The City Veins

Oh, you’re still here?

Thank you to the (maybe) 5 people left reading this after we neglected to post for about a week.  We’ve all been busy with stuff outside of the band like jobs and such (you know, the stuff that actually pays us) so we’ve been pretty bad about posting.

Not much going on City Vein land this week as a result. Although, like Aaron said, we had 2 practices last week in which we tried to write new songs and they were awful.  In one practice, Charles completely forgot how to play the guitar.  He had an audit earlier that day at work and I think our poor Rickenbacker bore the brunt of his frustrations.  In the other, we had some good ideas but nothing coherent or particularly moving.

I will say this about our band, though: I like that we don’t force songs. Writer’s block sucks and can be demoralizing, but we don’t commit to songs unless we really like them. I wish more artists did this. I feel like some artists record and put out every little musical thought they’ve ever had, for better or for worse. Others just phone in it and make mediocre records just to make more money or fill obligations. We don’t do either, which means we might not crank out new music as quickly but when we do, you can be guaranteed we’re excited about it. I like to think that translates on stage as well. Several people have remarked that we seem to have a lot of fun on stage, and we are, in no small part because we really like our songs and njoy playing them. Shouldn’t more artists have that attitude?

Now, some random stuff:

• Velvet Lounge: Has anyone else been blown away by the changes at Velvet? It’s like a whole new place. The boys and I went over there to see Imperial China and Len Bias (both of whom put on excellent shows BTW) and we felt like we were in Bizarro World.  The narrow hallway to the bathroom now has a decent size sitting area, and upstairs walls have been knocked out to create way more space and accommodate a bar. All in all, the changes have been pretty positive (EXCEPT, of course, getting rid of Rob, the best sound guy in all DC). The one complaint I’d have, though, is that the stage now needs to be higher.  If you’re in the back of the upstairs area by the bar, it’s very hard to see the bands.
• I’m Going Hungry: We have been called out by our friend Spencer, and I think I might be down for this. I do love me some Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, and hybrids thereof.
• Running Music: Yesterday at the gym I was running on the treadmill while rocking Radiohead’s K Computer on my iPod.  CNN was on mute, but it was the same old high-school-type political bullshit they run incessantly: “Did you hear what McCain said about Obama?” “Yeah, and then Obama was like that’s bullshit and no likes you.” The usual garbage that passes for “the best political team on TV”. Anyway, they come back from commercial and go right into this crap, when “Electioneering” comes on my iPod.  I had to laugh because as soon as they showed the candidates, Thom starts singing:

I will stand…I will stand for nothing. Say the right thing when electioneering. I trust I can rely on your vote.

Happy weekend everyone. Next weekend (August 9), we’re at the DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan for a bone cancer benefit with Anchorage and My Friend Autumn. Great show, great bands, great cause.

One of our new songs, “Freedom After The Fall,” features Spencer in I clapping counter rhythms in 5/4. It is by far the most obnoxious thing that I have every done musically, but it sounds really good, particularly on the EP.

I want people to know that I feel guilty when we play it.

Recently, he have been playing better concerts, with better audiences. Audiences that want to participate. Clapping is normally an easy place for everyone to join in, and this part is in a what seems like a natural place for everyone to clap along, except that it is a difficult part. I am still counting it in my head when we play it. The result is this moment when people start to clap, but then give up.

That is why part of me wants to cut out the clapping part live.

Except that it sounds really good.

I contemplated writing out the rhythm here, but I think that may be more obnoxious then the actual part (if such a thing is possible).

Photo by Flickr user mrplough.

We got our first review of the new CD a few weeks ago. It was from my mother and it was basically, “this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” My mom then asked me why we can’t write songs with melodies that she, and presumably others, can sing along to.

I think this is a fair complaint, and one that we are aware of. In fact, Aaron and I have tried to write a simple pop song. We felt that it is easier to get away with songs in 9/8 if we can play something major and catchy as well. The problem is that we just are not very good at it, and struggled for a few hours before abandoning what we were working on.

I think that sometimes we give off the impression that we consider ourselves above writing pop songs. Writing songs in shifting time signatures, and with altered chords, certainly contributes to that impression. Personnally, that isn’t the case. I love pop music. Anyone can feel good about having Justin Timberlake’s album on their iPod, but what about *NSync or the Backstreet Boys? Anyone who has problems with “I Want It That Way” has problems with me.

The problem is that we don’t have the confidence to write and perform a pop song. From my perspective, a pop song is either really good, or really bad. If it doesn’t hit all the right buttons, and hold up to repeated listens, it is a failure. I just am not good enough to write like that. A pop song has to be perfect, and the process of trying to write one only reveals your own faults. It is a lot easier to write a song in 9/8. If people don’t like it, it is because it is too difficult and smart, and besides we are only writing for ourselves anyway (these are the lies you have to tell yourselves when you are in a band with very few fans). If you someone doesn’t like a pop song, a song meant to appeal to people, well then the problem is with the writer and not the audience.

The other reason we can’t write a pop song is because we are not good lyricists.

Also, Aaron’s melodies tend to be high because that is where he has to sing to hear himself in our practice space.

When Aaron and I abandoned our last attempt to write a pop song, we ended up writing Boy Makes Good. The verse is stolen from the first chords of Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child.” You can take a listen to it over at our MySpace, or at our Facebook pages.

Photo by Flickr user kb35.

In an effort to get you all out to the Rock and Roll Hotel tomorrow night we have put two rough mixes of new songs for our EP on MySpace. We are going on at 8:30, so get there early.

Aaron and I worked on the lyrics for “The Boy Makes Good” online through Google Docs. It is a fascinating document, much more interesting than the song. It has Aaron and I typing back and forth, using different colors to connoted different things It is something like 4,000 words long, and mostly crazy. I would link to it, but then people might come to lock us up.

Photo by Flickr user Augapfel.

As time marches on, pressure mounts on us to try to get the ball rolling on our EP. We had a very good practice on Saturday; all of our stuff sounded better than it has in a while. We’ve worked out a good 7-ish songs to record for the EP. As of right now we are undecided about how many songs we’ll release, choosing instead to wait to see how things turn out. In the end it could be any number between 4 and 8…we just don’t know right now.

Charles and I had written the beginnings of a song about a month ago that was based on a Billie Holiday chord-progression. The song as it stands sounds nothing like a Billie Holiday song; ultimately it is just a pure rock song. I believe I blogged about the process of writing this song a while back, but its final incarnation is actually the straight forward rock song that we had been trying to write but failed. Though I stated that we had finally settled on something more complex and “intelligent”, everything is subject to change when you add the drums. The fact is that in a three-piece band each member can drastically influence the feel of a song with even the smallest of actions. I am not trying to say that Spencer dumbed-down the song, although his inclusion in any activity does make those around him dumber (do you see what you get when you mess with a warrior?). But Spencer has an amazing capacity for doing what any good drummer should: arranging a song through influencing its dynamics. He can add power or pull a song back for some space. To his credit he has been doing this very well since the band moved out of songs written before he was in the band. If you are going to be a great DC band, you have to have a drummer that can influence a song. The musical legacy of the district is based around the drums, so your boy better be good.

(Note: This post was written before Spencer called me snarky. This is not attempt to mend fences….generally, I still think he’s an ass, but you put up with it for talent)

In addition to the drum-led legacy of the district, it’s pretty-clearly punk that has traditionally driven this city forward. But there is certainly a difference between west-coast punk and DC punk. Actually, there’s a difference between DC punk and almost all other punk scenes. For my money—though I am certainly biased—the DC scene is willing to borrow from multiple musical formats, while punk from other scenes can be guilty of sticking to a script. I think this allows us to try to use the DC scene as a strong influence without actually being a punk band. A punk mentality can be a huge asset to people who like to think to much.