Last night, at a hotel in lower Manhattan, I met the man who influenced me to pick up a bass guitar when I FIRST met him 12 years ago. It's no secret here who this person is, but needless to say he was a total gentleman who was funny and sweet. This brief conversation totally justified my musical existance. We discussed Hypefactor, bass playing and Gibson Thunderbirds. When he asked for a CD, I was floored. Kudos go to Irene (for giving me the last copy of Distracted Lover we had in the house, so I didnt have to rip down my framed copy), G (for coming along so I didn't look like a stalker), and B (tipping me off about the DJ set). It gets better as said bass hero is performing tonight here in NYC.
What a great moment. Thanks, Hooky!
Meanwhile, lyrics are bring revised and honed for HF2. I've been taking advantage of free moments during the Turkey break to focus on the written word. Yesterday, I shot some lyrics over to B and he came back with some positive feedback. Jazzed, by that, I began arranging what is now called OUR FAITH (title to change, though I hated calling it BITTER PARTY OF ONE). I have a decent intro and verse, so this morning I'll work on the choruses before being beaten by a 5 year old AGAIN (no complaints though!).
F
29.11.03
23.11.03
"Ill be over in a half hour"
I write this with a headache a mile wide, so bear with me. With Irene off on a girls night (which I'm told was quite hilarious), I made my way back to the studio to with the intention to remix Saintface and work on a song Brandt's had cooking for quite a while now called BITTER PARTY OF ONE (That title won't last, I promise). However, Ash decided he had to buy his cats gourmet dried fish, so he wasn't going to make, thus that meant no remixing as he had the Face parts. Rrrrr. Thus, we decided to work on the new song..
It took Brandt FOREVER to load this song and all the parts up and I was bored out of my freakin' mind. When he did get the song up, I have to admit I wasnt nearly as pleased with the track as I was when I heard it many weeks back. So a lot of deconstructing went on. The first thing to go were Brandt's strings, which sounded way the hell too much like TKK. Brandt let his Wax Trax fascination get the best of him with this song. I had played some bass awhile back which I thought blew, so I spent a lot of time writing new parts. This took a long time, but I was able to write basslines for the verses and choruses, though the chourses went through a few revisions as the day went on.
At some point during all this, Brandt received a phone call from Ash, saying he was coming by "in a half hour" to drop off the remix parts and I received a phone call from my old pal Jamie Duffy (on tour doing sound for Saves The Day) saying he also was coming by "in a half hour". Its interesting to see what "in a half hour" means for these guys as they didnt show until many half hours later, and hours apart from each other.
Anyway, there was no way Jamie was going to hang out with us and not play, so after he spent 3 hours Instant Messaging people, we put a guitar in his hand and DAMN did he take this new track to the next level. He played the most UN-Jamie like guitars I have ever heard (I mean this in a good way). He played some 12 string as well as some E-bow and really added some sexiness to the track. I just left him and Brandt alone to make this track happen. Now the song went from Wax Traxy to sounding like Soda Stereo. This is good. Damn good.
Then it became the industrial This Is Your Life as the three of us had a big dinner discussing everything under the sun about Jamie's and my past in the world of machine rock (as we call it now). Some funny stories were told and I think Brandt got a kick out of hearing a lot of the behind the scenes stuff that has happened to us over the years.
And yes, Jamie confirmed the atrocity that was the aggression hotel destruction incident. Brandt was shocked that that story was NOT exaggerated.
Then it was drinks long into the evening at KGB bar, which was a good choice as the drinks are strong and priced reasonably and the place isnt overcrowded. Like Russia. I think.
All in all, a fun evening. Thanks, Kid!
F
It took Brandt FOREVER to load this song and all the parts up and I was bored out of my freakin' mind. When he did get the song up, I have to admit I wasnt nearly as pleased with the track as I was when I heard it many weeks back. So a lot of deconstructing went on. The first thing to go were Brandt's strings, which sounded way the hell too much like TKK. Brandt let his Wax Trax fascination get the best of him with this song. I had played some bass awhile back which I thought blew, so I spent a lot of time writing new parts. This took a long time, but I was able to write basslines for the verses and choruses, though the chourses went through a few revisions as the day went on.
At some point during all this, Brandt received a phone call from Ash, saying he was coming by "in a half hour" to drop off the remix parts and I received a phone call from my old pal Jamie Duffy (on tour doing sound for Saves The Day) saying he also was coming by "in a half hour". Its interesting to see what "in a half hour" means for these guys as they didnt show until many half hours later, and hours apart from each other.
Anyway, there was no way Jamie was going to hang out with us and not play, so after he spent 3 hours Instant Messaging people, we put a guitar in his hand and DAMN did he take this new track to the next level. He played the most UN-Jamie like guitars I have ever heard (I mean this in a good way). He played some 12 string as well as some E-bow and really added some sexiness to the track. I just left him and Brandt alone to make this track happen. Now the song went from Wax Traxy to sounding like Soda Stereo. This is good. Damn good.
Then it became the industrial This Is Your Life as the three of us had a big dinner discussing everything under the sun about Jamie's and my past in the world of machine rock (as we call it now). Some funny stories were told and I think Brandt got a kick out of hearing a lot of the behind the scenes stuff that has happened to us over the years.
And yes, Jamie confirmed the atrocity that was the aggression hotel destruction incident. Brandt was shocked that that story was NOT exaggerated.
Then it was drinks long into the evening at KGB bar, which was a good choice as the drinks are strong and priced reasonably and the place isnt overcrowded. Like Russia. I think.
All in all, a fun evening. Thanks, Kid!
F
21.11.03
DISCO!
The Face made their Knitting Factory Debut last night for an early show opening for someone called My Favorite (who have a bit of a following, I'm told). Well, I'm happy to report that Saintface was in excellent form and played a very "hyper" (Irene's word) and "Spirited" (G's word) set. As a musician who knows the band members well, I could tell that they were having a VERY fun time on there. The music was tight, the band was loose. That's how it should be. Plus, they closed with an oldie called YOU BELONG TO ME, which confirms my suspicion that it's popping up on the album. Right, Peter?
I would like to add that Saintface have fallen into an old aggression trap. With the aggression, every gig was "the last gig ever" and we'd play a month later. Saintface's gimmick is "last gig of the year" and they play a month later. December 29th will be their third last gig of the year I think. Love it.
And yes, Peter, that was me who yelled "Disco". Sorry. I wouldn't do that if they weren't my favorite band.
Had a nice round of drinks after with my girl, G, brandt and Peter. Good times.
F
I would like to add that Saintface have fallen into an old aggression trap. With the aggression, every gig was "the last gig ever" and we'd play a month later. Saintface's gimmick is "last gig of the year" and they play a month later. December 29th will be their third last gig of the year I think. Love it.
And yes, Peter, that was me who yelled "Disco". Sorry. I wouldn't do that if they weren't my favorite band.
Had a nice round of drinks after with my girl, G, brandt and Peter. Good times.
F
20.11.03
EXIT STRATEGIES
I miss you as well. But here I am.
Pigface, featuring Jared, came into town the other night. It was dilemma for me as we had tix for the Twilight Singers, who I dearly love, but I wanted to see Jared. Irene and I had a great sushi dinner with Jared, who I am always happy to see and have fun with. That was the highlight for sure. As for the gig, the crowd was dead, the venue blows and quite frankly, I feel like Pigface, other than as a promotional tour for Jared/Chemlab, is a dead topic at this point. Touring so soon after the last tour and touring the same market behind KMFDM (who I skipped intentionally when I found out they weren't playing Pig songs) was a huge mistake. Jared is a sole frontman and better off on his own and hopefully this tour at least gets people interested in Chemlab. I was invited to get up and sing CODIENE GLUE AND YOU with Jared (who treats me like a superstar, thanks), but legendary tampon jingle writer Siebold tried to boot me, obviously not paying attention to the fact that I was invited up. Kids stormed the stage, not helping with the confusion either, so eventually, I just sorta walked off the stage cause it was going nowhere. Maybe it was because the aggression was so much better than Douche Dept. when we opened for them. Just saying. And Curse Mckay? Thanks for the water. Dick.
Honestly, between us, I was nervous about going up, as this has been my scene since I was 18. Plus, I hadn’t been onstage in awhile. I was onstage maybe 2 minutes, tops. Irene and Matt were very protective of me post-leaving the stage as I guess I looked a bit frazzled. So my appreciation goes out to them. So while I’m thinking it was a humiliating experience, kids from the gig have been E-mailing me they loved the chaos. Go figure.
Anyway, post gig vibes were low, but thanks to a well-placed Text message from Mr. G, I was able to run down very quickly to catch the last hour of the Twilight Singers. Greg Dulli, fat and drunk, sang the new Outkast song and then played a bunch of Afghan Whigs songs. He was a mess. He talked non-stop. He doesn’t seem long for this world. I’m happy I saw this. I went to bed a happy boy.
The next night was back to the studio for some HF loving. THEY’VE JUST, the first song written for the new album, finally got the attention it deserved and is now a sweet, atmospheric song. Lotta soul to this one. Very pleased with it. 9 songs now for HF2.
Speaking of HF2: the new tentative album titles is EXIT STRATEGIES. You can figure that out on your own.
Last night, Irene found a great Vietnamese bistro for us to find solace in during a massive rainstorm before I headed over to the Coral Room to meet Ash and Brandt for the free Telfon Tel Aviv gig. This gig was nothing sort of EXCELLENT and the band impressed us with their ability to use live instruments instead of solely relying on a computer. Top notch, excellent music. Then I ran into Mike Burnlab, who did the artwork for the new Chemlab record and is a really good guy, so that was a nice surprise.
The evening ended at the Gramercy where Ash, Brandt and I had a very productive and positive discussion about all our different musical adventures. I left this summit quite jazzed and quite optimistic for the upcoming material. I wish everyone I worked with in music was as dedicated as these two (and Robinowitz).
Saintface tonight. More then.
F
Pigface, featuring Jared, came into town the other night. It was dilemma for me as we had tix for the Twilight Singers, who I dearly love, but I wanted to see Jared. Irene and I had a great sushi dinner with Jared, who I am always happy to see and have fun with. That was the highlight for sure. As for the gig, the crowd was dead, the venue blows and quite frankly, I feel like Pigface, other than as a promotional tour for Jared/Chemlab, is a dead topic at this point. Touring so soon after the last tour and touring the same market behind KMFDM (who I skipped intentionally when I found out they weren't playing Pig songs) was a huge mistake. Jared is a sole frontman and better off on his own and hopefully this tour at least gets people interested in Chemlab. I was invited to get up and sing CODIENE GLUE AND YOU with Jared (who treats me like a superstar, thanks), but legendary tampon jingle writer Siebold tried to boot me, obviously not paying attention to the fact that I was invited up. Kids stormed the stage, not helping with the confusion either, so eventually, I just sorta walked off the stage cause it was going nowhere. Maybe it was because the aggression was so much better than Douche Dept. when we opened for them. Just saying. And Curse Mckay? Thanks for the water. Dick.
Honestly, between us, I was nervous about going up, as this has been my scene since I was 18. Plus, I hadn’t been onstage in awhile. I was onstage maybe 2 minutes, tops. Irene and Matt were very protective of me post-leaving the stage as I guess I looked a bit frazzled. So my appreciation goes out to them. So while I’m thinking it was a humiliating experience, kids from the gig have been E-mailing me they loved the chaos. Go figure.
Anyway, post gig vibes were low, but thanks to a well-placed Text message from Mr. G, I was able to run down very quickly to catch the last hour of the Twilight Singers. Greg Dulli, fat and drunk, sang the new Outkast song and then played a bunch of Afghan Whigs songs. He was a mess. He talked non-stop. He doesn’t seem long for this world. I’m happy I saw this. I went to bed a happy boy.
The next night was back to the studio for some HF loving. THEY’VE JUST, the first song written for the new album, finally got the attention it deserved and is now a sweet, atmospheric song. Lotta soul to this one. Very pleased with it. 9 songs now for HF2.
Speaking of HF2: the new tentative album titles is EXIT STRATEGIES. You can figure that out on your own.
Last night, Irene found a great Vietnamese bistro for us to find solace in during a massive rainstorm before I headed over to the Coral Room to meet Ash and Brandt for the free Telfon Tel Aviv gig. This gig was nothing sort of EXCELLENT and the band impressed us with their ability to use live instruments instead of solely relying on a computer. Top notch, excellent music. Then I ran into Mike Burnlab, who did the artwork for the new Chemlab record and is a really good guy, so that was a nice surprise.
The evening ended at the Gramercy where Ash, Brandt and I had a very productive and positive discussion about all our different musical adventures. I left this summit quite jazzed and quite optimistic for the upcoming material. I wish everyone I worked with in music was as dedicated as these two (and Robinowitz).
Saintface tonight. More then.
F
17.11.03
JACKIE LAND!
I am going to be in some deep shit with this...
Jackie Chan in talks with government to construct a Jackie Chan village in Hong Kong over the next ten years
by Wu Chi Ming
2003.11.17
Jackie Chan took interviews with a few Japanese newspapers the other day, and revealed plans to cooperate with the Hong Kong government to construct a village (the Jackie village!) in ten years time. The village could have a Jackie Chan museum and a movie themed park.
Jackie Chan's "Shanghai Knights" opened the day before yesterday in Japan. But because he was hard at work on "New Police Story, Jackie was unable to promote the movie in person. But he still attracted a large number of Japanese media who arrived in Hong Kong to interview him. He accepted interviews from "Sports Daily" and "Sankei Sports" and disclosed his planned construction of the Jackie village in Hong Kong. Each part of the facility [would be world class.] Jackie Chan said, "...I plan a Jackie village! Besides having a movie themed park, we could have a theater, a [sports area?] and a Jackie museum.
Jackie had originally had this idea on his mind for several years. He said, "Although Jackie Village is still in the planning stage, there has already been four or five meetings with the Hong Kong government. The final plan isn't in cement yet, and I can't disclose details. It was a secret! There are still a lot of plans for the project. Moreover, from the beginning until now it's been about two or three years. I believe in order to complete the project it would take ten years!" A few years ago there were rumors of plans to construct a Jackie Chan museum in Yokohama, but the plan was stopped. Now Jackie has regained hope.
http://www.the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20031117/img/c21117_big.jpg
Jackie Chan in talks with government to construct a Jackie Chan village in Hong Kong over the next ten years
by Wu Chi Ming
2003.11.17
Jackie Chan took interviews with a few Japanese newspapers the other day, and revealed plans to cooperate with the Hong Kong government to construct a village (the Jackie village!) in ten years time. The village could have a Jackie Chan museum and a movie themed park.
Jackie Chan's "Shanghai Knights" opened the day before yesterday in Japan. But because he was hard at work on "New Police Story, Jackie was unable to promote the movie in person. But he still attracted a large number of Japanese media who arrived in Hong Kong to interview him. He accepted interviews from "Sports Daily" and "Sankei Sports" and disclosed his planned construction of the Jackie village in Hong Kong. Each part of the facility [would be world class.] Jackie Chan said, "...I plan a Jackie village! Besides having a movie themed park, we could have a theater, a [sports area?] and a Jackie museum.
Jackie had originally had this idea on his mind for several years. He said, "Although Jackie Village is still in the planning stage, there has already been four or five meetings with the Hong Kong government. The final plan isn't in cement yet, and I can't disclose details. It was a secret! There are still a lot of plans for the project. Moreover, from the beginning until now it's been about two or three years. I believe in order to complete the project it would take ten years!" A few years ago there were rumors of plans to construct a Jackie Chan museum in Yokohama, but the plan was stopped. Now Jackie has regained hope.
http://www.the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20031117/img/c21117_big.jpg