Once upon a time - it seems like a lifetime ago! - I worked in an office which helped poor, disabled and aged individuals meet legal requirements for federal assistance. Sometimes the office Field Representative, a hard-working elderly gentleman whose name was Bernie, had to visit home-bound applicants in their residence in order to resolve particularly complicated situations. Bernie was a hard-working, fairly intelligent individual, usually adept at resolving inconsistencies and providing necessary documentation. However, I recall that there was this one, extremely complicated case which proved a little too much even for Bernie. Week after week Bernie would be sent out to visit the applicant, each week he would dutifully write his report and provide additional evidence and explanations - only to be instructed to make a follow-up visit as his report had failed to close loopholes - or had even revealed additional inconsistencies which required further investigation.
This pattern continued for quite some time until Bernie - despairing at ever ridding himself of this onerous case with its repetitive home visits and ever-more complicated quicksand of problems - submitted his latest report to me, dropping it on my desk with a yellow post-it pasted on top of the folder with the following short note:
"This is as good as I can get it! As close as I could come....regards, Bernie."
Late last evening I smiled when I suddenly remembered Bernie and his little post-it as I prepared to complete work on my new CD "Stony Brook" and authorize Tunecore to release the music to the cyber-world. As mentioned in prior posts, the problems associated with using multiple and relatively rudimentary computer programs and equipment to self-produce the music could never yield the most satisfactory product, one which completely fulfilled my vision of how the music should sound. Yet for weeks - months actually - in and around rehearsing and performing for the recent community theatre production of "The Crucible", I have been trying hard to do just that - make the sound perfect. Sound ultra-professional. (Just like poor old Bernie - back in-the-day- with that problematic case of his.)But much like Bernie...it has come time to let go...and so..."Stony Brook" has been released.
It is important to understand that although I enjoy my own performance with the "Dylanesque" vocals - inspired by my first musical hero (although without the benefit of the studio, Dylan's voice was once described in live performance as sounding like "a screeching cat tangled in barbed wire") it is the music and lyrics which are the focus of the release, not the performance. As such, the songs on "Stony Brook" - all very hummable, listen a few times! you won't be able to get them out of your head! - can be broken down this way:
Music: The genre I use ("retro folk-rock") is employed as a personal convenience to indicate that the songs have relatively simple chord structures, contain "folk" oriented melodies, usually feature acoustic guitars and/or piano - and include introspective and meaningful lyrics with subtext. However, the songs actually touch upon a number of different musical genres with different combinations of instruments.
Examples include:
- Country Rock ("Why Didn't I" with it's multiple guitar lines and good-tiime melody)
- Jazz flavored country ("Liberty" with jazz-oriented chords, drums and background harmonica,
and "On The Outside Looking In")
- Mid-sixies Dylan influence Protest Folk-Rock ("Self-Proclaimed Prophets" - complete with horn
sections - and "Another Day")
- British Invasion Rock ("Memories In The Sky", complete with back-beat and "Searcher's style lead
guitar)
- Rock and roll ("These Moves Of Yours", "Great Expectations", and "Retro Rock" - the latter with it
dueling piano, guitar and base line, a dynamic sax instrumental break and close horns)
- Country ("Again I'll Leave Another Girl Behind" and "I've Got To Hold On")
There is also the title cut "Stony Brook", which is mostly straight ahead "folk rock"- but incorporates a non-traditional musical structure (after the second verse the music never repeats itself) - and progresses in a manner which mirrors the personal journey as expressed in the lyrics.
Lyrics: On a basic level, all of the songs summarize various stages in that journey. As events unfold chronologically, late adolescent confusion and naivety is slowly replaced by a maturing self-awareness and insight. Attending school at "Stony Brook" was probably the single-most defining moment in my life - for example almost every significant lifelong friendship I have dates back somehow to that period of my life - but the story of "Stony Brook" is the insight and knowledge learned- the confidence achieved - in the years afterward.
But the songs are not merely a autobiographical regurgitation of my personal story. The lyrics express such universal themes as self-imposed social isolation, inability to love or communicate, selfishness, self-promotion (particularly at the expense of others), destructive desire for acceptance among peers, social climbing, aging, etc. One song, "Retro Rock" - my obligatory slap at the Baby Boomer generation (a worthy successor to "Underground Mode") - is able to touch upon most of these ideas within the confines of one (rocking) song!
Can you tell that I am very happy and proud to be able to bring these songs to life?
Now if only they could be perfect. If only!
Thanks for reading!
Now....check out the music.
See you all soon...Stevenn
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