Guitar Gear

It’s funny how my song writing has taken lots of twists and turns in the recent past. For years, I did nothing but religious music (I’m still writing those kinds of songs). Then I went through a phase where I was exploring my emotions and relationships in my life. But lately, I’ve taken to writing stories; letting the music dictate the subject matter to me.

This latest song actually started out as a rework of another I wrote several years ago about a young hottie I happened to dance with at a bar. Musically, the song was pretty good, but structurally, it just didn’t work. But as I worked on this song, even though there was a sense of “sexy” in it, it just didn’t feel like a “hottie” song. In fact, I started thinking about “007” films.

Then suddenly I found myself writing about a Bond on a “hit” and what he actually felt about it; what he felt about his job in general. The lyrics sort of took on a life of their own. Admittedly, the lyrics you’ll see below aren’t the original lyrics. The first set of lyrics didn’t seem to hold together well, so I swapped out some stuff and re-ordered a couple of the verses.

Anyway, give it a listen…

Note that this is the completed song after I tracked the instruments a couple of days ago. Didn’t change anything with respect to gear:

• Amp: DV Mark Little 40 Head into an open-back Avatar 1 X 12 with a Jensen P12N speaker
• Rhythm Guitar: Slash L Katie May into a Voodoo Labs Micro Vibe
• Lead Guitar: ’59 Les Paul Replica into a Vox Big Bad Wah
• Bass: Squier “P” Bass

I have to admit that I’m particularly pleased with the lead I played. I’ve never used a wah in any of my recordings up to now, and frankly, I was a bit nervous using it. But once I started playing, I forgot about my trepidation and just let my fingers do the talking. And to be completely honest, that was my first take of the lead after practicing over that section of the music trying different things for a few minutes. I figured I’d just throw the dice and see where the lead took me.

That was one of the few times that I felt truly “connected” when I was playing. Connection is a totally different state then concentration. It’s hard to explain. Let’s just say I was hyper-aware of everything around me when I was playing, and inherently “knew” what I needed to play when I played it. Normally when I’m recording a lead break, I’m pretty focused and admittedly I’ve got my solo worked out ahead of time. But this time, I only knew where I wanted to start with that double-stop bend; after that, all bets were off. I just felt my way through the solo. I guess that comes with trusting myself and my ability. It was very refreshing!

I know, I’m being a little long-winded, but I suddenly got on a philosophical bent somehow – maybe it’s the great wine that I’m drinking (Picchetti Winery Red Pavone Table Wine – 50% Cab Franc/50% Merlot). In any case, circling back to what I’m writing nowadays, for the first time in a long time I’ve been enjoying what I’ve been writing. I think it comes from not really caring where my music takes me. Like playing, I got better once I got over trying to play to a specific style. Once I realized that I liked to play and sing all sorts of stuff from rock to opera, my musical abilities progressed at a fast clip.

So it is with my music writing. I used to think that certain subjects were off-limits, or rather, I would limit myself to writing about just certain things. Then when I told myself to just be a storyteller, I just started writing about what came into my head. It didn’t matter what it was about. With this latest song, it’s actually pretty dark. Though the focus of the 007 movies is on the action, the guy’s a killer. He’s given various assignments, and they usually involve knocking someone off; and at times with a fairly glib attitude. And that’s what I wanted to portray in the song. In the end, his targets are just names on a list. Yeah, kind of dark…

Anyway, here are the lyrics to the song:

The Hit: James Bond’s Lament

Searching for the right moment
to cross the room
I’m drawn to the heat
of your smile
like a moth flying
into its doom.

I feel the weight of this metal
it’s smooth and it’s warm
a dark legacy that I leave
and I know that
I’ll never be mourned

No warning it’s the end of the line.
Your world is shattered in the blink of an eye.
no words of comfort that I think I could say.
it’s just another day…

You may not think you deserve this
but you know very well
there aren’t any angels in this game
and it’s likely
we’ll end up in hell.

It’s not a question of duty
to some majesty
The next name on the list
is all that matters to me