Hey Wintry Compatriots--
A couple more originals for you, courtesy of Mikey and me... First up is "Evergreen", which is seasonally appropriate at the very least, and a genteel and wistful number to boot. If you're concerned that I've not channeled the Band and '72-era Dead (via the Crowes) lately, well, this'll cure what ails you. Otherwise, it might be Kryptonite to you, in which case boo-hoo!
Second up is "Hamburg Nights", a.k.a. "Astrid & Stu". It's (duh) a little tribute to Astrid Kirchherr and her poor, doomed Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe. Her photos of the lads and their bohemian (small "b", that is) running partners (bassist Klaus Voorman et al) from '60-62 are unbelievably evocative and you should open a new tab to look at some, right now.... Anyway, late post-war Germany must have been a heck of a place, no place more so than the grimy red-light district (Reeperbahn) of a gritty port city (Hamburg), and the period probably warrants some more mining for future compositions... Anyway, as to this one, we tried to give it that woozy circus-y, oom-pa-pa feel, and if you like a squeaky bass drum pedal, then this is the song for you! I confess that for some reason the little bridge section that comes in at 2:04 is one of the favorite things I've ever written. Dunno. Some days are one way and some days the other.
I'll close this entry on a major 6th.
jk
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/johnk-rkbs/
Evergreen: https://app.box.com/s/rgxjsf5nxrf5rmu16bym
Hamburg Nights: https://app.box.com/s/updymw52z8nmiz2k0ipt
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Roadkill Buttsteak 8: "Corrupt = Heartbroken" b/w "Losing Light"
Hey all--
Back to the well, same as last time, for these ones. "Corrupt..." features our comrade Paul R. Cardillo on the bass, again participating via correspondence course. I guess I'll drop some change in the Feelies' jar on this one (and by default the Velvets'), though we didn't have the time or instrumental ability to stretch out the arrangements as much as Hoboken's beloved sons and daughter would have. We did try and keep it short and garage-y, and I suspect it might provide one heck of a liver barn-burner should that occasion ever arise.
"Losing Light" might've started out with warm sentiments but, as I lived with the song before recording it, I realized that there was definitely potential to go dark on it. So the statement around which the song was conceived ("Though I'm losing light, I'm gonna drive all night to you") turned from promise to threat as the narrator crossed into creepy, somewhat psychotic territory. The mood was certainly helped by RK's tom-tom beat (with some slap-back delay added during production) and cymbal washes, by the tremelo-and-reverbed open-tuned guitar, topped off with some guitar feedback and spacious piano. My take, anyways.
jk
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/johnk-rkbs/
Cut and Paste:
Corrupt = Heartbroken: https://app.box.com/s/pjhgpd2logo85p1lv0p3
Losing Light: https://app.box.com/s/aq9m68ligocqq87yjdsz
Corrupt = Heartbroken:
Losing Light:
Back to the well, same as last time, for these ones. "Corrupt..." features our comrade Paul R. Cardillo on the bass, again participating via correspondence course. I guess I'll drop some change in the Feelies' jar on this one (and by default the Velvets'), though we didn't have the time or instrumental ability to stretch out the arrangements as much as Hoboken's beloved sons and daughter would have. We did try and keep it short and garage-y, and I suspect it might provide one heck of a liver barn-burner should that occasion ever arise.
"Losing Light" might've started out with warm sentiments but, as I lived with the song before recording it, I realized that there was definitely potential to go dark on it. So the statement around which the song was conceived ("Though I'm losing light, I'm gonna drive all night to you") turned from promise to threat as the narrator crossed into creepy, somewhat psychotic territory. The mood was certainly helped by RK's tom-tom beat (with some slap-back delay added during production) and cymbal washes, by the tremelo-and-reverbed open-tuned guitar, topped off with some guitar feedback and spacious piano. My take, anyways.
jk
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/johnk-rkbs/
Cut and Paste:
Corrupt = Heartbroken: https://app.box.com/s/pjhgpd2logo85p1lv0p3
Losing Light: https://app.box.com/s/aq9m68ligocqq87yjdsz
Corrupt = Heartbroken:
Losing Light:
Monday, February 3, 2014
Roadkill Buttsteak (and Dillo) 8: "Dust" b/w "The Cruel Seas"
Hey gang--
What the?.... It's actual original RKBS rock-style music on the RKBS site! Plus special guest! These songs have been getting done (i.e., sitting around mostly) for over a year, goddarnit, so let's get to the point.
For these and the remainder of the bunch, Mikey made a visit up to the Harpswell Estate in Dec '12 (!?), at which point we ran through things real fast, like, and laid down the guitar and drum tracks as we usually do. Then we beamed the electonical files down to Paul R. Cardillo's forested hideout down in the outskirts of Chapel Hill, NC, whereupon Paulie applied the secret sauce of low-end goodness. Back came those bass files to me, and I put the rest of the garbage on top. That's when the mostly-lying-fallow business commenced in earnest, punctuated by many small mixing sessions, a.k.a. rearranging the deck chairs.
Some of the set has been posted to the SoundCloud page for a bit, so these might not be fresh-picked for all of you, listening public, but I believe they're new to the RKBS site, so off you go! Make up your own story about these here cuts, and let me know if anything comes up on your Spot-the-Influence-o-Meters. We were shooting for a couple general aural goals that I think we got kinda/ sorta near, and I have my own theories as to the wordy parts...
jk
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/johnk-rkbs/
Cut and Paste into your browser:
Dust: https://app.box.com/s/zhsl1is68jm5qb5v0ukv
The Cruel Seas: https://app.box.com/s/5oalcrfx2qcp4xog1dkd
Or stream/ download:
Dust:
The Cruel Seas:
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