Recording format:
This CD was originally tracked and mixed on a “Roland 1680” hard drive recording machine the early part of 2002. After that it was transferred to Digital Performer and Pro Tools for mastering using Macintosh computers. Song #7 “With Life In Hand (NS instrumental Solo)” was the only song tracked outside of the Roland unit and was tracked, mixed then mastered within the Digital Performer and Pro Tools plug ins and software.

Gear:
I used the plug ins from the Roland unit (amp, mic, speaker cabinet emulators as well as chorusing, reverb delay…on and on). I played the NS/Stick (straight fourths tuning low “B” to ‘B flat’) and was MIDI'd to the Roland VG8 as well as an Alesis QSR synth module. I tracked with the idea that all the basic tracks and layering could be done all at once for live, but I did track them separately so I could concentrate on EQ and placement of the track in the mix… And it was more fun to do it that way.

Song List

1. Wait by the River 
It was fun/interesting filming this video (available online soon) in that when I was younger I thought, “Hey, look at all the girls you get to meet when you do a video.” So when Raj (Raj Naik produced the video) suggested we have a pretty girl do some dancin’ I thought, “Hey I got married… I didn’t go blind, it don’t hurt to look!” Let’s do it. So, Raj films the first part of the video where I’m playing and singing. That was a full day and then he says, “We’ll do the rest later” and so I go home and wait for the call to finish. Well, the call came and Raj says, “We're finished” Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, I never got to meet or see her in person, I don’t even know her name. He dubbed her in later…. Dag nabbit, finally get to make a video with a pretty girl… no kissing scene, no hand holdin’…nothin’!! Go figure, I was in a movie once called “Live From Death Row” (www.imdb.com if you’d like more information on it) where I had to run up to a van, hang on to the open window and say, “Alana I love you” while it was moving… “You think they got a stunt double to hang on the van for me?…. No, “That I get to do” and get dragged along the ground while the window gets rolled up on my arm!!!! But, meet a pretty girl while she’s dancing?… Oh no, that gets dubbed in later without me.

2. So True to You
I was really enjoying creating vocal harmonies and so took the opportunity to do some nice vocal layering and use them like keyboard pads as well. It sure was fun especially on the out choruses. So much so that the song probably goes on an extra 15 seconds so I could solo over top… And then that became a habit throughout the making of this CD. Also come to think of it… The bass parts on this song were played on my “Grand Stick”… My wife always used to always say, “All the songs you write are for me because we’ve been together so long (28 years) you draw from those experiences.” BUT lately she started sayin’, “Hey, where’s my song?” I reminded her of her statement… And then promptly wrote this song just for her.

3. Letters in the Sand
Okay, so I added some extra keyboards not triggered by the NS and had a blast. I wanted to create a ‘larger mood’ as the song played on. I really enjoyed writing the lyrics especially on the choruses. “Why I write my letters in the sand/ for the waters to wash away/ Father take your sinners by the hand/ for the waters to wash away/ and Noah two by two from off the land/ for the waters to wash away”. They were strong story lines and mental pictures to me to write with. Then after the top side solo (bass line and solo are done together at the same time… just for the added beauty of it) it seems like the song ends, there I thought “ohhhh this would be a cool place for ‘NS cool stuff and parts to play’ and so continued on. Their the top side solo is a ‘two handed’ top side part.

4. Louienstein
One day my son comes into the studio and says "Hey D" (he calls me "D") I like this band 'Rammstein', can you write me a song like this?¨ I said, "Sure, come back in three hours." I listen to it and think, "Wow, that's not what I would normally write like." It's pretty aggressive and loud. But I want to impress my son so he comes back in three hours. I've got it all tracked and I put the head phones on him. Now he's known me and my playing all his life. So it's average to him. Well, I see his face, as he starts to crack a smile. That smile of "Whoa, I didn't think the old geezer had that in him!" The smile gets bigger and looks like, "Wow, sure people always said he was good, but now I'm hearin' it.” He takes the headphones off and is so happy I pulled off what he had asked. I, of course couldn't be happy with just winning his approval. I had to then push even further. I said, "Louie J. (I call him that even though his name is Aaron.... go figure) Rammstein is a German group and they sing in German. It gives it edge. So we should sing this song in German. He's so happy and says, "Good one, 'D' ". Too bad you don't speak German. "I said, "I'm no quitter, that won't stop me, I'll make all the German words up so to you and me, and everyone else that doesn't speak German, it will sound like we do!" And so my friends.... have a listen to "Louienstein" and hear a father and son moment.

The drum tracks were played by “Bob Doo” and the loops created by Bob Doo and Lance Matthew. It’s EXCELLENT WORK!

5. Deep Within My Soul
Slightly different than the “live Stick Night '03” video (available online soon) in that this one features the nice background pad vocals. The live video version features a “slide NS/Stick” part. One of my favorite tunes to play live.

6. Wake Me Up (when my life begins)
So, having a slightly depressed thought process going I had that ‘ol feelin’ of “Just wake me up” when good stuff starts happening and let me sleep until then. I was also fighting a cold when I sung the vocal, I just put it down for later when I’d feel better. Well… the ‘cold’ added a nice texture I couldn’t reproduce with my ‘well’ voice so, I just let it be. The top side solo is a two handed part that instead of over dubbing a harmony or second part, I decided to just play both at once. It took a little practice but “Hey, I saved so much time by not having to redo the vocals, why not?”

7. With Life In Hand
So Erik Norlander of the band “Rocket Scientists” calls and says that we are going to Japan and each member will have a featured solo where everyone else leaves the stage. The concert will have HUGE video screens all around with cameras hovering all around you while you ‘take your moment’. This is the instrumental solo piece I played. I used the MacRack for the backing drum tracks and used ‘bass peddles’ to trigger the Hammond bass peddle sounds. I was doing A LOT at once and didn’t have much time to look around while I was playing or for that matter “Take in the moment” but on a glance I happen to look behind me only to see this video screen of a 50 foot me soloing away, “I looked like Godzilla with an NS/Stick!”

8. Always Lovin’ You
Well, as my wife would say, “And yet another song written for her and so far be it for me to be a fool and argue that! I needed a song to end the CD with. I thought a nice song with a melodic bass winding through the chorus would be just fine. Okay, I’m rewriting history on hindsight. It turned out that the bass line came out that way, and one of my favorite ones to play especially on the second chorus.

Once again, Bob Doo on drums playing excellently as always! (Sure it’s listed on the CD that he played on #7 but it was really this track… “Printer humor I guess” and an oversight I didn’t catch in time.

Thanks for checkin’ out the CD inside scoop!
Don