I Blog What I Hear

This weekend I was at a friends birthday party, enjoying some food and beverage in lovely Jersey City.  Things were progressing normally, TV sporting event on part of the time, Computer playing iTunes at others.  At the end of the evening, when the location was about to change, someone turned on some Velvet Underground.  I’m not going to go into some hipster rant about Lou Reed or the positives and negatives of Nico, this isn’t even about a particular band….wait, one quick side note.  I once had a Velvet Underground CD which perished in a spectacular car fire.  But there is no time for that now, I have a point here.  I turned to someone and said “is this coming from an AM radio? That’s fucking awesome!”  In fact, it was coming from one of those little ipod dock type of things, with one small speaker.  Pure mp3 sound, made fantastic by the context.  Had this been playing through much larger and more expensive speakers, the effect would have been not nearly as intense.

I read an interview with Paul McCartney once, who was asked what he thought about Mp3’s and quality issues.  He responded with something like “well, you know mate, before I was a billionaire, in our early days we used to take the little battery powered radio to the beach and turn on the old AM to hear the latest hits, before I was the one writing them because I’m awesome, and we had a jolly old time, with just that one tiny speaker, before i was bathing in gold coins like Scrooge McDuck!  So what really matters is the song!”    Quote me on it, those are his exact words, with possibly a few more ego maniacal rants thrown in.  But Sir Mrs John Lennon has a point there.  Maybe there are even those among us who recall listening to a cassette walkman, cranking out the hits in lofi questionable speed control tapes, getting all we could from the song.  Bob Dylan made that amazing and relevant statement not too long ago that everything recorded recently sounds like garbage.  It kinda does, with a few notable exceptions which we do not have time to discuss in this post, but lets say T Bone Burnett is producing most of them.  So what if we make a drastic move to bring things back into perspective.  Ready?  Lets get rid of the 2nd speaker.

Ringo, probably trying to steal emerick's grammy.

In Geoff Emerick’s fantastic book “Here There and Everywhere” he discusses his philosophy on mono in the days of early stereo.  Emerick was The Beatles engineer for the majority of their career.  He created most of the sounds everyone has tried to emulate since.  George Martin was a bitch, this kid was the brains of the operation.  But an interesting point he made, is that stereo was pretty much a joke when it came out.  They would do silly panning effects just because they could, nothing to further the strength of the song, they would just mess around.  If you feel like dropping several hundred dollars on these new Beatles reissue box sets, just listen to the mono recordings and there is no comparison.  In fact, I encourage you to choose your friends based on which box set they would go for, mono or stereo.  If we can consistently learn anything from The Beatles, its that limitations of technology can enhance creativity.  Those kids had 4 tracks, and mono.  Look what they came up with.  If they had a pro tools rig and surround sound, Idon’t think the albums would have been as good, and I don’t think many people would disagree.

For the greatest of all Wintertine Jewish Octetular Present Presentations…Hannukkah, I got an Tivoli Model One Radio.  Its a small, well designed box, featuring one 3.5 inch speaker.  With all this hi-fi hubub going on recently, I felt the need to give 1 speaker a chance.  There is an intimacy in mono that you just don’t get from some giant hifi system.  I think the first night i plugged it in, Little Feat’s “Willin” came on a WFUV show very late, and it heightened the experience.  It also has one huge tuning knob, no digital anything, and a 1/8″ input, should you choose to put a turntable or ipod through it, which I do intend to do.  Obviously I feel conflicted about playing some mp3’s through a well designed analog box, but we are children of technology, so lets just selectively embrace it, ok?

For about 2 years I would only record drum overheads using one mic.  I heard somewhere that all of the Rolling Stones “Some Girls” album was recorded with only one overhead, a kick and snare mic, reinforced with a PA system. That’s how it should be done.  KISS Method, not Gene Simmons.  Why has this trend not come back into fashion?  Why does no one release mono LPs or something anymore?  Can’t we start a hipster trend in the depths of bushwick, and take away every home studio’s left speaker?  Lets start a crusade.

Yes, I am aware its called I Blog What I Hear, but I see things as well as hear them, so this is going to blur the party line a bit, ok?  Jesus, relax already.  Christmas is an interesting time for those of us in the Jewish faith, “The Chosen People” as some call it.  There is NOTHING to do.  I don’t know how to express this is any other way.  Imagine going out, and EVERYTHING is closed.  You can’t get food, other than Chinese, you can’t buy anything, trains are empty, everything is just plain quiet.  Its an eerie feeling.  I greatly dislike it, and it has always been this way.

As is the tradition, I woke up Christmas Day with nothing to do, and decided this is the year to go with tradition.  This is the year, not to break the mold, but to fit into it!  Ladies and Gentlemen, I saw a movie.  After calling every person I could imagine would not be involved in family shenanigans, it was determined that I would be braving the streets solo.  I’ve only seen one other solo movie in my life, this was while living in LA.  I drove to a sketchy part of downtown, to a weird looking mildly abandoned theater to see the Moog Movie.  I was one of 3 people in the theater, and it was fantastic.  IF you have never seen this movie, netflix that up.  Bob Moog truly believed in what he did, and made an interesting spiritual connection with the electronic instruments he built.  Anyway, this was an overall positive experience, So I was ready for round 2.  So on Christmas Day, I braved the rain and disgusting slush, and went to see The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus.

Much mythology has surrounded Parnassus long before it was ever released.  This was Heath Ledger’s last film, he died halfway though the filming.  With nowhere else to go, and the money quickly running in the other direction, director Terry Gilliam (of Monty Python fame)  called upon his friends Johnny Depp, Collin Farrell, and Jude Law to fill in for the role, with only minor rewrites.  But all this is just Hollywood trivia.  What I was concerned with was the role of The Devil.  Not A Devil….The Devil.  Played by none other than Tom Waits.  Up until now, Waits has had a few minor film roles.  He played Renfield in Braham Stoker’s Dracula, Had a walk on in The Fisher King, another cameo in Wristcutters, and probably a few others, what am I, IMDB?  But this is by far his most significant.

The first thing I noticed about this film was Gilliams Python style animation.  It was the soft focus style of drawing (think the giant foot in Holy Grail) that most defined his signature style.  His films have a unifying look as well.  He does this one camera move in every film.  Its kind of like a shakey wrap around shot, he uses it in the hotel check in scene of Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (one of the greatest films ever made) as well as all over 12 Monkeys.  Visually, Gilliam never fails to disappoint.  Its no Baron Munchausen (one of the other greatest films ever created) but it certainly is exciting to look at.  His fantasy sequences have the look of the greatest and most psychedelic school play you could ever imagine.  The sets are incredibly detailed and real.  My least favorite thing about the films of the last 10 years is the heavy reliance on CG.  Gilliam embraces this, yet details the sets with enough actual substance to fully bring you in, rather than just admire some shit done with computers.

But you don’t come here to listen to that type of talk, no.  We all knew this post would really be about the greatest man to grace the earth and beyond, Tom Waits.  Now, my undying love for Waits aside, he OWNS this role.  There was no better choice for the mythical devil role, named Mr. Nick,  than Tom Waits.  Every step is a little dance, he puts soul into every word.  Every scene he acts in is like hearing a spoken word Waits piece.  Have you heard “What’s He Building In There?”  off Mule Variations?  It’s just like that. Of all the great stage performers, Waits may be among the most believable.  It seems he never breaks character.  One advantage a musician has over a stage or film actor, is that everyone believes the persona they adapt.  Not for one moment would you question the fact that Keith Richards is a heroin addled vampire, but what if that was just some persona he adapted?  Whereas looking at Brad Pitt in Fight Club, you can kind of tell he’s putting it on a bit.

Lets talk specific scenes.  By far, the best, is the dance sequence.  The basic theme of Waits’ character, is that he’s always there to make a bet with Parnassus, ready to take advantage of him in his weakest moments.  When it looks like he will inevitably win one of these bets midway through the film, he takes Parnassus’ daughter by the hand and says “Dance with me baby!”  and they go into a surreal ballroom sequence.  Its like the dream sequence of Big Lebowski.  They display serious moves, old school tango style.  The runner up would be, the first introduction of Waits, where he visits Dr Parnassus hundreds of years ago when he is a monk in an ancient temple.  Waits enters with a cigarette holder and a clarinet type contraption, and proceeds to suck the voice out of every monk chanting an ancient tale, in an attempt to prove that the world continues, even if no one tells its story.  Amazing.  A bird then shits on his hat, but that is neither here nor there.

My only complaint is that Waits had no songs on the soundtrack.  Come on, how cool would a musical sequence be, with The Devil on lead vocals and piano? I sight Shrek 2, when the used “Little Drop Of Poison” for the bar sequence, and Captain Hook sings the Waits parts.  Overall, the movie was not the best I have ever seen. The story did drag a little bit, and it felt a bit long, despite the powerful cast and beautiful imagery.  But lets hope Gilliam gets some ideas from this, and casts Waits in the lead for his next project?  Lets hope so.

So there are several theories on instruments vs talent.  The bottom line I feel is this:   The greatest player in the world will sound fantastic on a 25 Dollar Wal Mart Guitar.  You can’t prevent that.  To the other end, a shitty player will sound better on a multi thousand dollar Les Paul than the aforementioned Wal Mart ax, but still, they will not sound good.  I believe there was a Nike or something commercial back in the day which said something like “Talent will only get you so far, you need the right tools”  And this too is true.  Now take that great player, remove the Wal Mart instrument, insert the multi thousand dollar instrument, and to borrow a phrase,  its business time.

I’ve been part of many theoretical discussions on price vs quality when it comes to instruments (as may be evidenced by my previous post on NY guitar stores).  Lets say the breaking point is $1000.  Anything for that price should have reasonable quality control, have solid components, and was at some point touched by human hands during the building process.  You can certainly get some badass stuff for less, but you would have to do serious research, and try the exact instrument you are purchasing (since quality varies greatly on less expensive instruments).  But once you get up into the crazy price ranges, it starts to get a little iffy.  What really is the difference between a $1000 guitar and a $3000?  As price increases, quality increase becomes more marginal.  I’m sure there is some economic term in there, anybody know it?

I bring this up for a reason, not just to talk about guitars more.  Come on, who do you think I am?   The point is, I have recently returned an instrument to it’s owner which was on loan to me for many months, and my life feels a little more empty.  It was a 1930’s D’Angelico Excel Archtop.  These guitars are pretty much mythical in the instrument world.  John D’Angelico built every instrument by hand, in a small shop at 40 Kenmore St in Manhattan.  He had very few employees, and made at most 35 Instruments per year.  He made maybe 1500 instruments total.  As you could imagine, the value of these is around that of a small Honda.  Its worth more than my Honda Fit, look up the MSRP, homes.

Playing an instrument like this changes your whole approach.  It plays a game of chess, or Uno, with you every time you pick it up.  It puts weird ideas in your head, it challenges you to do things differently.  Its like “Come on man, stop playing major bar chords, you’re holding  half a years tuition at an Ivy League College, turn it up!”  and you go “Ok, lifeless piece of wood and other components, I will listen to what you have to say”  and it says things!  Obviously I’m getting slightly philosophical here, but only slightly.  An instrument like this carries some history, it lived through WWII, The Jazz Age, Jimi Hendrix, Hair Metal, Everything!  These factors cant help but play some mind games with you.  All you can do is fight back, and hope to not pull out any lame ass jazz shit.

There are no words to explain how a well made instrument performs, though I will attempt to translate.  Maybe its like driving a sports car, I dont know, I don’t like cars.  Maybe its like eating a fantastic meal over and over?  But food changes every time, so that’s not completely accurate.  It’s probably all science, but not an exact science.  The combination of wood, lacquer, paint, and whatnot, can have amazing results.  Some claim, the thinner the finish, the more a guitar can breathe and the more sustain it will have.  Is that true?  If you can tell me the difference between a guitar with paint and a guitar with thin nitro cellulose lacquer on it purely by sound…then dear friend, I owe you a cheesesteak.  But back to the matter at hand.

Upon returning this instrument, I missed it dearly.  Maybe its the mythology I associate with it, but nothing I have played before or since has replicated it.  Well, I haven’t played much since, but you get the idea.  While the band has been recording several tracks, I relied on the D’Angelico heavily.  It sat perfectly in a mix.  A traditional acoustic can sometimes have too much bottom end, and just not work.  But the archtop is the secret weapon which I will use from here on out.  I guess it’s not really so much of a secret now, but I trust you to keep this just between us.

Instruments have a “Vibe”.  You can’t deny this.  A 1950’s Telecaster plays differently than a 2009 Telecaster.  They just feel different.  Its the years of playing which impacts the instrument not just physically, but lets call it “spiritually”  It makes you play different and appreciate different sounds.  This particular guitar made me feel like I was wearing a tuxedo, sitting behind a big band podium, comping some chords behind some tenor sax.  I don’t think you could get this feeling from an ESP Screaming Skull.  So now, the quest begins for a replacement.  It will be a long arduous road, but we, dear reader, will persevere together!  OK, here we go.

What we’re going to discuss here today may offend some of you.  Hell, it may offend all of you.   But I’m not here to worry about how your values are challenged by unconventional statements.  No, I’m here to listen to things, and write about them.  So lets get right into it.

About 2 years ago i had an auditory awakening.  For the majority of my life, I was aware of AC/DC.  Anyone familiar with rock music most likely is as well.  I would go as far as saying I was a fan.  But it stopped there.  We had a good working relationship.  When we passed each other in the halls, we would say hello, and perhaps even discuss the weekend, but we did not eat lunch together.  As a young guitar player, I learned Back In Black, and appreciated it as one of the great riffs of all time, yet it did not truly connect with my soul.  The band was just a casual fling, some I could live without.  Until one night in the Mediterranean.  (the music just went dramatic in the underscore)

In Greece, they love rock and roll.  This is just a general statement, I don’t really know if its true.  I didn’t hear too much music while there except while in one particular bar.  The group I traveled with had a local scary Greek woman taking us around.  She assumed we just wanted to hear Rock music in some American type bar, which was false.  We were after some psycho Bazouki, some Lute jams, some Pan flute explosions….but we did not find such things.  The bar we landed in seemed like something in Tribecca, a little bit forced lo fi.  We had played earlier in the evening and were significantly tired, and I was trying to drink a significant amount, hoping to wake up- which was not helping.  My eyelids were on the way down, it was a losing battle.  There is a picture of me at this precise moment, the 3 guys in the group all look like we’re about to die, the 4 girls look excited to be alive and are wide awake.

Just before my view on AC/DC permanently changed.

Just as I thought I had been defeated, the song changed.  I don’t know what it was before, I’m going to say Whitesnake.  But as the instantly recognizable guitar sound emanated from the speakers, everything was suddenly ok.  We barrelled on into the night, into the wee hours.  The song was none other than “Whole Lotta Rosie”  of the Let There Be Rock album, with the original vocalist Bon Scott.   I was not aware before this event, but this is without a doubt, the finest AC/DC song ever recorded.  I will fight you to the death on this one.  “You can keep You Shook Me All Night Long”.   As the once great, since fallen, blogger Jason Mulgrew wrote  (I’m paraphrasing here)   “I put this song on, and instantly impregnated 3 women within my zip code”  The energy of the song is unstoppable.  The tempo isn’t even that fast, I’m gonna say maybe around 132bpm.  But in this mid tempo drive, it maintains a confidence that a faster song just doesn’t have.  Bon Scott and Angus Young just don’t need to rush through anything, they’ve got time.  Time to talk about their love of big women (hence, there is in fact a whole-lot of Rosie).  He begins the song with a spoken intro, letting you know whats going to happen.  You will be told a story about a woman he knows, not exactly pretty, not exactly small.  But you better be prepared to rock out, because the contrast of the heavy guitars to Bon’s voice clue you in to whats about to happen.  Then there’s an odd tempo shift, he yells “YOU CAN SAY SHE GOT IT ALLLLLLLLL”, and your tray table better be up.

I believe thats Rosie on the stage

Angus, during this very solo.

The verse is just straight up swagger, there is not a drum fill in sight, the bass is on the 8th note groove that AC/DC is famous for, the guitars just chug along.   The chorus is short and to the point, “Shes A Whole Lotta Woman, A Whole Lotta Woman, A Whole Lotta Rosie”   Then a few chord changes, and BAM!  We’re in Solo world.  There are in fact 2 guitar solos in this song.  Now, I’m not a fan of the guitar solo.  Unless you’re Marc Ribot or Smokey Hormel, I really don’t want to hear you wank out on some tired ass blues lick.  But in this case, something else has arisen.  Angus just pulls out pure emotion.  He’s writhing around the stage, gyrating uncontrolably, doing his signature kick step move, its all in there.  It doesnt make sense, hes just jamming in as many notes as he can, ending with a fantastic descending whole note section….but its just fucking perfect.  After hearing this song, I am ready to destroy not only the day, but the week.  I am ready to eat a cheesesteak so large it negates its own very existance.  But lo my dear reader, that is not what we’re here to discuss today.  We’re here to discuss Brian Johnson, and his contribution to the AC/DC catalog Vs Bon Scott.  Get your hemet on.

I’m gonna come right out and say it.  Overall Brian Johnson has contributed more to the catalog.  Back in Black is better than Highway To Hell.  Fight me on it if you want, but you will not win.  The sound overall of Back In Black is amazing. Its spacious, yet it slams you in the face with a Dodge Ram filled with football players.  There are no cheesey effects.  Listen to those drums on Back In Black (the song), they’re amazing.  The album just feels more impactful.  Maybe because it was partially recorded and mixed at Electric Lady studios in NY, whereas Highway To Hell was partially recoded and mixed in London.  And everyone knows if you want to do some serious shit, you gotta come to ‘Merica to mix.

Lets talk about songs.   Highway to hell certainly has some great jams.  “Highway To Hell” itself, wonderful.  Night Prowler?  Frikkin Fantastic and suspenseful.  “If You Want Blood”?  Serious as well, although it doesn’t get me as excited as “Whole Lotta Rosie”.  But beyond that, and I really hate to say it, The rest feels like filler.  Yes, I know this is AC/DC, and they’re clearly working within a set format, but some songs are just better than others.   Now lets switch over to Back In Black.  “Hells Bells”  “Shoot To Thrill”  “You Shook Me All Night Long”  “Back In Black”  “Have A Drink On Me”  “Rock and Roll Aint Noise Pollution” Those are all just plain amazing.  Noise Pollution almost approaches Rosie territory.  It makes you want to just do a high kick, throw a glass against a wall, and go on about your business.  These songs alone spread out over several albums would have made a lesser band rock gods in their own right.  But on ONE fucking album?  Are you kidding me?  Thats Beatles Territory.  Yes, they’re songs about much more primitave subjects, but that does not make them any less important. These choruses will be remembered througout history.  The guitar solos launched a generation of lesser players.

The song “Highway To Hell” may be fantastic, but the band seemed to take a turn with “Back In Black” as an album.  Dare I say, they became more melodic?  I’m not suggesting an operatic version of these songs any time soon, but Johnson certainly brought more melody to the verses than Scott.  Scott may be the most badass frontman of all time, I would not question his ability to stab or punch out anyone at any time, but Johnson has done more with the hoarse voice scream than anyone will ever do.  Chris Cornell is just a pale immitation of him.  Its the perfect mix of scream and sing.  Go ahead, listen to the 2 albums back to back. See which one makes you want to go out and conquer the world.  Then, once you’ve made the decision that Back In Black is superior as a complete piece of music, go listen to “Whole Lotta Rosie”.

While sitting in this bar during my religious experience, I cautiously turned to my friend Blasco, a man of great respect musically, and said “Man, sometimes, theres nothing wrong with a little AC/DC”.  He immediately resonded “There is NEVER anything wrong with AC/DC”

Recording music outside of a traditional studio is like capturing a wild rhino, using only a laptop.   Its possible, but not easy.   I’ve struggled for years with this issue, moving from ADAT’s to Pro Tools, to Logic Pro…the entire time considering throwing it all out and getting a reel to reel tape machine.

My band has recently begun recording demo’s for our upcoming EP, and budgets being what they are (0$)  We’ve decided to start the process on our own.   I’m a gear whore.  Always have been, always will be.  I am not confined by the finite space of my living quarters….I will find a place to put it all.   But, our modest rehearsal space in Williamsburg does not agree with me on this.   We have about an 8×10 room that we share with 2 other bands, surrounded by others, without proper ventilation, sound treatment, or lighting capabilities.  But still, we will make it work.   Coming from the old school, I prefer everyone to be in the same room at the same time, but sometimes that’s just not practical.   The approach we decided on, was to record drums live with a scratch track of guitar and bass, then overdub said stringed instruments at a later date.

We took advantage of this long holiday weekend, tracking drums last week, guitars on the day off Friday, and bass this weekend.   Now, just for a second, lets discuss sounds.   When I lived in LA for one hot minute, I was lucky enough to work on a few sessions in an all analog studio called Rotund Rascal.  I’m not sure if its still there, but it was fantastic.  Weeks earlier, Jenny Lewis, my future jewish wife, recorded parts of Rabbit Fur Coat there, and the place was alive with vibes of wonderfulness.   The artist on the session, a singer named Jay Nash, brought in 2 cd’s to demonstrate the bass sound he wanted, and it pretty much changed my life.   The first was Jackson Browne’s first album- Leland Sklar on bass, and Ray Lamontagne- Ethan Johns on bass.   This was the first time I had heard Ray, and it was just plain religious.  But the point is, these are the greatest bass sounds ever recorded.  Go listen to them, and tell me you don’t start weeping instantly.  Go ahead, do it, i’ll wait here….

This is Actually Leland Sklar

OK.  Now that you see my point, lets discuss getting these sounds.   Every day we hear how awesome modern technology is.  The Internet, Cell Phones, Global Warming, its all just fantastic.  But the one place we have genuinely not advanced up until very very recently, is the sound of modern recordings.  They just don’t sound as good, its a simple fact.  Maybe we’re getting there, maybe we’re not, who knows.  For a long time, i’ve recorded many instruments onto many hard drives.  And I can honestly say, it never really stuck.  It was never a solid hit, the bass sounds didn’t even approach the above recordings by a long shot…Until this very moment.  I think I unlocked some magic door to the unknown, and i’m afraid to ever close it.  This door is called “Using A Fucking Awesome Converter and Pre Amp”  I recently invested in a new recording rig, for a new archive project happening.  This includes

1.  Logic Pro- software by apple
2.  Apogee Rosetta 800 Converters
3.  Apogee Symphony Mobile system- running on its own cards, there is no Firewire or USB BS involved here

This is really the secret.  Most home studios use an “all in one” interface.  This may be practical, but it just puts too much stress on one ingredient.  The external converter, thats where it’s at.

The Rig In Action: Recording Guitars At Our Rehearsal Space

We recorded at what’s known as 96k, which has come a long way in recent years.  This means a sound is being sampled 96,000 times per second when being recorded.  The first experience i’ve had with this technological wonder was an extreme failure.   Web Master Eric Tarn and myself did time in a Ska band for several years.  Our first album was recorded in a matter of days, to 2″ analog 16 track tape, was painless, and sounded pretty good.   Our 2nd album took years to complete, cost many thousands of dollars, and really didnt sound that great.  It was also recorded in 96k, and in 2003, that shit was just not up to snuff.  Everything sounded muddy, it just wasnt working.  This could be due to 3 factors:

1.  Our engineer sucked.
2.  We were not that good as players (eh, we were pretty good)
3.  Digital Recording Technology in 2003 was not that great.

This sort of blows my mind, because I can honestly say that I’ve seen an improvement in recent years.  This was also my first personal project recorded on Logic Pro, after being stuck in Pro Tools land for the last 7 years.  Really Pro Tools, WATCH YOUR BACK.  Logic is coming for you, bitch.  But let me just say this, to any perspective recording engineer out there, and i’m going to do it in all caps, on its own line, just to make a point (like that scene in Kill Bill where Lucy Liu speaks in english after she cuts off that guys head in front of the mobsters)

WHEN YOU’RE SETTING UP A STUDIO, USE AN AWESOME EXTERNAL CONVERTER AND A SOLID DIGITAL CLOCK.

Without this, its just fucking bush league psyche out shit man.  You just won’t do it.  OK, this has been my sunday night rant, I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend, now get back to work, you’re making us look bad.

Banjo Time, All The Time. Apogee In The Background.