So… here is the latest Confession of the Whole School song – Dorian Gray. This song really has been the product of blood, sweat and tears. I hope you enjoy it. If you feel that it torments your soul… don’t panic!!! It’s supposed to!
sugar in the gas tank
You’re drinking. And you’re not thinking about tomorrow. You’re thinking about today. You’re thinking about now. And only now. After all… now is now. Tomorrow may come. But, when you’re drinking, tomorrow may as well be a lifetime away.
But my friends… tomorrow does come. Today was tomorrow. And it hurt. I’m a trooper, so I didn’t let it break me – but it did hurt. And I made new vows. Vows that I may or may not adhere to. But for now, today, I am sticking to them steadfastly! I don’t like the hurt! I’m not a fan of physical pain. Emotional pain has its uses in terms of songwriting – but that is a whole essay for a rainy day – but physical pain is only for the deviants of this world. Of which I am not one. I am me. Ha ha!
Lucozade is a drink that I can definitely recommend. I know I could get the same result mixing 100 spoons of sugar into some water – but Lucozade comes in a yellow bottle, and has a Z in the title! I know, I know… you’re going to tell me to “get with the rest of the modern world” and drink Red Bull. Or some other drink that has packaging that looks like a tattoo. Well, I’m not drinking something that looks like a ’70s aftershave, and I’m not drinking something that has ‘Bull’ as part of the name and medicine as part of the taste. So… old skool Lucozade it is. Oh, and I found that a Double Decker as the food part of the ‘food and drink’ equation works wonders too! I would ordinarily dunk the Double Decker in hot coffee… but I don’t suggest boiling the Lucozade to try to achieve the same result. I tell you my friends… it would be a regrettable situation involving much sweetness, tears and mess.
So, that was a day of my life written off. No songs to be written when I can’t be sure I’m even making a coherent sentence. I wonder if I could use Lucozade to my advantage on a day not having involved drink the night before – perhaps to help the songwriting process? Hmmm. Every positive has a corresponding negative. And Lucozade‘s negative is HUGE! This drink is… radioactive! Or at least it is when it comes into contact with a carpet. I once made the mistake of drunkenly spilling Lucozade on the carpet in my house. Okay, I compounded this error by then forgetting I’d done it and going to bed. Cue next day… glance at the floor… Arrrgh! What the hell? Here’s my question then – Why does Lucozade stain your carpet pink??? I mean… that is surely a very peculiar colour for a yellow drink. To stain a carpet pink? Hmmm. Now here’s a thought. Is the actual drink yellow? Or is it just the bottle? I haven’t got any Lucozade here right now to check this out. Maybe it’s clear? Or… maybe it’s pink, and they put it in a yellow bottle to hide the fact it’s pink – so blokes will buy it. (They don’t sell no pink Yorkies – no no no). But… then… the pink would clash with the yellow to produce a weird looking bottle. So maybe the bottle isn’t actually yellow – it’s some other colour that when mixed with pink looks yellow. Anyway… today I drank some Lucozade and it made me feel better. Then I drank 4 cans of Coke before I typed this. Can you tell?
box of delights
I pull a box out of the garage. Rummage through. Funny what you find. A whole stack of papers – mainly old songs. Written in biro. Mostly on the backs of old forgotten documents, but some on the back of actual university essays.
Personal history in its rawest form. A wipe of the hand through layers of dust and dried spiders uncovers moments of true beauty… along with utter stupidity. I’m talking about old songs that I have no memory of writing. Hundreds of words that must have meant something once – but now just languish in never to be heard purgatory. Reading a few of the lyrics immediately brings back whole melodies, drum beats, hell even feelings! However, most of the other lyrics only offer proof as to why the songs were packed into a box. Separated from whatever music was originally attached to them, the words read like pretentious twaddle – backing up the reasons I must have had to consign them to my past in the first place.
You have to understand though. These songs could have existed. A simple twist of fate – say a more successful previous band – and these songs could have ‘been’. They could have been ‘press play’able. But instead… due to what can only be described as failure, the songs gather dust. Some of the songs had been played live. Some recorded. Some are even available to be heard on this very site (under the history section). But the majority never existed. They remain just words on a page. I no longer have any memory of the melodies. No clue as to the drum beats, the bass lines, the guitar chords. All I have is the words. Some good – some bad But all were written for a reason. Once. A long time ago. Today – to be brushed off and read again.
The problem now is I have to find somewhere to put these little gems. For if the world ever decides to embrace Confession of the Whole School then these tarnished pieces of paper will be valuable. My plan of action is to carefully put them all in a box… and put the box in the garage. It’ll be safe there. Yes… and so it shall be done.
just type something!!!
Sometimes I just don’t have a lot to say. Other times I have everything. Anything and everything. 2010 has been a most interesting year. Purely in terms of song creation I have had a very productive year. Music has flowed like wine at an it girl‘s garden party. I am writing songs at such a speed. You have to understand that I have previous for being a little slow. Not mentally (not much)… I mean time-wise… writing songs. I could put Axl Rose and the Stone Roses to shame! But this year has been refreshing. I have reached a time in my life where I feel I have something to say again. I have an agenda. Life is too short. It is up to me to distill the essence of good music into bite sized chunks for public consumption. My little studio is my office. And believe me… I work. I work hard. Bill and I are in the process of completing a 6th song for The Eleventh Hour album. What started as a side project for the two of us has certainly taken on a life of its own – and is on its way to becoming a fully formed band/album. I look forward to what we can achieve. And the latest song for ALL MONSTERS AND DUST is also shaping up to be a bit special. Of course… it’s for you to judge just how special a song is. But remember… if I tell you something is special – you had just better bloody believe it!
all these secret things…
Here is the latest The Eleventh Hour track: All These Secret Things.
the office
I’ve had a day in the studio working on the latest The Eleventh Hour song. It is a beautiful little gem. A sweet song that plays on my ears like a breeze on a hillside. Seriously… it is a song that can conjure images in the mind. It is certainly very easy to be pretentious in this business, but I think Bill and I are a breath of fresh air. A song doesn’t have to be mindless to succeed. A song doesn’t have to be soulless to sell. The deeper I dive into the ocean of what it takes to be part of The Eleventh Hour the more I realise just what we can achieve. We are currently nearing the halfway point in the recording of our album – and I can honestly say that, so far, the whole process has been refreshing. Two pretty much like-minded individuals with a goal of creating an album that will push things forward and stand the test of time. I doff my cap to my learned American friend and wish him the best of merriment!
the impossible became the possible
So… after yesterday’s rant about the unrecordable vocal, I came home today and decided to tackle it head on. I marched straight into the studio, loaded the ‘pain in the arse’™ up and stood in front of the microphone. Now… you’ve got to picture the scene. Remember when Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear off? , well… it was similar to that. Except no Tyson, no Hollyfield and no ear biting. But the spirit was there. I hit record and just sang it – one take. And you know what… it sounds absolutely cracking! I have it! I have recorded the unrecordable vocal. Unfortunately, as the song is a wild and wonderful epic there are still another couple of minutes to fill with words. Words which I have yet to write. But I have a good idea for lyrical content now. I thought I had the name for the song but yesterday’s entry on this site has made me rethink. “Dorian Gray” would be a cool name for the song. I shall set about the task of completing this monster of a song. If only you all knew just how long this song has been gathering dust. To finish it would be like saying goodbye to a piece of me!
A music recommendation for you. I’ve been listening to “The Wild Hunt” by “The Tallest Man on Earth“. An awesome album. This guy has an ear for a melody. Great vocals and great guitar playing. There is still something to be said for a good tune and it’s good to know there are people out there flying the flag! Sometimes I feel so alone, ha ha. The production of his album is interesting. It is raw in the extreme… but the songs shine. I suggest you youtube “King of Spain“. And then remember who turned you onto it!
confessionofthewholeschool.com 