WERE I TOM ARAYA

This mixdown album....4-Track Fallout 96-97 was my last 4-track cassette action ever. After my Porta 05 studio locked up at Berklee in fall 1992, I didn't replace it right away. Eventually I upgraded to the Tascam 488 cassette 8-track and never looked back. In 1996 & 97 we were recording the Irreligion stuff & I guess my 8-track migrated over to Ray so he could do the vocals. & his Porta 05 came my way. Fascinating, no?


Star*Pillow "Were I Tom Araya" MP3

I love the everything-in-mono smallness of this recording. The drums & keyboard were done with the trusty SK-5 sampler. I sampled my snare & kick drums, apparently. And the keyboard sound is probably a sample of a guitar harmonic. Or was it a flute sample from the first Cathedral album? I forget now. The bass is one of the first appearances of my Fender Bass VI, which I acquired from elderly instruments for $750, a total steal. Sure, the Bass VI was just a reissue, but it was still a prized possession for many years. Guitarwise, it's clean Jaguar all the way.

I think this was the pinnacle of the Star*Pillow experience. You can see on the other side of this mixdown tape, the two songs I recorded for the Cathy Dennis album I was intending to cover. That's right, Star*Pillow wuz gonna rock out on Cathy's entire first album. I got as far as the second song & realized that her songs were too f'ing complicated & it wuz gonna take me forever to perfect all the parts. ie, I lost interest very quickly. Go figure! How unlike me!!!!!!!!!!! My version of "Just Another Dream" features drum loops from Jane's Addiction and Black Sabbath but I didn't bother with the vocals. "All Night Long (Touch Me)" has a Motorhead drum loop & does feature vocals but they suck, so here's "Were I Tom Araya" for the fifteenth time. I don't know, maybe some peeps out there have never heard this. I kind of doubt it.

(Tom Araya is the singer/bassist in Slayer. "Die By the Sword" is one of their classic jamzzzz & he used to introduce it onstage by saying 'some say the pen! is mightier! than the sword! I say fuck the pen! 'cuz you can dieeee by the sworrrrdaaah!')



I'd never have to lie again
I could just scream and make threats
kick out dave lombardo
and never never have regrets

were I tom araya
your head would be mine
bitch

some say the pen is mightier than the sword
I say fuck the pen 'cause you can you can
die by the sword!