Skip to main content

WELCOME TO MY STRONGHOLD

Ian C Stewart "Welcome to my Stronghold" MP3

This drum machine/guitar/bass instrumental is the last track on my 2003 album Workweak. I almost called it a 2003 release but I don't know that it was ever 'released' in the sense of being burned onto CDs and mailed around the world as might be expected.

The drum machine is programmed to a mid period Terry Chambers (XTC) vibe. I think I did the guitar first and then tried to follow the riffs on ye olde fretless (ferrrrrrrrtless) bass. It actually comes together pretty well, all things considered. I mean, considering I'm not that big of a fan of The Police or whatever this thing sounds like. The delayed guitar effect is nice here, the whole thing is kind of hollowed out since there are no keyboards or rhythm guitars or um Chapman Sticks.

I have vague recollections of recording this thing in the basement of the condo. It was a lovely spacious finished basement and for once I had all my recording stuff out and plugged in and had more than enough room for everything. All of the guitars, which, I still had a bunch of guitars then, they were all out of their cases at the same time. And I could still stretch out on the floor and watch KISS bootlegs on the tiny TV I had down there. Nice space, nice vibe. This was I guess toward the end of me using all of my old stuff like the Dr Rhythm drum machine (circa 1991) and the Tascam 8-track (circa 1993) all the time. I sold almost everything right after that & got new stuff & sold that & got newer stuff & sold that & got old stuff that's functional but basically worthless, hence it has not been sold.



----------------
Now playing: Ian C Stewart - Welcome to my Stronghold
via FoxyTunes
Labels:

Comments

Darrin said…
yeah... nice little guitar track. seems like something that would have spoken word over it. the delay helps fill out the space for sure.
October 10, 2007 at 1:57 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THESE CHORDS ARE LIKE FAMILY TO ME

Ian C Stewart "These Chords are like Family to Me" MP3 From the 2003 made-to-be-made-not-made-to-be-heard album I Don't Know Why You Think I Won't Kill You .... this is the last song. This was the beginning of my dabbling with intentional randomness in songwriting. The lyrics for the whole album were compiled from albums by other artists that I enjoyed a lot, such as Adrian Belew's Twang Bar King , The Cure's Pornography , Voivod Nothingface , Mercyful Fate Melissa etc. I wrote out entire lines of their phrases and chopped them together. I think at the time I described it as 'sad psychedelic love songs about satan' overall, which is really being too generous. The music was also randomly chosen from tablature found on t'interwebs for favorite songs of mine. In general I played the chords in reverse order to the original songs but I can still kind of tell in a couple of places what the songs were. The titles were my own, obviously. Although I did cho...
3 comments
Read more

CANCER COFFINS

XYCHQ "Cancer Coffins" MP3 February 1989. Michael and I were in two bands together simultaneously. XYCHQ and (in Parentheses). Both of which played at this particular party. XYCHQ was normally Ray singing, Jeff playing bass, Michael on guitar, me on drums. But there were one or two songs that I played guitar and sang on. "Things I Hate" was one, "Cancer Coffins" was another. Both were "searing" (cough) indictments of the shallow world around my 17-year-old self. Y'know, the social injustice of um people using tanning beds. So yeah, this song "Cancer Coffins" was sort of a funky metal thing at the beginning. Then a thrashy riff for the chorus. And then the breakdown, which will be familiar to anyone who ever heard Devilcake's song "Fribble." or the (in Parentheses) track "Enthalpy." Hey, never let a good riff go to waste. Michael slays the drums on this one. Jeff still on bass. I'm not sure why I was yelli...
3 comments
Read more