Reverb, Windchimes, and Man Feelings

[sergiodeblanc]

That was my proposed (and subsequently rejected) title for the-band-I-play-in’s latest EP that came out.

Aside from my main gig as a housewife that moonlights as a colossal sh!t-talker on the Internet about PRS guitars, I occasionally play guitar and mellow electric piano with a pair of brothers. And by brothers, I mean an actual pair of two siblings, one set from Argentina and the other from suburban Chicagoland.

It works out great because I’m simultaneously the tie-breaker, and the disposable one, and the guy that gets his own motel room, and I can easily opt out of group texts when sh!t gets personal without it seeming like I’m disinterested in band politics. It’s a good part-time dad-band kinda gig for me, plus practice is like, three blocks from my home.


So, “The Brothers Hermanos” (another great name I came up with that got shot down) decided to release this on Christmas . At first I was hesitant to share it with y’all but then I figured... WTF, it is was it is, and the least I could do was share what kinda stuff I’ve been doing.

I’m not totally psyched about the mixes/mastering and some choices that were made but, people rarely are, and I didn’t make myself as available as I probably should have.

All guitars are played through the DG30, and all the guitars are PRS, being my HB Spruce (played by the singer) and either the Mighty Whitey West St. or my green Santana. The easiest way to tell who’s playing what is if there’s a sh!t ton of ‘verb and some keyboards playing under it: it’s probably him.

I’ll link to YouTube videos because it’s easy, but it’s available on all the streaming formats in case you want to facilitate me making phantom tollbooth levels of pocket change.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

The “whale sex” guitar solo is mine, and with the green Santana. It’s got kind of a compressed sound from the stock pickups. Just figured I’d say that in case someone is wondering how that particular guitar sounds.

I would’ve cut some of the whale sex but... the boys were soooo into it.

Edit: Oh, and for the longest time I kinda raised an eyebrow because I thought he was singing about meeting a girl on a “class field trip” But after asking about it... I found out it was some allegory/poetic sh!t about quitting drinking, which I celebrated with... uh... drinks.

 

[dmatthews]

Me are confusled... Where is a link?

 

[dmatthews]

Aha!

 

[dmatthews]

Awesome, nicely done gents!
Sperm whale... amiright?

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Dualing harmonised metal licks through envelope filters (dude and I are always trying to disguise our hessian pasts). This is the West St. clean, and I play the electric meow-meow on this too.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I think this is my favorite, mostly because I wait a whole four minutes before playing the best guitar riff on the whole EP (IMO of course). All other guitar is him, and I’m playing keys.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Awesome, nicely done gents!
Sperm whale... amiright?

I was going for “Killer” Swing and a miss, I guess.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

This one has the most “man feelings” in the lyrics.

I was a little bummed upon hearing the mixes, mostly because I had this great, really kinda sh!tty tone dialed in for the chorus distortion part. I wanted something that added aggression and energy to the part without being “heavy”, so I used one of my favorite pedals; Rider’s Tonal Insanity Little Big Horn Fuzz, and played single note lines rather than power chords, kinda like they used to do in 80’s soft rock tunes.

They wound up adding a ton of bottom end and smoothing it out a bit to just make it sound like a albeit fizzy, kinda mainstream “rock” sound instead... whatever, like I said in the OP, I coulda been more available.

 

[bodia]

Dude....love this sh!t.....I can totally listen to this kind of music during the day while I'm pretending to work in my basement. The usually metal gets me all pissed off at stupid co-workers that I have to interact with "virtually"

 

[sergiodeblanc]

The guys in the band love this tune, me.... it’s not my favorite. So I do what I’ve always found helpful when faced with this dilemma, and I’d like to pass it on to y’all in case you’re ever face with such a situation: Play less.

Like I always say; not playing anything and leaving some space counts as a part. It shows you’re a good listener, and beyond anything else, it gives you ample opportunities to grab something to drink on stage.

I do really like the middle bossanova-ish section though, but by the time it hits I had already committed to my “good listener” role and had to roll with it.

I know, not as exciting as a NGD day, and what we do with these guitars isn’t always everybody’s cup of tea but, for those of you that listened, thanks. And it totally absolves you from having to come to a gig.

 

[veinbuster]

I was going for “Killer” Swing and a miss, I guess.

Whales have a lot to swing.
I liked it. I would willingly listen to the first three again - nothing wrong with the others, just haven’t got to them yet.
No idea what a zadadoon is, but the song was fun with a feel I might play in the afternoon.

 

[veinbuster]

I really like the feel and that it isn’t cookie cutter.
Tip of the chapeau

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

I like 'em all...well done and thanks for sharing!

 

[Sekunda]

The “whale sex” guitar solo is mine, and with the green Santana. It’s got kind of a compressed sound from the stock pickups. Just figured I’d say that in case someone is wondering how that particular guitar sounds.

I would’ve cut some of the whale sex but... the boys were soooo into it.

Edit: Oh, and for the longest time I kinda raised an eyebrow because I thought he was singing about meeting a girl on a “class field trip” But after asking about it... I found out it was some allegory/poetic sh!t about quitting drinking, which I celebrated with... uh... drinks.

I'm so confused and aroused at the same time... I hear Santana -and- George Michael

 

[Boogie]

That’s some top-shelf work, bud. Seriously...nice.

 

[alantig]

Nice work, sir! I haven't had a chance to listen to everything yet, but I'm liking what I hear.

Listening to "Zadadoon", I was waiting for that riff and anticipating it ripping through the mix, and then it didn't, and I love that. It reminds me of one of my favorite Vintage Trouble moments, the beginning of the solo in "Gracefully". If I played it 100 times, I'd never come up with that on my own, and what's there is so much better.

 

[walrus]

I enjoyed all of these, particularly "Olive Oil" - nice playing!

 

[andy474x]

I liked that first one quite a lot! Haven’t had a chance to hear the rest yet, but I’m definitely going to soon.

Although I would have preferred it with your title.

 

[goat-n-gitter]

I just listened to all of these while doing some paperwork here at work. I enjoyed every one of them!
It's easy to get obsessed with the little details when producing new music (I know I do with my music), but this stuff is very catchy and entertaining without sounding like shallow pop. Definitely good stuff! Thanks for sharing!