More Piano Writing and More VYNL Photos

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Amanda and I spent the last few days at her parents’ place on lake Huron. A nice little vacation. We went for walks along the beach (cold) and through the woods (adventuring), watched movies (“Pillars of the Earth,” “Mr. Holland’s Opus” and Sigur Ros’s “Heima”), played games (I lost at Battleship and Categories!?), read and whenever I could find a chance I spent time in their basement playing piano. I have four songs in the works on piano, so I meddled and muddled my way around those ideas. At home I’m stuck using a Juno-106, which doesn’t sound like a piano at all, so it was nice to play on the real thing. (And don’t worry I’m using the Juno for synth stuff too.) I’m slowly teaching myself to play the piano (“Mr. Holland’s Opus” actually helped here) and pretty much have all of the parts for the four done now. I figured out the verses for the last piano song, which is about London, so all I have to do now is finish the lyrics.

I’ve seen rough versions of the video that Travis shot for VYNL (see the previous blog post) which looks very cool. Simon is doing some audio mixing for it and then it’ll be up soon. Until then, here are some more photos from the shoot:

by Travis Ramsay from VYNL

by Travis Ramsay from VYNL

by Travis Ramsay from VYNL

More Demoing // VYNL

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On Tuesday, May 2nd Amanda, Daniel, Jake and I were in the studio with Simon recording more demos. This was the first time all four of us have played together, as Amanda was away for three months on her trip to Southeast Asia. The plan was to get some ‘full band’ demos in before Daniel goes away for the summer to work as a cook at a camp on Georgian Bay (lucky fella).

by Travis Ramsay from VYNL

Simon set up some (really nice) mics and recorded us running through a bunch of songs live off of the floor. Things went smooth and fun. Actually it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, I think.

We started the day off learning a new song called “Stranger.” This one has Jake on bass, me on acoustic guitar, Daniel on drums and Amanda singing harmonies. It’s a country song. It came a long pretty well. I kept getting stuck on the transition from the first chorus to the second verse through–I have trouble counting, so everyone had a good laugh about that (thanks guys). I think we have everything but the bridge down though, it was sounding good by the end of the afternoon.

by Travis Ramsay from VYNL

The boys and I did “Troubles” next in a few takes, one faster, one slower. Then we all did “Wah Oh,” which felt really good. Simon had Amanda and I singing into nice mics which were going right through the PA back to us in the room. It sounded really good. As I said, it was the first time having Daniel playing his drum parts and Amanda singing her parts at once, so that was awesome. A highlight for me. I think the song is basically done for the album, we just have one more vocal part and a string part to incorporate.

“Love Like A River” came next with me asking Daniel to play out a different rhythm on the intro with Jake playing a guitar case as a drum for the verses / choruses and then acoustic guitar on the bridge. Combined the two drum parts create two different rhythms layered over one another. I’ll have to hear the recording (once Simon is done mixing) but I’m pretty sure it worked out as I had it in my head, which is all I can hope for. On future recordings / shows Jake’ll play a floor tom and on the recording I’m considering two kits for this one. Amanda was on bass and vocals and it was nice to sing the song with her again.

We ran through “Stranger” again at this point to try to get a complete take. It sounded better and better although still a little off on the bridge.

by Travis Ramsay from VYNL

At the end of the session we had a special guest in the studio, Travis Ramsay. Travis stopped by to film a song as part of his new project called VYNL. Travis is a nice guy and is dedicated to supporting local and Canadian music. Nice! He’s working on editing up the video now, which will feature audio Simon recorded, and we’re all excited to see / hear it. Those are his images featured in this post (I’ll put up more of those later!).

As soon as the video is done I’ll put up the link, don’t worry. And I’m not going to tell you which song we did, just to keep you on your toes (Any guesses?).

In the meantime, check out the first VYNL video with the Wooden Sky playing at Grooves.

Overall a great day. Amanda even made cookies! Enjoy the photos and I’ll post the video when it’s done.

Okay, so the plan now is to write, write, write. It’s almost my birthday and I shaved off my beard today / gave myself a hair cut. Spring time. I’m ready.

-Sam.

ps. last night I had the pleasure of seeing Firehorse and Bruce Peninsula on the same bill. Another very fun night! Daniel and his gang were fantastic (and so is the record, so check it out!) and Bruce Peninsula are one of my favourite Canadian bands–check out their new song!

The Real London PT2

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David was nice enough to share another photo with us from the Real London project!

for The Real London by David Redding

I’ve been working on some lyrics this week. Bits and pieces here and there. Some lyrics about fire for one and about growing up to be a tree for another. I’m pretty much up to my ears in essay writing at the moment, which makes listening to music difficult–let alone writing music!

But here I am at a break from that to write this… listening to Daytrotter. Great sessions by Timber Timbre / Dirty Projectors / Department of Eagles / Bruce Peninsula and others!

If you’re in school, we’re at the home stretch now… and if you’re not… it’s almost May (the best month of the year!)… so you have that to look forward to!

Once the summer hits us I’ll be switching from school mode to music mode, so this blog should be a-hippin’ and a-happenin’ (I’ve also gone stir crazy…).

-Sam.

What do you want!? Rock songs? Folk songs? Songs to sing to? Songs to dance to? Songs to cry to?

The Real London

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by David Redding for The Real London

Yesterday I had my photograph taken for the Real London project.

David Redding, the photographer for the project, came over to our apartment at 5pm to take some pictures of me in the spaces where I create, “showcasing the artist behind the art.” It was nice to meet David, he’s a nice guy, easy to work with and cares a lot about London, Ontario and its arts community (awesome).

He took some shots of me in our white chair (as seen on the website), standing between our front windows (as seen below as the “second best” photo), and outside at The Market.

Be sure to check out the rest of the photographs at Real London and share the site with your friends, it’s really cool and I’m honoured to be a part of it!

Today I’m playing at the ArtFusion Fest Block Party at 1pm and I’m really looking forward to it. Jake and I will be playing a new song I wrote last weekend (one week ago today actually) called “Stranger (In My Own Home)”… it’s a country song.

-Sam.

ps. it’s Juno weekend and I’ve been listening to Neil Young all weekend!
pps. The day started with an instore at Hot Dog with Cladda (Ian, Pat and Jeremy) playing an incredible set. Check out Cladda next time they play live (no recordings yet) and also be sure to check out Hot Dog!

Thursday with one band, Friday with another.

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Jake, Sam, Daniel, Blair (by Matt Trocchi and his phone)

Hello All,

Last week I had the pleasure of playing back to back shows with two different bands.

Thursday night was APK Live with my band. Daniel / Jake / Blair / and myself. We were playing my second Intercordia Fundraiser: A really neat organization doing something very neat for some local Londoners.

We carried the gear from Grooves over to the APK for an early soundcheck. I’m sure we looked pretty funny to the cars driving home from work on York St. After some circus activity with the drums we were finally settled. Unfortunately, the Wild Domestic van had broken down outside of Toronto on its way back from Montreal, so Nate couldn’t be there to run soundcheck. Luckily Peter stepped in later on. Daniel, Jake and I had food at APK while Blair went home.

I was going to go into a play by play of the other acts… but had to stop myself, I don’t want this to be a review of the show. Lets just say that the other bands were all great in their own way. There was lots of diversity in the show, but I was entertained throughout.

I hope I was entertaining for everyone else!

I felt pretty good about it and that’s the most I ask of myself in a performance. I always make a little wish that I’ll just do my best… cheesy, maybe… but after all I can’t do any better at that moment. Only if I rehearsed more or took lessons or wrote better songs… if only! haha…

We opened with a pretty firey ‘Rain On’. Blair’s solo was fantastic and the song started things off on the right foot. I’ve had a few people suggesting I put this one on the album, but it’s been around for a while now and was already released… what do you think? Next we did ‘Wah Oh’ followed by a full band version of ‘Cold Outside’. This is the third arrangement of the song. I plan on recording all three versions. Of the other two, one has cello and was demoed at Simon’s and one is in my head and features trumpet/piano. After that we did ‘Lost in the Leaves’. This was the first time the song has been performed in a year I bet… so if you saw this performance, consider yourself lucky! and thank Blair for requesting it! The best song of the night for me (and Jake / Blair by their accounts) was ‘Troubles’. Before the song I turned to the guys and said something like, “make this one moody; brooding…” Blair later partly credited that comment for the successful take. It just felt right. Blair held a great high note going into the second bridge, Jake and Dan were tight and I felt pretty good singing it. It’s supposed to be a dark, gloomy, almost an alt-country / blues song. We closed the set with ‘Love Like A River’ again. It’s a nice one to close with.

I was happy to see friends in the audience. It’s nice when familiar faces, who know the songs, seem to be enjoying them… that’s always nice.

What else can I say about this show? It was really nice to hang out with the gang before the performance. It’s nice to play in ‘a band’ again. Daniel, Blair and Jake are all great guys and good musicians, so a double-bonus. Although Jake did kinda make fun of my clothes without really saying anything… he just doesn’t get it. I was going for a country / all blue thing. My blue period! Younger brothers right!?

Anyway, we’re looking to go into Simon’s studio to record our arrangements before Daniel and Blair go away for the summer… (why do my bandmates keep going away to far off places???)

FRIDAY

On Friday I was playing bass in Graham Nicolas’s band. It was a fun experience in all. I had a great time rehearsing with everyone and performing was fun too. Nice to play in a band of such talented musicians with such great songs. Graham’s music is fun and he’s a very charismatic performer.

Down With Webster were playing at the London Music Hall above us, which made for a hilarious situation. First, hundreds of girls lined up outside the venue in homemade t-shirts staring at us as we carried our gear in and later when we went for dinner (at London Souvlaki!). Second, the bass from the bands upstairs rattled everything in the “Lounge” we were playing in. Third, during what I assume was the encore, DWW had the entire place jumping up and down which was literally moving the ceiling of our venue violently up and down (flexing at least half a foot back and forth)… this made more than just Alanna Gurr and I nervous, let me tell you! Of course I also had some fun joke-taunting with the huge DWW line-up standing beside the small, plaid, Wooden Sky line.

It was fun to hang out with Daniel Romano and The Wooden Sky guys during soundcheck, along with everyone in Graham’s band. Waiting around at soundcheck is a drag, but it was fun to hangout at least.

We were on first. The sound was horrible, but I still had fun. I really couldn’t hear anything but Graham’s voice, my bass and Daniel’s drums (that’s right, if you remember Daniel, Blair and I all were playing back to back nights in the same two bands). It was fun, no matter how hard Graham tried to get the crowd into it, they just stood there. It frustrated Graham, but it was fun to see him go over the top with his antics… he even got down in the audience and danced with them while playing guitar!

Daniel Romano was next and was fantastic! After the show he gave me a free LP (bless him) and it hasn’t left my record player yet! I just keep it spinning and spinning! It’s fantastic, PICK IT UP! A fantastic country album. Great songwriting and arrangements. I grew up on this stuff in my family, so I can attest to its greatness. (Thanks Daniel).

The Wooden Sky played next. Great guys. Good band. Good performance. During the performance someone STOLE Gavin’s jackets though… off the stage… stupid and crazy. If you see them, let someone know.

The night ended with us cabbing our gear back to Grooves and Daniel Romano telling me he’d prefer to sleep in his van than find a friend to stay with, “it’s not what you think, there’s a mattress in the back. It’s nice…”

This week I’m going to be checking out Sweet Magic London.

And I’m playing the ArtFusion Block Party on Sunday! (cool).

Be well,
-Sam.

ps. I wrote two new country-style songs on Sunday night… in full. Good news! The first songs I’ve written and finished in one sitting in a long time. I wrote one in 30 minutes, went to bed and then had to get up out of bed as I’d written another while laying there… more on this soon?

Intercordia Fundraiser (2!)

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Cool poster by Steve Lourenco

Hello Everyone,

I’ve been very busy lately rehearsing and reading and writing. Finals are due in about a month, so things are crazy at school. But I have some exciting musical things on the horizon I should tell you about.

Coming this Thursday I’ll be taking part in my second Intercordia Fundraiser! The show is at APK Live and I encourage you all to make it out for this good cause!

Four bands on the bill! Along with some opening sets by some singer songwriters! A full night of entertainment!

Featuring: ROCOCODE, THE CONGRATULATED STRANGERS and COLOURS COLLECTIVA

For this show Daniel, Jake and I will be joined by our good friend Blair Whatmore on guitar. Blair is one of this city’s finest guitarists, so we’re lucky to have him on board. Plus along with Daniel is one of the nicest guys in the community… so there you go.

On Blair’s request we’re going to do “Lost In The Leaves”… a fun song that I haven’t done in a long time. We ran through it tonight in rehearsal and it went pretty well–kinda messy, but that one’s supposed to be a mess, so there you go. We’ve also worked out a new full-band arrangement of “Cold Outside”, which has a really nice feel to it. Everyone is playing for the song and not for themselves, which is working out well. I’ve had a lot of fun playing with this band.

If you haven’t seen me play in a while or you’ve been meaning to, I recommend this one. It’s going to be fun. It’s not everyday that I have my brother and two members of Handsome Dan And His Gallimaufry backing me… You read that they just won local album of the year right? Easily one of my favourite albums of the year.

Anyway, on top of all of this I’ve been playing some more piano, writing some more parts, rehearsing for Graham’s show and now I must leave and cut my hair… then bed!

Goodnight!

-Sam.

Update #162

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I’ve been really sick lately. It started off achy and is now fever+SORE throat+blowin’-my-nose-every-five-minutes… It’s basically meant that I’ve been too tired or weak to really get any reading or marking done. But in my body’s weakness, my mind has at least been able to produce some more lyrics. So not too productive in one way and kinda productive in another.

I’m focusing on two songs right now. One on piano (which I’ve been working out on my Uncle’s Juno-106 he let me borrow… you can kinda make is sound like a piano) and one that’s based on a riff that my notebook calls “(dangerous) waltz.” The later’s structure is done. I have parts for two guitars and bass, along with a lead vocal melody and a second melody for a layered bridge. All of which I have recorded into my digital four-track (although pretty roughly). I’ll be honest, I’m a little unsure about the bass riff in the verses. The lyrics are partly done, with the chorus complete. I also have all the drums parts in my head. I don’t know if you (reader) write songs or not, or if you (reader) do write songs if you experience this, but this waltz has been stuck in my head for weeks. Playing over and over. Now if only my subconscious would complete the verse lyrics!

I’ve been playing more bass lately, which has been fun. I was experimenting with bass distortion again thanks to Black Atlas (something I haven’t really done since AHAHB, so it’s been pretty fun). Have you checked out his music yet? It’s pretty hip stuff. By that I mean that his music makes me very excited for the future. I think it epitomizes “cool” in 2012 and I mean that in the best way. I recommend you head over to LondonFuse and watch the FuseTV video from a recent instore show at Hot Dog. The video is really well done and motivates me. This isn’t the type of music that I’ve been working on, but it’s definitely what I’ve been listening to lately.

Speaking of bass, I’m very happy to report that I’ve been asked by Graham Nicolas to play bass in his band when he opens up for Daniel Romano and The Wooden Sky on the 23rd of March! (talk about a great bill!) We have our first rehearsal tomorrow night, so I hope I’m feeling better by then! Graham is a great guy and so is everyone in his band, so this’ll be a fun one for sure! (Facebook link).

I’ve got a show the night before, the 22nd of this month, with the fellas again so watch out for that. This will be my second Intercordia Canada fundraiser and I’m really looking forward to it. Rococode are headlining. I’ll talk about this more in the future, but for now you can read all about it on Facebook if you like.

For now I’m off to some chicken noodle soup and then bass practice. More rehearsals in the future and potentially more exciting shows in the works…

-Sam.

ps. no pictures this time, so I tried to give you lots of links…