Kinda Like Suicide

Patch's second live rehearsal took place today.

It was four instead of five. This worked to our advantage today, as we got down to meticulous details and nitpicking. It'll be easier to get the fifth up to speed one on one for what we're currently delving into.

One of the more interesting notes: all my life, and maybe this is my insecurity talking, my initial ideas for music and performance have always been met with opposition or a scoffing look. After I show people what I want to do by a recording or through working out a project, then people tend to dig the work. Not all the time, but usually.

Today, at the tail end of the rehearsal, we did our first collaborative work: a Typosgraphy intro for the live show. I was wrestling with whether or not it would be strictly drums and vocals or if guitar and bass should join in on the fun. The band, now immersed within my head and the world of Patch and its vision, is becoming very vocal on what they like and don't like. We have constructive discussions on the work.

Adri left to hunt and gather by the time we really got down to brass tacts with the intro. Scotty, Greg and I put our heads together to come up with a buildup that wouldn't spill the beans on the hugeness of the actual Typosgraphy song. But it needed to be a buildup full of intensity. Initially, they scoffed at the idea. I scatted the song (that never goes over well, in every situation, doing the entire song by mouth makes the idea even shittier. But what else am I going to do other than record an entire fucking demo?) and they paused afterward, collecting thoughts. "I . . . uh . . . I don't know, man." Me: "Just try it out. See how it goes."

By this time Adri was "Alright, I'm out!" Never introduce ideas at the end of a long rehearsal. The rest of us pushed on despite my mistake. I said to Scotty, "Come up with developments. A new layer, each one more busy than the last." He came up with five, he suggested a pause at the end of the song. We played through a couple times.

I thought that the developments with snare were too short. I wanted more. So I said, "Four developments. Nix one of the tom developments. Two toms, two snare. I'll point when you go to the next one." We ran through it, we liked it.

I asked, "Do you guys think we need any sort of electronic ambience?"

Both said, "Yeah, I'd like that."

I said, "A low tone that could fluctuate between straight sine and modulated -- GASP! 'In Hopes'--"

Greg interrupted: "I was just going to suggest that!"

The beginning of "In Hopes to Mend" has a low rounded sine tone from Greg's MicroKorg that's hypnotic and inviting, interspersed with granular interference from Greg's Kaoss Pad. Unfortunately, the Kaoss Pad is fucking up currently. Voices don't put out any sound, others put out too much sound. The volume on a power mixer for a PA system could be .1db up from absolute zero and drum loops could blast the speaker's high frequencies out to high heaven (which is exactly what happened last month. That PA speaker is in the shop as I type.). So we need to make a voice on the MicroKorg that can have fluctuating modulation accessed by a modulation wheel.

We started making the voice from scratch, but I needed to get to a Mastering session with Schuyler in a half hour. We passed on that and ran the idea one more time. We loved it. We were all smiling in unison, glints in our eyes. It'll be a good opener, I think . . .

The direction we're going in seems to be pretty fruitful.

Soundgarden -- "Like Suicide"