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JEFFREY NORDSTROM

Repairing the Rhodes.

8/24/2013

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Here are a few photos my wife took while I fixed my Fender Rhodes, Mark I. I replaced a couple tines on August 15th after I'd received my Rhodes Junior Repair Kit from Vintage Vibe. I also picked up their reproduction sustain pedal and sustain rod, which makes the instrument, well, fully-functional. Woo hoo!
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Under the covers: "Streets of Philadelphia."

8/24/2013

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I heard "Streets of Philadelphia" for the first time when I saw Springsteen perform it at the Oscars. I thought it fascinating that he could pull off such a long, repetitive intro, and to have such powerful synth pads. It's amazing that it takes next to no time to get through the lyrics, yet the recorded version breaks a full 4 minutes... and you don't even feel it happen. This was new to me. 
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Let's go solo and get contemporary!

8/23/2013

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It's not uncommon for edgy members of groups to go after the adult contemporary genre when they go solo. It's always a little bit hit and miss. Some people, like Sting, can pull it off with glorious success. Others, like Rob Thomas, gete some success at it, but the music's ultimately flaky and needs to die. Here are a few of my favorite tracks from people who went adult contemporary after their time in a group.

Art Garfunkel

Crying in My Sleep by Art Garfunkel on Grooveshark
Art Garfunkel released Watermark back in 1977. According to Wikipedia, "Crying in my Sleep" didn't make it on the charts. This is sad because the song is absolutely gorgeous and sentimental. Good, good stuff.

Sting

You Still Touch Me by Sting on Grooveshark
Sting moved to adult contemporary pretty smoothly. He's got enough skill and variety in his styles to make some perfectly listenable A/C albums. "You Still Touch Me" is one of my favorites from Mercury Falling.

Michael Roe

Thanks A Million by Michael Roe on Grooveshark
Although he never really left The Seventy Sevens, Mike Roe's easy-on-the-ears The Boat Ashore is one heckuvan album. Here's one of my favorite or Mike's tracks with some perfect rim-rhythms and synths. 
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My YouTube channel.

8/20/2013

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I've started posting things to my YouTube channel.

In regards to music and video, right now the only thing I'm doing is a series of cover songs under the name Under the Covers with Jeff. This is mainly a way for me to try exercise my voice, memorize some songs, and keep a presence online. 

Under the Covers with Jeff is embedded below, and I'll try to remember to post the updates here on the weblog.
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Recording photos.

8/20/2013

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I recorded most of my guitars and basses for my demos about a week ago. Here are a few photos of how it went down.
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I've had MIDI tracks sitting around for awhile now, and I started solidifying the songs by trying to get some vocal tracks done in the RV. Almost all of the tracks will probably need to be re-recorded, since my voice is so out of shape, but I needed real vocal takes to make a bedrock for the guitars and basses. I hung up blankets to try to dampen the RV's melamine echo, used a thicker blanket to try to cover up the noise from the computer tower. 
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My friend Seth played guitar on "Don't Know How You Found Me." He took the panorama above on his phone after his takes. I had the two amps on opposite ends of the RV and sat in the middle while he recorded. I almost completely killed my ears in the process, but it was well worthwhile. Seth played my brother's PRS, which you can see on the right side of the photo.
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After Seth did his part, I started working on my own guitar tracks. There was this weird, infernal ticking that the pickups were, well, picking up, but the oyster pickup didn't do that ticking, so I recorded a couple acoustic tracks. Although I'd recorded a couple acoustic tracks a week earlier, most of the acoustic work on the album was set up through the stereo amps. It gives the thing a wonderfully gritty tone.
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On a day that some arborists were working next door, I decided to record some piano for "Soothe Me" and "Don't Know How You Found Me."
The next night, Nicola Linde came into the RV and recorded some sexy vocals. I'd post the photo, but they're on her camera and I haven't had her send them to me yet. 
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For the next few days, the clicking became unbearable. My brother had gone camping with his family, so I moved the equipment inside his home. I put the amps in two separate bedrooms and recorded most of the remaining guitar parts indoors. I didn't want it to be this way, but, well, that's how it goes sometimes. 

I got to use my brother's PRS One guitar for a few of the lead guitar tracks. It's much easier to play wild and out of control solos on a guitar with light strings. My strat's still working with the flatwound Chrome .13s. 
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Finally, it came time to record the bass. I moved the setup downstairs and recorded it sitting down.
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And that's where I'm at. I've got all that big, loud stuff done.

Now I have a few other things to do:
  • Record the Rhodes parts.
  • Record the remaining synthesizer parts.
  • Record some harmonica here and there.
  • Get a couple of other vocalists for some parts, including my wife, who will sing a bunch of the duet-like takes and harmonies.
  • Work out my own voice and re-record the parts that sound too weak for comfort.

However, life happens so I need to focus on getting ready for the upcoming school year first. I have a bunch of new courses to plan for, and I have to move my family over to the Mainland. That means that I probably won't get much else recorded until October.
 
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Photos used under Creative Commons from Brett Jordan, b r e n t
  • EPK
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