Malibu Entry #10 (edit 1)

Sat Oct 28, 2006 5:43 am

Pics! Not Words
A Wise Photographer Once Said: "a picture is worth a thousand words"
Series entitled: "FOR FANS AND GEAR HEADS"



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THE END. (if i get too many questions, I'll be forced to use words) Smile
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Words Because Pictures Evoke Questions.

This is all "Do Not Be Afraid's" Fault.
I really wasn't going to write! But you had to log on and immediately start talking about guitars and twang and askin' questions and bein' all geeky...Smile. ha ha. No, seriously, there are things to discuss.

Guit' Fiddles
The Les Paul. yes. it's a hall of fame'r. I think that one, compliments of GUITAR CENTER (a loner) is a $6000 guitar. It has P-90's installed at Eisely's request... not the classic humbucker's (yes, installed to retain value by certified Gibson folk). The Hofner? AHHH!!!. yes. It's ALL over this record. It's a Chauntelle magnet. It's a late 50's guitar. There are pics with Lennon with this guitar from the 60's... of course, we all know McArtney played Hofner; also Dave Gilmore. Good family pool for reference, huh? But this one belongs to John (Korn), friend of Richard. He's been up at the studio some. You think of Korn and get all angst and need to head bang, but John is a sweet, quiet family guy. perdy awesome. You gotta respect his talent and his guitar taste... My hat is off. Can Chauntelle have it John? jk. Korn reading Eisley journal? Not gonna happen.

On Twang and Session Twangers'
TWANG. dude, i loved that Buck video... ha ha. (reference "comment" below) I'm warning you guys... Eisley has opened up their sound palate (i dunno about twang). And to get what they want, they used the right person. It's a small jump... but, when you have something in your head, when you aren't an insecure artist, and you have the chance to make the best record you can imagine (with limitations, of course)...when you have tight friends and aren't afraid to take a back seat when you know it's the best thing to do... well, you have a situation where creativity wins. Quality wins. When a band is at that point, they are literally producers, not just artists.

In my world, I might wear many hats: creative director, art director, designer, illustrator, copy writer... I might be operating in one or all of those roles. In my analogy, think: Designer hires illustrator. It's more common than not.

In this photo series, you see Chad Gilbert and Michael Bethencourt chiming in... at Eisley's request. I've already exposed you to infamous - George Doering. Don't worry. The band art directs the sessions... (wait, that's in my world... would it be music direction? help). You got the idea; like... you'd hear stuff from the band like: "uhh, that sorta sounds cool, but... try holding that one note out and try moving it up on the fretboard", or... " I loved that one"... or, "Can we try a different guitar with more sustain...".

But you guys should be familiar with this already. Eisley never flips too far ahead - from the page they're on. Think: Golly Sandra, lap steel, Casey Prestwood (Hot Rod Circuit, The Only Children)... one (1) record back. And I just remembered how cool George Harrison was to realize that Eric Clapton was the right choice for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".

New Music Dis-ease
Anyway, this record is hurting my heart. It's kicking my facial projection in... (so that it won't pooch out anymore). It's giving me hope for my head... because, my head is wanting to hear music that my head and heart need... Everyone I talk to lately says the same thing: "man... i don't know... nothing is exciting me these days; I got the new "_ _ _ _" (fill in) and the new "_ _ _ _ " but... i spun it 4 times; it's good. I must like it... but why do I feel over it so soon?"

Is it me? Am I just tired of the syndrome (illness) I now name : "Symulosis"? Or is it possible that we are in the middle of an artist drought. Or, are we oversaturated with too many "MySpace" bands? What is happening? Either way, to me... this little record is medicine for my bad case of "Symulosis". So far, that is... we'll have to see how it turns out. Confidence is high.

The Vocal Knob
I haven't even talked about vocals OK. Let's talk about them. If the ep's were a 6, then I declare, here before you today, by reason of worthless opinion, that "Room Noises" was a solid 8.5. I can't exactly figure out how or why, but... on Eisley's sophmore full length record, it feels like someone turned it the knob up to 11. But forget I ever said that. I don't want to build this record up too much... ok? It's crap; honest. You'll hate it.

Chauntelle is singing. No... on the record. She's already sung some (Sung Sum) but will sing more. Also... at her own decree, she took an amazing 1 hr vocal lesson from the top guy in the country... more on that sometime. Now is sometime. I can't remember his name, but he is known as the greatest... trained all the biggest pop/hip hop/rock stars of our era... He was ammmaaaazzzzing. More, he told her she hand near perfect pitch (rare) and was impressed at how she followed his chromatic vocal gymnastic excersizes. We're talking about the sister who doesn't sing... the one who lost her confidence years ago. If this all plays out, I believe Chauntelle could be the missing link... no, not like she's a neandrathal... just a missing part to the whole. It's up to her... she can be as involved as she wants to be. No restraints, no pressure... except from YOU guys... lol. OH, and that pic of the mysterious house w/ the fanciful facade was taken at the home of this vocal coach while I was waiting outside in his gated courtyard/driveway. I was bored.

Gotta go pic um up
Lunch. fun. cheers.

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A GRAND OUTING

We're going to the Promenade!
Everyone sat around long enough today to get very, very bored. So, it's off to have some fun... shopping?! uhh... but the walk and hanging out will be fun. We've been before... on some earlier tour or recording or trip or something. But Jessie hasn't been.


Stacy and her keyboarding
Ricard said last night that there are 4-5 completed songs. Totally completed. Stacy spent all day yesterday recording moogs and synths and strings and cool keys... all with movies of choice playing in the dim lit room (shades drawn) for ambiance... (no audio... just vibe). She said it was great... old movies; inspiration.


Video Problems
I'm moving to html pages for video viewing. Otherwise, the auto download becomes an issue. But for now, I can't create any video's. The camera I'm using that Kyle fixed (one i used like 5 tours back) doesn't have a working usb port... and the camera I used on last tour has a functional usb port but doesn't film... so i've been using it to play and capture data... only, yesterday, it broke too. So...!@#$# (golly darn).
Will try to take more pics. I just need to get rich enuf to get a good camera. I don't forsee that any time soon... so please be patient. Thanks.


Apple Store
It's boring for me. I don't fit in at malls. I'm not a girl so i don't like to shop. Weston and Garron only shop for shoes. I have a jillion pair already because I have a jillion girls in my life; so, i walk around bored. I already had coffee so I can't look forward to that. I called Kim but she didn't answer. I wish she were here with me! Then, I called a bunch of friends, but they didn't answer. So, this Apple store is the closest thing to heart warmth. I can at least be near you guys. The Mac Mini ($599) is powering this amazing 20 inch Apple Cinema Display... You can't afford not to get a Mac.

bye.

35 Comments

norad
Do you mean Chauntelle is singing songs as in lead vocals/her own song? Or jsut backing?

posted Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:17 am
boyd
Yes... Patrock, I believe you had your hand up; I'll take just one more... "I believe, if I understood the question, you're wanting to know if Chauntelle is going to sing something... solo... an actual part, as oppossed to just adding background vocals such as harmonies... correct? (knods) "Well, it's my understanding that she might actually sing a verse or two in a song. She hasn't tracked it yet, so... no promises. (scans audience) Thank you... that's all the time I have..." (wisked off by entourage of hobbits wearing Sunkist-Orange Space Trouper suites).

posted Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:56 am
norad
Hah. Thanks Boyd. That's all I needed to hear. *sits back down*
Laughing Laughing Laughing Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

posted Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:10 pm
boyd
Wait... I just interrogated further. My sources now tell me that the song she was going to sing on might not be going on the record. They have many songs, you understand. But Chauntelle said she was all over the record w/ background vocals... stuff she'll sing live. So... hey, that's a start! Now back to correspondent, Lumkins the Orange One, in Washington. Sorry for having to correct that Pat.

posted Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:13 pm
norad
Aw. Oh, it's still good news to know she'll be singing more. I really think it would be neat of she did sing some verses or a solo song. Just a thought. Wink Very Happy Laughing

posted Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:20 pm
Chewy-Man
This all sounds amazing and only has me waiting on that record so much more. I like 'twang'. : )

posted Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:38 pm
PoorMe
oh man, after hearing that Chauntelle is gonna sing on this record my anticipation level just hit the roof! good stuff.

posted Sat Oct 28, 2006 5:50 pm
dannychair
Is the vocal instructor Seth Riggs?

posted Sun Oct 29, 2006 1:25 am
do not be afraid.
boyd, sorry i, uh, started talking about guitars, and twang, and askin' questions, and bein' geeky!

really...

sort of...

maybe...

the les paul, assuming it's the one i think it is (it's this one, right?), does have a list price of around $6000, but usually retails for closer to $4000, and so probably wholesales for about $3000, which means you'd have plenty of room to talk it down a bit, if you had that kind of money in the first place. but, who does? probably only people who buy these guitars so they'll look cool on their wall, hence the artificial "ageing" for maximum "coolness".

it's really great that guitar center is loaning it out to you, so that it can actually be used before spending the rest of it's life on somebody's wall. i wonder if my guitar center would do that for me?

probably not...

oh well...

to my ears the p90 pickup is the classic "gibson" sound. while the humbucker does sound similar, and certainly doesn't sound bad, it lacks the life, character, and, indeed, twang, that makes the p90 sound so great, and so distinctive. that's why i was so excited about the les paul! i was expecting the usual humbucker-equipped les paul bore.

i'm pretty sure that the neck pickup isn't a p90, though. it's an "alnico v"/"staple"/"whatever" pickup, which looks and sounds similar to the p90, but instead have having a large bar magnet underneath the steel pole peices, the pole peices themselves are small bar magnets, giving it a bit more bite. it was designed to compete with the dearmond 200/"dynasonic", which had a similar arrangement. they were gibson's top-of-the-line pickup for a few years, when it was promptly killed off by the humbucker, which was both more innovative, and cheaper to produce.

they were most famously used by scotty moore on his l-5 during elvis presley's later sun records recordings ("mystery train", etcetera), but most people tend to associate him, and his sound, with the es-295 and standard p90s that he used earlier.

anywho...

i'm glad i somehow managed to get you to actually write something, and that you enjoyed the video, and i'm very glad chauntelle will be singing more on the new record.

posted Sun Oct 29, 2006 7:08 am
Ribbs
Questions answered
The vocal instructor's name is Ron Anderson - we came to him thru my pal Jonathan Davis, who Ron also works with. Seth is certainly the other big name vocal coach in L.A.

And according to Guitar Center the list on that Les Paul is exactly $6817, with their tag price being $4999.99. Certainly could be negotiated down. Suffice it to say that standing orders are that no one picks that puppy up while wearing a belt buckle.

posted Sun Oct 29, 2006 8:28 am