We’re in the home-stretch with Let The Wind Know, a fatalistic lament for a lost world. Great string arrangement by Sam (who also played bowed bass), featuring Barb Hunter (cello) and Melissa Montalto (violin). Brad Zeffren (producer/engineer) joined me for the choral vocals on the bridge.
Both “Let The Wind Know” and “Lake of Fire” use an open C tuning that I copped from the Led Zeppelin song “Friends” (damn, I love that tuning). The tone of this song was so emotionally resigned that only a barn burner like “I Am The Rust” could make a counterpoint; we’ll get to that one next (plus a bonus track).
Lake Of Fire is was partly inspired by the R.L. Burnside/Jon Spencer Blues Explosion collaboration ‘A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey’ and the Charles Manson’s Live At San Quentin album–so it was destined to be odd. Skewing it even further down the weirdo hole, Lincoln’s crazed licks sound like something Zoot Horn Rollo would have played on a Captain Beefheart album (with a nod to “Soul Man”).
During recording, we often referred to Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategy cards; for this song, we drew “Make It Dirty.” Since the interpretation of the card is completely open, it led to a three man “instrument” I dubbed the Eno-Tron: Sam playing a Mellotron vibraphone sound run through a Chorus Echo (that I was knob-twiddling to the point of feedback), while Brad ran the board faders to keep the signal from distorting. Surprisingly subtle, it adds an almost dreamy twist to the latter “La Dee Da Da” sections and outro.
As the release of our album looms, we’re taking a short break from the stage. Don’t worry, we’ll be back in action in July with a back-to-back West Seattle/Renton throw-down (7/16 and 7/17) at The Skylark and Main St. Saloon. Sadly, the GreenNote Festival show is no more, so our all-acoustic set will have to wait.
Oh, and please ignore the Myspace calendar–there appears to be no way to delete dates or make changes, so we’re going with the ReverbNation calendar. Myspace Tom is a harsh mistress it seems (if he even works there anymore).
Golgotha Drone may be the unholy love-child of Cormac McCarthy and Glen Danzig. I was re-reading McCarthy’s ‘Blood Meridian’ during the lyric writing process, but the heavy, doomy vibe can be traced back to my metal-lovin’ youth.
Sam is playing bowed bass on this track, which sounds a lot like a synth when he’s bowing those string harmonics (by sliding his finger up and down the string). This track marks my first recorded attempt at Tuvan throat-singing and Brian sings that creepy, basso profundo backing vocal. Ed Brooks (mastering engineer) has also predicted that a Norwegian Black Metal band will one day cover this song.
The Sharpshooter never clicked until it was combined with an unfinished song called “Burning Hills Bridge.” It starts with a slow version of the bridge from “All You Shadows” (which–ta DA!–featured the line “along these burning hills”) plus a few other references to its sister-song throughout. Overall, there’s a late-night jazz vibe with a heavy dose of Twin Peaks.
The song was supposedly finished until I started thinking a female voice to counter my own would take it to an even better place. Not long after, I caught a solo set by Mia Boyle; her voice had a perfect PJ Harvey-meets-Chrissie Hynde vibe that triggered the low-watt light bulb above my head. I introduced myself after her set and recording magic commenced!
This World (Already Over) features Morricone-isms abound. While sporting a heavy groove courtesy of Brian and Sam, it’s Lincoln Barr (electric guitar) and Patrick Porter’s (pedal steel) contributions that push this song into something cinematic akin to a Sergio Leone Western (plus a bridge that feels a little Calexico with some Jeff Buckley-inspired vocalizing).
There were a few lyric rewrites after my Future Warnings/Field Recordings demo, especially in the chorus, which changed from “this world is already over” to “this world was already over”; how else would a song about losing someone before the end of the world make sense?
For the very first time, The Dark Pioneers will tackle Everett, Washington:
FRI, June 11th @ 9:00pm Haley’s Bar & Grill (21+/$5)
1712 Hewitt Avenue, Everett, WA
w/Big Wheel Stunt Show and Grunion
I’ve got a feeling we’ll be leaning heavily on the Rawk songs for this show. Join us if you’re in the ‘hood, or help us out by telling anyone you know who is. Raise your fist and yell!
AAAAND…We’re having our first-ever giveaway on our Facebook page this Wednesday (12pm PST). Be one of the first three people to answer the trivia question correctly (hint: it’s pulled from the TGOR: Track by Track posts) and win a signed copy of The Gospel Of Rust. We’re cooking up some giveaways for Myspace and Twitter–plus one for the mailing list–so stay tuned.
Cool Your Guns was heavily inspired by Portishead’s ‘Roseland NYC Live’ album (where they were backed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra). The song’s ominous groove, combined with Barb Hunter’s creepy string harmonics on the cello, Melissa Montalto’s spidery high notes from the violin, and the feather-and-anvil dynamics helps the song play out like a haunted house for your ears.
The slide guitar adds a bluesy edge to a non-blues song, while Lincoln Barr provides spy guitar and a MechaGodzilla effect in the choruses (with help from a Z.Vex Fuzz Factory pedal). Aside from the overdubbed strings, the core of this track (two guitars, bass, and drums) was a live, first-take in the studio.
Rusty Blade always went over well when played solo, so we had to tread lightly when arranging it as a band. Since Patrick Porter couldn’t join us for our initial recording session, he came in during the overdub stage and added some excellent pedal steel to the track. As he was recording, I had an epiphany about the song.
It hadn’t occurred to me that I was over-singing this song for years; the pedal steel finally brought out the melancholy vibe just beneath the surface, so I softened the delivery (just a little) and it worked. With the addition of Nathan Spicer’s moody Hammond organ, the song took on a new life.
It’s almost the Memorial Day weekend here in the states; as for the band, we’re about to hit the road to Anacortes for our first show at The Brown Lantern, where we’ll be rocking two long sets on our own.
SAT, May 29th @ 9:30pm The Brown Lantern (21+/FREE)
12 Commercial Ave, Anacortes, WA
And, if you took a (literal) rain check for our Seattle show at Conor Byrne, we’ve joined a last-minute bill at The Comet on Friday, June 4th. Should be a great four-band show (with See Me River, The Nine Tailors, and Horace Pickett); we’ll go on next to last.
FRI, June 4th @ 9:00 The Comet (21+/$7)
922 East Pike St, Seattle, WA
We’ll have more details about the imminent release of The Gospel Of Rust–including some giveaways on our Facebook Fanpage (or “Like” page?)–plus more “track by track” posts leading up to June 26th. Glory, glory!
...are Seattle’s purveyors of apocalyptic Americana, hitching the rusted scraps of American roots music to a battered pick-up truck and dragging it across a broken 21st Century landscape. It’s a cinematic trip down a desolate highway as the dashboard rattles apart and the truck radio blasts songs of murder, drug abuse, and Biblical arcana. Learn more.
