When most people hear that you're going to Iowa
City to visit a good friend from high school, they figure that on a July 4th
weekend that the majority of your time will be spent trying not to blow your
fingers off with fireworks.
If you had asked either of us, that's what we
would have said too.
But when Drew started going through the Combo
patches on my Korg Triton, I started hearing more than just drum 'n' bass. I
was hearing compositions, and I headed upstairs to Drew's office to grab his
Roland JV-90 as quickly as I could. To his living room I headed with wonderful
visions of lucious melodies and chord progressions racing through my mind. He
selected one patch, and we played together perfectly as though we had reheased
this song many times before.
About three songs into our
"experiment," Drew suggested we should be recording this, because
what we were doing was very innovative and cutting-edge. Ten songs later, I
definitely stand by his observation.
For the next two days, we couldn't stop playing
it in his home, in his car, in a box, with a fox, in the rain, on a train. We
were impressed at what we did. But not just impressed; we were amazed. We had
written an entire album in one afternoon. An album of no boundaries, new ideas,
and new directions. This is a breakthrough album, improvised and played live on
the spot with occasional musical-lingo suggesting key changes or part
configurations.
Whatever it was, it turned out sounding great.
Drew played the entire album on a Korg Triton and I played on a Roland JV-90.
The album was written exactly as it is arranged on the CD, from start to
finish. (We took a burrito break between the 4th and 5th tracks because we were
hungry. Just thought I'd add that in.)
So
now when I drive to Iowa City to see him, we only have one thing on our
minds... What will we come up with this time?
