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I'm your host, Jeff Boller, main songwriter and performer in The Simple Carnival. This blog is all about the art and craft of writing and recording music. DIY home studio songwriters and musicians should feel right at home here! More about me...

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    Posts Tagged ‘Beach Boys’

    Interview: The Sonic Executive Sessions

    Saturday, July 5th, 2008
    There are a few requirements I have for conducting a Songs and Sonics interview with someone. Beyond enjoying the artist’s music, an ideal interview subject should have most of the following:
  • An album to sell.
  • A real web site. (A MySpace page doesn’t count.)
  • A bio.
  • A history of interviews.
    • I recently stumbled upon The Sonic Executive Sessions, who had… none of the above. But after about ten seconds of listening to their music, my unwritten rules quickly evaporated. I had to talk with these guys!
    Despite the jokey appearance of their MySpace page (complete with Anchorman references and monkey pictures), upon hearing what they do, it’s clear that the Executives are a musical force to be reckoned with. This is seriously accomplished pop, in a Steely Dan sort of way, with a strong Beach Boys undercurrent. Jellyfish fanatics, Ben Folds aficionados, and admirers of the artists parodied in the Yacht Rock video series take note: The Sonic Executive Sessions could very well be your new favorite band.
    Christian Phillips (guitar, keys, vocals, and principal songwriter), Ryan Aston (drums, percussion, and occasional backing vocals), and Tim Hamill (recording engineer, guitar, and whatever’s left) are the studio assassins with the playing, singing, writing, and recording chops that even the most staunchly low-fi indie musicians secretly wish they had.
    The Executives don’t play live. They don’t even have an album. Instead, they cut their tracks when there’s down time at Sonic One (Tim’s impressive recording facility in South Wales), and post the results on their MySpace page. In an alternate universe where the lowest common denominator doesn’t rule the mainstream, these songs would instead probably be at the top of the charts.
    Christian was my contact for this interview, and he says that any plans to release an honest-to-goodness Sonic Executive Sessions album are up in the air. If an album does happen, I have only two modest requests to ask of the band: one, please get someone to build you a real web site with a good bio, and two, let me be the first in line to purchase your CD.
    Jeff: How did you get started doing session work?
    Christian: I got into session work purely by accident. Ryan and I were in a band (The Millionaires, and we were very Beach Boys-like) that got a lot of label interest. But instead of getting a deal, we ended up as a backing band for Sony. After that happened, the work just didn’t stop. But the writing stopped for a few years.
    Did you have any formal music training?
    No. I play by ear (my dad was the original bass player in The Ivys, who became the mighty Badfinger). I wish I could read and had more knowledge of music theory — it would come in very handy for some things.
    If you can’t read music, how did you record the harmonies on your acapella covers of “Danny Boy” and “The Nearness of You?” Those are very sophisticated parts…
    I’m just lucky that I’m able to hear and explode chord progressions in my head. But I’d much rather be able to write them out. I’ll record all the parts and give the separate lines to singers to learn. Some of them will write out their own parts.
    What are some typical sessions that you do?
    Lots of children’s television. That’s fun to write for. Most of my work is writing music for TV: signature tunes, incidental music, that kind of thing.
    Which instruments do you play? Do you have a “main” instrument?
    My main instrument is guitar, and then vocals I guess. Anything else is a bit hit and miss, but I’ll try and play it if you need it — unless its violin, trumpet, or bagpipes!
    What are some of your favorite sessions you’ve done for your day gig?
    Any time I’ve had the chance to work in Abbey Road. Studio 2 is a magical place. It still looks like the Beatles are there and have just popped out for a break. You won’t believe what it’s like to actually play the Mrs. Mills piano.
    Do you, Ryan, and Tim get requests to do session work online — where you never meet or speak to the client except via e-mail?
    That’s becoming more frequent these days. Of course, it works the other way around too, where people who may have been inaccessible before are just on the end of these wires. For example, Tim recorded an album a few months back and the band had Dio to sing a few lines for them. They did it in their home studio and sent it over. Exactly like the Alessi Brothers did for us.
    Are the Alessi Brothers singing the backup vocals on “Make Do?”
    Yeah, how cool is that? I love the sound they make, and to have that happen on a song you’ve written… Amazing.
    What are the best and worst things about being a session musician?
    Best: Making a living out of what you do. Worst: Some of the awful stuff you have to work on for some of the rudest, most arrogant people you could ever meet.
    How many songs have you guys recorded as The Sonic Executive Sessions?
    About seven, I think. Not many. It tends to be like, “Tim’s got a few days free — better go write a song!”
    Could you tell me about how you wrote “17 Over You”?
    I was listening to Born to Run. Somebody gave it to me and said, “You have to listen to this — it’s Phil Spector times ten.” Not being a fan of “The Boss,” I stuck it on reluctantly — and really liked it.
    There are some lyrics in the first song, Thunder Road, that got me thinking how you can write about a person or place, and it gets frozen in that moment. Whenever we go and listen to that song at five or fifteen or fifty, the song never changes… but we do. Pet Sounds, for example, I was born listening to that. It has so many reference points in my life like when I was fifteen and used to run home from school every dinner break so I could listen to that and Spilt Milk and then run back. So that’s what made me want to write that song.
    Could you tell me about how you wrote/recorded “Cold Front?”
    I wanted to write a song where the chorus was as for away from the verse key as I could get and then get back. And make it sound easy. I don’t know if I got the last bit. Brian Wilson did this all the time.
    So that was the idea — to write a Smile-type tune with some nice modulations which turned into a Steely Dan 70’s slice of Yacht Rock. How did that happen? I guess I got carried away with the chords!
    For the recording, we got Nigel Hopkins in to play Fender Rhodes and Pablo in on bass. I like everything to be real on our songs and there was no way I was playing those parts live!
    What’s Pablo’s last name?
    He has no second name.
    One of the things I like so much about “Cold Front” is not just the song but the feel you guys establish. It’s as smooth as anything Steely Dan ever did, and maybe even a bit more fun to sing along with. Were you, Ryan, Nigel, and Pablo laying down the groove at the same time?
    No. Ryan went in first with Pablo. Nigel came in later to replace my keyboard with the real thing. You have to appreciate that I’m spoiled when it comes to these guys. They really are amazing musicians, and I’m so lucky that they live a phone call away.
    Eventually, Probyn Gregory from Brian Wilson’s band will be playing the brass on it. Can’t wait to get it finished, but he’s kind of busy at the minute.
    How do you record your background vocals? Is it all your voice, or are the other guys singing as well?
    Nope, it’s all me triple tracked. Takes about one to two hours to do, but Tim’s a patient and fantastic engineer.
    How did you get those Queen-like background vocals on Swing Low Sweet Chariot?
    Ah. You really have done your homework. That’s a bit more involved. That’s more than me. You’ve got to have four of you to recreate that sound! It takes AGES.
    Could you give a bit more detail? Is it something with your vibrato, or…?
    OK, here’s the secret. Take a four part harmony. Start on the lowest notes you can sing. All (at least three) of you sing the first part in unison. Triple track it. Sing the next part and the next and the next and the next until you can’t sing any higher. You’ll have about sixty parts or so. Play them back and its Queen. Dramatic vibrato on some parts help with the sound, but not too much because the harmony will become a bit unstable.
    Oh, and try to do it with an English accent — something us Welsh guys struggle with!
    Very cool! I never realized that’s what they’re doing, but it makes sense now.
    So… what have you been listening to lately?
    The Gabe Dixon Band… and LOADS of John Williams soundtracks. I’m scoring a film at the moment — it’s a Christmas TV movie. The budget for the music is small, so it’s just me at the Mac trying to make it sound like the London Symphony Orchestra in Abbey Road.
    What’s your favorite Yacht Rock moment?
    Perhaps the Eagles/Steely Dan episode when Michael McDonald gets a rock chucked at him. They’re all VERY FUNNY. Please don’t make me choose, Jeff!
    Do you know of any other relatively new “bands” picking up the Yacht Rock mantle in a serious way?
    No, but I bet they are out there.
    I have yet to find them… You’re the first — and only — one I know about. I suspect there aren’t many because of the musical chops required to pull it off.
    Well, maybe. I guess Toto and their ilk were and/or used a lot of studio players. So if there is a thread, it would be there on tunes like Cold Front, where I had to get guys in who can play like that.
    But it was Roger Manning from Jellyfish who dubbed us ‘Yacht Rock.’ I was a bit offended at first because I didn’t know what it was. But when we went to find out what it was, everyone I loved was there, so it stuck. I’m glad we have a bit of the Yacht in us.
    Ten things which inspire Christian Phillips
  • The sun (we don’t get it much here)
  • Anything that makes we want to try harder (Rufus Wainwright does this a lot)
  • Anything that makes me think there’s no point — may as well give it all up now (Brian Wilson does this a lot)
  • A good biography by someone who’s old enough to write one (David Niven’s The Moon’s A Balloon is a good start)
  • The fact that there is music out there that I’ll never get to hear that’s probably amazing (so I have to find it and hear it)
  • Standing on the Empire State
  • A new chord
  • Singing harmony (There’s something very special about singing with people)
  • An old cliché, but you can learn something new every day
  • Writing a list about the ten things that inspire you (A cop out… Sorry, but I ran out of ideas!)
    • The Sonic Executive Sessions MySpace page | Christian Phillips’ MySpace page (contains a couple extra songs) | Ryan Aston’s MySpace page | Tim Hamill’s MySpace page (contains a couple more Sonic Executive songs) | Sonic One recording studio

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    Posted in Interviews | 1 Comment »

    Interview: Paul Steel

    Monday, June 9th, 2008
    Paul SteelWhat does Todd Rundgren’s A True Wizard, A True Star, Prince’s Lovesexy, and Paul Steel’s April & I have in common?
    Glorious studio bombast. Song suites. Total record production mastery. All three albums are the sound of an artist at the top of his studio game.
    Except Paul Steel’s album isn’t a pinnacle.
    It’s a debut.
    And it was recorded as a mostly one-man-band effort when he was eighteen years old.
    His followup album, Moon Rock, is, for the moment, doing the unfortunate record company shuffle. But April & I — praised by such musical heavyweights as Sean O’Hagan, Van Dyke Parks, and Wondermints — is available now, and it recently found a home on iTunes.
    In the following interview, this virtuoso of hyperactive overdubbed pop assures us that — despite having written lyrics to the contrary — he’s not on crack. It’s always good to clear that up.
    Jeff: What’s in your home studio?
    Paul: It’s my bedroom, so a bed and a wardrobe! Got a desktop PC and monitors hooked up to a rack of preamps and FX. A MIDI keyboard and drum pads for programming. A percussion box full of bells, shakers, scrapers, whistles, and other useless nonsense. A Wagner U47 mic. I like to collect instruments, so I have a cupboard containing my banjo, ukulele, electric sitar, Quattro de Puerto Rico, mandolin, baby accordion, lap steel, and melodica. I keep my favourite guitar and bass with the monsters under the bed.
    On the back of the “April & I” CD package is a note which says that there were additional vocals by “The Little Tiny Bill Symphonic Choir.” What is that?
    A few years ago, when I had started recording the tracks for April & I, I was invited to a party at the other end of town. So I took my laptop and microphone along and recorded a gang vocal for a song called Honkin’ (On My Crackpipe). I recorded loads and loads of shouting, inhaling, and some crack-addicted Aberdonian slang.
    After the party, at about 3am, a bunch of us headed up the road. One person was dressed as Spiderman and another had a guitar. We found an old alcoholic lady in the street who joined us and penned the Little Tiny Bill song with us. If you type in “Little Tiny Bill” in YouTube you might be able to find it somewhere. So the backing vocalists in Honkin’ (On My Crackpipe) ended up being the Little Tiny Bill Symphonic Choir.
    Paul SteelWhere did you get the idea to do such an (amazing) extended ending for “I Gave Her My Number?” (It’s one of my favorite endings to a pop song.)
    I was always knocked out by the coda to God Only Knows by Brian Wilson. I wanted to do something similar with interwoven counter melodies and stuff.
    Why do you think you’re attracted to fantastical song subject matter instead of the autobiographical?
    It’s a lot less specific. I can write about anything I want, and still put a lot of myself and my personality into it.
    Do you ever see your songs becoming more autobiographical?
    One day I would definitely like to. I think I want to live a bit more and find a way of translating my thoughts and emotions into standard music notation.
    Has anyone expressed concern for your well-being after hearing “Honkin’ (On My Crackpipe)?”
    Yes, my mother. Everyone asks, “Do you take crack then?” I say yes, but of course I don’t. I don’t know anyone who does either. It’s part of the story where “I” get corrupted. I am a little bit concerned that kids might listen to it and grow up to be addicts.
    Well, frankly, that’s something which made me a bit hesitant about contacting you to do an interview! But then I figured, there’s no way you could’ve had the focus to make such an intricately-produced record by yourself if you were indeed a crackhead.
    Ha ha, I am a fool to myself. I’ll leave the crack for my hardcore techno phase.
    There’s still one lyric I still can’t make out on the song “April.” The words say something about “fear and regret” and “like the time my dad caught me trying on”… What is the whole line you’re singing there?
    I can’t say without relistening to it, but it’s “like the time when my dad caught my trying on old womens clothing”… Don’t ask!
    Do you think it’s possible to make a more extreme pop production than “April & I?” If so, is that a place you’d want to go?
    Yes. Yes. I’m obsessed with a Japanese electro-pop artist, Cornelius. April & I’s production pales in comparison to the crazy shit he gets up to! He uses guitars and drum samples in a really insane and creative way that I’m certain could be applied to pop music in a tasteful way. It sounds like it takes a lot of work and attention to detail, though!
    I would definitely like to explore more extreme production ideas and techniques, but I’m also keen to master more traditional styles. It’s all educational!
    “April & I” leaves me with the impression that you must have an endless supply of ideas. Do you ever experience writer’s block? If so, how do you get past it?
    I do get a lot of ideas and write a lot of songs, but I find it difficult to identify which ones are good and which ones are terrible. I’ve been on complete bummers for months just because of a lack of confidence. When I get any writer’s block, I turn into a bit of a workaholic and try to compensate by writing or recording lots of music. But I think it’s a lot more sensible to take break or try writing with other people. Try something different.
    Could you rank these in order of importance, and explain your top and bottom choices? Arrangement, audio engineering, harmonic structure, lyrics, melody, production, rhythm, solos.
  • Melody: To me, there is no song without a strong, engaging melody. Which is ironic considering most chart-topping tunes are void of any melodic interest!
  • Arrangement
  • Harmonic structure
  • Rhythm
  • Lyrics
  • Audio engineering
  • Solos: Solos can be really good and really lift a song if used cleverly, but they’re not important at all. I particularly hate improvised blues guitar solos and saxophone solos.
    • What have you been listening to lately?
    Lots of sunshine pop bands like The Association, The Free Design, and Millennium. A friend of mine turned me onto Todd Rundgren’s A Wizard. A True Star and I can’t get enough of it… It’s insane.
    Did you hear “A Wizard…” before you did “April & I?” Because I thought for sure you were making references to it, with the “Then she shot at me” sound effect and the arrow sounds in “Zen Archer.”
    Weirdly enough, no. I was on the phone to a producer friend of mine, Charlie Francis, telling him what I was working on and that it was a continuous piece of music. He mentioned that album, and I bought it a few days after I finished April. I wish I had heard it beforehand cause Todd Rundgren used lots of different interesting ways of linking up the tracks that I would’ve liked to employ in my stuff. I’ve only really gotten into it recently. International Feel is one of my favourite tracks ever!
    There isn’t a week that goes by that I forget to listen to The Beach Boys or The Super Furry Animals. My friend Ralph told me to “only study greatness,” so I don’t listen to the radio or watch any music television or anything. Most new music is written to be talked about, not listened to.
    What’s next for Paul Steel?
    I’ve just got out of the record deal that has been holding Moon Rock back for the last nine months, so we’re going to be making plans for the release of it soon. We’re getting a animated film made for April & I using ten different animators and filmmakers. It’s looking amazing so far.
    That sounds terrific. What are you going to do with it?
    I’m hoping it will get into film festivals. The guys making the film are doing things that I think will really blow peoples minds, and they’re all so different. We’re thinking about doing a re-release of April & I with a DVD and maybe a live performance… Maybe.
    Anything else?
    I’m playing bass for a Brighton band called Stars and Sons. I’ve just finished a song called Ocean that I wrote with Beach Boys collaborator Stephen Kalinich. It’s on my MySpace right now. I’m also doing a project with Nick Littlemore, out of Australian electro band Pnau. Of course, I’m still writing and recording and making plans for myself!
    10 things that inspire Paul Steel
  • Brighton beach
  • Pet Sounds
  • Comedy
  • California
  • Rhapsody In Blue
  • Sunshine
  • Fruit
  • Outer space
  • 1960s
  • Super Furry Animals live
    • Paul Steel’s web site | Paul Steel’s MySpace page

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    Posted in Interviews | No Comments »

    Interview: The Brigadier

    Friday, May 16th, 2008
    Some artists make recordings. The Brigadier (a.k.a. Matt Williams) makes records.
    Matt WilliamsThe Brigadier’s albums sound as if they were meticulously assembled in a 1979-era world-class million dollar studio. Electric Light Orchestra, 10cc, and Queen are all sonic reference points, as well as more recent artists like Teenage Fanclub.
    Except that Matt doesn’t utilize a world-class studio. Instead, he uses a computer, a keyboard, and a guitar in the corner of his living room. And he posesses a very interesting microphone preamp, as you’ll discover in the following interview. If The Brigadier isn’t a great example of imagination triumphing over gear, I don’t know what is.
    The Brigadier’s brand new album, The Rise and Fall of Responsibility, is a solid collection of Teenage Fanclub-meets-Jeff Lynne studio pop goodness. And at precisely the point in the album when you think you’ve got his sound pegged, he throws in two superb electro-disco tunes (The Melancholy Days and This, is Why) that amazingly don’t feel out of place with the previous guitar-centric tracks.
    If you’re looking for a good soundtrack to accompany this interview, look no further than The Brigader’s MySpace page. If you’re not won over by the end of Some Sort of Magic (from The Brigadier’s 2007 release, View from the Bath), you should probably have your pulse checked.
    Jeff: How did The Brigadier get started?
    Matt: I did the usual route of playing in bands throughout my teens and all that, though just initially as a guitarist playing rock stuff. I’d always been able to come up with tunes since I was young, and by my late teens was able to form them into songs. Then I started recording them on a four track.
    To cut a long story short, I went through some more bands but got fed up with all the stuff that comes with being in a band. So I decided to go “solo,” as it were. I didn’t want to go under my own name, as there were already several other artists called Matt Williams and I thought it would be a bit boring to go under my own name. The last band I had been in was called Brigadier, so I decided to keep the name.
    When thinking of the name I wanted something a bit authoritative but also with a twinkle in the eye. All the regal names had been taken — Queen, King, Prince, Princess — so I decided to go with a military name. The only one which popped out as sounding interesting was brigadier. I just kind of found it funny!
    Then I bought a computer to see if I could give it a go on the internet, largely because hardly anyone had heard my songs and I had no idea how they would be perceived. I went on loads of sites, but eventually settled down on MySpace, as I found it the easiest to use. Suddenly, I was getting a lot of feedback from people who really liked the stuff — which was a real boost to my confidence. Then, when I started making CDs to sell, people actually bought them! Which was the best thing, as it really validated what I was doing.
    Your productions are reminiscent of big budget late ’70s pop. Where the heck did you learn how to produce like that?
    I kind of just picked it up by doing it again and again. I used to record everything on four track tape. When I moved over to a computer, I utilized it in the same way — just as a glorified four track. I used to be very sloppy with my recording. But the more I did it, the more my ears became attuned to hearing everything, and the better the sound became.
    I like fuller productions, like what you would hear on mid ’60s Beach Boys and ’70s Queen records. I like to bring out as much of the song as possible in the production without suffocating it. Sometimes I try to strip things down and do something with just my voice and piano or guitar — but I don’t often get there!
    How often do you play live? How do you make sure your songs translate to a live environment?
    I play live as often as I can. Some songs I just sing playing along with my guitar. For the others, I sing and play guitar along with backing tracks from my mp3 player. It’s basically the same tracks off my albums, but stripped of lead guitar and vocals — so it’s kind of like Karaoke!
    It’s not ideal, but until I can find a band, it’s the only way. Surprisingly, it doesn’t sound that bad, and the songs seem to go down well in the live environment.
    You do everything on your recordings — writing, performing, and recording. Your recordings sound fantastic. What’s your studio setup?
    It’s quite a skeletal setup, I use one microphone (Beyerdynamic) for everything, mostly because I never got around to buying any other, then that goes into a Tascam four track tape recorder, which is sort of my preamp, as I don’t have a mixer.
    The Brigadier's recording studioAre you serious? From the sound of your vocals, I thought you had a midrange microphone and a high-end preamp! What microphone model are you using? And which 4-track?
    The mic is a Beyerdynamic M300 TG. It’s one that my dad gave me years ago when I started recording. To be honest, I don’t know that much about mics, so I’ve never used any other!
    The Tascam is a Porta 03 MkII. It has a stereo input that I use for my keyboards, which you can switch to a mic input for the mic. Then, I plug the output of that into the computer.
    Are you using a separate audio interface, or are you running the audio directly into your computer?
    The audio is going straight in. I use an old Apple Mac G3, on which I’m running Logic Audio 4.7, an old but trusty program! I don’t use any MIDI instruments, as there’s a fault with my setup which won’t allow it. But I do have some internal synths on my computer which I can use, like Mellotron samples and old ’70s analogue keyboards.
    What sample libraries or virtual instruments do you use?
    I don’t have many sample instruments, but I bought some on eBay, like Mellotron samples which I use and ARP synthesizers. I use them inside the EXS24 sampler in Logic. Aside from that, all my keyboard stuff is played in direct from my Yamaha portable grand.
    Most of my keyboards have to be played straight in, which can be annoying. If you make a mistake, you have to start again… But it makes you a better keyboard player!
    What do you do with your vocals as far as compression? Are you just running the vocals from your four track into the computer and compressing inside Logic? Or are you using some outboard hardware compressor?
    I use a compressor inside of Logic on a lot of the vocals but not all of them, then I EQ them to make them a bit warmer. I don’t have any external processors, as I don’t want to get overwhelmed by too much stuff! Also, I’m currently trying to upgrade my equipment at the moment, but it’s not working as I keep getting plagued with technical hurdles!
    The Rise and Fall of ResponsibilityOn “The Rise and Fall of Responsibility,” many of the songs seem to revolve around the transition from being a teenager to a young adult. Were there any real-life situations that inspired the songs?
    Some songs derive completely from real-life situations and others are exaggerated somewhat. The rest are either fictional or songs about somebody else, so are not applicable to me. Generally though, there is a biographical and nostalgic element to a lot of the songs. In that sense it could be construed as self-indulgent, but that’s just the way it is!
    Well, if you’re a songwriter, you gotta write about something, y’know?
    Is there a specific song on “The Rise and Fall…” where you could describe how “real life” influenced it?
    Well, there’s a song on there called Under the Influenza which is written about having the flu or colds and all that sort of stuff. That comes from always being ill when I was younger. I’m generally much healthier these days, but I had the flu earlier in the year. I wrote this song in bed when I was feeling pretty dire!
    You pull off a credible “Discovery”-era ELO sound with “The Melancholy Days.” (And it’s a fantastic song, as well!) Have you ever considered doing a 12″ remix? A disco album?
    Rhythm is very important to me, and I try to give every song a different rhythmic feel. There’s nothing worse than listening to a collection of songs which all have the same groove. I think you should be able to move to most music, whether it’s “dance” orientated or not. That said, I do like “dance” music in a traditional pop way. I like a lot of disco, funk, and early 80s dance pop, as its quite fresh-sounding, and most importantly, full of groove — which I think a lot of dance music gradually lost over time.
    I don’t know if I would do a whole disco album, but probably after a few more albums you could certainly compile a good dancing compilation!
    As a one man band, you obviously don’t have the luxury of other musicians helping establish a groove when recording. Are there any tricks you’ve discovered to help get the right sort of “feel” for a song?
    Yes — I basically borrow a groove off a record that I like. Generally, when I’ve written something, I’ll write down next to it, “The feel is like this song by…” whoever it is. That’s usually the start off point. That’s why it’s good to listen to lots of music — even stuff you don’t like — because you might find something like a rhythm or groove that you can borrow!
    Could you provide a bit of a breakdown about how you produced “The Melancholy Days?”
    It was just something I wrote on guitar. It was going to be a slow ballad, but I thought that might be a bit obvious, so I didn’t do anything with it for a while. One day, I was listening to a song I liked called La Dolce Vita by Ryan Paris, who was a sort of early ’80s Europop one hit wonder. I thought that I should do something with a similar beat, so I basically used the groove off that song, though compositionally they have nothing in common. Sound-wise, then I was just fiddling around with different synthesizer sounds. I had to keep relentlessly stripping it down until it was very sparse, though by the end of the song it gets quite busy again!
    How long does it take for you to write and record a typical Brigadier song?
    I’m quite quick at writing, but the recording takes time as I have a day job and have to fit it in around that. I’m always thinking simultaneously about loads of different songs at any one time. Some songs I finish and some I don’t. Some come back for another day.
    Some songs literally are all completely recorded and mixed within a few hours (like This is, Why… off the new album) and others I might start at some point, and then burn off my computer — coming back to them weeks or months later. Usually if you record and mix something on one day, you go back to it a few days later and you want or need to refine it. After a few more times of doing that, it usually sounds finished. The more experienced you become with recording, the easier it is, because you know instinctively how you want it to sound and how to get there. But then that’s like anything, I suppose!
    Do you throw stuff away?
    I abandon lots of songs in the writing stage if they’re not keeping my interest, but will usually just throw them into a pile for another day. With recording, sometimes I’ll do a backing track and decide I don’t like it or it’s in the wrong tempo or key — or basically, it’s not inspiring. So I’ll bin it. Then maybe a few months later, I’ll come back to that song and redo it in a different way. I have lots of songs like that!
    What are the best things about being a one-man-band?
    The best things definitely are being able to do what I want when I want. I can write anything and release it and don’t have to teach someone how to play it. I have collaborated with people before many times on writing and recording, but would generally prefer to produce other people than write with them — but I’m not ruling it out.
    What about the worst?
    The worst thing is that you have to be your own motivator and you have to really force yourself to keep your own morale up. It’s especially evident when I’m doing a gig. It isn’t as much fun doing a gig by yourself. I’d rather play with a band behind me in that capacity.
    Do you have any tricks you use to stay motivated, especially when writing and recording?
    I think having strong self-belief is the only thing which you can use to motivate yourself a lot of the time. That, and getting feedback from other musicians and fans. You tend to feel validated when people like what you are doing, so it helps keep you on track. That said, there are many dark days where you feel a bit lost and directionless and what you’re doing is not worth anything. But you need to try and not let those thoughts hold much weight.
    Who are, in your view, some excellent but severely overlooked recording artists that everybody should know about?
    A lot of my tastes are quite mainstream and go from the mid 50s to the recent day, but that encompasses pop, rock, progressive rock, funk, heavy metal, country, bluegrass, country-rock, disco, electropop, etc. So as far as I can think the overlooked bands that I like did enjoy some success but not enough of it: artists like Saint Etienne, Stackridge, Salad, The Auteurs, Emitt Rhodes, and Mike Scott.
    I think as well as bands that are underrated or unknown, there are also “lost” periods in famous artists histories that go completely overlooked, people like Nick Lowe, Dion Dimucci, Delmont Shannon and The Everly Brothers, even The Beach Boys too. People might only know them for a handful of hits, but if you delve in to their back catalogues, there are some really great albums.
    What’s next for The Brigadier?
    My first priority is to try and upgrade my recording equipment to make things easier. I’m also working on an EP for release in the late summer with a loose theme of “Holidays,” but that will probably change. I’ve also started recording my next album for probable release next year. I’ve got so many songs that I’m just going to keep recording them because I can’t think of anything better to do. Thankfully, I have a good fan base who enjoy what I do, and I always sell enough to cover all my costs of making CDs — so there’s no reason to stop!
    10 things that inspire The Brigadier
  • Food
  • The weather
  • Photographs
  • Nostalgia
  • States of mind
  • Going on trips
  • Films
  • Other peoples songs
  • Love
  • Not going to work
    • The Brigadier’s web site | The Brigader’s MySpace page | Order The Rise and Fall of Responsibility

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    Welcome to Songs and Sonics!

    Sunday, March 16th, 2008

    Welcome to the Songs and Sonics blog. I’m your host, Jeff Boller, main songwriter and performer in The Simple Carnival.

    You’re probably wondering, “Who? The Simple what?” That’s OK, because I don’t know who you are either. And I don’t know how you found this site, but please make yourself at home.

    So what’s this all about? Well, within these electronic pages you’ll find a smorgasbord of tales from the front lines of songwriting, music production, and working with bizarre objects that make grinding, belching, unwelcome noises (which can be, but are not limited to, actual musical instruments). We’ll take a close look at the creative process of making music. We’ll have some audio show-and-tell. There will be interviews with other artists who are doing cool things with sound. Mostly though, I hope that this blog will provide you with ideas and inspiration for your own creative endeavors.

    “OK,” you say. “But who the heck are you, and why should I care?”

    Fair question. I’m a 30-something singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist based near Pittsburgh, PA. Since 2001, I’ve fronted The Simple Carnival, a pop recording project that sounds like what might happen if Harry Nilsson and The Beach Boys collaborated on Sesame Street. To date, The Simple Carnival has released three EPs and the first real, honest-to-goodness album (titled Girls Aliens Food) scheduled for release in late 2008 on Sundrift Records. I play all the instruments and sing all the parts on these recordings.

    My music career has led me from writing and producing songs for other artists, to recording bands at professional studios, to directing video productions, and ultimately… to finding a 9-5, non-audio job that actually pays the bills. :-)

    So if you’re looking for advice on how write that hit song or make it big in the music industry, you’ve come to the wrong place. I don’t mind communicating with a large audience, but my background is mostly in writing and recording songs for a specific niche, and it’s not the same audience that closely follows the Top 40. Write what you know and all that. Still, even if you’re not into the kind of music I do, I hope to keep things general enough so that the majority of the content here is relevant to anyone doing creative things with sound.

    You can probably expect a new post every few days, with a big article about once a week — as long as there’s something to talk about. I look forward to your feedback, as it will help steer the conversation toward the things you find most interesting. And yes, I do consider this blog a conversation. So please post some comments to help get things rolling!

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    Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »