Wednesday, November 7, 2007

a little madness...

looking over the color proof for the artwork for side four (live)
eric commented on the name change I've made
for the song madness from side one.
on the live record the title is now a little madness.
there are two reasons why:
first, on the live version I say "a little madness" over eric's drum intro,
but second and more importantly it's a money saving device.
how so? you might ask.

when I was writing madness I considered singing a lyric
about a young musician who believes he is being "visited"
in his dreams by aliens, who are teaching him ways
to do incredible things with the healing sounds of music.
he believes he is learning to cure certain diseases
just by playing specific sounds which radically affect
and alter the listener's molecular makeup.
the problem is:
it's driving him crazy!

as part of the lyric I had written a speaking part as an intro
before the massive blast of music begins.
fittingly I remembered a scene in the movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
the music in the scene had a profound effect on me.
it was a piece by Katchaturian.

so for the intro with the spoken voice
I decided to play a small portion of the
Katchaturian piece on guitar
with a bed of synthesizer "space" sound beneath it.
the whole bit was 50 seconds long.
the song was nearly 7 minutes.

eventually the vocal/lyric idea didn't pan out.
I guess I'm not a good enough actor.
but martha was convinced the music was my masterpiece.
whether or not you agree with that assessment
trust me, it is much better without my vocal idea.

I dropped the vocal but I still liked
the 17-second guitar intro so I left it that way.
I didn't even think the Katchaturian music
might not be public domain.

just before side one was to be released
we received a call from the dead
Mr. Katchaturian's publishing company.

it was too late just to leave off the 50 seconds of
Katchaturian (the record was already mastered)
so we had to bow to their demands for
50%
of the publishing
on my seven-minute masterpiece
for the privilege of 50-seconds of the dead Mr. Katchaturian's music.
evidently the afterlife must be an expensive place.

and that is why there is a new piece on side four (live) called
a little madness.

14 comments:

  1. so dem KATCHATURIAN'S can't take a joke--eh-----great background-for a great---song-----wonder what the vocals could have done for the song----ADE--gotta be honest with ya--when i heard the "KEN"practice
    c/d--that eric/julie brought home-
    1 1/2 years ago----saw the title-MADNESS-- and on first listening--
    thought--WOOOOOOOW--what a song-
    this trio's on fire--it was my fave--problem is now--every cuts-
    a fave----can't wait-SIDEFOUR-LOVE
    GARY

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  2. What a rip-off.

    Sorry for the following comment but I gotta be honest: I was looking forward to Side Four being with Mike & Mike, not Eric & Julie, only because I loved the M&M version of Futurevision (which I saw at RamsHead in Annapolis, MD). I saw your show with E&J in Vienna, VA and loved the show ... E&J were very impressive. But, I still can't help wanting to hear that version of Futurevision again.

    I guess there's no guarantee that Futurevision would've been on Side Four anyway.

    Luv ya.

    Dan

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  3. Adrian,
    "Gayane" works it's beautiful,haunting,lonely and (costly) magic in "Madness", just as it did in 2001. Can't imagine it would need vocals , but love the idea of the piece, besides who needs more than a little madness :)
    Thanks again for sharing,
    peace

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  4. I love them all too! I really love this song! It's powerful. I remember while driving to the show in Ohio - Julie and Eric's second Power Trio show with Adrian - with my sister and her husband. They were not real familar with Adrian's music and Madness came on the rental car stereo. A bit into the song my sister asks "he's not going to play music like this is he?" while giving me that look. You know that look. I also remember looking over at my sister during the show and seeing her singing her heart out to Matchless Man. She will also be getting a gift of Side Four for the holidays.

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  5. Hey dan, get out of here! If Adrian's going to release any pre-Slick trio live material it HAS to be the line-up with Al Slavik and John Prior live at The Corner Hotel, Melbourne April 25 2006. The night of the infamous crowd surf.

    A wild night was had by all...

    I'll keep wishing for a download of this show at belewnet (please, please, pretty please), but Side Four should plug the gap nicely in the interim. VERY nicely I dare say!

    Hey Adrian, how about bringing those Slick wonderkids to Aus? We promise to be gentle with you all.

    And belated apologies from the entire population for not one contestant guessing your identity on RocKwiz (now with your "Heroes" duet with Martha Wainwright available on DVD and CD). The shame. The shame.

    Cheers,
    Owen

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  6. I cant wait to see you in Buffalo this coming March! Im soooo excited! XOXO
    :)
    *Mandy*

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  7. Ah, Owen, you're just jealous 'cause I've seen Adrian in concert (various incarnations) almost 20 times.

    ;-)

    Dan

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  8. Hey Dan. Drop me an email.

    tickledrop@yahoo.com

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  9. What's that? You said you want to know what songs the fans would like to hear on the next tour? Well I'm so glad you asked!

    1. Op Zop Too Wah (the song, not the whole cd. Well on second thought...)

    2. I Remember How to Forget

    Thanks!
    ~ Scott

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  10. So, speaking of "Side Four"....when might we expect this to be released?? :) Hoping to hear it before I see the band in Buffalo.

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  11. While you're at it, when you are in Seattle, I (we) hope you play

    1) Walk around the World (I was just sure you were going to pull this one out last time)

    2) e! (if it's ready)

    Keep up the great work Ade!

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  12. Wow Dan! You've seen Adrian 20 times! Wow!

    So, tell me, on how many of those occassions did he crowd surf?

    Winky back at ya.

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  13. I figured it was a brilliant move to get paid for 2 songs. Turns out to be 1.5!

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  14. What's that? You said you want to know what songs the fans would like to hear on the next tour? Well I'm so glad you asked!

    1. Op Zop Too Wah (the song, not the whole cd. Well on second thought...)

    2. I Remember How to Forget


    Great picks, but man, just think what this trio could do with "Whatever"!

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