Month: November 2021

I broke the ice on lead vocals for Fight Songs over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Three songs down, eleven to go.

Practicing over the past few weeks has really paid off. (Shocker!) I was really struggling to find notes and maintain steady pitches when I started. Singing for an hour three or four nights a week for about three weeks has put me in a pretty good place at this point.

I’m starting with the songs that are lowest in my register, and will work upward. There’s no rush but I’m aiming to finish around New Year’s Eve.

From there I’m not sure what I’ll do next; organ, percussion, or backing vocals. We’re in year 13 of Fight Songs production, I guess there’s no rush.

During my first trip to Ghana, I bought and had shipped home a player-grade djembe made by a guy named Brain. (Yes, Brain, “a-i.”)

Mike Morris liked the drum and wanted one, I remember. I told him I could get one, and as I recall I took his money, and sent it to Brain with an order.

After that, my memory is unreliable. Over the years I’ve had a growing sense that the drum never arrived, to the point that I’ve wanted to see Mike and talk about it. As a younger person my attitude was that doing international business in cash transfers entailed risk, and this risk was disclosed; buyer beware. Now I feel more like I put my word on a deal and need to square up on it, one way or another.

But here’s the twist; I saw Scott last weekend (to return his Rhodes to him; whole other story!) and he has a drum made by Brain. One that I didn’t know about (or knew, and completely forgot – entirely possible!)

He said his folks gave it to him as a surprise in the fall of 2003. That would have been right when I left for my second time in Ghana. So we have a mystery:

1. How many drums did the Morrises order? One, or two?
2. Did I never find out that one drum was delivered? I was out of touch for three months after it was delivered, then didn’t move back on campus, then graduated and moved to Minnesota. We practiced and played a few shows, but they were all electric, with a drum set (not djembe). We didn’t record. And it went to Scott, not Mike (who I’d taken the money from)
3. Or did I know, and forget entirely? I’m about 50/50 on never knowing vs. forgetting
4. Do I owe Mike anything?

(more…)

Here’s the song “Swell” from the Night Mode album Sea, with photos and a slide show that tell the story of the album.