Paul Hammond's Blog

If any of you checked out Sara Bareilles from one of my earlier posts and enjoyed what you heard, you should also take a listen to Colbie Caillat.  More great song-writing, great lyrics, and a fabulous voice.

Once again, Walmart has a Soundcheck session that you can watch.

It has been a while since I posted about an artist I am enjoying listening to.  Frankly, there aren't that many that strike me enough to warrant a blog post!  However, after stumbling across some videos of Sara Bareilles playing acoustic sets of her music, I decided that I really wanted to tell the world to run (not walk) to the CD store and buy "Little Voice".

I first discovered Sara when I heard the song "Love Song".  This song is about as perfect a pop song as you could wish to write.  It has fantastic lyrics, a kick ass chorus that you'll hum for hours after hearing it, and her voice is just perfect.  The song prompted me to seek out the album, and it turned out to be my "album of 2007", resoundingly so.

There isn't a single "album filler" track on the entire CD.  Every single song is well written, both musically and lyrically.  Some of the harmonies make the hairs on your arms and neck stand up straight when they kick in.  The production is great.  And Sara's voice is anything but "little".

A great test of an artist for me is usually when I see them playing in a really stripped down acoustic environment - it tells me whether they are for real, or just well produced.  I stumbled across the following video linked to via the Sara Bareilles Facebook fan page.  The music pretty much speaks for itself, so I won't even try!

Watch Sara's acoustic set for Walmart's Soundcheck site (particularly "Morningside" and "Gravity").

Check out this video from MSN Video of a great piece of video editing by Lasse Gjertsen from Norway.  He has taken loads of very short clips of a drummer and a piano player (literally milliseconds long) and cut them into a full "song".  Very very cool!

Further to my recent post regarding Level 42's new album and tour, I wanted to publicly celebrate today as the 8 year anniversary of the initial go-live of http://www.mark-king.com/, the official site for Mark's solo work that has now been superceded by the current level42.com site.

I had a lot of fun working with the record company and creating Mark's original site, and then taking it through a couple of UI changes in subsequent years.  It has been good working with Morgan on level42.com too, although he definitely does the lion's share of the work now!

This is probably really old news, but I haven't walked from the office to Waterloo railway station in a while!  My walk takes me across the Hungerford footbridge and past the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank.  There has been a load of construction there in the past few months, and it is good to see it all coming together.

One of the things that caught my eye was an area of white boxes that look like seats.  It turns out that the seats are laid out in the standard layout for an orchestra.  If you sit on one of the boxes, the instrument for that seat plays.  Get 58 of your closest friends together, and you can get the whole orchestra playing together.  How cool is that!

More details about the project can be found here: PLAY.orchestra sit and play.

I have been a fan of Level 42 since the mid-80s.  Many people would only recognise them from a few of the more mainstream hits they had between about 1986 and 1990.  They actually put out releases between 1980 and 1994, when the band broke up.

In around 1999, Mark King (bass player and vocalist) decided to put out a solo record (his second), and at about the same time I was in contact with the record company he was working with.  I was lucky enough to be allowed to develop Mark's website for the single and album launch, and I have worked on both that site and www.level42.com ever since.

The CD, "One Man", was a departure from the usual Level 42 style people had come to expect - there were no funky bass lines, very few falsetto harmonies, and subdued drumming.  That didn't stop the album being fantastic, just different.  Mark took the album on the road with a band that consisted of his brother Nathan playing guitar and Lyndon Connah on keys.  At first he was using an old friend of mine on drums, Trevor Smith, but when Trevor's commitments prevented him from playing with the band, Mark asked Gary Husband to take over.  Sean Freeman was added to the line up on sax and vocals a few years later.  The band played a great blend of new material and the old Level 42 classics.

Mark released a third solo effort himself via the website, called Trash.  A return to funky form, Mark played every instrument on the CD himself.  He is quite a drummer, it has to be said!  This added some great tracks to the repertoire for the live shows.

Throughout all of this time, one of the biggest complaints I heard from the die-hard fans was that it "really wasn't Level 42", that "Mike's absence leaves a big hole", especially in reference to the live gigs.  Personally I felt that the shows were great fun, and as always a true demonstration of Mark and his band's fabulous musicianship.

Mark acquired the rights to the name Level 42 from Mike Lindup (keyboard player) a few years ago and has been touring as Level 42 ever since with the same band.  This fueled the "it's not Level 42" cries further!

Two weeks ago, a brand new Level 42 CD was released by W14 records.  Called Retroglide, it features the same band described above, with some extra work by Mike Lindup on keyboards and vocals.  All the lyrics were written by original guitarist for the band Boon Gould.  There are some great funky tracks and some fabulous ballads and more laid back tracks, displaying a mix of the styles Mark has been working with the past few years.  It is an excellent CD and well worth a listen.

Through my work on level42.com, I was fortunate enough to get tickets to a small gig at the Cafe de Paris in Leicester Square last night that was part of the "Legends Live" series Capital Gold radio station is running.  The band consisted of Mark, Nathan, Sean, Gary - and Mike Lindup on keyboards!  What can I say?  It was like welcoming back a long lost friend - every keyboard part, every vocal line sounded just like I had come to expect through my many years of listening to them prior to the split.  Whilst the band for the past few years has sounded "great", last night was the first time in years it has sounded like "Level 42 Proper".  Long may it continue, welcome back Mike!

The gig marked the beginning of a UK and European tour - take a look at the Level 42 tour page for the full list of dates.  Check them out live if you can, I promise that you will NOT be disappointed.

John Mayer is releasing a new CD in September called "Continuum".  He recently did a very cool thing and hosted a show on an LA radio station (Star 98.7FM) where he played the entire record, speaking about each track in turn.  The whole show was very cool; being able to get an early listen was nice, and hearing John talk a little about each track was fun.

Overall, I think this CD is excellent.  "Room For Squares" is still my favourite "complete" CD, but there are a number of excellent tracks on this new offering, and I can see the whole thing growing on me more and more.  It is blues in places, soul in places, and all through it features his fantastic guitar playing.  His vocals seem very laid back, effortless; the song writing excellent as always. 

Track by track:

Waiting On The World To Change - a great opener, although it was apparently the last track he recorded for the CD.

I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You - a very laid back track, very soulful, with a great falsetto chorus, and some lovely harmonies.  His vocals in this track seem almost effortless.  Great use of keyboards for some of the musical themes (instead of the usual guitar).  Some nice little brass riffs and fills.

Belief - Ben Harper plays on this, and John says he made it "really gritty".  The acoustic guitar and melody working together remind me of something Sting might have put out.  This song has really grown on me a lot.

Gravity - written for record, but it was played live by the John Mayer Trio last year.  Still an excellent track though.

The Heart Of Life - this is a song that would appeal to anyone who ever had to deal with anything in life.

Vultures - another one that made into the Trio's live set.  John swears this is NOT about the record industry...

Stop This Train - James Valentine from Maroon 5 plays acoustic guitar on this track.  It has a mild country feel, and is about "begging to go back", slowing something down and returning to a place you feel comfortable with. 

Slow Dancing In A Burning Room - a song about the end of a relationship.  A nice ballad, with some excellent lyrics.  You'll relate to this if you are a person who has faced the end of a relationship where both people know it is the right thing to do, but it is hard anyway.  "The deep and dying breath of this love that we've been working on".

Bold As Love - this is a Hendrix tune, although John says he approached it as a song writer, not a guitar player.  A really excellent cover version.

Dreaming With A Broken Heart - This is about dreaming about someone special, only to wake up and remember it is really all over.  "When you're dreaming with a broken heart, the waking up is the hardest part".  It has a great piano intro, which is a break from the usual guitar.

In Repair - John says he doesn't really know the impetus for this song, but he did say it is a really likely candidate for a 15 minutes guitar solo at the end of the upcoming live gigs. 

I'm Gonna Find Another You - this is the after record mint; In Repair was going to be the last track.  This is total soul - the horns were arranged by Willie Mitchell (who worked with Al Green, among others).  Recording was done in a small studio in Memphis.  It has a great guitar and vocals intro and the lyrics are great.  Fantastic ending to a great record.

It's been 2 years since the last studio record, and this one has definitely been worth the wait.  It is out on September 11th or 12th (depending on where you live!), and I would highly recommend picking this CD up as soon as you get a chance.

Well, it has been a little while since the last post.  It isn’t that I haven’t had anything to say, I just haven’t been able to find any time to write it down!  So, let’s see, some snippets:

IE7

I installed IE7 beta 2 Preview – is working nicely so far.  The tabs work really well, and the “tab preview” is great when you have a lot open.  One setting I always used to have turned off in IE6 should be turned on for IE7 though.  The “Reuse windows for launching shortcuts” option on the Advanced tab of Tools | Internet Options.

Previously in IE6, having this set to true meant typing a new URL in “Start | Run” would reuse an existing IE window - I hate this as it invariably uses a window I care about, and to be safe I always want a new window.  In IE7, if you set this option, then going to a new URL opens in a new tab.  Perfect.

Level 42

I bought tickets to Level 42 at the Royal Albert Hall in October.  A new album is due, so it should make for a good mix of new and old songs in the set list.    Check out http://www.level42.com/ for the rest of the tour dates in the UK.

Hanselminutes

I have really enjoyed Scott Hanselman’s blog for a while now.  Recently he started PodCasting over at Hanselminutes.  It is a weekly show, about a half hour long, and is full of interesting stuff about all kinds of technology.  I am not much for PodCasts, but this one is great – check it out.

ClearContext

I am particularly loving the ClearContext addin for Outlook – get the beta of version 2.  It has completely changed the way I manage my inbox.  What impresses me even more is the excellent customer focus the company has – they have listened to my comments and opinions, and have taken some on board.  They also seem to really care a lot about creating a great product.  Great stuff!

So I have had my TD-12 for a few weeks now, and I have been playing quite a lot.  It is really very weird playing so much again, as I haven’t played in many years.  I am finding that I get some pretty bad aches in muscles that are long since overdue a work out!

I am still so impressed with the quality of the drums, and the extent that you can achieve a “live” sound from electronics.

I recorded some random stuff the other night – just me sitting at the set playing whatever came to mind while warming up – and thought I would share it so people can see just how good it sounds.

Excuse the playing, it is a few years too rusty for my liking.

Random Drum Stuff 1 – 0:19 – 312kb
Random Drum Stuff 2 – 0:19 – 317kb
Random Drum Stuff 3 – 1:23 – 1,315kb
Random Drum Stuff 4 – 0:26 – 416kb

As I mentioned in my last post about my new Warwick Corvette, I was thinking of buying some more musical instruments to supplement my home studio.  Well, that is exactly what I did last Thursday lunchtime.

I haven’t been able to play my drum kit with any regularity for a long time now.  I haven’t played in a band for a while, and there always seems to be more important things to do than lug my kit to a rehearsal studio for a brief practice session on my own.  As many people who I work or socialise with will attest, I have an annoying habit of either hitting my inanimate objects very loud, or performing embarrassing air drumming.  My computer keyboard gets the worst of it.  I suspect this is because I have been deprived of good quality time with my sticks!

I have admired the Roland V-Drums for a long time, thinking that they would be perfect for what I needed.  They are fully electronic, allowing for “near silent” play when wearing headphones, yet they are as close to “real feel” as you can get.  The drums themselves have actual drum heads that can be tightened or loosened, and the cymbals are lifelike also.  The hi-hats actually sit on a proper hi-hat stand, and feel almost as real as proper ones.

There is one drawback with the V-Drums system.  The cost.  Currently, there are two real contenders for the pro or semi-pro drummer (although Roland make budget kits also).  These are the TD-20 and the TD-12.  I always thought I wanted the TD-20 (probably due to the geek in me wanting the “best”), but when I finally had some money I could invest, I started to think that maybe the TD-12 would be better for a few reasons:  1) I am only using it in a home studio, 2) a lot of the sounds in the TD-12 are the same as for the TD-20 and so it would probably suffice for my requirements and 3) it is HALF THE PRICE of the TD-20.

However, the TD-20 comes with 6 drums and 3 cymbals out of the box, the TD-12 with only 5 drums and 2 cymbals.  That seemed a little limiting to me, given what I am used to with my current acoustic setup.  The drums and cymbal pads are smaller with the TD-12 than with the TD-20; most drum pads on the TD-12 are only 8” in diameter with one 10” pad, whereas the TD-20 has 10” and 12” pads. 

However, I started to think that maybe I could get a TD-12 and buy some extra parts to make a suitable kit.  Also, I wanted to buy a new throne (I have never figured out why drummers call their seat the throne – suggestions?), and a double bass drum pedal, so saving the money on the main kit would allow me to do that.

Here is what I ended up with:

• TD-12 kit.
• An extra PD125 – a 12” pad I would use as the snare drum, moving the 10” snare pad that comes with the TD-12 over to the right to use as a floor tom.
• An extra CY15R – a 15” cymbal pad I would use as a ride cymbal.
• A Tama Iron Cobra double bass pedal.
• A Mapex throne.

It looks a little bit like this:

Something else I have missed a lot since I moved out of my parental home was a piano.  I have had my fair share of keyboards, but none of these have had properly weighted keys like a piano, and I have only really found them useful for limited composing.  Sometimes it is nice to just sit at a piano and bang out a few tunes, maybe play around with a few ideas.  I wanted to get a decent digital piano so that I could get back to composing and playing a lot more.  My friend Simon bought a Yamaha Clavinova CLP220 a while ago, and I had been very impressed with it whenever I have visited them in Ireland.  It seemed to fit the bill just nicely (great sounds, excellent feel and a headphone socket!) so I picked one of those up too.

I am looking forward to using both the drum kit and the piano to teach my children some of the things my many music teachers have taught me over the years.  I derive an immense amount of enjoyment from playing and listening to music, and I hope I can pass on some of my passion to them.

All in all, an expensive but very worthwhile few days shopping.

I’ve played music since I was about 9 years old – starting on the drums, and then picking up the bass later on (maybe around 16 or 17).  I also play a little guitar and keyboards and enjoy writing my own music too.

Recently, I came into some bonus cash I wasn’t expecting, and rather than boringly ploughing it into daily living expenses, I decided to pretend like I never got the money and blow it all on some musical toys in a vain attempt to get me playing and writing more.  I wanted to get some instruments the kids could benefit from too.

Today’s purchase was a new bass.  I already own a Warwick 4–string thru neck Thumb bass, which I love a lot.  Martin Sims over at Sims Custom shop installed some wickedly bright red LEDs in the fingerboard, and it is just a beautiful instrument both to play and look at.  Recently though, I have been playing more and more music that would really suit a 5–string bass.  I figured I would try and find a lower priced model that would just give me a little flexibility and choice when playing and recording, and shortlisted a few manufacturers – Warwick, Music Man and Yamaha.  I took a trip to Denmark Street in London, and headed for the “Bass Cellar”.  The woman working there could not have been more helpful, and before long I was trying out a Yamaha and one of the Warwick Rock Basses.  Sadly, they only had 4–string Music Man basses in, so I didn’t get to try one of those.

But actually, that didn’t matter.  I played a Yamaha first – this one actually came in quite a bit under budget and was surprisingly good for the price.  However, as soon as I picked up the Warwick Corvette Rock Bass, I knew that the feel and sound were perfect for the price!  Of course, I am used to a Warwick so maybe I am biased, but this thing was just lovely.  Excellent action, great sound with a reasonable amount of control over the two pickups as well as bass and treble controls.  I bought it there and then.  At about £200 under my budget, I feel like I got a bargain.  Needless to say, it has been given a pretty comprehensive work out this evening.

Tomorrows purchase is a new drum set.  And maybe a digital piano.  We’ll see.