Carl, Chair and Marsupial.
What a heck of a week. Read on for pics and Vids from the Carls Chair Project. There will be further blogs from the other guys but here's what I captured during the week (and some random stuff, you know, the usual)
To Jo, Stuart, Josh, Michelle, Jordan and Reggie (and Phoenix) - thank you letting us drop into your lives.
Christine, thank you for being out-there enough to prompt the adventure and for the inaugural Adopt A Band project :-)
After a week of the Love in Cumnock, I might be a little gushy (sigh...where's my tissues?).
Right, back to my usual dry acerbic wit - (sniffle)
Ahem.
The week before we left, we were working on potential tunes for the recording - we had a list of some 16 or so possibles, including stuff that was written during the week. as it was brand brand new, we had to capture a quick guide track so we could develop it.
This was a cute piece Paul wrote in the shower and it sounded a bit country. I wrote down 'country shower' on the paper as a temporary name. The melody was great but I looked at Paul and Rosie and said sadly 'i got nothing' (lyrically). Here was a great melody in need of some words, and I had nothing. Nada. Zip. Not a sausage. Oh well, I guess this one wont make it....or so I thought...
We were also working on the song for Snowy at the PI (Hi Snowy, its finished mate.) and as usual, we were all trying to avoid doing the solo, a conversation going something like this (for almost any of the songs):
Rosie: I think a Harp solo here would be GREAT
Me: A harp solo? What this song is crying out for is MORE GUITAR!
(pause as Rosie and I look at Paul and a brilliant idea forms)
Simultaneously: MANDO SOLO!!
Heh.
Carls Chair - Day 1 - Whatcha Gonna Do when the Band Break Down! Send Carl back off into town!
So with tunes in development, itineraries written and meal planning commenced (8 dudes remember, thats a lot of meals) the day of the trip arrived. Hurrah!
This was a rare thing for all of us - setting off on a MONDAY!! A Monday! Spooky. Monday has a resonance that screams 'this is a work day get back to work!' and we were running away to the country to record music. Weeeeeird.
Now for those of you unfamiliar with our blogs, the next sequences are the journey and the music we were listening to. Skip down a bit for the story or sit back and soak in a few moments of a Band Road Trip
A random bag of Cd's from the collection with Dion dipping into come up with random choices. here's what we got: Pink Floyd and Creedence. Perfect!
Now our journey was somewhat different from that of Rosie, Theo and Repo, whose car broke down. Suffice to say, with a car filled with groceries, we were unable to assist until we had offloaded.
Even better, the Particular Mobile Phone Carrier I am using (no names mentioned) do not have coverage in Cumnock so it all went a bit silent.
So while we were greeted by Jo and Stuart and started picking rooms, Rosie, Theo and Scott were stuck outside Orange getting helped by the NRMA and freezing.
But this project waits for no man (apparently) and the Itinerary did say 'go to Burgoon and Check Porch'.
So duly, we followed Jo back to the Porch that Jo and Stuart had volunteered to lend us for the week.
Ok so I shot this pic on the last day after we had cleared out, but here ya go. This was it kids, the spot. the official Porch Music idea that had formed part of this whole process.
The G-Man and Dion started to scout for the best position and we started to work out where we'd set up the following day.
MEANWHILE - RT and S are still in Orange.
A quick jaunt back to the Royal Hotel and settling into the Old Barber Shop, we started to realise how cold it actually was.
Now if you have been following this blog, you'll know we've been working on this idea for some time, while we were finishing Nuevo Retro, so it was originally envisaged as a summer project.
We really should have thought about that a little more closely. Ok, when I say we, I mean me. All right so there were some other circumstances that we had to arrange ourselves around (life) but still..how cold?
Carl and his hat. This was an awesome hat. A hat he has had for 35 years. A truly magnificent Chapeau. BTW this is Carl INSIDE the flat - we hadnt got the heating quite worked out...
Hmm.
Meanwhile, RTS are still stuck outside Orange.
Dion starts getting his equipment under control,
For me, it was off to the Pub kitchen, where I discovered that Stuart had a bigger knife than I do. Kudos Stuart. LOL.
I took a Chefs Knife with me as I had volunteered pumpkin soup and didn't want to find myself with a box of pumpkins and a serrated bread knife. Been there, done that.
With Stuarts Industrial Kitchen and Industrial Stove, all was well. Meanwhile, we used the Land Line to contact Rosie and quickly Carl went to rescue them from Orange, where the car had been towed for repairs to the electrical system.
Finally everyone was assembled, fed and we bunked down in preparation for....
Day 2 - The Whitening! The Whitening!
Ok. It was cold.
No kidding.
And the view from inside?
And the best part? No heater in the car and we were due to spend the rest of the week on the Porch. Brilliant! Genius!
With Breakfast Served, everyone headed out to Burgoon where the site assembly and testing of recording setups began.
Rosie and Repo on the lawn
Carl in Carls Chair. There will be many more photos of this subject. You have been warned.
Mr Wizard on the Porch. now this is authentic porch music!
The Gman started to setup the system
And the boys continued rehearsing
With Repo asking all sorts of questions, such as 'What Do Dutch People call what Dutch People Speak' Theo was treating our new found enthusiasm for multiculturalism with amusement. Theo was charged up after Holland won their match in the World Cup (and he got to watch it on Stuarts big screen Tv).
The G Man. I love this crazy guy.
The G Man ha been reading up and testing ways to capture the Carls Chair project and had rigged up a combined standard/surround capture system. Awesome.
Finally we settled on a spot off the verandah, to allow the drums to get the resonance and for the cold amongst us to get the sun.
With the spot picked, we settled in and started the recording process. I cant remember what we did on each day (its all a blur) but you can read Rosie's Blog for accuracy.
The Mad Hatters Tea Party
After lunch it was time to position Carls Chair
And to record.
here's a Random Happy Theo from the afternoon of Day 2
As the sun set, we froze solid. OMG cold. We packed up and headed back to the pub where it was Repo's turn to cook, possible the largest amount of Schnitzel made by one man ever.
Sign at the Royal Hotel's ...errr...Privvy.
Lol.
Carl had spotted a Poker Game on in Orange and took Dion for a quick Poker Experience whilst the boys stared to work on the next songs for the following day...
TO BE CONTINUED ( hey this is a long blog and I need a coffee)