Blog: Bloggity-blah. Here we go. 1st entry!
Posted on February 7, 2010 with 1 comment
Questions. I get questions. (The first one usually: "are you drunk?")
Let's say first and foremost I'm not an answers sort of guy. When people ask when and where they can expect a live show for Au Contraire -- a CD release party, so to speak -- I get a bit stuck. And so I shall start by deflecting, right off the bat. Because it's a solo record. And I presently have no band. Or, for that matter, a band plan. And deflection is my middle initial.
The other questions revolve around the record itself, and those I feel nominally more qualified to entertain. But although I say solo, this hardly got pulled off without outside help. So the thing demanding initial mention is the other people involved. I'd like to begin by trumpeting Patrik and Joe. 95% of the tracks on Au Contraire were done at Patrik's studio, Dark One. It was a long process involving a day or so of tracking, here or there, followed by many months of out-and-out inactivity. The question heard most often throughout that three-year process came in the form of a phone call from Patrik: "when are you going to finish your album?" To which I'd usually respond with a large measure of definitive hemming and hawing.
Patrik championed me along throughout the process; a big fan and supporter, a model of tolerance and wise guidance. And after all my heel-dragging was said and done, he also agreed to mix 5 of the songs. Really, any folks with even a remote liking for Au Contraire owe it to themselves to check out his work. Because here is a guy that is far and away more committed to songwriting, musical expression and the very institution of rock-and-roll craft than anyone I know. The man is a living, breathing encyclopedia of rock history. He puts me in my place, and that place has a resounding name: novice.
Opposite coin side is Joe. Different animal. Joe mixed a large share of the record. If Patrik is some sort of single-minded rock-n-roll sentinel, Joe is far more ambivalent. Lukewarm about pop-rock and rock-pop at best. That's not to discredit either his musical interests or inclinations, which are both immense. But if I lean toward 3-minute ditties, Joe tends to cogitate on an utterly symphonic scale. He is a calculating composer and technical wizard with astonishing ears. So much of our mixing was done via e-mail, which I find amazing. That I could communicate ideas and input in my exceedingly non-technical language (I couldn't begin to tell you jack-shit about EQ, compression and the like) and have him translate that into a mix with clear understanding ... well, what else can I say. It's freakish! And he was patient and uncomplaining throughout the process. Joe is a fantastic guitar player and he, too, is at work on a record of his own -- a madcap mix between instrumental prog rock, sideways Zappa-esque antics and expansive soundscapes. It's the kind of stuff that makes me want to drive my car way too fast.
www.patriktanner.com
www.ptquills.com
www.joebeier.com
Next post, I hope to say a bit about the other fellows on Au Contraire. Drummers. Good God, where does one begin?
As for that live show, let's just say I'm not ruling it out. Someday.
Thanks a ton, my friends.