Electric Lecture - The Story of a Song

We’re happy to be joined again by Jeff Gray (friend and co-writer of this song) for Episode 8 of our podcast, Electric Lecture: Story of a Song. This session starts off with Greg showing us the demos he put together from the day of writing and recording song structures on acoustic guitar. The first one grabs our attention and Bronson sings the chorus melody remembering it coming with the song on the first day of writing. We immediately get to work writing the rest of the song. Starting with a simple part on the 12 String Guild acoustic guitar. Next, we think about vocals. We hum melodies together while listening through the demo and ramble about the arrangement.

Eventually, we start discussing what the song should be about. We talk about going in the direction of a love song. Jeff says, “Some people have had enough of silly love songs”. Then he throws out a line about gas on Venus that scientists found earlier in 2021 which is conducive to life. “Hitch a ride on one of these asteroids that's coming close to earth.” Jeff says. “Get me outta here. REALLY get me outta here.” You can tell that we love the direction he’s going in. Bronson responds to listening back to that part of the tape with, “When you started talking, I noticed I stopped talking and I could hear myself getting excited.” Jeff then explains a book he’s reading about cataclysms and spaceships coming to earth to rescue people from them. Then he says, “The only reason we know about this is because some people refused the ride.”

“There we go.” respond Bronson and Greg.

These become the underlying theme for the song and we spend the majority of this session chasing words and phrases that live up to these initial lines. We end the day with our chorus finished and a great setup to the rest of the song.

“I wanna ride until I get home, another sun shining down on a stone.”

Thank you for listening to episode 8 of our podcast and feel free to reach out to us with your questions and comments.

Welcome to season two of our podcast, Electric Lecture: The Story of a Song. For episode one, we’re here commentating with our good friend and co-writer of our next song, Jeff Gray. Jeff Gray is somewhat of a riffmaster; in these first clips you’ll hear how we got this song started and how we managed to harness his riffs for the greater good.

We listen through the first demo of our new track, but first, we briefly touch on the importance of being “always in record”, and how synthesizers (specifically mentioning the Roland JP-8000) can morph into unexpected new sound if left on for long stretches of time. This ends episode #7 of our podcast, Electric Lecture: Story of a Song.

Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:

Martin 000X1AE - https://www.martinguitar.com/search?q=000X1AE&search-button=&lang=default

Ableton - https://www.ableton.com/en/shop/

Music Man Bass - https://www.music-man.com/instruments/basses

Guild - https://guildguitars.com

Elektron Digitone Keys - https://www.elektron.se/products/digitone-keys/

Roland JP-8000 - https://www.roland.com/us/products/jp-8000/

Episode 6 is the season one finale. Here we listen through the stems of our completed song, “Street Caviar” and get right into the drums. They sound incredible and much is added to our iOptigan and room mic’d drum kit. Yet somehow Anthony and Karyadi managed to make use of several (five plus) distinct drum sounds and they all flow fluently together while also using contrasting rhythms to define sections and help them build. The auxiliary percussion itself is impressive in how hard it all grooves. How well the entire track grooves together is a strong testament to Karyadi and Anthony’s ears and time spent.

Thank you for listening to season one of our podcast, Electric Lecture: The Story of a Song. The process of making this first season taught us so much and we hope it left you inspired to create. In the coming episodes and seasons, you’ll hear how much this adventure of creating and finishing a song can change track to track.

Please feel free to reach out to us regarding all things musical. Questions and comments from our listeners are important to us developing and guiding the show. Thank you and rock on!

Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:

iOptigan - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ioptigan/id1143470101

Kurzweil PC3LE6 - https://kurzweil.com/pc3le6/

Chordion - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chordion-musical-instrument-midi-controller/id552182095

Greg and Bronson give a overview of the first song in their podcast.

We’re here again at Bopnique Studios for episode #5 of the Electric Lecture Podcast. Right away we get a glimpse into the floor tom overdubs on our pre-chorus. Anthony tries a couple variations before finding his groove and it culminates in a dramatic build for our fun and playful chorus to respond to. We love these contrasting transitions and they set up each section perfectly. Anthony adds a lot to the groove of the song with auxiliary percussion like shakers, claps, tambourines, and a clave pattern on the cowbell that really brings the party to the bridge.

Before wrapping up this episode, we take a minute to praise two incredible modern rock bass players, Tom Commerford of Rage Against The Machine and Chris Wolstenholme of Muse. Lastly, we listen to the final mix, talk a little about where the title “Street Caviar” came from, and turning negatives into positives through song.

Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:

Crash of Doom - https://zildjian.com/fx-crashes-of-doom.html

Banjo Ukulele - https://kalabrand.com/collections/banjo-ukulele

Brainworx Vertigo VSM Saturation - https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/vertigo_vsm-3.html

FabFilter Saturn Saturation - https://www.fabfilter.com/products/saturn-2-multiband-distortion-saturation-plug-in

Welcome to Episode #4 of the Electric Lecture podcast. When we left you last, Anthony and Karyadi of Bopnique Studios were deep into the mix of “Street Caviar.” In this episode, we hear them start their day by sharing some files anthony had worked on staying late the night before. Next, we get a pro mixing tip from Karyadi. He explains a cool trick to help our snare drum and acoustic guitar (two very prominent instruments in this song) both stay prominent without becoming overwhelming. He does this by sidechaining a gate on the acoustic guitar, keyed by the snare drum. This causes the acoustic guitar to duck out when triggered by the snare drum accents. We also hear a really cool phaser sound on the harmonising guitar break, which Karyadi explains is actually the Valhalla Delay set very short and modulating for the phaser sound. Karyadi says, “Sounds like a Mu-Tron only more 3D.” Anthony says he also loves Arturia’s Phaser Bi-Tron saying it sounds “Just like the real thing”

When giving this song to Anthony and Karyadi, we left it completely open ended for Anthony to compose something of his own. We get to hear them put together something very special for this song. “I wanted to go off into the sunset with a celebration…. It seemed like a part of the story that needed to be there.” Anthony says before getting to work on a massively inspired NOLA breakdown section. We get to hear him and Karyadi make decisions in the mix on what to leave and where to leave it. This is a very cool part of the process because where it ends up is seamless and we get great insight on some of the steps that got it there. Followed by a conversation on how bands like Yes and The Beatles spliced different recordings together to build songs.

Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:

Valhalla Delay - https://valhalladsp.com/shop/delay/valhalladelay/

Arturia - https://www.arturia.com

Mu-Tron - https://mu-tron.com/vintage-musitronics/mu-tron-bi-phase/

Phaser Bi-Tron - https://www.arturia.com/products/software-effects/modulations-bundle/phaserbi-tron

Episode 3 takes place at Bopnique Studios in Laurel Canyon. This is the beginning of our collaboration with producer Anthony Resta and engineer Karyadi Sutedja on “Street Caviar”. As you will hear throughout this episode, sometimes their moves are subtle and sometimes they’re dramatic, but the sum equals magic.

They start by labeling sections of the song. Next, they listen to the “meat and potatoes” elements such as: vocals, drums, bass, and guitar. Muting and unmuting these instruments and others throughout this initial process helps them understand the format and basic landscape for the song. They then like to establish an understanding with the artist about which direction they’d like the song developed in, and what artists and songs they personally love. This is an important step in the process; To understand the artist’s ultimate goal so they can provide the right experience. “A lot of that happens even before recording. I’ll talk to the artist and find out what their favorite records are. What's really big out there now that you’re jealous of?” answers Anthony. Greg and Anthony have worked together for 20+ years so in the case of Electric Lecture, most of these influences and sonic goals are mutual from the beginning.

“We’ve been doing this so long, we can impress ourselves all day.” laughs Anthony and Karyadi. “But it’s not about us.” Says Anthony. “It’s about getting the artist to that next level that they’re trying to get to.”

Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:

iOptigan - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ioptigan/id1143470101

AKG 414 - https://www.akg.com/support/C414+B-ULS_.html

Reason - https://www.reasonstudios.com

MPC 3000 - https://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/mpc3000.php

In our second episode we get right into lyrics for the new song, yet to be named, “Street Caviar”. We start with some imagery driven lines and a general agreement to pursue the party vibe. Then fill in more meaningful undertones and start to uncover what our song will be about. The first half of this episode sums up what was close to 6 hours of writing for our second verse. This was one of those cases where the lyrics were on the tip of our tongue but we still had to labor for them. Everytime a new line comes, it charges us up to find the next.

Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:

Guild T-Bird - https://guildguitars.com/g/s-200-t-bird-in-antique-burst/

FATBEE - https://www.beetronicsfx.com/products/fatbee-overdrive

Boss SY-1 - https://www.boss.info/us/products/sy-1/

Electro Harmonix Soul Food - https://www.guitarcenter.com/Electro-Harmonix/Soul-Food-Overdrive-Guitar-Effects-Pedal-1385135781772.gc?cntry=us&source=4SOS0DRBA

AKG 414 - https://www.akg.com/support/C414+B-ULS_.html

In this first episode of the Electric Lecture podcast, we make quick with the introductions and get right into our first song, “Street Caviar.” With a final sum of over 100 hours spent on this song from inception, to the final mix; there’s endless things to discuss and reminisce on. What better place to start at than the beginning. In the case of “Street Caviar”, the beginning process was a little unconventional. It all started with the iPad app, iOptigan . After landing on a loop and finding the right tempo, we start adding elements like keyboard and guitar; still trying to find some inspiration and direction for the song. We try some funky guitar and even explore the “Motor Booty” patch on the Kurzweil PC3LE6 Keyboard before we decide to leave the funky mindset.

The session picks up steam when we decide to pursue a more Black Sabbath driven guitar part. Instead of Tony Iommi’s famous Gibson SG, we got our sound with one of our go to guitars, the Guild T-Bird and the FATBEE Overdrive pedal by Beetronix. After referencing John Frusciante, we find a more mellow guitar tone and continue to work the arrangement until we settle on our main guitar riff. A killer acoustic guitar part comes quickly for the verse and we find something playful and nostalgic sounding on the Kurzweil PC3LE6 that fits perfectly; it reminded us a little of Madonna.

We spend some time on tambourines, shakers, and bongos before we dive into some vocal melodies. After finding our melody for the pre chorus, Greg translates Bronson’s filler gibberish words into “I don’t listen” which we both immediately love. This sends Bronson into a story about the kid’s TV show, “Rocket Power”. The song gains a new dimension quickly when we add yet another iPad element, but still in the realm of nostalgia, the Omnichord. The app has hundreds of chords, great clean sound, and allows us to bypass some of the issues we run into with our actual Omnichord. A fun, groovy riff on the DanElectro 6 string bass leaves us with what becomes a very important melody to the song.