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.