John and Jack

Update!

johnandjack — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:36:57 +0000

My hard drive was unreclaimable. I sent it off to two different places, offered up $2000 and got not a thing. This is a major anti-wind in my sails, as you may imagine.

In the meantime I got a gig playing in the orchestra pit for the musical “Tommy” at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco for a 4 week run from the end of October to the beginning of November–should be a good time, come check it out!

The macbook gets returned to me (and it better damned well be tricked out after this ridiculousness, Apple…) by September and then I’ll decide if this project is going to live on and in what format. I would love to continue doing this, so let’s see what happens.

Best,
Jack

The Worst News. Ever.

johnandjack — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:16:11 +0000

My computer died, taking my ability to record as well as ALL OF MY MUSIC FILES.

It’s going to cost me 1200-2500 to get my data back.

Website on hold until I get some serious fundraising done, because I don’t have that kinda scratch at the moment. Sigh.

Hopefully be back soon.

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

johnandjack — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:49:01 +0000

Very. Strange.

This is my first foray into the genuinely strange tracks the Beatles delved into about 75% through their careers. Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite is a track that likely exists completely in some LSD based world, along with the bulk of Sgt Peppers and has the instrumentation and lyrics to match.

The thing that took the most time here wasn’t learning to play it—it’s not that hard—the issue was getting the sounds right. The song involves two organs, one accordian and a heavily effect-laden guitar part. I tried to capture the flute/trumpet stops on the organ, but I was limited in my ability to edit the sample patches. Such is the way, it still turned out. Notice that the bridge shifts to 3/4, this proved to be a technical challenge on my recording software more than anything else.

Hardest part: arranging it correctly, capturing the correct sounds

Audio sample: Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

Last post: Because
Next post: Birthday

Because

johnandjack — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:03:04 +0000

I’ll just skip straight to the “hardest part” section: everything. This song is insanely difficult. The harpsichord part is very strange, it wasn’t written for guitar so the guitar part is awkward, and the vocals are absurd. I tried a NUMBER of takes and this was the best I came up with. The bottom part spreads out widely and involves holding notes right at the break in my voice (from chest to head), the middle part constantly jumps above and below that break: too high to go all chest voice and too low to go all chest and then the high part… is absolutely ridiculous. High B for a guy? Castrati maybe but not me, friends.

After fighting mightily with this track I got through it, but it took a great fight with my own limitations.

Man I love Abbey Road.

Audio sample: Because

Last post: The Ballad of John and Yoko
Next post: Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

The Ballad of John and Yoko

johnandjack — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 18:16:28 +0000

I will withhold my thoughts on Yoko (loathe her) but this is a catchy number. The guitar part is silly but it’s minimal nature is sweet. The simple piano, bass and acoustic guitar come together to make a song that shows off John’s songwriting skill and simple vocal talent. It’s not that he sings particularly “well” here, it’s that his vocal identity is perfect: it carries the song.

This song was fun because I played real drums on it, courtesy of Danny’s set. I’m a pretty awful drummer (give me a break, I’m playing every other instrument!) but even I could handle this one. Apparently Paul was playing drums on this track anyway… makes sense I suppose. Ringo and George were both gone so Paul and John not only didn’t kill each other in the studio, they actually put together something pretty sharp.

The best part though is Paul’s harmony in the chorus, it was fun and is perfect in the song.

Strangely enough this song doesn’t appear on a record. Weird.

Hardest part: I’m terrible at drums

Audio Sample: The Ballad of John and Yoko

Last post: Bad Boy
Next post: Because

Bad Boy

johnandjack — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:22:58 +0000

This is a quirky track. First of all, like the Ballad of John and Yoko, it was only released on a 7″ in the US (although this track appeared on Beatles VI in the UK whereas Ballad of John and Yoko didn’t appear on any full length records). It’s also a cover of Larry Williams cover (as is Dizzy Miss Lizzy). This one has John epitomizing rock and roll singing at the time and really captures something great about the Beatles: even early on they rocked.

This one was great to play. I wish I had real drums on this one, but otherwise it was a quirky dual tracked guitar part (it’s meant to sound a little off, as it does) that’s sweet along with a rollicking bass line. This one was a quick creation and came off well, when I don’t have to restrain my singing all of the sudden it’s much easier.

Hardest part: double tracked guitar, never had to do that before

Audio sample: Bad Boy

Last post: Back in the USSR
Next post: The Ballad of John and Yoko

Back in the USSR

johnandjack — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:30:41 +0000

Ah, a real rock song here.

There’s so much to say about this one, about it’s historical significance against the Beach Boys (note that bridge section), the iconic nature of the song as the opener to the White Album and the rocking guitar parts.

The song was great to play through, strapping on the guitar and plugging in, belting out Paul’s silly voiced part, and having live drums again (thanks Danny!). Luckily the harmony parts are coming easier these days so I could focus on tracking the three guitar parts, the handclaps, the piano part (which was way fun to play if challenging, I was exhausted trying to keep up with that constant pace) and the three voices. This was the biggest in terms of tracks and I took a little time and offered over 1:30 this time instead of my normal minute to cover the solo (which was great to play as well).

Hardest part: incredibly dense and tons of stuff to keep an eye on, also, the fill part took some time to practice, definitely harder than the solo

Audio Sample: Back in the USSR

Last Post: Baby You’re a Rich Man
Next Post: The Ballad of John and Yoko

Baby You’re a Rich Man

johnandjack — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:29:59 +0000

What can be said about this one? This is the first really strange song I’ve had to play thus far. Before this I could pull out an acoustic guitar and play through, but for this one I needed my roommate’s violin and some insanely heavy effects for the lead part (which I thought was a chopped up organ sound but is notated as altered violin…) and effects for the vocals too. The guitar and bass are cool but rather easy.

The best part about playing this song is that it features my roommate Mike on violin and my friend Danny on drums. Finally, real drums!

Besides this, the song had the challenge of belting out the chorus, but that’s much easier than trying to hit notes with some restraint. It was pretty enjoyable and with modern recording effects, recreating the sound isn’t that bad. If I really wanted to perform this or play it I’d need a better idea of what was going on with that lead part, considering the notation in the book is terrible and the sound is tough to capture.

This song also had piano, so it gave me the chance to play one of my favorite instruments, featured mostly in later Beatles’ songs.

Hardest part: that funky lead, the airy vocals, the random piano intro

Audio Sample: Baby You’re a Rich Man

Last post: Baby’s in Black
Next post: Back in the USSR

Baby’s In Black

johnandjack — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:28:26 +0000

Baby’s In Black is a lament written for mop-top stylist and former Beatles/Quarrymen bassist Stu Sutcliffe’s girlfriend who was torn up about his death. It appears on Beatles for Sale and the real quirks here are twofold: John and Paul shared the writing and singing duties and the song is in 6/8. 6/8 is the time of sea-shanties and has a mix of being counted like it’s in two but actually being constructed like “ONE two three – ONE two three.”

The song is only tough because of the harmony. The lead part is also a touch off beat but after a few listens makes sense. This was a departure from their sound and thus receives mixed reviews from critics but was played at many of their shows (including Shea Stadium) so should be known by the Beatles aficianado. Before singing it they used to say “Now for something completely different…” from which we get the phrase then used by the Monty Python crowd.

Hardest part: a song of harmonies and only one singer (who has a cold). Sigh.

Audio sample: Baby’s In Black

Last post: Baby It’s You
Next post: Baby You’re a Rich Man

Baby It’s You

johnandjack — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:15:51 +0000

Sha La La La indeed.

I thought I really dug “Ask Me Why” but this is even better. In this one John has great tone and the single guitar takes us back to that early 60′s rock so nicely. Originally this was a somewhat cheesy Burt Bacharach song, but the lads really take it somewhere new.

I had a great time playing this one, and it was a breeze (outside of those harmonies, but they’re coming quite a bit easier now). This one was good enough and quick enough that I played through the two verses instead of just the first minute.

This captures early Beatles so well, John’s voice, George’s great guitar tone, Paul and George using incredibly simple harmonies to create a musical texture that drove the girls crazy and simple lyrics. The way they took it up a notch though is John belting out “Can’t help myself!” and the cutesy little “cheat, cheat” background in verse 2 mimicing people talking about the girl in question. Just wonderfully put together.

Hardest part: null.

Audio sample: Baby It’s You

Last post: Ask Me Why
Next post: Baby’s In Black