There’s a new Trio on the sidebar. I didn’t really mean to take so much time off from it, as i mentioned last week, but i did. Today i spent a lot of time in the recording studio working on a dubbing project, and after listing to the results i’m starting to think that Trio’s going to have to drastically change it’s tact or just fade away. I absolutely cannot make a satisfactory recording anymore standing here at my computer; my songs are not about planting my feet firmly and strumming anymore. now they feature quiet to loud dynamics and bouts of near-whisper by both my voice and my guitar. Today i picked that all up in stunning digital audio, and it made me feel so powerful. You could hear my attack on the microphone, and the pick scraping against my bottom string, and the bass thump of my fist against the bridge of my guitar. I recorded an impromptu Trio … songs i’ve played already for the webpage but in rompingly fun versions that pulsed and buzzed. I’m going to look into doing digital audio transfers onto disc or wav, because after that day in the studio recording here made me plainly sad. Still, this week’s Trio is something special… the elusively classic “Falling Down,” a new Madonna cover, and the sentimental “never say goodbye” (reportedly an audio homage to Ani DiFranco, but then, isn’t everything i play?). Listen! I promise to work on better audio quality in the meantime.
Creative
I just had my first rehearsal for Good Woman of Setzuan, but it was more of an exercise in movement than a practice. We did a lot of walking… i must have walked for nearly twenty minutes, just examining the way i use my weight and how i can shift it to change the look of my character. During the walking our director Bill actually singled out my character as an example of someone who moves in a specific way (not that i was moving that way), so at once i was psyched and a bit intimidated. After the walking we paired off and moved somewhat interpretively to music. My two favourite motions were: 1 – with a new person where i was sort of courting her and we conducted almost the whole thing with eye contact and the tips of our fingers, 2 – with Laurel, where i was tiptoeing around the stage and she was mimicking me carefully, after which we switched roles. The other interesting tid-bit of information came as we discussed some of the production numbers… i innocently asked if Laurel or Ben would be joining into my song and Bill turned to me and said matter-of-factly “No, it’s a solo,” which shut me up pretty fast. I’m not entirely sure if i want to be playing guitar for it or not… as playing guitar tends to lock me into to certain vocal inflections more than singing without it. Either way, i thought it would be nice to combine my voice with that of Ben and/or Laurel (who are the other two characters in the scene), but apparently i have to go it alone.
ad-libbed during an attempt at trio…
she asked me if i still wrote those songs of mine as if i had a choice as if that line were ever defined i said they still come out of my mouth from time to time and i can't help it if one or two are still about you about you you oh yeah yeah if one or two one or two yeah yeah she said how are you doing with that girl you told me about and i said i'm not really doing anything here without her to tell you the truth i never really got over you i've had nothing else to do i've had nothing else to do to do nothing else without you you she said i think i've found mister right and i said that's funny you haven't talked to me for a while before tonight she laughed it off and told me his name, but they're all the same and all of them are the same and all of my songs still bare your name i said baby it's all still the same.
The apartment is like some sort of musical war zone right now… all of my guitars are out and about and the electric’s case is lying open right in front of the bathroom. Meanwhile, the amp has struck out a position exactly in the middle of the floor with it’s cord racing under the coffee table to connect with my bass, which is seated comfortable on the couch. My acoustic is thrown over the other arm of the sofa, and inbetween the two instruments my cd book is flipped open to the Peter Mulvey page. On the coffee table there’s some Bowie cds, my computer speakers, my cd walkman, an Ani DiFranco sheet music book, and a box of guitar picks. One speaker is connected to my computer (another cross-room cord) and the other is plugged into the walkman. My stereo is hovering slightly in front of the door as if anticipating a visitor, and behind it the amp is plugged into the wall (usurping my cd changer for the time being). Only Matt’s 5-string bass has managed to stay safely tucked away in the bedroom, awash in a certain fear that it might be called into action if my attention rests on it for more than a moment. Happily, my bedroom door is closed … there’s a whole other mess in there to deal with.
I never wanna retune my guitar again. Ever. I don’t know what got into me, but last night after i got done chatting with Re i was listening to a solo recording of Peter Mulvey‘s “Grace,” and i suddenly decided that it would be fun to figure out how to play it. Of course, “Grace” occurs in the tuning CFCFAC, while a guitar starts off in EADGBE. So… that took about a half hour in and of itself, and after that i still had to figure out how to play the song. It was here that my semester of aural skills kicked in, and i easily found some basic notes that had been eluding me on all other occasions of toying with the song. However, the problem with Peter Mulvey is often not finding what notes he’s playing, but where he’s playing them. I’m quite sure i nailed down his pattern on the main riff, but past that i have all the right notes in all the wrong places. Compare: me vs. Peter.
Achieving that first relative victory, i decided to move on the the more impossible, “A Better Way to Go,” which i have seen Peter perform live sitting as close as i am to my computer without being able to play it afterwards. Happily, last night was one of my so-called “magic ear” nights, and the song was hardly even a challenge … i got much closer to the actual sound of it than i did on “Grace,” though i can’t hardly play the scales that he uses inbetween chords. Compare: me vs. Peter.
As a result of all of this fooling around, i think my legendary page of obscure guitar chords (Tori, Ani, Mulvey) is going to finally make its appearance on Uprush any day now, with some fun new additions. WheE!