Tripecac - Disco Hike

The original title for this song was "Autotest". I think I was testing the Triton sequencer's ability to capture automatically triggered combi rhythms. The drums are presets, which you can probably tell from their canned, slow-rock feel. They don't sound bad; they just don't sound like Tripecac. Other parts might be presets as well; those choppy EP chords sound suspicious. I think the fake static is part of the presets, too.

I renamed the song "Woodied" on the day I found out that our dog Woodie had died. This was right before my Alaska trip. I worked on it sadly for a couple hours that day, and then finished the song after I got back. The music feels quiet and "nostalgic" too, at least to me.

I was striving to make a jam that sounded like a band with synths performing live. As a result, the mix is muffled, but some of the solos have great energy. I like the chirpy motif from the "cat" synth (the same one I used on "Trail Running"). The toms are cool too. Too bad about the mix, and the fact that the end collapses into self-conscious noodling. Given the title, I was probably into my second or third drink when I started it.

Of all the songs in line to be completed, this was my favorite. I'd been looking forward to finishing it for over two years. It's a long, trancy jazz/rock jam, with three screeching guitar parts. The mix is a little bass-heavy and muddy, and the funky reggae ending is a dead end, but overall I'm happy with how this song turned out!

I named it after the bugs that I kept seeing in my apartment (in 2002). Silverfish aren't as nasty as roaches, but they're still pretty startling and annoying. Fortunately, my new apartment seems to be silverfish-free (knock on wood... but not too loudly or else the silverfish will hear me and investigate).

This starts as dark, sloppy, guitartsyfartsy trance/rock. My aim was to have it sound like a real (bad) band, warts and all. My favorite part of this song is the funky bridge, which I added in 2004. The title, lyrics, and music seem to be in different worlds.

Musically, this was a parody on loop-oriented music, which is what most people seem to be making on PCs these days. I started it in Logic, which feels more mechanical and electronic than Sonar (to me). The lyrics are improvised, except for the choruses; they poke fun at my obsession over organizing my creations.

I started this mellow EP and horn jam on the Triton. I think the title came from a bad day at work (back in 2002). When I finishe the song in 2004, I was listening to a lot of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. As an experiment, I tried to make this song "swing" more. The drums seem to be most affected, but they don't sound very jazzy.

This started as a guitar loop on my Pod Pro. I originally called it "Another Pod Test", but later shortenedd the title to the initials. The loop begins softly and builds as I added more and more parts. I think I used my "fake" wah pedal too (see "Config Sissy"). I recorded the output from the Pod Pro directly to a wave file, and then added the other instruments in 2004. The MIDI instruments aren't in tune with the guitar, but I actually kind of like it that way; it sounds edgy.

This might have been the last song I started with Logic. It's gentle, super-repetitive electronic groove with flute, EP and organ solos. It's got some cheesy chord changes, and repeats the melody too much, but at least it's short.

This long, bass-heavy groove started as a guitar loop on my Pod Pro. I added the other instruments in 2004, including lots of EP and piano solos. The original name was almost as long-winded as the music: "Pod Strider Mono Wah Loop Test". I think this is the song that Giovanna really likes; she says it sounds Asian (at least in the beginning). I like the way it builds from a simple loop into a pounding dance jam.

Here's another song that started as a guitar loop on my Pod Pro. For some reason, I recorded it to mp3 rather than a .wav file, but I can't tell from listening to it (thanks to my relatively lo-fi mixes). I added the other instruments in 2004. It ended up sounding really "powerful". For some reason, it reminded me of standing on the top of Cathedral Mountain, which is where Giovanna and I went for our disco hike!

I started this song the day I met Giovanna, my greatest discovery. The lyrics, which were mostly improvised, tell the story. The title has several meanings:

1) It was the first song I started after having decided to finish all my incomplete songs before starting new ones. However, I felt compelled to record that day, so I ended up breaking my rule.

2) My friends were encouraging me to be more social, to "go out more". For about three days during Thanksgiving week, I made an effort to get out of my apartment and talk to people. However, the night before I met Giovanna, I was hungover and tired of being around people. The next morning, I decided to take a break from people and go back to hermiting. So, I was "cheating" by refusing to follow my plan of making daily efforts at being social.

3) When it was time to finish the song, I wanted to make it nice for Giovanna. I didn't want to make it romantic and sappy, but wanted it to mean something. I felt like I should compose some lyrics, but I didn't have much time, since we had to leave for a vacation in less than a week and I wanted to finish the album before we left. So, I ended up improvising the vocals, which was the "cheap" way out. I certainly don't regret it; I think they're funny and more consistent with my personality than anything "deep" or "heart-felt". At the time I recorded them, though, it felt like cheating.

I'm glad I ended the album on an upbeat note.