Yesterday we spent the evening laying down guitar tracks for the three new songs we started recording this weekend. I had quite a good evening I must say. For this session I had bought myself a brand new external sound card as well as a Rode microphone, which apparently sounds quite amazing. Haven’t tried those mics myself but according to popular opinion they rival mics twice the price. Anyway, so it was fun doing the guitar parts, switching between my Fender Telecaster/Vox and Hagström Viking/Peavey Classic setups. Doing the overdubs in your own rehearsal space makes things that much easier, and it sounds just as good as it did in the studio we worked in previously. Tomorrow we’re continuing. Maybe I can get done with all the guitar parts this week. That would be sweet.
Continued tracking tonight
8 SepAs Morty previously stated, the drum tracking this weekend went really well. Tonight we continue with the rest, first up being guitars. It’s usually what takes up the most time so it’s best to just go ahead and get it done as soon as possible so we can move forward. The plan is to have all the tracking done within a month’s time.
The Wannadies – practically every song is a smash hit
5 AprI think that The Wannadies is one of greatest bands in the world – I just don’t understand why they didn’t make it even bigger… Practically every song is a smash hit as far as I’m concerned!
I’ve linked some YouTube-clips that are definitely worth checking out. The first is the video for the song Friends which is one of their best songs…
The second clip is this simple but cool video for the song I Don’t Like You.
The third clip is from their awesome song Hit. We attempted to play it once with a cover band but it is seriously difficult to get the guitars and rhythm right. The Wannadies are just so tight…
Just look at their unbelievably cool discography; all of their albums are sooo good!
- The Wannadies (1990)
- Aquanautic (1992)
- Be a Girl (1994)
- Bagsy Me (1997)
- The Wannadies (1997) – release for the US market
- Yeah (1999)
- Before & After (2002)
- Skellefteå (1998) – Compilation and remix album
Tune in on Spotify for some excellent tunes by The Wannadies.
NUTMEG – not powerpop but truly inspiring
18 MarAs you may or may not know – Joey Fake plays guitar in the hardcore band NUTMEG. A couple of years ago I substituted for the original keyboard player on their tour in Poland. NUTMEG plays melodic hardcore which is extremely far from powerpop. A big difference from traditional hardcore is the fantastic organ and wurlitzer tracks. I got so inspired by learning the NUTMEG songs that it really reflects on our up and coming album.
NUTMEG is now on Spotify with their debut album The Trigger. Check it out and listen on the fantastic hardcore tunes and especially the keyboards…
Essential powerpop albums #2
17 MarThe second album I want you to check out may very well be the one album that has influenced me the most. It’s the phenomenal third album from The Posies entitled “Frosting on the Beater”, released in 1993. I’d say that this is the very album that got me hooked on powerpop in the first place, and in many ways “Frosting” defines the genre for me. It’s impossible to find a weakness on the album, since all of the songs are true gems in their own right.
My favorite song on the album and one of my favorite songs of all time is “Solar Sister”. To this day I cannot seem to tire of it. Actually, it’s hard to tire of any of the songs, but other “must-listens” are “Definite Door”, “Dream All Day”, “Flavor of the Month”, and the hauntingly beautiful closer “Coming Right Along” with the eerie C-tuning on the guitar that I spent a whole afternoon in High School trying to figure out.
These past couple of years I’ve had the pleasure to get to know the frontmen of the band – Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer – and the two still produce the most amazing music, both as The Posies and separately. If you start to delve into their back catalogue you’ll find some of the greatest music written during the past fifteen years or so.
Here’s a YouTube clip of “Solar Sister” that I just found. The harmonies on this song are absolutely killer!
And here’s the album cover:
The Knack abused by Hammerfall
3 MarThe great song My Sharona by The Knack has got all of the above and is a modern classic. The song is the debut single by The Knack, released in 1979 from their album Get the Knack. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart where it remained for six weeks.
The swedish metal band Hammerfall has recorded their version of the song and it is – as expected a – horrible thing. Why destroy such a fine piece of pop? Shame on you Hammerfall!
Re-discovering Stars on Mars’ Poster
21 Feb
The story of Stars on Mars seems pretty cool. The rumour says that a three song demo was presented to ten record companies, delivered by a babe without appointment but riding a Harley bike. Six companies were interested… Then Micke Herrström produced their album and that is probably one of the main reasons why the album feels so genuinely cool – Micke has been known to produce excellent albums (e.g. Popsicle, The Wannadies, Ane Brun, Thunder Express and Moneybrother).
The songs all match well together but I most enjoy the tracks Marshall Man and Motorcycle Baby. The singers Sophie Eklöf and Helena Jonsson delivers perfect harmonies which closely resembles vocals from the powerpop genre. The overall feeling of the album is definitely a 4+ (on a scale from 1 to 5).
Stars on Mars – facts
Formation Date: January 20, 1992
Record Label: Polar / Polygram
Label Type: Major Label
Band Members: Sophie Eklöf and Helena Jonsson (vocals), Richard Tersaeus (guitar), Torsten Rundqvist (bass), Mårten Skoog (drums)
Influences: T Rex, Abba, Teenage Fanclub, The 70′s
Country: Sweden
Spotify link: Stars on Mars – Poster
Finally – no more guitar or bass?!?
9 FebI took this pic of Mårtys beautiful bass amp, it is soooo vintage…
Sound card failure
3 FebToday The Genuine Fakes were supposed to record some guitar/organ in the studio but the f**kin sound card did not work properly so instead I used the time to browse my photo gallery. I found this excellent pic of my daughter Molly Fake.
Molly Fake
She really did NOT enjoy the mustache but who can blame her?
Tour Dates
- 2011-09-30 Bryggarsalen in Stockholm
- 2011-09-03 Pikku-Torre in Turku
- 2011-04-16 Record Hunter in Stockholm
- 2011-03-13 Twang in Stockholm
- 2011-02-12 Mariatorget in Stockholm
- 2011-01-17 Lilla Hotellbaren in Stockholm
- 2010-09-11 Münchenbryggeriet in Stockholm
- 2010-08-18 Pet Sounds Bar in Stockholm
- 2010-08-12 Parken in Gothenburg
- 2010-05-28 Nalen in Stockholm
Flickr Photos
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