Sunday, February 28, 2010

"Under The Weather"

How strange it is ! About one week ago I decide to start recording "Sweet Adelaide" with really no idea at all how the the song structure was going to work out. It ends up turning out to be an awesome tune, and during the process (with flu and all), I come up with another song idea called "Under The Weather". Well I have decided that this will be the next song I work on. I've already got the entire tune worked out on acoustic. "Sweet Adelaide" centered around an intense love between someone alive and someone deceased. The inability for either to let it go is the basis for the haunting. In this song both people are very much alive, but their love for each other isn't. The term "Under The Weather" means that they both really need to walk away from each other to feel better. I know it all sounds a bit deep, and melancholy, but it is a very catchy song.

3-1-10, I'm just starting to put the drums together. So far, the simple approach is working the best. It seems, that when I am recording, things usually work out in two's. "Nothin" and "Best Days Of Your Life" have a similar approach, and style. The same is true with "Sweet Adelaide" and "Horrible End". This song and "Won't Be Home Again" are going to fall into the same category. The main instruments in both will be the acoustic and vocals. One song is about walking away from a bad relationship, the other is about infidelity. I'm going to have to change my mindset to get these 2 right. I think a coffee shop approach will probably work the best. By that I mean a stripped down band approach. I have to think of myself as being more of a story teller playing in a small venue, as opposed to a rock star in an arena.

3-2-10, It's going to be a busy month of March, with non music related activities. My recording opportunities will be a bit limited. As a result, I'm going to keep my goals simple. If I complete "Under The Weather" and "Won't Be Home Again" then I think I have done well. That would give me 7 finished songs (minus vocals) going into April. My birthday is on April Fool's Day, so being 7 songs into my new Cd would be a very nice gift to myself. I still have 3 other tunes to choose from, so there is the potential that I may over achieve again. 8 finished songs going into the month of April would be an awesome accomplishment (I only had 9 songs on each of my 2 previous Cd's)! I'm going to be away from home for about 5 days and I probably won't be able to record. The good news is that I will have some time to work out the drums for this tune. The idle time may also give me an opportunity to write another song. I only need about 3 more song ideas to reach my goal of 13 for this Cd. I'll check back in about 1 week, and let you know of any developments.

3-7-10, I was watching my brothers house the last 5 days. The natural reverb in his home is perfect, so I ended up bringing all my equipment over and doing some recording (the biggest challenge was working all this around their 5 miniature Doberman's). I rehearsed this song quite a bit on the first couple days, but once I started recording vocals for "Nothin" and "Sweet Adelaide" it kind of got pushed to the back burner. Opportunities to lay down vocals just don't come around very often so I had to jump on the moment ! As a result, the vocals for "Nothin" and "Sweet Adelaide" are completed. Another bit of good news ... I came up with another song idea ("Simple Minded"). In keeping with my reputation for being unpredictable, it turned out to be a Christian song. The cool part about being an underground independent songwriter is that it allows me the freedom to take chances, and experiment with different topics.

3-12-10, I have been working on the drum tracks for this song, and I think they may just be good enough. I don't know what it is, but a stripped down drum approach seems to be the toast of the day with this Cd. The tracks don't include any tom tom's or crash symbols ..... what ? Under most circumstances this would be a cause for concern ... but I am the Foxman ! If it isn't broken don't fix it. I think one of the biggest tricks to being a good songwriter is knowing when to lay back and not overdue it. This is a really cool, catchy song. The vocals and acoustic are the main focus, so I am not going to worry about it. Let it be ! I had a good time at the Florida Strawberry Festival, where I watched Tracy Lawrence perform ... good show !

3-13-10, I recorded the drums today ! I ended up adding crash symbols, it just didn't feel right without them. The toms weren't needed, so I left them out. I've already got the acoustic worked out, it's just a matter of finding the right time to record it. The bass shouldn't be too much trouble, just need to work out the scales and keys first. I've got family visiting, so I will be spending Wed-Sat visiting theme parks in Orlando. That gives me about 2-3 days to work on this song ... then it's fun time !

3-14-10, I got the bass recorded today ! Suddenly this simple acoustic/vocal tune has become a bit of a hip shaker. The bass line I came up with is very catchy and melodic. It compliments the simple drum approach well. I am even thinking that I may just use the electric, instead of the acoustic, on the rhythm track. Well so much for the coffee shop approach !

3-16-10, I think I've got the rhythm finished. I ended up using the electric guitar with a Rockabilly effect. This song was originally written with a capo on the 4th fret. I was having trouble with the capo not properly holding down all the strings. As a remedy I tuned the guitar up 1/2 step and put the capo on the 3rd fret. The extra tension in the strings made all the difference. Well I'm off to Orlando, the music is going to be on hold for about 4-5 days. I think all I need to finish this song is a lead guitar track (keys would be too much). For the most, some simple melodic leads will do the trick. There may be some openings in the intro, and outro, for a little more creativity. As far as the song keys go, I am mostly using C# Major and F# Major (E Major is also briefly used during the change part)

3-21-10, Back to work ! I had a fun time in Orlando. At this moment I am watching the Health Care vote on C-Span. It's an historic event in American history. As best as I can tell it looks like one side is trying to help us, and the other side is trying to scare the hell out of us. I am having a very hard time thinking of the GOP as anything but a bunch of pathetic self absorbed jackasses. It seems like all they are doing is adding their own personal spin to the prearranged talking points, just like watching Fox News. Who is masterminding all this BS ? As hard as it will be ... I am not going to bring politics into my upcoming Cd. Once the vote is over I will pull out the recorder and see where I left off. They did it ! 219-212, the Health Bill passed ! Teddy Kennedy deserves a lot of respect for his efforts on this cause. It's unfortunate he wasn't here to be able to vote for it, but I'm sure wherever he is, he is smiling. Thanks Teddy ! I did finally get around to listening to this song, and I am totally happy with how the rhythm and bass tracks turned out. It is much more upbeat, then I originally thought. I'm still not sure what to do with the lead guitar, or other effects. Maybe I will experiment with some horn sounds.

3-22-10, Well hopefully that should do it ! Sometimes you just have to follow the signs. While at the Strawberry Festival, 10 days ago, I stumbled upon a vendor's booth where homemade Dulcimer's were being sold. The vendor was cool enough to let me try my hand at playing one. Well this song needed something to add to the melancholy nature of the tune, and the Dulcimer ended up being the right sound ... go figure. Once again the keyboards earned their worth. I will listen back to everything tomorrow and decide if it is good to go. If so, then some track clean up, a Cd backup, some sample mixing and vocals are all that is left. This is a unique song, and I didn't want to crud it up by trying to add too much. Drums, guitar, bass and the Dulcimer should be all I need. I've been at this song, off and on, for about 3 weeks. It will be a welcome relief to move on.

3-23-10, that will do it. I cleaned up the tracks, did a little mixing, protected the song and backed up the data. It's a bit different because I'm not used to listening to a dulcimer, but I am going to roll with it. Originally it was going to just be a vocal/acoustic song. Now it's an upbeat Rock-n-Roll tune featuring some lead dulcimer. Looks like the Foxman has struck again ! Some more good news ... I re-loaded the backup of "Won't Be Home Again" and the song is saved ! I found out what I was doing wrong and got it out of the mastering mode. So ... this technically means that I now have 7 songs for the "Crazy Like a Fox" Cd.

Dulcimer-(aka Appalachian, or mountain dulcimer)- The instrument first appeared in the early 1800's, and was used by the Scots-Irish in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Well known as parlor instrument, and is also used in urban folk music. Usually tuned to DAA (key note string, middle string and melody string). Traditional dulcimers would have to be re-tuned to play in different keys. The instrument may have up to 12 strings.

5-9-10, After the success I had tonight recording vocals for "Horrible End", I am considering doing this song next. There are a few notes that I need to hit during the chorus, other than that, things shouldn't be too complicated.

5-12-10, I think I hear the studio calling me ! I took it easy for a couple of days, and think my ears and voice are back to normal. In the meantime, I have really gotten into watching "24". This current season is the first one that I have followed, every week, since episode one (only 3 left). Over the last 3 days I also watched the entire season three. Today I went out and bought season four. It's an awesome TV series ! I brought this up because it gives me a nice break from the songwriting. Tonight I am watching "American Idol". There are only 4 contestants left (Crystal, Big Mike, Lee and Casey). In my opinion they are all very talented. I also think it is cool that all 4 of them play guitar. It really doesn't matter who wins, because they are all going to make out real well. Once the show is over, I'll head to the studio and do my best to be an American Idol.

5-13-10 (5:30 a.m.) Well, Big Mike got eliminated from "American Idol". Nothing to be ashamed of, he's a class act and I'm sure we haven't heard the last from him. After the show I went to the studio ... 6 1/2 hours later, I made it back home. I had another awesome night and I nailed the vocals for this song. I still need to listen to it tomorrow (today) and make sure everything is good to go. If so, I will clean the tracks, save/protect the song and backup the data. I am very proud of myself, I think this song has the potential to be hit ! The dulcimer really adds a cool, unique, element. (7:00 p.m.) It's good to go !

UPDATE (2-16-14): "Under The Weather" has become one of the most popular songs from this release !! All songs from my "Crazy Like A Fox" Cd can be heard in their entirety through the tune player below. Please make sure to also check out my home website at: www.foxmanmusic.com