cluthe/lee songlist

  • presently falling, setting sun, open, here we are, the wrong time, sundown, circle, hopefully hoping, midnight, the color burns, count down, predicament, man of the mountain, a harmless song, silver lining, sneaking suspicion, pulse race, faster than you know, we will remain, brace yourself, unanswered, roll my tongue, all i see, let the music play, run alone, pieces apart, echo, betting man, black horse, dear dad, new to me, oh my darling, reels fly by, blue, go home, stay, insideout, open ended, a cold enveloping, deeper, grown, best half, in a corner, drift on, misconception, not listening, life can go, defrost mode, april day, tick tock, sideways, suspended in motion, swifter change, fade, abbreviated, simple, hands now clean, hoping for a miracle, on a wire, hands, stagnant in park, say say, hold, exact sense, beautiful, coming through, his voice, drop of rain, elevator music, brings me warmth, walking dead, london dream, red lights, never tell, it's time, walk on stilts, out the door, exact sense, breakout, i'll crawl, said and done, your shore, state of flux, hold me down, hard to swallow, once more, time to rest, familiar walls, it spins, gaze up, life anew, done, eyes open, shaky situation, black burned truth, special, everything/anything, fault line, chaos ensues, birds, dear woman, phone call, one day, crying shame, she, fragile ones, unfolding, in my time, crooked building, red clouds, the ghost, give yourself away, first light, snapshot, take flight, open heart beating

6.28.2011

It Spins/Shaky Situation/Black Burned Truth





Hi everyone....
Been awhile since I blogged one, so here we go! If you’ve been reading the past few blogs/updates, then you know things are starting to heat up in Cluthe/Lee music world. First off, our digital only EP called “Different Colors” is completed. We are in late stages of finishing the art and hope to have this EP posted online at digital retailers in the next 2 weeks tentatively. Thanks for staying patient with us on it! We’ve been talking about it for what seems like forever! The artwork for it hit some major snags, but have no fear, all will be ironed out and looking good in due time!

Secondly, we have been informed that rough drafts of the full album artwork for our second record “Life Can Go” will be sent later this week. The progress is coming along so well we’re already talking dates for taking pre-orders. We have a tentative CD pre-order date for Monday July 18, 2011. We will be taking pre-orders in the same way we did for our first record last year. The cost for a CD copy of “Life Can Go” will cost $12.00

Third and finally....3 new songs (It Spins/Shaky Situation/Black Burned Truth) have been posted! You can listen to them here:
www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling



[IT SPINS]

(Cluthe) – words/music – Vocals, Fender Rhythm and Lead guitars, Jazz Bass
(Lee) – Drum Kit, Les Paul Lead Guitars

(Lee) This is a monster song! Not one I’m accustomed to hearing from Matt. He said this song pushes his own musical limits and I have to agree. It’s got this real mellow trippy start and then just hits like a ton of bricks! The drums were the most difficult I’ve ever taken on. Like I’ve said in previous blogs, I am not a drummer! I went through about 20 + takes before I got something that worked. The last take I couldn’t contain my excitement and shouted out my best Conan “yeeeeeeeeeow!” Probably more of a sigh of relief! Ha! All told there were six guitar tracks, and something like 10 separate tracks to mix all together. Wow! Matt was originally penciled in to mix this since he wrote it, which is usually our rule of thumb. However, without warning he asked me to take it on! It was fun, but man oh man was I glad when it was all finished! I walked away with a bigger appreciation for all that goes into mixing & mastering songs.

(Cluthe) I wrote the music for this song & I honestly have no idea where it came from. It sounds like something Chris would write (again, the influence!). I had this vision of 2 totally different guitar tracks/tones and I really didn't know how it would work. What I hear in my head rarely matches with the finished song. This song is definitely the exception to that rule. I took a stab at mixing this song, but I really thought that Chris could do a better job lining up all of the guitars/dynamics....and he did. Interesting storyline in the lyrics, I think. The last few lines sum it up..."It Spins....and we fall."


[SHAKY SITUATION]

(Lee) – music – Fender Acoustic Guitar, Fender Precision Bass, Drum Kit, Shaker, Backing vocals
(Cluthe) words – Vocals, Fender Slide Guitar

(Lee) Oh man am I excited by this song!! Written in December 2010 along with a batch of tunes in open G, and songs “Breakout” and “Recollection.” Had forgotten all about it until around mid-April 2011. The drum kit was a last second addition and a welcome one I think. The bass line has to be one of the most fun I’ve played in a long time and I think gives the song some pep! Matt plays some killer slide guitar on this. I’ve always admired Matt’s bluesy approach to music, and his leads and solo’s here just slice right through the song! I could see us playing this one live for sure….

(Cluthe) Man, I love that acoustic riff that Chris wrote. It flows so well throughout the song. I had some fun with the slide on this one, that's for sure. If memory serves, this song came together very quickly & the mix came together even faster. As soon as I heard the demo, the vocal melody & lyrics came out...which is rare for me! Excellent drumming on this song....hard to believe that he's just recently started playing again. I really enjoy these songs where everything is in place....then I can just pick my spots & have some fun.



[BLACK BURNED TRUTH]

(Lee) – music – Fender Acoustic Guitar(s), Les Paul Electric Rhythm and Lead Guitar(s), Drum Kit
(Cluthe) – words – Lead and Backing Vocals, Fender Rhythm Guitar and Lead Guitar(s), Jazz Bass

(Lee) Looking at these last 3 songs there’s a nice balance represented in our writing/playing. This song is another monster song, with 4-5 guitar parts going from each of us. I had the main guitar parts written in early June 2011 and had a full set of lyrics and title for it. Matt was cool enough to use the title and incorporate it into the song. I write a lot of lyrics, however am not at a stage where I’m confident enough to share them yet…maybe someday down the line. This song has a very dark tone to it and reminds me a lot of older songs like “Red Lights” and last fall’s period of writing. I was working on challenging myself with some different tempos on the drum kit and think it turned out pretty good on this song. Matt’s vocals are soulful and dark; very fitting to the song. His lead work is beautiful and the guitar and bass work he did really brings out that full texture and atmosphere you hear.

(Cluthe) Chris wrote the music for this quite a few months ago & I was very happy when he decided to share it so we could develop it further. I had a lot of fun recording my parts for this song & I think it really shows how we've influenced each other over time. He's helped me to realize that it's ok to take risks & step outside of my comfort zone. Love his solo at the end of this song....once of my favorite solos he's done thus far.

6.21.2011

DONE/EYES OPEN



[DONE]

Cluthe: (words/music) vocals, rhythm guitar, bass
Lee: lead guitar, drums, shaker, backing vocals

(Lee) Finding my parts in this song was initially tough. I had a few early takes Matt didn't hear where I had played pretty much throughout the song. My instincts kept saying I needed to pare it back. Kept coming to the chorus "done, no matter what is said will change it and knew that was where I needed to start. I love coming in and playing these little parts as opposed to playing everywhere and this is why songs like this tend to be my favorite to work on with Matt. Finding my voice in this song was pretty tough. Matt gave me some great advice and was supportive (as usual) of my efforts. The drums started out with brushes, but a change of heart at the last moment and this is what made the final version.

(Cluthe) These lyrics are from 2002 & I was never really happy with how that version turned out. One day, I was thumbing through an old lyrics book of mine and found these lyrics. I started thinking of a new vocal melody, messed around with some chords & hit the record button. This is that version. Chris added some great lead work & his drumming is as solid as ever.

[EYES OPEN]

Cluthe: (words/music) vocals, acoustic guitar, djembe
Lee: lead guitar, bass, cymbals

(Lee) Around the same time as "Done," Matt dropped this song via e-mail. I approached my parts on this one much like "Done." Definitely love having these little spaces to come in and play. Love how the djembe makes it's return! It's been since January 2010 I think? A song Matt recorded using some crafty and unorthodox microphone placements! I'll let him tell you about it though!

(Cluthe) I've been messing around with lots of alternate tunings lately, and this song is a direct result of keeping one of my guitars tuned to Open G. I'd been kicking this one around for awhile just waiting for an idea to really stick. Once it did, I was off & running. It was a lot of fun to use the djembe again...it's been awhile & I think it really fit this song well. Chris is right...the mic placement was interesting. He's been asking me to mic my acoustic for awhile, and this is the first song where I did mic the acoustic...I also used a mic on the floor (below me) to record the djembe. Lots of fun to play, that's for sure!

[NEWS]
We have lots of news to pass along....
-We have about 6-7 other songs going right now...all in various stages of production.
-Our 2nd album, Life Can Go, will be coming out soon! The artwork will be completed in the next 2-3 weeks. Once the artwork is finished, we'll start the CD pre-order. More info on that coming very soon. BIG THANKS to my sister Maura for her hard work!! Thanks, Mo!
-Our (digital-only) EP, Different Colors, is just about done. We just need to make some final adjustments on the artwork, then it'll be out and available through iTunes, Amazon & several other online music retailers....more info soon. Different Colors will consist of four b-sides from the Life Can Go sessions along with two alternate versions of the songs "Predicament" & "Reels Fly By." Thanks to Chris Spain for his help & work on the album art!
-We're very proud (and VERY excited!!!) to announce to announce that we've been asked to play the Pearl Jam (PJ20) Wishlist Pre-Party on Friday, September 2nd in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Lots of thanks to Laura & Jen for asking us to play......we're very excited to be a part of this awesome celebration. It's pretty crazy, to be honest!!! you can catch all of the details here: http://forums.pearljam.com/viewtopic.ph ... t=Wishlist
-I think that's it...for now. if you want to join our mailing list for the latest info, just email us here: presentlyfalling@gmail.com
-and the links.....not trying to bombard you all, but we like to post our links every once in awhile....

presentlyfalling@gmail.com (email)
http://www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling (myspace...has 10 most recent songs)
http://www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling (main page...has most of our songs + bsides)
http://leeandcluthemusic.blogspot.com/ (our blog)
http://www.twitter.com/clutheleemusic (our twitter page)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ClutheLee ... 9719963329 (our Facebook page)

As always, thank you to all of you for your constant love, support & encouragement!

Matt

6.08.2011

Gaze Up/Life Anew




GAZE UP:

(Chris) Beautiful little number Matt sent during a very prolific writing session while I was away on vacation in April. This is the first song I worked on when I got back in May and what I remember from that session was feeling like my musical senses were all rusty after nearly 3 weeks of not playing anything. One of my favorite parts in here is the line “birds perched on a wire.” Matt says this song pre-dates the song “On A Wire” which was done last year I think. Another part I love is Matt’s leads he plays mid song. Makes me want to get a whammy bar for my guitar!

(Matt) This song had an interesting journey. It was written while Chris was away on vacation & I wasn't 100% certain that we'd ever finish it because I thought it was too long, to be honest. Once he got back & sent me his additions, it sounded totally different & I was adding parts up until the last minute. I'm really glad that we finished it!!

-Gaze Up-
Cluthe (words/music): vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, lead guitar
Lee: lead guitar, drums



LIFE ANEW:

(Chris) I remember Matt being really excited about this song. It started off with a demo that I think had elements of what you hear on this final version? I had suggested he build a song around those particular elements and this is what he came back with! I had a lot of fun trying to figure out drums to this song, especially the break down mid-song. The two leads are something I’d not tried before, at least not all at once.

(Matt) Chris is right....a lot of those original elements are still present in this recording. I did another lead vocal take b/c neither one of us felt like the original take really fit the tone of the song. The bridge was an improv & we really made it work somehow!! Love his double solo....easily my favorite part of this song!!

-Life Anew-
Cluthe (words, music): vocals, rhythm guitar, bass
Lee: lead guitar, drums, shaker, tambourine


NEWS!!!!!

Lots of exciting (album/EP/show) news coming very soon!!!! As always, thanks for your support!!!

Matt & Chris


PS--GAZE UP is a large file. We're going to have to edit it down before we can post it to our reverb page, but you can hear it on our myspace page here: www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling

6.01.2011

good day...

hey everyone...

it's been a good day in the Waco studio. i did some recording, some mixing & some writing. i'm truly a lucky guy to be working with Chris. he's incredibly talented & every new song idea brings a new challenge. example.....there's a song he wrote & recorded back in December and it's just been sitting there collecting dust because we were so busy working on other songs. well, that changed today & i'm really excited about releasing it. lots of new songs will be coming soon.....

thanks for listening/reading/supporting,

matt