So here is a demo of some chords, a proof of concept that I can integrate some drum loops and so forth into these otherwise back-country, lo-fi ventures — what did I call them years ago on some gig poster? “six-string skeletons”?

Nuttin but Martins here — tho the lead was going to be the Alvarez (and actually was, in an earlier take which, given the cosmic rule “If you tape over it, it was more brilliant than anything you will ever do after that,” was, well, probably better than what you’ll hear here…)

This may end up being an actual song, which is actually played finger-picked, not strummed. We’ll see. The Trilobite laid his drum part down in one take and then hit the bourbon hard. With a cry, “No flies on this Frank-boy!” he lurched out the door. We made up the guest room for him last night, but we haven’t seen him since about four yesterday afternoon.

Another thing to keep in mind is: I haven’t quite settled on the chord progression — or rather, I have, but then I keep forgetting what it is. I even wrote it down a couple of times (different each time), but then failed to refer to any of the sheets of paper when actually laying down the overdubs. Typical. So none of the three guitarists play exactly the same thing. Makes for some interesting, ah, microtonal explorations at times, I guess…

So here, with no further ado, is about two minutes of your life you’ll never get back… (It starts out quiet, with a somewhat anarchic count-in.)

> Eleven Eleven (proof of concept)

Some more pictures of the set-up in Xuxek Studios to follow shortly. [later: not tonight; maybe tomorrow, but more likely Sunday or even Monday...]

Here at last is the full version of Cinnamon Blues, long thought to have been lost.

> Cinnamon Blues

There have been a lot of rumors swirling about how I’ve managed to get such amazingly clear and powerful recordings. How does he do it?

Well, below is a picture of my home recording set-up. I guess I just have the touch…

 
 
Naw! Just kidding! Here’s what the place looks like:

That silvery cable along the back cushion is what runs from the 4-track to the powerbook.

Dunno if you can make it out, but that there is a gen-you-wine SLAKE sticker on the guitar case back there behind the powerbook. I never saw them live, but I’ve been told they were even louder than that sticker.

I called the demo track “Cinnamon Blues” for one reason only: I needed a name, and the color of the walls could be described as “cinnamon.” The paint color’s official name is something else (I can never remember; Ana would know), but I’ve always liked the word “cinnamon.”

I’d planned on giving the demo a different name eventually, especially if I ever managed to come up with any lyrics, but I think at this point it’s stuck…

So I finally got around to working with the four-track, hoping to see how easy it is to get recordings over into digital form on my computer. And hey! It’s not that hard!

It’s an instrumental for the moment, and there’s not much to it yet. Let me know what you think. Comments are open, below.

Theoretically, you should be able to play the sound recording directly inside your browser, but if not, you can download it (right-click, save to disc, etc etc.)

There’s a few seconds of silence as it fades in, which would be extremely cutting-edge if this were 1964…

For the melody part over the A-section, I tried to come up with something as Jason-esque as possible. And, to come up with something as Rob-esque as possible for the B-section, I just noodled aimlessly around (which, due to technical difficulties, fades out).

It may just be 2009’s answer to the Barron Knights. Well, see what you think:

> Cinnamon Blues [excerpt]

Also, I have definitely run into some of the technical issues you talked about with the four-track. I found that some of the crunchiness and static comes from the fact that the “Input Select” switches are a little slushy; wiggling them can make the problem disappear or come on hard.

(Oh, and originally I was gonna double-track the Martin on rhythm and give the melody part to the Alvarez, but ended up sticking to the Martin for everything… Maybe I’ll mix it up on a different take.)

Coming soon, the new space for all things musical in the life of the erstwhile Straw Dogs. Discography and downloads! Tons of pictures and album cover art! Where are they now! Guest blogging by the Trilobite! (etc etc.)

A cornucopia!

Stay tuned: don’t touch that dial!