#wwcb

character basics: jace gabriel labonair

“I wanna know what’s happening to me. one day I’m a cop working for the NOLA PD and the next I’m being fatally shot and waking up without exit wounds. And I have a feeling it has something to do with my sister, Zed. I need your help.”

*** witchy woman: coming soon

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character basics: nina winona labonair

“whatever you put in me is eating me alive. I don’t know how much more of it I can take before my life gives out. you’re on a journey to save your soul john constantine? so am i.”

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witchy woman: coming soon

***

AJSDAOHD oh god, oh god, breathing. how do i breathe? 

first of all, thank you so much! it’s amazing to know people actually like something you write, you know? and it were a first for me, trying something so long like that.

about the extension, i’m trying to work on a second part, actually, but it’s still being drafted, so it may take some short while, okay? 

and honey YES, i’m working on some smuts right now, so don’t worry baby, i got you. so, maybe a snippet right now? under the cut.

His kisses leave you lightheaded. 

(For the reasons why I’m posting and writing this, and for a bit of backstory, read this post first)

This post is completely unnecessary. But I promised we would embarrass ourselves. And this is more embarrassing than any of the over-excited, cliched comments we've made on the other tracks I've posted. 

This is a dead end. This is an example of trying something and failing. We had written the bulk of "When She's Gone" a couple days earlier (see the post on that), but apparently we decided that a pop song wasn't poppy enough so it needed to be popped up more to its poppiest extreme. Thankfully, we didn't pursue this route after this recording. But we tried it. I'll admit that. And here is the evidence. 

There is so much wrong throughout this whole clip. So please listen.

The final version of what this song turned into is here, and if the clip doesn't load below, listen directly on Soundcloud. 

Creepily Detailed Notes: 

00:22: Drew: “Everyone just play what they play, but then change it a little.”

04:02 - Trying to figure out what each other is talking about when mentioning a line/measure

At 5:22, the nightmare starts. Drew does the “ah, ah, ah’s.”

Around 5:52, start debating on how often it should be used and where. Tyler is unconcerned with the conversation haha. Mostly the other three. That’s his MO. When he doesn’t care about something, or is against the idea, he just ignores it and hopes it goes away. Very healthy.

6:40: Phil Collins joke. “In The Air Tonight” drums. And then Tyler perks up and starts taking the Phil Collins thing seriously. 

At 8:22, we are still fucking talking about Phil Collins 

08:56: Drew actually says, “Walking in Memphis, baby.” All of us are guilty here. 

And at 9:22, Shay’s drums certainly sound like Phil Collins. 

9:59 Drew: “Can you play faster without speeding up?”

At 10:13, Tyler gets undservedly cocky. 

At 14:22, everyone starts trying to harmonize together. And it’s hilarious. 

At 16:00, that’s enough. Punching out here. Enough’s enough. Show some mercy. This went on for another 30 minutes. And then we just stopped. Eventually we gave it up. 

(For the reasons why I’m posting and writing this, and for a bit of backstory, read this post first)

This song became "Make It So" also from our second album. It was written and recorded on 5/28 and 5/31/12, with Drew, Shay, and me. Total recording time (and time it took to write) is 52 minutes. Edited down to 26 minutes, including a take 3 days later with Chris tacked on the end. All except for that last take are sequential and on the same day. First 16 minutes are unedited to show whole process. After that, it’s details mostly. 

This song is a great example of Drew's insane ability to sing gibberish while finding the structure and melody. And sometimes pieces of that gibberish stick. By the end of the third take, he was singing, "Why don't you make it so?" on the chorus, and I'd be lying if I didn't start imagining Sir Patrick Stewart. 

You can hear the final version here. If the file doesn't load below, listen directly on Soundcloud. 

Creepily Detailed Notes: 

00:05 Drew starts playing the riff

At 00:17 Tyler starts trying to join in

At 00:38, Drew stops and is about to move on. Tyler tells him to play that again while he figures out the hook. And then we launch into an almost recognizable first version of the song, even though Tyler flubs along, trying to find the right notes.

 At 3:15 is the first attempt at a chorus, after which Tyler immediately screws up the riff

At 04:47 is the first attempt at a solo

At 05:37, we end the first take and Tyler says, “That actually might be something. It’s catchy as shit… It sounds like a blues song that turns into a pop song.” Drew corrects him, “No, it sounds like a pop song that turns into a blues song.”

Take 2 begins at 06:00. The riff starts to improve and become recognizable. At 06:20, Drew says, “I like that riff.” 

At 06:52, Tyler tries to change the riff for the second half of the verse. 

At 08:16, the chorus riff almost punches through for the first time. But Tyler still can’t get it. 

Take 2 ends at 09:05. 

At 09:15, Drew suggests Tyler take over the rhythm part when Drew solos. Takes Tyler about 45 seconds to learn the chords, but for how simple they are, that’s about 40 seconds too long. 

At 10:21, we start working on the turnaround. 

Take 3 starts at 10:59. 

At 13:25, Tyler and Drew switch for the first time, essentially completing the basic structure of the song. 

14:12 Drew: “Did you feel that when we were just pounding there? Oh Yeah.” Shay said, “That should be the song title.”

At 14:25, Tyler tries an aborted idea for Drew to incorporate some of the hook into Drew’s solo. But Drew can’t because it’s not in the blues scale. 

15:25, Drew points out we should switch rhythm/riffs during the second parts of the verses.  

15:57 Take 4 begins. First Edit, just removing the couple minutes of that take. 

Fell apart at the end, so at 16:05, Tyler suggests they come back to the chorus at the very end. 

Take 5 starts at 17:00. Edited out.  

 17:41: Tyler: “It’s a good sign when you’re out of breath for a pop song. 

Take 6 edited out. 

18:42, Take 7, complete. Tyler varies the riff on the verses. And the chorus riff is almost there. And Drew sings “Make It So” on the chorus. 

22:10: Drew: “Is there anything we can do better?”

22:13: Tyler: “Another one pulled out of the ether.”

22:15 : Related it to another abandoned song. 

(For the reasons why I'm posting and writing this, and for a bit of backstory, read this post first).

"A Certain Speed" ended up the second song on our second album. You can hear the final version here, and it's also attached to the back half of the Soundcloud file below.

The basic songwriting process, wherein most of the song was completely written (except for some lyrics), took 32 minutes, spread over two back-to-back recordings. That is a weird thing to be able to pin-point.

I edited the original 32 minutes down to the file below. Un-edited versions are available upon request if you're a psychopath. Timed comments are interspersed throughout, and pasted below the file. If it doesn't load for you below, you can watch directly on Soundcloud.

Creepily Detailed Notes: 

00:00-00:17 Finishing up an early version of “It’d Be Nice”

At 00:30, Tyler randomly starts on a riff that comes out of nowhere. Shay immediately starts playing along, and then at 00:53, there’s a pause and Drew starts singing. 

At 01:17, the chorus kicks in and Drew sings pretty much exactly what ends up on the final version. The fourth version of the main verse riff remains sloppy and unfinished for a while.

At 03:54, we finish up this very first take. Drew says, “I like this riff.” Tyler says he has to do something more with it and messes around a bit.  The band starts up a second attempt pretty much right away. The second version isn’t much different than the first so at 04:53, there’s a fade-out (about 3 minutes is cut from the original recording here, where we just repeat it a few times).  

When we fade back in, we start to get excited about it. Drew says something about either his toenail or his guitar tone haha. Tyler recognizes that “the first few notes are basically Lonely Boy (by the Black Keys).” But we quickly agree it’s totally different after those first three notes. 

There’s another fade-out at 05:11, which is just a couple minutes of everyone screwing around.  Coming back, Tyler expresses concern about the bridge— that it sounds too much like another song, which would ultimately become “Tick Tock”. 

At 05:40, it fades out because Tyler starts a new recording so that he won’t have to find all this in the middle of a long recording. Only a few seconds pass here. 

From  05:45-6:50, we practice the bridge. We fade out again as Tyler teaches Drew the riff so he can add to the bridge.  About five minutes pass here. 

At 06:57, Tyler’s still trying to figure out how to differ the bridge from “Tick Tock”. 

From 07:00-9:15, we run through the whole song— the best version of the day, and as Drew says right after the end of it, “We’re almost to a total song.” 

In fact, the only things that will really change in the final version are: a) Tyler cleaning up the end of the verse riff, b) Drew’s guitar accents between the verses, c) adding to the bridge d) verse lyrics, and e) adding the bass. Otherwise, it’s pretty much exactly how it ends up on WWCB. 

After 09:15, Tyler spends some time trying to “smooth out” the riff. Shay helps.