The Rules of Clone

As of late, my co-workers and I have been plagued with a league of nutcases, screwballs, and ranters exclaiming bizarre family histories, intruding on our typically otherwise fine work situation. Whether the local Kinko's is kicking all of the nutters out or the finally-arrived heat of summer is causing some mass brain fever, I don't know. All I know is that I am slowly turning into one.

This morning, as I was brewing tea and cooking up some fresh grain oatmeal, this song popped into my head (strange enough I was contemplating a dooowop version of Deep Purple's "Sweet Child of Time" - tha twill come later perhaps).

Here it is:

Good night.

Uke Song (via JC Penney Intercom Mic)

All right! Two recordings online in two days. Different microphones yielding different results, but nonetheless fun for me.

Today I loaned out my AKG C1000S to my pal Deependra (a fine musician) for some overdubbing he is conducting this week, and found myself wanting to produce another platinum-selling, top-of-the-charts hit for online perusal. What to record with? The only viable option at this time was an old J.C. Penny intercom microphone I picked up a few years back at some junkstore for just a nickel (a nickel?? SHH - that's right). Sorry, I have nary a model number to provide to any techophiles out there, I scrapped the base containing all of that info after my buddy Kieran re-wired it. He hoped to create a gritty sounding harp mic, but alas and alack, he created a crisp and clean little bullet, which I used for this recording.

As with yesterday's post, I recorded the uke first, and overdubbed the vocals. However I did not have the optimum buffer settings plugged in and received some snaps, crackles and pops in the vocal track. Oh well, good to have some filters to play around with to help alleviate, or at least disguise it somewhat. A little distortion here, some resonance added there, and "Al-la Peanut Butter Sandwiches"...! Good enough for me. For now. I will probably play around more later and re-record the vocals, though I am pretty happy with the scat solo - it is easier to do the mess-around vocally when you are not madly whackin' at your ukulele.

Lyrics:

I recall the morning at the reunion hotel
We were up and yawning
Some coffee could help
Descending the stairs came
a Guy with a Uke
"Nice Uke" - You observed
(he did not rebuke)

he said:
"A larger guitar once
had a home in my hands
Til I found this honey
in the the Hawaiian Islands
Compact design and
only four strings
the Ukulele Goddess has got me singing:

once you get one you never go back
once you get one you never go back
cut me some uke strings
and tighten the slack
Once you get one
oh oh oh"

I thought not much of it
in fact it all left my mind
when on Maui
in Hawaii
what does lucky-I find
with a case and a chord chart
(The tuner I've got)
I decided to get it
and give it a shot

once you get one you never go back
once you get one you never go back
cut me some uke strings
and tighten the slack
once you get one you will never go

Practice time increases abilities grow
I'm knocking off socks like so much so-and-so
A larger guitar Is not a place I wanna go
I don’t acknowledge knowledge
But there’s one thing I know:

once you get one you never go back
once you get one you never go back
cut me some uke strings
and tighten the slack
once you get one you never go back

Music and Lyrics Copyright 2009 Mark Allen Johnson

Habitat Song

This little ditty has been floating around for a while in me head, and though it has previously seen the light of day, thanks to this blog it has also now seen the light in the recording booth - or at least the moth battered light outside of my living room window.

I wrote this at the request of my good friend Nettie who, once upon a time, was working for LandPaths, a local land-stewardship organization. She built up and lead their IOOBY (In Our Own Backyard) program which took school kids out into our local open spaces, and taught them all about the wonderful animals and plants to be found and cared for in order to make this planet that we rent a little bit nicer. Nettie has since run away to join the circus, and to this day has not actually heard this song.

Hopefully this blog will reach all the way to Mendocino county and get her listening....



Lyrics:


I gotta little house a ways up the street
Where I cook up my food Where I kick up my feet
Keeps me dry Keeps me warm
Just the kinda home Where I belong

Gotta a garden Where I grow food to eat
Gotta store on the block For other stuff I need
Keeps me warm And well supplied
Just the kinda home That’s perfectly mine

Your home is a habitat
that's where you dwell
So many
variations
From what I can tell

If there’s food for you belly And you never thirst
And your safe from yer foes Or if the weather gets worse
You are staying safe out of the storm
It’s the kinda home where You belong

You might like it in the water or like it in a tree
You might like it in between And that’s a lot like me
perhaps you build it or found it formed
It could be exactly your Kinda home

Your home is a habitat
Your living space
Depending on your needs
It could be
almost
anyplace

Your habitat contains
the range you roam
that’s as far as you travel
to and from your home

Could be as
big as you can see
Or as far as you can fly
or as
simple as a crawl
from where your born
to where you die

Music and Lyrics Copyright 2009 Mark Allen Johnson

We've only just begun - or - Where do I begin...

Or, rather - where should I re-begin, this task of updating that which exists in, and adding the third act to, "Gamera vs. All Mankind"? I have set myself the task of finishing it in time for an August / September 2007 release, to be viewed publicly at a local art film show. The final date is yet to be determined at this time, but as I was able to pull together the first two acts in 1 1/2 months last year gives me a good idea of what I can do in the upcoming four. Mind you, the first two are in a rough state, but pretty far along, and as there WON'T be any script changes with what has already been laid out (p-p-p-p-p-please!), I have much confidence. With a capital "C".

Them's that've seen it have been of mixed opinion as to the state of the digitized vocals - some say "yeah", some say "nay" - but all agree that they cannot be understood without the cliffnotes. This online primer exists not only to help one gain a better grasp on the myriad twists and turns of the complex plot, but they also make clear that which is sung, as these cliffnotes are also the complete script, sans third act.

Yes, the script is a necessity, and I thank my brother for always having the genius to intelligently entertain, and entertain well. Also, I would not have known what to compose/draw/animate had he not written this great script. As excited as I was to take on this fun challenge, my main reason to jump into the project was for the music, and along with appending the visual s, the music will be updated in the next couple of months with surprise vocal appearances from several friends in order to make things more presentable. Let's face reality here: not everyone who watches a 7 minute animation wants to read along with a script. I know, I've gathered that much feedback, at least.

Oh, music. Yes, music.

I do love to make music, and this blog being both my sounding board and concert auditorium, I wanted to present the non-vocalized versions of the animated compositions.

Yes, the music was a delight to compose. I started imagining the melody lines while at work with either my uke or melodica, depending on which I carried with me that day. Within a couple of days I had some pert near sketches down, and started laying them into Melody Assistant, all the while experimenting with the vocal features on this fine software - check out the above link, you'll probably like the software they make just fine. And it is French. And it is Inexpensive.

From the starting gate, "Opening Theme" and "Morimoto's News" were the first sketches out, but "Toshio's Lament" made it to the finish line first, barely pulling ahead of the "Opening Theme" around the last curve, and in the last 150 feet of the race. He will go next week to the finals at Steinway Fields (forever?).





"Takada's Toccata" came through next as a final composition, garnishing a spot in the Winner's Circle.




"Hasigawa and Rainbow Love Theme" got the bronze, but was (and still is) my favorite to win. Maybe the theme of "love" captured mine own heartstrings, as I composed it. Yes, I definitely put more of myself into this one. And then I had to clean up. Yuck.





To the rest? Later, alligator....