One of the things I’ve been doing recently to help keep my sanity up is to be stripping 50 years of paint off the doors in my house. It’s a process. It’s a way for me to take my mind off the world around me. It’s calming. It’s rejuvenating. It’s a learning experience. It’s odd that a musician would want to do something like that right?
I will say that as each door gets done, it’s changing the air around the house. They’re going from being smothered in paint and looking like they’re choking, to being fresh and much more defined. It’s improving the feel and quality around the house and the best part is I feel like I did something creative other than music.
Doesn’t mean I’m not getting to some music. Heck no, actually I’ve been pushing myself hard. After spending time in the day and sun refinishing doors, I then go into the studio and work on music stuff at night. Like last night. I was asked by a long time friend and sometime co-writer to come up with a melody for a track he had. So I spent some time listening to the track and thinking about what I would sing to it. Why did he ask me? Because I’m able to come up with catchy melodies that are not the standard faire.
Take for instance a song I came up with last year. Another friend had a piece of a song, played it for me and asked me what I thought. My first thought was, you can’t use that melody – because it was a ripoff of another famous melody. Thus he asked me to come up with something and help him finish the song. A few months later it’s released and is licensing like gangbusters. That’s a great thing, for me, and for him.
That will hopefully be the case on this song from last night. The track is pretty upbeat and fun. I worked the melody to express some of that fun.
In a way it’s me turning the house into a Pretty Picture Frame. The all-American house type of thing. Owned by a musician of strange talents. This of course leads you into my weirdly connected mind to Holly Long. The song you’re probably listening to right now is by her. I dig the build of this song. A single instrument playing something funky and every little step getting another thing coming in and adding to the image.
Once it gets into full swing there’s a real good funk going on. Very clean. Almost too clean. By that I mean it almost sounds like it wasn’t recorded in a room full of musicians but rather, everyone going direct with overdub over overdub. Nothing wrong with it at all. It’s a sound.
I’m more concerned with the real deep quality to Holly’s voice. I shouldn’t say deep, no it’s a depth. I can’t put my finger on it, but I can say she’s got a classic sound. Very smooth. Very sultry. Very sexy voice.
Beyond that, the title certainly gives off a positive twist. That’s what I’m standing for right now.