A Work in Progress and The Rules

Usually by this point, two weeks into the month that is, I would like to have a new song out to everyone. I can report that the basic guitars are recorded and on Thursday, my former Rendered Useless bandmate, Eric Johnson, will be joining me to record vocals. The reason being that my next Marshall-song will be the first of 8 original songs I will record. I figure this would be a good time to post my official rules for the Marshall vs. The Machine project.

The Rules

1. Twice a month for 2011, I will record a new song.
a. As the purpose of this project is to get me back into the habit of recording my music, every third song I record will be an original.
b. Every other song I record will be a cover version.

2. The cover songs will be selected randomly by shuffling the Top Rated Playlist of my iPod.
a. These covers can be any sort of interpretation as I choose.

3. I have the option to employ a veto, but only rarely.
a. I have some choral and orchestral songs on this list that may prove too difficult to cover.
b. There are a handful of songs whose subject-matter I may not feel comfortable reproducing

That's pretty much it! So, this being my third song, I am in the process of recording an original track. This one is an old, never-recorded track from my high school days.

Back in 2005, Rendered Useless entered the studio to record our EP "A Modest Proposal". Around that time, Eric and I wrote what we considered to be one of our best songs; we honestly applauded ourselves for our lyrical ingenuity and beautiful vocals. Six years later, though I can smile at our self-lauding, I believe this song may have been one of our best. However, when we recorded in the studio, we found our funds drying up. This left two of our favorite songs unrecorded: the dance-rock 'Mind If I Cut In?' and the acoustic love-song 'Closer'. In 2006, Eric and I worked with Tavis to make a home studio version of 'Mind If I Cut In?', but 'Closer' was never recorded.

It is important to discuss the cleverness of Closer's title, as it was the basis for much self-congratulating. The opening song for every (all 4?) Rendered Useless shows was 'Opener', a song so energizing that it could only be known for being our kick-off song. The chorus in 'Closer' refers sings of being nearer to someone. It didn't take long for us to make the Opener-Closer association.

When Eric and I finally record Closer this week, it will officially be added to A Modest Proposal as its final track; I plan to make the whole EP downloadable again for those who are curious (for free, of course).

Why don't I have it ready now, you ask? Besides my general slothfulness, it took me sometime to figure out a tiny, but extremely important tempo change in the song. You see, for some reason, Closer has us singing at 120 bpm for the verses, but then we take an almost undetectable tempo change to 110 bpm for the two choruses. Truth is, the song just doesn't work unless we keep it that way.

So, be on the look out for a song this weekend and for an announcement of the next cover!

Plus/Minus and It's Good to Be In Love

I already recorded two songs for January: Ettison Clio's Plus/Minus and Frou Frou's It's Good to Be In Love. Below are my posts from facebook about both of those.

Plus/Minus

Posted January 16, 2011

So, I've been planning this project since November. I was afraid that it would become like most resolutions I have set and never actually happen. With that in mind, I selected the first song on my Top Rated shuffle, knowing that whatever came up would make or break this project.

I couldn't have been happier with what was selected: Ettison Clio's Plus/Minus.

Anyone who knew me between 2002 and 2006 also knew me as a huge fan and street teamer for Ettison Clio (their button is still on my favorite hat). Despite being one of the best things about indie music, they broke up right before my mission. Their CD, This is for the Blue Collars, is still one of my favorites.

In this project, I do not hope or expect to produce anything close to the quality of the originals. In the words of Jack Black, this is a tribute.

I am pleased to unveil "Plus/Minus"!

http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_6793266

It's Good to Be In Love

Posted January 31, 2011

For my second song, I asked my wife Abby to pick a number between 1 and 1552; she picked 21. Number 21 on my shuffle was "It's Good to Be In Love" by Frou Frou. The first thing I said was, "you picked me another song by a girl!" Though it would be impossible to ever do justice to Imogen Heap with vocals like mine, I am very pleased with how this song turned out.

I recommend listening to this song with headphones. Enjoy!

http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_7037456

Marshall vs. The Machine

Not surprisingly, I've fantasized about having a band I could actually play regular shows with. One thing this imaginary band would do is play a new cover song every at every show (it is a dream, so it can be implausible). On my iPod, as of mid-January, there are 1552 songs I have marked as "Top Rated". To decide on the song to play, I would simply put that play list on shuffle and whatever would come up, I would perform.

Well, I am never going to have this band, but I realized I could still try out the idea! As a challenge to get myself recording again, I created 'Marshall vs. The Machine'. My goal is to record two songs every month of 2011, randomly picked from my Top Rated play list.

All in all, this is really a fun project for me. I can do some technique practice and share some of my favorite music for everyone; I hope you enjoy it!