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The Story of Re-Tread
This album was partially recorded on an Alesis Adat in my
basement. Those files were then transferred to ProTools. Yep, I
switched over to a computer-based recording operation and man, is it HARD!!
It took me 2 years just to get the music where it was listenable. The ProTools work
was moved from the basement to my bedroom, because I no longer had a
basement.
This collection comes from a span of many years. I wanted to learn to use
ProTools and chose songs from my catalogue as they came to the fore. No rhyme,
no reason.
I call the album Re-Tread, because the original tracks (some just drums
and guitar) were done on the ADAT and then moved to ProTools, where I slapped
some new tracks on, edited out some major flubs and tried like crazy to make
those tires drive like NEW!
Here's the gear I use: ProTools 5.3.1, the old Digi 001. Too stupid to wait for
them to come out with the Digi 002, but as I recall, I couldn't afford it anyway . . .
Drums: Alesis HR-16B
Bass: Yamaha DX7, Kawaii K11
Keyboards: Yamaha DX7, Kawaii K11
Guitars: Takamine acoustic, Telecaster with 2-Tek bridge
Mics: Audio-Technica 4033, Electrovoice N/D 357
Some effects were used on the guitars with the Peavey Profex
something-something, but that got stolen.
Some effects were used on background vocals using the Alesis Quadraverb
I use no compressors, limiters, noise-gates, etc. It's hard enough trying to work
with what I have, than to try and learn yet another piece of gear. God help me.
Some short history on the songs:
1. Baby Blue Harley - written with Wynona Judd/Dixie Chicks in mind
2. Born This Way - I was raised in church, but god never spoke to me the way he
seemed to speak to everyone else. I felt left out. This is just a lament of loneliness.
3. Life in the Last Lane - I was a part of an online music group and I got tired of
hearing this guy whine all the time about how come he hadn't made it yet.
4. Chances - Literally, written from a dream I had.
5. Let Your Rainfall - another one of my dirges.
6. Fine Imitator - inspired by a person whose goals were To Be Cool and not much
else.
7. Stand For You - Ballad, inspired from my bouts with depression and dreams
gone awry.
8. Witches Heartache - definitely heroin music - if I can sum it up (not sure if I can),
it's about how the world is wide open when you're a kid and somewhere along the
line, somebody steals your thunder, breaks your heart and well . . . some of us
never get over it.
9. Annie - This is what we called the Inter-Urban trail which runs north-south in the
Green River Valley of Washington. We called it "annie" because we were too young
to pronounce "Inter." All of us kids walked this trail every day. This song reflects
the changes time has made on the "Annie-Urban."
This album was partially recorded on an Alesis Adat in my
basement. Those files were then transferred to ProTools. Yep, I
switched over to a computer-based recording operation and man, is it HARD!!
It took me 2 years just to get the music where it was listenable. The ProTools work
was moved from the basement to my bedroom, because I no longer had a
basement.
This collection comes from a span of many years. I wanted to learn to use
ProTools and chose songs from my catalogue as they came to the fore. No rhyme,
no reason.
I call the album Re-Tread, because the original tracks (some just drums
and guitar) were done on the ADAT and then moved to ProTools, where I slapped
some new tracks on, edited out some major flubs and tried like crazy to make
those tires drive like NEW!
Here's the gear I use: ProTools 5.3.1, the old Digi 001. Too stupid to wait for
them to come out with the Digi 002, but as I recall, I couldn't afford it anyway . . .
Drums: Alesis HR-16B
Bass: Yamaha DX7, Kawaii K11
Keyboards: Yamaha DX7, Kawaii K11
Guitars: Takamine acoustic, Telecaster with 2-Tek bridge
Mics: Audio-Technica 4033, Electrovoice N/D 357
Some effects were used on the guitars with the Peavey Profex
something-something, but that got stolen.
Some effects were used on background vocals using the Alesis Quadraverb
I use no compressors, limiters, noise-gates, etc. It's hard enough trying to work
with what I have, than to try and learn yet another piece of gear. God help me.
Some short history on the songs:
1. Baby Blue Harley - written with Wynona Judd/Dixie Chicks in mind
2. Born This Way - I was raised in church, but god never spoke to me the way he
seemed to speak to everyone else. I felt left out. This is just a lament of loneliness.
3. Life in the Last Lane - I was a part of an online music group and I got tired of
hearing this guy whine all the time about how come he hadn't made it yet.
4. Chances - Literally, written from a dream I had.
5. Let Your Rainfall - another one of my dirges.
6. Fine Imitator - inspired by a person whose goals were To Be Cool and not much
else.
7. Stand For You - Ballad, inspired from my bouts with depression and dreams
gone awry.
8. Witches Heartache - definitely heroin music - if I can sum it up (not sure if I can),
it's about how the world is wide open when you're a kid and somewhere along the
line, somebody steals your thunder, breaks your heart and well . . . some of us
never get over it.
9. Annie - This is what we called the Inter-Urban trail which runs north-south in the
Green River Valley of Washington. We called it "annie" because we were too young
to pronounce "Inter." All of us kids walked this trail every day. This song reflects
the changes time has made on the "Annie-Urban."
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| copyright 2004 karla cruz vulgarmonk.com |
| ! Re-Tread is available at cdbaby.com NOW!! |
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Re-Tread Lyrics
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