What a crazy month! For starters, my family and I moved into our very first house this month. I cannot believe the amount of things I have accumulated over the years (it took three car loads of just my guitars!). So between packing, lugging and shoveling (ugh), I have been going non-stop all month.
With it being such a time of transition, I’ve been in a weird headspace as of late, and I think it shows in the February submission. ‘Opening Night’ was recorded in my new house, in my dedicated music room, very late in the month (Sean Boyer is sending mixes while I hurry to write this blog). The song features Chris Braydon on electric guitars and me on acoustic guitar, vocals and percussion.
Chris did some great things with his pedals to create a very ambient loop that he complimented with another ambient guitar track panned opposite. My guitar part is pretty typical of my fingerpicking and the vocal melody feels very much like the type of thing I sing sitting on my bed most nights. The percussion takes some liberties with a 28″ Ludwig bass drum tuned about as loose as it’ll go in the minor section, and a percussive scraping noise compliments of a fingernail on a banjo skin through a delay pedal. The lyrics were what surprised me most, and are not something I would generally write. Sean says that it’s probably the winter combined with the move that put me in such a weird place… I tend to agree.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the song (I’m still getting used to it myself).
(As always, I’d like to thank Sean Boyer for his assistance with the mix and my friend Chris Braydon for coming through last minute. I very much appreciate having such talented and willing friends)
Opening Night
Last night I fell into a dream
behind my eyes there played out every scene.
All the props were painted blue and green
and every face was blurred out on the screen.
The soundtrack was your voice set to song
and every now and then I’d sing along.
Like a child in grade school you sang out proud and strong
and me, I got the words I sang all wrong.
In the first act two lovers fell in love
and built their homes on the wings of a dying dove.
When the house lights came up they washed out all the floods
and it was then I’d wished I’d woken up.
As the curtains closed there was blood strewn on the stage
and pieces of the hearts that left the stain.
As the actors bent to bow I felt the strain
I opened up my eyes and heard you sing…
Clinton Charlton – Opening Night
(to download, right click and select “save as”)