Ginkins Finding Emo
http://goodbyetimebomb.bandcamp.com
It was like a
million years ago but I still remember recording this EP somewhat.
Ginkins (jeen-kins) was my first real band and we'd done a demo
before hand that turned out pretty well. I was still attempting to
learn how to sing properly so that I could play live without a hitch.
Mike, the bass player, helped out a lot with this. I think I owe my
sense of melody to him. Definitely. Our drummer, John, was the
somewhat competent drummer rounding out our little circle.
The original idea
was to make a concept EP. Mike and I always joked about how they had
concept albums but never concept EPs. So I decided to make some of my
songs work within a framework of a concept. I got the idea about the
rise and fall of a hipster and that pretty much stuck. I don't think
the others knew exactly how it was going to go down but I had a loose
idea.
I was employed at
Jamba Juice right before recording and I remember that I had broken
my collar bone stage diving off of the Gothic's stage. Unbeknownst to
my drunken old self, the Gothic discourages such actions, so the
crowd just split like the red sea when I got up there... It sucked
but I got some great pain medications for my trouble.
So I lost my job
and Mike said he had saved up enough of his own personal money to
invest in the recording. I didn't realize it then but it was one of
the coolest things he's ever done for me. Well, I mean that aside
from him saving me from a few over doses... Ahem, anyhoos.
We had to practice
in short intervals because of my broken collar bone. It sucked but we
got the songs down enough to record them without any hitch really. I
called up Brian from Uneven Studios (and of Hot IQs and Accordion
Crimes) and set up a time for us to go over there and do it. I've
known Brian ever since I met the afro laden white guy at one of his
band shows. His reputation preceded him and we'd recorded our demo
with him. Once I get into a groove I like to stay comfortable to say
the least.
It was on a cold
December day that we packed our things and headed downtown toward the
studio. I was happy on my medication and I think I rode with John
there. When we convened over at Brian's place we set up in his living
room and he mic'ed us accordingly. My amp (a Peavy Supreme solid
state head with no name 4x10 cabinet) was mic'ed up and set in the
basement of the studio. Mike's bass was just a direct line into the
console. John was the only one with his instrument in the same room
as he was. We went through the songs a few times taking rough takes,
just enough to build click tracks for the songs we were about to
record.
What followed was
the genesis of Finding Emo.
Pay Day
This song is about
how your check is always gone before you even realize you had it. The
concept for the EP was that this was the song where the scenester had
a job to get money to go to the show. Recording it was a lot of fun
because it's just two chord progressions. It wasn't up until recently
that I really gave it much thought.
The pre-chorus
vocal was based on Mike's bass line. Originally I just kept on with
the verses up until the chorus. Mike added a little ska surf chord to
it and we just couldn't resist adding hand claps and random
percussion. The ending apparently switches keys within the key or
something like that... Mike said it was odd. People generally tell me
that my songs shouldn't work and that my choruses come out of no
where, but it works. So meh.
Java
This song has to be
the bounciest song ever written about date rape. The original demo of
this just had the verses with me shouting “Tie me up! I'll throw
up!” throughout the chorus. I came back to the song after Mike
salvaged it from older demos and I thought up a new chorus for it,
seeing as it was sort of bland considering my new-found skills at
making melodies work.
The song was
inspired by these two gay gays who lived next to me in Georgia. Mind
you that I was a virgin in every sense of the word up until about the
time I was twenty one or twenty two. So the idea of guys giving other
guys drugs for sex really scared me. Then again, so did taking off my
shirt in public...
Oh yeah, the guys
talked about drugging potential mates and I wrote a song about it.
The bass line is
what really makes this song. It took me forever to figure out Mike's
bass line for the chorus but it's doable I suppose, that's if I ever
have to show another bassist how to play it. What was cool about
Mike's lines were that they were melodic like something you'd hear in
a ska song.
The bridge in the
original just had me screaming “I was a boy and I never got saved!”
but for the EP I decided to sing it instead. However this worked out
well enough but Mike made me scream it again over the sung part.
In the concept of
the EP this is the song where the hipster goes out on the town.
Allie Hale did
backing vocals for the choruses. She took the melody in a different
direction and at first I didn't dig it. I do now though because it
just adds that much more to the song. That's if you can pick it out
in the mix. I think maybe there are a wee bit too many tracks on each
of these songs. However I like extra stuff so you can just suck it.
Metaphorically speaking of course.
You're Not Cool
This song was
written as a response to another song by a local band called The
Symptoms. I remember I went to one of their shows at the Larimer
Lounge and I was in obvious distress I would think. This is because
while I was in the cordoned off section of the bar for all agers, the
band was in the bar area getting their drink on. I promised myself
that I would never hide in the bar if I was playing an all ages show.
But of course I turned twenty one and the alcohol won over the morals
so... Anyways, the drummer, #3, came out and asked me if I was okay.
I told him that crowds just get to me and he smiled. When they played
their set they introduced one of the songs as being dedicated to me.
It was called Yr Cool. I just heard that part so I went home and
wrote “You're Not Cool” as a response. It wasn't until later that
I found out that the original song was written about a really cool
bartender. I was embarrassed but the song stuck.
Conceptually it's
about the hipster going to the show and feeling as if they were his
people. You're not cool and that's what's cool about you. That sort
of thing.
This one and Excuse
Me? Both have the most guitars in the album. The clean opening chords
were the scratch guitar. Once the drums kick in the verse is made up
of about two guitars in the first verse and three in the second
verse. This song has my favorite solo I think I've ever recorded just
because it gave it a total Nirvana vibe.
The second and
third choruses had Josh from The Symptoms singing during them. He's
also the guy who yells “Josh says you're cool so I'll take his word
for it!” What's funny is that we both have similar voices. I
remember Brian saying that Josh sounded like the rich kid and I was
the kid he was beating up. Mike also sings on this but it all still
sounds like me in the end...
One thing that I
like to do is make the guitars bigger as the songs progress. I'll
generally add two clean guitars and two or three distorted guitars
over that. It was hell mixing but it pays off in the end with the
over all sound I'd like to think.
Brag About Sex
Ok... I've had some
problems with sexuality before. Still do. I just think that it's best
enjoyed by sexy jocks and submissive females but I've grown to rely
on it myself. The original song was about how people, like my
drummer, brag about sex. I'm sure he was quite the man whore but I
just didn't want to be the one dripping wet or... Actually where am I
going with this? Eew...
The riff is as old
as me playing guitar and I remember I had an old guitar demo of it.
Once John added the opening drum beats it became a real song.
Conceptually it's about how the hipster is now a full blown hipster.
Hurray!
The second verse
was a jibe at the scene crowd. But the animosity sort of receded as
the years progressed. Nothing big anymore really. It's almost
embarrassing to listen to now. It was so paint by numbers punk. I
think I was trying to write a Pennywise sort of song to appease John.
He wanted a fast punk song and that's what I hope I gave him.
The bridge was done
by Mike. He also added the whoas in the end, I helped too but it was
him who really did it first. I'm just a follower. I was happy that I
could actually sing the part to be honest. I don't do a lot of my own
back up vocals because me harmonizing with myself sounds like a
chipmunks record.
Save Me
This song was
written on the spot when I still had about two or three hours before
Mike and John would be at the studio. I stayed the night with Brian
and once we woke up I wanted to make the most of our time together so
I just did the entire thing acoustic and added the electric guitar
later. The vocals were the hardest to record. At least at the time it
was a hard song to sing. I really want to redo the vocals but then
again if you went back to make everything you've ever done perfect
then you'd never get anything done. At least I suppose that's how
normal people do it.
The beginning tisk
is not a drum or cymbal but is actually me opening up a can of PBR
before I had to do vocals. It just aligned perfectly so we kept it.
Please don't get
mad about the Tears for Fears bridge. I know it's like that. It just
came out the way it did. So we did what any other plagerizing
entrepreneur would do. We added background vocals.
The song is about
the many times Mike had saved me from myself. It's hard to listen to
now because it just makes me feel so damn guilty. For the EP it's
mostly about the hipster having second thoughts.
Excuse Me?
This was a fun song
to play live. Mainly because I could always sing it just like the
recording. There has to be more than eight guitars on this song if I
remember correctly. Mike did the first verse oddity while Allie Hale
did the first pre-chorus, second verse, and third pre-chorus. She was
awesome because she just gave the song a perfect creepiness. Josh B.
sung the third verse, the same guy as in You're Not Cool.
The guitar solo at
the end is actually two guitars just going at it at once. The song is
just a total mind fuck with head phones.
Idiot Colorado
This song is the
send off the hipster gives his people. The song means pretty much the
same thing personally as well. It was originally a Milkshakes song so
the song had an in-joke about being a scenester. However once we
recorded it as a full band it sort of gained a sadness to it. It's my
favorite song on the recording and Brian's too. We had like five
songs recorded and I wanted one more just because we had time. So I
thought of the Milkshakes song I had and John just went along with
it. It's the only song where I play bass, not very well, but I play
it on the song.
The bridge was just
awesome when we recorded it. We just kept layering on the vocals
until it had this huge whoa sound. Almost Offspring in some ways I'd
suppose. I think it's the strongest part of the EP.
Mike being Mike,
added the cool little solo at the end of the song. We had him just
keep playing for about five minutes and instead of us fading out we
added white noise that just clicks off. Just like this journal
article. It just clicks off...
