Late last night in my room
working on a new tune.
Sketching out the ideas on
Logic. Great glass of wine
next to me. Reaching for
it I marvelled at the
beautiful rich colour. A
ruby prism illuminated by
the ambient glow of
candlelight. Next to a few
obvious other activities,
this is one of my
favourites. Wine and song.
I sit in silence next to
my purring cat Mimi
listening to the music on
my trusty old Tannoys.
Mimi's a tough critic and
she's always right. During
these early hours,with
Lisa sleeping in the next
room, the volume is just
loud enough for me to hear
relevant levels and the
essence of the song. I
don’t like the hype of
elevated sound pressure
levels to hammer a tune
home to me. Amazing what
you can hear at low
volumes. I prefer mixing
this way everything makes
more sense. Less of the
room and more of the
music. I reserve 100db for
our parties. Anyways, last
night my mind drifted with
the music. Soon, the music
took a back seat to an
unremarkable epiphany,but
one none the less. I
thought about my days as a
studio drummer. I was very
privileged to have spent
my time with great
artists,musicians,engineer
s and producers in studios
that dreams are made of.
Surrounded by the racks of
equipment I would lose
myself in uncontrollable
gearlust.There was never a
session that I didn’t
daydream about having a
studio of my own.That’s
my point. My minor
epiphany. Here I sit in my
home, having completed my
entire album “2forty6”
with the exception of the
mastering that I had done
elsewhere. I reflected
again on how jaded and
fortunate I am. Fifteen
years ago I would never
have been able to afford
the technological
capabilities of what I can
accomplish here in the
comfort of my personal
sanctuary, my own home
studio.. I learn and
relearn everyday on my own
dime,my own time,my own
schedule, about writing,
engineering, producing,
and making unbiased
objective decisions
predicated on “music
first”-“ego last”.
Nobody to tell me what
they think I should do.
Just me and my many
multicoloured
inter-changeable hats.
It’s not easy managing
and nurturing my new
multi-disciplines,but
I’m getting there. I
drifted for a moment last
night meditating on this
paradigm shift in the
writing and recording of
music. I call the shots. I
can work when inspired.The
meter never ticks. I'm
open for creative biz 24/7
I may not be recording on
a Neve console with a
cabinet full of Neumann
and Telefunken mics and an
arsenal of esoteric mic
pres and compressors. But
it is my room where I can
play and constantly hone
my craft as a self
sufficient independent
artist. I can make records
here. For this I am
grateful. For all of you
out there in your own
havens and sanctuaries,
enjoy the freedom, the
challenges and the
autonomy of being part of
the solo artist galaxy in
an ever expanding musical
universe that is
transforming everyday.I
guess my insight last
night had more to do with
artistic liberation than a
syndrome. Like never
before, we have so many
affordable and incredible
tools available to us.The
only limit is the boundary
of our
imagination.Here’s to
all of you out there in
your bedrooms, garages,
guest houses, rehearsal
rooms, project studios:-
rapping,playing,singing,st
rumming,screaming,writing
beats,beating drums: it's
all music it's all good!
These are challenging and
exciting times. Peace in
'08 and beyond.
There's a neon club
around the corner
Sometimes I'll wander in
choking on French perfume
and black leather
Hearing last call
voices betray desperation
for some late night skin
Makeup masks crack
thick with cheap innuendo
Tequila promises burned
beyond recognition
Drunk stumped heads
suckered by lies
Mindless words oozing
thick
through lipstick smiles
It's the tower of Babel
so just babble on
Music hides at a safe
distance
no match for lines and
come ons
Greedy for centre stage
hack actors talking shit
Silent witness to social
crime
I stand aloof watching
To them I'm a leper
Keep your distance and
you'll be fine
Bartender's holding court
A poor man's Tom Cruise
I think his name really is
Tom
Ordering a drink
he thinks my name is Bud
Girl's night out in the
corner
Some office dicks wanna
squeeze in
puking up cliches and
compliments
Gidget vanity aching for
attention
from any John around
Swallowing reassurance
that they've all still got
it
Got what?Get it?Forget
it?
Wack back my drink
What do I think?
They don't want any part
of me
so I'll have another
Bartender still playing
Tom Slick
Guess I'm still playing
Bud
Slow Hip Hop
hip hops through the room
Last chance last ditch
losers
clutch and grope on the
trance floor
Starting to feel invisible
now
Only Cocktail Tom sees me
Looking worried about his
Bud
So this Bud orders
another
This one's on him he
waves
He's missing a finger
Wonder what I'm missing?
Wonder if he notices
that I wonder where his
finger went?
Hip Hop fades
leaving losers
fanning out into corners
Pathetic parade
Remind myself how much I
hate
circuses, charades and
parades
Music drops through a trap
door
Voices left hanging
Naked dangling
The sentence served
My mind's made up
Rather be invisible
than visibly ignored
And being a leper
is not all that bad
Tom knows
Winks in my direction
Gives me the thumbs up
less one finger
Show him mine
for one more
I shoot it back
Inhaling liquid fire
French perfume
and black leather desire
I'm still invisible
Tom Cruise is fingerless
I'm a leper named Bud
with no more time to
linger
Visibly ignored
Invisibly gliding
across the trance floor
Grooving to leper music
Bust a few leper moves
and I'm out the neon door
During the making of my
album “2forty6”, I was
fortunate to have my
talented friends
contribute to some of my
tracks. During mixing and
listening to the
performances of Rick
Boston, Fred Mandel, Eric
Gotthelf, Paul Lacques,
and Eddie Baytos,, I was
struck by how much their
interpretations had
enriched the songs they
touched. This was not as
much a surprise as it was
again a reminder of the
importance of the
“behind the scenes
guys”. For many years, I
myself was one of them
performing as a studio and
touring drummer for many
talented artists. My
musical journey found me
in the company of Burton
Cummings, Randy Bachman,
Janis Ian, The Beach Boys,
Bo Diddley etc. Their
impact upon me as human
beings and musicians was
and still is profound.
These talented artists
have merited the
acknowledgement and
respect they have received
over the years,. Anything
I might add about them
would certainly be
redundant. My experience
with them will inspire me
forever.
I want to take a moment to
pay homage to the other
“stars” that have
graced the studios and the
concert stages. The ones
who have “backed up”
the great artists
elevating them to even
greater heights. These
players, engineers,
songwriters, producers and
vocalists deserve notice
as well. They may be
unkown to you, some you
may have heard of, others
have celebrity in their
own right as soloists and
artists. I have had the
honour of working with
them, and becoming friends
with many of them. You may
have heard their songs,
their mixes, their
performances and their
productions on records and
CD’s, in movies, on
television, in concert, on
radio and iPods. If you
don’t know them, Google
them, and add to your
lexicon of music history.
I list these greats here
in no particular order as
they come to mind. My
apologies if I’ve missed
a few. You know who you
are. You know where I
live!.
Rick Boston, Eric
Gotthelf, Jeff Berlin, Ian
Gardiner,Rick Moors,
Simeon Pilitch, Norm
Fisher, Igor Romanyck,
Jimmy Roberts, Chris Hall,
Arvo Lepp, Eric “Hap”
Roderman, Rob Piltch,
Lenny Castro, Fred Mandel,
Ed Cherney, Marc Jordan,
John Capek, Laura Creamer,
Alan Gordon, Arte Funaro,
Ciro Baptista Ciari, Kevan
Staples, Carole Pope, Paul
Lacques, Mike Tempo, Phil
Gough, King Cotton, Dusty
Wakeman, Boo Bernstein,
Shirley Eikhardt, Jack
Price, Berton Averre,
David Schwartz, The
Porcaros, Jim
Keltner,Terry Melcher,John
Bavin,Stan Meisner. Lisa
Dal Belo,Warren Pash,Jimmy
Woods, Richard Wolf, David
Malloy, Rocky Burnette,
Billy Burnette, Craig
Fall, Menno Froese,
Gregory Marchant, Tad
Wadhams, Bobby Lakind,
Donny Gerard, Carl Graves,
Debra Dobkin, Patrick
Coutin, Tony Braunagle,
Jerry Angel, Jean Pierre
Morgand, Jean Marc
Despert, Bruno Mylanos,
Bertrand Beuf, Laurent
Prado, Ted Hawke, Alain
Perusini, Michel
Kyriazopoulos, Kim
Bullard, Nicolas Albingre,
Larry Knight, Steve
Hunter, Christophe Garreau
and so many others..
Again, forgive me for any
omissions.
Like a solid foundation
they all steadfastly
support the towering
edifice called MUSIC. The
only true universal
language without barriers
or discrimination. It
touches all of us. It is
the soundtrack of our
lives. A jukebox of
emotions and memories.
Cruising with an iPod
slolaming the speed bumps
of life.. To all the
artists and all the
“behind the scenes”
men and women who enrich
the world we live in.
Cheers and thank you.
Peace…..
