What I'd like to be doing right now is recording, but since I cannot, I'm blogging. I'm sick as fuck still, lazing around in my room, and as a result, I'm trying to make myself comfortable. For me this involves ice cream, and a lot of rap music. Right now I'm about 3/4 of the way through this Eminem freestyle compilation put together by DJ Jacked Beatz (whom I've never heard of either). A lot of stuff on here is pretty perfect. I've also listened to Sticky Fingaz a bunch, but I downloaded Chronic 2001 and I'm pumped about listening to that as well. Being sick sucks balls. It hurts to eat and smoke, so I feel like all I can do is listen to rap music.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
I just would like to be great,
and I'm so in love I can barely contain myself.
I'm so in love with you, it's this crazy romance
and I'm so in love with you,
but I would just like to be great,
but I don't think I'm allowed
because I don't think people know what that is anymore.
But I'd like to do it in some outgrown boots,
some dusty old shirt ripped
some cavernous roots spilling over the seams
of this desperate reach to be great,
and this wetting of being in love.
This waiting for you to return
to these tattered and ashen old hand-me-down jeans,
these crackling fingers and busted old bruises
and barely before you I'd like you to love me.
And love you for always I likely will do.
and I'm so in love I can barely contain myself.
I'm so in love with you, it's this crazy romance
and I'm so in love with you,
but I would just like to be great,
but I don't think I'm allowed
because I don't think people know what that is anymore.
But I'd like to do it in some outgrown boots,
some dusty old shirt ripped
some cavernous roots spilling over the seams
of this desperate reach to be great,
and this wetting of being in love.
This waiting for you to return
to these tattered and ashen old hand-me-down jeans,
these crackling fingers and busted old bruises
and barely before you I'd like you to love me.
And love you for always I likely will do.
One More Cup of Coffee (Supertunes)
I busted out an old mix CD today that I made whilst living on the corner of Union and Crown st. with my best friends JJ & Kelly, when we were all in our early twenties. That was when I started this blog and also the year where I started to learn what writing a song was really about. I loved living in that place with those people. We were all bursting at the seams back then, painting and writing and singing and reading and smoking native smokes by the bag, drinking Old Milwaukee by the can. We held singalongs in our kitchen where we'd all drunkenly sing 'Ask' by The Smiths, to the best of our abilities. We rarely ever went to bars. We'd have people over and we'd sit in a circle and talk about books and music.
It's fall so I'm in a very nostalgic place as always and this CD has me thinking about those times. It's a pretty good snapshot of what was going on in my head that year in terms of finding a way to properly write.
Anyway these are some notes on that disc, which is labeled, 'One More Cup of Coffee for the Road (Supertunes).'
1: Fuck Forever - The Babyshambles
I was a little obsessed with Pete Doherty around this time. A ridiculous poet on drugs and rock n' roll, I identified with him and admired his lyrical prowess. I still think this Babyshambles record is pretty underrated. Plenty of rough edges, which endear it to me, and lyrics to die for, a hint of Nirvana in there too. We used to get high and watch 'Who the Fuck is Pete Doherty?' and actually think he was awesome for stumbling around his apartment reading poetry aloud. My drummer/friend Arbeau and I would dress like him even. Him and Morrissey were both pretty big parts of how I wanted to write, and there is recorded evidence of this that's pretty embarrassing.
2: Talking New York - Bob Dylan
Obviously Dylan is an important milestone for anyone taking the craft of songwriting seriously, and this year was when I really went for it. I read that terrible book he wrote and watched all the documentaries and listened to all the albums. I loved this song feverishly, singing along perfectly in sync with the rambling hilarious lyrics, mostly spoken. I was so amused by the idea of a song being something like that, it was sort of new to me to think about it so loosely and it related more directly to the huge amount of prose writing I was doing that year.
3: My Love - Justin Timberlake ft. TI
FutureSex/Lovesounds was big in our household. We were obsessed with it a little bit, always a dance party when we'd put this on. Also watched the music videos on youtube via JJ's Wii. Such an all-around wonderful album, aged well too.
4: I'll Have a New Life - Hank Williams
I was also listening to a lot of gospel country around this time. Far from religious, I still found there to be a spot of inspiration in those old songs. And the melodies! Good lord they are something. Our house was very big on the country greats, something that also entered my life and improved it that year, beginning with a CD JJ made me of classic country songs, that deviated just enough to incorporate a Tom Waits song and 'Come Pick Me Up.'
5: Walk the Line - George Jones
This one is an odd choice as it is wholly unremarkable as a recording, but is a song written by one of my favourite writers and sung by one of my favourite singers. So it's not like it's bad but I feel like it was kind of tossed onto the mix. Tons of George Jones during that time. I remember Graham would pick me up at our place uptown in his parents car and we'd drive to the east side blasting George Jones and then get wasted at my brothers house, which I was house-sitting at the time. I loved and fully embraced the melodramatic nature of Old Possum tunes, in particular 'If Drinking Don't Kill Me, Her Memory Will.' I'd listen to those songs and drink myself into a stupor, take a gravol, pass out and go puke at work for 15 minutes before my shift. Ah, the glory days.
6: With God On Our Side (unplugged) - Bob Dylan
More Dylan. I feel like one of the things that often gets overlooked when it comes to Dylan is the melodies. Being a big melody guy myself it's that quality that endears me to the songs much more so than narratives that play out like prose. This song or 'Spanish Harlem Incident,' for instance, are melodic perfection to me. This performance of 'On Our Side,' is good but the fucking DI acoustic tone is pretty hard to deal with.
7: I Am Bound for the Promised Land - Johnny Cash
One of the American Recordings albums that I really love from Cash is 'My Mother's Hymn Book.' A straightforward acoustic recording of old hymns, most of the focus being on all the feeling and depth in Cash's voice. Still feel a certain specific joy from songs like these. There's a lot of sincerity there.
8: Talking Hard Work - Woody Guthrie
Guthrie is a deservingly revered legend. All of those songs are pure craft and with such weight and such levity simultaneously, allowing them to live forever. This song being basically a blueprint for Dylan's 'Talking New York,' among numerous others. It's hilarious spoken word, essentially, that I identified with immediately. A detailed account of a working class life, one that I live as well, though obviously not as hard, and also a humorous bit of torch song as well, tied in smartly and neatly.
9: Barrett's Privateers - Stan Rogers
We're all maritimers here, and Stan Rogers rules. This song is awesome. Kelly being a caper really is what brought this into our lives I believe. We would scream this song together on that old green torn up couch, our terrible voices carrying out the livingroom window for passersby.
10: Peaches n' Cream - Beck
Midnite Vultures is a way cool album. I've always been just outside of true Beck fandom but that album and Mellow Gold always tickled my fancy when the time is right.
11: Love This Town - Joel Plaskett
Still love this song. Plaskett was always a dude I looked up to being a songwriter from Saint John, since he's a songwriter from Dartmouth. I saw him play this song acoustic on the street in front of Backstreet records and it will always stand out to me as a highlight of live music that I've seen. La De Da is a perfect album.
12: Ballad of Ira Hayes - Johnny Cash
More JR.
13: I Love You (But You're Green) - Pete Doherty
When I heard there was going to be a solo Doherty record back in the day I thought it was going to be shit like this, and I was very excited. I still love this song very much, in all it's wistful romantic silliness. Nice melodies too. 'I was a troubled teen, who put an advert in a magazine. To the annoyance of my imaginary lover.' Picture me swooning for real. 'Oh, you, you're green. You don't know what love means.'
14: Glory Bound Train - Roy Acuff
No one needs to be told the massive importance of Roy Acuff in American music, so I'll say just that this song is so intense about the literal description of the train metaphor and also has such cool vocal interplay and I love it.
15: On the Bus Mall - The Decemberists
This song is pretty decent but 'O Valencia!' was a FUCKING TUNE. Was really into the Crane Wife, dug the literary bent.
16: One More Cup of Coffee - The White Stripes
That was a fucking band right there. Could not care less about pretty much anything Jack White has done since. I was in a two-piece punk band in high school and we obviously found them really inspiring. Didn't used to be so many two-pieces back then. I still like listening to all those records. Lots of movement and variety considering the set up. Great sounding recordings too.
That's it. Not a bad mix, really, fun to go through again. Time to get back to that old time feeling and start writing again.
It's fall so I'm in a very nostalgic place as always and this CD has me thinking about those times. It's a pretty good snapshot of what was going on in my head that year in terms of finding a way to properly write.
Anyway these are some notes on that disc, which is labeled, 'One More Cup of Coffee for the Road (Supertunes).'
1: Fuck Forever - The Babyshambles
I was a little obsessed with Pete Doherty around this time. A ridiculous poet on drugs and rock n' roll, I identified with him and admired his lyrical prowess. I still think this Babyshambles record is pretty underrated. Plenty of rough edges, which endear it to me, and lyrics to die for, a hint of Nirvana in there too. We used to get high and watch 'Who the Fuck is Pete Doherty?' and actually think he was awesome for stumbling around his apartment reading poetry aloud. My drummer/friend Arbeau and I would dress like him even. Him and Morrissey were both pretty big parts of how I wanted to write, and there is recorded evidence of this that's pretty embarrassing.
2: Talking New York - Bob Dylan
Obviously Dylan is an important milestone for anyone taking the craft of songwriting seriously, and this year was when I really went for it. I read that terrible book he wrote and watched all the documentaries and listened to all the albums. I loved this song feverishly, singing along perfectly in sync with the rambling hilarious lyrics, mostly spoken. I was so amused by the idea of a song being something like that, it was sort of new to me to think about it so loosely and it related more directly to the huge amount of prose writing I was doing that year.
3: My Love - Justin Timberlake ft. TI
FutureSex/Lovesounds was big in our household. We were obsessed with it a little bit, always a dance party when we'd put this on. Also watched the music videos on youtube via JJ's Wii. Such an all-around wonderful album, aged well too.
4: I'll Have a New Life - Hank Williams
I was also listening to a lot of gospel country around this time. Far from religious, I still found there to be a spot of inspiration in those old songs. And the melodies! Good lord they are something. Our house was very big on the country greats, something that also entered my life and improved it that year, beginning with a CD JJ made me of classic country songs, that deviated just enough to incorporate a Tom Waits song and 'Come Pick Me Up.'
5: Walk the Line - George Jones
This one is an odd choice as it is wholly unremarkable as a recording, but is a song written by one of my favourite writers and sung by one of my favourite singers. So it's not like it's bad but I feel like it was kind of tossed onto the mix. Tons of George Jones during that time. I remember Graham would pick me up at our place uptown in his parents car and we'd drive to the east side blasting George Jones and then get wasted at my brothers house, which I was house-sitting at the time. I loved and fully embraced the melodramatic nature of Old Possum tunes, in particular 'If Drinking Don't Kill Me, Her Memory Will.' I'd listen to those songs and drink myself into a stupor, take a gravol, pass out and go puke at work for 15 minutes before my shift. Ah, the glory days.
6: With God On Our Side (unplugged) - Bob Dylan
More Dylan. I feel like one of the things that often gets overlooked when it comes to Dylan is the melodies. Being a big melody guy myself it's that quality that endears me to the songs much more so than narratives that play out like prose. This song or 'Spanish Harlem Incident,' for instance, are melodic perfection to me. This performance of 'On Our Side,' is good but the fucking DI acoustic tone is pretty hard to deal with.
7: I Am Bound for the Promised Land - Johnny Cash
One of the American Recordings albums that I really love from Cash is 'My Mother's Hymn Book.' A straightforward acoustic recording of old hymns, most of the focus being on all the feeling and depth in Cash's voice. Still feel a certain specific joy from songs like these. There's a lot of sincerity there.
8: Talking Hard Work - Woody Guthrie
Guthrie is a deservingly revered legend. All of those songs are pure craft and with such weight and such levity simultaneously, allowing them to live forever. This song being basically a blueprint for Dylan's 'Talking New York,' among numerous others. It's hilarious spoken word, essentially, that I identified with immediately. A detailed account of a working class life, one that I live as well, though obviously not as hard, and also a humorous bit of torch song as well, tied in smartly and neatly.
9: Barrett's Privateers - Stan Rogers
We're all maritimers here, and Stan Rogers rules. This song is awesome. Kelly being a caper really is what brought this into our lives I believe. We would scream this song together on that old green torn up couch, our terrible voices carrying out the livingroom window for passersby.
10: Peaches n' Cream - Beck
Midnite Vultures is a way cool album. I've always been just outside of true Beck fandom but that album and Mellow Gold always tickled my fancy when the time is right.
11: Love This Town - Joel Plaskett
Still love this song. Plaskett was always a dude I looked up to being a songwriter from Saint John, since he's a songwriter from Dartmouth. I saw him play this song acoustic on the street in front of Backstreet records and it will always stand out to me as a highlight of live music that I've seen. La De Da is a perfect album.
12: Ballad of Ira Hayes - Johnny Cash
More JR.
13: I Love You (But You're Green) - Pete Doherty
When I heard there was going to be a solo Doherty record back in the day I thought it was going to be shit like this, and I was very excited. I still love this song very much, in all it's wistful romantic silliness. Nice melodies too. 'I was a troubled teen, who put an advert in a magazine. To the annoyance of my imaginary lover.' Picture me swooning for real. 'Oh, you, you're green. You don't know what love means.'
14: Glory Bound Train - Roy Acuff
No one needs to be told the massive importance of Roy Acuff in American music, so I'll say just that this song is so intense about the literal description of the train metaphor and also has such cool vocal interplay and I love it.
15: On the Bus Mall - The Decemberists
This song is pretty decent but 'O Valencia!' was a FUCKING TUNE. Was really into the Crane Wife, dug the literary bent.
16: One More Cup of Coffee - The White Stripes
That was a fucking band right there. Could not care less about pretty much anything Jack White has done since. I was in a two-piece punk band in high school and we obviously found them really inspiring. Didn't used to be so many two-pieces back then. I still like listening to all those records. Lots of movement and variety considering the set up. Great sounding recordings too.
That's it. Not a bad mix, really, fun to go through again. Time to get back to that old time feeling and start writing again.
August 23rd, 2011
(just found this post that I couldn't publish at the time for obvious reasons, thought I'd throw it up.)
Hey, it's my roommate's birthday today. That's nice.
I work at this Bistro in the maritimes, so we do the regular fare. We have some beef, pork, chicken, seafood, a vegetarian thing, you know. We also have some pizzas and pastas. We have an oversized menu and then a group of 3 or 4 sub-menus. We have a walk-in that doesn't necessarily accommodate these menus. We also have a private dining room in the back that seats 50 or so people and requires a minimum spending of a thousand dollars for usage. Our atrium seats probably a hundred or so, at capacity. We're part of an umbrella company. Our orders start with an owner, and her executive chef/owner son, down to our chef and sous-chef. At which point it's directed at the line cooks. I'm one of those dudes. Often times this chain of command doesn't necessarily fire in that direction, but it should.
I guess we're trying to make a lot of money here. That explains the motive behind most of what goes on in our restaurant. It's weird because when you read about food and the people cooking it, you want to have this kind of idea of some honour and pride behind it, because that's what makes it a shared experience between the patrons and the people preparing the food, producing the food, supplying it, designing it, etc. That's the difference between some chain restaurant serving you reheated shit and a restaurant charging you more for something better than that. Something hopefully fresh, possibly neat, and at the very least tasty. That's how people talk about it, at least. These ideas do thrive in some places, and for certain there are restaurants in our area doing these wonderful things. Knowing the farmers that supply the food, and keeping quality alive in the kitchen. But there's this shady elite of sort of middle-aged douche-bag guys that are running a lot of the restaurant industry and in my experience, they're usually putting on a front.
In the restaurant I work in everyone is obsessed with money. Even the people who don't want to be. To a certain extent this is just the reality of the industry, and you do have to be keenly aware of the money situation at all times. But there comes a point when you're sacrificing employee wages and quality and therefore turning your back on the entire concept of what you're doing. Especially when you call yourself a 'locally inspired Bistro.' In my kitchen you're witnessing lies and deceptions and cheats and just fucking cheapness. You're bending over backwards and working ridiculous hours one week, only to be given part time hours later when business is slow. The idea of a raise is almost unthinkable, or even laughable, and everyone talks about someone else behind their back. But I don't want this to be a bunch of bitching, and I'm not trying to shed negative light on the kitchen scene. So I'll tell you about last Sunday first, and try to illustrate why I love this job so much.
Saturday sucked so when I got to work in the afternoon on Sunday I was ready to be pissed off and have a terrible shift. You should really never go into a shift with that attitude because you're only fucking yourself, not whoever you're pissed at. Anyway I walked into work, put on my whites and went about finding out what work I should be doing. We had the atrium booked for a wedding with 56 people and the private room booked for a bus tour of 52, I think. At about 5pm, the kitchen was our chef and sous chef, myself and two other line cooks, so we split into teams and served the parties. Everyone assumed it was going to be something of shit show, but it wasn't. We prepped for a few hours, then cooked and plated, and it went smoothly. We were very busy in that perfect way, where everyone is working together, people are still telling jokes, and you feel satisfied with the work that you're doing.
At around 9 we all got a beer. That's how you know it's been one of the good nights. We all go out for a cigarette together some time later and everyone talks about the evening and how it was, and points out shit they thought was funny and you feel like a team. In our restaurant there's a gaping divide between front staff and kitchen staff. Sunday night was the first night where I truly felt differently about it. At about 9:30 I jumped into the dishpit and starting pumping out dishes so our dishwasher could go for a smoke break. He's one of those guys that just looks at you with this frazzled, drowning look in his eyes and states confidently, 'No thanks man, I gotta get this shit out man, blahblahblah,' so you have to do the ol, 'It's yer turn man, I don't even care, I love the pit.' type thing. Although sometimes, I truly do love the pit. It's a job completely about speed, organization, and labour, and I dig that.
I had servers in the pit on Sunday, which is another thing that never happens here. Our servers are largely untrained and unmotivated and so they quickly sink into this rut where they don't want to work, and it's hard to convince them to. But I found that with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, people are a lot more willing to do shit. So I had these two servers taking out compost and filling up glass trays and shit, and enjoying it.
After the shitstorm, servers, cooks, dishwasher dude, et. al., pile into the smoking area and chat. We have a smoke, we drink some rum, and we talk shit. Later we smoke some weed. Before I left that night I went up to the line to check on the sous-chef and see how he's doing, and he's leaning on the pass, grinning at the dance floor and all these middle-aged people in suits and dresses are dancing to Bryan Adams and he just looks at me and goes, 'They're about the throw the bouquet!'
Nice.
Hey, it's my roommate's birthday today. That's nice.
I work at this Bistro in the maritimes, so we do the regular fare. We have some beef, pork, chicken, seafood, a vegetarian thing, you know. We also have some pizzas and pastas. We have an oversized menu and then a group of 3 or 4 sub-menus. We have a walk-in that doesn't necessarily accommodate these menus. We also have a private dining room in the back that seats 50 or so people and requires a minimum spending of a thousand dollars for usage. Our atrium seats probably a hundred or so, at capacity. We're part of an umbrella company. Our orders start with an owner, and her executive chef/owner son, down to our chef and sous-chef. At which point it's directed at the line cooks. I'm one of those dudes. Often times this chain of command doesn't necessarily fire in that direction, but it should.
I guess we're trying to make a lot of money here. That explains the motive behind most of what goes on in our restaurant. It's weird because when you read about food and the people cooking it, you want to have this kind of idea of some honour and pride behind it, because that's what makes it a shared experience between the patrons and the people preparing the food, producing the food, supplying it, designing it, etc. That's the difference between some chain restaurant serving you reheated shit and a restaurant charging you more for something better than that. Something hopefully fresh, possibly neat, and at the very least tasty. That's how people talk about it, at least. These ideas do thrive in some places, and for certain there are restaurants in our area doing these wonderful things. Knowing the farmers that supply the food, and keeping quality alive in the kitchen. But there's this shady elite of sort of middle-aged douche-bag guys that are running a lot of the restaurant industry and in my experience, they're usually putting on a front.
In the restaurant I work in everyone is obsessed with money. Even the people who don't want to be. To a certain extent this is just the reality of the industry, and you do have to be keenly aware of the money situation at all times. But there comes a point when you're sacrificing employee wages and quality and therefore turning your back on the entire concept of what you're doing. Especially when you call yourself a 'locally inspired Bistro.' In my kitchen you're witnessing lies and deceptions and cheats and just fucking cheapness. You're bending over backwards and working ridiculous hours one week, only to be given part time hours later when business is slow. The idea of a raise is almost unthinkable, or even laughable, and everyone talks about someone else behind their back. But I don't want this to be a bunch of bitching, and I'm not trying to shed negative light on the kitchen scene. So I'll tell you about last Sunday first, and try to illustrate why I love this job so much.
Saturday sucked so when I got to work in the afternoon on Sunday I was ready to be pissed off and have a terrible shift. You should really never go into a shift with that attitude because you're only fucking yourself, not whoever you're pissed at. Anyway I walked into work, put on my whites and went about finding out what work I should be doing. We had the atrium booked for a wedding with 56 people and the private room booked for a bus tour of 52, I think. At about 5pm, the kitchen was our chef and sous chef, myself and two other line cooks, so we split into teams and served the parties. Everyone assumed it was going to be something of shit show, but it wasn't. We prepped for a few hours, then cooked and plated, and it went smoothly. We were very busy in that perfect way, where everyone is working together, people are still telling jokes, and you feel satisfied with the work that you're doing.
At around 9 we all got a beer. That's how you know it's been one of the good nights. We all go out for a cigarette together some time later and everyone talks about the evening and how it was, and points out shit they thought was funny and you feel like a team. In our restaurant there's a gaping divide between front staff and kitchen staff. Sunday night was the first night where I truly felt differently about it. At about 9:30 I jumped into the dishpit and starting pumping out dishes so our dishwasher could go for a smoke break. He's one of those guys that just looks at you with this frazzled, drowning look in his eyes and states confidently, 'No thanks man, I gotta get this shit out man, blahblahblah,' so you have to do the ol, 'It's yer turn man, I don't even care, I love the pit.' type thing. Although sometimes, I truly do love the pit. It's a job completely about speed, organization, and labour, and I dig that.
I had servers in the pit on Sunday, which is another thing that never happens here. Our servers are largely untrained and unmotivated and so they quickly sink into this rut where they don't want to work, and it's hard to convince them to. But I found that with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, people are a lot more willing to do shit. So I had these two servers taking out compost and filling up glass trays and shit, and enjoying it.
After the shitstorm, servers, cooks, dishwasher dude, et. al., pile into the smoking area and chat. We have a smoke, we drink some rum, and we talk shit. Later we smoke some weed. Before I left that night I went up to the line to check on the sous-chef and see how he's doing, and he's leaning on the pass, grinning at the dance floor and all these middle-aged people in suits and dresses are dancing to Bryan Adams and he just looks at me and goes, 'They're about the throw the bouquet!'
Nice.
Friday, September 20, 2013
I have nothing interesting to say, but I'm watching Chewed Up again and drinking this leftover bagged wine at my old man's new house, and everything is weird and I feel like these new glasses make me look like a completely different person. In other words, I have no real problems, I'm just being a whiny bitch because I'm in Grand Bay and nothing about it is interesting. All these fucking vinyl siding fucking houses and they're disgusting. But I don't mean to be so negative.
On the upswing my old man's house is pretty awesome, in a way. It's weird that this has happened, but actually it's completely normal and makes all the sense in the world, it was a reasonable decision and I identify with it entirely. But the thing about this place is that it is completely Saint John. It has that Saint John stale cigarette smell, the assorted old furniture look and feel and smell, and there's bologna in the fridge and coolaid, and basically it's this little piece of north end SJ tucked into the main strip of fucking Grand Bay. It's very suiting. I feel very normal here, because it could easily be mistaken for any apartment I've lived in, except for the huge picture of BIG smoking a blunt.
I sold my VOX today. It's just a practice amp but it's got tubes in it and it has a lot of different functions and capabilities and I'm sad now to have lost it. I needed to because I desperately need to go to Halifax. That is a lie actually, but I should go to Halifax and find some work and go in the studio n all that. But it's funny I haven't used that amp in a ridiculously long time and I didn't care about it at all until it was sitting on the counter at Digital World today and I remembered the good times.
The thing is, the first proper physically released album I ever made, Sam Hill, all the electric tone on it came from that little amp, which I bought at a pawn shop around the corner from the apartment where I lived with a girl that I loved. Someone elegantly pointed out to me recently that I am a sap and she is correct. I missed the amp immediately, because it came into my life at a time that I needed it and it was perfect for what I needed it for. But maybe it's duty was to help create a good next portion of my life. Or maybe I should stop being a dink and let it go, it's just a fucking amp and I really don't need it anymore.
That's life though. Now back to my shitty wine and hangin with the ol guy.
On the upswing my old man's house is pretty awesome, in a way. It's weird that this has happened, but actually it's completely normal and makes all the sense in the world, it was a reasonable decision and I identify with it entirely. But the thing about this place is that it is completely Saint John. It has that Saint John stale cigarette smell, the assorted old furniture look and feel and smell, and there's bologna in the fridge and coolaid, and basically it's this little piece of north end SJ tucked into the main strip of fucking Grand Bay. It's very suiting. I feel very normal here, because it could easily be mistaken for any apartment I've lived in, except for the huge picture of BIG smoking a blunt.
I sold my VOX today. It's just a practice amp but it's got tubes in it and it has a lot of different functions and capabilities and I'm sad now to have lost it. I needed to because I desperately need to go to Halifax. That is a lie actually, but I should go to Halifax and find some work and go in the studio n all that. But it's funny I haven't used that amp in a ridiculously long time and I didn't care about it at all until it was sitting on the counter at Digital World today and I remembered the good times.
The thing is, the first proper physically released album I ever made, Sam Hill, all the electric tone on it came from that little amp, which I bought at a pawn shop around the corner from the apartment where I lived with a girl that I loved. Someone elegantly pointed out to me recently that I am a sap and she is correct. I missed the amp immediately, because it came into my life at a time that I needed it and it was perfect for what I needed it for. But maybe it's duty was to help create a good next portion of my life. Or maybe I should stop being a dink and let it go, it's just a fucking amp and I really don't need it anymore.
That's life though. Now back to my shitty wine and hangin with the ol guy.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Fall is here, pass the beer.
Once again it's been an absurd amount of time since I last posted on this blog, but gee whiz I love that I can still come on here ever once in a while and find a little masturbatory portrait of some small slice of my life I've half-forgotten. I'm home again and things are very different. The folks are split, the weather is cold, and I am tired and drinkin too much.
For now I have the house to myself for a few days and enough terrible wine to do me. And today I got a fresh pack of smokes so it can't be all bad now can it?
The Affordable Art tour is over, and it's hard to call it a success but it's impossible to call it a failure. We came back with nothing, granted, but we sold a lot of cd's, met some great people and saw some places we hadn't seen. Quebec was generally awesome and exciting and fun and it's hard to imagine now why I don't live there. Beautiful women and hospitable french people abound, and people actual appreciate our craft, as opposed to everywhere else I've played where far too often you are treated like a fucking hobbyist. Don't mean to be a negative nelly but if you're involved in the business I'm sure you've been reading articles about all the terrible mistakes venues are making these days.
Ontario fucked us completely, but we had a great time in Guelph, Belfountain and Peterborough. Had some shows cancel on us so we didn't get to play a few towns that I wanted to visit. Nonetheless, I'm glad we went, I'm glad we went camping in rural Kingston and got hammered by a weak fire and tried to climb a tree between texts to a woman that don't want me.
Trask churned out quite a few good tunes during the tour, and I clocked a few myself. Car full of girl problems for two months probly isn't the healthiest thing, but it ended and we're safe and sound in the maritimes. Did another few Precious Memories shows that were a great deal of fun, and whilst in Halifax I did some recording with Adam Mowery on that magic 4-track of his, got Garrett Mason and Marc Doucet to play on it. Hoping to get Rheo and Hallett on that shit next week.
Gotta find some work for fuck sake, figure out a girl thing hopefully. Right now I'm listening to old tapes and getting a lil tipsy. Man I used to fucking suck at singing, I hope that's not still the case.
For now I have the house to myself for a few days and enough terrible wine to do me. And today I got a fresh pack of smokes so it can't be all bad now can it?
The Affordable Art tour is over, and it's hard to call it a success but it's impossible to call it a failure. We came back with nothing, granted, but we sold a lot of cd's, met some great people and saw some places we hadn't seen. Quebec was generally awesome and exciting and fun and it's hard to imagine now why I don't live there. Beautiful women and hospitable french people abound, and people actual appreciate our craft, as opposed to everywhere else I've played where far too often you are treated like a fucking hobbyist. Don't mean to be a negative nelly but if you're involved in the business I'm sure you've been reading articles about all the terrible mistakes venues are making these days.
Ontario fucked us completely, but we had a great time in Guelph, Belfountain and Peterborough. Had some shows cancel on us so we didn't get to play a few towns that I wanted to visit. Nonetheless, I'm glad we went, I'm glad we went camping in rural Kingston and got hammered by a weak fire and tried to climb a tree between texts to a woman that don't want me.
Trask churned out quite a few good tunes during the tour, and I clocked a few myself. Car full of girl problems for two months probly isn't the healthiest thing, but it ended and we're safe and sound in the maritimes. Did another few Precious Memories shows that were a great deal of fun, and whilst in Halifax I did some recording with Adam Mowery on that magic 4-track of his, got Garrett Mason and Marc Doucet to play on it. Hoping to get Rheo and Hallett on that shit next week.
Gotta find some work for fuck sake, figure out a girl thing hopefully. Right now I'm listening to old tapes and getting a lil tipsy. Man I used to fucking suck at singing, I hope that's not still the case.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
PRRTY TIME
I have this thing I've noticed in recent months where I've slipped into a whole other post-drug mindset. I've been over the drug experience for a while, hung onto weed mostly for the social and habitual aspects that I cared for on some level, but now drugs actually make me uncomfortable, and to a certain extent I don't like being around them. And I find that I use myself as a cautionary tale, which is borderline hilarious since I've always so adamantly supported recreational drug use. It's mainly reserved for what potheads refer to as 'real drugs,' obviously, like coke, which I particularly dislike, but I'm starting to kind of loathe MDMA/Ecstacy as well. I don't like the upperclass, free love, me me me aspect of it, and I think it's dangerous and scary, and I recently found out that it's responsible for an alarming amount of forest destruction, which is mainly just another reason to find it to be generally deplorable. And I've noticed a lot of negative effects that drugs have had on me, and I sort of blame my drug use partially for some of my depression and anxiety problems. Second-hand weed smoke makes me uncomfortable and I can't tell if it's chemical or if it's just in my head, like maybe the smell puts me in a place that I recall being anxiety-ridden. And when I watch documentaries about drugs now, watching people tripping actually makes me feel high and anxious, and I get sweaty palms and such.
I just really dislike self-indulgence I think. I think a little bit of self-indulgence is an important ingredient in art, but I think that true art is really just a bunch of people sharing, which I think renders the self-indulgence morally upright (to a point). When it comes to people taking Molly and partying their ass off as often as possible because of how amazing it makes them feel I find that to be hollow and sad. I think that's the root of my disdain for the hippie generation, and much of the art world, as far as people like Andy Warhol or Jim Morrison are concerned. You can make arguments for them as artists but I'd argue that their focus was more on self-indulgence, which is why I don't particularly like their art. (This is moreso about Morrison; Warhol had some pretty neat stuff!)
I can still see an argument for hallucinagens as a way to 'expand your mind' so to speak, but I think the peace found with that is false. I think it's interesting to stretch your perception enough to allow yourself to see everyday visuals as newly stimulating and beautiful, but I also think you can achieve that in a way that isn't detrimental to your over-all mindstate, which I think it's clear that things like acid do. In my experience it's been really difficult and enriching trying to find peace and seeing every day as beautiful, and I partly resent the idea of drugs as a shortcut. I think it's small-minded. And I don't like party culture. I think it's a subculture full of selfishness, overdoses, poor decisions, rape and excuses.
That being said drugs should still be legalized. For all the same obvious reasons.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
So it's Sunday afternoon and I'm Slinky J's house listening to Ma$e and thinking about food.
Friday I played at the Capital with my pals Eric Ringuette and Corey Bonnevie (aka the Other). It was a really fun show. I pulled out the ol' Barracuda and took er for a spin. I played it through the DS1 and the DD7 all plugged into this tiny ass Peavey amp. Looked pretty funny surrounded by all these huge amps. It sounded good though, and the set was really fun and really well-recieved. I played 'Rose' the way it should be played finally, as a crunchy blues number. Really wanna put a band together again.
Talkin to Corey about doing a record in the spring. Spend some real time on it. I'm also looking at doing some work with Clinton Charlton while I'm still in Port City. Hopefully more stuff actually comes to fruition this time. Mike Trask and I are starting to put together 2013 a bit. Been applying to stuff. Came up with a name for the new record. It's gonna be called Rearrange. I know what the art's gonna be as well. I'm looking forward to putting it out. Booked time with J. Lapointe to master it. Pretty happy about that decision. Gonna cut them through Indiepool who tend to do a good job.
Gotta start this shit job soon, not looking forward to it but I need money.
Friday I played at the Capital with my pals Eric Ringuette and Corey Bonnevie (aka the Other). It was a really fun show. I pulled out the ol' Barracuda and took er for a spin. I played it through the DS1 and the DD7 all plugged into this tiny ass Peavey amp. Looked pretty funny surrounded by all these huge amps. It sounded good though, and the set was really fun and really well-recieved. I played 'Rose' the way it should be played finally, as a crunchy blues number. Really wanna put a band together again.
Talkin to Corey about doing a record in the spring. Spend some real time on it. I'm also looking at doing some work with Clinton Charlton while I'm still in Port City. Hopefully more stuff actually comes to fruition this time. Mike Trask and I are starting to put together 2013 a bit. Been applying to stuff. Came up with a name for the new record. It's gonna be called Rearrange. I know what the art's gonna be as well. I'm looking forward to putting it out. Booked time with J. Lapointe to master it. Pretty happy about that decision. Gonna cut them through Indiepool who tend to do a good job.
Gotta start this shit job soon, not looking forward to it but I need money.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Who Invented David R?
The following is a list of the albums that I believe have created the songwriter I am today. I'll note, first of all, that I've only included the first two hip hop albums that changed my life because if I were to include the influences on my hip hop writing, the list would be gigantic, and I'm already pushing it as is. This list is more geared toward the guitar based songwriting ive done. I'd also like to note that they are a lot of books, films, poems and people that weigh greatly on the general direction of my writing that I've also discluded in the interest of brevity. I've also left out albums because I didn't want too many artist repeats(the exception being Ryan Adams, which cannot be helped), and I've left out albums that have just recently inspired me toward my next wave of songs. This is my attempt at explaining my songs to date, and also to describe albums that I feel a nerdish appreciation for as well as a sentimental one. I've tried to list them in the order they impacted me, but I'm sure this isn't 100% accurate.
Jim Croce - Photographs & Memories
This is a record that was part of my old man's collection that I used to listen to when I was very young. Certainly my earliest memories of music include sitting in the living room with that old record player and listening to albums like Steve Miller's The Joker, Burton Cummings My Own Way to Rock and the Eagles greatest hits volume 1. Jim Croce though, is perhaps the largest influence on my writing aside from Ryan Adams. His songs are brief, beautifully crafted snapshots of human moments that in my opinion are absolutely perfect. His writing is clear, precise and plainspoken. And his melodies are fantastic, as well as his imagery. To me Croce represents my father's side of his generation; the hard-working, family-centric, always-in-love mustachioed fellas. The other thing that kills me about Croce is the richness and feeling in his voice, and his unmistakable relatability. He was a man of the people, that's certain, having been a truckdriver, a farmer and a general family man. He was a hilarious storyteller and a light that should've burned much longer than it did. He died in a plane crash just 3 albums into his career.
Elvis Presley - 30 #1 Hits
I include this as opposed to an album, or perhaps something 'cooler,' because Elvis to me as a child could not have possibly been contained to an album. I watched his movies, listened to his records and tapes endlessly. I had an Elvis teddy bear that song 'Teddy Bear,' an Elvis clock shaped like a guitar, Elvis pez dispensers...etc. My grandmother, our family's matriarch and probably the greatest woman I have ever known, was a huge Elvis fan and in turn, Elvis had a huge impact on me as a child. I thought that he was absolutely the coolest dude ever. I wanted to be him. My earliest public performances include my Elvis impersonations, alongside singing hymns in church and singing and dancing along with country hits of the day, particularly Achy Breaky Heart. So this album feels appropriate because someone bought it for Mary for Christmas one year and it became our go-to soundtrack for crazy eights, or cooking or whathaveyou. It's a good collection, of amazing songs, by a great vocalist.
Puff Daddy & the Family - No Way Out
This has to be included because it is the first album that I ever loved. It's an awesome album. It's got a lot of great verses on it by the likes of The Notorious BIG (author of the greatest hip hop album of all time, Ready to Die) as well as people that were really cooking at the time, like Ma$e, The LOX, and even a guest appearance by Jay-Z. This album totally changed my perception about the relationship between words and music, revealing to me that the possibilities are endless, and that music should be fun. I was 8 years old when I first heard this album and it still receives regular play from me. I have to include it on this list if only for Biggie's verse on All About the Benjamins, which is one of my favourite pieces of writing ever.
Bush(x) - Razorblade Suitcase
I realize that I'm not winning over any hipsters in this list so far, and that maybe this is the nail in the coffin, but I can't deny this albums impact on my songs. It's not a very good album, but it sounds good, mostly as a result of Steve Albini's production (or lack thereof). For anyone that knows me and thinks that I'm being contrarian by including this, listen to Insect Kin from this album, and then listen to December from Believing In Iron. Or Crowded Blue. That's the most obvious example but you can find it in little pieces of my songs here and there. I think it's just because I've been listening to it for so long. That being said, some of the stuff on this album is totally great, like Bonedriven.
Eminem - The Slim Shady LP
This album is totally fantastic. I first got into it when I was 11, and although I didn't understand much of what was going on, I got a lot out of it. First of all it was the first album by a white rapper that I ever heard, and I remember being thusly convinced that I could totally participate in hip hop. Also the album cover is one of the greatest of all time. It represents the music it contains, while remaining somewhat mysterious and vague. Even though it is a literal interpretation of what might be the most disturbing song on the album. Eminem's first three albums contain a lot of my favourite writing that's ever occurred in popular music, despite the homophobic and misogynistic thread throughout, but this album must be included because it came out first, I got into it first, and it was my first real interaction with the concept of writing music from a fictional character perspective of your own design.
Nirvana - Unplugged
When I first heard this album I had already been writing songs to some extent for at least 5 or 6 years, but I had no goddamn idea what I was doing, or even what I was trying to do. This helped point me in some kind of direction. It taught me a very important lesson in simplicity, and it revealed to me that I could write music I like using an acoustic guitar, which I hadn't done at that point. Furthermore, it brought me a total infatuation with Cobain, which helped me a great deal when it came to writing songs, and also putting together music. Cobain inspired me to experiment, to be weird, to make noise, to break stuff. All valuable lessons in music creation. He also introduced me to Leadbelly, which eventually led to my discovery of country/blues and Appalachian folk. Pretty goddamn important as far as this whole songwriting thing goes.
Port City Allstars - Hello...In Mono!
So this isn't the album cover, but I'm mainly using this album as a way to encompass the huge impact that this band, and in particular Adam Mowery, has had on me as a songwriter. PCA were loud, hilarious, catchy, beautiful poppy music that totally kicked ass. As far as Saint John music goes, this is as good as it has ever been. Seeing them live totally changed my idea of what you could get away with in a small band, and their songs led me to further appreciate the possibilities in simple, catchy music. You can hear Adam Mowery's influence pretty clearly in a lot of my stuff, and he continues to inspire me today.
Pixies - Wave of Mutilation (best of)
Mary bought me this, at my request, for my 15th birthday, and it totally blew my mind. It had features I had at that point only really experienced from Nirvana but in a way that was much more obscure and interesting, at least as far as 15-year-old me was concerned. It led me to appreciate surf-rock, and 80's hardcore. Was probably also the first thing I heard that was awash with biblical references, that was not religious music. Which was perfect for that period in my life where I suddenly hated the shit out of religion.
Elton John - Best of
My mother bought this at Costco when I was probably 15 or 16, and I ended up just stealing it from her. For a long time Elton John was the only thing my mother and I had in common. Elton John has a true gift for melody and arrangement, and Bernie Taupin is a fantastic lyricist. There are a lot of really great EJ albums, many of which I own, but this one is most appropriate to list here for it's impact on me.
Joel Plaskett - La De Da
This remains my favourite of Plaskett's material. It was probably the first album I loved that was created by a maritime musician, that I hadn't heard from going to shows in Saint John (which led me to hear albums by people like Hospital Grade and the Organizers, both great) which is important for obvious reasons. It listed people and places from his town that were comforting in that Stompin Tom kinda Canadian way. Also it's beautifully produced and written.
Johnny Cash/Willie Nelson - VH1 Storytellers
When I worked at McDonald's I used to walk over to HMV with my paycheck every two weeks and buy stuff. This is one of the things I bought having never heard of it, and it's amazing. It's a good choice for this list because it's two of my favourite songwriters who ever lived and it's live and stripped down, showcasing the base of the songs, and what makes them so great. Willie Nelson is one of the greatest songwriters of popular music, and this features some of his best stuff. JR obviously kills it as well. When I was still listening to post-hardcore from DC and The Wolfnote every day I was going to sleep listening to this every night, and remains in regular rotation with me, particularly in a vehicle. Also these two fellas make a rather charming pair.
The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
This is another album I bought at HMV. It was in a cheap bin and at the time I didn't own anything by the Smiths but I knew that I should. Obviously Morrissey was an incredible lyricist and Johnny Marr an incredible guitarist, and as a team they wrote a lot of songs that I will love forever, particularly Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, which is my favourite Smiths song and is featured on this collection. In fact, my very dear friend Jeremy Smith put that song on a mix CD he made me when we first met, and it was the first Smiths song I ever heard. Jeremy also introduced me to Ryan Adams, and a plethora of country greats, and therefore I owe him a great debt of gratitude for the way I write. The Smiths were a big part of my total willingness to make sad bastard music.
Black Eyes - Self-titled
Nobody sounds like this band. They only made two albums, both of which are amazing and both of which were produced by Ian Mackaye, so they sound incredible. Black Eyes toured extensively with Q And Not U, which is another post-hardcore DC band that I love the shit out of, and that Jeremy told me about. These guys featured two drummers, and two bassists, and were therefore very rhythmic and loud and noisy and dancey and I love every second of both of their albums. They also had great lyrics. They always had really interesting references and wordplay and the images within their lyrics were usual stark and unsettling in a way that I really like. Also they referenced Yusef Komunyakaa, who ended up being my favourite poet, displacing E.E. Cummings from the rank. I went on to steal from Yusef on several occasions, most notably on That's the Way the Cards Fall, which is almost entirely Yusef lines. Also Believing In Iron is the title of one of his poems.
The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site
I had never heard this band when I bought this album, but Jeremy told me they were good and the CD was like 5 bucks at Secondspin so I bought it and popped it into my discman for the busride home. It blew my damn mind, and remains one of my favourite albums. As my good friend AP put it when we were touring, there is not a wasted word on this album, it's written beautifully, in a way that's totally literary and Canadian, and set to music that draws from all over the map to create a truly unique and remarkable pop album.
The Libertines - Self-titled
Once again, I'd never heard this band, but bought the album based on Jeremy's recommendation. I took to it immediately, eventually leading to a totally pathetic obsession with Pete Doherty. Doherty remains one of my favourite lyricists, and trainwrecks, as far as rock n roll goes. This image is totally iconic at this point, and is another one of my favourite album covers. Super fun combination of The Clash, The Pistols, The Smiths, and a bunch of other shit. It's too bad that he's turned himself into a cliche, as he truly was a gifted lyricist.
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Another iconic album cover that I totally love. Ryan Adams wrote a lot of good songs before this album, particularly as part of the band Whiskeytown, which released an album called Stranger's Almanac that also had a huge impact on my writing, as it combined classic country with stuff like Fleetwood Mac and Bruce Springsteen in an as yet unparalleled way. But this album hit me pretty hard. It's an elegant and emotional album of sparse and superbly produced songs that are all excellent. This album completely reshaped my songwriting and allowed me to focus my love of country in a way that I more closely related to. Really can't say enough about this album.
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
Tom Waits is a bonafide genius, and has a ton of amazing albums under his belt. This one is the second he made after getting married to his equally amazing wife, who it seems, encouraged him to go full on with his experimental leanings. This album has it all. It draws from totally obscure influences and puts them all on one album that remains totally cohesive. Waits is perhaps the best narrator in the history of rock n roll, creating dark and vivid characters from America's underbelly that come to life on his albums and show you exactly what he means. Along with that there's his staggeringly creative arrangements and kickass voice.
Ryan Adams - The Suicide Handbook
Ryan Adams - Jacksonville City Nights
I had to include this as well, because it further focused my love of country music, and more or less taught me how to write songs in the classic country vein, using that Mother Maybelle way of playing rhythm guitar. This album inspired a lot of material for me. It's also recorded very quickly and very well, and it applies the sad bastard over-emotional aesthetic that I learned from vocalists like Paul Anka to classic country character portraits and torch-songs. I'd like to mention as well that I think Adams is criminally underrated as a lyricist.
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
This is an obvious choice for any singer/songwriter. Springsteen is one of the greatest of all time, and this album showcases the writing ability underlying every song he makes. It's also a very intimate home recording that really helped me to proudly release recordings before I had the luxury of using proper equipment. My favourite of my own albums is basically an ode to this album, that I wrote during a time when I was totally obsessed with it.
I could go on forever, but I'll leave the list there for now. There's a lot missing, like albums by people I know personally, who've inspired me throughout the years to create better music. Writing a song is absolutely my greatest passion in life, and easily the thing that I'm most skilled at, and if there ever comes a time that I'm somehow successful at it, it will be as a direct result of the albums on this list, as well as many others.
Jim Croce - Photographs & Memories
This is a record that was part of my old man's collection that I used to listen to when I was very young. Certainly my earliest memories of music include sitting in the living room with that old record player and listening to albums like Steve Miller's The Joker, Burton Cummings My Own Way to Rock and the Eagles greatest hits volume 1. Jim Croce though, is perhaps the largest influence on my writing aside from Ryan Adams. His songs are brief, beautifully crafted snapshots of human moments that in my opinion are absolutely perfect. His writing is clear, precise and plainspoken. And his melodies are fantastic, as well as his imagery. To me Croce represents my father's side of his generation; the hard-working, family-centric, always-in-love mustachioed fellas. The other thing that kills me about Croce is the richness and feeling in his voice, and his unmistakable relatability. He was a man of the people, that's certain, having been a truckdriver, a farmer and a general family man. He was a hilarious storyteller and a light that should've burned much longer than it did. He died in a plane crash just 3 albums into his career.
Elvis Presley - 30 #1 Hits
I include this as opposed to an album, or perhaps something 'cooler,' because Elvis to me as a child could not have possibly been contained to an album. I watched his movies, listened to his records and tapes endlessly. I had an Elvis teddy bear that song 'Teddy Bear,' an Elvis clock shaped like a guitar, Elvis pez dispensers...etc. My grandmother, our family's matriarch and probably the greatest woman I have ever known, was a huge Elvis fan and in turn, Elvis had a huge impact on me as a child. I thought that he was absolutely the coolest dude ever. I wanted to be him. My earliest public performances include my Elvis impersonations, alongside singing hymns in church and singing and dancing along with country hits of the day, particularly Achy Breaky Heart. So this album feels appropriate because someone bought it for Mary for Christmas one year and it became our go-to soundtrack for crazy eights, or cooking or whathaveyou. It's a good collection, of amazing songs, by a great vocalist.
Puff Daddy & the Family - No Way Out
This has to be included because it is the first album that I ever loved. It's an awesome album. It's got a lot of great verses on it by the likes of The Notorious BIG (author of the greatest hip hop album of all time, Ready to Die) as well as people that were really cooking at the time, like Ma$e, The LOX, and even a guest appearance by Jay-Z. This album totally changed my perception about the relationship between words and music, revealing to me that the possibilities are endless, and that music should be fun. I was 8 years old when I first heard this album and it still receives regular play from me. I have to include it on this list if only for Biggie's verse on All About the Benjamins, which is one of my favourite pieces of writing ever.
Bush(x) - Razorblade Suitcase
I realize that I'm not winning over any hipsters in this list so far, and that maybe this is the nail in the coffin, but I can't deny this albums impact on my songs. It's not a very good album, but it sounds good, mostly as a result of Steve Albini's production (or lack thereof). For anyone that knows me and thinks that I'm being contrarian by including this, listen to Insect Kin from this album, and then listen to December from Believing In Iron. Or Crowded Blue. That's the most obvious example but you can find it in little pieces of my songs here and there. I think it's just because I've been listening to it for so long. That being said, some of the stuff on this album is totally great, like Bonedriven.
Eminem - The Slim Shady LP
This album is totally fantastic. I first got into it when I was 11, and although I didn't understand much of what was going on, I got a lot out of it. First of all it was the first album by a white rapper that I ever heard, and I remember being thusly convinced that I could totally participate in hip hop. Also the album cover is one of the greatest of all time. It represents the music it contains, while remaining somewhat mysterious and vague. Even though it is a literal interpretation of what might be the most disturbing song on the album. Eminem's first three albums contain a lot of my favourite writing that's ever occurred in popular music, despite the homophobic and misogynistic thread throughout, but this album must be included because it came out first, I got into it first, and it was my first real interaction with the concept of writing music from a fictional character perspective of your own design.
Nirvana - Unplugged
When I first heard this album I had already been writing songs to some extent for at least 5 or 6 years, but I had no goddamn idea what I was doing, or even what I was trying to do. This helped point me in some kind of direction. It taught me a very important lesson in simplicity, and it revealed to me that I could write music I like using an acoustic guitar, which I hadn't done at that point. Furthermore, it brought me a total infatuation with Cobain, which helped me a great deal when it came to writing songs, and also putting together music. Cobain inspired me to experiment, to be weird, to make noise, to break stuff. All valuable lessons in music creation. He also introduced me to Leadbelly, which eventually led to my discovery of country/blues and Appalachian folk. Pretty goddamn important as far as this whole songwriting thing goes.
Port City Allstars - Hello...In Mono!
So this isn't the album cover, but I'm mainly using this album as a way to encompass the huge impact that this band, and in particular Adam Mowery, has had on me as a songwriter. PCA were loud, hilarious, catchy, beautiful poppy music that totally kicked ass. As far as Saint John music goes, this is as good as it has ever been. Seeing them live totally changed my idea of what you could get away with in a small band, and their songs led me to further appreciate the possibilities in simple, catchy music. You can hear Adam Mowery's influence pretty clearly in a lot of my stuff, and he continues to inspire me today.
Pixies - Wave of Mutilation (best of)
Mary bought me this, at my request, for my 15th birthday, and it totally blew my mind. It had features I had at that point only really experienced from Nirvana but in a way that was much more obscure and interesting, at least as far as 15-year-old me was concerned. It led me to appreciate surf-rock, and 80's hardcore. Was probably also the first thing I heard that was awash with biblical references, that was not religious music. Which was perfect for that period in my life where I suddenly hated the shit out of religion.
Elton John - Best of
My mother bought this at Costco when I was probably 15 or 16, and I ended up just stealing it from her. For a long time Elton John was the only thing my mother and I had in common. Elton John has a true gift for melody and arrangement, and Bernie Taupin is a fantastic lyricist. There are a lot of really great EJ albums, many of which I own, but this one is most appropriate to list here for it's impact on me.
Joel Plaskett - La De Da
This remains my favourite of Plaskett's material. It was probably the first album I loved that was created by a maritime musician, that I hadn't heard from going to shows in Saint John (which led me to hear albums by people like Hospital Grade and the Organizers, both great) which is important for obvious reasons. It listed people and places from his town that were comforting in that Stompin Tom kinda Canadian way. Also it's beautifully produced and written.
Johnny Cash/Willie Nelson - VH1 Storytellers
When I worked at McDonald's I used to walk over to HMV with my paycheck every two weeks and buy stuff. This is one of the things I bought having never heard of it, and it's amazing. It's a good choice for this list because it's two of my favourite songwriters who ever lived and it's live and stripped down, showcasing the base of the songs, and what makes them so great. Willie Nelson is one of the greatest songwriters of popular music, and this features some of his best stuff. JR obviously kills it as well. When I was still listening to post-hardcore from DC and The Wolfnote every day I was going to sleep listening to this every night, and remains in regular rotation with me, particularly in a vehicle. Also these two fellas make a rather charming pair.
The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
This is another album I bought at HMV. It was in a cheap bin and at the time I didn't own anything by the Smiths but I knew that I should. Obviously Morrissey was an incredible lyricist and Johnny Marr an incredible guitarist, and as a team they wrote a lot of songs that I will love forever, particularly Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, which is my favourite Smiths song and is featured on this collection. In fact, my very dear friend Jeremy Smith put that song on a mix CD he made me when we first met, and it was the first Smiths song I ever heard. Jeremy also introduced me to Ryan Adams, and a plethora of country greats, and therefore I owe him a great debt of gratitude for the way I write. The Smiths were a big part of my total willingness to make sad bastard music.
Black Eyes - Self-titled
Nobody sounds like this band. They only made two albums, both of which are amazing and both of which were produced by Ian Mackaye, so they sound incredible. Black Eyes toured extensively with Q And Not U, which is another post-hardcore DC band that I love the shit out of, and that Jeremy told me about. These guys featured two drummers, and two bassists, and were therefore very rhythmic and loud and noisy and dancey and I love every second of both of their albums. They also had great lyrics. They always had really interesting references and wordplay and the images within their lyrics were usual stark and unsettling in a way that I really like. Also they referenced Yusef Komunyakaa, who ended up being my favourite poet, displacing E.E. Cummings from the rank. I went on to steal from Yusef on several occasions, most notably on That's the Way the Cards Fall, which is almost entirely Yusef lines. Also Believing In Iron is the title of one of his poems.
The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site
I had never heard this band when I bought this album, but Jeremy told me they were good and the CD was like 5 bucks at Secondspin so I bought it and popped it into my discman for the busride home. It blew my damn mind, and remains one of my favourite albums. As my good friend AP put it when we were touring, there is not a wasted word on this album, it's written beautifully, in a way that's totally literary and Canadian, and set to music that draws from all over the map to create a truly unique and remarkable pop album.
The Libertines - Self-titled
Once again, I'd never heard this band, but bought the album based on Jeremy's recommendation. I took to it immediately, eventually leading to a totally pathetic obsession with Pete Doherty. Doherty remains one of my favourite lyricists, and trainwrecks, as far as rock n roll goes. This image is totally iconic at this point, and is another one of my favourite album covers. Super fun combination of The Clash, The Pistols, The Smiths, and a bunch of other shit. It's too bad that he's turned himself into a cliche, as he truly was a gifted lyricist.
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Another iconic album cover that I totally love. Ryan Adams wrote a lot of good songs before this album, particularly as part of the band Whiskeytown, which released an album called Stranger's Almanac that also had a huge impact on my writing, as it combined classic country with stuff like Fleetwood Mac and Bruce Springsteen in an as yet unparalleled way. But this album hit me pretty hard. It's an elegant and emotional album of sparse and superbly produced songs that are all excellent. This album completely reshaped my songwriting and allowed me to focus my love of country in a way that I more closely related to. Really can't say enough about this album.
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
Tom Waits is a bonafide genius, and has a ton of amazing albums under his belt. This one is the second he made after getting married to his equally amazing wife, who it seems, encouraged him to go full on with his experimental leanings. This album has it all. It draws from totally obscure influences and puts them all on one album that remains totally cohesive. Waits is perhaps the best narrator in the history of rock n roll, creating dark and vivid characters from America's underbelly that come to life on his albums and show you exactly what he means. Along with that there's his staggeringly creative arrangements and kickass voice.
Ryan Adams - The Suicide Handbook
Ryan Adams is absolutely my favourite songwriter who ever lived. This is one of the unreleased albums, that was originally intended to be the follow-up to Heartbreaker. Subsequently many of the songs on here appear on Gold, but I prefer these versions. There are also songs on this that ended up appearing on nothing, and they're all excellent. It's all sad and sparse songs about girls, and that pretty much sums up most of my music. I love this record. The first time I had a panic attack I was listening to this album in my headphones, and somehow that makes me love it more.
Ryan Adams - Jacksonville City Nights
I had to include this as well, because it further focused my love of country music, and more or less taught me how to write songs in the classic country vein, using that Mother Maybelle way of playing rhythm guitar. This album inspired a lot of material for me. It's also recorded very quickly and very well, and it applies the sad bastard over-emotional aesthetic that I learned from vocalists like Paul Anka to classic country character portraits and torch-songs. I'd like to mention as well that I think Adams is criminally underrated as a lyricist.
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
This is an obvious choice for any singer/songwriter. Springsteen is one of the greatest of all time, and this album showcases the writing ability underlying every song he makes. It's also a very intimate home recording that really helped me to proudly release recordings before I had the luxury of using proper equipment. My favourite of my own albums is basically an ode to this album, that I wrote during a time when I was totally obsessed with it.
I could go on forever, but I'll leave the list there for now. There's a lot missing, like albums by people I know personally, who've inspired me throughout the years to create better music. Writing a song is absolutely my greatest passion in life, and easily the thing that I'm most skilled at, and if there ever comes a time that I'm somehow successful at it, it will be as a direct result of the albums on this list, as well as many others.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
So, I'm tired.
New Year's Eve for me consisted of red wine and rum in the company of JJ, Kelly, Cam, Seb and Courtney. Also Shauna and her new roommate Patti, briefly. Today I am very hung over. Much more so than I would've been as a younger and more debaucherous fellow. It's been happening lately that a hangover will increase as the day goes on, and this time it culminated in puking my guts up around 5:30 - 6. Oh well.
What I need to do is stop drinking. It isn't worth it anymore, because I'm getting older. And fatter. I need to start working asap, get this gut gone, get my breath back a little bit, and start doing shit with my day. I need to get my teeth fixed, and I need my license, and I need to relax. And I need my lady.
Ugh.
Still haven't come up with a title for the new album, but I'm very excited about it nonetheless. All-star cast on this bad boy, and I'm very proud of the songs. It's an album about manhood, and about love, and about losing someone you know to be perfect.
Yes, perfect is a strong word. And I suppose the half-empty way to look at it would be to say that no one is perfect. But, as I grow older and inevitably become more similar to my old man, I tend to lean more toward the idea that the cup is actually half-full, and therefore it's my contention that some people are perfect, it just depends on the context they're in. Anyway maybe this is some tired tangential bullshit but I guess what I should come out and say is that I don't believe that I will do better, because I think that's a foolish and greedy lie to tell myself. I'll be fine, but I won't do better. Life is not a rom-com, apparently.
I miss Graham, I'll tell you that much. I'm all caught up in some terrible nostalgia right now, if you're looking for an excuse behind this terribly melodramatic and sourpuss blog post.
New Year's Eve for me consisted of red wine and rum in the company of JJ, Kelly, Cam, Seb and Courtney. Also Shauna and her new roommate Patti, briefly. Today I am very hung over. Much more so than I would've been as a younger and more debaucherous fellow. It's been happening lately that a hangover will increase as the day goes on, and this time it culminated in puking my guts up around 5:30 - 6. Oh well.
What I need to do is stop drinking. It isn't worth it anymore, because I'm getting older. And fatter. I need to start working asap, get this gut gone, get my breath back a little bit, and start doing shit with my day. I need to get my teeth fixed, and I need my license, and I need to relax. And I need my lady.
Ugh.
Still haven't come up with a title for the new album, but I'm very excited about it nonetheless. All-star cast on this bad boy, and I'm very proud of the songs. It's an album about manhood, and about love, and about losing someone you know to be perfect.
Yes, perfect is a strong word. And I suppose the half-empty way to look at it would be to say that no one is perfect. But, as I grow older and inevitably become more similar to my old man, I tend to lean more toward the idea that the cup is actually half-full, and therefore it's my contention that some people are perfect, it just depends on the context they're in. Anyway maybe this is some tired tangential bullshit but I guess what I should come out and say is that I don't believe that I will do better, because I think that's a foolish and greedy lie to tell myself. I'll be fine, but I won't do better. Life is not a rom-com, apparently.
I miss Graham, I'll tell you that much. I'm all caught up in some terrible nostalgia right now, if you're looking for an excuse behind this terribly melodramatic and sourpuss blog post.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
So I've been neglecting this blog obviously, been pretty busy. So it goes. Right now I'm in Freddy with Justin Upshall watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and drinking some beer. We're driving to Halifax tomorrow and I'm playing a show at Gus's with Motherhood, Owen Steel and Year of Glad and I'm really excited about it. Haven't seen AP (YOG) since I left Montreal after our short Secular Winds tour. Good times that was.
The montreal show was the highlight of the few, at Le Cagibi, decent turnout, good food. Touring with AP and his brother Nick was a highlight of the past year of my life. Laughs, good friend, oh the laughs. Also very much enjoyed the Spill in Peterborough (the town where Tom Connors became Stompin Tom). The Spill is one of the better venues that I've played and I highly recommend it. We drank copious amounts of beer and played weird sets to a very minimal crowd. I was a bit too talkative I would say, loose with the tongue, talkin shit. We also went pretty buckwild on the wall in the apartment above the venue.
Toronto was weird. We showed up at the venue and a different show was going on. When we asked what the deal was, we were directed across the hall to a small stageless room, and a busted ass PA, and no staff. AP played the bus set of the tour, and I played the worst. It was a terrible balance. But, we rocked out to some Punkorama and Ma$e and made it back to Montreal in style, where we proceeded to drink a lot, have a thanksgiving dinner and shoot a Back & Forth interview that has yet to be posted. We also recorded an EP as our post-doom side project, DIVIDER, featuring the wonder that is Nick Laugher. What a dude that dude is.
Took a kijiji ride back to Halifax, where I'd been recording my new album prior to heading down to Quebec. It was produced by Mike Trask and engineered by Charles Austen, featuring Adam Mowery on bass and vocals, Marc Doucet and Trask on guitar, and Tynan Dunfield on drums. Very excited about this project. Don't have a title yet, but there's still quite some time before it'll be released. Probably January. Gotta master it, title it, shoot the album cover.
Meeting Mike Trask is perhaps the best thing that's happened to my career in a very longtime. If you don't know the dude, I would look him up. Great bluesplayer and songwriter, made the songs much better, and then produced them into awesomeness. I've played some shows around the maritimes with Trask and I'm very much looking forward to going on the road with him in March.
Trask was in SJ with Owen Steel on their tour recently to play a few sets for the Folk Awards. They played good sets, we drank booze, and I traveled with them up to Parkindale for a very good show at maybe the best venue in the maritimes. \I got to go up and play a song between sets, and I very much look forward to playing that show in the future.
Very excited to see Owen and Mike tomorrow along with a whole shitload of bucks that I haven't seen in some time. Then it's back to SJ. Gonna play a CFMH Christmas special on Tuesday that I'm very much looking forward to. Then it's buckledown, get a job and live a boring and terrible life.
Well, not terrible necessarily.
The montreal show was the highlight of the few, at Le Cagibi, decent turnout, good food. Touring with AP and his brother Nick was a highlight of the past year of my life. Laughs, good friend, oh the laughs. Also very much enjoyed the Spill in Peterborough (the town where Tom Connors became Stompin Tom). The Spill is one of the better venues that I've played and I highly recommend it. We drank copious amounts of beer and played weird sets to a very minimal crowd. I was a bit too talkative I would say, loose with the tongue, talkin shit. We also went pretty buckwild on the wall in the apartment above the venue.
Toronto was weird. We showed up at the venue and a different show was going on. When we asked what the deal was, we were directed across the hall to a small stageless room, and a busted ass PA, and no staff. AP played the bus set of the tour, and I played the worst. It was a terrible balance. But, we rocked out to some Punkorama and Ma$e and made it back to Montreal in style, where we proceeded to drink a lot, have a thanksgiving dinner and shoot a Back & Forth interview that has yet to be posted. We also recorded an EP as our post-doom side project, DIVIDER, featuring the wonder that is Nick Laugher. What a dude that dude is.
Took a kijiji ride back to Halifax, where I'd been recording my new album prior to heading down to Quebec. It was produced by Mike Trask and engineered by Charles Austen, featuring Adam Mowery on bass and vocals, Marc Doucet and Trask on guitar, and Tynan Dunfield on drums. Very excited about this project. Don't have a title yet, but there's still quite some time before it'll be released. Probably January. Gotta master it, title it, shoot the album cover.
Meeting Mike Trask is perhaps the best thing that's happened to my career in a very longtime. If you don't know the dude, I would look him up. Great bluesplayer and songwriter, made the songs much better, and then produced them into awesomeness. I've played some shows around the maritimes with Trask and I'm very much looking forward to going on the road with him in March.
Trask was in SJ with Owen Steel on their tour recently to play a few sets for the Folk Awards. They played good sets, we drank booze, and I traveled with them up to Parkindale for a very good show at maybe the best venue in the maritimes. \I got to go up and play a song between sets, and I very much look forward to playing that show in the future.
Very excited to see Owen and Mike tomorrow along with a whole shitload of bucks that I haven't seen in some time. Then it's back to SJ. Gonna play a CFMH Christmas special on Tuesday that I'm very much looking forward to. Then it's buckledown, get a job and live a boring and terrible life.
Well, not terrible necessarily.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
A New Day, Changing Weather
So, it would appear that I have lost my apartment.
This doesn't came as a huge shock, as I haven't had any solid income to speak of since the end of February. That's okay though, I'm sacrificing my comfort for my music. Still doing the tour in June, still putting out the album hopefully in time for that, still doin other stuff as the summer drags on, and at the moment, I don't particularly need an apartment anyway, just the guitar and my bookbag.
My old man and JJ and I moved all of my shit into my parents basement today. It wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated but here I am, and that's weird. Only gonna be here for a day or two anyway, then it's time to hit the road. I'm very much looking forward to that, I can't fucking wait to get the album done and the tour planned and stop worrying about it. I don't wanna have to be responsible to anything but David R this summer, and that's what Ima gonna do.
I'm tired as fuck. Drank some beer and whiskey with JJ last night and popped awake at 9am bright eyed and bushy tailed, been on the move since, cleaning and moving. Tomorrow I'm goin back into town to clean the apartment and get rid of the last of the shit in it. Then it's hang times with the bros. Then hopefully I can get up to freddy and get some shit recorded. Gotta finish the album in Fred, I think, and I'd also like to get to Hali with some folk, since that might be fuuuuun.
Talk more soon.
This doesn't came as a huge shock, as I haven't had any solid income to speak of since the end of February. That's okay though, I'm sacrificing my comfort for my music. Still doing the tour in June, still putting out the album hopefully in time for that, still doin other stuff as the summer drags on, and at the moment, I don't particularly need an apartment anyway, just the guitar and my bookbag.
My old man and JJ and I moved all of my shit into my parents basement today. It wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated but here I am, and that's weird. Only gonna be here for a day or two anyway, then it's time to hit the road. I'm very much looking forward to that, I can't fucking wait to get the album done and the tour planned and stop worrying about it. I don't wanna have to be responsible to anything but David R this summer, and that's what Ima gonna do.
I'm tired as fuck. Drank some beer and whiskey with JJ last night and popped awake at 9am bright eyed and bushy tailed, been on the move since, cleaning and moving. Tomorrow I'm goin back into town to clean the apartment and get rid of the last of the shit in it. Then it's hang times with the bros. Then hopefully I can get up to freddy and get some shit recorded. Gotta finish the album in Fred, I think, and I'd also like to get to Hali with some folk, since that might be fuuuuun.
Talk more soon.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Back In the Port City
It's been an extreme gap since I've last posted, but in an effort to be more active an artist online, I'm going to attempt to return to this blog somewhat frequently. A lot has happened since those Stephen Hero shows I mentioned in the last post.
Those shows went extremely well, particularly in Fredericton. For some reason Cousins opened and SexWolf closed (actually the latter thing makes sense) so it was an odd lineup, but it was very well-attended, especially for it having been the on stage debut of both Stephen Hero and Whale Skin. Whale Skin is a poppy and awesome electronic band with live instruments led by my good friend Willow Bell, with the classic rhythm section of JuHang Sin on bass and Dan Tweedie on drums. That's a rhythm section you can't really beat (nudge, nudge...get it? Har Har!) Actually all three members of that band were at one point in my band, David R. Elliott & the Novellas, the halifax edition.
I played the Stephen Hero set with Willow Bell standing at his laptop hitting play, essentially, as we were unable to put together anything better in time for the shows. Regardless, it was an awesome show, and people seemed to legitimately love it. On top of the fact that the shows went well and were a lot of fun, it was great to spend a weekend playing shows and hanging out with those guys for the first time in a while, their incarnation of the Novellas was a very fun and solid band to be in, and I was very sad for it to end as abruptly as it did.
I brought a lot of people on stage during my set, and there was a lot of 'Swag' chanting, championed most enthusiastically by Brydon Crain, which brings me toward the current state of affairs.
Saint John was a good time as well, mostly because I got to see an excellent group of Hip Hop performers from my hometown, and also got to perform my brand of hip hop or them and my best friend and fellow hip hop obsessee Jeremy Smith. But of course attendance wasn't stupendous for two nameless acts in our fair port city. After the shows, and the completion of the Stephen Hero mixtape, and album (although I still haven't released this album online) my enthusiasm for the Stephen Hero project waned, with the coming of the fall, and I began to return to country music once again, and pick up the guitar for the first time in almost a year.
It was a little slow at first, of course, but I began writing again and getting into more country music I hadn't heard, while further exploring things I had heard, such as Woody Guthrie, whom I experienced a slight obsession with just in time for my slight involvement in Occupy Halifax.
I experienced some frustration attempting to explore new music that wasn't hip hop, which I've mostly given up on now, aside from some tracks here and there that were pretty decent. I wrote a new album, which I've yet to record (the plan at this point is to record it with Clinton Charlton in his home studio, which I'll hopefully start doing soon) called 'Just Down the Tracks,' which is about my family. I also started recording a three-song ep with Tynan Dunfield, which is also not finished, but I do plan on releasing a song from those sessions as a single with a music video I'm planning on doing with Dan Culberson, currently brainstorming for a treatment.
One thing I particularly appreciate about this past fall was my growing musical relationship with Jordan Doucet, who became my dude to trade songs with this year. We spent a lot of time talking about records, playing songs to each other, getting drunk, etc. This is something I sorely need in my life, creatively. I hope to record his album in the March-April era this year, and hopefully release a short run of them for shows. Slinky (as he prefers to be called) and I got drunk and walked to a park in Halifax to pass a guitar back and forth and drink a colt 45, sometime before it got too cold for that kind of thing, and I think that was one of the best nights of my 2011.
I started getting to know Motherhood this year, a band from Fredericton formerly known as the Elephant who've been involved with foodclothingshelter for some time now. We ended up playing the same mini-festival and getting drunk together a number of times, which led to Brydon and Kaylee contributing harmonies on the Tynan sessions (along with Jordan Doucet). This led to the idea of having Brydon, Kaylee and Motherhood's drummer Adam Sipkema perform as my backing band. This seemed like an awesome idea to me, so we played The Capital on New Year's Eve, and it was excellent.
We had to cram a bit, leading up to it, but it was worth it, and I hope to continue that lineup for some more shows in 2012. I moved to Saint John, which was something I decided I needed to do earlier this year, and so far it's been excellent. I like the music dudes who live here, and I like the record stores, and I fucking love this city, and I feel peaceful and creative here, in a way I haven't in quite some time.
Since I moved here I recorded an EP called 'Blue Sky Country Gold,' which is available for name your price (no minimum) on the bandcamp, and I'm working on a new ep which I hope to get some collaboration happening on, which I'm calling 'Sam Hill.' I'm planning some shows with Motherhood and Jordan Doucet hopefully by March, and I have an instore at Backstreet coming up, among a few other things I can't really mention yet, as they are not yet set in stone. I plan on starting three bands this year; a noise band, a three-piece akin to a band I was in years ago with a 90's drunkrock sorta thing, and I plan on drumming for Jordan Doucet in his band. I plan on doing all of this with the involvement of one of my favourite musicians to work with, Cameron Evans, who also just so happens to be in the port city.
I'm excited about music right now, excited about rock bands, listening to a lot of punk and noise, and also rocking the shit out of classic Saint John releases, among which are Hospital Grade, Babs, The Organizers, Clinton, and of course, the incredible Adam Mowery, who just released an excellent album. I feel right, being here. I'm home.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
I'm listening to Devil's Night right now. Yeh, I mean, it's actually pretty good. I'm not gonna lie about this, Tyler talking about this being one of his favourite albums is definitely the reason why I've revisited it. But dude, this shit is dope. Some of the choruses are a little annoying, but some of them are fucking amazing. A lot of the verses (not including Bizarre, who doesn't really count for much as a rapper) are also fucking great. So yeh, gonna be listening to this and 2001 a bit in the next little while, along with Goblin, and Project Pat. And Ye.
I haven't blogged in a really long time and I don't know that there's anything in particular I'd like to be blogging about right now. I'm been mad cooking at Saege, which has been mostly good. Still really feeling cooking as my default career barring some small miracle in my musical career. I really love the idea of having my own place eventually, that's simple home food, but done really well with quality ingredients. Just a daytime place, cool place to chill. Yeh I fucking love cooking.
The Stephen Hero shows are starting to creep up slowly but surely. I was really hoping that I would've done some live hip hop by now (aside from that New Year's Party) and so I'm a little disappointed, but I'm remaining optimistic. Tomorrow I'm getting together with Willow to start putting together a cohesive set list for the Saint John and Fredericton shows. I guess it's pretty appropriate that my first shows will be Freddy and Durty J, but I wish I'd have gotten some more practice in. I'm doing a pretty good mix of stuff from the last half a year. I have some stuff off Verses From the Working Class, but it's not too heavy on it, I'm also using other rappers beats, some of Al Pal's beats, and a beat TV Cop from Large King Canadians made for a collab in the near future.
Speaking of LKC, I'm doing an EP with their MC, Stagefright, who's a cool dude from Hamilton, ON. I'm thinking it's going to be pretty cool, and pretty good, and pretty weird, so I'm into it. We only have a few jams, but they're pretty stark, cold, simple beats and really offkilter verses (in my personal opinion), so I think we kind of have a thing going.
I'm also supposed to start practicing a bit with Rekkid Bitch Mike, who is a dude I met in the kitchen, who DJ's (with actual vinyl!). I think we're hoping to get some show things happening in the not-too-distant future. I certainly would love to do some hip hop with some scratching going on.
I should be getting my hands on a mac soon, which will make Rolodex come out really fucking quickly, and BITCHES. I'm really having a hard time coming up with a new title for that mixtape album type deal. I know I want a new title but I can't figure out what it should be. I don't know, I think the album is pretty clearly an odd viewpoint of a dude that thinks about girls too much and deals with it angrily and awkwardly. I don't know. It's also pretty swag, this dude can rap. Brad Allen, I think, is gonna send me some album art for that. If I could get both those albums on the nets in the next few months I'd be happy. That and some shows.
I haven't blogged in a really long time and I don't know that there's anything in particular I'd like to be blogging about right now. I'm been mad cooking at Saege, which has been mostly good. Still really feeling cooking as my default career barring some small miracle in my musical career. I really love the idea of having my own place eventually, that's simple home food, but done really well with quality ingredients. Just a daytime place, cool place to chill. Yeh I fucking love cooking.
The Stephen Hero shows are starting to creep up slowly but surely. I was really hoping that I would've done some live hip hop by now (aside from that New Year's Party) and so I'm a little disappointed, but I'm remaining optimistic. Tomorrow I'm getting together with Willow to start putting together a cohesive set list for the Saint John and Fredericton shows. I guess it's pretty appropriate that my first shows will be Freddy and Durty J, but I wish I'd have gotten some more practice in. I'm doing a pretty good mix of stuff from the last half a year. I have some stuff off Verses From the Working Class, but it's not too heavy on it, I'm also using other rappers beats, some of Al Pal's beats, and a beat TV Cop from Large King Canadians made for a collab in the near future.
Speaking of LKC, I'm doing an EP with their MC, Stagefright, who's a cool dude from Hamilton, ON. I'm thinking it's going to be pretty cool, and pretty good, and pretty weird, so I'm into it. We only have a few jams, but they're pretty stark, cold, simple beats and really offkilter verses (in my personal opinion), so I think we kind of have a thing going.
I'm also supposed to start practicing a bit with Rekkid Bitch Mike, who is a dude I met in the kitchen, who DJ's (with actual vinyl!). I think we're hoping to get some show things happening in the not-too-distant future. I certainly would love to do some hip hop with some scratching going on.
I should be getting my hands on a mac soon, which will make Rolodex come out really fucking quickly, and BITCHES. I'm really having a hard time coming up with a new title for that mixtape album type deal. I know I want a new title but I can't figure out what it should be. I don't know, I think the album is pretty clearly an odd viewpoint of a dude that thinks about girls too much and deals with it angrily and awkwardly. I don't know. It's also pretty swag, this dude can rap. Brad Allen, I think, is gonna send me some album art for that. If I could get both those albums on the nets in the next few months I'd be happy. That and some shows.
Monday, February 14, 2011
final tracklist!!! OMG!!
Verses From the Working Class
1 Intro From the Working Class
2 Who the Fuck is David R.?
3 Trouble ft. Manny Boii Spittin
4 Back Peddlin
5 IDA
6 Don't Worry About Me
7 Weekend Grrl
8 Sexy Interlude
9 One Time!
10 Sunday Jamz (Bitches Ain't Shit)
11 Dirt
12 Youth LIVE
13 Go Button
14 Get My Grown Man On
So, it's a bit longer, for the better I think. Still pretty tame hip hop in comparison to pretty much everything I listen to, but I like it, it's pretty chill if you dig some stoner jams, and like rhythmic verses n shit. Anyway, credits:
All songs written by David R., except 'Trouble,' co-written by Manny B. Tracks 1, 3 5, 8, 9, 11 and 12 produced by Willow 'Big Will' Bell. Tracks 2, 6, 7, 10, 13 and 14 produced by Tynan 'T-snake' Dunfield and track produced by Dan 'DJ Tweed' Tweedie . This album features the voices of Al Palone, Christian, Cam, Slinky, and maybe other people. copyright 2011 foodclothingshelter music.
1 Intro From the Working Class
2 Who the Fuck is David R.?
3 Trouble ft. Manny Boii Spittin
4 Back Peddlin
5 IDA
6 Don't Worry About Me
7 Weekend Grrl
8 Sexy Interlude
9 One Time!
10 Sunday Jamz (Bitches Ain't Shit)
11 Dirt
12 Youth LIVE
13 Go Button
14 Get My Grown Man On
So, it's a bit longer, for the better I think. Still pretty tame hip hop in comparison to pretty much everything I listen to, but I like it, it's pretty chill if you dig some stoner jams, and like rhythmic verses n shit. Anyway, credits:
All songs written by David R., except 'Trouble,' co-written by Manny B. Tracks 1, 3 5, 8, 9, 11 and 12 produced by Willow 'Big Will' Bell. Tracks 2, 6, 7, 10, 13 and 14 produced by Tynan 'T-snake' Dunfield and track produced by Dan 'DJ Tweed' Tweedie . This album features the voices of Al Palone, Christian, Cam, Slinky, and maybe other people. copyright 2011 foodclothingshelter music.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
I just downloaded an Eminem discography, but I left out the albums I own, and mostly downloaded it for the misc. tracks from other people's albums, soundtracks, etc., and all the fucking freestyles!!!! AMAZING. I mean, I know this last year has been brutal as fuck for all us dawgs who have been there since 99., but fer real, in the years between 2000-2003 this guy really was the best rapper. Some of these songs that arent on Eminem albums are fucking brilliant. I don't know what else to say about it, it's smart, funny, clever, dark, and just, impressive. Great rap.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
1 Intro
2 Who the Fuck is David R.?
3 Don't Worry About Me
4 IDA (interlude)
5 Dirt
6 Sexy Interlude
7 Rain Dog Beach
8 Go Button (interlude)
9 Back Peddlin
10 Trouble feat. Manny Boii Spittin
11 Youth Live
12 Get My Grown Man On
So this will be it, I think, the first official release for Stephen Hero, Verses From the Working Class. I'm pretty proud of this I think. I really enjoyed making it, and Willow Bell, Dan Tweedie and Tynan Dunfield did some great production. Should be putting up a song from it soon. Also my favourite Halifax rapper Manny B is donating a verse. So I would really like to think of this album as mostly an honest and serious ode to Hip Hop. I tried to make it as exlusively hip hop head shit as possible, cause that's what I am, and all I can hope is that no one compares it to backpack rap. I drop a lot of references in the album from No Way Out especially, but also Project Pat, Grip Plyaz and some other dudes. I tribute a little biggie, Ye, Beastie Boys. I don't know, but it was really fun to make, and it's strictly for dawgs, special mention to the bucks, and also from SJ, Sara G, Shanice, Jay & Strokes, D-Town, JJ, Tooth, all those dawgs. This is copyright fcs dude.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Hey everyone...it's me. It's been a long time, I shouldn'ta left you, without a blog post to...read once. Um, Stephen Hero is back baby, working on the official debut LP, titled 'Verses From the Working Class,' featuring production from Willow Bell (Whale Skin, Jenocide), Tynan Dunfield (Writers Strike, Dance Movie) and Dan Tweedie (The Belle Comedians, Rain Dogs). It will be released for free online care of foodclothingshelter music, on bandcamp. It will also feature a guest spot by Manny Boii Spittin (Blue Team). Glad to be back.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Okay, so I finished the Black Book and it's on the internet. Since then I've also re-recorded Blue & Grey with new arrangements. Recorded, produced and performed by this guy, DR. Ju plays bass and Dan played keys on Snake Eyes, but the rest of that shit is me. Anyway I'm pretty proud of it, it only took me a week, and I've been listening to it a fair amount, despite my feeling about the lyrics, which I'll say, lack the level of elegance I'd like to think has become my norm, lyric-wise. But I like the lead git parts a lot, and it really doesn't sound terrible for having done it myself in Audacity. Now I'm working on a Paul Anka cover album. So far I've done Puppy Love and Put Your Head on my Shoulder. Not sure what's next. I want to start writing something soon, maybe something darker. Gonna grow out my hair a little maybe. Have that tortured artist look for the summer. David R. Elliott & the Novella's played at Gus's and at the Capital and it was awesome both times. We're playing at the Frigate on Wednesday and this weekend is my two nights at the Kennedy House in St. Andrews. Having been the acoustic guy in a while, but maybe now I can do some Paul Anka, something off of Blue & Grey maybe, maybe some Autumn Rose, City is Dark, Breaking Hearts, Devotion in my Blood, Believing in Iron type shit. In other words, lots of stuff. Get back to being an acoustic performer for a few nights. Sounds good to this guy.
Cheers,
DavidR
Thursday, June 3, 2010
So call me obsessive, but sometimes I get into something in a big way and it takes me a while to get out. Right now that thing is Tom Waits. I've always been a fan of the man, obviously, and Rain Dogs has been an album I listen to regularly for some years now, but I've never fully delved into the vast catalogue of Tom Waits, until now. This is somewhat regrettable but ultimately not that bad, because I think I'll get around to most things in time. What I'm saying is that right now I'm working on a project that is unabashedly inspired by the man, and I'm also nerding it up all over the place about him. You gotta see Big Time, and you maybe also should watch this critical analysis of his work between '83 and '06. Anyway so I've spent a chunk of time lately recording off-kilter stuff in my bedroom and using stuff in my house for percussion. So far that has included a hamper, wooden wind chimes, a shelf, a basket of pennies, my lap, a basketball, spoons, rubber bands wrapped around chair legs, maybe some other stuff and a few cymbals. I don't even care if no one likes it, it's really fun, and it's an exercise of musical ability that I believe will benefit me regardless of it's staying power as solo material. I'm calling it David R. & the Black Book, and it's on my bandcamp.
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