Stagnant in Park

hey everyone...

just wanted to let you all know that Chris & I have been getting back into writing/recording/mixing some new tunes! the first one of these is called "Stagnant in Park" & we should be posting it in the next couple of days. it's a song that i wrote about a month ago when i was in the middle of packing/moving. i was fiddling around with an open chord progression when the opening lines/melody came to me....

can you fit your life inside a box?
full of every memory you've thought....

moving inspired? you betcha.

like i said, it should be posted soon! thanks for reading/listening.

Matt

recording is fun

Laurel took these while I was recording some lead guitar for Chris' song called "Beautiful." I had a blast recording it & we're looking forward to sharing it with all of you!

Cheers,
Matt

Getting back to soundzzzz!!

Happy Wednesday evening Cluthe/Lee music fans!

It's been a nice long break since we posted new tunes and I'm happy to announce the release of 2 new songs; Tick Tock and Hands.

Tick Tock is a great bluesy number that Matt wrote and sent me just after the new year I believe. I had just gotten a very basic hi-hat + snare set up going and Tick Tock is one of a batch of tunes that the drum kit was used first used on. Matt has a real love for bluesy rock. His growl on this one is in fine form, as is his rhythm guitar and bass playing! I had a blast trading bluesy guitar licks with him 700 miles away. I'm pretty sure Matt agonized over trying to mix this song. It seemed to get pushed to the back of the line as we were writing quite a bit early 2010 into the spring time. Just in case anybody was wondering, Matt has been responsible for all of the mixing since we began work together late last summer. It's a big deal to me because he has worked VERY hard to get all 60 + of our songs sounding good and I'm sure he's a bit relieved when I say that he and I will be splitting mixing duties going forward. Software compatibility was hampering our efforts to do this from the start, and it's going to be fun for both of us to get a shot at mixing.

Tick Tock

Matt: Lyrics/Vocals, Fender Stratooocaster Rhythm/Lead, Fender Jazz Bass, Mixing
Chris: Epiphone Les Pauuuuul Lead guitar, Hi-Hat & Snare with brushes


The second release is called Hands. Another amazing Cluthe composition that he sent in a fairly complete state. I'd worked up a few leads and a drum track when in the process of both of us upgrading our Mac software, the tracks were lost! When it came time to revisit Hands, I had decided to be bold and use drums sticks on the kit as opposed to the brushes. I think the drums come across much stronger than in any previous song we'd used drums on. As Matt put it in an e-mail last week, the drumming was "badass." Hands is the first song where both Matt and I used the same version of Garageband which made putting the song together much simpler! I'll spare you all the nerdy tech-talk on this one :)

Hands

Matt: Lyrics/Vocals, Fender Strat-rat-a-tat-tat-ocaster Rhythm Guitar, Fender Jazz Bass, Mixing
Chris: Drums + Sticks, Epi-ET-phone Les Paul Lead/Rhythm Guitars


As always, thank you for listening!


Much Love

Chris

time to get the ball rolling again!

hey everyone...

Matt here writing while surrounded by a wall of boxes. the move went well & my wife & i have been working non-stop...but it's really starting to come together & we love our new place. while we settle in, Chris & his wife are packing up to move into their new home in Columbia. lots of changes going on these days, but the music remains a constant.

i will finally re-fire my mixing machine later today & we have a few that are "very close" to being finished. i hope to have at least 2 of these new songs finished by the weekend so we can share them with you.

i picked up my guitar last night & played for about 45 minutes & it felt great. i haven't played in about 2 weeks b/c of the moving craziness.

in album news.....
the artwork is about 90% done! Maura (my amazingly talented sister....her link: www.frag-ment-ed.com) has been hard at work & she's just making some finishing touches. Chris & I have not seen the finished product & we can't wait!!!! once the art is finished, we'll submit it & it will be available to download soon.

so, there you have it. the musictrain is rolling again & we can't wait to see where it takes us!

thanks for listening (& reading)...
Matt

New songs released!

Hello from the interwebs of Columbia, MO! Chris here with a pair of headphones on listening to newly acquired Pearl Jam bootlegs. Matt and I are proud to release into the wild a pair of new songs that were written about a month ago; "On A Wire" and "Hoping For A Miracle." Matt and I spoke over the phone yesterday and he said that he felt like these are the best two songs we've released together. We talked about how diverse both songs sound and we both agree that these two songs strongly represent everything each of us brings to the table musically.

"Hoping For A Miracle"

Cluthe: Words/Lead & Backing Vocals/Slide & Lead Guitars
Lee: Music/Rhythm Guitar/Precision Bass/Drum Loop

Matt says its the catchiest riff I've written! He says the lyrics and vocal melody were very easy to develop. If I recall he said the lyrical inspiration was from a debate he'd had with someone. The very ending of the song is very hard hitting and Matt says he literally punched his guitar at the very end of the song. Listen for the explosion!


"On A Wire"

M. Cluthe: Words/Music/Vocals/Rhythm Guitar & Lead Guitars/Jazz Bass
L. Cluthe: Backing Vocals & Harmonies
C. Lee: Lead Guitars/Backing Rhythm Guitar/Drum Kit

Matt's wife Laurel makes her return to singing backing vocals/harmonies since "Stay" which was written way back in December 09' if you can believe it! Both Matt and I feel that having Laurel singing on anything we do makes it instantly better. I love the Cluthe harmonies in this song!



So there you have it! Both new songs can be heard at www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling and to hear all songs go to www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling

Matt tells me the artwork for our debut LP "Here We Are" is getting very close. We are primed and ready to get this LP out there for you all to enjoy! Thanks for staying patient with us and as always we both sincerely appreciate all the kind words, support over the last 9 months!

Love to you all!

Chris

hey, hey

hey everyone...

Matt here writing from windy Waco, TX. I just wanted to pop in & give you a bit of an update. The last couple of weeks have been quite crazy with finals, moving and a new job all in full swing. So, I haven't had as much time to work on music. However, I did take full advantage of my downtime yesterday to work on mixing the next batch of four songs!

They're all coming together nicely & we hope to have them posted very soon. My wife, Laurel, makes her return to singing backing vocals on the song "On A Wire." She really took this song to a whole different level. Another new one that I'm really excited about is a great song that Chris wrote the music for..it's called "Hoping For A Miracle" & I had a lot of fun playing slide guitar on this one! We have a couple of others ("Tick Tock", "Quarters On The Floor" & "Genesis") that are nearing completion as well. "Tick Tock" is a new/old song of mine....the bluesy riff is old, but I re-wrote the lyrics for it.

Like I said, we're moving into a much larger place & one of the benefits of that is that I'll have my own music room! My gear is spread all throughout our current house (mainly in the dining room...yup. the dining room!) and I'm really excited to have everything centrally located. Chris is moving as well & he's getting a music room too! So, we're both really happy about our moves!

We'll try to get these posted as soon as they're ready. In 2 weeks, all of the finals/moving craziness will be over & i can't wait!

Hope this finds you all well & thanks for listening/reading,

Matt

Some things old, some things new.

Hey all

Quick update from the Cluthe & Lee music world. We have posted 3 new songs this morning!

Hands Now Clean

Matt: Lyrics/all vocals, slide guitar, j-bass and lead electric guitar
Chris: Acoustic Guitar, all percussion and lead electric guitar

This one was written the same day as "In A Corner" back just after the new year and was worked up during a flood of tunes at the time. It was all but forgotten until I wrote Matt and asked him about a file I had that sounded incomplete. He sent back the version of this song that is posted now and said we had pretty much worked it up, but totally forgot about it. Matt plays a rockin' slide and bass on this one. I had been on a Zeppelin kick at the time and I think there's a definite influence in the song.

Abbreviated

Matt: Lyrics/all vocals, lead guitar, j-bass
Chris: Acoustic guitar, piano, drums/percussion


Written March 30, 2010. We both think this is the most upbeat, happiest song we've done together. It started with some happy C and D chops on the piano and grew quickly from there. When Matt sent it back with vocals/lyrics I could tell he had some real fun singing! He sent the lyrics and before I listened to the playback, I read them. There lying in the first few lines was the word "abbreviated" and I wondered how the hell he was going to sing such an unusually long word. Matt says he remembered this when he titled the song, ha! The guitar work he added is really awesome (thanks chicken salad!)and the bass matches that upbeat piano. We both joked quite a bit about the upbeat/happy feel to this one and how it was a refreshing change from some of the darker stuff we'd been doing the last month or so.

Simple

Matt: Lyrics/all vocals, main rhythm guitar, j-bass, effects
Chris: Lead guitar

Last week Matt sent me 3 new songs in one day. This one came complete with lyrics and a driving/rhythmic guitar track. I think the main guitar has its own percussive quality to it and so we elected not to do any drums, etc., on it. It has a very atmospheric tone to it thanks to Matt's awesome mixing work! This song came together VERY quickly. Maybe the fastest ever?


We are both really stoked to continue writing songs and getting to share them with all of you! These 3 songs are all very different and I think represent an obvious diversity of musical taste/ability. On my end I know that this is one of my favorite things about playing with Matt. I just never know what is coming next!
These songs are up on MySpace for you to enjoy and will be posted on ReverbNation along with all 52 completed songs. Thanks for all your support! You know who you are!

Love and all that,

Chris

www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling (listen to the 10 most current tunes, read blogs!)
www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling (listen to everything we've done thus far!)
www.twitter.com/clutheleemusic (follow us on Twitter!)

3 new songs completed and copyright certificate for LP arrives!

Happy Saturday all! Chris here writing from sunny Columbia, MO this morning to share some very exciting news! Yesterday Matt received our official copyright certificate for our debut LP 'Here We Are'. You'd think we both won the lottery judging from our talk yesterday! Come to think of it, I'd say this music and friendship is no different : )

Ok, so updates on the music. Matt worked his arse off this week and finished mixing 3 new songs; Sideways, Suspended in Motion and Swifter Change. All of these will be posted on the Reverb and MySpace page today!

Sideways was something Matt wrote just before he left for his vacation to Portland/Seattle last month. He sent me this e-mail right before he left saying that he knew we were about to take a pause in writing but that he couldn't help himself! The part of the song that hooked me was the "la, la, la, la" bit and the more I listened the more drawn in I got. While Matt was away I loaded up the song with a lot of instrumentation including a harmonica intro that I couldn't get in key! I think I tried 3-4 different parts before we dropped it and added what you hear now in the intro.

Sideways
Cluthe: Lyrics/Vocals/Rhythm Fender Strat/Fender Strat leads/J Bass
Lee: Fender Acoustic Guitar/GarageBand Orchestral Strings/Piano/Backing Vocals/Drums/Percussion/Les Paul Electric Lead

Swifter Change is a song that was originally written back in first week of September 2009 with a working title of "After The Chili Song." Yes, I had just eaten a bowl of chili before recording it ; ) It was a pretty complex little number as far as my musical abilities go. Lots of picking patterns in there. I brought this one back to Matt's attention in late March and he latched on to the piano parts I'd recorded. He sent me back this jaw dropping delayed guitar lead along with some rough vocal ideas that had a very haunting and fitting tone to them. This song also does not have any percussion, which hasn't been done since "Setting Sun" maybe? After 50 songs, the ol' memory starts getting fuzzy!

Swifter Change
Cluthe: Lyrics/all vocals/Fender Strat lead with delay
Lee: Fender Acoustic/Piano/Fender P-Bass

The last in the three S's series is Suspended in Motion which was written by Matt. It's working title was "Growing Up" which is appropriate as you listen to the lyrics. I found myself relating to some of the themes in here, which Matt has such a talent for in his writing. Pair that with his incredible singing and playing and you have this song!

Suspended In Motion
Cluthe: Lyrics/all vocals/Fender Strat Rhythm/Fender J-Bass
Lee: Les Paul leads/effects/Shaker

Well there you have it! 3 songs all in one release! We are excited to continue sharing this with you all and really do appreciate all the faithful listeners and support!

Whole Lotta Love-
Chris

what's on deck....

happy thursday everyone...

i just thought i'd give you an update on what we have cooking right now. but first, here's a quick album update for ya. we're officially copyrighted (yay!), but are still waiting to receive our documentation of the copyrights...which should be arriving any day now. Maura is hard at work on the artwork and i can't wait to see how it has progressed b/c her rough drafts were absolutely amazing!

as far as the new songs go, we have several that are in various stages of mixing/recording/production. i should wrap up the mixing on a couple of them tomorrow & we'll post those this weekend. here's what we're working on:

-Fade
-Tick Tock
-Suspended In Motion
-Swifter Change
-Sideways

plus, we each have a couple of new ideas that we're passing back & forth through the interwebs. lots of fun stuff coming up! as always, thanks a ton for listening to our songs & reading this silly blog.

Matt

April Day/Drift On

hey everyone....

Matt here enjoying the awesome smells of Laurel's Sweet & Spicy Chicken Drumettes. Yum....

so i thought i'd share some info about the two latest Cluthe/Lee songs before i get too full. i just finished mixing them this afternoon & we should have them posted on our pages by tomorrow afternoon.

"Drift On"
Cluthe (words/music): piano, j bass, mixing
Lee: all guitars

this is a piano ballad that has taken a long time to complete...and that's my fault! i'd been messing around with the chord progression for awhile and a big thanks to Chris for being so patient!! once i finally nailed down the chord structure, i hit record. this one has been "finished" for awhile, but it seems like it took forever to mix. there was something about it that just sounded off...

after taking a break from mixing this song, i heard it with fresh ears this morning & i could see/hear the end. Chris has some soaring notes on this song that really stand out & it's hard to imagine this song without them!

"April Day"
Lee (music): rhythm guitars, acoustic lead guitar, p bass
Cluthe (words): vocals, rhythm/lead electric guitar, mixing

this is a beautiful song that Chris wrote....as soon as i heard it, a melody formed. the vocals also came together rather quickly. my family is always on my mind & this is a song about a day in April when our family changed. we miss you, Dad.

we have a few others that we're working on right now...looking forward to sharing them with you soon! gotta run..dinner's ready! thanks for listening!!

Matt

Crazy calls, covers and copyrights!

Happy Sunday all!

Chris here writing from Columbia tonight with the Avett Brothers "Carolina Jubliee" LP blaring in my headphones (go get it if you haven't heard). There has been a lot of activity in the Cluthe & Lee music world since last you heard from us! First and most significant is that I received a call at work from the Library of Congress on Thursday last week to inform me that our debut LP "Here We Are" has been copyrighted and the certificate is in the printing press and will arrive in 2-3 weeks! It had been a long time since I jumped up and down with excitement, but that's exactly what happened when I heard the news! Matt was in class when I sent him to the news and he was IM'ing me freaking out! He said that it was very hard to hide his excitement in a classroom full of people! Ha!

Once the news broke, we began discussing initial thoughts on how to get this album distributed once the artwork is completed. I think we've settled on a vehicle for online distribution that is pleasing and meets our collective needs/wants. We are both very excited to be where we're at in the process right now and know that once it all comes together it will be worth the wait!

As far as the music goes, both Matt and I have been taking a small break to record/cover some of our favorite songs! We each made a list of 5 that we often play solo and have already completed two. First is Radiohead's "Nude" which has Matt playing/singing lead and Pearl Jam's "Indifference" which has me singing/playing lead (my debut on lead vocals). We've also got Ben Harper's "Amen, Omen" just about finished, but still needs some work. If you would like mp3's of either covers we've finished, please e-mail us at presentlyfalling@gmail.com or ask in person and we'll be happy to oblige!

Original music continues to be written in droves even as we put down these covers. Music is flying everywhere and at the moment we've got a few that are in production including a classic Cluthe composition called "Sideways" and sees us going back to a less experimental sound than the last few we've done. Another one called "April Day" that is a beautiful acoustic and salt shaker song that has very moving lyrics. Others include a crazy guitar driven song called "Fade" which Matt wrote back in December I believe and an old forgotten tune I did back in September just as this whole thing started to lift off.

All this said, Matt and I are already formulating track lists for LP #2! We both sent some initial lists to one another culled from something like 30+ songs that aren't on "Here We Are"!! Productive? Yes, you could say that. So, some other news is that Matt and I will finally be meeting mid-June this year! Plans are being made, courses plotted, spaceships getting booked for a long overdue and awaited meeting!

We both sincerely thank you all for your support and listening to our music! It does mean a lot to us both! Lots of love!

Chris

PS: Here are a few pics of me playing bass for a new song "Fade"

Defrost Mode!

happy monday, everyone....

i'm just about to post our latest song on our page, but thought that i should explain it a bit first. i was in the middle of a mixing marathon when i stepped away from the computer & grabbed my Strat. this riff came pretty quickly and i was having fun playing a little chord progression while muting/raking the strings a bit. then these lines popped into my head:

"why's the world...why's it gotta be so cold? it's taking its time hanging out in defrost mode!"

to be honest, there wasn't any intention a a deeper lyrical meaning. but as the song unfolded, a certain theme became somewhat clear to me, as it will to you. i quickly plugged in & hit record before the moment was lost. i recorded 2-3 different versions of this song...i was trying to somehow piece the loose & fun verses/choruses with a more reflective bridge. i tinkered a bit & hit record one last time...this is that take. Chris was immediately receptive to it when i told him that it was a very rough idea that i thought we'd just put on the shelf. well, it's not on the shelf at all. he added some awesome drums & a tremendous lead track that really jumps out at you.

turn it up, tap your foot & hope you enjoy it!

Matt

"Defrost Mode!"
Cluthe: (words/music) vocals, rhythm guitar, j bass, lead guitar, mixing
Lee: lead guitar, drums

new song "Life Can Go"

Hi friends/family/fans

Happy Friday to you all! Spring is tomorrow and with it new songs and a temporary pause, more on that in a bit. Early last month Matt had sent me a song he'd wrote in the early morning hours after a spirited debate he was privy to the evening before. My initial response to it was emotional. The subject matter in the song hit so close to home as it is an issue I spend most of my profession dealing with. Matt had forewarned me that this was a song that he wished he didn't have to write, but that it needed to be done (if that makes sense).

I developed something simple for it and played an acoustic lead, which I've not done on any of our songs together to that point. Recording it was tough as I also went with a different recording approach by mic'ing the room. A few passes were needed to get the sound just right. I think it will come across as painfully beautiful, or at least that is still my take on "Life Can Go."

As for the aforementioned pause, Matt had an excellent idea to break out some of our favorite songs and cover them! We are currently working on one as I type this and am really excited to see what you all think. There are still multiple songs in the cue right now that are being mixed. They've been mentioned in the last few posts, so be on the look out for them soon! As always, thank you so much for all your support, comments and visits to our music pages!

Life Can Go

Matt Cluthe: Lyrics/Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/J-Bass
Chris Lee: Electric and Acoustic Guitar Leads

back in the swing....

hi everyone....Matt here. now that i'm back in town from Seattle/Portland, we're back to work. although, it's not work at all...it's an absolute blast! but i digress.....

so we're back to it & it's like we didn't miss a beat. we have several songs in various stages of recording/production right now. they are: DEFROST MODE, SIDEWAYS, LIFE CAN GO, APRIL DAY and two others that are still untitled at this point. Life Can Go is just about done, so that will be the first one that we post out of this bunch. we'll be sure to let you know when it's available online.

just want to wish a very happy 40th anniversary to my parents....Dad, we miss you. and to Mom, thanks for your strength.

more updates coming soon, but i thought i could share a picture from our trip to Seattle. talk about inspiration!

cheers,
Matt



jimi hendrix' guitar pedals at the EMP in Seattle

heading outta town...!

happy thursday, everyone....

my wife & i have been looking forward to this day for awhile now. we're heading to the Pacific Northwest (Portland & Seattle to be exact) for a much needed vacation. no classes, no work...just exploring, having fun & soaking up some culture. i know we'll be hitting up several record stores while we're there as well....can't wait to see what vinyl we add to our collection!

anyway, with all that being said....Chris & I are taking this week to recharge our batteries a bit. we've been churning out song after song like crazy this year & it'll be nice to sit back and explore some new tunes. i'm still not sure if i'll bring my acoustic or not, but i know that i'll be writing.

with the completion of the album (and eventual release) in sight, we just want to say how truly thankful we are to all of you that have been listening to our songs & reading our words about this collaboration. thanks.

i'm going to take the next couple of hours to work on mixes for our next 3 songs and here's a little description of them for ya:

"Defrost Mode"
a loose, fun stomp of a song that i recorded a little over a week ago. Chris describes it as my "Paul Westerberg Song."

"Drift On"
a piano driven ballad about a man's desire to find himself & finally go home.

"Life Can Go"
a dark, somber song that i wish (the subject matter, that is...inspired by a spirited debate in class regarding child abuse & neglect) never had to be written. there's hope in there, though....you just have to get through the pain first to realize that life can go on.

so there you have it! i know that we have a few ideas waiting for me when we return from our trip that Chris wrote.....and they sound amazing.

as always, thanks for listening/reading.

cheers,
Matt

Not Listening/Don't Question

"Not Listening"

Matt Cluthe: Lyrics/Vocals/Reverse Vocal Effects, Rhythm Fender Electric Guitar, Fender J Bass
Chris Lee: Drum Kit, Lead/Rhythm Epiphone Les Paul

If I were a wilderness photographer, and this song were a bird, it would be a strange bird rarely seen or captured by lens. One that I’d wait a lifetime to capture/hear. I put on my headphones early last month (February) and when I pressed play on this demo, I was met by a flood of sound and something that sounded like a record being played backwards. I thought to myself, what, or even who is it?! Many of Matt’s songs up until here lately have had this straight ahead feel to them, but this…. strange bird…was the sound of Matt heading in a new direction musically. He tells me my influence may be the culprit, but whoever is to blame I have to say that this is one of the coolest songs we’ve worked on together. My initial reaction was to play a bunch of spacey leads, to match the almost ‘alien’ sound I was hearing. I kept thinking this might be what madness sounds like (“voices in your head..”). The early cuts were almost too overwhelmed with sound and so I scaled back a few times before getting it ‘right.’ I think it’s one of the more concentrated set of notes I’ve played and there’s something refreshing about that IMO. The drums were also a challenge and matching the stops and starts was an exercise in patience, that I know in the end will shine through when you listen to this. Matt’s vocal delivery and rhythm playing have taken on a new life and I know we’re both excited to hear what comes next!



"Don’t Question"

Matt Cluthe: Vocals/Lyrics, Rhythm/Lead Guitar, J Bass, Piano, Drum Loop
Chris Lee: Lead Guitar

Quickest song developed to date! Maybe a day? This by far is the very least I’ve ever played on any song we’ve done. One guitar track, pretty simple set of notes that accompany a gorgeous progression. Again a tremendous amount of satisfaction, doing more by playing less and playing what fits. I think this song is a great example of two musician’s having a no ego approach to writing/playing. A beautifully honest song that sees Matt take a radically different vocal approach than Not Listening. Showcases his smooth lead playing and sense of sonic accompaniment that make it sound like there are 3-4 of us instead of just 2. We continue to cut through new musical terrain each new song we post and lately I have no sense of what Matt will send next!

Thanks to everyone for your ears, your interest and support! Lots of love!

Chris

Friday Update...

hey everyone..

just wanted to give a quick update on what's been going on. i finished mixing another batch of 3 new songs today---"Not Listening", "This Is.." and "Don't Question." we'll get those posted on our sites within the next couple of days. we also have a couple that are close to being finished---"Drift On", "Life Can Go" and "Defrost Mode." it's my hope to mix those 3 before my wife & i leave for Seattle and Portland next weekend. (for the record.....we're REALLY excited about that trip!!!)

so 2010 has definitely started with a big bang for Chris & i! we wanted to thank you all for listening to our songs...i still can't believe how many plays they are getting! it means the world to us that you all are listening & supporting our musical journey.

some album news.....

yup. ALBUM NEWS!!! we got word from my sister, Maura last week that she's just about done with the three rough drafts for the album artwork!! we should see them this weekend and we're really excited to see what she's come up with!!! the next step is picking one of those 3 drafts. our copyrights for the album should be arriving very soon, so the timing of Maura's email was perfect.

once we have everything squared away, "Here We Are" will be up on iTunes and possibly Amazon or cdBaby.

this is truly something that i never imagined happening & i just want to thank Chris, Laurel, Allison, Maura and all of our friends & family.

thanks.

be on the lookout for those 3 new songs in the next few days.

happy friday,
Matt

www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling
www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling

Best Half

hi everyone....

it's a snowy day here in Waco, so i'm finally getting around to posting this blog while i mix the next batch of tunes.

there are so many things that i could say about this song & what it means to me. but after a lot of thought, i've decided to keep it short & sweet.

this song was written for & is about my wife---the love of my life. she keeps me grounded & has the biggest heart of anyone that i've ever met. i am beyond thankful & grateful to have her in my life.

thank you, Laurel.

Matt

Misconception; 2 of 3 new song releases this weekend!

Hey everybody

Busy weekend in Cluthe & Lee music land! Misconception started out as a drum loop that I built a few months ago. Without a real full drum kit (its coming, don't worry) I've been working on developing these loops that aren't monotonous and have tempo changes. This one came up and I liked it so much I put down some basic chords to them. It started sounding a bit vanilla and so as usual I put some weird fucked up chords in it and asked Matt to get out his Strat and solo! Matt's chops are getting better by the second people! Its one of the songs where all of our guitar work managed to stay. Its not easy playing 700 miles apart from one another, but this song sounds like he may have been standing recording his solo while I was playing mine. Turn it up and enjoy! Thanks for all the support guys and gals! I see Man of the Mountain has a lot of plays already! Very cool!

Misconception

Matt: Vocals/Lyrics, Fender Stratocaster guitar solo
Chris: Drum loop, Fender P-Bass, Epiphone Les Paul

www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling (to hear it all)
www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling (to hear 10 newest songs)

Man Of The Mountain

hey everyone out there in cyberworld...

Matt here. just wanted to share some info on what Chris & I have going on and tell you about the song we just posted. first off, we're going to be posting 3 new songs over the weekend...one per day...and it all starts of with "Man Of The Mountain."

this is a song that i wrote right around the time that my old band, End Result, was coming to an end & i was starting to play a lot of solo shows in & around Houston. i think it's safe to say that this one was inspired by reading John Krakauer's novel "Into The Wild."

my take on this song is simple & has been written about time & time again. it's all about an individual's search for purpose. take the character in this song...he leaves all that he knows & loves behind to find himself. he will only return once he feels that he is once again himself & on solid ground. i think it's a thought that everyone can relate to at one time or another.

like i said, i wrote this one a few years ago & i've played it live many, many times. but no matter how many times i played it, it felt like it was lacking a backbone. i shared an old & rough demo of this song with Chris & he was excited to work on it. we pushed it back a bit b/c we were so focused on the other new tunes, but i finally got around to re-recording the bones of the song along with the bass track & sent it off to Chris. to put it simply, he finished it. his lead work elevates this song to somewhere that i didn't even know it could go.

so, there you have it! we'll be posting 2 new ones this weekend--"Best Half" & "Misconception." we also have a few others that are coming along nicely. until then, enjoy the song & thanks for your support & for listening!

Matt

LINKS:
www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling
www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling
http://leeandcluthemusic.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/clutheleemusic

"Man Of The Mountain"

Matt Cluthe: vocals, lyrics, rhythm guitar, bass, slide guitar, mixing
Chris Lee: lead guitar, drums, tremolo guitar

In A Corner rocking out!

Hi all

I meant to get this blog done on Friday, but my work PC sucks (yeah Mac!).

The latest song called "In A Corner" was posted on Friday and I see we've already had some plays! When I wrote this one about 3 weeks ago I had been on a bit of a Led Zeppelin kick. I had also started messing around with alternate tunings and came back to one that has been used on several others (A Harmless Song, Let The Music Play).
Combine that open D tuning with a capo and some Zeppelin and you have "In A Corner."

Matt's reaction to it was immediate! He wrote back saying it was a song that was 'in his wheel house' and I'd say within a day he had these searing vocals laid down. When he sent it back and it took off from there. Matt's slide guitar work on this is just flat out awesome and added this nasty/awesome element to it : )

Enjoy this blues/zep/nasty-awesome infused tune and I promise not to use the words nasty-awesome every again, ha!!

In A Corner (aka Zep Song)

Chris: Acoustic Guitars, Bass, Drums, Hand claps
Matt: Vocals/Lyrics, Slide/Lead Guitar

As always, thanks for listening!

Chris

Currently listening:
Sun Giant EP
By Fleet Foxes
Release date: 2008-04-08

Open D Fun

recording bass & guitar for "Best Half"

quick update

hey there...

we just wanted to let you all know that you can now follow us on Twitter. search for "clutheleemusic" & add us. also...we've posted a new song called "In A Corner" on our pages today. it's a bluesy stomp of rock n' roll. hope you dig it! more new songs + an update on the album coming very soon.

Matt

links:
www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling
www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling
http://twitter.com/clutheleemusic
http://leeandcluthemusic.blogspot.com/

up next...

hello all..

it's matt. i'm taking a break from listening to some early mixes of our next batch of songs & thought i'd drop a line. since christmas, chris & i have been churning out these songs at a crazy pace & we're having a blast. they're all so different & it's always exciting when he sends me a new idea because i have no clue what it will sound like & how my musical brain will react.

right now we have 3 solid songs that are in various stages of production, with a few others waiting in the wings. i thought i'd share a little bit about each one of these three to serve as a preview for when we post them.

"in a corner"

this song has been known as "Zep Song" to chris & i for the last couple of weeks. we needed to a concrete title, so i thought about the lyrics & theme, and "in a corner" popped into my head. this one is a two and a half minute bluesy stomp of rock n' roll. chris wrote it & i immediately knew that this one was going to be fun to work on.

"man of the mountain"

this is a song of mine that i wrote about a year or so ago. it always seemed like it was missing a few parts. enter chris & his awesome lead guitar work & drumming/percussion. i've just finished the slide guitar work on this one & it should be a lot of fun to mix & see how it ends up.

"my best half"

a song i wrote a couple of days after hearing "in a corner" when chris re-introduced me to open D tuning. it really came together pretty quickly. i had a rough sketch & chris helped me whittle it down a bit and he also added some beautiful guitar lines that took it to a completely different level. it's for my best half, Laurel.

aside from those three little ditties, we've been talking & exchanging a few other ideas as well. among them is a riff-infused gem that chris wrote & a piano ballad that i've been working on for awhile. can't wait to share them with you all soon. until then, thanks for listening.

matt

Grown!

Happy Wednesday to all our friends out there!

Chris here writing to let you know about our newest post "Grown" which was mixed a few days back. Once again Matt and I continue to explore a variety of musical terrains and "Grown" can be thrown into several catagories I think. A very moody opening showcasing something like 5-6 vocal tracks Matt put together. On my first listen I got major chills which is a good indication that we've done something powerful, unique, soulful....

I had a pretty solid idea of what I wanted this song to sound like right from the start and Matt did an incredible job finishing my musical thought (we do that a lot actually). This song uses simple chords and live drums much like the last few we've posted. Matt has a solo in here that is unlike anything he's played EVER. I have really been pushing him with the solo's lately and I know you'll hear the results on this song. Matt's feedback to "Grown" was overwhelmingly positive and he's told me he feels like my songwriting has gotten better as we collaborate : )

We are still in a holding pattern on hearing back from the government on copyrighting our first LP, but should be hearing something hopefully this month. From what Matt told me, the artwork is in development and is picking up steam, so stay tuned! In the meantime you can hear everything at www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling and go over to our new blog at www.leeandcluthemusic.blogspot.com to check out what we're up to! Thanks so much for all the support! We have been watching the playlist counts and are thrilled our stuff is getting to your ears!

So here it is guys and gals, say hello to "Grown." Enjoy!


"Grown"
Chris: Organ(keys), Electric Guitar, Drums
Matt: Vocals/Harmonies/Lyrics, Slide Guitar, Lead Electric Guitar