The quarantine on Lazarus House has been lifted! Not only that, I'm off my first thirty days of restriction, having been here five weeks now, with forty-five days alcohol-free. I have to say, yesterday was one of my roughest days yet. I don't know why, but after Bible study, I went back to bed and couldn't even convince myself to do my chores. I didn't feel like doing anything enjoyable, and I cried myself to sleep. When I woke, I still didn't feel like doing anything...except drinking. It was the hardest urge to manage yet, especially when not a single coping skill sounded tempting or like it would do the trick. So I just laid in bed and...managed. I rode it out, and I'm still sober, and now I have this NEW EP to present to you to keep me busy. The promotional circus and behind-the-scenes publishing should keep me busy for the next week. And hopefully I'll start writing more songs. I haven't written anything since "Luminous," and I might just concentrate on that as a single for now. Baby steps back into the songwriting business after taking such a long break. I'm thinking I'll send the song over to Zach Shattuck, the man behind the covers for "My Secret Life" and Black Leather and Sugarcane, and see if it inspires him. I'm in no hurry to release it, so I won't be pressuring him with deadlines this time, which he'll probably be thankful for.
As for this EP, it was a long time coming. You may have heard me talking about it as far back as last Winter. Ever since the successful experiment that was the "Naked" version of "Why Can't We Have Nice Things?" I've been trying to think up ways to make it a more accessible song, as part of a major release. Trying out other "Naked" versions of songs seemed like the appropriate way to go, but not many of my songs would actually successfully undergo the stripping-down process. I rely so much on my off-kilter beats, strange synths, and thrashing guitars. And I needed songs with a more classical-piano feel to them. While I've expanded my repertoire on those quite a bit in the last few albums, there's still a lot of guitar interruptions, and not all electric guitar can be successfully transferred to acoustic guitar. I did find a way around that that works pretty well in one song, at least: I translated the electric guitar interludes in "The First Time I Woke Up..." to bass-cleft piano, and I think it sounds rather amazing. That won't work in just any case, though, I discovered. It was kind of a fluke, but I'm extremely pleased with how the "Naked" version of "The First Time I Woke Up..." turned out.
"Familial Germs" was one of the first to get the stripped-down treatment, and I was really iffy on it for quite a while, and rearranged some of the instruments and added some bass strings and upright bass to a couple of sections to try and flesh it out better. But the more I worked on it, the more dissatisfied I was with it. It wasn't until I left it alone for weeks and then gave it another listen that I fell in love with it. There's a lot of golden instrumentation in the piano and strings in that song, and it really shines through without the encumbering beats and synths. So I'm very happy to include it here for you.
"Jade's Theme" already has an almost "Naked" version of it in the form of "Introducing... (Alternate III)," though there's some cello and extra piano complexity that makes "Jade's Theme" not "Introducing...". And it's amazing how different "Jade's Theme" sounds with the absence of a couple of synths and beats. I kept the electric piano as one of my exemptions from the "acoustic" rule (the other is a synth that winds up the end of "Why Can't We Have Nice Things?"). That electric piano is just too essential to the overall sound of the song. What I really did here was mash together "Introducing... (Alternate III)" and a version of "Jade's Theme" that "Cello Lesson" on Black Leather and Sugarcane is taken from, then stripped it of all but the strings, piano, and electric piano, then translated the ending to piano and electric piano instead of synths bouncing off each other.
"Little Boxes" lent itself quite easily to the "Naked" treatment. I considered keeping the warbling "theremin" synth like I did in the "Naked" version of "The Nocturnal Dervish," but it turned out to not really need it, especially after I composed a new bass line for the song. The bass with some acoustic guitar chords takes center stage nicely, providing some breaks from the piano and strings.
Finding other songs to fill out a seven-track order was not quite so easy. I actually tried stripping a few more songs than made it onto this EP that were decided failures. But sitting out in the studio, in the dark, I just kept plugging away at it, kept experimenting, and was surprised to find how well "Faceless Men" worked without its beats and guitar interludes, and how well "Feckless" worked without its muted guitar accompaniment. There was some rearranging to be done in "Faceless Men" to make it work, but "Feckless" was unexpectedly almost made for the acoustic treatment. And those two songs ended up bringing around the track number to seven - I had my EP!
I've had these songs sitting around waiting to be polished and arranged for months now, but my drinking, my relocation to Lazarus House, and my computer crash all interfered with getting it up off the ground. But now it's helped me to get through the COVID quarantine, and not everyone here did. Our numbers in the house have dwindled to less than half what we were when I got here, either from people moving out or getting kicked out. As was pointed out in Bible study this morning, being told you can't do something will really provoke that rebellious spirit. And some of the guys here tried to pass the time with drugs and conceal it. It's really unfortunate. People I was beginning to become really attached to have been kicked out of the program, or have left because they couldn't take the restrictions. But I'm still here, and I'm free to go where I will now, and my driving gigs will be picking up again soon. So I have some stuff to look forward to. Hopefully more music is a part of that future.
Until I get the ball rolling on some new music, I hope you enjoy this EP. Man, one night I was tossing and turning and feeling wretchedly awake, and then the urge to listen to this came over me. The results of the stripping-down process to expose the grace of the piano and strings is really quite relaxing, and though I made it all the way to the last song, I couldn't remember the EP ending, but became aware of the empty hiss in my headphones. As soon as I took them off, I rolled over and fell asleep. It worked beautifully, and I hope it offers some similar peace to you. You can find it at (links become highlighted as they become available) YouTube and YouTube Music, Spotify, Google Play, Apple Music and iTunes, Amazon, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Napster, Pandora, and TIDAL.
I guess this is a short one. My last article wasn't that long ago, and I filled you in on a lot with that one. I don't have a bonus song to share right now, but if you want to hear my latest song, visit the end of the previous article, and enjoy. I think I'll shoot Zach a message about a possible cover for a single right now. Until the next release or major life event, I hope your inner snails remain resilient and determined.
As for this EP, it was a long time coming. You may have heard me talking about it as far back as last Winter. Ever since the successful experiment that was the "Naked" version of "Why Can't We Have Nice Things?" I've been trying to think up ways to make it a more accessible song, as part of a major release. Trying out other "Naked" versions of songs seemed like the appropriate way to go, but not many of my songs would actually successfully undergo the stripping-down process. I rely so much on my off-kilter beats, strange synths, and thrashing guitars. And I needed songs with a more classical-piano feel to them. While I've expanded my repertoire on those quite a bit in the last few albums, there's still a lot of guitar interruptions, and not all electric guitar can be successfully transferred to acoustic guitar. I did find a way around that that works pretty well in one song, at least: I translated the electric guitar interludes in "The First Time I Woke Up..." to bass-cleft piano, and I think it sounds rather amazing. That won't work in just any case, though, I discovered. It was kind of a fluke, but I'm extremely pleased with how the "Naked" version of "The First Time I Woke Up..." turned out.
"Familial Germs" was one of the first to get the stripped-down treatment, and I was really iffy on it for quite a while, and rearranged some of the instruments and added some bass strings and upright bass to a couple of sections to try and flesh it out better. But the more I worked on it, the more dissatisfied I was with it. It wasn't until I left it alone for weeks and then gave it another listen that I fell in love with it. There's a lot of golden instrumentation in the piano and strings in that song, and it really shines through without the encumbering beats and synths. So I'm very happy to include it here for you.
"Jade's Theme" already has an almost "Naked" version of it in the form of "Introducing... (Alternate III)," though there's some cello and extra piano complexity that makes "Jade's Theme" not "Introducing...". And it's amazing how different "Jade's Theme" sounds with the absence of a couple of synths and beats. I kept the electric piano as one of my exemptions from the "acoustic" rule (the other is a synth that winds up the end of "Why Can't We Have Nice Things?"). That electric piano is just too essential to the overall sound of the song. What I really did here was mash together "Introducing... (Alternate III)" and a version of "Jade's Theme" that "Cello Lesson" on Black Leather and Sugarcane is taken from, then stripped it of all but the strings, piano, and electric piano, then translated the ending to piano and electric piano instead of synths bouncing off each other.
"Little Boxes" lent itself quite easily to the "Naked" treatment. I considered keeping the warbling "theremin" synth like I did in the "Naked" version of "The Nocturnal Dervish," but it turned out to not really need it, especially after I composed a new bass line for the song. The bass with some acoustic guitar chords takes center stage nicely, providing some breaks from the piano and strings.
Finding other songs to fill out a seven-track order was not quite so easy. I actually tried stripping a few more songs than made it onto this EP that were decided failures. But sitting out in the studio, in the dark, I just kept plugging away at it, kept experimenting, and was surprised to find how well "Faceless Men" worked without its beats and guitar interludes, and how well "Feckless" worked without its muted guitar accompaniment. There was some rearranging to be done in "Faceless Men" to make it work, but "Feckless" was unexpectedly almost made for the acoustic treatment. And those two songs ended up bringing around the track number to seven - I had my EP!
I've had these songs sitting around waiting to be polished and arranged for months now, but my drinking, my relocation to Lazarus House, and my computer crash all interfered with getting it up off the ground. But now it's helped me to get through the COVID quarantine, and not everyone here did. Our numbers in the house have dwindled to less than half what we were when I got here, either from people moving out or getting kicked out. As was pointed out in Bible study this morning, being told you can't do something will really provoke that rebellious spirit. And some of the guys here tried to pass the time with drugs and conceal it. It's really unfortunate. People I was beginning to become really attached to have been kicked out of the program, or have left because they couldn't take the restrictions. But I'm still here, and I'm free to go where I will now, and my driving gigs will be picking up again soon. So I have some stuff to look forward to. Hopefully more music is a part of that future.
Until I get the ball rolling on some new music, I hope you enjoy this EP. Man, one night I was tossing and turning and feeling wretchedly awake, and then the urge to listen to this came over me. The results of the stripping-down process to expose the grace of the piano and strings is really quite relaxing, and though I made it all the way to the last song, I couldn't remember the EP ending, but became aware of the empty hiss in my headphones. As soon as I took them off, I rolled over and fell asleep. It worked beautifully, and I hope it offers some similar peace to you. You can find it at (links become highlighted as they become available) YouTube and YouTube Music, Spotify, Google Play, Apple Music and iTunes, Amazon, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Napster, Pandora, and TIDAL.
I guess this is a short one. My last article wasn't that long ago, and I filled you in on a lot with that one. I don't have a bonus song to share right now, but if you want to hear my latest song, visit the end of the previous article, and enjoy. I think I'll shoot Zach a message about a possible cover for a single right now. Until the next release or major life event, I hope your inner snails remain resilient and determined.
P.S. Okay, here's something cute I thought I could share as a little something extra. Baby Yoda wants to play "Vile Beast" from the album Edges, but the Mandalorian isn't having none of that.
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