“Primary Colors”

 

Recorded March 1, 2021 in Sanford, FL, by Tom Pearce who used Behringer software to record & monitor on his Mac flatscreen, to match with his Behringer wireless pre-amp, which is the heart of everything. Two cabled microphones, one on vocals & one on acoustic guitar, and a line-in guitar through a DI-box to the pre-amp.

Photo by Jose Luis Magana (AP), taken on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC

Production & art design by Tom Pearce. Previous references to this song on Extended Play 2019-21 are to a version we recorded in 2019 which didn’t work out. This song was also recorded (mono live) on March 20, 2020 as part of my Coronavirus Concerts project.

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“When You’re Out There”

 

Recorded on December 2, 2020 in Sanford FL by Tom Pearce. Photos, production & art design also by Tom.

“When You’re Out There” was written in August, 2020 after I listened to a LOT of Sun Ra on YouTube. With COVID-19 killing the live music scene, it was a good opportunity for me to finally hear many of his records which were never really available during the vinyl era, and were too overpriced during the CD era.

Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth was always a champion of Sun Ra, and was the one who introduced this unheralded genius jazz composer & virtuoso to me & many others. Sun Ra’s music is timeless, with depth, and a spirit of fierce independence. He’s out there, and that’s what inspired this song.

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“Bitter to Better”

 

Photo, production & art design by Tom Pearce.

Recorded March 1, 2021 in Sanford, FL. Tom Pearce is now using Behringer software to record & monitor on a Mac flatscreen, to match with his Behringer wireless pre-amp, which is the heart of everything. Two microphones, one on vocals & one on acoustic guitar, and a line-in guitar through a DI-box to the pre-amp. Three-track recording, clean as a pin.

I woke up late this morning and did my usual cucumber juicing in the kitchen. Two raw cukes, and if I have an apple core or fresh ginger, I’ll add that for some sweetness & zing. But I didn’t have any (as usual), so I slugged my veggies down & commented to myself, “It’s bitter, but it makes you better… ‘Bitter to Better’…. That’s a song title!” So I grabbed a paper & pen and wrote the song. You need a title.

What helps with riffs is knowing many, many covers, across the genres. Keep cycling through them, so when you have a title, you can invent the riff you need– by distilling from favorite covers. That’s how this song was done.

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