11th February 2010
A HUGE update from Ella
Hi All!
Well, where do we start with this update?
Maybe I should preface this with a little apology for not updating you all as much as we thought we would or would like to… but it's been absolutely ka-razy busy, and of course priority number one is to make That Album! Hope you understand :)
Some high lights of the last week include, Val McCallum, guitarist extraordinaire and super cool all round nice guy, laying down some Incredible licks and solos on some of my favourite songs.. Including Never Knew, Winter and more.
Jesse has put quite a few pics of Val and his jaw dropping collection of guitars up on Facebook, a 57 Goldtop Gibson Les Paul anybody? Drool worthy! Anyway, the music is sounding amazing, if that's not too conceited of me to say, and I'm starting to get very excited indeed at the thought of people hearing it.
The Verses sound has developed and grown again, added a few more little twists and flourishes and feathers to its cap, though there remains a strong 70's influence. It also encompasses acoustic and country-esque elements (YAY, one of my favourite sonic flavours) but still has a strong driving feel. Mitchell Froom, our producer, seems to know how to get the best out of us and the muso's around us, and it often entails getting things down very fast!
Capturing that right here, right now magic, the 'now-ness' of the music has always been something we've been interested in and pursued, as have most musicians. The performances are very fresh and in the moment, not laboured over and overly thought out. We don't do twenty takes till every note is perfect but dull and lifeless. We get it while it's hot! ;) And something must be working because there has been a couple of 'one take wonders' popping out!
We of course grab a couple more to make sure we're covered, then end up using the take we deem the best, and lo and behold, it's the first take! Pretty cool.
It really is a dream come true working with people like Mitchell, who's experience is evident in everything he does, the calls he makes, the things he gets us to try.. Jesse and I have been working on this batch of songs and this band for quite a while now and it's so gratifying to see it finally coming together.
We hope you like the outcome as much as we do! It's still a fair way off being fully baked but I think I like what's cooking in the oven. It may taste a little different than what we thought it would, and we may have deviated from the recipe we intended to use quite a bit, but I smell something pretty nice in that old kitchen.
Other high lights, musical and non…
We had a great time catching up with some friends from Melbs here last night, (another brother/sister band, our alternate reality mirror images!) and they took us to a bar called Jones. It was excellent! Booths, NY style pizza, whisky and good music on the stereo, ahhhh, that's better..
We've been SO well behaved since we got here, heads down in the studio, so it was nice to go out and see some night lights and have some laughs..
We've discovered the best $2 taco van, that just cruises round Santa Monica, with the best, freshest, yummiest tacos, burritos and deadly quesadillas.. even has tofu tacos! Yum. Its seems to pop up everywhere we are. (Maybe it hears my tummy rumbling? Sonar technology? Hmmm)
For my birthday (27..ahhh! It's a dangerous age for muso's..!) Jesse bought me a ticket to...The Best Gig Ever. David Rawlings Machine, at The Troubadour, in West Hollywood.
David, the partner in crime of Gillian Welch, put on an amazing show in an intimate venue, that was comfortably full. And the band? Oh, just Gillian herself! One of my favourite singers, writers, Show (another awesome band!) and some incredible fiddle player who plays with Bright Eyes - All Star cast!
It was an incredibly fun, inspiring night of Americana, banjo's, and head spinning harmonies, basically just amazing music and birthday cheer. I left with three tee-shirts, the poster, empty pockets and a big dumb grin. So, that's probably it for now… but I WILL endeavour to write more soon.
All the best from the Verses lair in the Hollywood hills.. - Think horizon pool and glass walls.. Hairless cat.. What are we? Bond villains? Just kidding, from our cosy little apartment building, above Starbucks (I know, perfect)
Cheers and take care, 'till next time..
X Ella
Welcome back to LA (now that the sun is back). Apologies if your LA pad looks at the Hollywood sign. Looking forward to hearing some new material.
Posted by: CB | Posted time: 16th February 2010
my eyes hurt, never blog again... and bring me home that kitty cat... :D
Posted by: jd | Posted time: 12th February 2010