Steve Ball

May Day (Vocal Version)

Evening Work: May Day (Vocal Version) (6.3M mp3).

What would have been a rehearsal night became a night "off" due to snow. Translation: I made time this evening to complete lyrics and vocals for this instrumental piece that was recorded exactly nine months ago (April 28th, 2006!)

This began as an improv recorded live with Paul O'Rear who initiated the primary bass line. I hit record and played this acoustic guitar part in one take on top of Paul's already grooving bass line. Tonight, some words came pouring down from the ceiling, and six vocal tracks later, here is a song sketch: May Day, the vocal version.

May Day
I won't pull white wool over eyes
spewing bull shop broken china lies
break-up burn a bridge criticize
wave a swinging watch hypnotize
exorcise a right pick a fight
hide the history mystery oversight
pay to pray to play go fly a kite
fade to blank walk the slippery plank
win the sacred race saving grace
gently twisted arms twisting face
pay the exit fee penalty
put me in my place let it be

I hang my head in silence
I sing in sweet defiance
I hold my heart inside this
obscure obtuse appliance
my songs reflect a science
the sound of self reliance

how many joys begin in sadness
how many bruises build the business
how many seeming senseless losses make us whole

attracted to a stillness
allergic to the illness
a funky freaky physics
a monkey making business
a shock to stir desire
a spark to start the fire

why are these people here all kneeling
music is pouring through the ceiling
there's nothing here that we're concealing
come on in
but pay no attention to our praying
and please ignore what we're not saying
you'd understand if you were playing in the right way
you see this pain is quite appealing
faces in sync with what we're feeling
no need to think or blink or make a selfish stink

I won't pull white wool over your eyes
spewing bull shop broken china lies
break-up burn a bridge criticize
wave a swinging watch hypnotize
exorcise a right pick a fight
hide the history mystery oversight
pay to pray to play go fly a kite
fade to blank walk the slippery plank
win the sacred race saving grace
gently twisted arms twisting face
pay the exit fee penalty
put me in my place let it be

I hang my head in silence
I sing in sweet defiance
I hold my heart inside this
obscure obtuse appliance
my songs reflect a science
the sound of self reliance
let it be

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Backbeat Anniversary

Two Years Ago Today: Backbeat (8.7M mp3).

Found this today while listening in preparation for selection and fine tuning for new Sketch Box project. This piece is much like the Seattle Guitar Circle improvisation projects that preceeded the two years before this was recorded, except that I'm playing all of the 'live' parts one at a time.

The general practice is this:

1.) Hit 'Record' and begin playing
2.) Move to new track, repeat, listening and playing along with the original track
3.) Repeat one, two,or three times, or until track feels 'complete'
4.) Mix and master in one pass
5.) Bounce to WAV, convert to mp3
6.) Create songtile (cover art)
7.) Embed metadata into the file
8.) FTP to site
9.) Post

This songtile is derrived from a photo by Ingrid Pape-Sheldon.

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Rehearsal Outtake

A fragment of a live improv from rehearsal last week, captured by Paul, cut in half by me: Hollistic Hue (4.2M mp3). Apparently, this was named by Dan just before Paul began banging out the throbbing bobbing bassline.

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Kneeling Down

Five Years Ago Today: wrote the lyrics (and music with TravisM) for Kneeling Down (4.2M mp3). And still extremely relevant.

where are all the others
mothers, fathers
missing brothers
where are you?

what are all these whispers
bleeding blisters
crying sisters
where are you?

sell me out
cash me in
pick me up
lay me down

down in the basement
found a replacement
up in the ceiling
Mary is kneeling down

who hired all these talkshow scholars
lending spending rubber dollars
in my name?

who inspired this royal highness
spineless blindness clueless genius
that we blame?

try it on
show it off
put it down
blow it off

down in the basement
found a replacement
up in the ceiling
Mary is kneeling down

* * *

Busy day for a day "off" including morning walk and warm-up, Roadshow rehearsal in the afternoon for ~3.5 hours. BuzzB dropped in with a special Minnesota Thanksgiving rice recipe to share with Regina. Logistics, bills, fixing a RAS issue on my RTM build laptop, fixing Activesync issues on my not-so-Smartphone.

And weekend highlight: Who Killed the Electric Car. I want one.

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Fly By - 12

Evening Work: Fly By - 12 (3.1M mp3).

Back to a more peaceful pace now that my primary product work for Windows Vista is complete.

As expected, there is much hype flying around now in print, radio, even television. Mag interview coming tomorrow morning with a pal from Pop!Tech.

Looking forward to getting back into music mode over these next few weeks and completing the production of a new Sketch Box and putting final touches on the mostly-done music for the Fly By project. Need to check in with Duncan as well on how the Night Wall DVD is coming.

Like breathing, the busy-ness never stops -- the focus simply moves from place to place.

* * *

In parallel this evening: friends Bert, Paul, and Hidi played the Triple Door this evening. Wished them well from just fourteen blocks away, but stayed in this evening in anticipation of two upcoming shows at the Triple Door later this week: Adrian Belew (tues) and Reggie Watts (thurs.) Already juggling a packed live music schedule this week. Hope the show went well - did anyone see it? Reviews?

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Backspin Revisited

Almost two years ago: Backspin (5.1M mp3).

This piece came up today in my shuffled playlist and feels like what is happening in the world. Now that Windows Vista has RTM-ed, my project for December will be to complete my next box set.

back·spin (noun)

1. A spin that tends to retard, arrest, or reverse the linear motion of an object, especially of a ball

Musically, this Lydian sketch is born out of some hammer-on and pull-off exercises that I'd been working on.. There are actually two primary techniques at work here - the straight three and four string left-hand hammer-on and pull-offs. but on top, there is also a two-handed tap and pull technique that RF and the Gauchos were experimenting with way back in 1997 on the Chile GC course. I'd not quite found an appropriate setting to apply these short of novelty techniques that made sense -- until this sketch appeared.

The middle section is a sort of moody three-part invention that is designed to standalone, and then it repeats again (with some swirling ornimentation on top of the spinning hammering on textures.)

* * *

Backstep Revisited

Two years ago, this evening: Backstep (6.7M mp3).

Recorded before UGC was a TLA and YouTube was an invention of the year.

A slow and regal Lydian piano theme that captures a small flavor of the feeling I have about this period of work: confident, plodding, flowing but assertive and positive.

A few parallel fifths in the right hand, also poetically placed with care as gentle but conscious rebellion against that which is allegedly 'forbidden.' A bit sophomoric, but so be it. Also, an unresolved anti-cadence completes the picture. Note about most of these pieces: that which may seem dissonant or tense is meant to be.

The language of music, like all languages, is rich with subtlety, irony, depth, meaning, and context -- this non-verbal language possesses equal power to surprise, soothe, offend, and/or enlighten; depending both on the 'speaker' and the listener.

* * *

SBRS 2001: Improv In F

From the Roadshow archive: Improv In F. (2.7 MOV)

Recorded live by David LaVallee at the Bitstar Cafe on August 9th, 2001. With Travis Hartnett and Travis Metcalf.

* * *

Running Up That Hill - Live

Warts and all:: here is a bootleg live Track from the recent Sept 30 SBRS House Concert, Running Up That Hill. (7.7M mp3)

This began as a sort of improvised Group Loop and evolved much to everyone's surprise into Running Up that Hill.

beginning with improvised drum part from Dan Moore
then, a non-complicated bass line from Paul O'Rear
then, two acoustic guitar loops (chords and melodies) by SB,
and finally, Ivan Lee on guitar counterpoint...

followed by the discovery that this was actually the intro to RUTH.

* * *

PopTech Swag

Evening update: I just lost a post I'd been working on because IE7's security feature tried to block a pop-up from Typepad and killed my post in the process. Freaking security.

Now, summarizing what would have been a long, juicy post on what I've been up to lately:

1. I'm just back from Pop!Tech in Camden, Maine. My friend Buzz made an excellent recommendation, and I'm sooo glad I trusted him and went.

2. The PopTech organizers sent an amazing customized book sumarizing the event to every attendee:

Front cover has my name on it!

Inside front cover has an 'earth' photo of the Camden Opera House where the event took place.

Inside back cover has an 'earth' photo of MY CONDO!

Picture of Buzz considering the future of 'printed food.'

The conference, conversations, and consequences of this event are still sinking in. More on this as I dive back into this Music Diary now that Windows Vista is almost out the door.

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