Archive for June, 2009
Track #6: Hold My Heartache
I came back from visiting my aunt and uncle in Oregon and I wrote this song. I had met a Brazilian who sang beautiful folks songs and one of the songs whose name I forget had this chord progression and I forgot the central melody but it had something to do with God. But I liked the way it starts in G and moves around and ends at E.
So I came back and I demo’ed it in my apartment one weekend and it had this really good vibration. At the time it had a chorus part that was a minor key thing where I actually sang the lines “hold my heartache” and I guess you can hear it if you want, just let me know.
Breadth vs Depth
Most songwriters write a lot of songs. I also write a lot of songs. And what happens when you write a song is that you get very enthusiastic about recording that song and, for me at least, I get very enthusiastic about versions of that song that perhaps don’t warrant that same level of enthusiasm.
So when you’re prolific, and most of us are, it means that you have lots and lots of ideas sitting around and it means that any collection of ideas, like a 10 song album, is really only a very small encapsulation of all of the different things that are going on.
So, here’s the point. The point is that if it were up to me, in some ways, I’d put out 2-3 records a year and I’d put out EPs and I’d save money on press and promotion and spend more time on recording and maybe do smaller things more frequently than do one record and really work it and work it for maybe even as much as a year. That would be my preference. Do small things poorly recorded and just flood the market with lots of material.
St. Vincent – Actor Out Of Work
The sax isn’t as good as Stan in Hold My Heartache but this song and performance are still ridiculously good. Check it.
Rockwood Show Review, 6.18.09
We played Rockwood Music Hall last night for Paul Brill’s 41st birthday. Every show keeps getting better and this one was no exception. Another magical evening and lots of thoughts and thought streams and things of that nature.
I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. It has been raining nonstop in New York and more generally on the East Coast and yesterday was no exception. Torrential, steady, merciless rain. Horiztonal rain. Vertical rain. Mad whipping rain and boring sleepy perpetual rain. We were all wet. Every last one of us. You. Me. Everybody. And on the day of the show, while I get a little nervous about my performance, I’m more nervous about who will show up. Most of my friends and personal network didn’t seem like they were going to make it and a bunch of people were on the fence. So it was an auspicious early part of the evening and my fingers were crossed but I was nervous. [ed note: subjet of future post on transitions]
My nerves settled down once I got down there and the place was already pretty crowded and Neil Nathan was on stage playing with his band and generally sounding very nice.
The evening featured Danielle Gasparro, Neil Nathan, Bronwen Exter, Casey Shea, Alex Wong, Andrew Vladeck, us (The Flying Change) and Paul Brill and His Enormous Monstrosity Band.
Live at Rockwood Music Hall, 9:30pm Tonight
This is the flyer for the show. We’re doing a new song (Valentine’s Day) and a cover of ‘Pieholden Suite’ in honor of Jay Bennett and my grandfather. The band is featuring Noah Lebenzon on guitar, Rob Jost on bass, Katie Scheele and Stan Harrison on horns, Bronwen Exter on vocals, Marc Dahlio on drums and Paul Brill on birthday things.
Hope to see you there.
Blurt
Blurt is the online magazine that emerged in the wake of the dissolution of Harp, one of my favorite publications and one of the editorial teams for whom I have a great deal of respect. So it’s a big one when they choose to review your record and it’s even bigger when that review turns out to be one of the best and most thoughtful reviews of the record that’s emerged.
Here’s a good part, although truthfully Jen is a great writer, so it’s all pretty good:
you come away with the notion that this record is not really about illness and suffering, but rather about the human connection that transcends it. Over the blistering, sun-stroked electric distortion of “St. Mary’s”, Jacobs sings “This is a love letter,” over and over. And indeed, Pain Is a Reliable Signal is about love as much as it’s about mortality. Don’t let the sad story scare you off. This is a very fine album, deeply felt, beautifully put together and life affirming.
Stop by Rockwood on Thursday night to get a taste for yourself. Hope to see you there. Oh and follow Blurt on Twitter.
