This is great...I just got sent this out of the blue today. It's from a CD we recorded about a quarter century ago. The only reason I can remember the exact year it was recorded is because it was right after Blind-11 and one song, called Payday, was written about it. I can't believe I never saw this but better late than never. It was done by local artist and music historian Craig Legg. I've talked about this before but it was way on back, and as always, who cares?
It was the brainchild of "JB Heron," not his real name. He was a year or two older so I didn't really know him but I knew his brother. I knew all the other guys on the project and had played with them in various bands.
I remember getting the call from Mudd, seeing if I was interested in playing drums on it. When I heard that he, Trexel and Macey were going to be involved I jumped on it. I didn't even ask what kind of music it was...I didn't care. I knew it'd be fun no matter what the tunes were.
When I heard how we were going to go about figuring out how to record it I was intrigued. JB didn't play an instrument so he didn't know what chords he wanted or what key it was in or anything. He had one of the early digital voice recorders, and he'd hummed a melody line or two and a few vocals. We were tasked with trying to turn those snippets into songs. Well, I've always loved a challenge.
To say that it was an interesting way of doing things, not to mention about as bare bones as it gets, would be an understatement. I remember when JB first held the recorder up and played us a "song" I had to laugh...wondering how the heck that'd become a song, but not only did we figure it out but we rose to the occasion and made JB proud. I liked all the songs but I thought a few of them were as good as anything I've ever heard. I was happy to be playing on it.
JB and I hit it off right away. We both were already friends with the other guys so maybe that helped, but he was a friendly guy and he was hilarious to hang with. One thing it didn't take long to figure out was that he liked...make that loved to drink...a lot.
He'd get blistered every night but somehow it turned out okay. Luckily he was a happy drunk. He was also very intelligent, so he didn't ramble on with the usual stupid drunken bullshit the way most heavy drinkers do. The main problem as I saw it was that I'd be worried about him getting a DUI every night when he left the studio.
I can still perfectly picture having to hold him up to the mic about half the time he was doing vocals. He was bobbing and weaving and couldn't keep his mouth the same distance from the mic, so we had to hold him up and keep him somewhat still.
That was a trip but it worked. You can hear him slurring his words here and there but overall the vocals were pretty tight and clean. Adrenaline goes a long way in those situations, and the end justifies the means.
I'd long since quit drinking even a drop of alcohol on or before a gig. Trexel didn't drink at all, and the other guys might have a beer or two, but JB was the only one who did any real drinking. After we'd done the basic tracks, I would have a drink or two before I sang backup vocals.
I didn't mind partying a touch after the drumming was done for the day, and a couple glasses of good bourbon added a note or two to my upper vocal range. I didn't get nearly drunk enough to slur my vocals, although it probably wouldn't have mattered.
Trexel and Macey would make copies of the bits and pieces from JB's voice recorder and sit down with their guitars and first figure out what key it was in and chart it out. About half the songs we played live in the studio and the other half were semi-finished demos, where JB would then add vocals and I'd replace the drum machine part. It was basically like playing along to records, only without vocals. I prefer playing live as much as possible but both methods were fun.
I'd done several projects that Trexel produced, recorded and played on, and he gave me the nickname "First-Take Jake" because I usually nailed the drum track on the first try. I wanted it to be as spontaneous as possible and be able to react to the changes in real time, as opposed to being burnt from playing the same song fifty times in a row.
I took that idea a little too far on this recording. On the tunes where I replaced the drum machine I only listened to the beginning and ending of the songs, plus the bridge and any kicks or stops or anything different from the main groove. I didn't even listen to the tunes all the way through once.
It had the spontaneity alright but when I listened to the playback I'd hear spots where it'd have been cool to accent a guitar riff or played a counterpoint or something, but simple is always good. The drum parts had a lot of energy and propulsion but they didn't get in the way of the music and I didn't step on any toes. JB absolutely loved what I played. Overall I was happy enough with it.
To think that we turned some drunken lyrics and a few hummed notes into legit songs was pretty special. We were all pleased with the results...those guys are all mofo players, but JB was over the Moon. He was also over the legal driving limit by a good bit, but somehow it worked out fine. His voice sounded great.
He couldn't believe that we took his ideas and turned them into real songs. I was pretty impressed too. I can't take nearly as much credit as the guys who figured out the song structures but I put in my two cents. The drumming didn't suck.
For my money three or four of those tunes could've been hits. There were some serious rockers on there but oddly my favorite song of all was a Country tune, and except for Willie and Walon and the boys I'm not the biggest fan of Country music. It was so genuine and it had this cool but whack story line...the singing was excellent...it had everything. I want to hear it again.
I texted back and forth with Macey and it was great to hear from him. He said that the music is on Spotify, which I don't have, and I think it's on Prime, which I do have. He may be able to get me a CD. I'm old school, and just plain old, but I still play CDs. They're making a comeback you know. Hey, hopefully so am I.
I'm sure that lots of great records have been made from the sketchiest of ideas, but I've never been a part of anything like that before or since. I asked Macey how JB was doing but he didn't reply. Hopefully he's okay and it was just an oversight, but I always did worry about him drinking that much.
It worked out okay for the recording project but it doesn't always work the same for getting behind the wheel, relationships, health and such. I hope he's still kickin' but I do know that he got a kickass record out of the deal.
Come to think of it I was very well compensated for my time, although I'd have done it for free just because it was so unusual and so much fun. JB came from a very wealthy family and paying us a lot of money wasn't a problem. He payed me several grand, which was decent money back then.
It was a blast recording that project. I'd do it again if I could. I hope JB is okay. If so, then cheers buddy! I enjoyed being a Swampbyrd.
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