Week 38 (Reason in retroactivity...)

When I was in high school, a friend of mine named Ryan would take me home from school almost every day. We would fly down the road listening to our music as loud as possible. That's when it happened. Ryan, without even knowing, caused an addiction. Yes, I'll admit it. I was addicted to the Pixies. 

They were quirky. They made little sense. They were loud and abrasive. But something in the music spoke to me. They were also the gateway to other addictions, such as the Breeders, Belly, Tanya Donelly, Throwing Muses and Juliana Hatfield. 

Ryan and I got to see the Pixies open up for U2 on their Zoo TV Tour. It was a joyful time in my life. Every time I listen to the beginning riff of the Pixies song, "Velouria," I am back in that Maxima, speeding down Sharon View with the music blaring. Those were some good, good times.  

Enjoy, 

Christopher

     Recorded in bits and pieces September 22-October 17, 2012. In 2004, I was recording some demos Hopesfall at my studio. Their producer came to sit in on the sessions. His name is Steve Haigler. Steve was the audio engineer on the Pixies' records Bossanova, Doolittle and Trompe Le Monde. Needless to say, I was stoked to hang out with and learn from him and incredibly intimidated to work in front of him. Goodness. Sorry this took so long. I had discussed having a guest guitarist, but the schedules never worked out. In the end, I had to do it myself, (and it isn't nearly as good as he could have done.)
     "Velouria" written by Black Francis. Or is it Frank Black? I'm so confused. From the album, Bossanova.

Week 11...

This post is a little bit of a carry over from last week. In the mid-nineties, I was introduced to a couple of bands and a sound that would spark my love for the guitar and songwriting. I have never been about who could be the most technical with their skill. For me, it was more about that wall of sound coming out of the speakers. My two biggest influences were the Smashing Pumpkins and Hum.

Hum - You'd Prefer an Astronaut

I would love to know how many hours I spent listening to and memorizing their records. How many gallons of gasoline I used while carting my friends around, just so we could listen to music. Seriously, we would spend entire evenings driving around in my '93 Ford Escort, (aka the Freshcort,) with the stereo at full volume. I was one of the older guys in my group of friends, so of course I had to pick on the younger ones. I can remember driving in the dead of winter, with the windows rolled down, as to freeze the younger lads in the back seats. All the while, I had the heat blazing on my feet and hands. They never seemed to mind... Because the music was on.

If we weren't driving around, we hung out in our church parking lot, or the CPL for short. We would talk, throw football or frisbee, do really stupid stuff like set off fireworks or explode two liter bottles of soda. There was always someone on our hit list. To pull off our pranks, we would regularly use things like eggs, water balloons, a three man sling shot, a life-size dummy or a full case of dish soap. These were weapons in our arsenal of mayhem. But, we were good kids. We were getting into that kind of trouble so that we wouldn't get into the wrong kind of trouble. That was the deal, every weekend night, for hours on end. We were forging the bonds of friendship. Figuring out who we could trust in this lonely world. And all of it was done... With the music on. It is a time, encapsulated; beautiful in my youth; vibrant in my memory.

This week's song is "I Hate It Too," from Hum's 1995 release, You'd Prefer an Astronaut. It has always been one of my favorites from that record. I love diverse dynamics within a song, if you couldn't tell from my own music. "I Hate It Too," is a perfect example of that. This is the first time I've had the privilege and opportunity to collaborate with other people on 52. My old pal, Adam Morgan took a day out of his busy schedule to lay down the drum tracks. Together, Adam and I started One Amazin' Kid and Hopesfall. We had a lot to catch up on. My dear friend, Daniel Owen played the bass. He was my band mate in Laurelei and during the middle stages of One Amazin' Kid. I've been honored and blessed to have these guys in my life. They is good people. 

Enjoy, 

Christopher

     Recorded March 11-13, 2012. Drums tracked February 27. Drums by Adam Morgan. Bass guitar by Daniel Owen. After Adam and I finished recording the drums, we went to eat the lunch special at Carmella's. That is always worth mentioning. 

     "I Hate It Too," written by Matt Talbott, Tim Lash, Brian St Pere and Jeff Dimpsey.