The Ghost
Cluthe: (Words/Music) Vocals, Rhythm/Lead Guitars, Bass
Lee - Drums, Lead Guitar
Give Yourself Away
Cluthe: (Words/Music) Vocals, Rhythm/Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals, Effects
Lee: (Music) Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboards
[THE GHOST]
(Cluthe) This song was a blast. I'd written this song back in 2004 or 2005 & it sounded completely different. It was fingerpicked with a slide lead and the vocals were low and muted. I was going through some old lyric books one day and found it. I remembered how I'd played it originally, but I felt like playing a heavier song that day. So, I used the same chords & played around with the chorus a bit until the main riff stuck out. That was it. Chris is right...I have been taking my time with my songwriting lately & I can see & hear the changes in my approach in this song. Instead of just getting an idea & recording a "final" version, I'm taking my time with it to really sort it out so it makes more sense to me. It has helped me to improve my timing and vocal cadence as well. (At least I think so!) This song took me quite some time to mix. Life has been a little busy, but I'm also trying to get the best sound possible. I know that he worked really hard on the drums...and it shows. This song is one of my favorites that we've done to date & I hope you all enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed writing and recording it.
(Lee) In early February, Matt sent me an instrumental he was working on which would end up being The Ghost. I was drawn to it's big sweeping chorus - which at that point had no vocals on it yet. Matt told me he was adopting a new approach to song writing - and really spending a lot of time developing his ideas out fully. By mid-February I had a complete working track complete with guitars, bass and vocals. Working on drums for this song was both exciting and an exercise in patience. I mirrored Matt's new song writing and did my best to play the song and kit a lot before committing any takes to tape. I probably played for a day or two before I started recording takes. Matt got mp3's along the way and was very encouraging. I think all said and done I count over 20 different takes to tape. The last 10 started really sounding similar - and that's when I had found my place in the song. For the first time in any songs we've done - I ended up patching together some parts of the best takes into a "Frankenstein" type of track. The drums you hear on this song are that track; a blend of takes #9 and #11. I know I've said this before - but I really only follow my instincts and ears when I play the drums - I feel The Ghost represents some of the best drumming I've done to date. I love the lyrics and vocals on this song - some of the most moving and easily one of the best chorus's I've heard in our songs.
[GIVE YOURSELF AWAY]
(Lee) I recorded a cover back in November 2011 and didn't really like
the way it turned out. I did however - really like how I set up the drum
kit for the song though and sent Matt an MP3 of the drum track sometime
in January 2012. He came back just a few days later with some guitar
and the makings of what would become Give Yourself Away. It's a pretty
dark sounding song that spent quite a bit of time in the mixing process.
I ended up changing the drum sound towards the end - but the intense
"freak out" at the end of the song really forced me to keep the drums in
their very original state. This is rare when I'm mixing - I do tend to
tinker a lot with instrument sound and go back and forth on effects,
compression, placement, etc,. Its been amazing to me how our 'sound' has
grown since starting with little knowledge on the process of sound
capture and mixing. When I go back and listen to some of the very early
stuff we did together and then listen to this song - I'm blown away at
how much more polished we sound. I can say that about us right?! Haha!
Hope you all like this one!
(Cluthe)
This was an interesting song to write. Chris had the drum track down
& sent it to me. All he said was "have fun & see what happens."
There are 2 other songs (much heavier, I might add) that I wrote using
his drum track prior to settling on Give Yourself Away. This song was a
demo that I had written and I never really thought it would see the
light of day. When the other ideas didn't quite fit, I started strumming
the chords to Give Yourself Away. I had to completely change my
approach for the rhythm guitar to make the chords fit and flow, but it
worked. The chorus is also completely different from the original demo
version. I love the drum track & it really shows just how far that Chris has come behind the kit.
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