In between the new Hypefactor sessions (and until the new aggression remixes come in), my musical attention turns to Chemlab. Granted, my role at this point is cheerleader (and sounding board for Jared), but the focus is still on the music and giving my input towards making this the best possible Chemlab is a major priority. Being asked to work on this album has been like getting called up to the Majors after being in the Minor Leagues for a decade. Like Bull Durham (maybe). So I feel some pressure and I know, as my S.O. will attest, that this pressure is totally self-inflicted.
The newest round of Chem-mixes came my way today and the progress is shockingly good. I’m so impressed by what is coming out of Chicago. The Cracknation crew, as producers, have really stepped up to what could be their best produced album to date (The last ILC record being my favorite thus far). As a musician who has written and performed on the record, I am happy with the results. Also, I am satisfied that these songs and sutures appeal to the massive Chemlab fan I have been for most of my adult life.
Chemlab has a unique fanbase, and my concern is that regardless of how good the album is (and it’s REALLLLLLY good), the “kids” (as we call them) will still find fault with it because certain people are not involved or it doesn’t sound like 1994, etc. I’m shocked sometimes how hardcore fans of bands cannot accept musical evolution. I like evolution. I’m one of those people who likes Depeche Mode’s SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION more than MUSIC FOR THE MASSES and U2’s ACHTUNG BABY more than THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE (Robin will kill me for saying that). Growth is fun when it works like it did with those two Flood-Produced albums. Love and Rockets went dance, and went crap. The open-minded will love the new Chemlab. The fools stuck in 1994 can never ever be pleased.
F
8.7.03
6.7.03
Hello, Jared, It's me Chris Walken!
The first round of Hypefactor guest stars have been contacted and have agreed to pop into the studio this week to bring their unique stylings to the table. Knowing these first two guest stars quite very well and knowing what they are capable of, I'm psyched and honoured to have them come in. I stopped into the studio today to handle some Chemlab stuff (nothing major, just a few things Jared asked me to put together), and of course I had to pause to listen to this weekends musical results. I'm jazzed. Completely by fate and fate alone, my cameo at the studio today coincided with a delivery from Great Wall. An almost tearful reunion.
Going back and forth with the Chemcrew about the mixing and now the bullshit associated with releasing the album (i.e. artwork, credits, publishing, yadda yadda) begins. I heard the instrumental demo of a song called ATOMIC AUTOMATIC and I'm particularly pleased with how it's sounding. VERY Chemlab, very heavy, very nasty. mmmm. Jason sent me an update from the CrackStudio to tell me Mr. Duffy's dirty little paws have gotten a hold of some of these songs. I don't think anything pleases me more than a motivated Jamie Duffy. As this record develops, my confidence in the production team grows. Chemlab is in good hands.
And to top off the evening, I just found out that 88.7 WRSU FM, New Brunswick, NJ radio is spinning the track INFRINGEMENT from the Hypefactor EP. Nice!
Should be a busy week. Lots of studio time planned. Maybe someone from the MOGpac will write as well ;-)
F
Going back and forth with the Chemcrew about the mixing and now the bullshit associated with releasing the album (i.e. artwork, credits, publishing, yadda yadda) begins. I heard the instrumental demo of a song called ATOMIC AUTOMATIC and I'm particularly pleased with how it's sounding. VERY Chemlab, very heavy, very nasty. mmmm. Jason sent me an update from the CrackStudio to tell me Mr. Duffy's dirty little paws have gotten a hold of some of these songs. I don't think anything pleases me more than a motivated Jamie Duffy. As this record develops, my confidence in the production team grows. Chemlab is in good hands.
And to top off the evening, I just found out that 88.7 WRSU FM, New Brunswick, NJ radio is spinning the track INFRINGEMENT from the Hypefactor EP. Nice!
Should be a busy week. Lots of studio time planned. Maybe someone from the MOGpac will write as well ;-)
F
Exist!
Day 2 of the new Hypefactor sessions were again productive and successful. The rocker I mentioned yesterday has developed nicely. It now has a hard chorus and some sweet wah wah guitars. Upon reviewing the material so far, which is now up to 5 songs worth, I'm noticing a Joy Division undertone to it. Not in an obvious way, like say, with Interpol, but more in modern context. At the end of the day, we pinpointed what additions are going to be needed for these songs, and that is mostly some guitar work. Once that is done, hopefully before my next LA jaunt this month, I will then take the songs and begin arranging. While thinking ahead, I realize that we need to quicken the pace with the second batch of songs. I want it to move a bit faster in places. But this is all embryonic, but the melodies are strong and so far it's a real big step forward. It was fun just sitting there reading NME while saying "yes" or "no" to potential drum loops. Rough, innit?
I am sickened by the news reports of terrorism at a rock festival in Moscow. I think it's no secret that MOGpac is very pro-Russia and the thought of such violence in that part of the world, especially after having just played there, effects all of us. The fact that this was an act of violence against kids at a rock concert makes this even worse.
The day ended with G and I checking out TERMINATOR 3. I was shocked at how intentionally goofy it was. Arnold is given tons of one-liners, and most are quite funny, but it takes you right out of the drama. Its hard to take seriously. It's also Cameron By Numbers. It's entertaining, but it doesn't really add anything new to that universe. The Birdinator (as I call her), is just a normal hot blonde. Nothing special, so you never accept her as a threat. I see birds like this in LA all the time. When they introduced Robert Patrick in T2, he was unusual looking and you never saw these FX before. Now its just some actress and the same FX. They needed to find an otherworldly knockout who looks like no one else, sorta like Angelina Jolie when you first saw her. The one positive was that the guy who plays John Connor, who I believe is Nick Stahl, is a million times better than that crackhead Ed Furlong, who I doubt could have carried this movie the way Stahl does. The movie was fun for sure, but Cameron ain't losing any sleep.
Though I am. Back to the Lab tomorrow. I think.
F
I am sickened by the news reports of terrorism at a rock festival in Moscow. I think it's no secret that MOGpac is very pro-Russia and the thought of such violence in that part of the world, especially after having just played there, effects all of us. The fact that this was an act of violence against kids at a rock concert makes this even worse.
The day ended with G and I checking out TERMINATOR 3. I was shocked at how intentionally goofy it was. Arnold is given tons of one-liners, and most are quite funny, but it takes you right out of the drama. Its hard to take seriously. It's also Cameron By Numbers. It's entertaining, but it doesn't really add anything new to that universe. The Birdinator (as I call her), is just a normal hot blonde. Nothing special, so you never accept her as a threat. I see birds like this in LA all the time. When they introduced Robert Patrick in T2, he was unusual looking and you never saw these FX before. Now its just some actress and the same FX. They needed to find an otherworldly knockout who looks like no one else, sorta like Angelina Jolie when you first saw her. The one positive was that the guy who plays John Connor, who I believe is Nick Stahl, is a million times better than that crackhead Ed Furlong, who I doubt could have carried this movie the way Stahl does. The movie was fun for sure, but Cameron ain't losing any sleep.
Though I am. Back to the Lab tomorrow. I think.
F
5.7.03
Since yesterday was Day 1 for the new Hypefactor material, I've decided to keep an ongoing journal about this record so a year from now I can look back and see what this album eventually started as and how much it either changed or stayed on course. Plus I want to see how scattered my brain really is when it comes to doing what I love the most, which is making music.
Day 1 was very productive. Surprisingly actually. It was very casual and the ideas were flowing. The first Hypefactor record started from songs that either Brandt or myself had already written and we would play over what already existed. This time it was starting totally from scratch usually from a simple 4 measure drum or synth loop. Already the sound is different. We've got four tracks in embryonic form and they seem darker, a little depressing, though the last song we started working on was a rocker. I'm interested in seeing that one come together.
Having not written on my own (i.e. not in a band atmosphere or with a producer riding me) in quite some time, it was a pleasure to just sit and play bass. I had spent the last year or so either just doing remixes, writing for Chemlab, or writing with the aggression in the rehearsal space (where Ocionic and Wedding Song were born), so I wasn't sure if I could immediately get back into the swing of writing for myself. However, I was more than ready and never really stopped for a second (other than the customary Wendy's break. thats when you KNOW I'm in the zone). I think it was the same thing for Brandt, who is a lot quicker of an engineer these days. I was jumping from bass to keyboards like a kid who needs ritalin and he kept up withour losing a beat.
Today is day two. I'd like to think we can pump out maybe 2 more. Once we have about 6 ideas down, I want to start bringing people in to add over this stuff. I hear things and I'll say "this needs (insert name here)" Last time, we didn't do the guest star thing till later in the process. This time, I want people to be in the early stages to help shape the songs. At the same time, I would like to have different people come in trigger a few new ideas. For example, Robin has guitar piece I want to lay down and Ash has an ambient piece I fell in love in when I accidentally downloaded it off his hotline account. I hope to bring in some non Mogpackers as well some OLD schoolers. We shall see.
The other benefit to this is that the studio is down in my old seaport neighborhood, so I am looking forward to my reuniting with the greatest Chinese take out of all time, Great Wall. A wonderful thing indeed.
More after day 2!
F
Day 1 was very productive. Surprisingly actually. It was very casual and the ideas were flowing. The first Hypefactor record started from songs that either Brandt or myself had already written and we would play over what already existed. This time it was starting totally from scratch usually from a simple 4 measure drum or synth loop. Already the sound is different. We've got four tracks in embryonic form and they seem darker, a little depressing, though the last song we started working on was a rocker. I'm interested in seeing that one come together.
Having not written on my own (i.e. not in a band atmosphere or with a producer riding me) in quite some time, it was a pleasure to just sit and play bass. I had spent the last year or so either just doing remixes, writing for Chemlab, or writing with the aggression in the rehearsal space (where Ocionic and Wedding Song were born), so I wasn't sure if I could immediately get back into the swing of writing for myself. However, I was more than ready and never really stopped for a second (other than the customary Wendy's break. thats when you KNOW I'm in the zone). I think it was the same thing for Brandt, who is a lot quicker of an engineer these days. I was jumping from bass to keyboards like a kid who needs ritalin and he kept up withour losing a beat.
Today is day two. I'd like to think we can pump out maybe 2 more. Once we have about 6 ideas down, I want to start bringing people in to add over this stuff. I hear things and I'll say "this needs (insert name here)" Last time, we didn't do the guest star thing till later in the process. This time, I want people to be in the early stages to help shape the songs. At the same time, I would like to have different people come in trigger a few new ideas. For example, Robin has guitar piece I want to lay down and Ash has an ambient piece I fell in love in when I accidentally downloaded it off his hotline account. I hope to bring in some non Mogpackers as well some OLD schoolers. We shall see.
The other benefit to this is that the studio is down in my old seaport neighborhood, so I am looking forward to my reuniting with the greatest Chinese take out of all time, Great Wall. A wonderful thing indeed.
More after day 2!
F
4.7.03
It's a national holiday. Everyone is travelling or bbq'ing or taking it easy. Of course, I will have none of that as I am literally packing up the bass to get started on the new round of Hypefactor songs. Should be fun and interesting.
Chemlab update: First from Chicago: Vocals are done and the album is officially in the mixing stage now. I think Mr. Duffy has gotten his hands on a few of the tunes so you KNOW good things are happening. From NY: I spent a few hours at Brandt's studio yesterday going through a cassette tape that Jared gave to me containing two full sides of old Chemlab demos from their East Side Sessions. There is so much incredible stuff on this mother. I immediately wrote Jared a threatening letter that we eventually had to go back to some of the songs that never saw the light cause there is a ton of good ideas on this that were never completed. Man, gimme some of the drugs they were on back then making this awesome music!
As usual, I have gone out and bought far too many discs lately. Everything from new Ogre (really good), Hate Dept (snooze), Type O Negative (a good return to form). But nothing and i mean NOTHING beats the long awaited live album from Primal Scream, called "Live in Japan". This Japanese only release is without a doubt one of the best live albums I have ever heard and I can't stop listening to it. if you are even remotely a fan, this is worth seeking out. As a hardcore fan of this band, I am blown away. I saw them earlier this year and loved it, but this disc surpasses that by a million times. It's one of those rare albums that makes you wanna go and be in a band. Incredible.
In other incredible news, the GENIUS that is Gustavo Cerati is doing a rare tour of the United States this month. To say there are happy faces in the MOGcamp would be an understatement. I'm seeing him in LA as well. DONT MISS HIM. What a trip to LA this is gonna be: the reunited Duran Duran, The San Diego Comic Con, Raw at Staples center (thanks AL), and Cerati, plus Brad Cramps bachelor party. oh yeah, I will work too ;-)
Have a good, safe holiday, kids.
F
Chemlab update: First from Chicago: Vocals are done and the album is officially in the mixing stage now. I think Mr. Duffy has gotten his hands on a few of the tunes so you KNOW good things are happening. From NY: I spent a few hours at Brandt's studio yesterday going through a cassette tape that Jared gave to me containing two full sides of old Chemlab demos from their East Side Sessions. There is so much incredible stuff on this mother. I immediately wrote Jared a threatening letter that we eventually had to go back to some of the songs that never saw the light cause there is a ton of good ideas on this that were never completed. Man, gimme some of the drugs they were on back then making this awesome music!
As usual, I have gone out and bought far too many discs lately. Everything from new Ogre (really good), Hate Dept (snooze), Type O Negative (a good return to form). But nothing and i mean NOTHING beats the long awaited live album from Primal Scream, called "Live in Japan". This Japanese only release is without a doubt one of the best live albums I have ever heard and I can't stop listening to it. if you are even remotely a fan, this is worth seeking out. As a hardcore fan of this band, I am blown away. I saw them earlier this year and loved it, but this disc surpasses that by a million times. It's one of those rare albums that makes you wanna go and be in a band. Incredible.
In other incredible news, the GENIUS that is Gustavo Cerati is doing a rare tour of the United States this month. To say there are happy faces in the MOGcamp would be an understatement. I'm seeing him in LA as well. DONT MISS HIM. What a trip to LA this is gonna be: the reunited Duran Duran, The San Diego Comic Con, Raw at Staples center (thanks AL), and Cerati, plus Brad Cramps bachelor party. oh yeah, I will work too ;-)
Have a good, safe holiday, kids.
F