more musings 11-14-97

here's the general scoop on superego's latest projects.

our second album, entitled "my bad - more easygoing favorites from superego," is in the final mixing stages. the basic tracks and many overdubs were recorded on 4-track and 8-track cassette in the kitchen and breakfast nook of the palatial nickel $ dime estates off of airport rd. in lovely east austin. apologies are in order to our elderly neighbors, who were good sports about the late night drum sessions. they only called the cops on us once. 

after the tracks on the cassettes were all used up, we transferred the tapes to digital adat and overdubbed, mixed, and mastered at the living room studios, the professional recording facility owned by the argyles. it was a painstaking process making the transfers, but once we worked out the kinks, it worked flawlessly. the rhythm tracks sound fat and warm like analog should. engineer extraordinaire scott ross has put in way too many late night hours far above and beyond the call of duty making it all happen. once he figured out a trick to get 7 discreet signals off of the cassette 8-track with only 4 tape outputs, it was all downhill. maybe if jon knew where he put the tascam owner's manual things would have gone smoother.

it should take a few weeks to mix and master, plus a couple more for manufacturing, so i am counting on a release around the first of the year. look for a record release show or two in mid to late january. we are exploring distribution possibilities, including the european market because we are also working on a mini-tour of england in the spring.

i lucked into a couple of tickets to london as a result of a travel fiasco with continental airlines. i have been on the phone to travel agents and airline administrators enough for a lifetime in the past few weeks. the result is this europe trip which seems to be coming together, all i have to do is convince a couple more cynical musicians that the trip is worthwhile. whether or not the gigs come through, it will be a hell of a spring vacation.

superego's trip to portland was a blast, not to mention a raving success. allyson and i were the sole representatives of the local lineup to make the trip, but the ringers we picked up in portland, pete szymczak and don the bass player, handled the material no problemo and laid down a flawless groove at our showcase at umbra penumbra with the adults. the venue was a little coffeehouse downtown, and it was strikingly similar to the hole in the wall, minus the alcohol, smoke and a couple dozen patrons. thanks to my dear friends jeff groves for supplying the flask between songs, and pete and diana for providing the best bed and breakfast in town (we're still waiting for the breakfast). we managed to have such a good time anyway, and we had plenty of days between rehearsing to sightsee and explore the gorgeous area, including dinner atop the space needle and some earthy nightlife in seattle. portland is a true marvel: a great, scenic, clean, and quaint community with a relaxed and liberal vibe. 

i was in the studio every night this week after my 3 to 11 pm state gig, overdubbing and mixing superego, with the exception of friday, when scott and i took a break to record a demo for deep sombreros. their shit is sounding good too, and what a fun session. it was recorded live with the help of conan's pizza, a case of tecate, and a visit from an eastside teenage hip-hop team. d.j . crash dug what he saw and we spoke briefly about working on some ego remixes. i gave him a cd and he said he would pick a song, mix it up and bring it back. i can't wait to hear it. the deep sombrero's stuff should come out around the turn of the year also . i heard the mix last night and i am glad that they let me convince them to experiment with such an avant garde recording technique as the "overdub." they are purists to the core, and the thought of doubling the track seemed incredible to them. luckily it worked out for the best...

on the video front, i got some good footage of superego in the studio on the rare occasion last week when we were all present at the studio session simultaneously. it was like a harmonic convergence or something, so i had to run home and get the panasonic to document andrew sitting around reading magazines and flipping off the camera, kevin getting soused on samuel smith and playing brilliant percussion, and the whole band singing group doo-wop harmonies and playing random kindergarten rhythm-band percussion in the vocal booth. 

i also got some good close-ups of jonny fever's new gold tooth, which by the way fell out during "wasted days and wasted nights" at last night's free for all, which was a redneck rock hoedown. all he would let me say was "is there a dentist in the house?" earthpig's all-covers set was brilliant as usual, and his rhythm section pulled off an unrehearsed "lookout joe" by neil young, much to the delight of the stoned host. seed and the jaded lovers turned in tight sets to an average-size but hugely enthusiastic crowd, and superego wrapped things up with a mostly covers set that also included "powderfinger," "i wanna be your dog," and "after the gold rush." eric conn's version of superego's "riddled" outshines any other drummer who has filled in for kevin on drums lately at the free for all, while he takes time off for various criminal activities. kevin does plan to return to sunday night eventually, and meanwhile eric is also featured on a couple of heavy rockers on the new ego album... 

i am considering going back to school part-time at ut's documentary film department, so maybe one of these days i will put all of this local music scene footage into a substantial project. i entered my deep sombreros and spoon videos in the sxsw competition this year, so hopefully they might show up in the festival if they like what they see. the sombreros video is my finest work on film to date.

Jon, Jacob and I, along with our pal Aimee who portrays Janis Joplin in Zachary Scott Theatre every weekend, were recently extras in an episode of "Austin Stories" which will be on MTV sometime in Sept. The scene was filmed in a swinger's bar downtown on red river, and believe me we played it up. Don't blink or you'll miss us. I was cast because my new mustache and black leather vest made me look "so gay" according to MTV extras casting scout Shawna, and Jon is enthusiastic about his "bathrobe" scene, where he claims to have been fully aroused under the flimsy garment on international television. In other MTV related news, I ran into El Flaco's Chris Hay the other night at the Lunch, and he confirmed rumors I had heard from other less observant folks who claimed to have seen Superego on MTV. It turns out, our video was actually featured in a short segment on the MTV show "indie out," and no-one even bothered to notify me. I am trying to get a tape.

my internet provider, a fly by night little bulletin board service, recently made it much more difficult for an amateur like me to upload my webpage files, so i can't promise to stick with this internet stuff very often. i may have to go back to putting up flyers on the drag to publicize the band.

how primitive.

the argyles engagements remain steady, and the personality clashes that made the band interesting at first are now so predictable i find myself daydreaming about other projects during the gigs. it is hard to live "in the moment" when it is the same moment over and over every weekend. everyone has their little role in the military operation that is an argyles gig. we all have our menial tasks in the big endeavor and it is so streamlined and smooth it is almost effortless. we rent the truck, load it up, drive a couple hundred miles, back into the country club loading dock, roll the equipment in, hook up the mics, cables and speakers, put on our tuxes, play three sets, and then reverse the process. as far as the personal interaction, after so much time on the road, we seem to have come to recognize and respect eachother's prospective personality quirks. i find myself intentionally getting on the other guys' nerves just to entertain myself. it's like we all represent the archetypal characters on gilligan's island, and live out the classic shipwreck allegory every weekend. you can guess which one i am. (not the professor or the skipper, trust me).

on a cultural note, you gotta see the new neil young movie "year of the horse." the backstage interviews with the ghostlike members of crazy horse will give you an unmistakable sensation of what it's like to be in a longstanding, legendary, somewhat road-weary touring band. the bombastic music of crazy horse live onstage in picturesque european arenas sounds like a huge tidal wave pummeling the coastline. of all the songs in his career, the setlist for the 9 songs in the movie includes four from my favorite album "zuma," (not counting "cortez the killer" vocal rehearsal on the bus) as well as 'tonight's the night' and 'like a hurricane.' i could have easily tolerated about 20 more minutes of music, and about 10 more decibels of volume in the Dobie theatre sound system...

wilco was great at the last night of their tour at liberty lunch, despite what you may have heard about their curious behavior. singer jeff tweedy sounded a little disgusted and cynical between songs, goading the audience into some mild discomfort with his wild eyed tirades, but the performances were right on the money, especially his soulful vocals. they have been on the road for a couple years it seems, plus all those side projects keeping them busy, i bet he needs a break to take care of that new family of his. i am still waiting for them to show up at the hole while they are in town recording. i heard they saw the damnations at continental. come on down to the hole, jeff, we'll fix you up with whatever you need. 

a great new book is kurt vonnegut's newest, timequake. i have read all of his books since discovering slaughterhouse 5 in high school. this latest book, ostensibly his last at the age of 74, is kind of an unapologetic hodge-podge of anecdotes, dirty jokes, shout-outs to his homeys, and pieces of an aborted science fiction novel detailing the circumstances of a 10 year slip in the time-space continuum. in this freewheeling context, vonnegut's most charming, confident, and reassuring voice is at its most effective pitch. I found myself savoring the bite-size chapters like daily affirmations, as opposed to devouring the whole work in one sitting, because ultimately the book would make a somewhat unsubstantial meal, making up in flavor what it lacks in substance.

the song titles on the new superego album (not in order):

Andrew Duplantis - bass, backing vocals
Paul Minor - vocals, guitar, keyboards
Kevin Pearson - drums, percussion
Jon Sanchez - lead guitar, keyboards

with

Allyson Lipkin - saxaphone
Eric Conn - drums on #5 and # 6
Spot - viola on #2
Earthpig - guitar on #8
Jacob Schulze - lead guitar

thanks to matt for the wurlitzer electric piano

all songs ©1997 by Paul Minor, except #1 by minor & sanchez.

the cover artwork on "my bad" is an adaptation of a logo on the cover of a spanish brand of rolling papers.
you can buy them at oat willie's, they're called "blanco y negro." artful photographs by Pedie Morgan & Jenny Walker will also adorn the inside cover, along with some thematically related graphics.

i wish my late brother jack could be to hear the new album. he died a year ago this week on 11-11-96. he introduced me to rock music at a very young age and I have been infatuated ever since. he was always the first person i sought out to give me his honest critique of my latest musical projects, and he was always supportive and encouraging. his death leaves a big void in many lives, and a year later i realize i will probably never stop missing him and his expert musical opinions. i am sure he is still listening.

the schedule for the free for all in november:

2- this bike is a pipe bomb, morningwood, deep sombreros,
9- seed, jaded lovers, earthpig
16- members of the gourds, los ninos del nada, regalmatic 2
23- skanky yankee, golden arm trio, tba
30- bigamy sisters, diaz bros, fivehead, el dopa
7 - preverts, palaxy tracks, carolina ghost queens

december's calendar also features cotton mather, seed, halfwatt, jennyanykind, lilywhite and more...

seeya there, mention this offer and superego will buy you a beer.

past entries

next entry

back to superego