The Pianist

Dropped into the studio last night. Had no agenda really, I thought originally we were going to have Robin and Ash in there, but both bailed.

Speaking of Ash, he handed in a rough draft of THEME FROM PROPAGANDA and I am quite happy with the results. I think it’s off to a really solid start and has achieved what I was hoping to have on this album, a good house track to serve as the centerpiece. Besides some minor mix notes as well as a few structure ideas, this track is well on its way. It was a perfect first track to listen to in my new Ipod (THANKS IRENE!)

Anyhow, got to the studio and Brandt unearthed a track we started last month in the initial sessions and then somehow was forgotten. It consisted of a drum loop, enough basslines for a verse and a chorus and my long lost piano that I thought I had done in the song EXIST. I had been ranting and raving for the first month of this album that I had done piano somewhere and it was lost. Needless to say, it was nice to be justified that I am not crazy and we now have our eighth song for HF2. We re-recorded some of the bass that I wasn’t 100% on and then I threw down some sci-fi strings that Ash will hate. Brandt played some sweet guitars, and I tried to steer him toward a “less is more” approach to this song. the results were akin to David Gilmour meeting Richard Ashcroft. Atmosphere is the name of the game for this tune, which now has the working title of SOLAR.

We’re back in the studio tonight, hopefully joined by ash and possibly Young Oscar Hess aka The Kidd. He’ll be the first person outside of the core four to hear the work in progress. As evidenced by his work on FLOOD and THE DISTRACTED LOVER, the Kidd is the person you want to have come in and give you a fresh perspective on the material. Besides being my alleged younger sibiling, he is the only man I know besides me who has seen Marisa Tomei’s boobs in person. It’s a unique bond to share. I hope he makes it.

Had a long catch up session with original MOG member and former aggressioner Chris Link, who is impressed I have several of his F-11 songs in my Ipod. Link is a talented musician who I learned tons from in my formative years. Also, he got me into stuff like John Cale, Lou Reed and other cool stuff when we were young at NYU and I am forever in his debt (though I got him into Nick Cave!). I have invited Link to get in on HF2 while we are still writing. I’ll see him in Chicago next week and we will discuss further.

Further to an entry below, after tons of Duran Duran fans crashed the ticketmaster server during the internet pre-sale, I got crazy lucky and was able to purchase tickets to see the Durans at Webster Hall on my birthday next week. Normally I would brag about this and poke fun at my comrades who didn’t get tickets, but I got VERY VERY lucky and without Matt Gentile telling me the tickets were back up, I’d be watching THE MEDALLION on my 31st birthday. VERY VERY VERY lucky. Fate maybe.

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