2011 - a better year for music than many recent ones I think. I've not listed anything by number this year. These are all great records and deserve your attention if not purchase. For me the one common thread that runs through all the work listed below are great productions. I'm also talking about song choices, risk taking and adventure. I'm talking about LIFE! I'm talking about HOW the records were recorded, mixed and mastered. I've been more aware then ever of all of these distinctions and how they really do elevate (or hamper) the final mix. And folks, it does make a difference. Business as usual just doesn't cut it anymore. Well, these records listed below will put a little oomph in your life and that should see you in good stead for some ways into 2012.
Bill Callahan - "My Apocalypse"
I'm a recent convert to Mr. Calahan's music starting with last years “Sometimes I Wish We Were Eagles” (which also made my 2010 Best Of list). For me, when it comes to listening to music, it's all about songs. And I'm talking about lyrics baby. Two chords and great lyrics? Fine by me. Hell, one chord and great lyrics are enough. Lucky for us though not only is Callahan a great lyricist, he's got a tight little band that puffs and chugs along underneath him in perfect harmony. For the most part the music is acoustic in nature and with vocals front and center. His baritone speak/sing and skewered worldly observations totally flip the world on its head. Like, why the hell didn't I think of that? Like a painter with words or perhaps snapshots by an American writer with all the dust and tattered glory revealed.
Girl Singer - "Tell Her What She's Won"
A reincarnation or sorts by a long time favorite of mine from the time when we were both signed at Glitterhouse Records. A welcome return for Seattleite Carolyn Wennbloom who delivers a disc of haunting if not apocalyptic electrified folk music. A stout collection of heartfelt songs (3 covers as well as her own) about life, love and loss. Very ably supported by various Seattle musicians (Chris Brokaw, Terry Moeller, Paul Austin, Chris Eckman and more) this record is a real flower in the rough. Stately, confidant and compelling. Tell Her What She's Won is a slow grower but will get under your skin. Welcome back Carolyn!
PJ Harvey - "Let England Shake"
The first thing that struck me about this record was how few times she used the personal pronoun “I”. Not an easy thing to do and an achievement I find remarkable. I've not read anything about how this was recorded but just from looking at the disc photo's it seems her usual crew (Mick Harvey, John Parish, Flood among others) built up a studio in an old church somewhere and recorded from there. You can hear it in the music. Lot's of space. The songs sound ‘simple' but I would guess it took tons of work to achieve that end. There is a theme at work here, powerful and clearly stated. England is indeed shaking and slices of that are documented. Her voice is in brilliant form, the lyrics powerful and honest. Tough stuff yet totally approachable and refined. An English writer with all her grit and grim pride intact. A wonderful record!
Lykke Li - “Wounded Rhymes”
I'd almost forgotten this record as it came out early in the year and I was very glad to rediscover and play it again. Best music this year for car driving and played loud is just fine. “Modern” hook laden, electronic, pop-rock music from Sweden. She's got a great voice, writes a good song that fits perfectly just about anywhere you want to hear it. My 13-year-old musician friend Margaux loves this record as do I. But make no mistake: this is not fluff. Li is a tough and aggressive musician/singer that delivers her material with confidence and originality.
Mogwai - "Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will"
I bought this LP after seeing them play live this year in Paris at the Folies Bergere. Maybe the loudest rock and roll concert I'd ever heard but it was a great evening. And I'm happy to report that the record (for the most part) sounds exactly like the band plays live. An instrumental only album, which is HEAVY and best played loud. I don't think there is any band out there that sounds like these guys! Powerful stuff and a very refreshing listen and counterbalance to the other choices listed here.
Thurston Moore - "Demolished Thoughts"
A beautiful and balanced record with Beck in the producer's chair. I think Thurston is actually a poet disguised as guitar player. Lusty arrangements and beguiling intriquicies frame the heartfelt musings of this most talented of musicians. Supposedly inspired by recent marital problems or some such but I never had the feeling of sadness in these songs. This is not whining. Contemplative, honest, well constructed music and as you might expect, all underpinned with beautiful arrangements (Beck) and Moore's (mostly acoustic) layered guitar work.
The Walkabouts - "Travels In The Dustland"
The first notes of this beautiful album draw back the curtain on the newest collection of music from this long-lived Seattle band. 57 minutes is long but the album is a song cycle and each song is necessary to the whole. Excellently crafted, written and presented this disc features what the band does best. Carla Torgerson and Chris Eckman sing better then they ever have and the newly expanded band (with the addition of guitarist Paul Austin) sound fresh, confident and powerful. “My Diviner”, “They Are not Like us” and “Dustlands” alone make this album worth the price of admission.
Tom Waits - "Bad As Me"
Mr. Waits put the whole upper balcony to sleep (literally!) at his last Paris show (with band) at Le Grand Rex. Glad to report that no one will be sleeping though this new and enlivened affair as he's well arrived and once more being bad. The first bars are a jolt and it's all pretty fresh sounds from there (accept where's the bass in the mix?). He slips back and forth between his two voices (hard and raspy and sandpaper soft) with the material. Still, the best of this work rank at least equal to what has come before and it' boogie juice that should inspire. Heady stuff and welcomed most wholeheartedly by yours truly.
Kurt Vile - "Smoke Ring Around My Halo”
Some great new music from Philadelphia. Just take amplified acoustic guitars, an occasional bass, add drums and keys/2 nd guitars, some vocals and away we go. Acoustic rock and rollish (this record anyway) but played with verve and originality. His 4th album. He's got a sharp eye, a slackers handle and great imagination. There's plenty of space in this music too. Perhaps the lack of bass opens things up but I suspect it's intentional. He's a good finger picker on his guitar and the band coils itself around that. This man is for real. Great arrangements and spacey production flesh out this collection and show us the way forward for 2012!
Best Song of The Year:
L/O/N/G- “American Primitive”. A totally fresh and original work from Austrian Rupert Huber and the American Chris Eckman's long (sic) running studio project. A fresh musical approach and full-bodied sound from 2 gifted musicians.
December 23rd
2011 Holiday Season Newsletter:
Hello friends and neighbors. It's been quite a long while since I've been here with any news. Long overdue...
First thing is to send along best wishes to you and yours for the next days and for a great start into 2012! I guess it's most always good to see the old year gone and this one is no different. It sure does feel like we're hauling more baggage then usual into the New Year though doesn't it?
2011 has been a good musical year for me both at the writing desk and for shows. I played gigs all over Europe, drove a lot of kilometers and came home safely each time. Not a little thing!! I also thought that I'd be making a new record at some point but it never happened. 2 main reasons being that I couldn't decide on a focus not did I have a band to collaborate with. Fortunately here on the eve of 2012 I am hopeful that both of those challenges have been resolved. For a long time my ideas for the next record have revolved around using a small combo in one form or another. Putting that together here in Paris has proved to be a challenge and one I've had limited success with over the past years. I'm hopeful that that has changed now. And the reality about focus is that it does depend in part on WHO is available to play the songs. And new songs I do have and in abundance. The two are linked though and that's as it should be. I can tell you that I am 100% fully engaged in my quest to get a new CD realized in 2012. A great BIG thank-you here to all you wonderful friends, fans and supporters that I've been fortunate to connect with over this past year. If you know any one thing about me then you should know how very important every one of you are for me in my life!
And hey, in the next days if you've some room at your table for an extra plate or two or perhaps extra space in front of the fire, please do reach out to someone that might not be so lucky. Invite them over. It's a little thing really and you'll make the world a better place!
The german tour was a great success. Thank you all for being part of it and also for the new record of visitors in this website! Now Terry is thinking about the next record planned for 2012.
Well, betwixt and between it seems. Glommed onto this fucking screen 4 hours a day and can't seem to wean myself always from the tit. Complaining life is moving too fast and where is the time going? Right directly sucked up here is seems. A desultory garden, slimmed down and not so ambitious this year but ready for a second planting. Mogwai on the horizon and ready for it. Needy for it. Tamikrest's recent visit along with some good friends was a much-needed lift. Stress has my breath caught up inside my chest but the doc and internist's say all is where and how it should be. Stress? Who ME? I've decided to give up online chess. Maybe that will help (hardy har har).
Music? Ah yes. Buttloads of mediocracy in the air but I've been collecting (CD versions) a lot of the old Chicago blues records I used to have 35+ years ago. Listening again to the wonderful sounds and artists that inspired me so much. Chess Records is where it's at man. What an wealth: Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, And then the other greats: Big Bill Broonzy, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Patton, Blind Willie Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Lightening Hopkins, my good friend Johnny Long and more. Can't find the Tampa Red Bluebird collection that I had though. Damn. But it's been good getting back to that well and really helps screw my head back on straight.
A long-standing project but once more I'm starting to archive my hundreds of cassette tapes onto mini-disc. Somewhat of an amazing journey backwards. Fucking tons of songs. Lots and lots of picked notes. I played with a much heavier hand then. Funny that. Still, still… lots of exuberance, a much higher voice, more adventuresome in ways that sounds good to me now. Maybe this will help lift the doldrums.
Hardpan has risen from the ashes it seems. Looking now to buy tickets for December 1-12 to fly back to Tucson and into Chris Burroughs studio for some desert island recording. It'll be interesting and I think it will be good. It's been 10 years! We're using a little more forethought then the last effort. A story line perhaps but with a voice and a purpose that should serve us well. Blue Rose said yes to bankroll our efforts! Yeah Edgar!
My own efforts here at Rue Voltaire include a raft of new songs. Chris Eckman and I will have a recording rendevous in April for our next album together. We're keeping it going! I won't say much more then that now if only because we're still in the "sorting through it all" stage but I will say that the new songs are good, strong and have a will. I will also say that we both have a very good idea of where we're driving this effort. A couple of sleepers that have been maturing on the shelves will finally make their debut. AND I'll tour many of the songs this fall.
Speaking of touring: ambitious plans for Norway, Holland, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Basqueland and Spain beginning with Norway in August. A lot of fucking work here at the booking desk though. Money is tight everywhere and folks are cautious. Can't say I blame them but live music is good for the soul and the life force. I'll post these dates that I have very soon. I have quite a few shows booked now but there are lots of holes to fill.
Ok. Top of my head. All empty now.
April 28th
Terry made a Youtube channel to gather all his video together, click HERE to get there.
I decided not to number my list this year. It's seemed trite to do so and how the hell do you objectively differentiate between #1 and #2 etc.? That being said, ALL of the below records are wonderful and will hopefully bring you hours of listening pleasure. One of the changes that I noticed happening to me since I've started working in my own recording studio this past year is how important it is to me about how a record sounds. The mixing and mastering, the relationship of one instrument to the others, space, how the vocals and instruments are recorded, etc. etc. The records below all achieve excellent marks for quality and it's one reason they are on the list. I do have to apologize for the overuse of adjectives like brilliant, killer, wonderful, remarkable etc. But I couldn't help myself. I love these records!
Also: I would be remiss not to point out 2 Special STARS for 2010:
Glitterhouse Records has to be the label of the year (in my world anyway). Stepping away from their comfort zone and with the startup of a cool side label project called Stag-O-Lee Records, Glitterhouse has reinvented itself in a very tough market and in the process, reestablished themselves on the international stage. This is not an easy thing to do. Their courage and vision is to be commended. 4 of the records below are from the label. (Also of note from them for 2010 is the very fine Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project CD entitled “We Are Only Riders”!). My hearty congratulations to all involved!
Chris Eckman has had more then a remarkable 2010. Not only did he create excellent mixes of my own sessions for “Proof Of A Promise”, he produced (or co-produced and often mixed) albums by The Bambi Molesters, Dirtmusic, Tamikrest and Lobi Traore. AND after 3 weeks of rehearsals he recorded a new Walkabouts record, which will be released in 2011. A remarkable achievement from this most hardworking and multi-talented artist! Bravo Chris!!
And please don't forget: all the artists listed here have their own websites and of course need and appreciate your support!
The Bambi Molesters- As The Dark Wave Swells
A super brilliant release by this band of instrumentalists from Croatia. It's a gorgeous recording with wonderfully constructed songs, killer production and performances throughout. The songs vary quite a bit stylistically but stay ‘in the pocket' if that makes sense. In other words: you don't forget who the band is even with all of the variety. In a nutshell: instrumental guitar music with the occasional Mexicali trumpet and orchestrated strings added to spice up the soup. My favorite song of the year is #5: Into The Crimson Sunset! This record bears up extremely well with repeated listening and it's truly the perfect record no matter what mood you happen to be in. Encore please!!
The Black Keys- Brothers
I just got this last week although it had been on my list since it came out a few months back. Patrick Carney (drums, ++) with Dan Auerbach (guitars, vocals, ++) take a step back from their last horn-ridden adventure but in a good way here. They don't overreach themselves this time and do exactly what they do best: play well constructed, bluesy rock and roll and play the hell out of these songs. These days Auerbach is one of my favorite singers. This is Midwest rock and roll at it's very best. I like this record for its honesty, unpretentiousness and its down and dirty music. For me anyway, these two men show the way forward.
Peter Case- Wig
After surviving a recent open-heart surgery, insurmountable medical bills and a yearlong recovery period, Peter has come roaring back in his own formidable style. This disc is a roots rocking romp of killer songs, great playing and just an all around beginning to end collection of edge of your seat listening material. Loose and funky and yet again these are stripped down sessions featuring 2 guitars (or piano and guitar) plus drums. I probably played this album the most this past year. Self-produced by Peter, this is a highly recommended disc. This guy is truly and uniquely what remains best about American music. His website has the best blog on the net too!
Clogs- The Creatures In The Garden Of Lady Walton
Here is a recent discovery of mine although they've been around since 2003. A 4-member group with a revolving door for guest artists, I could only describe their music as gentle, ‘classical', acoustic polyphonies with minimalist melodies that transcends genres. Indie-rock it is not but that spirit is here. But this is not novelty for novelties sake. This is popular music but made with intelligence, restraint and skill. With complex and elegant arrangements centered on viola, guitar, bassoon, percussion and voice, some might find this music a ‘reach. I am quite addicted to the record now and I find it very inspiring. Think Eno, Phillip Glass, Penguin Café Orchestra etc.
Dirtmusic- BKO
Chris Brokaw, Chris Eckman and Hugo Race, 3 leaders of their own respective bands, bring their songs and talent to meet in Bamako (BKO), Mali to record basic tracks in 10 days for their second project. The album holds together remarkably well for such tempo and it's Groove City from one side to the other. Smoking bowl indeed! Joined by members of Tamikrest and other Malian musicians, the murky swamp heat of Africa rises to the top. Chris Eckman's song Black Gravity is a modern day classic and with Hugo Race and Chris Brokaw contributing mightily as well the fun never stops. A musical and weighty achievement by gifted musicians who put together this gumbo stew of songs with an abundance sticky vibe.
Gil Scott-Heron- I'm New Here
For those of you with the musical ‘blahs', this disc is a breath of fresh air and might be just for you. I hadn't heard Mr. Scott-Heron in years and years and I'm New Here has been a wonderful re-discovery. Very compelling production techniques surround his war weary and raspy voice and create a wonderful bed of sound-scapes for his self-penned poem-songs. Also with some excellently chosen cover, which he ‘owns', I feel this record is a ‘must have' for 2010. All the songs are all keepers but for me the best on the record is the title track; ‘I'm New Here' written by Bill Callahan.
The National- High Violet
I think this is one of those bands you're either going to like or not. I've always enjoyed them though and this record is their best yet. They tend towards dark and brooding guitar driven songs but I've never felt their music to be either sad or depressive. Matt Berringer's baritone vocals are front and center and a pleasure to listen to. This record reveals its charms slowly I think but it is well worth your patience. You will find yourself coming back time and time again to these songs that will become your friends. A rich album of music.
Tamikrest- Adagh-
This is another record from Africa but these young musicians are Taureg (or who call themselves Kel Tamasheck). Their culture is nomadic by tradition with the Toureg tribes inhabiting a desert that spans borders and time. In a land beset by war, hardship, distances, silence and the beauty of the Sahara, Tamikrest music is very much a part of their reality. The how and why of this band is an amazing story but here is not the place to tell it. It is really worth learning about though. Even without knowing any of that, the music stands on it's own merits. Electric guitar, bass and percussion span all cultures and boundaries and so even to the desert do the modern sounds of the world come. But Tamikrest's music? Unlike anything you've ever heard before. A commingling of cultures and styles with the wind and the rhythms of the desert blowing throughout. An amazing journey from beginning to end.
Lobi Traore- Rainy Season Blues
This record is the final recording of the recently and lamentably deceased 49-year old Malian songwriter. If you followed the American blues family “tree” backwards to the west coast of Africa, this album is exactly what one of those roots might just sound like. You do not need to understand the language of his singing (Bambara) to be able to identify with the stark and compelling music of these 10 songs. Recorded ‘live' all in one afternoon, this is the sound of one African man, with voice and guitar, singing and playing music at the same time. This is not guitar strum-strum music either. Intricate, emotional, enchanting and highly skilled, this is deeply Rainy Season Blues music.
Neil Young- Le Noise
Just when you think this guy is done for, he nails another one (how many times have my reviews about Neil Young's music started thusly?). The best music he's released in years and that's saying a lot. This is a most vital incarnation for the man though with just him alone with electric guitar and voice and the creative producer Daniel Lanois at the mixing board. Most of the songs were recorded live. An essential record for your collection, this music is meant to be played loud. A strong, clear and vivid portrait from a musician very much ‘inside' his game.
I am happy to announce the release of my newest CD called "Proof Of A promise". Self-produced and recorded at my own Rue Voltaire studio this is my first instrumental only album.
"Proof Of A Promise" features 10 original songs (pared down from 20). Recorded over 3 months early in 2010 this is also my first ever full-length self-recorded project. The songs range in style from solo guitar work to more heavily produced studio efforts. A few adjectives I’ve heard from the few who have had first listening include: "warm", "cohesive", "imaginative" and "fun".
This work highlights my acoustic guitar and Dobro playing in a variety of settings and styles.
Mixed by long time friend and collaborator Chris Eckman and mastered by Denis Blackham, the 6-panel digi-pak also features a striking presentation with original photographs from French photographer Franck Betermin and design by Norwegian graphic artist Håvard Gjelseth.
For "Proof Of A Promise": If you live in Europe you will be able to order the CD directly from me for 12€ including postage or 8€ for high quality digital downloads (including a PDF of the front cover).
I will sign and number the first 200 copies as an incentive. Also you can order the CD directly from the Glitterhouse Records mail- order catalogue.
We are currently hard at work in putting online a web-store for the TerryLeeHale.com web page. I’ve long wanted to offer my friend’s digital downloads directly and that will be coming soon. I have a lot of interesting and unreleased music which I’d like to share with everyone. And along with that we will put up digital downloads of the whole TLH back catalogue. We hope to have this store up and running in the next week or two. The first offering will be "Proof Of A Promise". Please stay tuned here for more information.
September 17th
Vacation Postcard, Sept. 2010 - Sanary Sur Mer
Hi everyone -
A postcard/note from the south of France. I hope you are well and have had a good and memorable summer (in the good way of course!).
Katy and I are on our vacation now in the south of France on the Mediterranean Sea. We have been coming to this wonderful place for 4 or 5 years now and it's pretty great. We delayed our normal vacation time this year from July until now for a couple reasons. The main one being that we decided it was silly to leave Paris when it is usually the best weather time there. Why when it's the nicest right? Plus there are millions of people vacationing down here in July and it's very hot! Plus Paris is relatively quiet in July (because everyone is in the south duh) and it's nice to take advantage of that. So here we are now. Normally Sanary sur Mer is a high rent city with lot's of wealthy retired folks living around and we could never afford to vacation here (600€ per week for a 2 bedroom flat is standard rate) except that her Mom's husband has a nice apartment here where they kindly let us stay while they visit in the northland of France to escape the summer heat here (they'll return here right as we leave). Well, we like the heat here now as Paris is definitely cooling off and, in fact it's raining there even as I write this. It was about 80 here today and blue sky all the way.
Room with a view - Sanary
The produce here is absolutely wonderful too… lot's of fresh fruit and vegetables and we take advantage of the seafood from the Mediterranean Sea. It tastes quite different from Pacific or Atlantic seafood as well so it's an added bonus to be able buy it freshly caught like we do. It's not cheap but what freshly caught seafood is? Also the local Bandol wine is wonderful!!
On the music front the solo instrumental project "Proof Of A Promise" is completed. To say that it's taken longer then I thought it would is an understatement. I have not been fooling around either. I started recording last February and finished in May. After that it took some time to get it mixed and mastered (different places and countries) and even more time to figure out the artwork and then to get it designed. I also had to search where to get it pressed and so here we are in September. Well, I say it's finished. I guess I should knock on wood because both the audio and visual files are not yet at the mastering plant but they are on the way.
Anyway, this was always going to be a solo project for me and I don't want to complain about all the work involved with bringing this to fruition. I've had considerable help on all fronts from my usual posse of friends as well so I have not been working totally in a vacuum. I must say though, it been a hell of a lot of work and it's still far from over. I now have to figure out how to promote and sell it, as basically I'm my own record company with this project. (I think I understand now why most record company owners are EX-musicians!). Also I still want to start up a web store through my site here to be able to offer this new CD and all the rest of the stock that I have both digitally and otherwise. I need to get all of my music online digitally for sure. It's silly not to off that in this iPod world. I mean not everyone is a thief so why not give the folks the chance to pay me directly hmm?
Wait until the next post and then there will be all the information that you need to get your very own copy of "Proof Of A Promise". It's pretty good if I do say so myself. An instrumental Terry Lee Hale music CD. At long last!
Congratulations to a great football team and their victory for the world cup. The most deserved team and it was a pleasure to watch their progression through the tournament. My heartfelt best wishes to the team and their country for a much deserved and waited for victory!! Bravo!!!!
jUst wanted to get the word out to Europe about this cool band Kulturshock that's performing mostly in the south but anyway - be sure to check them out. Also one of my all time favorite Seattle artists Amy Denio own home page is outstanding. She's a wonderfully talented, vibrant and gifted woman. Get your brain washed out and check out her music. Just what you're needing...
June, 6th
Summertime Blues 06.04.10
Hey ho, hidey ho…
Just handed over 3 months of session files to Chris Eckman for mixing a couple days ago. I had no idea when this entire project started last February that it would take this long or be so frigging complicated. I felt better though after Chris told me that his most excellent solo project “Last Side Of The Mountain” took 11 months! What have I to complain about right? Of course our liner notes are not the same BUT what is the same for both of us is that we did this at home and ‘”LIFE” happens at home.
There can (nor should the be) be no disassociation. Your partner, the garden, shopping, visits with friends, movies, dishes, music business and all the rest just need to be attended to and taken care of. In my case I will say that a new computer, recording software (an upgrade to Pro Tools 8), some new microphones and hardware all made for a very big load to shoulder in order to get up and running. Of course the “proof will be in the pudding” as they say and I've no idea about what anyone will say or think about this.
Hell, I haven't even heard from Chris yet so I've no idea if what I've created has any worth or not. I “think” it's pretty good but that's just the creator speaking. In fact I've just been listening to a recent purchase of a very fine solo recording project of (mostly) just 12-string guitar music by current Dirt Music alum Chris Brokaw “VDSG- Solo Acoustic Volume Three”. I was thinking how very great it was sounding. From what I can tell anyway it's comprised of no more than 3 or 4 tracks, one or 2 microphones and some great playing and songs. Maybe next time I should think more along these lines? I guess we'll find out.
Your webmaster visiting the studio
Speaking of: I guess it'll be the fall sometime when we'll be able to offer this to folks for listening. I'm still looking for a name too although I do have a couple good ideas. Stay tuned…
Instrumentally yours,
Terry Lee
May, 11th
May 2, 2010 - I hope you're not getting bored with my tardy updates and seeming lack of movement from here lately. Nothing could be further from the truth actually. On the recording front I'm about 2 steps away from being finished with all my parts. This means the writing, recording and editing. Chris Eckman will mix the songs for me in June and after that there will be mastering to do. I suppose we're looking at being able to offer this for listening by September. I'm looking to find a way for print up a few hundred Cd's as well as being able to offer it digitally from this site.
I will say that this whole project has gone on WAY longer then I anticipated. I'd no idea I'd be sitting here now in early May and still not be finished. Just goes to show I guess. I started the actual recording back in February.
I've been using Protools, which is my digital recording medium. For the uninitiated this basically means that I'm recording into my computer via the digital program Protools that is recording and editing software. I also have some hardware preamps, compressors, microphones, and monitors etc., which make up my Rue Voltaire home studio. The only thing is that using Protools is not as easy as just setting up a microphone and turning on a tape recorder. I liken it to learning how to speak a new language and new languages are difficult. Basically the point here is that the main reason this has all taken so long is that my skills with this recording medium were minimal and so time was needed. I am moving forward though, learning a hell of a lot and feeling pretty good about myself on top of it all. As my friend Larry Crane (Tape Op magazine) told me one time, "good musicians can usually make good recordings. It's about listening". I might add the word patience here as well.
Anyway- I'm very positive about what I've done so far. The few folks that have heard the songs definitely think there is a marked improvement on past efforts (at home recording that is). I've whittled the songs down from around 24 to the current 13 and I've still to lose one more (and why 12 seems to be THE number for recorded music is a good question. Mostly it has to do with time and attention span I suspect).
My working title has been “The Buddha Sessions”. Why Buddha Sessions? I was trying to remind myself to stay calm, take deep breaths when frustrated and, frankly, to try and surround myself with some helpful energy. Anyway, this doesn't mean that it's the final title but between you and me, I kind of like it.
UPDATED UPDATE: Today is May 11 and I will be finished with it all (or all I can do from here that is) tomorrow latest (knock on wood). I'm really ready to move on to other things. First thing on the list: relearn to be friends again with my long neglected guitars! Yippee!!
BTW: Dayna Kurtz is a fine vocalist and songwriter and I DO own her records.
March, 30th
03.26.10 Spring Update
Hello everyone -
Spring is here again and happy are we! It was a long winter for us in Paris. And you? Seems from what I heard from around the planet that it was pretty much the same. And not just speaking about the weather either.
USA: President Obama has almost single handedly drug America kicking and screaming into the group of nations where quality of life triumphs over corporate profits, the insurance monopolies and greed. Health care for the poor, the sick and aged and just about anyone if they want it. It's not going to be free though - but the way it is now, it's truly bankrupting the country! What a strange concept for the Americans. To read the blogs coming out of that country you'd think the end of world had arrived. This is a mail from a friend of mine in a recent dialogue we had about the fascistic rhetoric and violence that abounds stateside. His mail expresses quite clearly my thoughts on the current demagoguery that clogs the airways: “… And how working people in America can buy into all of this shit is beyond me...the ignorance is deep and frankly inexcusable. They have been duped but they allow themselves to be. The narcotic of hate that is spewed by Fox news every night into their living rooms is somehow more desirable to them than making sure that diabetic children are not denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. It is all beyond comprehension”.
This certainly is not the end of the story by any means but it was an important first step. Every president since Teddy Roosevelt has tried to bring universal health care to America. I am one of millions and millions of people from all over the world that applaud our president and those members of congress who did the right thing and forgot (for a moment anyway) about the politics of it all. Bravo!! I say vote those other conservative naysayer's out of their jobs and lets get on with the business once again of enshrining the principle that “all men and women are created equal!” America must be about more then how much money you have in your pocket!
HOME: I've been trying to get into the garden and get the soil turned and ready for seed but the weather has been terribly wet and makes any kind of digging almost impossible. Last year I planted radishes on the first day of April. Not going to happen this year I know!
Home studio in Paris
MUSIC: I've just concluded basic tracking of about 20+ songs or so. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I have it's good! It was 6 weeks of almost daily recording so maybe 20 songs isn't all that many but anyway that's what it is. I had a good time though if not challenging. It felt great to be creating and recording new music! As you might expect, it's quite a mixed bag. Slow, quiet, old timey, bluesy, traditional, modern and ambient and some loop driven, devil beats as well. I did try to keep it honest though. It's all played live so I can bring it to the stage. I am planning to release this myself from my own soon to be posted web store, which we will get to after this recording is finished. I guess we'll probably press some CD's for those of you that want them versus digital versions.
It's going to be something like 12-14 songs. Again, this is all instrumental and that means being pretty much all guitar music with the occasional percussion, harmonica, melodica, keyboard or drum. So far anyway.
TOURING: I'll be up to Norway again this summer in late August and hopefully just after that over to Finland. I don't have anything else planned at the moment, but again, I've just been doing the recording. It takes a lot of time to book tours. I would never have had time for this recording now if I had to do the booking as well. So, here I sit with no work,but we'll get to have some new TLH music and hopefully the better for it. I can feel a large backlog of words floating around inside as well. Fall booking awaits me though and I can feel the pull believe me! First I gotta get this one done!!
Happy spring everyone!!
February, 28th
2010 Late winter musings…
Hello-
I'm happy to say that I've begun recording an instrumental only CD here at Rue Voltaire. Seems to be something I can do and perhaps even need to do at this point. This is an album I've always dreamed of making and it's time. No words, just guitar work with perhaps some simple embellishments. 6 and 12-string guitars and of course the Dobro. So far I have 6 or 7 already recorded (not mixed) and I'm quite busy collecting and writing the rest. There are no release plans, label interest or anything of the sort but I'm not at all worried about this either. First thing is to get some good music down on tape (or onto the computer as it were) and after that we'll see. If nothing else, I can sell it off my site and at shows so that's no sweat. I was thinking perhaps of posting some recording diaries but this self recording that I'm doing is a slow go and I don't think it would be all that interesting after a few days of turtle news.
I must say that it's much easier to have an engineer pushing all the buttons but, as you can see from the picture, I've arranged everything so that I can pretty much reach it all from my chair. It's slow though and not having a third ear (i.e. a producer) makes me doubly cautious. Also I'm a latecomer to Protools (which is my recording software) so that slows me down. It sometimes takes me a long time to figure out how to do basic editing or even corrections. As an example: the other day I had somehow ‘grayed' out my record button on track 1 so I couldn't do anymore recording on that track (which I needed to do). I ended up having to go to the Digidesign user forum and write out my problem and it was the next day that someone wrote in suggesting that I do a <control - click> over the offending record button to highlight it again. Yes! Fixed me right up! Anyway, just to show you what it's like around here. Once I'm up and running though it's been going well and I'm having some good moments. I'm happy to be recording again and it's feeling good. I do need to get focused though. I've quite a collection of songs from the past couple of years, which are all over the map stylistically and in various forms of undress. I've got to find a way to bring that all together now into a comprehensive and listenable package.
On a more sober note, I've just finally had to admit to myself that Michael Statsman, the owner and label boss of (now out of business) Borderdreams Records/Dock Distribution had been lying to me for the past 2 years.
The short story: money was supposed to be paid to me in the form of sales figures (a percentage of every record sold) and he was also required (by law!) to pay publishing royalties (also known as mechanicals). More then 2 years after the release of the record I have never received one accounting and I know from my publisher that the mechanical royalties were never paid at the pressing plant. I have had some advance CD's to sell at shows AND to use for promo and so I was able to put a little money in my pocket. Many of those Cd's (more than100+) I gave to the press and used for publicity purposes. And just recently I gave him 500€ more for the rest of his unsold Shotgun Pillowcase inventory (400 CD's) but that was only after he had again assured me that he had paid the money for publishing royalties which, by law, he is required to do (“… you should be collecting that soon”, he said).
How was this possible? In the shark infested waters of the music world I suppose this is a naïve and even stupid question. This is a guy that I trusted and who I even thought of as a friend. But this situation I am describing is not new is it? I've never understood why, when it comes to paying time musicians, on whom the whole pyramid of the music business is built, are the very ones who are last in line to be paid. Read any musician autobiography on the shelf and it's the same story. Now you can add my name to that very long list of artists. ‘nuff said!
Speaking of records: I've heard that Wilderness Years, Frozen and Leaving West are all sold out now at Glitterhouse records and so that is the end of those CD's. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later but I have to say its kind of a drag. I've lived with these records as my friends for long time now. It is strange to think that these CD's will no longer be available for folks to buy and listen to. Some more music for me to put up on the Internet for sure and I am doing that. I've just posted Blue Room and Leaving West on Tune Core and Shotgun Pillowcase has been up for awhile now. The full albums and the downloadable songs should show up at all the various digital music outlets in the early springtime. BTW - please be sure that if you are looking to buy TLH music online that you only purchase songs that identify TuneCore as distributor. There are some unauthorized sellers of my music out there. The names that I know about are Bongo Beat, New Rose, It's About Music and I think there's one more. I appreciate you helping me out here. The digital music world is a place with little oversight or control and it's full of types who knowingly collect and pocket money from the music's rightful owners.
As far as gigging and touring plans go I really haven't spent much time doing it to be honest. As mentioned I've been focused on this recording and by design I've had to pull myself away from the readily available distractions of the computer. Although having access to the Internet from my home office has certainly made booking tours much easier this is also a time gobbler in a major way. Quite literally I could spend 6 hours a day for a weeks just plugged in and to book shows that are months down the road. The point being here that when this recording is finished I will again turn my attentions to touring. Hopefully for next fall. I'm sure I'll be quite ready to get back on stage by then as well.
So - that's the story here from TLH central. I'll post some more recording updates I'm sure so do stop back. Thanks again for your support and I do hope that your winter has been a good one wherever you might be now!
Cigarette Run 
Please (Hale & Sarow) 
Swamp Walk 
Hearts 
Slow Poison 
