19 December 2009
Studio diary: day 5
15 December 2009
Studio diary: day 4
After arriving so very late it was almost time to go home (Berlin traffic jams can get quite frustrating sometimes, especially when the police detour everyone to the very same place, very bright), we lost no time and set up the mighty bass speakers in the recording room only to notice that, well, they were too mighty, the walls were shaking. We probably changed the whole static of the building, who knows, maybe tomorrow there will be no building anymore. A mic here, another mic there, a cable, bring out that bass, and ready to go.
Timo's weapon of choice was his MusicMan StingRay with that extra fifth string that makes your bowels dance samba when plucked.. "Krawall!" said Timo with horns in the air, his trademark shout when everyone looks in disgust to that string.
We didn't have so much time left, so off we went with "Ink", which, being the first one, was the one that took longer to get right. It's not exactly easy to nail it with cold hands, just ask Tobi (although this time, Timo brought his double-kick drum pedal just in case, ahem.) Several takes and a few curses later, the first one was finished, and the next, "Cosmonaut" was already waiting to be executed. That took its fair share of time too, especially trying to get the accents right with Tobi's drums. My duty was to annoy Timo with those little details until it was perfect. I know, it's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it, right?
Songs recorded (14.Dec):
12 December 2009
Studio diary: day 3
Recording drums the old way is a fine and difficult art, no editing allowed, and if he fucks it up on the very last note, that means it has to be done again from the top. Very cruel. So after a few fuckups in the very last note, Tobi digs deep down into his curse reserve and lets out the most incredibly vulgar sounding German curses you can imagine. Really funny to watch and listen to, a true literature class. But that really helps him focus and on the next take, he bloody nails it. Chapeau, mister. This is going to be a powerful song when it's finished, man, mark my words.
10 December 2009
Studio diary: day 2
First on the agenda was the traditional cover. Normally, we record a cover song for each album, (last ones were "Tomorrow Never Knows" while the Allergic sessions, and "Toxic" for Not Completely Clean.) So after thinking about it a few weeks ago, I remembered a great great tune from 1982 by the Alan Parsons Project called "Eye In The Sky", which I used to love as a kid everytime it came on the radio. I hadn't heard the song for ages, and it seemed that, with the right amount of tweaking it could turn into a cool frogsong. I made a fast demo at home and it was an instant "yeah" by the band. So here we are, doing our own little heavier version of it.
"Instead" was next. A slower but heavier number which was finished before you could say "bumblebee". Deciding on the right song speed took us more time than actually recording it, trial and error procedure ("I think it should be 95 bpm", "No that's too slow, make it a 100 bpm", "huh, I think that was a little too fast, turn it down to, say, 98 bpm", "damm, still too fast, let's try 97 bpm", "oh, that was cool, just perfect, let's do it"... and so on.) This could turn out as a very nice song, let's see if I don't fuck it up later...
It was getting late, so we just tried to finish one more, and set our eyes on "Talking To Nobody", a tune with a decidedly 60s flavour to it that we had recently done for the very first time at the HQ. Tobi didn't have a clue what the fuck I was talking about when I named the song. "Never heard that one", he said with wide open eyes. Good that I had brought the home demos with me and a few seconds into it he remebered again, "Oh, yeah, of course, let's do it". And so he did. Came out pretty good, very solid, straightforward drumming, just as the song needed. It's great to have such a versatile drummer in the band, even if he can never remember the song names and it's always up to me to start humming the melodies. But well, we've done a lot of very new songs from scratch in the last weeks, so it's understandable to mix up everything. I guess. I was never a drummer in a band, just a frustrated one.
Next session's scheduled for Friday, which means today I can rest my ears and maybe enjoy a haxe with some friends at Lemke's. Cool.
Songs recorded:
09 December 2009
Studio diary: day 1
So this is it, another project under way, let's hope this time it won't take too long to come out as is usual with this little band of ours. Only this time we've been making up songs real quick and after one or two rehearsals, we're putting them to tape. Most don't have lyrics yet, some not even a name, but I guess that makes it all a little less studied than previous times, more like The Beatles used to do back then, write a song, rehearse once, record the next day. Only they made fucking classic songs in the process, we're still happy to get a decent tune here and there.
Waiting for Tobi to arrive (as usual) I make a list of the songs we'll be recording, and I panic when I notice there's one missing. I've gone completely blank. One, two, three... I keep counting the song titles and still cannot remember the one missing. It's either I'm getting too old or we have too many songs. Probably both. While I'm in the middle of a crisis with myself for failing to remember all the songs, our drummer happily arrives, tunes his drumkit, bangs the shit out of it for a few minutes, retunes it again, rebangs, re-retunes and loudly announces to the world "I'm ready".
And boy, is he. By 23.30 we have six full drum tracks in the can. Some of them are done quite easily, some take a few more takes, but while I'm in the control room tracking reference guitar and vocals for our drummer and having a laugh with Daniel, Tobi manages to execute enough perfect takes for all of us to go home with the feling of having done a good day's work.
Songs recorded (Dec 8):
13 August 2009
Bye, Les Paul - Hello, Les Paul
The guy has had more influence on rock'n roll than anyone can imagine. He invented the multi-track recordings among other things, but for me, he's the father of the best electric guitar to ever set foot on this earth. And for that alone he deserves to be mentioned among other luminaries as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Alva Edison or the inventor of the Chupa-Chups.
Lester, wherever you are, thank you.
On the other hand, coinciding with the day that the true Les Paul has said goodbye to us, one of its daughters has arrived and made this fellow here a happy man. It's a Gibson Custom Shop V.O.S. 1960 reissue, and as I have no better names left for her, I've baptised her Paulina II. I mean, if Michael Jackson can call his two sons with the same name, why can't I? I know, I have a serious problem, but what the hell, life's short, so enjoy the good things in it before the reaper arrives and asks for the bill.
Oh, and by the way, some band news too. We've been rehearsing a brand new song this week which, if everything goes according to plan, might see the light of the day (or the dark of the night, what a silly phrase) in the upcoming EP/album/we-haven't-decided-yet. Right now we have seven fully finished songs, which is too long for an EP but not so long for an LP. Maybe in the time until we enter the studio in autumm we might have a few more, you never know with us, and neither do we! I guess that makes it the more interesting.
Take care, and remember to play your guitar loud today in honour of Les.
St
24 July 2009
Restless
I've been writing a few new songs lately, and added to those new ones we already have been playing live, it looks like there's enough material to think about getting into the studio again after last year's Not Completely Clean. A funny restlessness is building up inside of me and this itch can only be scratched away with a new set of sessions to put the songs down on tape and release them soon. It will take forever as usual (I guess those things just become a sort of running joke in the band), but rest assured you'll be hearing from us more regularly from now on.
15 February 2009
BERLIN Maschinenhaus Kulturbrauerei, Whirpool Bandfestival
Nach fast zwei Monaten ohne richtigen Rock'n Roll kam der Gig im Maschinenhaus wie gerufen. Es war das erste mal das wir dort oben gespielt haben, im Kesselhaus unten hatten wir ja schon ein paar mal die Ehre.
Das schöne bei solchen kleinen Festivals ist das wir keine Amps oder Trommeln durch die Nacht schleppen müssen. Wir kommen einfach an. Nur die Gitarre in der Hand. Wie coooooool.....
Der Kühlschrank im Backstage war propper gefüllt. Die Butterbrötchen waren frisch und lecker (vorausgesetzt man mag Butter überhaupt ;o)
Da wir bereits als drittes spielen durften hatten wir leider nur kurz Zeit für ein kleines Pläuschchen mit unseren Proberaumteilhabern von den fantastischen "LAOS". Übrigens sehr schön das wir sie endlich mal live und in Farbe sehen und vor allem hören durften. Eine großartige Band!
Und holterdipolter standen wir auch schon auf der Bühne. Ein bißchen Krach in D moll, dann Einsatz Stone, Einsatz Jorge, dann Tobi und ich. Und was dann folgte waren dreißig Minuten pure Energie.
Stone entging nur knapp einem Mordanschlag durch unseren Trobel-Tom, das nächste mal sollte er den Trommelstock vieleicht anspitzen bevor er ihn Stone in den Rücken wirft.
Leider durften wir nur eine halbe Stunde spielen, aber der Kühlschrank wurde ja auch danach immer wieder nachgefüllt, und die Butterbrötchen waren immer noch lecker (vorausgesetzt man mag Butter überhaupt ;o)
Man, ich liebe es einfach mit dieser kleinen Band zu spielen! Laut, kraftvoll, dreckig und schwitzend. Genau so wie es sein sollte.
Frog'n Roll!!!
22 January 2009
JWD & Titty Twister
JWD, Spandau, 12.Dec.08:
- Another end-of-the-year traditional gig at one of our favourite clubs (and still the tidiest one!). Tina & the sound guy (sorry, always forget his name) are friendly and nice to us as usual.
- First time Jorge plays the JWD and is amazed, he loves it, especially the hairdryer.
- I bring down my brand-new, just-received Gibson ES-335 (Juana), and it sounds fan-fucking-tastic into the Peavey Classic 50! The overall sound onstage is unbeatable as usual, and there's no need for me to use earplugs, it's not too loud and I can hear my voice perfectly over the monitors. The Sound Guy Without Name clearly knows the place like the palm of his hand.
- There is a... girl?... "dancing" (rather stumbling) almost naked all the time on high-heeled white leather boots. Sounds coo, but it is definitely not. Worth a sight. Rumour goes that there is still a little blood left in her alcohol...
- Timo breaks his bass strap at the beginning of the second set, therefore Tobi, Jorge and I must start improvising on A and G (boring!), and it sounds surprinsingly well. He takes ages to change into a new strap and then his wireless sounds fucked up. Same procedure as every year, really. At the end of the gig we add that priceless piece of memorabilia to the outstanding collection hanging backstage, where a signed Frogcircus snare head is already proudly shown (ehem).
- Tobi feels the urgent need to play with a towel on his head for the second part of the gig, and looks a bit like a mixture of Matt Sorum and a Hindu guru with a ciggie in his mouth. A shocking view, for goodnes' sake!
- Jorge is totally ashamed of Timo and myself for using our beer tickets to have coffee. But of course, he was still sleeping at the time when we both had to wake up this morning...
- The JWD still announces us with an old website address, frogcircus.net, which has not been in use since... 5 years now? It's like a running joke, at least they don't use old band photos with our ex-drummer looking silly on it, which is a step forward.
- The gig itself is very cool, we're having tons of fun onstage and still we sound surprinsingly tight. I guess the good sound has a lot to do with it, it's much easier than when you have to make your way through a long setlist fighting with bad monitors, electrocuting mics, terrible guitar sound and overall unprofessionality. That's why it's always great to come back here, really. Everything runs smoothly. If all the clubs were like this one...
Titty Twister, Berlin, 13.Dec.08:
- A gig that came in at the very last moment. Tobi has already another gig booked somewhere else, but he moves his life a little bit here and there and he is there for the show. He arrives, plays and leaves. What a pro, the guy.
- The whole thing is the premiere party of a new film by our good friend and graphic guru Maxim Matthew, Urban Scumbags Vs Countryside Zombies, where Yours Truly has done a little bit of music for. Yes, the title says it all, another romantic comedy with Meg Ryan and Billy Cristal. Maxim himself is running around like a zombie trying to get everything in order, which is not easy, as no one really knows who's responsible for what. I know I'm responsible for going up onstage and scream my balls off, the rest is a mystery.
- Following a new tradition lately, I break a string on my acoustic Gibson. Fuckfuckfuck! So much for the unbreakable Elixir strings. This time the A-string, which leaves me literally like if I had my dick hanging out in a shopwindow during the Xmas shopping. I'm completely lost without that bloody string, but I try to make the best out of it by the fine arts of Machshau. Later, I think no one even noticed. Good dog.
- After we're done playing (and Tobi is off to do another gig) we take a stroll through the wonderful Christmas maket at the Kulturbrauerei and enjoy some food and drinks with our frogette girls, who show us that a real girl can have more grilled steaks than any of us. Never mess with a hungry woman, dude.