by the time we got to Woodstock
It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Work and family have kept Sarah and I on our toes ever since our return from our short annual Maine vacation.
We did temporarily revert to recreation mode last Friday night (9/11/26), when we attended Brian Fallon and The Painkillers at the legendary Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY.
The historic town is just about an hour down the road, and one of our favorite destinations. Both the band and the venue were stellar.
My blurry action shot does neither of them justice.
Lunch with mom vibes
Although the blog has been quiet since vacation, the studio has not.
The above track is titled ‘Dockside’. I recorded it immediately after returning from a lovely lunch with Sarah and my mother at a favorite local restaurant called The Docksider.
Cerebral origins
At lunch, while enjoying a lakeside vegan hamburger, I was thinking about a Fender Rhodes electric piano, and how it might sound while playing a Bmin - DMaj7 chord progression. This is perfectly normal behavior.
Back at home and behind a keyboard, the Kontakt plug-in sounded just as I imagined. I added a couple more chords and hit record.
Interestingly, although my desire to achieve the grungy analog vibe heard below was the impetus for creating this song, I ultimately changed the sound of the keys in the final mix (heard above).
Building the groove
Keys were a wrap. We needed a band.
I first laid down a basic beat on the pads.
Then came the congas…
…and of course the bass.
Lucille’s distant cousin
I finished off with a better than expected guitar track. There was no plan, just blind improvisation which led to a cool BB King-style first take. No chords, just killer blues licks (and one clam at :40) stabbing their way in between beats.
Your moment of Zen
Here is twenty seconds of me, not ready to record the bass.
Instruments and gear used in the production:
Hohner B Bass V 5-String Electric Bass
Behringer U-Phoria UMC1820 audio interface
beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO studio headphones
