Dealing with Today--Today

Screwed up production today—sorry. I’m so far behind, I don’t have time to try and make it any better. This is one of my all time favorite Scot Halpin originals: “Memory 17,” written for “Folklore” in the mid-1980’s. I’m so sorry that the vocals (and therefore lyrics) are sadly buried in the mix. Don’t know why this happened. It sounded great through the headphones!

This is a solo Folklore demo. All the little details on the tape tell me the story of its recording. It’s late. Scot is sitting alone in his studio (our front room on Page Street). Our bedroom shared a door. I would lay awake in our bed, listening to him lay down tracks like these. Here’s what I hear.

He’s already recorded the vocal track. You sure can’t hear it here, but along with the vocal track, there is another scratch guitar track. He’s playing the track through some kind of output, and jamming along with it on the famous Kay guitar.
At the end of the track you hear him the part again, a different way.

I’d so disappointed that this track lacks the full punch being able to hear the vocal track would bring, but for my own purposes, I could listen to Scot play guitar like this as long as he wanted to play. He could get downright symphonic, was absolutely always first and foremost--rhythmic, and captured here, wonderfully harmonic.

I dedicate today’s track to our son James, who turned 17 last Saturday. “Unchain the boat, we’re going to make it.”