Long Distance Jamming Experiment

TonySo I got an email from Tony with a solution how he can add his bass tracks to our project, and not even leave his house. Since we both have a Mac with GarageBand, it should work… this is our latest plan:

1. I export my drum track into an MP3, and email it to him.
2. He will import the MP3 into GarageBand on his Mac.
3. Record his bass track, then delete (mute) my drum track.
4. Export only the bass track to an MP3, and email it back.
5. I simply drag the bass track MP3 onto my original .band file in GarageBand. Whew!

I like the idea of making music this way. If this experiment works, musicians will never have to leave their home again. I have the basic drum track MP3 that I emailed to Tony. Check it out, and later we can compare it with Tony’s bass track, to see if this long distance jamming experiment works.

Here’s just the basic drum beat: RS-03.mp3

As soon as I get the bass track, I’ll post them layered together. To be continued…

We are the ones from the underground

I’m a little over excited. I wrote some lyrics and got some vocal tracks down on RS-01.

Here’s the link: RS-01.1.mp3

I’m still trying to figure out the best way to get Tony in on the project. I’ll try to post a CD-R of .band files. I don’t know if it will work. I have a very old version of GarageBand.

The bass that gooed me.

gooey fist bassYou know it’s been a while since you’ve jammed when the padding to the bass case has glued itself to the bass itself. Mark had to rip the lining out of the case just to get his guitar out. The rubbery goo was all stuck to the back of his bass! The only solvent we had around was vodka, so if Mark comes home smellin’ of liquor… this is his alibi, and I stand behind it. The vodka and rubber goo took the finish off the back. Just look at Mark’s face… “wha’ happened to my bass..?” We had to cover the back with paper towels so his shirt wouldn’t get gooed. It’s never easy to ROCK. We’re hoping this helps make our new tunes sticky. Wucka wucka.

A beginning.

I recorded a bunch of drum beats and rhythm guitar tracks so that Mark and I could start another Rain Station project. It’s been nearly 8 years since we’ve been in the studio together. When I first recorded the drum beats, I listened to them, thought they were sparse, and wasn’t sure if anything could be done with them. Mark just walked in and played bass and guitar like we had been doing this just yesterday. As he played, I said, gosh, that sounds like Rain Station.

We thought it would be interesting to share the entire journey along the way. The two tracks we worked on are far from done, have no lyrics, but here they are. As they grow, we’ll continue to post the songs so you can hear the progression. It’s neat to hear a basic track, then the next, until it becomes a finished produced song.

The process of making music is by far my favorite part. Finding the perfect riff to fit a beat, all the way to figuring out how the music feels, and writing lyrics that fit the setting. It feels like a discovery. I make something up, Mark adds a track or two, and something unknown is revealed. It’s like finding tuna in your jello, you just don’t expect it. Since the process is so exciting, we thought it would be cool to share the project from start to finish, just for fun. Isn’t that cool? Nobody does that.

Here’s what we have so far:

RS-01.mp3

RS-13.mp3

HEY please post a comment, otherwise, we will feel very sad and lonely deep in the Internet all alone. Try to work the word: “goat” into your comment for extra points.