PRINCE PERRY LP OUT
Oct 26th
Prince Perry’s CD is now officially released. We will be doing a Prince Perry set this weekend at the Opera House opening for The Slackers.
KING KONG EP IS OUT
Oct 24th
King Kong EP cover
Anyway, he’s a track from the EP which can be purchased on Bandcamp, itunes…etc…
It’s a song that was inspired by my trips across one of the ugliest intersections in Toronto, Victoria Park and Danforth. A concrete wasteland that can boast 2 Tim Horton Express locations. It was at one of these that carried a rack of magazines with the latest celebrities and often featured Ms. Paris Hilton. I’ve never been quite sure what it is that she does, but she’s seems to do it none the less. Or at least she did. I wrote the song a few years back and there’s always that danger of dating the material by using such a pop culture reference. I like to live on the edge. Ha.
Mamms and beyond
Oct 1st
As much as I’d love to share the Mammography song that I’ve co-written with Dr. Mel Borins, I can’t just yet. It’s one in a long line of medical songs that we’ve put together over the last few years.
I can share a reference clip from the Stompers session. This is the live around the piano session.
Don Valley Stompers clip
Here they are above ground.
Attack Of The Stompers!
Sep 21st
Tuesday night we had the Don Valley Stompers come in for a live off the floor session accompanying Miz Debbie. Toby (who plays alto sax with the group) had booked the session, but we were unable to meet before hand to discuss the logistics of the session. I set up in 2 rooms using baffles for some separation, most of the band in one room, Miz Debbie on vocals and Charlie on the piano with me in the control room. The set up was complicated looking, a maze of baffles and mics and headphones, cables everywhere. But the joke was on me when all 9 musicians arrived and Toby looked around and said, “hey, why don’t we all just play around the piano.” The client is almost always right – unless they’re out of their minds, so with a nod I moved all the mics from the other room, happy to ditch the headphones and baffles. Only a little daunting with the 9 musicians standing around.
I used 2 wide diaphragm condenser mics on the upright piano (front and back), next to it was Paul’s kit – very simple, closed kick drum, mounted cymbal, snare, hi-hat. Miked the kick front and back to have the beater covered in case I want more punch or attack, an SM57 on the snare and a ribbon overhead – mono. The TLM 103 for the upright, an SM7 for Miz Debbie and an assorted mix for the rest of the crew.
I had the best seat in the house surrounded by the group a true surround sound arrangement, and although I usually don’t care about anything more than 2 speakers, it was quite something to have them everywhere in the room.
Here’s a clip of them when they’re forced to clump together.
The Piano Tuner.
Sep 13th
Mark Zilman came by the Slaughterhouse to tune the piano. Once again, the universe is balanced. Thank you Mark.
1. See Saw – Aretha Franklin. Hard to resist the power of Aretha’s voice fading up and down in the mix. Who knows what she’s doing during this recording. Slinking would be my first guess. Oh, the cozy tape hiss, the bouncing bassline, the choppy piano… no end.
2. Holocene – Bon Iver. How do you pronounce this name? Is it Bonne Eevair? Or is it Bonne Eye-ver? These are the important questions. What a dark vocal tone.
3. Rudy’s Party – Latin Playboys. Accidental side project-turned into creative jackpot involving 2 members of Los Lobos, producer Mitchell Froom and engineer Tchad Blake. The project began with David Hildago’s 4 track home recordings and then they went from there. Some pieces took a very clear shape while others, like Rudy’s Party, remained less formed and less tangible.
4. Bargain! Shop Panties – Little Miss Higgins. Found this song through a recommendation from Liane. Hard not to smile when my child starts singing along.
5. You Only Live Twice – Nancy Sinatra. I’ve loved this song from afar for so long. Maybe Nancy Sinatra, too.Though I enjoy the Bjork version, this one features a great deal of tape saturation and that makes this blockbuster theme-song much dirtier than you’d think they could get away with. It’s almost punk rock. Well, maybe, a little impolite.
6. Towtruck – Picastro. Just getting to know their music. Described as sleep rock, I chose this piece because it clears the brain. Not all of their material is this fuzzy. But what a charming fuzz it is.
7. I Love A Snot (Tchad Blake mix) – Lisa Germano. I dig the pulse. Almost a throb.
8. Needle In The Hay – Elliot Smith. An obvious choice from his catalog, but I have a hard time getting past the tone he strikes in this number. Always threatening to give more, and always holding back.
9. Syriana (piano solo) – Alexandre Desplat. Haven’t seen the film, but I love the music.
It’s Not A Mall, It’s A “Retail-Leisure Town Centre Destination”
Sep 10th
…that’s how architect Eric Kuhne describes the shopping structure that is in the new Ford “plan” or “preliminary proposal.” This is part of a slapdash scheme they’ve thrown together to put the Kai-Bosch on the existing and approved plan from Waterfront Toronto which the Fords claim is taking too long to develop.
Good luck with that, Mr. and Mr. Ford. No matter how it turns out, you’ll come out looking bad.
Here’s a recent track that I got to record at Slaughterhouse 754 by Toronto’s Bare Minimum.
THE BLENDER
Sep 7th
K. and I have been together for close to 22 years now. And, as you might expect, we have gradually carved out our own space over the last 2 decades. In particular, each of us has our own blender. She picked up some huge metal Commercial Vita-Mixer and I took on our old glass Osterizer. Both work fine, though K. will go on about the Vita-Mixer’s ability to cook a soup with only the power of it’s blades.
Anyway, we were having difficulty convincing our cat to eat the cans of “chunky” wet food that we’d purchased some time ago, he prefers it as a “pâté”, and so they were just collecting dust. I decided to get pro-active and blend his food. I’d dump a can in, blend it up and pour it’s contents back into the can. Though the cat was none the wiser, K. vowed to never, ever ingest anything from the Osterizer again.
A couple of months later, today, actually, I’m working from home. Working from home has it’s perks and this morning I decided to make a milkshake. Banana, strawberry, chocolate. Extra sweet. While I was blending it up K. asked to have some, so I poured her a generous glass full. It was near the end of this glass that she started to make that face people make when they’re trying to figure something out, opening and closing her mouth, smacking her lips together… “it tastes like…” Smack… fish…” I just looked blankly at her because I couldn’t understand how chocolate and fruit and milk and sugar could taste anything like… “ewwwww… it tastes like cat food!!!”
Really, it was just a hint in the after taste.
Subtle.
Here’s something else I forgot about. It’s a song I wrote for the Kingpins’ Plan Of Action record. Inspired by many things, one of those being the buckets of rain pouring on Rue Clark where I was staying in Montreal that summer while recording. When I tracked this, I had just picked up this miniature nylon string guitar and was charmed by it’s “small” sound. Not quite a Uke. This was released on the Early Summer Campfire Songs comp – also put together in Montreal.
GIVING THANKS
Sep 3rd
I’d like to give thanks to the wasp that flew into my mouth this week, but chose (yes, chose) not to sting me as I spat it out onto the road. I think we both learned a lesson. Trying to figure just what that is.
Finished a very large recording/ editing project of French plays and songs this week. I don’t think anyone involved thought it was going to be so immense – although I guessed.
Here’s a track from the Cavaliers recently released EP. We recorded this at Slaughterhouse 754 shortly after they returned from a writing excursion on the the East Coast.
DANGERBAND IS OUT OF THE GATE
Aug 30th
The Dangerband EP is out! They had their release show while I was away. But now it’s out on Bandcamp and I’m happy to share it with you. This is just a couple of weeks old. The hard drive is still warm. School chums with some of The Thundermonks, these upstarts are already out distancing most of the bands in Toronto, talent-wise. Just don’t tell them that I said so. They’ll develop an “attitude.”
WHEN IS A BUM NOT JUST A BUM?
Aug 9th
Today I learned a fascinating fact about how turtles can actually breathe through their bottoms. Please refer to the diagram to the left. It’s not just in emergencies.
Well, on the CBC today, I learned another absorbing fact. It seems that Georgio Mammolati (Toronto City Councillor – Ward 7) can talk through his a–. Either that, or he’s on his way to redefining the term Communist. Please follow CBC link.
Team Ford are out there spreading good vibes and bringing people (or at least Torontonians) together. There’s no I in team, but by chance, there are three in Giorgio Mammolati.
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