Tripecac - Chuckadee

I had so many computer problems while finishing Brroom (crashes, corrupted files, pops and clicks) that I decided to buy a new music PC. It took me about a month to research and purchase components, build the pc, install the os and software, and test the new setup. During that time I piddled away on "Improv", which was to be the first song on the next album.

It's not a horrible song, but it doesn't open the album with the same "punch" that "Click" did on Brroom. On the positive side, my disappointment in "Improv" took the pressure off the rest of the album; I didn't feel like I had to "live up" to anything, and instead focused on having fun with the various songs.

I started this song with Logic, and I guess I had some sort of crash. Wow, what insight, Trav! Okay, I'll try again... This is repetitive 80s-esque jazz-synth whatever. Is that better? No? I'm getting tired of typing all these song descriptions! And I'm tired of these little Logic songs that don't go anywhere! They're listenable and usually have nice drums, but they seem too mechanical and sterile.

Yay, for once I made something interesting out of a Logic song! This is the only one to get vocals. And what vocals! I wrote the choruses and a couple verses, but the rest was improvised.

The lyrics are about making contact with someone you haven't seen in years. Most of the time, when I meet old friends, the first thing I've noticed is how many pounds they've gained! Also, I can't help but judge them based on how they've changed. Over the years, I've gotten slimmer and increasingly productive, while most of the people I knew got plumper and more consumptive, less creative.

Why don't people seem to value physical, mental, and creative exercise? Why do they prefer to pour their free time (and increasingly amorphous bodies) into soft chairs, soft beds, soft cars, soft schedules, soft lives? Why do they gravitate towards relaxation and passive entertainment rather than any sort of constructive activity? Why don't they place any demands on themselves? Where are their creative urges? Where's their fire???

I'm not saying everyone I know has become a fat blob, or that all fat people are lazy and unproductive. It's just that laziness is contagious; it spreads through the individual and friends (here's where being a hermit helps!). People aren't just complacent in one area of their lives; they tend to be either chronically complacent, or chronically proactive. The vast majority of 30-somethings I know are boring, ugly, and dumb compared to their 20-something selves. What's happened to them?

What is it that softens people? Age? Money? Girlfriends? Families? Why do people lose interest in themselves???

If a person isn't making a valiant effort to improve or create something in the world, then that person just isn't worth my time. That's the point of the song.

This starts as uncomfortable techno-soul, but then morphs into a cool funk/dance rhythm. I started it on the Triton and finished it in Sonar two years later. Most of the coolness comes from the later efforts. I already had a song named "Reggae Test", and although I renamed this "Clean Reggae Test" for a while, I ended up shortening the title to "CRT". This is one of my favorite songs on Chuckadee.

Here's another song I started on the Triton. I guess I was testing the sequencer's (or my) ability to handle a 6/8 time signature. It doesn't do much for me; it's too mechanical, the mix is too cluttered, and there aren't any killer solos (let alone a melody). The title is a play on "sick satan", which is a lyric from the IPECAC song "Kiss the Devil".

This is a short, early version of the chorus from "My Old School". I didn't spend much time finishing it, because I kept feeling like I'd already made this song once. Plus, it's annoyingly cheesy!

This is another Triton-started song that I extended with Sonar. It's feels a little sparse and uptight in the beginning, but towards the end it loosens up with some decent solos. From the title, I'm guessing that I (or somebody I knew) was in a bad mood or something. I finished this in early July; maybe I was hot, or annoyed at all the recent fireworks?

This is a long, mellow EP solo. It was pure improv. Yay! I really like this sort of song. It's super-relaxing, great background music for reading and falling asleep!

A little baby mouse grows up into a beautiful chickadee and flies up into the trees. Huh? Plain English, please! This funky, brass-tinged jam starts rough, with lots of atonality and false endings, but then finds its groove. I added the banjo part after Giovanna told me she disliked Bela Fleck; I wanted to see if she'd like the banjo in a non-bluegrass context. I don't remember what her verdict was!

Here we go with another long, mellow jam. This one's primarily bass, organ, and drums. It's not as relaxing or subtle as "Yet Another Improv", but has some lively organ solos. My favorite bit is the suspended organ chord that starts at 5:30, lasts 57 seconds, and survives a couple of atonal pitch bends. I don't know where I got the title; maybe I was reading "Endurance" at the time?

I named this soothing mellow ep/clav jam after a cat which used to hang around our parking lot. I haven't seen Westy in months; I hope the coyotes didn't get him/her/it! Giovanna really likes this one!

I decided to end the album with the last song I started in May 2002, which was "Drop". When I started finishing it, it was only a couple of minutes long. I realized I had to extended it several more minutes in order to fill up the CD. I also decided to try to finish it (and the album) before my trip to Alaska The pressure was on.

Over three long days of editing in 2004, I kept adding to it: measure after measure, chorus after chrous, solo after solo. It exploded from a modest little fake-guitar test into an epic jam. By the end of the song, my energy level was at a peak; I was probably excited about finishing the album and going to Alaska. This song actually "rocks" towards the end; I love the power of it!