Each one of these songs has a story behind it,
or makes us think of something interesting. We thought it would be pretty
entertaining if we went through each song and added our personal comments to
each tune, while responding to each others comments at the same time. Enjoy!
Going With It
Nate: This was the first song that we started
playing. This was what prompted me to get Andrew's keyboard and start playing
along. He was coming up with some good stuff using the Triton's Combo patch and
I thought adding some cool chords would give it exactly what it needed.
Drew: I was very impressed with ourselves after
listening to this song. It sounds impossible to have been done with only 2
keyboards and no editing, but it turned out great. I like this song because even
though it doesn't have a set "melody", it's still a tune you can sing
in your head.
Return to Sender
Nate: Both of us natually have jazz chops, so
this was the next groove that sparked our inspiration. Though as I remember it,
I think this was one of the songs where we just hit record and started playing
without any ideas.
Drew: After we recorded this song, I was very
surprised to see that the recording lasted over 7 minutes. Even listening to it
now, it doesn't feel like it's 7 minutes, because it has such a cool feel that
you don't even think about the time. A 7-minute song may seem long, but this
song doesn't drag at all.
Half-life
Nate: Again, we really had no idea what we were
going to play for the Combo groove Andrew found, but it all kind of came
together. This is one of my favorites on the CD for the raw acid-jazz feel this
gives.
Drew: Like Nate, I was skeptical about how this
song would turn out. During the first minute of recording, I started thinking
that it might not really work. However, after we kept playing and improvising,
it got to be really cool, and I was glad that I didn't listen to my first
impressions.
Culture Shock
Nate: This is one of the few where we conceived
an initial chord pattern before recording the song. Andrew came up with it, and
I added some depth to it by adding suspended 2nd and 4th chords over the minor
and major chords he played. We both have some really good solo parts in this
one.
Drew: This song was one of the more challenging
ones for me. Not only were the chords a little more complex than I'm used to, I
also had to concentrate on controlling a couple of parameter knobs on the
Triton. Everytime the low organ loop drops out and comes back, that was me
turning that on and off. You need to be quick to be able to move from switching
knobs and back to playing chords, but I pulled it off, and it sounded great.
Kick In the Brass
Nate: I would say this is by far the best song
on this album. I came up with the "guitar" riff that starts out the
song, then Drew came up with those awesome brass patterns that get played over
the riff. Another side note is that the guitar slide that goes into the bridge
was completely improvised. We just complimented each other so well that it
flowed together.
Drew: This is my absolute favorite song on the
CD. Everytime I listen to this song, I crank up the volume as high as my ears
can handle. There are a couple things I love about this song. One, the fact
that it has a "dirty" feel to it, yet it's fun. Secondly, the chord progression
in the horns has the element of surprise. You expect to hear a G-major chord at
the end of the motive, yet it jumps to an F-minor flat-7. Totally unexpected,
but still sounds great...if not better.
Movement In the Forest
Nate: Don't ask. Actually, I think we were giddy
from how well the last song had turned out and Drew found this Rainforest Combo
patch and I started playing random brass notes and it sounded like a really
good break in the album.
Drew: We had just eaten Burritos...'nuff said.
Eye Catcher
Nate: This was more back to our jazz influences.
Drew does some outstanding work on the piano patch that had me doing constant
double-takes to see if he was actually playing what I was hearing. The two main
parts in this song were written about 5 minutes prior to recording, but
everything else was improvised.
Drew: I had fun with this tune, mainly because
of the extremely fast improvisations I was doing on the piano patch. One of the
reasons I prefer using non-weighted keyboards when I perform. Furthermore, the
chords that Nate came up with were amazing.
Club 76
Nate: Drew had come up with the bass patterns a
few songs earlier but we forgot them and went on to something else. Somehow
Drew found that patch again and remembered what he had played earlier so we hit
record and went with it. The name comes from the "Club" feel that the
song presents and both of the keyboards we used have "76" keys.
Drew: Again, this is one of those songs that
never really changes chord progressions, yet it doesn't get repetitive. What I
find the coolest about this song is how the Korg performed while playing. In
fact, if you listen closely, everytime the left-hand 3-note motive is played,
you can hear someone say "Aw...yeah!" And that's what I say after I
listen to this song.
Clash and Burn
Nate: This is definitely more of a fusion tune.
After we recorded Club 76, Drew found this piano patch and started playing
these killer riffs, so I added some contrasting chords to keep changing the
feel of the song even though what he's playing stays in the same key. We had
worked out a couple parts in this song before recording, but the entire bridge
was improvised on the spot.
Drew: I still can't believe how well this song
turned out. Even though there are more half-step note clashes you can count, it
still sounds in key. What's more, I am always amazed with myself on the chords
I played during my solo section. And believe it or not, the side section in
which I play the descending notes was discovered purely by accident.
Until Next Time...
Nate: I had actually wanted to end the CD with
the last track but Drew suggested we put one more in there. I was looking
through some patches on the Roland and found this raspy-like pad. I played the
two chords that you hear throughout the song and said, "Alright man, let's
roll." It came out sounding great, and couldn't be better for the closing
track.
Drew:
The more I listen to this song, the more of a favorite it becomes. I especially
love the solo that Nate played in the middle section. That, along with the
chords I played on the high-end came together amazingly. It had that beautiful
new-age sound combined with jazz-style improvisation. Two genres that are
completely different by themselves, came together in perfect harmony.
