JohnJayJay · Guilty Pleasure

So this is what I've been doing for about the last week or so. Basically this is an amalgamation of every musical "guilty pleasure" I've ever had. Euro disco/Giorgio Moroder, Duran Duran, moog synths, and layers and layers of shoegaze guitar (I maxed out my Mac making this...almost crashed it). I played my StingRay bass on this...I haven't played it in over 25 years. I forgot what a nice growl it has! (but it's a bit of a beast compared to my Fender P;)

So, I recorded this song a little while ago with the idea for a story, and the song became a sort of soundtrack in my head as I put it together. Well, just for kicks I put some imagery to it...which necessitated changing the story a bit. The story now: A "fixer" gets hired to eliminate a target...a young woman. He's not told why, just that it needs to be done, and he needs to leave town as soon as the job is completed. He's given his up-front money, a stolen pistol, a fake passport, and the address and a picture of his target. He travels to San Francisco and follows her throughout the city and back to her apartment, where he plans to finish the job. However, this is no ordinary young woman, and she's waiting in ambush for him (she was obviously tipped off to his presence). A bloody exchange happens, and the fixer heads for the north coast to escape and heal his wounds. The woman's fate is unknown. Revenge on his mind, the fixer heads back to the city, and finds the man (a Russian mob boss) who hired him at his downtown club. The mobster practically ignores him stating "I was hoping the both of you would take each other out...but I see you're still with us. Congratulations. Now get out ...before I finish my oysters." The mobster arrogantly goes back to his dinner and figures the man he hired will be on the run and fearing for his life...and won't dare to retaliate (such is the mobster's reputation). The fixer stares at the mobster a moment longer, and then quietly walks out of the club and waits in the shadows across the street for the mobster to finish his dinner and get into his car. The fixer sees his revenge complete, leaves town, and puts that fake passport and money to use. Anyways, I only spent a few hours looking for public domain photos to use, so I didn't really geek out on this, it was merely a pleasant diversion. But, I still think it came out fairly well considering the self imposed limitations (like having to use one photo of a toy pistol, for instance;)

New Song (edited)

OK.  Here's the edited version of last song I recorded minus the sound effects (i.e. record needle scratch, siren, desert wind, etc).  This is just basically the straight forward song itself.  It's an odd amalgamation of influences of mine: The Charlatans and The Church (and maybe a little Radiohead with the some of the background guitar atmospherics).  Specifically, the Hammond organ is all Charlatans circa their Some Friendly album, and the guitar is a lot of The Church circa their Starfish album (again, with a light dusting of Radiohead).  Recorded with nothing but an old Mac, and a Fender Strat and P-Bass.  Mixed pretty well, so use headphones!  As always, an instrumental, as I cannot sing...at..all.

New Song

So, I like to fiddle around with music. Might as well put the old guitars to some sort of use. What I don't do is write lyrics. Not my thing. It doesn't come natural to me, and it's just not a strong suit of mine. So, I say that to explain this: since my music is all instrumentals, I tend to have a lot of visual imagery floating around in my head as I compose something. This one is no different. But I'm getting ahead of myself. As far as the song itself, it's a mishmash of a lot of bands/styles/genres I love. Specifically (in this instance): Ennio Morricone/The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly; The Charlatans from their Some Friendly period; The Church from their Starfish album; U2's Unforgettable Fire; Catherine Wheel's Ferment album; and even a little Depeche Mode and Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique in the intro and outro. So, back to the song: I thought of it as a soundtrack to a highly stylized movie from the late 60s, early 70s (not the music itself, just the movies imagery...although the hammond organ in the song is very retro sounding and that was intentional). The kind of movie Lee Marvin would have made or maybe George Clooney when he wants to be grittier. Here's the plot in a nutshell and how the song corresponds with the story (at least, in my head):

-The Lee Marvin/George Clooney character is a "fixer" for LA mobsters. He's very good at what he does, and supremely confident in his abilities. But, he's also grown tired, weary, bitter, and cynical...and is thinking of getting out and "retiring". As he sits alone in a dark downtown bar, he gets a phone call for a job. As he prepares for the job, and goes about doing what he does to complete it (let your mind wander as to what it might be), that's the first part of the song. It's the intro (prepping and driving to the scene), and the verse (doing the job, and doing it well). However, it dawns on the fixer something isn't right, and his "bosses" have set him up to take a hard fall. That's the short bridge after the verse...when it occurs to him he's in deep trouble and been deceived and double-crossed. The second part (or chorus, although it only occurs once), is his flight out of the city with danger close on his heels. He's heading to the desert where an old flame of his lives. She's the only person he can trust, and she's somebody he's never told anybody about in order to keep her out of harms way from his seedy life. He's had years of regret for walking away from the relationship years prior, as she was easily the best thing he had in his life. But, being who he was, he felt she was better off without him...but he's never gotten over the regret. The repeat of the bridge is their meeting in the desert, and her hiding him out until he can figure out an angle to clear his name from the incident. She agrees to go back to help him if he promises to leave the city and be with her (she still holds a candle for him too). He agrees. The repeat of the verse is them both going back to LA, and the fixer getting his revenge and the bosses getting their just desserts. The ending bridge is the fixer and the woman driving back out to the desert and never looking back.

Now, a movie like this needs a highly stylized poster, which i would imagine would look something like these:

Anyways, that's my musical process and some insight into my brain. I know...nerd alert. Oh, and the sound of the record skipping at the intro and outro was just an homage to the Beastie Boys Pauls Boutique album. I had fun making the recording sound like it was a record where the needle would get stuck and you had to bump it to get it going again, and then hastily dragged the needle over the groove at the end putting it away. The siren/car chase at the beginning was my idea of the "listener" of the record listening to another track on the record (say, the "chase scene of the fixer getting out of LA"), and the needle got stuck, so they drug the needle over to the next track, this song. Then song ends as it's the last track, so the listener drags the needle a bit as they put the spindle back in its cradle. No real purpose other than my own entertainment.

PS:
This song was a pain in the ass to mix and master. Different sets of headphones/earbuds would produce wildly different results, so I kind of had to make a compromise where it didn't sound perfect on any of them, but decent on all of them.

New Song: Red Sunset, Green Flash (updated May 18, 2014)

Tried to write a "happy song" (I used a major key and everything), but, like most of my stuff, it turned out to have a wistful quality. I guess a leopard cannot change his spots. This is an amalgamation of everything I like: jingle jangle, endless layers of guitars (I think I melted my CPU...), strings, and even a semi-groovy section (hey, bass is my primary thang). All my influences are here: The Church, U2, and even a little Andy Rourke bass...and some Lush too. This also has some soaring orchestral qualities, and I think the bridge is rather pretty. Mixed to be played loud, and please, use headphones!

(So, after repeated listenings I heard some things I wanted to change: decay rates of some guitars, try and fix a right side bias, added a small additional guitar track, changed eq parameters, etc. This is probably about as close to what I had imagined as I am going to get. If I keep fiddling with it, I'll screw it up. Anyways, like I said, my attempt at a "happy song" in a major key (G for those curious), with some strings, chiming guitars, and a fun little bass line in the chorus)

Furthermore, it's all about the mix, amiright???? Anyways, can't sing, so instrumental as always. But, loads o' guitars, synths, and looped percussion all created by my little hands and cranium. As usual, with as much emotion as I can infuse. Btw, look up a red sunset-green flash if you're not familiar...

New Song "Histamine"

Pretty much an amalgamation of everything thats ever influenced me…and if I do say so myself, it also has a little, simple guitar riff about a minute into the song (an instrumental) that is pretty addictive.  I called it “Histamine” because I’m on a boatload of meds dealing with that very substance, which has caused me a fair amount of misery the last seven months.  But, I think the psychedelic effect of the Rx I’ve been issued has been good for my art.  So, the suffering hasn’t been in vain…hope you like it. As far as the utter misery of what I've been dealing with for over half a year...that is the subject of another post.  In the meantime, enjoy my little stylistic adventure here...I wrote it to be kind of a smorgasbord of styles that appeal to me, and I thought it gave it something of a trippy, dreamy vibe....

Remixed and Reimagined

OK. This is a re-imagining of a song I did a while ago. I added a different (live) drum loop, and some keyboards. It now more closely resembles what I had in mind when I first recorded it. I think of it as a modern interpretation of 1982 Blondie meets Duran Duran. I make no apologies for being a teen in the 80's...enjoy.

Johnny Comes Home by JohnJayJay

It keeps me off of the streets...

I recorded a new song this weekend. Called The Snake Charmer. My basic excuse was to play around with a mix that made my P-bass sound chunky. I think this did it. Simple song, but fun to record. It a major key, so therefore my idea of a happy song...and once again, I abuse a variation of the key of A. Bon apetite. Oh, and if The Catherine Wheel and The Church had a baby...this would be it.

The Snake Charmer

Just Like the Sun (Remix)

Space Monkey

Mercury Tears

Lessons Learned

The Lizard Brain

Sullivan Potter

On the Dole

The Hedonist

Flanger

Razorblade Mirror

Johnny Comes Home

Jumped the Shark

Horizon

Jason James Flint

Lunar Plane

Altar

Wayward Youth

New Song

Kind of a melancholy tune. Starts off very mellow, then a little simple fuzzy guitar hero, then a wall of sound meant to build as a bit of emotional crescendo. Mix came out nicely too.....Called 'Lessons Learned'

Another New Song "Inside the Lizard's Brain"

So, way back in the day I used to plass bass guitar in an alt rock band. Then life took over. I recently discovered Garageband on my Mac, blew the dust off my guitars, and started writing some songs. Here they are. No vocals because my voice sounds like a frog being castrated.
Update: I suppose I should comment on the songs a bit (yes, most lack titles...).

-Inside the Lizard Brain. Just having fun with a wall of guitars...going for a hypnotic, spooky sound. Had fun with it.
-Horizon. Made me think of driving on a desert highway headed towards where the sky meets the earth...
-Lunar Plane. How I spent my last weekend in January and my idea of what an alien lullaby beamed from deep space would sound like. Inspired by The Church's Field of Mars. Worked a little ride cymbal in the chorus...my most favorite of cymbals.
-Flanger. My attempt at guitar rock majesty. Song named 'Flanger' for reasons that are obvious to guitar weenies.
-My Song 4: Was going to record a different song last night and made this up on the spot instead...all built around a simple bass line. You just never know what your Muse is gonna do. Again, influences are obvious. I could tweak this more and polish up transitions, but I'm done with it and going to leave "as is". Thank you short attention span.
-Jason James Flint: Music inspired by spy movies, and about as low-fi as you can get with a shitpile of synths. Thank you Steve Kilbey for chord changes inspiration.
-Just Like the Sun: has lyrics, and as usual...it's about a woman. But they're personal, and I can't really sing anyways, so anyways...obvious Catherine Wheel influence, and first song I did on Garageband.
-My Song 3. No title. No words. Living out late 80's early 90's new wave fantasies. Daughters thought it has a tango vibe.
-My song 5. Maybe my favorite. My idea if The Church and Soundgarden had a baby...and that baby grew up and gave birth to The Smiths (ending guitar part a nod to my love of Johnny Marr).
-My Song 2. More alt. rock, new wavey, late 80's inspired stuff. I like this one too.
-Sullivan/Potter (Redux). My nod to U2 and two guys I know who listened to them waaay back in the day. A remixed version of an earlier attempt.
-This Song Has No Name but it Grooves Baby. If disco and shoegaze combined their DNA it might sound like this.
-Altar. My attempt at a little Church inspired jingle jangle. One of my earlier attempts, hence production not as clean as I would like.
-Jumped the Shark. Not a huge fan or aficionado of club music...but thought it would be fun to try. Plus, I got to attempt a middle eastern "Kashmir" type guitar riff...so I got that out of my system as well. Enjoy. (Title says it all!)


Inside the Lizard Brain

Sullivan Potter

Song 4

My Song 3

Flanger

My Song Groove

My Song 2

Jumped the Shark

Horizon

Jason James Flint

Lunar Plane

Altar

My Song 5

Just Like the Sun

Garageband

So, way back in the day I used to plass bass guitar in an alt rock band. Then life took over. I recently discovered Garageband on my Mac, blew the dust off my guitars, and started writing some songs. Here they are. No vocals because my voice sounds like a frog being castrated.
Update: I suppose I should comment on the songs a bit (yes, most lack titles...).

-Lunar Plane. How I spent my last weekend in January and my idea of what an alien lullaby beamed from deep space would sound like. Inspired by The Church's Field of Mars. Worked a little ride cymbal in the chorus...my most favorite of cymbals.
-Flanger. My attempt at guitar rock majesty. Song named 'Flanger' for reasons that are obvious to guitar weenies.
-My Song 4: Was going to record a different song last night and made this up on the spot instead...all built around a simple bass line. You just never know what your Muse is gonna do. Again, influences are obvious. I could tweak this more and polish up transitions, but I'm done with it and going to leave "as is". Thank you short attention span.
-Jason James Flint: Music inspired by spy movies, and about as low-fi as you can get with a shitpile of synths. Thank you Steve Kilbey for chord changes inspiration.
-Just Like the Sun: has lyrics, and as usual...it's about a woman. But they're personal, and I can't really sing anyways, so anyways...obvious Catherine Wheel influence, and first song I did on Garageband.
-My Song 3. No title. No words. Living out late 80's early 90's new wave fantasies. Daughters thought it has a tango vibe.
-My song 5. Maybe my favorite. My idea if The Church and Soundgarden had a baby...and that baby grew up and gave birth to The Smiths (ending guitar part a nod to my love of Johnny Marr).
-My Song 2. More alt. rock, new wavey, late 80's inspired stuff. I like this one too.
-Sullivan/Potter (Redux). My nod to U2 and two guys I know who listened to them waaay back in the day. A remixed version of an earlier attempt.
-This Song Has No Name but it Grooves Baby. If disco and shoegaze combined their DNA it might sound like this.
-Altarius. My attempt at a little Church inspired jingle jangle. One of my earlier attempts, hence production not as clean as I would like.
-Jumped the Shark. Not a huge fan or aficionado of club music...but thought it would be fun to try. Plus, I got to attempt a middle eastern "Kashmir" type guitar riff...so I got that out of my system as well. Enjoy. (Title says it all!)

• My Song 3
• My Song 5
• My Song 2
• Sullivan Potter
• This song has no name...but it grooves baby

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