Post by michael on Dec 31, 2005 0:03:50 GMT -5
This is the fifth installment of background stories concerning my songs from "Surface Tension" . I have a long-standing promise to friends and fans to share these details. With this forum I can make it happen.
Please note that these details are mostly pulled from the diary I kept during those days. Here, I will include some details about the recording process, participating musicians, guitar gear used and word for word excerpts from my diary. At the bottom of these pages will be pertinent links.
I will post the diary in it's entirety sometime in the future.
On A Clear Day
Composer: Michael Earhart
Origin of the tune:
This tune is the second part of a large scale tone poem I've written entitled "The Sands Of Monahans Suite".
I intended to include all 8 parts of the poem on Surface Tension, but it just didn't work out that way; I ran out of time and money. So, there are only 4 parts of the suite on this CD, with the remaining 4 appearing on my follow up CD release in March of 2006 (if all goes well).
Not only that, but the 4 tunes that appear on Surface Tension are out of order. Here are the songs in order as originally intended:
Surface
On A Clear Day
In Loving Memory Of
The Scorpion...
...and the Dog
36 Miles (as the crow flies)
Brother Terry
(Re)Surface
Getting back to the song: it’s difficult to describe the West Texas expanse of sky to those who’ve never seen it. Suffice it to say that on a clear summer day it goes on and on.
And on.
Much like the mountains of Colorado, the deserts of New Mexico and wheatfields of Kansas, the West Texas landscape inspires awe, meditation and (to those of us inclined), prayer and gratitude to The Creator.
I love Texas and things Texan. That love lies at the core of “The Sands Of Monahans” tone poem compositions, but most especially "On A Clear Day" . My attempt at an audio painting is a labor of love and an honor to present to you.
I hope this music succeeds.
In the studio:
This one was fast. We plugged the stereo output of my Roland VGA7 directly into two channels of the mixing board, hit the 'record' button and had the song finished in about an hour. We came back to it another day after hearing some inexplicable noise on the tracks, and re-recorded it. The second pass at it is what you hear now.
Guitar talk:
The Roland VGA7 was programmed for a lush detuned, harmonized 3rd on the D and G strings, and octaves on the remaining 4 strings. I also used the Slow Gear option on the Roland for the volume swells at the beginning of the tune. My synth pickup equipped Parker Fly Deluxe was the controller.
October 29, 2001-
I added some more tracks to ‘On A Clear Day’ today, after spending some time trying to get rid of electronic noise in the system. We took care of that as best we could, and ‘Clear’ is nearly finished.
To listen to "On A Clear Day": www.myspace.com/michaelearhart
To purchase "Surface Tension": www.cdbaby.com/cd/earhart
Roland: www.rolandus.com
Parker Guitars: www.parkerguitars.com
Please note that these details are mostly pulled from the diary I kept during those days. Here, I will include some details about the recording process, participating musicians, guitar gear used and word for word excerpts from my diary. At the bottom of these pages will be pertinent links.
I will post the diary in it's entirety sometime in the future.
On A Clear Day
On A Clear Day
Composer: Michael Earhart
Origin of the tune:
This tune is the second part of a large scale tone poem I've written entitled "The Sands Of Monahans Suite".
I intended to include all 8 parts of the poem on Surface Tension, but it just didn't work out that way; I ran out of time and money. So, there are only 4 parts of the suite on this CD, with the remaining 4 appearing on my follow up CD release in March of 2006 (if all goes well).
Not only that, but the 4 tunes that appear on Surface Tension are out of order. Here are the songs in order as originally intended:
Surface
On A Clear Day
In Loving Memory Of
The Scorpion...
...and the Dog
36 Miles (as the crow flies)
Brother Terry
(Re)Surface
Getting back to the song: it’s difficult to describe the West Texas expanse of sky to those who’ve never seen it. Suffice it to say that on a clear summer day it goes on and on.
And on.
Much like the mountains of Colorado, the deserts of New Mexico and wheatfields of Kansas, the West Texas landscape inspires awe, meditation and (to those of us inclined), prayer and gratitude to The Creator.
I love Texas and things Texan. That love lies at the core of “The Sands Of Monahans” tone poem compositions, but most especially "On A Clear Day" . My attempt at an audio painting is a labor of love and an honor to present to you.
I hope this music succeeds.
In the studio:
This one was fast. We plugged the stereo output of my Roland VGA7 directly into two channels of the mixing board, hit the 'record' button and had the song finished in about an hour. We came back to it another day after hearing some inexplicable noise on the tracks, and re-recorded it. The second pass at it is what you hear now.
Guitar talk:
The Roland VGA7 was programmed for a lush detuned, harmonized 3rd on the D and G strings, and octaves on the remaining 4 strings. I also used the Slow Gear option on the Roland for the volume swells at the beginning of the tune. My synth pickup equipped Parker Fly Deluxe was the controller.
Diary Excerpt:
October 29, 2001-
I added some more tracks to ‘On A Clear Day’ today, after spending some time trying to get rid of electronic noise in the system. We took care of that as best we could, and ‘Clear’ is nearly finished.
to be continued...
To listen to "On A Clear Day": www.myspace.com/michaelearhart
To purchase "Surface Tension": www.cdbaby.com/cd/earhart
Roland: www.rolandus.com
Parker Guitars: www.parkerguitars.com