The Week In Review
New Glasses
I went to the eye doctor today to get a new Rx and to order some new glasses. The new glasses look almost exactly like the ones I have now but a little bit smaller. If it ain’t fixed, don’t broke it. I figure that having smaller glasses will make my head look bigger. Then the size of my head will appear to be the same size that people think it is.
During the exam the doctor gave me some eye drops to dilate my pupils. The last time I had that done it made me extremely nauseous. This time it wasn’t so bad. The totally rad inserts the doc gave me made it all worth it. I rocked these suckers for the better part of the day.
New Smoker
When we got home I took my new smoker for its maiden voyage. A few weeks ago I was telling my mom how much I’d like to have a smoker but I didn’t want to shell out the money for one. She suggested I put a wanted add in our church’s classifieds saying that I was looking for one just in case someone was wanting to get rid of one. I was certain that there was no chance that would work so I didn’t do anything about it.
A couple of weeks later one of the guys in the church came up to me and said “I hear you’re looking for a smoker.” That kind of freaked me out. How did he know? My mom is in charge of the classified adds. That’s how.
He said he had a brand new smoker still in the box that he had never even put together. It was just taking up space in his shed. He said if I’d come haul it off he’d give it to me for free. Holla! The thing is awesome. I don’t know how much he paid for it but it’s super nice. Thanks mom.
So I started off with something easy and smoked some chicken today. Pretty stinkin’ good. Needs some work but definitely a nice start.
New Perspective – Invention of the Wheel
A few days ago Chris Gustave mentioned that he was hanging out with John Dear and that John had The Drew Johnson Band’s song ‘Fall Fights’ playing in his car. That reminded me that I hadn’t heard that album in a long time so I dug it out to see if it was still good.
I listened to the whole thing all the way through and there were a few spots that made me smile with pride. Things that I had forgotten how much I enjoyed. Here they are.
The guitar tone in ‘Downtown’ is killer. Strat + Matchless + Tube Screamer = Crazy delicious.
The “shout chorus” at the end of Liberty is very cool. (I always considered the “Let your light shine” part a shout chorus) The vocals sounded cooler than I remembered.
The Ballad of War’s End is still my pride and joy. I like all of it. All of it.
The vocal harmonies on the chorus of Blues for Serena are super cool. They definitely made me smile. I also like the vocals in the pre-chorus, the “Kurt gonna grant you everything you lack” part. Those vocals are highly stylized so they sound a bit weird. They were meant to resemble some of the female background vocal stuff that Zappa did. It’s at least in the ballpark.
Those were the things that stood out for me.
Here are a few things that I didn’t like.
The reverb I used on the drums sounded natural to me when we mixed the record. It doesn’t any more.
The doubling (tripling actually) trick I used on most of the lead vocals sounded subtle to me when we mixed it. I thought it fattened it up just a smidge. Now it sounds slick and chorus-y. Bad call.
Dino and I have talked about doing a commentary on Invention of the Wheel like directors and actors do in the special features of a DVD. I think that would be fun. There are many, many stories from the making of that record that I think people might find interesting.
I’m still very proud of that record and I’m glad I can listen to it without cringing. I think we did a lot more right than we did wrong.
I remember the first time Sam Tucker played IOTW for me- I was completely spellbound. I am still to this day still blown away by it. You should be very proud- it’s too bad that album could not be heard by the masses. I am not just saying this and anyone who knows me will tell you I don’t say things like this unless I really mean them but IOTW would probably be in my top ten desert island discs. Seriously.
But don’t get the big head…
Wow! Dude! Thank you so much. That really means a lot. I just wet my pants a little.
“Invention Of The Wheel†is a hands down masterpiece. Put it next to 99.99999999999999999999% of the albums out there and it just blows them away. And the fact that it was done by some dudes I know in a basement in Granite City rather than in Hollywood in a multi-million dollar studio with some big-named producer just makes it a bazillion times more amazing. I can’t listen to it too much because it makes my own feeble attempts at being a singer / guitarist / songwriter / arranger / composer / recording engineer / producer / human being look like crap in comparison.
This is why I love you.
This is why I hate you.
That just made my day. Than you sir.
drew..i do not hate you like mr dear..
but, i think you should know…that is one of my top 10 favorite records…ever.
it was such a thrill to finally get to make a record with you guys !!
jch
Dude the thrill was all ours.
And I seem to remember you saying that you only own 11 records.
Yeah, that record is a big part of the ‘Soundtrack of my Life’.
And I can put it on like the first time everytime. Not a lot of music endures like this does. It’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing the gift, man.
-Gustave
For me, Invention Of The Wheel has serious staying power and I’m glad I listen to it now with the same freshness as when I first heard it. I listened to it on the way to work which is what reminded me that I haven’t read this hear blog in a while.
I keep Ballad Of War’s End and Doin’ It With The Lights On are spectacular songs and I keep them in my car at all times for when I need to hear them, which is frequent.
I’ll hold this album to anything that came out of our fair city in the past 10 or so years.