Cloud Heavy

People often ask me- why are your songs sad? Why do you write so many sad songs? Do you have a special relationship with Despair? :)...no they don’t ask me that last question, but it feels like I’m being asked that sometimes...I'm not sure how to respond...errr...its not on purpose?

I don’t have much to say when I'm happy or content or satisfied. Id rather be doing funny voices over the phone, or jumping random objects on the street, or antagonizing the local video store lady...that’s how I express myself when I’m feeling good about things... Id love to write more strictly happy songs...I think there must be one or two kicking around somewhere...in all fairness, I do think that there are many messages of happiness in some of the saddest songs I’ve written...I think its rare to discuss one (sadness) and not be aware of the other (happiness)...even if not directly articulated...after all - to be sad is in itself a reminder that you were once happy...and so further, it is maybe encouragement that you may well be happy again...

But lets stick with strictly sadness for a moment... it was Theodore Dreiser who said, "Art is the stored honey of the human soul, arriving on wings of misery and travail"...I think somewhere in the process of our evolution, the breadth of sensitivity and expression that defines our emotional basis basically exploded. Simply, to feel is human- and the more we are reminded that we feel, the more we are reminded that we are human. And for some reason, when we feel sadness, pain...or for that matter, even anger and rage...there is an intensity and a special profound quality that isn’t really there when things are, well, going fine!

Its like that song- "on and on, you don’t know what you got till its gone..."- see this confuses me a bit... it confuses me why the experience of loss most often evokes that greater response...the lightning CHARGE...the piercing TRUTH...the OCEAN of feeling...whatever you want to call it...what about when it was a gain? when it was there... while being enjoyed, and appreciated - why was it not celebrated as much as when it died? What do we benefit from through this gain/loss spectrum? Some greater understanding? Are we truly fools who subconsciously crave a truth that can only be achieved by the experience of tearing oneself to pieces? no, that is silly...I doubt most of us crave it...but clearly there is something powerful in it...but what?

A man lives his life just as he planned till one day tragedy strikes and he feels alone like he hasn’t before...one day things made sense...and now he is all alone in the middle of an ocean of solitude (with a tiger, a zebra, a hyena, and an orangutan, :) sorry, had to- I love that book, :))...but he comes out of it somehow...he survives...he is "stronger"...what is this strength he has gained? Perspective? Hope? Clarity? Will? Why does he need this to realize his happiness? Why cannot life go an as it had- are we not capable of happiness if it is constant and predictable? Does it then follow that, if we cannot see it together with the foil of sadness, then it cannot properly exist?

I guess, I partly write songs because I like these questions. And I am at my "philosophical best" (or worst for that matter), when I am at my "melancholy-est".

Again, its not really on purpose, but like many half-assed artists, I don’t feel compelled to write, unless the compulsion is overwhelming...I remember reading Richard Bach's introduction to "Illusions", the book after his glorious "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", and he talks about the impetus to write...how he resists and resists; how he fights and fights with himself to avoid writing...till he feels like he's going to explode and he cant take it any longer, and so emptying himself is his only course of action...now that’s intense- I cant imagine anything at that level...but I feel its a little like that for even us, more "common", half-assed artists...

And so it follows, I find the only emotions that really propel me to write anything at all end up being the most intense- like sadness...otherwise, I’m not sure if I would write anything at all! Unless of course, maybe children's stories, which I would love to do more often.

I think the real thing about it is that it ends up being quite cathartic. Everyone deals with their shit in different ways. Well, all of a sudden (it feels that way- but its really over many years and many songs) its like you’ve discovered this way of externalizing all of these things you think about...whether its conflict inside of you...or deep sadness...or whatever...and its glorious because you’ve all of a sudden you've given birth to something new from something old that was in fact killing you...isn’t that a lovely twist of fate? so then...I think...gee no wonder it's what inspires me...

As far as the audience? I dunno...I don’t know if people like it or not...but I do think that either way...Broken hearts and broken dreams at least make listeners of us all...

The Bottom Line - A Devin Entry

After our gig at Holy Joe’s on May 28, a friend of mine, whose musical taste and opinion I hold in high regard, mentioned: “I liked your bass playing, but I really missed hearing your lead guitar stuff…” Ah, a bittersweet compliment – because, while I still hold the guitar closest to my heart, my new passion is for the bass…

Guitar has been my “primary” instrument until recently. I have been playing guitar since I was 12, whereas I picked up bass, mostly to supplement my sketch recordings, when I was 19. I was a lead guitarist in a cover band for years, most of my major musical influences are guitarists, and guitar is still my primary song writing tool.

My motives to put down the guitar and pick up the bass for Lickpenny Loafer were, at first, utilitarian. Last summer, Ron and I were in the process of writing and/or developing many of the songs you’ve heard on the website or at our shows. At that time, it seemed more important to establish a solid rhythmic foundation on many of these songs than to concentrate on ornamenting them with lead guitar work, particularly if we hoped to play them live with drums. Hence, I took upon the relatively daunting challenge of becoming a full-time bassist after years of lead guitar indoctrination. I knew that I could not let my influences as guitarist fall by the wayside – but I wondered if there could be a way to incorporate my lead guitar “intuition” into my bass playing without hurting the song?

It seems that, traditionally, bass in rock music has fulfilled two important roles: 1) as a timekeeping instrument that helps to define the rhythm and tempo of a song; and 2) to define the chords being played and guide the progression. Thus, it is the bassist’s responsibility to link the somewhat polar functions of rhythm and harmony into a logical groove – a unique and interesting task I think, and certainly different from that of lead guitar...The more I got into playing the bass, the more I started liking it because it is so different from lead guitar – kind of a refreshing new musical culture for me – it’s a less glorified role in the band, for sure, (less chance to “show off”) but on the whole, it is more substantive. In a way, I think the glory of bass comes with the nobility of being unobtrusive, but unquestionably essential. That is, in rock, you can have a band without lead guitar, but you can rarely have a band without bass.

Often overlooked in rock, however, is the potential for the bass to play a lead role in the creation of melody. Particularly in a band like ours, which is, at the moment, composed of only three individuals playing drums, bass, and rhythm guitar/vocals, there is an abundant opportunity for the bass to adopt, to a certain extent, the role of primary melody maker. It could be the lead guitarist in me, but one of the things I try and bring to most of our songs is a distinct melodic presence on the bass; somewhat of an attempt to break the stereotypical moulds within which rock bass has come to be defined. I think this is fairly evident on songs such as “The Haunt” and “In Retrospect” where there is considerable melodic movement, particularly in complement to the vocal line (as opposed to the drum beat).

However; it is a fine and often precarious balance that must be struck between creating interesting melodic lines and staying true to the rhythmic foundation of the song. Occasionally I find that a an archetypal approach to the bass best serves a song’s purpose – for instance, in songs like “Missed Kiss” and “Beware The Sirens”, which I feel are purposefully spare and heavily emphasize rhythmic aspects in their instrumentation, the only melodic nuances I contribute are bridging notes from one chord to the next. While some lead guitarists may view this as “boring”, the challenge in this style of bass playing is not necessarily devising creative lines, but rather having the considerable endurance and concentration required to pulse 8th notes with mechanical precision for the entirety of a 7 minute song (as in “Beware the Sirens).

Even within the confines of one song, I think there is considerable room for both melodic and rhythmic emphasis on bass. On the song “Paratoxic”, I begin the verse with a simplistic walk-down bassline that essentially connects the chords and gels easily with the drums. However, for the chorus, I attempt to change the rhythm and note selection in a manner that accentuates Arunachal’s vocal line. It was kind of tough to nail as a band at first, but when we got it right it sounded great – there’s a cool melodic interplay between voice and bass, without sacrificing some serious bottom end when the chorus rocks out…

My favourite bass line at the moment, the one I wrote for “Climbing Trees” (you can hear a version of it in the downloads section), is a combination of heavy rhythmic emphasis and some weird choices of melody. Furthermore, it is physically quite a work out for both the left and right hand! Take note that Arunachal wrote the song - when I first heard him play “Climbing Trees” on acoustic, my mind was ringing with bass line possibilities – the song is a great melting pot of interesting harmonies. Apparently Arunachal didn’t have the same positive view of this song until I contributed the bass line; now I think we both agree it’s one of our best songs in our repertoire.

I look forward to the time (likely in the studio) when I’ll be able to contribute lead guitar lines to a number of the Lickpenny Loafer songs. I certainly have some ideas spinning around in my head. But for now, I’m happy laying back and orchestrating the groove…

Time is a Slinky

A 3-piece band playing live- it took a while even to get to this point. Time is a slinky. It expands and contracts in much the same manner that a slinky does. Sometimes you are waiting for what seems like an eternity for something to happen. And then there are times when everything is happening so fast and so quickly, you are almost overwhelmed.

Time is completely and totally inconsistent. I minute may always equal 60 seconds, but when you factor in the human condition- well... time toggles violently between an instant and a lifetime.

Nonetheless, it feels good to get to a point where we are playing rock n' roll shows again (that’s what drums do don’t they? make everything rock n; roll). Like the subject in The Thinker, I was always moved by mind's analysis even though it so often leads over thinking and procrastination. It always seemed so romantic to me. Why? Well, if you were thinking all the time about your life, than it should naturally reflect that you take your life seriously. Maybe that's the mistake I too often make. After all, it is important to take what you do seriously, but never to be too serious in what you do.

I remember making a conscious decision to stop thinking so much towards the end of last year. A much beloved friend of mine gave me a Moleskine - a wickedly inspiring blank slate to jot new ideas and thoughts down, and craft developing ones. I started using it about six months ago and as I read back to the first thing I wrote in it, I cant help but feel a sense of appropriateness:

"It is time to perspire, time to sweat. It is a time of creation and conversion. Of transmission. And most importantly of production. Reject the bonds of pointless thought, but avoid too, the shackles of deliberate, rationalized restraint."

The slinky seemed to be expanding then, and I like that I'm feeling some contraction now. I guess its just the right time to rock n' roll.