Happy Halloween!

I recorded the underlying "spook alley" music onto my BOSS loop pedal a few years ago.  Don't ask me to explain what's going on with it.  Just a lot of dissonances stacked on top of each other.  I used my Eric Johnson Stratocaster and a Vox amp with vibrato and reverb set about half way.

The piece is hypnotic and repetitive, but I justify the length of the recording because various voices from the dead tell some tales along the way.  I played these over the top of the BOSS recording today:

1) A slide applied to the strings of my strat close to the bridge provides a spine-tingling chime.

2) A 1/4 size classical guitar with only two very detuned strings on it provides the woes of a damned soul.

3) Pick scrapes near the bridge of my strat provide a laughing ghost.

4) The whammy bar randomly attacked on open strings provides another tale from a miserable shade.

It's all kind of corny, but there are some really striking moments in it all, and it is pretty dreary music if you keep listening to it.  You get mesmerized by the plaintive howling...

Sassdrudge Blues

This is a 12 bar blues piece that I've toyed with for a few years.  The I chord riff is based on a unique approach to the E blues scale.  The IV chord is based on the A Hungarian minor scale.  The V chord is based on the B blues scale.  The big bend at the end of the turnaround was influenced by Tony Iommi.

I prerecorded the main riff and the drum machine on my Boss RC-2 loop station.  I played slide leads over the top of the loop on my Stratocaster.  I tried to capture a sassy, plaintive, vocal-like quality with the slide.

Baal's Brand

Ever since he first appeared in early blues recordings by artists like Clara Smith, Charlie Patton, and Robert Johnson, Satan has been a character in blues and rock music.  Baal's Brand is my take on the sold soul blues.  The lyrics were born while contemplating my personal addictions.  They were also influenced by descriptions of slavery in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

I bear Baal's brand deep in my chest

I bear Baal's brand deep in my chest

And he works me to the bone

He won't give me no rest

He keeps me tied down to that old ball and chain

He keeps me tied down to that old ball and chain

And when I don't mind him

Blood flows down like rain

They tell me that he owns my soul

They tell me that he owns my soul

And he tells me that

He will never let me go.

For this recording, I play slide in standard tuning on my Walden Natura.  The key is G and the 12 bar blues form is followed throughout.  The performance has some minor flaws, but I liked the feel of this take best, so I'm posting it.  The pictures in the video come from Wikipedia pages about Baal and Satan.

I bear Baal's brand deep in my chest

I bear Baal's brand deep in my chest

He works me to the bone

He will not let me rest

He ties me down with a strong chain

He ties me down with a strong chain

And when I don't mind him

My blood flows down like rain

They tell me that he owns my soul

They tell me that he owns my soul

And he says he will not

Let me escape his fold.