Someday We're All Gonna Fall

This song was written and performed for Gatling Gun's one and only show on April 11, 2008, but was significantly different from the recorded version. It is sort of a collaboration. Elena wrote the original lyrics and vocal melody, off of which I based chord changes and the eventual arrangement of the song. Nick also wrote some of the lyrics.

I think the recording quality on this song is much better than that of "March 1." I didn't have the challenge of recording acoustic guitar or the fuzz bass. Almost everything is played live, with the exception of some barely audible percussion I added. All of the stuff that sounds synthesized is either a microkorg I played through an amp, or Elena's voice and drum sounds which I added effects to in Logic, which was pretty fun. I also screwed around with EQing the drums very precisely, and I think they sound pretty good (sometimes).

The lyrics are pretty straight forward. I think they express something pretty similar to the feelings I was expressing in March 1, the stagnancy many of us have felt after graduating from college and finding ourselves in New York for no particular reason, trying to figure out why we're here and how we should be spending our time. Well, it's not all as drab as that, I suppose. Also thoughts of impending doom.

This one features Bethany Strout again on the cello, Elena singing, and me on the other stuff.

March 1

This song was written for a performance that was put on by Lydia Bell on March 1. I did a silly reading of a Berenstain Bears story, and then we performed this song. I never came up with a name, so I have been referring to it as "March 1." It is the only song I have completely written so far this year, and was the first thing that I had tried to write since before graduating in May 2007. Although we played the March 1st show as my old moniker, "doodoo bristle," we played another show on April 11th as "Gatling Gun," which I think Nick came up with during a name brainstorming session in my minivan. We played that show with former Balloon bandmate, Nick Nauman.

It took my a very long time to get a recording of this song, for various reasons. We found a studio in Bushwick to rent at the end of May, which gave me a place to do the recording (though only in the middle of the night, when quiet). Then I had to assemble the necessary equipment, which took me a while. Then things with me and Elena became rocky, but have smoothed out since. Finally I had the time and resources to finish the recording. It was kind of fitting, because the song is loosely about the stagnation I have felt since graduating from college last year, which seems to be what most of my friends' art concerns these days. Also about having lame friends who never want to do anything fun. Well, that is an exaggeration. But I have from time to time of the past year felt abandoned by everyone that I am close with. Perhaps a bit melodramatic. But, that's what the song is about. This is a video that we made of the performance, though it's pretty bad quality, so I'm glad to have a halfway decent recording on the song. Which, btw has these musicians:

Vocals: Elena Schilder, Danny Bowman, Nick Earhart
Cello: Bethany Strout
Guitars, drums, melodica: Owen (Doodoo Bristle)