The Demos! Vol. 4

Well, here we are again at the most unpleasant part of the blog….me singing. (if that wasn’t bad enough, it’s also me playing) These are some more of the demos that I put together in my humble little office and played to Carissa when we were picking songs for the album.

I have three songs here. We’ve been tackling the easier songs first, to get into a groove. These will be a little tougher to get right. Wish us luck!

The photos were taken by Jesse Renfro during our first recording session at Mysterious Mammal Studios. By the way, we had a great time there and Matt is sensational. Patient and dedicated to getting the best sound out of the band and the song. You can’t ask for more than that.

In The Morning Time – I imagine this one to be a bit Neil Young-like. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. I don’t usually go in for the kind of sappy ending this song has, but sometimes your muse insists on things and you might as well just acquiesce and get it over with.

Carissa’s Song – Guess where I got the inspiration for this song! I was just playing around with a “D” chord one day and started to adlib the lyrics about a short person. Pretty soon it became evident to me that it could only be about one short person. I asked Carissa permission to name this song after her and she graciously said yes.

Sad Song – This one lives up to its name. The band hasn’t tried to play this yet, but I’m looking forward to see what they come up with. I hear a lot of keys in this song. Do you hear that Juan?

 
"I'm really sick of playing the guitar.  I think I'll just point at this sheet of paper for awhile."


"I wonder if I sit here looking really sad, someone will offer me some chocolate."





"Man, I really look like a fucking rock star, right now!"

Shabby Road (6-22-11)

Well, the curse of Discount Romance continues. I was coming out of the gym today and a prick in a Porsche Targa pulled a U-turn and miss smashing into me by inches. A spine-tingling brush with death and insurance companies. Luckily, no trip to the hospital was needed…just one to the liquor store.

The band was almost at full force tonight though, and sounding pretty damn good. (Come home Juan!) Dan is making a dramatic recovery from his Popeye-like forearms and Carissa is in a rental car.

Everyone seemed to be in good spirits (mostly Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Bass) tonight and the pizza from Maria’s went down a treat. (a sponsorship deal would be more than welcome, if you are out their Maria!)

I had my Father’s Day present (a digital camera) clicking away most of the night. The band pretended to be only slightly annoyed. Perhaps on Sunday, I’ll try the video function and really get up their noses.

Tonight we got to four songs.

They Have Laid Me Down – We tried this two ways. At a speed I thought was about right and then at a faster pace. In our unflinching effort to show a band’s birth, we are giving you, the listener both versions. (Did the Beatles ever do this? Well, maybe once with Revolution) You will be able to judge for yourself, since I’m putting both of them up. Your votes and money contributions will be taken into account when we decide which one makes it to the album. This is the slow version.



They Have Laid Me Down – The quicker version. Remember, your dollars could make the difference. If you have a preference, send as much money as you can afford or we would like.
Kent is also responsible for the little fade out bit on the end. I haven’t really faded it out here, but it will be on the album.

I Know It’s Only Love – This is the song we didn’t get to in our last recording session. It is coming along though and there is some nice 12 string work by Kent on this

Trampoline Song – Carissa does some nice vocals pieces on this silly song. We had some trouble capturing the feeling of the song. (especially the chorus) I think we made major progress on it.

Sweet Leaf – This is turning into one of the band’s favorite tunes. They really seem to like the rockers. It does move along nicely. I just hope we can capture this energy in the studio.

“Man, if this was a big, spicy Slim Jim, I’d eat it right now!”

The Demos! #3

Well, we’re well into the meat of the album now. The band has played 9 or the 12 songs we’ll be doing for the album.



Time for two more of my highly questionable demos. Today we’re unleashing No One Loves Me and They Have Laid Me Down on an unsuspecting world.

No One Loves Me – A very lighthearted song about a girl who puts up with a lot of crap from a blaggard because he, when he’s not being a despicable asshole, he’s being the charming rogue. It’s this kind of little shit that ruins it for nice guys who need to get laid too. (and deserve it more!)

They Have Laid Me Down – Quite a different type of song. People really like this song but they find it incredibly depressing. It concerns the ultimate regret. There is no way to make things right when you’re dead. (as if you didn’t have enough troubles!)

A Tale of Two Rehearsals

Well, it has been an eventful time for Discount Romance. Car accidents, food poisoning and inflamed forearms.

We had two people missing from one rehearsal and 4 people missing from the next. It was so bad, I had to sing! These are hard times indeed. Meanwhile, we have less than three weeks to turn my crappy demos into musical masterpieces. (A daunting task under the best of conditions.)



The first rehearsal was productive. I think one song is played to fast and the other song is played a little too slow. But we are committed to sharing our warts and our beauty marks with the public at large and thus, you will hear both!



First up is the rehearsal where Carissa still had a car.



The Trampoline Song. Some nice 12 string work on this by Kent, but I think it’s a tad slow.





Sweet Leaf - This is certainly spirited and I think it’s going to work really well live, but it’s a tad fast here.





Now we come to the saddest rehearsal in the world. This reminds of me of my other band when I was often forced into vocal duties by the absence of a real singer.



They Have Laid Me Down – This was originally titled, “Dick Cheney Talks to His Daughter”. That’s basically what I imagine this tune to be. (Old Dickey boy, realizing right after death that he’s been a fucking asshole and none of his evil shit was worth it, tries to warn his regrettable daughter from the grave.) I’m singing this an octave lower than Carissa. The guys really do some nice guitar work on this. I’m looking forward to hearing the band do this in the studio.





No One Loves Me – I’m pretty well blowing the top of my head here, off trying to hit this notes.



So onto the next rehearsal, where we hope to have Carissa (in a rental car) and Dan (with brand new forearms) and Jason back.  Come back from Puerto Rico, Juan!