Week 11...

This post is a little bit of a carry over from last week. In the mid-nineties, I was introduced to a couple of bands and a sound that would spark my love for the guitar and songwriting. I have never been about who could be the most technical with their skill. For me, it was more about that wall of sound coming out of the speakers. My two biggest influences were the Smashing Pumpkins and Hum.

I would love to know how many hours I spent listening and figuring out their records. How many gallons of gasoline I used while carting my friends around, just so we could listen to music. Seriously, we would spend entire evenings driving around in my '93 Ford Escort, (aka the Freshcort,) with the stereo at full volume. I was one of the older guys in my group of friends, so of course I had to pick on the younger ones. It would be the dead of winter and we would still be driving around. I would roll down the back window, as to freeze the younger lads in the back seats. All the while, I had the heat blazing on my feet and hands. They never seemed to mind... Because the music was on.

If we weren't driving around, we hung out in our church parking lot, or the CPL for short. We would talk, throw football or frisbee, do really stupid stuff like set off fireworks or explode two liter bottles of soda. There was always someone on our hit list. To pull off our pranks, we would regularly use things like eggs, water balloons, a three man sling shot, a life-size dummy or a full case of dish soap. These were weapons in our arsenal of mayhem. But, we were good kids. We were getting into that kind of trouble so that we wouldn't get into the wrong kind of trouble. That was the deal, every weekend night, for hours on end. We were forging the bonds of friendship. Figuring out who we could trust in this lonely world. And all of it was done... With the music on. It is a time, encapsulated; beautiful in my youth; vibrant in my memory.

This week's song is "I Hate It Too," from Hum's 1995 release, You'd Prefer an Astronaut. It has always been one of my favorites from that record. I love diverse dynamics within a song, if you couldn't tell from my own music. "I Hate It Too,"is a perfect example of that. This is the first time I've had the privilege and opportunity to collaborate with other people on 52. My old pal, Adam Morgan took a day out of his busy schedule to lay down the drum tracks. Together, Adam and I started One Amazin' Kid and Hopesfall. We had a lot to catch up on. My dear friend, Daniel Owen played the bass. He was my band mate in Laurelei and during the middle stages of One Amazin' Kid. I've been honored and blessed to have these guys in my life. They is good people.

Enjoy,

Christopher

Recorded March 11-13, 2012. Drums tracked February 27. Drums by Adam Morgan. Bass guitar by Daniel Owen. After Adam and I finished recording the drums, we went to eat the lunch special at Carmella's. That is always worth mentioning.