David Winogrond has always been an important figure in the Disaster Amnesiac experience. I first interviewed him several years back, and since that time he's kept me abreast of his ongoing musical pursuits, especially with Youth Chairs, his sweet Pop Rock group. A month or so back, David sent me a copy of their most recent effort, the song A Million Pieces of Glass. With its Laurel Canyon chorus, Mod Beat ending section, and poignant lyrics, it should be a radio hit single. It's that catchy, and all the more so for its intelligence and craft. Disaster Amnesiac wishes that that would be so.
David told me about the method of Glass's production. Not surprisingly, it was put together by the members of Youth Chairs at a distance. This method obviously is not new, but, seeing as that it was for most of this group, Disaster Amnesiac was pretty curious about how their experience in doing so went. Questions were emailed to David, who in turn distributed them to his band mates. Answers were forthcoming. They are here now. Most of all, I love their witty take on the experience, and respect their flexibility within a new group learning curve.
Photo taken and provided by David Winogrond.
Q: I'm assuming that Youth Chairs have never produced music in the
way that A Million Pieces Of Glass was produced. How did the decision to do so
come about?
David: The pandemic. We wanted to continue recording new songs but
rehearsal & recording studios were closed. Basic song demos in the past
were also done like this, but with basic drum machine parts just to help
establish a feel and I'd take it from there. But in this case, we decided to
turn this into a more elaborate demo. It got more interesting from there, so we
decided to release it. In
early versions, I was playing my knees with my hands.
That wasn't quite cutting it, so I bought some midi drum pads and learned how
to use Garageband.
Kim:
In the past I’d sung musical ideas into my iPhone so that seemed like an option
for recording for me given that the rehearsal studio was closed. Necessity is
the mother of….Zappa?
Q:
Once the decision was made, what were the logistics like? How did all the parts fall into place?
David: Osmosis.
Larry:
Gravity
Jon: Did you see the cover photo?
Q: Did any funny occurrences take place during the production of A Million Pieces of Glass?
David: It was all kinda funny.
Larry:
Mostly the gongs. Also David’s knees.
Jon: My cat could be heard meowing on some of the
discarded takes. She cannot carry a
tune.
Kim:
the bathrooms.
Q: Are new works using this method being prepared?
David: Yes. We have one more that just needs a mix. And as long as
we can't record in a studio like we usually do, we'll continue with this
method. Making it up as we go along.
Kim:
It’s a very different style! And a cover, from one of Larry’s fave bands.
That’s all I can say without violating client-attorney privilege.
Q:
What are some upsides to producing music with the distance method?
David: Cheaper! And we can work on it whenever we want. No
scheduling. More individual control before a recording gets added to the
master. I don't have to set up or move or tune a drum set... not my favorite
things to do.
Larry: More time to play with the song, and more
opportunity to try different things, since
we’re not always watching the meter. (You should hear
some of the stuff that didn’t make it
into the final mix…)
Jon: Wardrobe choices were easier for sessions, as
I was freed from the occasionally withering disapproval of band mates. Also,
what David and Larry said.
John: it was, in fact, a relief not having to cope with Jon’s
fashion faux pas.
Kim:
I think we all talk more now than ever--albeit via zoom where I can show off my
latest virtual backgrounds each week - gawd, the pressure’s intense. And with
the rehearsal/recording cost savings we can now pour our monies into the mega
marketing budget. And less lipstick on the microphone.
Q: How about some downsides?
David: There's no replacing the feel of playing a real physical
drum set. But I did play the midi drum pads with real drum sticks. That helped
with feel. The cymbal sounds suck, so I used almost no cymbals. I used Steve
Lillywhite's production (Siouxie & The Banshees, XTC, Peter Gabriel) as
inspiration, as his productions that I'm familiar with used no or almost no cymbals.
Also Maureen Tucker was inspiring my approach, as she tended to stay away from
cymbals, as well.
Larry: It’s not as much fun to bicker online as it
is in the studio, but we’ll just have to make the best of it. Also, less spontaneity.
Jon:
It was more of a challenge to hear how parts were blending until a mix could be
made/shared, and the interaction in a live rehearsal was not available to shape
the development/mood of the parts.
Kim:
In-person kibitzing is more fun, but in some ways this song creation method
(from the singer’s perspective) is super convenient. I grab my phone and head
to the loo.
Q:
. I know that David had to essentially learn Garageband from scratch...
a new type of drum set..... How about the other members of Youth Chairs? What
were some learning experiences that you had to go through to get A Million
Pieces of Glass done? Were there any specific instrumental/vocal challenges or
tweaks that you had to make in order to get your sounds recorded?
John: I had already recorded bass tracks for another band using
GarageBand so I was sure this would all come together-somehow. Larry (possibly
naively) took on both the producer and mixer roles, which just about caused him
to put his law practice on hold while he dealt with multiple
gripes from the band and a large number of remixes. He handled the
pressure admirably, at least until the
gong tipped him over the edge.
David: Well, there was also the gong! We were
wanting some sort of transition part in the song and Larry thought a gong would
work! Sure! Why not? I actually had a gong many years ago and loaned it
to someone but never got around to getting it back. Not really something I used
a lot. I found a gong sound in GarageBand, but it sounded more like The Gong
Show. Kinda clangy. I was thinking something more like J. Arthur Rank would be
better. So I searched for public domain gong
sounds and found three I liked. I think Larry ended up using all three!
Larry:
Yeah, it was hard to get David’s knees to sound like a gong.
Jon: Our vocal approximations of the gong also
proved wanting.
Kim:
I exclusively used my iPhone7 to record all the lead and background vocals,
spoken effects…..and I used 2 different showers in my home as ‘sound
booths’….cool acoustics...I hope Tim Cook reads this interview because I
ignored my nice Sennheiser microphone and used all his products…..I would play
a track on my MacBookPro (2017 issue, Tim….and my keys are rubbing off and my
3-year MacCare just ran out...wink, wink)....using headphones whilst singing
into the iOS Voice Memo app....then I’d email it to Larry. On weekend evenings
when I was enjoying a nice Chardonnay, Larry got even more recorded ideas and
BG vox. Really he’s a saint for putting up with my gazillion layers.
Q: Any closing thoughts?
David: Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
Larry: Next time, we’re recording everything in
Kim’s shower.
John: I’m packing a towel and my Soap on a Rope.
Jon: It’s the future of performance art.
Kim:
Luckily, my showers are quite roomy.
