Never been one to let the carrier drop

So, this could hypothetically be part of a whole jam-blues-style christmas album, if people like it enough, or it might just be a standalone thing.

Anyway, here is Silent Night 2022.

Peace on earth and goodwill amongst sentients and such.

I have mixed feelings about this but I don’t think it’s going to get any better absent significant work that I don’t currently have time to put into it.

At the moment most of my studio time is being spent either working on Bruce’s album or songwriting for the followup album to BIS – but I do from time to time track a cover just to keep my recording skills fresh. This is the latest. This is definitely in my “Jam band” style.

http://sheer.us/stuff/2022/SheerCoversBobDylan-TangledUpInBlue.mp3

So, I’m in the studio this weekend tracking parts for a friend’s concept album – except I’m actually not. What I’m actually doing is providing scratch tracks to allow him to get the timing right, over which we will track better parts later. Which is fine with me. I was running into a weird ego thing where the AE is keeping my parts faded way down – which makes perfect sense, after all mistakes in them don’t even matter – but there was part of me that kept trying to convince me it was because of how much my vocals suck, which may also be a true criticism but I’m pretty sure is not why he’s doing it.

I think I’m on record before as saying that to be a really great musician you have to be able to not let your ego get in the way of the music. THis is definitely one of those moments – I mean, it’s a honor to be considered as a session musician and this is where I want to go and it has been a lot of fun. I’ll go back and track “real” parts with the guitars – for the drums and vocals we’re tracking at Orbit Audio because they have better mics and a better sounding room than I even want to try to have, then for all the line-in type stuff we’re tracking at Sheer Sound (my basement setup, which is still more advanced than most high end studios were in the 90s)

Anyway, I really hope we can get this album shipped without the band falling apart or the originator losing interest. It’s very prog rock and a nice change from my ordinary fare.

So, I’ve unlocked another important achievement on the way to being a professional musician – I’ve got my first rejection letter!

This is important – we all know that Pink Floyd, the Beatles, and the Who all received rejection letters, just to name a few of my musical heros. Therefore clearly if I’m getting rejection letters I’m doing something right. (I’m only being somewhat facetious here – immediate acceptance would mean that my music is the same as the current stuff on the radio which I do not think would be very much of a success for where I want to go and what I want to do)

So, I still have to keep working on finding my audience. But.. another step along the way is done.

What with one thing and another I haven’t gotten any recording that wasn’t either my album or someone else’s done this year – until now. Here is me covering VNV Nation’s “Kingdom” – another song done especially for Chris Mish 😉 But I hope you’ll all enjoy it anyway.

Sheer Covers VNV Nation-Kingdom

This is a cover, so presumably the original is copyright VNV Nation. Here’s the lyrics (and chord chart) anyway:

Verse 1:

========

    G#m

Our domain, this kingdom come,

now godless lands whose ways are lost

Without the strength to carry on.

All values lost, all virtue none.
Part II:

========

         G#m                  D#m

Did you think that you’d be saved

            C#

by burning flags to cleanse yourselves of shame?

             G#m             C#          D#m

Or are you afraid, as you stare back at your face?

            G#m             F#          C#               D#m

Or are you ashamed, are you afraid, by destroying what the gods once gave?
G# F# E C#
G#m

————-  Do you think that you’ll be saved?
         B                  F#

And I believe that we’ll conceive

            C#m          G#m

to make in hell for us a heaven.

             B                 F#

A brave new world, a promised land.

        C#m                G#m

A fortitude of hearts and minds.

         E                  B

Until I see this kingdom’s mine

               F#            C#m

I’ll turn the darkness into light.

                E                 B

I’ll guide the blind. My will be done

            F#           C#m             G#m

until the day I say our kingdom has been won.

G#m

  No more the servants of the weak

devoid of thought or light to seek.

I’ll leave no walls, no stone unturned.

Every tower must be razed …
Part III:

========

              D#m

  … to the dust from which it came.

              C#

None will be spared, no remnant saved.

              G#m             F#          C#                 D#min

And are you ashamed, are you afraid of the gods and idols that you have made?

G#m                        F#          C#                 D#min

   Do you think you’ll be saved by the gods and idols that you have made?
G#m      F#m  E              C#

 ———————-   None will be saved.

G#m

   None will be saved.   
(Chorus)

(Solo)

(Chorus)

I was all absorbed in working on a cover I’m doing of Kingdom and so I didn’t actually catch 700 even, but here’s 700.4

So, this album has easily the most man-hours I’ve ever put into a album, probably by a factor of ten. I’m hoping it’s not my last – I’ve been working my paws off trying to improve my musical skills, as many of you know, and I’ve already started songwriting for the next one. There’s a lot I could say about this one – pretty much every song on it had strong influences and thoughts and reasons for being included. However, I don’t know if there’s a lot of interest in that type of thing or not. I guess I will wait and see if people ask me for such things and then if they do I will publish them.

Believing Is Seeing

As per usual, I am releasing Believing Is Seeing for download for those of you who wish to do so.

Official URL: https://www.sheer.us/stuff/BelievingIsSeeing2022.

Album credits:

Entire album produced by Sheer
Mix and engineering by Sheer
Mastering by Bob Ohlson
Vocals for all but “Believing is Seeing” recorded at Orbit Audio and engineered by Joe Reinke, performed by Sheer
Vocals for “Believing is Seeing” recorded at Sheer Sound Studios East by Arthur St James, performed by Arthur St James
Executive Mix Engineer and Associate Audio Engineer Arthur St James
Lead guitar for “This Too Shall Pass” performed by Gabriel Smith
Drums for “Any Better” and “Believing Is Seeing” recorded at Orbit audio and engineered by Joe Reinke, performed by Bruce DeGrado
Percussion for “Holes” recorded at Sheer Sound Studios West and performed by Bruce DeGrado
Additional drum and synth programming for “Pride & Conviction” by Tory True
12-string guitar for “The Other Side Of Me” performed by Art Day
All parts not mentioned above performed by Sheer

Songwriting:

“Believing Is Seeing” words and music by Sheer
“Any Better” words and music by Sheer
“Holes” words and music by Sheer
“The Other Side Of Me” words and music by Sheer
“House Of The Rising Sun” – traditional
“High Grade Ore” words by Lee Hart, music by Sheer
“This Too Shall Pass” – words and music by Sheer
“Pride & Conviction” – words aand music by Sheer
“History Of Modern” – written by Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, used with permission obtained via Easy Song Licensing.

I continue to chip away. I’ll have to have some kind of celebration at 1000.