Quick Duck

Quick update, whilst I'm on Myspace.

E came around last week and he sorted the end of the track for EP3 / Album. I've re-reorded the vocals and comped them together. Needs a bit of tarting and fixing, then it will be ready for mixing. (So that'll be two tracks ready or mixing)

E also recorded his parts for The Beguiled. I then proceeded to rework the drums from scratch and recorded a bass line. Then decided it may be in the wrong key for me to sing in (easily), so i might need re-recording again. Ooops

I did add a string section to it, which I was happy with at the time, listened back the next day. Utter tosh. Deleted the parts. Humm....

Another track for EP3, was also sorted, and it was decided to record it in a different key as well. I've sent E a copy so he can record it in the safety of his own house.

Tonight we are off to a new open mic night in Telford. Not sure if we will get up and play (well I'm not taking a guitar, but might take my capos), since we haven't rehearsed since December. We shall see.

I decided last week to buy a new (Line 6 Echo Park) Delay pedal. I think it turned up today, but I was at work, so will collect tomorrow and play with over the weekend.

Later

Rollasoc

Insert Witty Title Here...

Oops, long time since I updated this

Here is a list of things that have happened, in the order in which I remember them:

I've recently been to watch Thirteen Senses and Inspiral Carpets, and am going to watch Idlewild tonight. Job commitments have stopped me going to gigs for a while so it is good to start again.

Pedal-wise I have built Rollasoc's Wah, a booster for Tim (Sheebang), and a Bass Fuz-E for Mike Deathray (Young casual Gentlemen).

Work: I've now signed Birmingham New Street and drive there most days.

Hair Thieves: Erm....done something, I'm sure I have. Actually I have; I have just re-recorded an old song that I wrote with Guy Lawton during my Red Star Radio days. It's called Bad Consumer and will probably appear on EP3 in the "old song" slot. Originally I hadn't been keen on doing R*R stuff as they are still a going concern, but it is a good song and they don't seem to be using it. Once again it features the unlikely combination of E and a bass guitar so all that is left is for Rolla to do the drums and vox.

A couple of hours were spent the other day recording my guitar parts for the Beguiled so progress is being made there as well. Work continues slowly on Assimilation - my attempt at a rocking outro ended up as an indie jangle-fest, which seems to be my default setting. The solo was quite good though so I'm sure the rest will be okay if I re-do it with loads of gain

I also am about to start recording the guitars for a song called A Jouney of the Soul, based on a poem of the same name that was written by my sister.

That is all,
E.

Another month slips quietly by.

Humm, February being a very short month has slipped by and gone.

The productiveness of January has gone with it. Not much to report. Mostly, on my part to being away for two of the weekends of the month.

I'm happy to report, that I have finished the lyrics for a song called The Beguiled. I'm pretty happy with them. We have a completed demo version of the song now. We just need to learn it and record it better.

I still haven't started lyrics for E6. Which I'm a bit disappointed with myself for, to be honest.

E has sent me several versions of Assimilation, and pointed out, it was a bit dull and repetitive after many minutes of it, which I aggreed with, it did sort of meander then peter out a bit. So we are going to write a new ending for it. He has been messing about with it.

E has started getting things together to record a song he wrote with Guy from Red Star Radio. (Probably for EP3 or 4)

"Penny for them" at the moment is back in Cornwall with Tim being re-recorded. It looks like he will use it for one of his many bands.

I've started some work on a track for EP3. Trying to flesh out the arrangement. Lyrics are done by a currently secret source. More soon.

The lead track for EP3, needs a bit of vocal re-work, neither of us are happy with the ending.

E has also built me a new pedal. It's a fixed Wah pedal, based on the innards of a Crybaby (I think), that I was given. So basically a fixed filter. Not the most exciting pedal in the world on it's own, but in combination with other effects it makes a great difference to the sound. Which is exactly what I want it for.

Oh and my Line 6 Delay modeller, has started acting very bizarre, so I need to source a new delay pedal at some point fairly soon.

So work is progressing slowly and surely.

Later,

Rollasoc

What happened to January.

Crivens! Ferbruary already.

Some small things to report though, we haven't met up as often as we'd hoped, due to various commitments.

E has mostly been working on a song tentively titled "E6". I did pop around his house and put a bit of guitar down. He has sent me a roughly mixed version last weekend, so I can now start working on lyrics. E has moved on to learning a song that has been around for a while called "Assimilation". So that looks like beng recorded next.

I've mostly been playing through several covers. Bridgnorth appears to be the place for open mic nights. So I've started getting up and doing a few tunes. So I've been trying to learn a few cover versions to put a bit of variety in my playing.

I have managed to do some additonal recording though on the two songs I said I was working on. Which is going quite nicely. Still a few issues that need re-recording at some point though.

I've also restarted trying to finish the lyrics for a song called "The Beguiled". Hopefully they should be finished in the next few days, pending E's approval (or not).

Tim (sang and co-wrote The Mighty Fall off EP2, if anyone isn't paying attention), came up from Cornwall last week for a couple of days. He has put some drums down for an instrumental we are working on. I'll try and edit the 16 minutes he recorded down to about 3 minutes, next week.

Tim & I also wrote a song together called "Penny for them". It is a strange sequenced dance track. I'm unsure that this will become a Hair Thieves track or not (I'll let E hear it first), but may be used for something else I'm thinking of working on (after the album).

So a fairly busy and productive month. Lets hope we can keep the momentum up through February.

Rollasoc

Bas(s)ic Instinct

In the pub the other night my good lady wife announced that she fancied learning the bass guitar. I've always found female bass players slightly erotic so I have done the gentlemanly thing and decided to support her in this noble ambition. Jamie in Shifnal Music has done me yet another good deal, this time on a Ibanez GSR200 Bass, an ideal beginners instrument, so we are all set up and ready to go.

Obviously that now means there is a bass guitar sitting on a stand, right next to my Strat, and it was only a matter of time before I picked it up and started messing about with it. Once the novelty of playing the bass riff from "The Chain" wore off (about 2 mins) I sat down and worked out a bass line for a song I'm writing at the moment. Currently it is imaginatively titled "E6" and will feature on our next release, hopefully with a better title. I may stick a sneak preview on here sometime.

E.

Erase and re-wind.

As Rollasoc has mentioned on The Hair Thieves MySpace site we have started recording again. This is a reworking of Apo for the album as the version on EP1 has us playing each others guitar parts.

We also talked about trying some different recording techniques for some of the new tracks. Mostly this involves mic'ing up amps in my conservatory to take advantage of the great natural reverb found therein.

Finally, if Rollasoc is very lucky and the rain holds off, I am going to spend the rest of the day rehousing and modding his Wah pedal.

E.

It's started

We had our first Hair Thieves get together of 2007 today. And a jolly encouraging start it was.

After some initial tea drinking (damn forgot to get the biscuits out). We had a listen through the 15 or 16 tracks we have on the go at the moment and had discussions on where to take them and essentially in the short term which four or five to concentrate on.

Then realising we had a hour left before E had to depart, we started re-recording some guitar parts, which E nailed, then did some spare things just in case.

I did a rough mix tonight and it is sounding good. I've promised E I'd have my guitar parts, bass and vocals done during the week. (No pressure then). If I have time, I'll record the vocals for another track which will probabl be the lead track on EP3.

So hopefully, by the weekend we can put the first couple of tracks to bed, until the final mix and start work on another EP3 track.

Later,

Rollasoc