More Hayoth and Other Musical Digressions

Light & Shade is done, and damn if I'm not pretty happy with it. I'm even - shocker - kind of OK with how I sing on it. I know, and have always known, that I wasn't going to be Plant, but the process of figuring out how to be the best vocalist I can be continues. I don't have the greatest range, but I am figuring out how to use what I have.

Which isn't to say that I still don't harbor the fantasy that a REALLY good vocalist, who also somehow magically happens to be a person I can get along with, might drop into my world, and I can re-record a whole pile of this Hayoth stuff. I kind of long to hear how, say, Getting Dollars Back or Warp might sound with a really confident vocal attack. Even on the tracks where I am...relatively...happy with the vocals, I am not confident about what I'm doing, and that's a big difference.

I also managed to write an entire song on Sunday. I'm calling it Tallahassee Bridge, at this point, but that may change out of deference to Bobbie Gentry and Billy Joe. It's a acoustic-based story song, and, like most of the stuff I write quickly (Uptown, after a lot of consternation, came really quickly), I think it's pretty strong. I'm hoping to get a good start on recording this week. I have a base acoustic guitar rhythm done, and was working on percussion last night.

Riff, or whatever the hell it becomes, is ready musically, but I need to figure out lyrics.

Now, outside of what I've been working on, what have I been listening to?

Beck, Bogert, Appice by Beck, Bogert, Appice

An oldie, but a goodie that I finally downloaded recently. The 1984 collaboration of Jeff Beck (guitar), Tim Bogert (bass & vocals) and Carmine Appice (percussion) is a solid slab of blues rock. I'm particularly taken with their run at Stevie Wonder's Superstition. Yeah, Bogert's vocals aren't the greatest, but when the musicianship is this good, it's a minor annoyance, at most.

High Country by The Sword

I had hoped for a little more from this. It's a truly good record, in terms of technical recording, it may be their best, and it's really great to have a modern "metal" band that seems intent on evolution. This promised another return to a more "classic hard rock" sound, which, I feel, dominated their best album, so far, 2010's Warp Riders. The disk is certainly a turn in that direction, but more in the frame of psychadelic rock (it's so, so drug influenced) than Thin Lizzy-esque hard rock. It's not a bad thing, and I have been listening to this record a lot. It's full of terrific riffing and jams. I just had pretty high hopes.

Sol Invictus by Faith No More

Just isn't grabbing me. Superhero is a great track, but I seem to consistently peter out shortly after. I know they're an important band, I know they're great musicians, I know this is a really good album, but I haven't been struck with it yet. I'm sure it will hit me, at some point.

Meliora by Ghost B.C.

I am not the biggest fan of this band, the theatricality sometimes gets in the way of the music for me. I often can't tell if the whole thing is a joke, or not. I'm also fully aware that it may be a joke, and not a joke, all at the same time, but I get tired of trying to parse it out. All that said, I am consistently struck by at least a couple of songs on each one of their albums. In this case, From the Pinnacle to the Pit and Majesty are both just terrific tracks. They've anchored an album I've been listening to far more than any of their others.

The Book of Souls by Iron Maiden

Look, it's a new Maiden album, you pretty much know what you're gonna get. Thing is, I like what I'm going to get a whole lot. It's another really good record, but, despite anything Nicko McBrain says, it's not as good as their classic records, and I don't even think, as a whole, it's as good as The Final Frontier from five years ago. That said, The Red and the Black is an instant classic song for me, as good as anything they've put out since their 80's heyday. The record also starts out VERY strong with If Eternity Should Fail. I am a little tired about the constant comments about Empire of the Clouds being eighteen minutes long. So, it's long, big deal, there are better songs on the album, and other bands have crafted songs of this length that are better.

The Story of Sonny Boy Slim by Gary Clark Jr.

There were so many Stevie Ray Vauhan clones that erupted out of Austin after the great man was killed. So many blues guitarists who were supposed to be the "next big thing," so when I heard about Clark, I was dubious, and, while I marked him as someone to check out, I wasn't rushing to do it. After seeing him play in a film called Chef, and in Dave Grohl's Sonic Highways TV series, I got excited enough to pick up his first full-length Blak & Blu. I'm a big fan of how Clark melds traditional electric blues with hip-hop influences, and this album provides more of the same. The guy can play the guitar, but I don't feel like it's as in your face as with other artists he's been compared to. The guitar doesn't feel like the centerpiece of the song...the SONG feels like the centerpiece of the song. It's really refreshing and exciting. Sonny Boy Slim provides more of the same, and frankly, I also think his songwriting has improved. This is "total package" material, and I love it.

I've also been listening to a lot of the prog supergroup, Flying Colors. They have a new live disk due in a couple of months, and it inspired me to revisit their two albums, Flying Colors and Second Nature. Truly top-notch melodic, technical rock and roll. I also enjoy their 2014 Live in Europe set.

You Want a Hayoth Update? OK.

So, for those of you keeping track, we are very near the end of the ...And Getting Dollars Back project. I did final mixing on Reason, and re-mixed Haunting last week, and I'm extremely happy with the results. I think I've stumbled onto a way to record and mix my vocals that is pleasing to my ears.

Which is a pretty good trick.

I'm still not 100% sold on the lyrics I've come up with for Reason. They looked good on paper, but sound a tad clunky. So, I revised for the re-mix. Still not 100% sold. I may let the tune live with me for a while, and see if I can't come up with something better before the end of December. If I can't think of anything better, it'll stand. I mean, I don't find the lyrics embarrassing, or anything.

The big news is that I started on the musical side of the final track, Getting Dollars Back. The original concept in my head has been dialed back a bit, but I really like how it's working out. On Sunday, I was able to record a scratch guitar track, then the drums and the bass. I sort of astounded myself. It was just an incredibly productive day.

At this point, I have to build a final guitar track, which should be interesting, as my current plan is to have the verse riff change each time through. I'll probably have to build it in sections, in fact I know I'll have to, as the concept is for the wah-wah pedal to come in and out a lot during the track. It's just easier to do that in separate takes, rather than trying to switch it on and off on the fly.

Save that for some theoretical live gig, in the future.

The Reason experience has also left me feeling very critical of the lyrics. So, I think I'll probably work on some revisions there, too. I think, right now, I'm erring on the side of specificity. I often get too involved in storytelling, lyrically, rather than trying to create an emotional mood. As with my soloing, I think I need to learn to let the lyrics breathe more.

Well, what do you expect? My favorite songwriter is Springsteen.

A good example of this is how Dark Water ended up. The original lyrics were just bursting with me Dark Water may be the strongest song on the record. I like how the lyrics and vocal came out, and the solo, which is a long guitar solo, may be the best playing I've ever done on record.

Which is hilarious to me, because the song is a total compromise. If you recall, Dark Water used to be called Zep, and was a acoustic number heavily inspired by Zeppelin's Ramble On. Now it feels, to me, like a mid-tempo blues number. As I re-listen and evaluate my work, I keep thinking maybe I should do a re-mix on it (make the bassline more prominent, specifically), but then I just sort of sit back and find myself thinking, "this pretty much works for me as it is." I mean, I still flirt with doing some re-mixing, if for no other reason that a couple of tracks are mixed slightly more quietly than others, and I'd like to try to find a consistent volume level.
trying, probably desperately, to get the point across. What I ultimately came to (and I hope you'll agree when you hear it) was a pretty simple recurring phrase with variations. Honestly, right now, as I write this, I think that

But, then again, the volume differences aren't that huge. The tracks, so far, sound pretty great together (to my ears). I have those, "if it ain't broke..." feelings.

I'm so close to done, I can taste it. We've got house guests coming soon, and I'm gonna be able to pack up the drums completely. I won't need them until probably January or February. I have no intention of letting another six years elapse between these projects again. I've felt so inspired and creative since I really buckled down on this album. It all started with the drum purchase, which was in March, I think. Since then I've (almost) recorded eight complete songs.

Although, I've also learned to not rush. As I look back at Where Have All the Heroes Gone, my last "album" from 2006, that was so rushed, and almost every song was pulled out of my ass. So much so that I can't even remember how to play most of those songs. I was truly making it up as I went, and clearly not taking very good notes. The time that I've taken, even if it was too damn long, allowed me to write what I think are 8 solid numbers. I was more prepared to record, song wise, than at any time since my first "solo" project.

So, as I'm moving into the last phase, figuring out song order, artwork, deciding how to distribute the thing, I'm really happy with how this is all turning out.

I Have My Reason

"Reason" is aaaallllmost done.

I laid down some lead guitar, intro stuff, and vocals on Sunday. as I was working on the mix, I began to feel I should take another run at the main solo, and maybe re-record the vocal track. It's actually turned out even more "rock" than I ever expected.

The main riff was written with a bit of a swing groove in mind, and I think a bit of that is still there, but the arrangement has become much more aggressive. Switching back and forth from the main riff to vocals. It gives it a bit of a...I guess start-stop feel would be accurate. It's not a track you could dance to, but that's not my goal anyway.

Although, it would be cool to pull off a good dance track, just one. Ahh...on the next disk, maybe.

The opening and closing solos made me pretty happy, and I was feeling good about the main solo until I listened back to the track about 14 times, working the mix. Just seemed too much like what I always do. Which, really, is probably me just smacking hard into my own limitations. I wanna try to get more adventurous with it. I also need to just learn how to lie back and NOT play, instead of trying to fill every second with a note. Feel, man...that's the deal.

Same with the vocals. They were energetic and raw, flowing relatively well, but I felt like maybe I was playing to the top of my register too much. Sounded a bit shrill. Vocals are always difficult for me, because I tend to cringe at the sound of my singing. It's mot even a matter of singing "well," or not (because I think I've been doing relatively well on these tracks), but just that the timbre of my voice doesn't please me. Something to accept/fight/work through.

I re-strung my bass on Sunday, too (don't even ask how long it'd been). And started mucking about with a line that sounded really cool, along the lines of Jane's Addiction's "Coming Down the Mountain." Started hearing guitar stuff that could go over it. Long story short...my "stop at eight" decision may get reversed if this can come together for me.

As it is, I just have "Getting Dollars Back" to finish for the eight. I expect that "Dollars" will take a bit of time, but who knows? I am, however, still committed to finishing by the end of the year.

Maybe even Christmas.

Haunted to Haunting

After some thought, I've revised "Haunted." I re-recorded at a faster tempo, and it all went very smoothly, I also reverted to the original title, "Haunting." It was always a short track, but now it's really short. Not even reaching 3 minutes.

I am pretty happy with it. I actually love the lyrics, some of the best I've written, I think. I may need to take another run at the vocal track, but I think that's gonna wait until right before I finish everything up. I'm feeling a sense of forward momentum now, and I don't want to lose it.

To that; "Reason" is on deck, I've been playing around with the progression and riff, worked out a bridge, and am generally ready to start working toward putting down the basic guitar track. This is usually a fair arduous process, because I don't like to piecemeal the basic track. I like the backbone guitar part to be a single flow. Now, with me, usually this track gets wiped, anyway, but jitters and starts tend to make the drum track difficult. You can make smooth, but it's also just a guide track for the drums and bass. Who wants to work that hard.

Although, I've been experimenting with building tracks out of separate recordings. "Haunting" has a drum track built out of two takes, with the bridge, key change section having a beat I was finding difficult to switch to on the fly, and it sounds good. Now, after "Reason," my plan is to move on to "Getting Dollars Back," and that basic guitar track I am anticipating to be an amalgamation of several takes. My hope is for that track to move around a bit, style-wise.

Work is progressing. I feel good about it. With Rehearsal for Shadow Over Innsmouth starting up next week, I'm hoping to at least get a good chunk of "Reason" completed this weekend.

Music Project Update 7.4.2013

So, spent some time last night working on Cliffs of Moher, I did a scratch vocal track. Then I managed to get the mandolin track done, and also lay down the bodhran drum and a shaker for some percussion.

And damn if it doesn't sound pretty good. Needs some fine mixing, and a bit of reverb and EQ, but it sounds like what I wanted it to, a folk tune. The rhythm was tricky, as the verses have repeating measures of, I think, 2/4 time in the midst of pretty regular 4/4 for the rest of the track. It's actually kind of similar to a bit in the verses of  Hourglass from my first CD.

So, I need to do a final vocal track, maybe lay in some backing vocals, mix and master, and one more down...bringing my total to 3 completed tracks. I'm off on Friday, so I expect to have something by the weekend.  My goal is still 12 tracks, ultimately. I'm not expecting to finish by my birthday, at this point. Especially with Warped rehearsals starting.

Next? It's back to rock.

Which means, after being packed up for several weeks to accommodate guests, the Roland kit is coming out again. I'm excited. I'm not a great drummer, but I have a blast pounding on this thing.

Actually, the whole project has taken a turn. I'm energized and invigorated now. I think actually getting something done is helping. It's really exciting to spend a few hours on something and have a completed song that sounds much better than what I could do with my 8-track and drum machine. I'm back in that zone where the work is driving itself. With each track I want to do more, I think about the riffs and stuff I have waiting. I enjoy simply playing more than I have in a while.

I am finding myself somewhat torn about sharing the completed tracks on soundcloud, as I have with the works in progress material. I yearn for feedback, but I also have an intense desire to wait, and lift the shroud on the whole project when it's done. I have people asking for the tracks, wanting downloads, etc, which I can certainly do in soundcloud, but I am definitely not going to allow downloads until the whole thing is ready. I may stream a few more tracks, but I want to keep the eventual CD a special thing.

One advantage to that is that it keeps me from wanting to tinker more and more. Every time I get feedback, I want to revise. In a lot of ways, it's the total opposite of where I get with acting. Once I've set my path in a show, it's set. Bad reviews, snarky comments (and hell, positive comments) have zero effect. I set my path based on what I feel works, and let it play out. Honestly, it's just about experience and confidence. I am a damn good actor, and I have years, decades, of experience to draw on. As a musician and songwriter, I still consider myself a learner.

Although, I am really happy with these tracks, so far...maybe confidence is just around the corner.

The Hayoth Project Starts to Evolve

For many, many moons, you, my faithful readers have heard me bitch and whine and moan about the "next music project." after cranking out 2 DIY CDs in the space of a few years, I've been at a bit of an impasse with the next group of songs.

I've long considered this the "Hayoth project" because of an album cover I created using the internet meme that was going around a couple of years ago. I just liked the way the band name, the image and the album title went together. As I involve other people, it'll probably evolve, but...these are still Hayoth tracks, in my mind.

I have struggled with my own ruts on this stuff. I really wanted more eyes and ears on it. Somebody to push me, and to push back against. Something to get the juices flowing. I wanted to be in a room playing with other people. 

Well, I'm hoping to have some of that starting very soon. I'm actually getting together with real, live, ACTUAL musicians this coming weekend to jam on some of my ideas. In that spirit, I've made some more very, very, very rough demos of the tracks we'll be playing around with. I thought I'd share, for anyone who wants to sit though several minutes of a guitar and drum machine.

Feedback and comments are welcome. Just bear in mind these are very rough, and are really only for demo purposes. They were done very quickly, with very little work to make them sound professional.

(Apparently, I can no longer embed Soundcloud files here, so I'll provide links)

Seeking

Monkey Sex
(yes, A working title, I think)

Getting Dollars Back