Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

shamustwin wrote:Perhaps each artist can post info on their song in an individual thread for each song.
I'd like to know something more about each song. Forumites could ask questions or comment as well.

Upon Jerry's suggestion, here a thread to give details about your song, ask questions about others, and tell us what you think of specific songs.

I'll start: For my tune 'The Gift' I used four different Rick basses. The '68 4001 MG for the delay chords in the bulk of the song, the '79 4001V63 JG for the super distorted parts, the '76 fretless for little harmonised fills during the verses, and the '79 4001SLH for the delay line in the beginning and end, and for the steel drum sounds. There were no guitars used in this recording. This song will eventually be re-recorded for my (eventually) forthcoming 3rd CD with guitars replacing some of the basslines. The RRF 1 CD version of 'The Gift' was recorded exclusively for this project.

My song: Lost Weekend (Broken Dreams)
The song was recorded using the Garageband appliction on my Mac. I played all instruments & did all the vocals. All guitars are my 330/6. There are at least 2 (maybe 3) rhythm tracks & one lead. Bass is my home-made jazz copy. No amplification, just straight into the computer using a M-Audio usb interface. Garageband has a wide range of effects for guitar, so I tinkered with those. Drums are pre-recorded loops from apple, slight modifications by me.
I figured there would be lots of jangly, Beatles & Byrds influenced stuff on this cd, so I was going for a Jam kind of sound, thinking about Start and some of the dissonant, cutting solo work that PW did in that time frame. I wanted the leads to sound spontaneous.
I am not very good with lyrics, so Alisha Tremaine was kind enough to supply them for me. I told her that I had an idea called Lost Weekend, and she took it from there. Brilliant! I wish I could dash off lyrics as quickly as she did and not sound like a pretentious jerk or a Hallmark card.
Anyways, that's my story. I hope you like my 3 chords.

captsandwich wrote:I wish I could dash off lyrics ... and not sound like a pretentious jerk or a Hallmark card.

Amen. I have that same wish.

Nice job on the collaboration. I get sort of a Rancid vibe from your tune, as well as PW.

Cool, and congrats, Greg and Alisha.... your collaboration turned out great! I was also impressed by Alisha's vocals on her own song--I didn't realize she had such a nice singing voice!

Mine and Howard's song, Can't Let Go, was written when he visited us just a few weeks after the RIC 75th Confluence in SoCal.... We were reliving our memories of all the fun we had there, and how cool it was so meet so many Forumites for the first time, and how much we wished it could just go on forever! We were playing guitar together when Howard came up with the main riff of the song, and the words, "Can't let go, won't let go...." We only had one of the three verses and a bridge written when we recorded the song on the morning of the day that we had to take him to Duluth to catch an early flight the next day.... I sat down a few days later and wrote the rest of the lyrics, which I felt summed up our feelings pretty well.... and after I recorded the main vocal tracks, I invited my friend Billy D. to come and lay down some keyboard tracks to sort of fill the whole song out a bit, and he sang some background vocals, too.

The song was recorded on my Korg D-1200 recording unit, which was brand-new to me at the time, and which took a very long and painful process to learn to use.... Since making that recording, I feel I have become more proficient with the unit, but as a beginner's effort, I am still pleased with the result.... For me, there are few things more fun than making music with my friends!

melibreits wrote:For me, there are few things more fun than making music with my friends!

Can I get another "Amen!"

You did a really nice job for what you call a "beginner's effort!"

It was great fun, Mark. But it was also difficult for me because my 350v63 BADLY needed a setup. The intonation and tuning were all over the place!!

Thanks for the compliments I am not a singer by any means...but when the call came out for this CD I spent a Saturday coming up with the tune. I had some confidence with the result, and mailed it on Sunday. By Monday I was freaking out about it all....and that has continued for the last 2 years So needless to say I really appreciate the kind words.

I like your song. It reminds me of Liz Phair, in a good way.

So Steve, what's the story behind your song?

Mine is actually titled "He Showed Up In May/She Left In June" and was done, like, 3 years ago I think. It sounds **** compared to what I've done since. Part 1 (HSUIM) is the old 330/12JD and the bass of the 4080. Part 2 (SLIJ) is the 380L PZ, with a '64 1000 doing the solo. Just kind of a sad little fictional tale spanning like seven or eight years; it's a couple that has a kid way before they are ready, financially or emotionally, and finally divorce when the kid is 7 or 8 years old. Really happy stuff!!! I guess I tried to do the TMBG thing where there are really sad lyrics over happy music.

My tune was titled A Pitcher of Beer, then I changed it to A Picture of Her, then someone changed it to A Picture of You. I'm sticking with "Her".

Wrote it 26 or so years ago, when "Back On The Chain Gang" by the Pretenders was out. You can sing that song to mine, at least the verses. I'm such a rip off.
I also remember having a Bangles LP at the time, so I think that's two influences on the style of song. I have a video from that time of my band doing it at a college, me on 4005. A step higher, which nowadays would give me a hernia.

I recorded it in 2006.
Gibson J-185, rhythm; 1997, rhythm and lead; 660/12 rhythm, arpeggios and lead; 4005, well, bass. I was aiming at an all Rick recording, but my acoustic isn't ready yet.

I laid down guitars in the first session. Lead solo is the 1997 doubled, plus the 660/12 tripling it. They're all going through the same amp, Fender blues DeLuxe, 40 watt 1x12. I doubled the 660/12 arpeggios, once through the amp, once through a bass pod (I love those for guitar), Bassman Tweed setting, lotsa compression. I forgot to mix this in the last verse and outro. 4005 is through the pod, Pepperland, and big time compression. Gibson just normally mic'd.

Next session I laid down all the vocals. Had a bad cold, so I'd sing a line, cough, sing a line, etc.

Next session I brought Tim (a former Shamus) in and he re-did the harmonies. Doesn't sound any different, so I should have saved my money. I'm doing the 3 part Ooo's at the end, Tim the Ah's.

Drums were recorded last, by Mark (a former Shamus) on a '70's Ludwig set. He was good at playing exactly what I told him to play. I'm a control freak.

Recorded at the same studio in North Hollywood where the first and second Shamus CD was/is being recorded, on Pro Tools.

I'm recording the second Shamus CD in much the same way, laying down stuff then bringing present and former bandmates to sing, drop in harmonies, or drum. Not much fun that way.

melibreits wrote:So Steve, what's the story behind your song?

It's sort of like that Jim Croce song ... "every time I tried to tell you, the words just came out wrong, so I'll have to say 'I don't like you' in a song" ... etc.