Category: News

Steven Hyden wrote a piece at Grantland this week called “Is Phish A Great Band?”  Ultimately, though, it’s not about Phish.

Let’s say it’s 50 years in the future, and you’re trying to figure out how and why pop music has arrived at its present permutation. Let’s also say that recorded music still exists, but no longer as a product that artists attempt to sell. Like other forms of devalued currency, recordings have flooded the market to the point of virtual worthlessness. But music fans are still willing to pay to hear a version of a song that doesn’t exist yet, and will only ever exist once. Because of this economic development, bands spend a lot less time making albums and devote the majority of their energy to honing their live shows. Over time, people gradually stop talking about fixed versions of songs and begin evaluating bands on their ability to perform and refresh their body of work. This creates a new paradigm for how we talk about music — pop historians start rating the Dead over the Beatles as the best rock band ever. Music is perceived less like film and more like theater or sports — as a venue for live events that lose their essential appeal if they’re not viewed in the moment.

[Emphasis mine.]  This is the context in which Phish is already, and undoubtedly, a great band.

There are other bands currently operating at least halfway under this model, too.  The Stones have been doing it since the early ’80s, more or less successfully, until this latest tour.  Other jam bands, like Dave Matthews Band and Widespread Panic, have followed this path, too, but I think the “body of work” concept is applicable beyond the jam genre.  A band that can consistently create a fresh, present cathartic or insightful experience with an audience could consider this route, whether they play metal, soul, punk, country, or anything else.  Jazz and blues musicians have, for the most part, always worked this way; having the album version of a song be the definitive one is the exception.  Even with Miles Davis, with his classic LPs like Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew, the groups he put together and the performances they gave rival the albums.

Pure pop musicians may have the toughest time transitioning to a “body of work” model.  Hits need to be performed faithfully, so keeping the hits fresh involves incorporating dance, stage shows, and other spectacles.  Remixing could work in small amounts, but I doubt it would work as a foundation for regularly reinvigorating performances; can you imagine Madonna going on a new remix tour every couple of years?

I’m not sure of the implications here for my own music.  I love making records, and the success of Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories shows that there’s still some wider interest in albums.  Maybe Hyden’s story reminds us that the “body of work” path to success has never gone away; it may have receded a bit over the past 50 years, but is coming back as the web has devalued recordings.  Bands should consider it seriously.

Our lyrics for Mars Lights tend to be at least a bit abstract.  I still like to write the lyrics about something concrete, though, whether that’s a story, an image, or an extended metaphor.  With the latest batch of new songs, I’ve been using a little trick I first did by accident.  It may be obvious to you, or in retrospect, but it still might help.  I’ve been writing songs for years without  it, so maybe it’s not as conspicuous as it seems.

What I’ll do is write down the story, idea, or emotion I want the lyrics to be about in a plain phrase or two.  This focuses me on what I want the lyrics to achieve, whether that’s a bit of action in a story, or conveying a certain feeling.

For example, a couple of weeks ago I had a lyrical concept for a finished Mars Lights instrumental demo called “New Blooze.”  At the top of the page, I wrote:

 

solar flare apocalypse, like “99 Red Balloons”

 

That’s it!  Within an hour, the lyrics were pretty much written.  Here’s the first verse and chorus:

“Have A Corona”

 

I wouldn’t, I couldn’t modulate

I’d never, ever go all the way

 

Coming out of the sun, blue-shifted as I close in

Much fucking worse than bombs, back to annihilate

Your wave

I found a way in to the image that I liked, which was personifying the flare in the first-person.  So, rather than a lecture about existential risk, the song kind of opens up.  The story is there, but other interpretations are available, too; it could be a song about anger, using the flare as a metaphor instead of the main idea.  There are others, I’m sure.

I’m not sure why it works so well for me.  Maybe having the main idea down on paper frees my brain up to focus on the more poetic language needed for the final lyrics.  With the central point explicitly set out in front of me, it seems easier to dance around the edge of it, getting that somewhat abstract quality I like for Mars Lights without ending up with lyrics that are empty.

Will you try this technique?  How did it work for you?

My live blog of Moon Gazer resulted in some questions I wanted to ask Brandon, and he indulged me in the email interview below.

One thing I felt about the album is that it seems fully realized, like you recorded exactly what you imagined or intended or wanted. How do you feel in that area?

with this album i had some specific rules. i knew what i didn’t want to do. with the first two albums, i was obsessed with having as many different sounds as possible. with maybe only one or two consistent threads going through each tune. for Moon Gazer i kept a lot of the sounds uniform. like i might have the same guitar with the same effect going through the same amp through the whole song. i also was steering clear of the high-end sounds. less high hat and cymbals and such, and more emphasis on the bass and mids. i was looking for a warmer / darker sound. i also decided to let the album just be slow and creepy all the way through, instead of trying to throw faster or more sunny tunes in to break it up for variety. i think those things had a hand in making it seem more fully realized and cohesive. besides that, it’s possible that i’m just getting closer to whatever the Panda Face sound is.

What is your writing and recording process like? (This is something that fascinates me, because people’s processes can be so different, and I usually learn a trick or two.)

i usually wait till something hits me these days. like a chorus will just pop into my head or a vocal melody of some sort. or i’ll be messing around with the guitar or keyboard and a song will just kind of spring up. once i have a decent handle on how i want the song to go, i start right in on recording it. that’s when the obsession kicks in. i find a beat and starting layering on the sounds. i spend hours searching for the right effect or perfect melody. i edit tracks like a madman. i keep going till i feel like it’s complete and then mix it down. after that i wait for the next tune to hit.

It seemed to me like the guitar/synth sound balance tipped a bit more toward the synths this time out. If so, was there a purpose in that?

i think you’re right. “King of the Sun” is the 1st tune i’ve recorded that’s completely void of any guitars. it’s not something i did consciously though. Panda Face has always been me sort of riding the fence between the guitar rock that i’ve always been a part of, and the more pop, electronic, and ambient influences that i’ve gained over the years. it’s been slowly evolving and this time the synths finally won out.

What are you doing with this record? Shows? Art stuff? Second Life? Anything weird?

not any shows to mention just yet, but i do plan on getting out there and performing the album sometime later this year. for now i’m just trying to spread the word as much as possible via the internet, and through the local record shops, media, and radio stations.

Are there any films that sync up to this record?

not any specific films, but i did watch an awful lot of animation during the recording of the album. mostly the stuff from my youth like GI JOE, Transformormers, HE MAN, and ThunderCats.

What’s next for you, and for Panda Face, musically?

i’m pretty much always recording a Panda Face album, so there will definitely be more of those coming down the pike. already got a couple of new ones in the can. stay tuned …

Along with releasing Moon Gazer, Brandon asked me to write something about the album.  A review didn’t seem quite right, but what happened is that I ended up live-blogging my first listen.  -h

1 – Moon Gazer

• starts off with a block-rocking sleep-beat!
• it sounds like shooting sunbeams from one’s eyes is commonplace in this world
• love the space at the end of the first verse/chorus
• i feel like this is going to be my favorite panda face album

2 – Lofty Eye

• yeah, i think so!
• this feels like all the things i like about panda face – sweetness and creepiness, the vocal stylings, weirdness and pop… ness – all cranked up four notches at once
• i’ll have to ask brandon how his musical adventures since the last record – renfields, millions, burns – have influenced this, and what order all that stuff happened in
• really proud this is going to be on MFR. brandon just emailed me out of the blue, “hey, i have a new record out, will you post it?” that is exactly what i hoped MFR would be!

3 – King of the Sun

• ooh, i wanna dance a bit. i’m doing kind of an egyptian neck movement thing
• AND HE JUST SANG “EGYPTIAN FANTASIES…” we have some connection going on
• is that “cesearian?” probably, there was a roman thing, too. fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck weareintrouble. i think i might get cut open, somehow.
• whew

4 – White Hawk

• i have been listening to brandon’s music since the blane “blair” EP, so, about ten years. i think we’ve only met once, and it was at a dark satellites/renfields show, and i’m terrible at hanging out at shows because i’m super-focused on my performance and my gear
• the sounds in this song are really cool, but the song doesn’t rely on them. i think brandon could make this work acoustic. that is a compliment. but i’m glad he didn’t, for this version, at least.
• another sort of unexpected, tight ending. i’m loving these arrangements.

5 – She Fell

• another great sound, that rubbery bass. it could almost be cheesy in someone else’s hands, but since it’s panda face, i know i’m going to end up hiding under a blanket, so it’s already kind of ominous
• sick deep filters, deployed very subtly. nice touch.
• is anything still sick when it’s cool? i don’t know. i might be out of touch. i didn’t start saying “snap!” until 2006.
• and i still do sometimes :-|
• this is def my fav panda face album. it seems fully realized; like brandon accomplished exactly what he wanted to, and i love hearing that. that’s what i always aim for, and only rarely, partially ever achieve.

6 – Mysterious Danger

• nice interlude. kinda british educational film strip-y. death is probably coming around the corner…

7 – The Down Low

• or not? this is funky and kind of twangy. two great tastes that i’m listening to right now together and they sound good.
• first line = perfect
• the little high keyboard on the chorus is making me laugh in a good way. with joy. that happens to me sometimes when a riff is just perfect and overwhelming. here, it’s like the musical idea is spot-on, kind of like something out of a ’90s Dre production, but it has this cracked kind of Pavement, played-it-wrong-but-left-it-in-whatever quality, too. both of those at once is magical.

8 – Lame to Try

• maybe we won’t die after all. i predict this will be a bit of a love jam.
• cool instrumental part under “i think you know exactly what we should do” (might have gotten the pronouns wrong)
• over the whole album, is this the least amount of guitar brandon’s ever had? might be. not good or bad, just observing. what guitar i’ve noticed has been well-deployed. and you know by now how i feel about the various synths.
• nice come-down ending

The past week and a half, I’ve been on a writing streak like I haven’t been since I was working on There is Something and not nothing (probably late ’08 or early ’09).  It’s been Mars Lights stuff, writing vocals and lyrics to songs we’ve already demo’d instrumentally, sometimes years ago.

Six songs down, and I have two more demos I can work with; then I’ll have to start writing more riffs :-)

It would seem premature to talk about content before you can hear the songs, but I’m pleased with the variety.  There’s a happy song (of sorts… ) for the first time, some noir, and some science.  Plus, the usual lack of first- and second-person pronouns, and general mayhem.

This will be the first bigger set of songs we’ll have the chance to rehearse and play live before recording.  For the Sides, everything was recorded first, before we ever played a show.  In many of those songs vocals were just rough sketches when we did them, and in some, they hadn’t been started at all.  For the LP we’re working on, I think three of my four were done and had been played at our duo shows, but several of Drew’s had no vocals when we put down the instrumentals.  A few of my new ones include semi-improvised sections, so I’m especially excited to work those out in the practice room before we put them down.

We have about five albums we want to make, so there are loud, weird jams for the forseeable future.

Guitar pedal demos on Youtube are weirdly addictive (especially if they’re done by Pro Guitar Shop or gearmanndude). If you play, or you’re a gear head of some other sort, hours can slide down the drain without you hardly noticing until they’re gone.

However, I’ve learned a lot. What got me started was searching for an overdrive/boost to generally duplicate what I used Drew’s Fulltone Java Boost for on the Mars Lights LP we’re working on, and at our last couple shows when I’ve been playing through his rig. I ended up with the Fulltone GT500 (video below) and am happy with it so far.

One of my requirements was that the boost come before the overdrive in the signal chain; I use boost for some extra saturation on big riffs/choruses, not so much for volume (like you might for solos). On the 500, the order of the boost/OD circuits is switchable, which is perfect. Most importantly, I like the tone; dynamic and transparent, bringing the best out of my guitar and amp.

So far, I only like a pretty narrow range of settings, but I hope that with more experience, I’ll figure out how to get more variety out of the pedal.

Of course, in my digital travels, I’ve also developed a wishlist. I’ll save analog echo for another time (the short version is: Malekko Ekko 616v2, or DMB Lunar Echo?) and focus on dirt. With my main distortion sound set, I started looking for a totally different sound to use for doubling riffs in the studio and overdubs. The goal was to spend about $100 on a compressed, colorful drive, and after a lot of work, I arrived at the ZVex Distortron.

Then, Drew mentioned fuzz. Drew loves the fuzz, and I love the sound, too, but haven’t used much myself. He’d mentioned the Death By Audio Fuzz War, which is great but doesn’t do anything like the compressed drive I want first. I circled back to the DBA page, though, and found the Apocalypse.

Low drive settings on the middle (3rd) fuzz circuit seem to produce a fairly straightforward drive, plus it’s full of crazy and exciting sounds. I love how DBA pedals feed back, and how useable the whole sweep of the drive and tone controls are. So, that’s the dream-come-true option.

The bottom line; if you play an amplified instrument, get a boost pedal, at minimum. Clean, dirty, whatever; boost roolz.

As Drew and I finally finish Mars Lights’ Side 3, I’ve been thinking about those sessions (back in Feb-Aug 2009!) and all the recordings we made in my old carriage house.  Here’s what I can remember (and a few photos of the drums downstairs from July-Aug 2012):

• Mars Lights Sides 1, 2, and 3 (except a couple of guitar overdubs done in Drew’s basement) and in-progress LP drums
• Sally M/S Ride – All of There is Something and not nothing, and all of the overdubs for You Have To Wear The Boots (i.e. everything but my main guitar and vocal tracks)
• “Snow is a Bear,” from XMAS
• More mixes and masters (2012 Are Here, Believe The Honesty Bro, Making Up The Truth, White Air, The Sleepover EP) than I could count
• Drums for Cory’s upcoming LP
• Drums for my upcoming Ventura and semi-secret EP
• The original cast soundtrack recording for Khan! the Musical
• My overdubs for Cory’s The Silent Woods

Via MetalSucks, here’s Dave Grohl’s SXSW keynote speech.

I learned a lot about Dave’s story, from growing up, to Nirvana, to starting the Foo Fighters, that I hadn’t known before. (And I follow the Foos pretty closely!) But what was best, and most affirming, was his twin themes of “Do it yourself” (DIY) and developing your “voice.”

On the first, it’s how I’ve always understood punk; not a sound, not an era, not an aesthetic, but an attitude or stance or philosophy. “Don’t wait, don’t get permission, don’t be dependent on commerce, just make whatever you want happen. Do it yourself.” Really, more than just punk, too, it’s the original spirit of rock & roll; kids making music independent of the mainstream cultural/commercial power structure. I love that our biggest rock star is preaching independence and DIY from a pretty big stage.

Artistic “voice” is related to DIY, but not mutually inclusive with it. (Imagine a culture with a highly developed infrastructure for identifying and supporting artists as they develop, and some kind of stigma or punishment for those who try to work outside of the system.) Voice includes your style, your choice of subjects, your medium, your distribution, your creative process, and more. It’s your being-as-an-artist. It should be the most interesting, most important thing about you-as-an-artist, and so it should receive most of your attention and effort. We ought to talk about it more, and less about sales, industry stuff, and how cool or not an artist’s listeners are. I do a bit of this at MR|Review, and Dave does more in his keynote.

SXSW gave him a platform and Dave made the most of it, talking about some vital-but-often-overlooked aspects of music when we’d have been happy just to hear some road stories. Good man.