Tagged: album

February 5, 2013

Everything and Nothing

“Everything and nothing” is my new favorite way to answer the question, “What’s going on?”

Good Lord, I’ve been totally avoiding my own site. I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time for updates. So I threw up a new theme design (hope you enjoy it) and said, “I’m going to write something, dammit.” So here we are.

Goodbye 2012

I want to have a quick look back at 2012. The band and I played many a gig, and many a GOOD gig! I have to not only thank the band members but also everyone who came to the shows and supported me. It really is the most important thing when playing a show. Playing to an empty room is no fun at all. Playing to a room full of people, familiar or otherwise, who are into it and singing your words back to you on cue is a euphoric experience that I can’t explain.

We had many great shows at places like Crossroads, Connolly’s, National Underground and wrapped up our year with a great gig at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. I’ve gone to many a show there and was thrilled to be able to be on that famous stage. Being from NJ, I think we take that place for granted a bit but there’s lots of great music history there and I’m glad to say I’ve played there. Thanks to my friends in Bradykynin for offering the slot to me.

This year I want to try and keep to at least one show a month, so I hope to see you out there. Our gig at Hat City Kitchen in January was AMAZING. So many great people and so much good energy. Thanks to our friends in Test Pattern for giving us a slot and recording the show. You can hear the audio bootleg here:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN-l3msgLRg

I think my biggest achievement in 2012 was The Code of the West. Writing and recording a concept album is a very ambitious feat and it is not easy to pull off. I’m used to working quickly but this record really forced me to slow down a bit. There was months of on and off research (most about the old west, guns, and so on) and there was a lot of writing before any notes were played. Taking this thing from concept to fleshing out the story alone was hard work. Then I had to actually record the music and hope that it all made some kind of sense.

While the songs still have that “demo” quality (it was all done in my garage) I have to say I’m proud of the whole thing and there are some very different and interesting things on there for me. I went into areas I didn’t know I could and came out a better musician. Please give it a full listen if you can and let me know if the story works for you.

We’re going to start breaking in some of these songs live very soon. The first will be “This Gun is Now My Life” and we’ll follow that up with some of the more rocking tunes like “On the Run” or perhaps “Keep on Moving West.” I’d really like to play the closer, “It’s Finally Time to Sleep” at some point also. Please give me some feedback when you can.

The Band

I’m happy to say that the band is doing well. When you’re a solo artist, it’s quite hard to find people willing to come in an be the backing band, especially when there’s little to no pay involved. I’m sure Lenny Kravitz or Bryan Adams can hire whoever they please. Lou Tambone has to take who he can get.

You have to find people who love music so much that they don’t really mind what they’re playing or why. They play because they love it. I was lucky enough to find a batch of musicians like this. For some odd reason, they are happy to come down and play my songs to people for next to nothing and I appreciate this immensely. So much so that I want to give individual shout outs to them.

STEVE SAVONA plays bass. I’ve known Steve for what has to be around 20 years now. He was the first person I asked to play and he agreed right away. I never, ever, have to worry about what he’s doing or how he’s playing things and he has a humble attitude that’s refreshing. He’s laid back, but tight and in the pocket. A pleasure to have next to me, even though he towers over me and makes me look even shorter. I’ll have to invest in some platform shoes, I guess.

DAVE WILSON plays lead guitar. I remember auditioning Dave. We were really going through the ringer auditioning guitarists and none of them were working out. I’d give them songs to learn and they would hardly bother with them. Dave was one of maybe two guys that actually listened to the songs and learned them. He came in prepared, played the songs, and left with a handshake. That’s pretty much how he got the gig. Plus he could play. He’s good-natured, easy to work with and very accommodating.

ROB SILVERMAN plays drums. Much like Dave, he was a drummer who came down prepared to play and knew the tunes well. I was pretty impressed at how he picked up on a lot of my little drumming quirks or chops and was able to repeat them. He’s a funny guy with many a story to tell. He puts in the time and it shows on stage. As busy as he is, he always finds the time to get to rehearsals and gigs. He smokes electric cigarettes, which to me is cooler than smoking real ones. Now I’ve said too much.

That’s the core band, but as you might know, sometimes LIFE happens and someone can’t make a show for whatever reason. Sometimes they’re away for work or on vacation. Sometimes there’s a family event. These folks are doing me a favor by playing in my band so I always tell them that family is first!

That said, I’ve started to try and make sure I have alternate players available so that when there’s a gig someone can’t make (or a last minute replacement is needed), I don’t have to cancel the show. Booking gigs is not a pleasurable experience for me so when I book them, I like to keep them.

As of now I have two alternates, one for bass and one for lead guitar. When there’s no drummer, we’ll just have to go without… or maybe I’ll play some live drums one day… who knows?

HANNAH HAREL plays the bass and is my good friend. We have played together in another band and had lots of fun. For some reason, she seems to really like playing my songs. I think something must be off in her head, but it works to my advantage so I go with it. When Steve can’t make it, she’s my go-to girl. You’ll see her in some of the youtube videos. I can’t say enough good things about her. We always have a good time.

ROB FERRARO plays lead guitar. He and drummer Rob Silverman, along with myself and another bass player named Anthony Capricuso are all in another original band called Radio Therapy. He’s going to be filling in for Dave at our NYC show on April 6th. This is a real sweetheart of a guy and once again, I’ve lucked out. He also played on the track “On the Run” from my Code of the West recording. He’s a great player.

I’m still auditioning keyboard players but I think I’m close to someone. Keyboard players are a tough breed! If I find one, you’re going to start seeing some cool stuff happening.

Music Stuff

I have all kinds of ideas. All the time. Getting those ideas to a place where you can see/hear them is a project unto itself. Some things make it, others don’t.

There will be new songs/music this year. I’m determined and have lots of drum tracks recorded. Once I have the drum tracks down, that’s usually a good indicator that the songs will actually happen. If I can eek four more drum tracks out, that’s enough for a new record and that will make me very happy. Stay tuned to the site and my Facebook page for updates on new music.

I’ve been seriously considering trying out this whole crowdfunding thing. Sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo seem to be doing well for musicians. The only X Factor is people. Running one of these campaigns is like a part time job for a month. You really have to get behind it, make a video, plan out all kinds of rewards and make sure people know where every dollar is going. I’ve already done most of the work but I haven’t made a video.

Here’s my thinking. Right now, I have three “albums” of material that I’ve recorded mostly alone in my garage/home, playing all the instruments not counting the occasional guest spot (sax, steel guitar, lead guitar parts, etc.) All of these recordings have a home demo feel to them. I’d like to have an album available that is studio quality. I don’t expect people to shell out money for my current home recordings. They’re not sonically up to snuff and I don’t have the money to record in a real studio.

If I could raise some money through crowdfunding, I could cherry pick 10-12 songs from my first two albums and make a “real” album of studio quality songs that I feel good about handing out to people or selling on the internet or giving to clubs to get better gigs/time slots or selling at gigs, and so on. Since I could play music, I’ve always thought it would be a funny idea to make a first album and call it Greatest Hits. I have no idea why. When I started doing more recording at home, I broke that rule with Damaged Goods. However, those are really demo-like. This could be a real studio record and it would be my first solo one. So Lou Tambone’s Greatest Hits may see the light of day if this whole crowdfunding things works out. I’m still on the fence about starting it though. Part of me thinks, “What have you got to lose?” and part of me just wonders if it’s worth it. If no one donates, I’m back at the drawing board.

Please leave me some comments if you can. Have you done it? Would you do it? Have you donated to other people’s campaigns? Would you donate to mine? I’m considering it but not totally sold.

Previously, I mentioned another original band I’m in called Radio Therapy. It started off as a cover band but that quickly fell apart and we all decided that original music was where it’s at. Team leader Anthony brought in a bunch of his songs. I donated a few more. Rob F. gave us one finished song. The rest came out of joint writing sessions with the three of us. The songs are really good and we’re about ready to play live so look for updates to the Calendar here and on Facebook for the gigs.

***

Look, I could ramble on all day but I feel I’ve done my duty here. Thanks again for a great 2012. Hope to see you all at a gig in 2013. Please leave me some comments about whatever you want. I promise I’ll try to update more! See ya!

Lou's News / Music

July 25, 2012

The Code of the West

Today I have the pleasure of announcing my new album, The Code of the West. I’ll be releasing it slowly in all the usual places soon but these are your best bets for now.

There’s a SoundCloud widget where you can listen to the songs:

OR you can…Listen to The Code of the West via Dropbox

The Code of the West is a ten song concept album that takes place in the US Civil War era. It’s about a boy from St. Joseph, Missouri who lives on a farm with his parents until one day, during the Civil War, a general rides into town looking for new recruits. The boy’s father, sensing some big trouble ahead on the home front, figures his son’s chance of staying alive a soldier might even be better than his chance at home, so he allows his son to ride off to war. While away, due to some political machinations in town, his parents are killed – burned alive with their farm. The boy, now a man, comes home to find his farm burned down, parents dead, and no answers.

Seeking justice, he makes some decisions, for better or worse, and starts a journey West with plans to hit California, mine some gold, and then grow old rich in Mexico. On the way from St. Joseph to California, he changes and the lines between trying to survive and becoming a full-fledged outlaw begin to blur. After unintentionally bedding a Sheriff’s daughter, a relentless posse is dispatched. Our outlaw friend is forced to make some hasty and fatal decisions in order to realize his dream of Mexican freedom…

Once again, this is a concept album. The lyrics tell the story so try to listen to the songs in order. There are a wide range of influences here from old Elton John (Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across the Water, etc.), Eagles (Desperado, etc.), The Band (Music from Big Pink, etc.), and there’s plenty of that Johnny Cash/Lou Reed style of spoken-word singing, if you catch my drift. My goal was to tell a story, plain and simple. It’s not a grandiose rock opera in the vein of The Who’s Tommy, but it tells a story nonetheless and I feel I’ve been successful. It’s certainly not a deep story. It’s very simple and easy to follow, but if you dig a little deeper you’ll hopefully pick up more things with repeat listens.

I took a few small liberties here and there but for the most part, I feel I’ve remained historically accurate. Whenever I needed names of towns or events or guns or even horse’s names from the Civil War era, I took to the internet and researched. I did so much research as I was writing the lyrics and the story that that’s where the title came from. There really was a “Code of the West.” I liked the phrase so much, it became its own song and ultimately the title track.

From Wikipedia (although I can’t seem to locate the link now):

A new code of behavior was becoming acceptable in the West. People no longer had a duty to retreat when threatened. This was a departure from British common law that required citizens to have their back to the wall before they could protect themselves with deadly force. In 1876 a Ohio court held if attacked a citizen was not “obligated to fly”. The Indiana Supreme Court upheld the legality of “no duty to retreat”. The Code of the West dictated that a man did not have to back away from a fight, needing to retreat no further than “the air at his back”, and could pursue an adversary even if it resulted in death.

I want to spotlight some people who helped me out on a few tracks.

Brian Csencsits played piano on the opening track, “My Father Was a Good Man.” I laid down a pretty basic piano track but it wasn’t fluid enough and didn’t really groove. The opening is really the only happy track on there, representing youth and innocence, so I wanted it to be bright and moving. Brian provided a much better track than I did and it sounds great.

Paul J. Baccash provided all the electric guitar leads on the country song “Lawless.”I had the song recorded and it was very basic. It sounded like an old Johnny Cash traditional number; tell-tale country. I needed a good lead but didn’t know what to do. I was going to put an accordion lead or something in the song later. I took to Facebook and asked if anyone felt like playing a lead on a track. I’ve played gigs with Paul before so I was really excited when he made the offer. He went above and beyond what I needed, providing me with multiple, harmonized tracks and instructions on how to pan them to sound nice. Once added, the song took on a new life. Listen to his playing and you’ll agree.

Rob Ferraro provided all the lead guitars on the track called “On the Run.” A hard rocking bluesy number, I knew it would need special attention as far as lead guitar went. I’m not fast enough to pull off what he did here. I gave him a few tracks one night in my garage and he just unloaded with some fun leads and great fills. Once again, the song totally woke up.

I know the album isn’t for everyone. It has more going against it than for it in today’s musical climate, but it was something inside me that I had to get out before I could move on. As usual, before you critique my production value, remember that nothing you hear on these tracks was recorded in a professional studio. It was all done at home, mostly in my garage in less than optimal conditions and with less than optimal tools. Everything I do has a “demo” quality about it. Until the day someone pays me a bunch of money to record in a real studio, this is it folks. If you want to see the songs shine, come see the live show.

So that’s all for now. In the coming months, I’m sure I’ll be posting more about the album and the songs/story. Making this album was a long process (well, longer than I’m accustomed to) but it was well worth it and I really like how the songs turned out. If you have questions, just let me know. If you have favorite tracks, please let me know as well.

Thanks for reading and listening and I really hope you enjoy the music and story!

The track listing is as follows:

My Father Was a Good Man
I Rode to War at 17
Lawless
This Gun is Now My Life
Keep on Moving West
The Code of the West
On The Run
They Won’t Give Up (Until I’m Caught)
Take Me Dead
It’s Finally Time to Sleep

Lou's News / Music

February 10, 2011

Four New Songs Released: Workin’ Progress Album Completed

I am pleased to announce that the Workin’ Progress album is officially complete with the addition of four new songs!

The new songs are: “One More Round”, “Monday”, “Talk Too Much”, and “La La La La La La La”.

They are all on the music player here on the site and are also available on my other pages (Facebook, Reverbnation, etc.) I have not added them to Nimbit yet but will soon.

I’m very excited and happy to be able to finish the record and move onto the next few projects I have in mind. Hopefully, this year will see the formation of a live band and gigs in the NY/NJ area. I hope to see you out there because these songs are going to sound much better when played live with a great band.

Enjoy the new songs and send me your feedback.
Thanks for stopping by!

Lou's News / Music

June 11, 2010

Two New Songs & Workin’ Progress

Today, I’m proud to release two new songs. They’re called “There You Are” and “Something New”.

They’re going to be part of the next record which will be called Workin’ Progress. I decided on that name because I’m going to be creating the album as time goes by and releasing tracks as they’re finished, instead of waiting and releasing a big bunch of songs all at once. Hence, the album will be a work in progress until it’s finished.

I have some more songs written and ready to be recorded so hopefully it won’t be too long until this album is complete. When I feel I have enough songs and the project feels like it’s done, I’ll call it an album and be done with it.

“There You Are” was written with my friend Doug Brehm one night while we were bored and hanging out. He plays the guitar solo on it as well. It’s a nice, mellow acoustic song.

“Something New” started out as an experiment with software instruments. One thing led to another and it became a song. The only real instrument on that one is the guitar, which is sparse.

Both new songs can be heard in the music player here on the site, or on any of my other links (Facebook, etc.) below.

Enjoy and please leave me some comments if you like them. If you don’t like them, keep it to yourself. 🙂

See ya!

Lou's News / Music

May 8, 2010

Damaged Goods

I’ve been quite busy the past year writing, recording, re-recording, compiling, plotting, scheming, planning, and you get the idea.

I think that 14 songs seems like a good enough amount for a formal release. Why 14? No idea. It just seems like a good number to me. I already have more songs in the works that will probably end up on the second release unless I decide to squeeze some more onto this one. I’m enjoying the number 14 though. Paul Westerberg’s first official solo record (if you don’t count the Replacements’ All Shook Down as a Paul record) was called 14 Songs. So why not. There must be some good karma there someplace.

Anyhow, the name of the record will be Damaged Goods. I could probably come up with some wacky story about why I’m calling it that, but that story would be totally untrue. Here’s the true story, if you’re interested.

In the past year when I started writing and recording this batch of original tunes, I had to decide if I was going to wait and not release anything until the end or release the songs a few at a time. I decided to release the songs a few at a time as “singles” and then when I felt it was time to call it a record and start playing some gigs, I’d compile them all into one package. So here I am at that point, but I needed an album cover and a name. So I started messing around in Photoshop; trying out some different background textures. I came across this one that looked like cardboard but with a glue blotch or something on it. It caught my eye and I used it. I was just going to use it for the background but then as I was playing with the color, I thought the image looked kind of interesting as it was.

At this point I didn’t have an album title. I didn’t want to have a “title track”, so to speak; use one of the song titles as the album title. I had a few funny ideas like calling the album Lou Tambone’s Greatest Hits since it was my first record under my own name. That was just me trying to be funny. The truth of the matter is while I was designing and playing with this “background” texture, the phrase “damaged goods” popped into my brain for some unknown reason. I guess I was just thinking of a box with some damage done to it and this looked like it.

So, I played with the blending modes a little, changed some colors around, added the logo text and the scripted words at the bottom, threw a faded stamp on the left (upside down) and that was about it. Instant uninspired album cover.

I’m not too deep, folks. Don’t ever go trying to read all kinds of crazy meanings into the stuff I do. 🙂

My other issue is that I’ve uploaded all these songs to various places like Nimbit, Reverbnation, iLike, Last.fm, and others so I have to go into each of these places and see if I can compile the album using the already existing tracks, or if I have to re-upload everything. I also have to write up some liner notes and all that mess. Once I get all the songs together in a running order that I’m OK with, I’ll see about calling it an official release. However, I wanted to post the album cover at least, just for fun. It’s nothing all that special but I enjoy the simplicity of it for whatever reason.

The other thing I guess I should say is that this record is going to be a work in progress of sorts, even after I call it a record. Some of the songs still need remixing. I’ll probably keep fixing things after it’s released and try to let you know. I’ll just upload and overwrite the old songs with the new ones and things should be pretty seamless and transparent to anyone on the other end of things. When I feel the songs are produced well enough, perhaps I’ll actually press copies but I’m not thinking about that really. For now, I’ll just make the art and liner notes all available via download.

So, enjoy the cover. All the songs are on the music player here on the site (or at the links I have listed) so you can hear the whole thing now. This official “release” is really just a formality. It makes me sound like an actual musician when I can say stuff like, “This is from my album Damaged Goods, which you get get at the merch table.” Yay me.

More songs and records coming soon. As for gigs, I’m putting my energy into that also because I feel the songs will “pop” live and I love playing out. It would be nice to play some places outside of my local area for a change. Small steps.

So thanks for reading and look for more news soon!