrics and sending them to Nick Harris in a letter, to which he one day asked me if it was about him. This was beautiful because I suppose it sums up the magical essence of art and being human. There's a personal element to almost everything and sometimes I have to agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson "People only see what they are prepared to see". In truth if I listen to a record when in an emotional mood I can always see these emotions in the song somewhere and think how exact it is in personifying my feelings. This then amazes me to see that others have probably travelled this same path of emotions many years before and no doubt I am not the last to walk this path. The most marvellous thing is when I see this occur in my own songs, or perhaps this is not so surprising... Well, 'Alright' was written about two of my housemates. Two verses for each person. One of these characters, regardless of when you greeted him and asked how he was or how were things today, he would always reply 'It's alright...'. Personally, things were not alright with me. I found it a challenge to live in the house at some points because I felt uncomfortable living with these two people who seemed to lack emotional communication. The same character seemed to live his life through others telling him what to do and it troubled me for some reason, perhaps it reverts back to the whole 'relatable' element... The second character was even more emotionally stunted, although not his choice. I believe he had some form of Aspergers... but I am not a doctor. He used to live in his own little world, mainly consisting of his room and he rarely ever joined us in the shared living space and he ate all of his meals in his room and so on. I tried to get him out and about a few times but I concluded that he probably felt more uncomfortable socialising than sitting in his room. Even though I knew this, I still offered to make him cups of tea and invite him to watch films with us. Anyway, the biggest episode to affect me was meeting his parents. Clearly they had their troubles as much as anyone, but I felt that they too found it difficult to communicate with my solitary housemate.

    The song finalised when I was trying to learn a song by Martin Simpson called Never Any Good. I used the same style of narration and even started off with a similar melody, which soon evolved into the current state. Time goes on and over a year later I get one of my own lyrics thrown at me highlighting to me that perhaps the song is about me after all! Perhaps many people can relate to the lyric; 'Trying hard to please your parents but they don't understand. Learn to live and live and learn and start a life that's new'. Maybe the song is for anyone and everybody regardless of what time it is and where you are. 
    4:38 PM

  • It's life and life only

    Current mood:calm

    Well, here it is. A blog. I for one don't feel too comfortable writing such things on the internet for the world to see, as it takes advantage of privacy, or the little that we have in our lives at present. Nevertheless, I began reading a friend's blog recently and I thorughlt enjoyed it's intimacy and openness. Thus, I have written a new song today and have no one to share it with in the present except this laptop and subsequently a blog was seemingly appropriate. How utterly depressing that sounds, indeed the reality is less so, there are lots of people I could share it with but those people are not in my immediate surroundings.

    Anyway, I digress. I felt like giving some context to the song Never Ever Have, that I penned this morning. It's the 6th May, which is the following regretful day after McHappy Day in Canada, the weather is is just as much as a quandary as the next man, is it warm or wet or cold or dry; we'll never know, and I have exposed my chin to the world for the first time in over a year. Quite a day and it was only lunchtime. 

    Well, to the crux of the song. I had been playing a little melody in the folky style of double thumbing and having been influenced by Bert Jansch's recording of Blues Run The Game, and Paul Curreri's version of Green Rocky Road, I began to play a pretty little tune. I then realised that this original piece, and original it still remains at it's heart, was somewhat similar to an excellent friend of mine's recent tune, a song that I also listened heavily to. Thus, I had a challenging time in deciding what the song should involve. I played with themes of voicing a political opinion, which is all the talk especially around such turbulent days as the elections and what not. However, nothing inspired me. It took me a good while until yester-evening, when I was trying to hitch a ride to a friend's house. In waiting and eventually turned my heels and headed back home. On the route home I thought I might go and play an open mic night in town and have a quiet beer and write a letter home. At this moment pleasant memories came back to me playing open mic nights with Nick Harris in London. Oh, how I used to feel like we were modern day Bob Dylan's and Dave Van Ronk's or perhaps Nick Drake and John Martyn's, working together and sharing songs by the fire with wine and good cheer. Well, I returned home and began to think about this relationship and others I have had in the past.

    After a pleasant sleep and having been woken at a leisurely hour, I donned the cap I was given for free by my boss at work; a cap I think will be glad to be worn everyday this summer,  and read through a letter that Nick had recently sent me. A satori occurred and I let wrote down the song and decided to record it quickly after a few warm ups. I don't know if it is too audible but there is even a little hint of chorus on the guitar and a pinch of reverb. 

    I plan on recording it again with a little something else added for improvement, and I suppose I had better try and keep it in time too. But I am pleased with these efforts.

    I suppose that if one reads this they would normally comment on the blog or the song. I may add more blogs for context to other songs, but often I think its better to influence the listener too much and simply take what you will from it. Although I often wonder what do some artists have in mind when writing their songs. I don't know, life is a little, if not wholly, confounding and when we reduce it to it's core I would like to think that it's all about the meanings we give to our experiences and how we learn from them.

    Enough chat for now.

    P.S. I feel perhaps there is something about 6th May that has importance too. I feel that the day is the birthday of an old friend I have not seen in over 11 years. Why is it that I now think of this person? Is it because the reused coffee I am drinking has affected my brain somehow? Perhaps there is something in the air. I wonder if our paths will cross again? Is this relevant for the blog? What is relevant to a blog? Entertainment? Perhaps. I leave this with this weeks quote from a diary I keeping at present. It is suitably perfect;

    "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation"
    Herman Melville


    10:43 PM

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