Sneak Peek at ‘Reach’

We got our first commission to write a song for an event.  ExtraordinaryEntrepreneur, Adryenn Ashley, was hosting a weekend workshop last weekend called “Cashflow DNA – Curing Unemployment”.  She wanted a rock anthem with the theme of the recession but with a positive twist on it…just like the message she’s delivering in her content.

So…here’s our home mix.  See what you think.

New pix by Jesse Goff

Jenn

Sneak Peek

So, the last blog entry gave you a blast from our past…the first song we wrote.  So, it’s only fair that we let you peek into the future and see what we’re working on now.  We liked how Asylum turned out so we’re heading off in that direction for the new album – rocking harder, edgier.

Here’s a peek at Dr. Evil.  Vox and lyrics are intense (warning: adult theme) and a f* awesome guitar solo by Didier.  Caveat:  this is a home recording, we haven’t engineered, mixed or mastered it.  I was the last one to add my part, so the vox is abit more forward in the mix than the final result will probably be.

This link will only be live for a short time.  If the link is missing, you’ll just have to wait for the studio version.

Whatcha think?

Jenn

Live To Rock

Here’s a blast from the past. The first song we ever wrote (not counting the little dittys I scat about all the time) is up and living in the webverse.  Didier of course has a tasty guitar part, Slate’s bass line is fun and I’m singing lower that I usually do.  We performed this live in SF awhile back (RockIt Room, Red Devil Lounge and a club in Palo Alto whose name escapes me). Check it out:  Live To Rock

Excavation

So, this is a bit weird to write just as our first CD is being released, but we’re about 1/2 done with the next one, Excavation, our first full length album.

This one has been really exciting to work on because we’ve been excavating some very old, deep stuff – a very rich emotional canvas to draw from.  We’ve eeked closer to metal, the guitar and vocals are richer and more soulful, the lyrics are truth-telling.  There are passages that bring tears to my eyes when I hear them.  There are two very rich ballads.  Which is weird for me since I usually fall asleep singing ballads but they’ve got the Flaa-Bouvet touch and they are our intertwined and combined stories…so I guess no one tires of telling their own story.

My brother gave me a wall hanging for my house after my divorce years ago that says “Your story begins at home.” boy does it ever.  This is our raw excavation from the childhood wounds of Dr. Evil, to the aural picture of the dark night(s) of the soul in The Haunting to the heart aching I Want You Here that doesn’t resolve itself back to the root.

I’m hoping track #12 will be Power, ending on a note of hope and fulfilled destiny. The trouble is…I’m kinda still living this one, figuring it out from day to day.  So, like so many tidbits in my notebook, it is images and stories and visions and melody and even an arrangement but I’m still scratching my head with “now what’s this song about?”!!!  How do I put all that into a 3-4 minute story/song poem?

Maybe it’s not one song.  Maybe…we have to finish excavating before we can build a “power”ful core.  …whatever.  We’ll all find out together, I guess.

But it’s darn fun while we’re creating this series and ohhhh lala, wait till you hear the juicy guitar licks Didier has laid down for you – he’s on fire, that one!

Happy dancing…even while excavating the murky depths of my soul. hehehehh, thank goodness the pain turned out to be worth it in the end – an ironic muse.

Happy Thanksgiving.  Check out what I’m grateful for this Thanksgiving.

Oh and I’m really grateful for the happy reception our new CD is getting.  Thanks for listening, liking the songs and supporting us!

j.

New Songs Update

Didier and I have been hard at work.  We’ve got 4 tasty new treats for you:

Simmering on the stove, still adding spices is our balad I Want You Here.

In the Oven is the head banging Dr. Evil. Which will surprise people, on many levels!

On the table and ready to enjoy is our rockin rendition of House of the Rising Sun.

Still in the mixing bowl is Just One More Night.  I had to do a happy “up” song after the intensity of Dr. Evil!

So, what’s up with the food metaphors since the studio is now back in the 2nd bedroom, where it belongs.  Humm maybe I should be using other metaphors (foreplay, climax, afterglow…doh, a missed metaphor!)

okay, it’s late.  Bottom line, we’ll put little teasers up on the web site from time to time, but not for long.  So, you’ll have to check back to see if you can catch a glimpse into the full length album project!!

nite,

j.

Long Distance Song Writing

All we can say is thank heavens for GarageBand, ichat (with Zoom H2) and idisk!  With those fine tools, Didier and I are still able to work together on songs.  Yeah!

I usually record a vocal track in GarageBand then pass it via idisk to Didier.  He thinks about it for awhile.

Long ago I learned that it was kind of a waste of time for me to come up with cords because he always hears something much more amazing then the 12 cords I know

We’ll work with it on ichat, but the problem is the sound only goes one way. So, while I’m singing I have to watch his hands for the cord change, stop for a sec and listen, then sing again.  We use the Zoom H2 recorder to pick up his guitar parts so that when we say “hey that was a cool bit”, we can remember what we just did!

Then he messes around with the cords, sometime morphing the melody…sometimes too far.  With one song I  had to say “Woa, I’ve had this song in my head for two years. This is the melody I want.”  But that doesn’t happen too often. Usually his tweakage is really interesting.

Anyway, back and forth…pausing…clipping…tweaking…lyric rewrites…guitar solos and then finally one day “hey, you know I really like this song.”

And there you have it.  We’re looking at January to have the full length CD done with all the new songs.

A tasty treat indeed,

Jenn

The Anatomy Of A Song – Part 4 Making The Music

Didier: I wake up one night and all I can hear in my mind is slide guitar. I know it’s got to be a part of Blacktop Shimmy.

The thing is, I don’t play slide guitar.

Jenn: Cut to midnight, sounds coming from the dining room/studio. What is he doing? Yawn…note to self – find out in the morning.

Turns out he was up all night rigging up his guitar and teaching himself to play slide. Impressive. Me like.

Didier: All I did was improvise a piece of metal between the strings and the fret board to lift the strings up ad then messed around to get the sound and feel I wanted…All in a night’s work, anything for the music!

Anyway, getting back to the actual song. The next step was to find the right groove then lay down this fun slide guitar part. The rest of the song just flowed out like butter.

Jenn: What!? Selective memory at work. Not butter yet. The first pass didn’t quite jell. (sorry for the food metaphors-but the studio is in the dining room after all!). But there was this really cool bit he had in there and after a bit of “discussion” and “pausing” we decided to build out the cool bit and leave the other bit for another song. <turns out, we do this on most of the songs we write together>

Didier: Now, it’s like butter. The song takes shape and form and the fills and bells and whistles get added.

Jenn: And the cool bass line too.

Didier: That’s about it. We got it done just in time to record the vocals at Studio D before I moved.

sniff,

Jenn & Didier 

The Anatomy Of A Song – Part 3 About What?!

So, we’ve got the chorus…now what’s the song about.

This one took more time to figure out. Why would we be on a rainy road in the middle of nowhere?

OK, imagine our character has just had a break up and they are on a road trip trying to get their head together.

Now, who is the main character? Who’s the evil “ex” that we’ve left behind? Why did they breakup? Do we need to know, do we care.

I worked with that for awhile, but it all seemed kinda whiney. Plus, I was in a very happy relationship so this is where my boyfriend kept saying “Is this about us?” (“Ah, no Honey. We’re happy and we’re in California”, “oh yeah”)

Plus, I’m thinking I’ve got enough whiney, ranting, stomp around the stage songs. People may start to think I’m just a bitter young thing!

Cut to the chase, and the story becomes about the road trip itself and the imagery our heroine sees along the way.

Next time, Didier talks about turning melody and lyrics into music.
TTFN,
Jenn

The Anatomy Of A Song – Part 2 Imagery

When we last left our story; we had a melody and lyrics for the chorus of Blacktop Shimmy.

What the heck was I thinking about?

Oddly enough, I was thinking about the blacktop roads in the Midwest – how they shimmer in the sun and create a mirage.  But “blacktop shimmer” just didn’t roll of my tongue right…sounded like I was drooling.  Now, I know with rock, it’s not a requirement to enunciate, but I would like people to know what the songs about. Especially since I do put thought into the imagery of the song.

So, “blacktop shimmey” popped out. When would you shimmy on blacktop…oh, when it’s raining.  Good…here come the rest of the chorus lyrics bam, bam, bam.

Now…what’s the song about in the verses?  Stay tuned for the next blog “About What?!”

Jenn

The Anatomy Of A Song – Part 1 Messing Around

“How did you write that one?”

“Is that one about me or _____?”

How does a song move from the ether into being? Inquiring minds want to know…and if not, click to the next blog entry

So here’s how Blacktop Shimmey came to life.

It was December 2007 and Didier and I needed one more song for our demo EP. We were sitting around the dining room/studio (see the Home Depot Youtube video if you want the visual!). We were just mess around with ideas, looking at some of the old songs and snippets I’d written to see what we wanted to build out. We got a laugh when the little melody “Yo baby you’re my Christmas ho. You put the ho in ho ho ho” spilled out of my mouth. But we didn’t feel that was a good fit with Africa and Asylum!

Then I started singing an old blues tunes and Didier thought that sounded lovely and we should do a blues number. The next morning, in the shower, in pops the lyrics and melody for the chorus. I had to rush out of the shower to the mini recorder so I wouldn’t forget it.

Stay Tuned for the next blog “Imagery”

After being in my mind awhile, you’ll understand how easy it was to write Asylum!
Jenn