Find The Silver Key

May 29, 2010

it’s been six weeks

Filed under: Hints for Treasure Hunt, Music, New Music News, Silver Key, Silver Key Hunt Tips, Weirdo Deluxe, songwriting — admin @ 10:41 am

Indeed. Sorry ’bout that. I was sick (pneumonia) for a bit. The hard part was not the lay-in-bed-for-some-days part, the hard part was feeling just fine but having to take a break midway up a flight of stairs ’cause I was just too winded. Terrible.

Anyway, since last I wrote I’ve somewhat immersed myself in some other art projects, very few of which are musical. As I’m not making a living with any of them (i.e. relying on them for income) I’m just sort of letting things flow where they seem to want to.

I have almost finished some songs for the annual album by The Weirdo Deluxe. Odd calling it an “album”. Dunno yet if I’ll press actual, physical CDs or just make it a digital only release. They tell me the music business is changing, but what do I know? I just make songs.

I’m really thinking about putting together a regular band thing – doing western swing and new orleans stuff – or maybe making our own category where those two things merge. Whatever. Gotta swing and have a clarinet in it.

And a hint. Yes. A hint for The Silver Key is coming. Actually, it will be hints. A small collection of three or four things: a song, a map, an image, perhaps a code or cypher-text (or what appears to be a song, map, image, & cypher-text). The song is written, the rest is planned: I know what I want to do, but haven’t created it yet. I called a drummer the other day to schedule a session, but it turns out he’s on vacation on Kauai. Nice. I’d l like to vacation in Kauai.

I have no idea when the hint(s) will be released. On or before Sept 15, though.

More soon.

March 3, 2010

dog bites man

Filed under: Music, New Music News, Weirdo Deluxe, songwriting — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 11:21 pm

I got attacked & bit by a dog. Again. This is the 4th time (I think – it might be more). I’ve been chased innumerable times, but only bitten four times. Like, broken skin bitten. This is the first time I got bitten twice, though, so that’s remarkable in it’s own way – once on the knee and once in the meat of the hand.

The dog is very kind, has never bitten anyone, a young lab mix. But apparently I bring out the biting in some animals.

Just got back from a session with Kyle, one of my favorite drummers, and George. That was cool – recorded a little ditty. And I haven’t seen Kyle since we recorded the last little ditty with George, which has since turned into a big ditty with a TON of vocal tracks. Lots and lots of fun.

I am now actively trying to contact one of the greatest living guitarists. We’ll see if I can get a message through. The message is this: Wanna play on my next album??

I have, I think, 5 gigs with The Silos over SxSW. At least one of them with Exene Cervenka. And that is rad.

And the new website has begun. The beginning has started. I’ll post more later when that is up but I spent a nice evening scanning this and that, then some time listing songs and looking through old albums. The site should have things going back to 1992 or so. Should be cool.

February 19, 2010

back to Nashville ?

Filed under: Music, New Music News, Weirdo Deluxe, songwriting — admin @ 6:35 pm

Looks like I might – MIGHT – be headed back to Nashville for another recording session, which has me stoked beyond reasonable belief. I was talking to the head engineer I’ve been working with and he not only agreed to mix the tracks we’ve done so far, but to perhaps, maybe, record again. YES! Good news. This is the studio I was in last time. Might well be there again.

Looking for a 6-string ukulele. Like a Kamaka or a Kanile’a. Why? because they are devastatingly beautiful and sound lovely. I figured out what my attraction is (or at least one of them) to the ukulele. It’s that with this small, deceptively simple instrument, you can imply enormous, complex beauty. That’s something to treasure.

- – -

Apropos of nothing, the things that matter:

Food & shelter, love, laughs & smiles. The rest is the rest.

January 27, 2010

a new song, great joy; older songs, too; Spring

Filed under: Music, New Music News, Weirdo Deluxe, songwriting — admin @ 4:22 pm

Seems like winter has lifted in my head. Spring has sprung.

I was sick last week and that lifted, making me feel energized and capable. Like a million bucks. Then yesterday morning, just getting out of the shower, a brand new thing popped into my head. By the time I got to a guitar I had the first verse (melody, chords, lyric) and was working on the second. It played in my head on and off most of the day, and by the time I got home I had the big pieces finished.

Now all that’s left is the twiddly stuff: intros and spacers, an end to the bridge, the right key, and making sure the words fit in the mouth just so. This last part is important. The words have to do right on paper, but do even better in the mouth. Vital.

So far it’s called “Yours Is Mine” and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

On another note, I’ve been reviewing scratches, demos, and actual recordings in various stages of completion. Gonna be FUN to finish these up.

I love spring. The only downside is I don’t have enough time to tend to everything that comes up; and some things get lost in the weeds.

January 22, 2010

post-sick and new music

Filed under: Music, New Music News, Weirdo Deluxe, songwriting — admin @ 11:57 am

So.

No one likes being sick. Kids maybe; not the being sick part, but the stay-home-from-school-watch-tv part. I hate it. I was sick – headache, body ache, no sleep. Some sort of flu perhaps? And of course it coincided with a planned day off. Happily, today is another planned day off and I feel like a million bucks. It’s beautiful day so I’m cleaning and have the music up loud, the windows and doors open, and am taking regular piano breaks.

Another nice symptom (symptom? maybe, yeah) of surfacing from this sickness, was a revitalized fervor for music. Each winter I take something of a mental break from the fuss, and there is no set plan to get out of it. I’ve learned I can’t force my way through. But I’m up and awake and energized and eager to finish some songs that should be done; and record others; and write even more along the way.

The new songs show up on their own schedule.

To work. Hopefully doing vocals on some tracks in the very near future. Then recording with a band. Then writing horn parts for everything. Then.

January 14, 2010

more songs on the ukulele

Filed under: Music, songwriting — admin @ 4:06 pm

I have now determined it’s impossible to play “On The Sunny Side of the Street” on a ukulele and feel bad. And that third verse is killer. Beautiful.

This also holds true for “Rubber Ducky” a song I used to sing as a kid, so they tell me. What’s super amazingly cool about that song is it’s deceptive simplicity. You can probably hum it – but man, the chords in that thing are hip. It’s a perfect example of my favorite stuff about Sesame Street, The Muppets, and other Jim Henson stuff: they never cheaped out. On anything. They could have had some treacly boring song, but instead they got a writer in who could make something beautiful and simple and clever – which helps it bear up to repeated listenings.

For the musically minded, here are the first 8 chords to “Rubber Ducky”, up through the line “…lots of fun”. Two changes per bar.

A7  Bflat dim  |  B-7  Cdim  |  A7  Aaug7  |  D  D-6  |

So smart and great sounding. Music for kids doesn’t have to be cheap and stupid and obvious and boring. Writing a song for Sesame Street would be a fantastic joy.

January 9, 2010

lyrics

Filed under: Hints for Treasure Hunt, Music, Silver Key, Silver Key Hunt Tips, Weirdo Deluxe, songwriting — admin @ 9:33 pm

I get asked about lyrics some. Especially with The Silver Key – people want to know exactly what words mean what, or what a specific line is. On previous records (like, 15 years ago) lyrics were included, but I haven’t since then. I like homonyms, and phrases that can mean more than one thing. “You are mine” and “Ewe are mine” sound the same but mean vastly different things. I’d rather have each listener believe what they want about the words and the meaning (and explaining what a song means is a place I’ll probably never go – that’s like clarifying which parts of a love song were influenced by which persons/things …. do you really wanna know that?).

With The Silver Key this is even more true. I want to be somewhat imprecise. The words are there to be determined, or not, as someone sees fit. Perhaps there are clues there, perhaps not; but I’m not gonna help anyone along by printing official lyric sheets or nothin’.

There are a group of people discussing lyrics and clues and such HERE. I am not affiliated, nor do I post there under an assumed name. I do lurk from time to time, just to see.

Part of me could go on and on about songwriting, though I tend not to. Something about revealing too much. But I do run a songwriting forum at The Womb, a pretty cool audio & music hang, if you’re into that kind of thing. Everyone is invited to play along with the challenges and let people hear what they write.

You know, if you wanna.

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