Meite U treedt op in de Lawei Drachten van 13 tot 14 u. op bevrijdingsdag!!!

5 mei aanstaande speel ik op het bevrijdingsfestival in de Lawei in Drachten, 's middags van 13.00 tot 14.00 uur in de foyer. De andere artiesten zijn Armand (van 'Ben ik te min') en Ernst Langhout. Blijkbaar is mijn status ondertussen mythisch genoeg om tussen dergelijke oudgedienden mijn opwachting te maken. Wij (zie onder) zijn de openingsact; Ernst Langhout speelt geloof ik van 14.30 tot 15.30 uur en Armand van 16.00 tot 17.00.

De legendarische drummer Sicco Kloosterman is reeds bereid gevonden om zijn medewerking te verlenen. Ook de al evenzeer legendarische Gerben Duisterwinkel heeft verklaard zijn bas tijdens dit evenement te willen beroeren. Daarmee is de complete line-up van het oude Porcupine aanwezig!

De organisator van het festival, de legendarische Teunis Spits, vroeg mij om 'singer-songwriter dingetjes' te doen. Ik ben van plan klassiekers als 'Indian Girl' of zelfs 'Little Fly' te gaan spelen, en nummers uit mijn 'kale periode' zoals de britpop-kraker 'Your Good Times-Novelette'; maar natuurlijk ook de nieuwere nummers die op dit weblog verschenen zijn. Wij zullen op verschillende momenten van de set waarschijnlijk ook een weinig rocken.

KOMT ALLEN! Het festival is gratis en met een beetje geluk regent het de hele dag op 5 mei, zodat je echt geen alibi meer hebt om niet te komen.

Heavy Revealing Weirdness: 'Risk Unspecified'

Song: Risk Unspecified

Session Date: March the 5th-6th 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII; PC with Audacity using Tascam as mixer; Behringer C-1 condensator mic; semi SM-58 mic

Music Gear: Epiphone EP-10 amplifier; Johnson DEQ2 distortion pedal; Squier strat; Squier bass; eggs, shaker, Yamaha RY-10 drumcomputer

Log: I finally did some ping-pong-recording on the Tascam. Played a Squier over a cheap amp using a distortion pedal; put the C-1 (condensator mic) in front of the amp. Jammed a bit and knocked some riffs together. Played a couple of guitar tracks. The bass: same recipe, heavily distorted. Added the RY-10 drumcomputer - as always played manually - through the amp as well. By this time I recorded these six tracks to the last two tracks of the Tascam, track 7 and 8. This way I could reuse track 1 to 6. Added some percussion; eggs, shaker. . Wrote down some lyrics and sang a couple of tracks. There was some jamming at the end of the track. Now I transported the whole thing to PC, using Audacity. There I continued: I added some singing to the last part of the jam at the end of the track. I also took some sound fragments and added them at strategic places. I've developed a fascination for reverse sounds so I use some in this song as well. The russian sounding guy is me reading my own prose. I finally wrote some more lyrics for the jam at the end and did the vocals.
For the final mp3 I export all tracks to one wav file, use limiter and compressor on this wav and then export it as an mp3. That's the way I work usually.
Of course, I've still left out numerous details like panning and stuff.

Lyrics: I've encountered dangers / I can't specify / Flew right through a black hole / Thought that I would die / Oh, what's this journey got for me? / Oh, I dive and I float low / Search for the merry mind I once owned / I wanna give my life to you / ..... / You build your temple inside / Of my heart / And I start / To see the things that you hide / From the ones that refuse / To be used / By their maker / And accuse and excuse / I wanna give my life to you / May my old double mind be ruined

Music vid for 'Goal-miss-bearer'

I made a music vid to 'Goal-miss-bearer'! Click the 'play' button and enjoy.

Jamming Along: 'Driving West'

Song: Driving West

Session Date: Saturday the 3th of March 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; PC with Audacity; Behringer C-1; semi SM-58 mic

Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings; eggs; shaker; Squier bass

Log: Jamming along.

Lyrics: And as wild as I go / I want to show you, oh, that I matter! / And I'm a child moving slow / I love to fantasize in bad weather / I am the bridge that controls / The traffic driving west to the city / I hear the thunderclouds roll / But I sing my wee little diddy

Dreaming Away with Background Schlagers: 'Let's End This Conversation'

Song: Let's End This Conversation

Session Date: Saturday the 3th of march 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; PC with Audacity; Behringer C-1 condensator mic

Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings

Log: My neighbours are radio-pirates. On Saturdays, I hear a huge hum on my equipment and the kind of music that is supposed to cheer you up but makes you wanna throw up. Nevertheless, I managed to record a song.

Lyrics: Let's end this conversation, dear / It is leading to nowhere / I feel that there is bitterness / In my heart and I just don't care / I wish I could change into /A royal frog and kiss your lips / I wish that I could look into / Your weary eyes and touch / Your fingertips

Semi-fourtrack enthusiasm: 'Goal-miss-bearer'

Song: Goal-miss-bearer

Session Date: Between the 28th of Februari and the 3th of March 2007

Recording Gear: PC with Audacity; headset mic; Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; semi-SM 58 mic

Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings; Squier bass

Log: First, I recorded a guitar track with the headset mic, recording two (nearly) identical tracks panned left and right. Then I recorded the bass through the Tascam. After that I recorded the 'drums', hissing in the headset mic and adding lots of reverb. Later, I added the vocals through the Tascam; I added some 'Classic Reverb' to the vocals. I compressed all tracks a couple of times in the process as well as the final track; I also used some hard limiter.

Lyrics: Crazy entertainers try to draw into the moonlight / And there's a curse that staines us / Why can't we roll our eyes and do right? / You've come to take my hand / And I walked away / I still don't understand your love / So what can I say? / I'm a window starer / Tryin' to fade into the tree-leaves / But you're a goal-miss-bearer / Why don't we give away the dream-sheets?