TRAVELOG—Milna, CROATIA

 My  first week in Croatia ended up being incredibly productive from a songwriting perspective.  Since I didn’t have a major gig to prep for, I took advantage of the free time by writing intensively. I ended up with 9 new songs, a few of which I think are really good (will listen to them in more detail while in Germany this weekend to make sure that they still sound good to fresh ears). One of them has a Ziggy Stardust-era feel, while another is a big, structured power ballad. Another is mid-tempo raw and raunchy and feels like a song that The Kills might have done. A fourth is very old-school rockabilly, while a fifth has a bit of a power-pop/grunge feel too it. My writing was clearly all over them map stylistically, so I might take the band into the studio for a 2-day supersession to see which ones end up turning out well. Once again, I have more material than time to develop it, so it’s important that I stay disciplined enough to only focus on the best songs.

My walk on the wild side

Have been working on an interesting song recently that came about serendipitously.  While in Nashville last month, I got together with a group of friends and we decided to go into the recording studio to write and record a song.  The whole thing was very spontaneous—we arrived without a song or instruments, and I only had a single line to start things with:  “It don’t pay to change”.  The studio supplied us with two acoustic guitars, and all 7 of us crammed into the control room to work.  I turned that line into a chorus:  “It don’t pay to change, it don’t pay to be someone different”, and everybody contributed lyrical ideas.  My friend Jason came up with a little guitar lick on top of my rhythm strumming, and 90 minutes later, we were ready to lay down some basics.

The key was that everything had to be spontaneous and done in a single pass if possible.  I laid down the rhythm guitar and scratch vocal in one take, and the scratch had such a great vibe that all of the verses ended up being keepers.

The group then sang along for the choruses, and our friend Heetae put down a tambourine track.

Finally, a girl named Alex that works in the studio came in and put down some fabulous speaking and moaning parts that give the song a fantastic color—she stole the show and didn’t even know it!  3 hours later, we had enough for me to take to NY and finish.

Brian McGee and I worked on cleaning up the lead vocal and added a few unconventional rhythm parts—I tapped wooden spoons on the floor, played washboard, etc., and Roger and I will add a few overdubs tonite.  We might get the whole thing done this evening.

The song really feels like something that Lou Reed would’ve done post Velvet Underground—very much like “Walk on the Wild Side”.  It’s another great example of how collective energy can contribute to a great result if it’s properly channeled.

Michael Jackson

Like millions of people around the world, I was hit hard by the news of Michael Jackson’s passing. He was someone who was surreal in life, so it’s only fitting that his death had a surreal quality to it as well. The whole thing was so reminiscent of the death of Elvis—another legendary icon who was desperately trying to hang onto his career, yet had slipped into a debilitating drug dependence that was encouraged by sycophantic handlers. Although I was never an outright fan, Michael Jackson was always a part of my generation’s life via his constant airplay and media presence—we all grew up with him around in some capacity. Whether it was on the radio, MTV or the front page of the National Enquirer, you couldn’t avoid him. There are really no more characters left of his size and stature—the stars that are current tabloid fodder truly pale in comparison. Roger Greenawalt and I were discussing the other day about how Michael was a Shakespearean character in the end. Obsessed with fame, cognizant (perhaps) of how damaging it is, yet continuing to seek it out—like a moth drawn to a flame. That’s ultimately what the pursuit of fame can do—its lure is so powerful that those chasing it become oblivious to its destructive and short-lived nature. Some make their money and get out, while many others keep clawing back for another chance to bathe in the ephemeral glow of the spotlight, undeterred by the media machine that will ultimately chew them up and spit them out. It’s sad to watch, but also unstoppable—those who have crossed that divide remain glued to their destiny of following the same path laid out by many before them. The details are different, but the core script is ultimately the same. It was always hard to imagine Michael Jackson as an old man. There are some that just don’t seem to fit in that role—we wish that they would stay around, but we realize that they are somehow preordained to leave us before we can see them in a state that is so far removed from the image of them that has been drilled into our imagination. Like many great stars whose creative prime is behind them, Michael Jackson wasn’t someone that was part of my current world view because his moment of relevance appeared to have passed. Only now that he has gone does it become obvious what a huge hole has been left behind. He got back to the front and center again after all.

Working on “Letter”

Roger and I had a really productive session last night working on “Letter”—he was in an inspired mood and it rubbed off on the session. Jimi had some very Stones-ey guitar work underneath it, so Roger suggested that we pull some of Bowie’s “Low”-era into the song as a counterbalance. We set up a bunch of crazy keyboard sounds, and I approached it with my “dilettante-is-best” attitude on keyboards. Not surprisingly, my lines sounded amateurish—but very cool for precisely that reason. Sometimes you need virtuoso playing, and sometimes it’s better to NOT have it. Last night was an example of the latter. In the course of an hour, we completely changed the song’s vibe, and we now have a very experimental piece of rock music which is a whole new direction for A.L.X. music.

Great time in Nashville

Wrapped up few great days in Nashville. The Country Music Awards were going on, and the city was abuzz with music-related events, including a number of free open-air events. Apart from the big-name performers, was impressed by Bo Bice, who was an American Idol contestant a few years ago—he’s gone in a southern rock direction, and it really suits his voice well. Excellent singer. Also got to hobnob briefly with Elvis Costello, as we were sharing the same hotel. I spent a few great hours at the Country Music Hall of Fame as a guest of one of the museum’s directors, and his passion and knowledge of the genre made the walk through really enjoyable. It also hammered home how important country music was in molding the shape of modern rock. The rock n roll crossover was as much an outgrowth of the blues as it was from certain genres of country, and having rock acts trying to tap into the huge country audience was as common 30 years ago as it is today. The whole southern rock genre would not even exist if it weren’t for country music. Also got some great tidbits about heroes of mine like Elvis and Johnny Cash. The museum is a must for any serious music buff, and I easily could have spent the whole day there. Wrapped up the trip by cutting a new track with some friends at Nashville’s superb Quad Studios. Brian McGee helped arrange the studio time, and my pals and I spent a rambunctious evening the night before the session gathering enough material to turn into a fun song. The result was called “It Don’t Pay to Change”, and it’s something that we only could have written in Nashville—it’s got touches of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”, and documents the world of some of the pretty but lost souls that can be found in any big city’s underbelly. Am not sure that it will be a title cut on a future A.L.X. record, but it has a loose, irreverent sloppiness that is a departure from what I’ve been recording recently. And we had a total blast recording it.

Strong Studio performance for Bright Summer

I cut the lead vocal for “Bright Summer” last night at Brian McGee’s studio. I think that we got a strong performance, and Brian is putting the comp together next week. I head to Nashville on Sunday for 12 days, so won’t be a big rush to get it finished. We’ll put on backing vox when I return. The song’s sounding really good so far!

Still working on LCV mix

Have been working with Brian on the Love Crushed Velvet mix, but we’re not quite there yet. While it sounds really strong in many respects, it’s not yet as big as it needs to be.  Roger, Brian and I are going to get together tomorrow night to break down the mix and try to strengthen the fundamentals so that the song EXPLODES!

Saw Good Band Last Night

Roger Greenawalt and I went to see chanteuse Catherine Pierce’s (of “the Pierces”) opening show for her paintings at a gallery in Williamsburg, which featured a performance by the Morning Pages, a terrific alt country band from NYC.  Really tightly rehearsed and well layered music—something you’d expect to find in Nashville, but instead it popped up 700 miles further north.  The Pierces hopped up on stage with them to sing backing vox for a few songs.  Great overall evening.

Started tracking 2 new A.L.X. songs

Was in the studio with Roger Greenawalt, Darren Korb and Jimi Bones yesterday working on two songs for which we cut the rhythm tracks in late 2008: “Bright Summer” and “Letter”. The two are very different in almost every regard. Bright Summer was written last July while I was in Croatia and went through a process of meticulous crafting—it’s among the best-written songs that I have ever done from a structural perspective and comes as close to classically perfection as I’ve been able to muster to date, along with “Burning Embers”. “Letter”, on the other hand, was recorded shotgun-style—it was the last thing that Thommy Price, Drew Mortali, Jimi and I tracked at Roger’s studio during the two day supersession we did last October in which we basically established the rhythmic groundwork for the new A.L.X. sound. I threw out the arrangement and the band just ran with it. The song was very loose structurally, yet had a punchy and catchy chorus that clearly stands out, backed by some super-infectious drumming by Thommy. Both of these songs caught the attention early on of my friend D.L. Byron, who is a songwriting legend in his own right. While last night’s session was mainly about knocking out guitar parts, Darren laid down an inspired piano track on Bright Summer, and the song sounds really strong even with the shoddy scratch vocal that I laid down. It was interesting to watch the piece morph throughout the course of the evening—it started as a Black Crowes tribute. Then Darren’s piano line evoked “Clocks”-era Coldplay. And finally, Jimi laid down a haunting opening riff that brought everything full circle until it took on the A.L.X. sound that we’d been searching for all along. I can’t say enough good things about Jimi’s guitar playing—he is just really gifted and has breathed incredible life into my songs. Plus, his understanding of voicings helps him find frequencies that don’t compete with my voice—which I something that has often undermined my music in the past. I’ve had old records which sounded like the band and I were on a different page, and this is just the opposite—it’s all one fluid unit and sounds cohesive. I remember Drew Mortali making that comment after our October sessions in 2008. Jimi and Roger also have established a special working chemistry—Roger always seems to pull the best out of Jimi and gets him to surrender to the process. When everyone’s on all cylinders like that, it’s a joy to work with these guys.

Another Fantastic Night of Video Footage

Randy and I finished the 2nd day and final day of shooting the Love Crushed Velvet video last night at a “secret” location in downtown New York.  It was a fantastic setting for this particular theme, but the owner stipulated that we couldn’t reveal the name of the place so…our lips are sealed. Having said that, the shoot was a joy.  We started about 6:30 pm, and Thommy joined in together with 4 lady friends.  Since the whole thing is being done on a virtually no budget, I had to ensure that everyone was enjoying themselves.  Like Saturday, that aspect was a huge success–we kept the beer and wine flowing, and people quickly fell into their newfound roles, with the air of intoxication only adding to the effect.  More scenes were shot both with and without masks, and Thommy in particular looked great–the bleached out hair together with the Venetian mask gave him a surreal, otherworldly quality.  The whole thing has been all-out crazy fun and we’re thrilled with how the process has gone so far–while still keeping in mind that there’s a lot of editing ahead.
Unfortunately, the night ended with Randy and I both getting our cars towed–we got so caught up in the shoot that we lost track of time and had to end the evening at the pound. Not to be deterred, we were insistent on keeping up the absurdity, so I went in to claim my car wearing a Venetian mask–and filming the whole process!