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I decided to open the CD with this song because to me it sounds like some kind of
strange
machine or bizarre vehicle starting up. You can almost smell the oil burning.
"Satafacation"
is word I made up that describes a positive feeling that I am currently in the
process of trying
to achieve. I used my Mexican Strat (with Texas Specials) allot on this one (listen
for the buzz!).
I actually redid some of the intro guitars to reduce the noise, but I ended up
missing it and
decided to put the original parts back. I also used my orange PRS quite a bit. One
interesting
fact about this song is that I was having a very difficult time writing what turned
out to be the
"weird E-bow bridge part". I finally decided to just play some random chords and
then write a
melody to them no matter what it sounded like! I then removed the chords leaving
only the E-Bow parts. Did this experiment work? You be the judge.
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This song combines old and new school rock styles, so I thought "Time Phazer" would
be an
appropriate name. It also sounds like the name of an effect pedal that could have
come out in
1982. As you can tell I edited the crap out of the rhythm guitars. I did this by
using the loop as
a guide. I then alternated between the loop and the guitars for my rhythmic bed.
Thank you, "Mr. Pro Tools"! This song also contains a 1,200 dollar wah-wah on the
"Riff" parts. Mark created this effect manually by moving the mouse in an unbridled
"crazy", yet hypnotically rhythmic fashion on his new expensive EQ.
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When my cat "Inky" was a kitten he was kidnapped! Inky wandered off one day and a
neighbor, mistaking him for a stray, gave him to her sister who lives in Tampa (I live
outside of Tampa in a suburb called Brandon). We eventually got him back after posting
signs and paying a small extortion fee but I always wondered what he did during his
time
in the big city. This a musical representation of what Inky's adventure might have
been like.
I used my charcoal PRS for most of this song but I think one of the "head" guitars
was my
fat Tele with Barden Humbuckers.
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I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something spiritual about this one.
I think it's about brothers and sisters and the bond that exists between siblings. I
am a brother to a
brother and a brother to a sister. The lyrics (Ma-La-Vo-Day) don't have a literal
meaning -
I just made them up phonetically to go along with the melody. I originally was going
to use
a large chorus of people singing at the end but after Bo laid down the first two
tracks it
sounded so good I decided to leave it alone. I have to tip my hat to Jordan on this
one -
he did a great job! After he had finished his basic tracks, I told him to go for it
in the big
middle section and he improvised that whole solo in one take. I then doubled it with
my
guitar and I can tell you it wasn't very easy.
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I almost named this CD "I Am Frebis". This was the first song I finished and it
really helped motivate me to put the time and effort into doing another full-blown
instrumental album. Frebis is about personal creative freedom; it's about trusting
yourself and being confident in your own ideas. I used both of my PRS's for the most
part, however, I used my Strat in the funk breaks. If you listen closely during the
last solo, you can hear me play a couple of really odd runs. I had actually messed
up and was just goofing around thinking I should do it over, but after I listened
to it a few times I started to like it. I then doubled the solo and it seemed even
more purposeful.
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I love all my nieces and nephews and this is their song (because you know how little
kids
love fusion rock). My brother Josh's son "Alexander" for some strange reason one day
started calling me "Unkle Bobbert". What makes this story even more unusual is that
"Bobbert" is a term that good ole "little" big Al previously used exclusively for
inanimate objects such as a wall, a post, a brick etc.... I'm not sure exactly what
to make of this. In the intro you can hear my sister Shelly's son Cassidy "riffing".
I'm not sure what he's saying but it must have been pretty funny. Jeff and Patrick
really did a nice job with this one! They are both such naturals, all I have to do
is give them minimal directions and they come up with something better than I could
imagine. Listen up for Jeff's percussion overdubs; they are subtle but they add a
lot color to this track.
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I believe in life on other planets and Alpha Centauri is a star system that many
people think life exists. I imagine there would be some sort of cowboys riding some
kind of horses herding their "cattle" right now somewhere in western Alpha Centauri.
The main melody is something I've been hearing in my head since I was little (maybe
the aliens implanted it there). The T60 makes it's first appearance here in the
bridge (the wah-wah solo with the piano) this is the ugliest, heaviest guitar I have
ever owned but it has a very unique character to it, you can also hear it with out
the wah-wah on "My Sweet Laura". The last solo in this song has an interesting story
to it. I was having a really hard time coming up with anything that didn't sound
trite. I was about ready to call it a night when I decided to try playing Jeff's
Fender with the super distortion on it, but I forgot it was tuned to open "D"
because I had recorded the rhythms in that tuning. I realized my mistake as the
track started but some how I was able to make it work and now it's one of my
favorite solos. We were also able to incorporate Jeff's world famous "Record The
Drums on the Floor" technique in the alien hoedown section.
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When I was a little kid I used to ride my bike on a loop driveway in front of an
older couples home. This is something I just couldn't resist but for some reason it
drove these people completely crazy. They would rush out of their house and start
screaming like I had just murdered their beloved pet bunny "Spoochie". I think every
neighborhood has a least one picky petty couple. For some reason I imagine the
people in this song are named Jerry and
Betty Isallia. The intro melody was actually me kind of messing around but I started
to like it
so I built the rest of the parts around the weirdness. I used my friend Wes' Tele
for most of this song, although I did use my fat Tele with Barden Humbuckers for the
angrier parts.
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This song is for my wife Laura, who is an amazing women.
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Ah the title track. It almost sounds like an intro for a bigger song doesn't it? The
first half of
this song was built around something Jeff did. I asked him to do something
"cymbaly", then I wrote the part around what he had done. The second half was going
to originally be
one section of a medley but that idea didn't pan out and Mark came up with a way to
end it
since it just kind of stopped. I was then able to connect it with the cymbal part
and it came
alive. My friend Dave says the second half reminds him of "Tomorrow Never Knows" -
high
praise indeed! If you listen close you can hear Jeff grunt as the second half starts.
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I wanted to end this CD with something lighthearted, a "cleansing of the palate" you
could say. I guess this song is the musical equivalent of an after dinner mint. The
title describes how some of my musician friends and I feel about being able to make
a living playing music. We are not getting rich, but it sure beats a real job! I
used 3 guitars this time: the "Evil Banana", which is a bright yellow Peavey
"Tracer" guitar with Seymour Duncan "Pearly Gates" pickups, my 7 string Fernandes
with a sustainer and my orange-burst PRS.
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