Author Archives: trey
Figured out the Netflix rating system:
5 Stars: Guaranteed to like it if it’s a genre you dig. And you’ll probably get to see at least one explosion, someone naked, and/or a flock of mythical creatures, or if it’s Peter Jackson, a flock of naked, exploding, mythical creatures.
4 Stars: 4 Stars is like a C+; Pass. Good to go.
3 Stars: Usually a failed attempt at a 5 star. Great cast, badly made film. Some insomniacs like it, as well as people who like staring at celebrities, even if their dialogue is almost entirely narrating the stupid plot.
2 Stars: 2 Stars is like giving it an F. No one actually likes it.
1 Star: A hate-rating. Bad enough to inspire revenge. Viewers stopped watching and hate-rated it.
0 Stars: So bad that viewers stopped the movie before it ended, abandoned the rating system, Netflix, and the TV, and probably started reading or even went outside.
More from our December, 2012 show at Arlene’s Grocery in New York.
An excerpt from our exceptionally drunken performance in New York City at Arlene’s Grocery. This is Midnight Special, a cover of a 19th century prison folk song, made popular by the original rocker, Lead Belly.
As we wrap up our new record, a reminder of our thanks to everyone who helped with the last one, Playola:
We’re about to release our third full record in about a year, my sixth or seventh record in about five years, and a lot of people ask about how I write and produce. This is interesting for two reasons: I can’t believe anyone’s asking me, and because my “process” seems weird, but maybe isn’t. I can’t see inside someone else’s head, so I have no idea. Here’s how it works:
I have absolutely no idea what other people see when they write songs, record, produce, etc, but I like to watch and listen to it all work together in my head before we even start. When I write a song, it just kind of comes to me quickly while I mess around with a guitar or piano or something, all the parts and everything, and vocals are fill-in-the-blank, because the vocal parts are there, just not in words. I listen to the whole thing, all the parts and everything, all finished in my head before we play the first note. I guess everybody does that. Then Jamie, Sos, and Nick will throw things in that and make it even better, enriching the whole thing. But producing is more about balance. I already know the tones that I want an all, but doubling guitars, bass tone, snare sound, all of that, it all has to feel (and look) balanced. I only want parts played that you can clearly hear. And for that, I actually use what I see, too. Producing music is a visual thing to me; I like to sit back and look at the sounds, to kind of map where the different parts are, how they all spread out, where the gaps are, what colors show up. You can do this.
Here’s how: Think of when you’re driving your car, or wearing good headphones, listening to a song you know. Now the bass on your stereo gets cranked. Where is that sound? You can point to where that sound is. That bass isn’t up by the windshield, is it? That bass is down low, by your feet, even if you have headphones on. And what color is it? I bet you wouldn’t say that the color of rust or black ice would go with a light, high, pretty sound, or that light blue goes with a heavy, deep sound. So now you have locations and colors for sounds. Can you see a shape? I mostly get round, but not always. So then you just make sure that it looks the way you want. Think of it this way:
Imagine if you looked up at a moonless, clear night sky and saw a patch with no stars, or a patch unusually dense with stars. Both ruin the balance of all that your eyes can see, because you now have to fight the natural urge to draw you eye to the patch. Unless it’s such an incredible site that, for that moment, you don’t mind focusing entirely on it. So, use that for producing. Get the balance that you want. And those stars that are extra, faint in the background, get those out of there, so the stars that people can see are crystal clear, so that they contribute to the night sky to their fullest. You should love every tone that you put there on purpose. If you need to put a bunch of stars behind one that’s already there, to make that little area shine more to your liking, maybe hold off and start over. Re-record that first part so it does the job, otherwise you’ll have a bunch of diluted stars. You’ll see colors overlapping, which makes for some ugly colors. Every part should be fully visible – every star crystal clear, every color pure.
Expansion: leave room for it. You need space around all of the parts. Space is what becomes dynamic, because different parts move in an out of it when they grow and shrink. The solo. A drum fill. Cymbals goin’ off.
And sometimes, balance doesn’t make sense for the song. Some songs are supposed to look small, and be dark blue, with no high or low end, just kind of a sullen and isolated. And some songs are like a mountain range, bright orange or whatever color you see, with peaks that rise towards you in the lead parts, like the solo, or a scream, when one part is supposed to stand out.
The actual visual differs, sometimes it’s rings, where the bass, the low end is a huge, ring, far away, huge and epic, and the high, tight, sounds are smaller, closer rings. Sometimes it’s like watching the horizon move. And so on. I can’t imagine that there’s a uniform visual for everyone; there must be endless possibilities. I’m sure yours are different. -Trey
STOKED for the release of our new album, which is finished, mastered, and almost ready to roll. Should be out in the next couple of months – as soon as we can print CD’s and get the word out. Seventeen songs, including a cover of Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel and Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison. Good times ahead. This is what the cover is going to look like:
With hangovers that can easily be seen from Space, and blood that is most likely flammable, we’re back in LA after a bang-up trip to New York. You helped us sell out Arlene’s Grocery, our favorite venue in New York. The room was at capacity, the booze was literally flying everywhere, and the front row was almost entirely friends and family. In fact, half the crowd was friend and family. It was an incredible night! Thank you to everyone who came out in the freezing, pouring rain to one of the best times we’ve ever had. Oh! And apologies to anyone who came to the bar afterward and couldn’t get in; As retribution, we drank all of their booze, then burned it to the ground.
A night that will live infamy! We’ll be celebrating the release of three albums in one year, and our first show in NYC in five years. Arlene’s Grocery is our favorite rock club in the city, and we’ll be packing the place with friends and family to rock out in Alphabet City.
Here’s the Facebook Event link, where you can find links to buy tickets, RSVP, etc.
Here’s the basic info.
GOOD TIMES AHEAD!
The new video for Country Song Keywords! Thank you to everybody who contributed!
Buy The New Album (so we can buy food and gas and come play in your town)
