The Not Embarrassed Fanboy

It is completely evident, by now, that I am a bit abnormal. My interests don't seem to be inline with other 30 something males. A glowing example of this is my, relative, obsession with teen dramas. This was probably never as apparent as this Tuesday when I headed down to the Firebird to see a band I had limited interest in just because the lead singer, Taylor Momsen, is none other than Jenny Humphrey from one of my favorite shows Gossip Girl. As it turns out, she put on a helluva show and has a very powerful voice.



Judging by people's reaction when I say I like Gossip Girl, I know this is, apparently, socially unacceptable, but I am left wondering why. To me the fact that I like these teen dramas is about Nature verse Nurture, and what people do not realize is that is not an all-or-nothing proposition. The fact that I love boobs and soft skin is nature. The fact that I have never cheated on a girl is nurture. I was raised by my mother. It should stand to reason that I would have acquired a certain amount of feminine interests, one of them just happens to be teen dramas. Also, I would genuinely prefer to watch a Romantic Comedy than an Action flick. The reality is I am just man enough to admit it, to not be an embarrassed Fanboy.

My obsession with teen dramas started with My So Called Life, which is still probably the best show to ever air on public television. I was an avid fan of Dawson's Creek and Felecity, watched the OC, and now my DVR is set to record One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, and my favorite of them all Friday Night Lights. One of the things that is great about teen dramas is they have introduced me to a lot of great music. While I'd like to be super hip and trendy, standing on the cutting edge begging the world to follow me, I am not. I like what I like, and I have never been concerned with being the first to discover the "newest" thing because frankly a lot of those new, pretty, things suck. Once the shine of newness has faded the world realizes it made a mistake. Here is a video recap of some of my best discoveries.

Of course My So Called Life, besides being the best show ever, launched the career of Jared Leto. The heartthrob who I actually couldn't stand, dude was always breaking my girl's heart. That, by the way, is a learned behavior. But now he fronts 30 Seconds to Mars. All that started right here:



Probably my best discovery was Death Cab for Cutie on the OC. I had been hearing that name for years, but I honestly thought it was some thrash band or something, until this episode.

Sorry it won't let me embed it. Watch the clip HERE.

The One Tree Hill has been great about bringing new artists on the show and even launching careers of cast members.

I still love the Wreckers.



While I cannot give One Tree Hill credit for introducing me to Kate Voegele, as I had been following her on MySpace for quite sometime, what the show did to launch her career was really cool.

Again, no embedding. Watch HERE.

And my most recent favorite who I actually got to see at Off Broadway and will be playing at the Firebird in April, Wakey! Wakey!

Favorite Track - Felt Not Seen

Well, we finally made it. If you stuck with me through the review of my two solo CDs, the two EKe CDs, and the Whiskey Daydream CD, thanks! I am sure you are as tired of reading about my CDs, as I am of writing about them, but once I start something, I like to finish, and So Much Closer, Felt Not Seen, is a great finish.


This band has really brought me full circle. Whiskey Daydream was so deliberate, like I was obsessed with presenting an Alt-Country / Country-Rock sound, and while I love that genre and think my writing often falls there naturally, it is very limiting. With So Much Closer I am back to being stoked to have great musicians that want to play with me, and whatever happens happens. As a result defining our genre is damn near impossible. On Thursday we played with an awesome band from Nashville called The Compromise. We were chatting with their bass player, Adam, after our set, and he could not categorize it, "I kept thinking, what genre is this...it's good, but what genre." We have the same struggle, and I think we are okay with that.


Every band ends up having a defining member. I think most assume it is the singer, but that is a rarity. I defined EKe version 1, we switched just about every player at one time or another, and we still sounded, about, the same. EKe v2, once Scott Allen joined the band, is a totally different story. If Scott had never left the band, I may be still in EKe, but once he left, to me, it could no longer be called EKe because his presence was the dominant force. The same could be said of Brian Ruby in Whiskey Daydream. Once he left the band, Woody and I continued to play as a duo, but it was no longer Whiskey Daydream, same songs but a different entity had been formed. What is unique about So Much Closer is our defining member is the collective. Our drummer Patrick Enright, our multi-instrumentalist Patrick Swan, our bassist Chris Logan, and I all have very defined voices, and when all are singing it harmony it creates So Much Closer.

What Patrick brings to the kit is the complete opposite of what Woody brought to Whiskey Daydream. In all the bands I have been in I have never played with a drummer that was so calculated. He is never content to play the same beat and is busier than a squirrel preparing for winter. In his absence it would no longer be So Much Closer. The songs can stand on their own, but we would have to change the name because they would not sound the same. The same could be said of Swan. I would have to find someone that could play guitar, keys, and trumpet, plus breakout some of the most amazing harmonies these ears have ever heard, not likely to happen. Logan, well Logan is a rock. He, like me, isn't a schooled musician, but in a bassist I want feel, and that is what he brings. Plus his personality is so hysterical that he makes every event fun.

For these reasons, my favorite track off of Felt Not Seen is "Felt Not Seen." It is the only track in this seven CD series that was co-written. Swan provided the guitar melody, I contributed lyrics and vocals, and the collective developed the structure and defined the dynamics. Enjoy!

Felt Not Seen by So Much Closer by SoMuchCloser

Lyrics:

Man made fingers
Stretch towards heaven
They fold in prayer
Laser lights of lives in transit
Live in Transit

A waterfall of reds and yellows
Christmas’ kissing Easter’s Peep
Forming Halloween’s smile
It jack-o-lantern smile

Just a bridge it was a simple bridge
Taking me home momma taking me
Just a bridge it was a simple bridge
Taking me home
Da-da-dah-dow

Above a birdless midnight sky
Descends at eye sight’s edge
This moment a Trinity
Material, Motion, and Miracle

Material the Son
Born to provide passage
Carrier of souls
Receiver of prayers

Just a bridge it was a simple bridge
Taking me home momma taking me
Just a bridge it was a simple bridge
Taking me home
Da-da-dah-dow

Motion the Great Ghost
Trails of energy felt not seen
Omnipresent chill giver
Breath stealer

Miracle the Father
Provider of Physical Laws
Creator of motion
Creator of material

Just a bridge it was a simple bridge
Taking me home momma taking me
Just a bridge it was a simple bridge
Taking me home
Da-da-dah-dow

Inside Cover:



Back Cover:

Favorite Track - Whiskey Daydream

Whiskey Daydream is very special to me, not just because it represented a genre shift or because it was the first time that I formed a band with friends or the immediate success we had...Whiskey Daydream was deliberate. Previously I would find people willing to play with me, and whatever happened happened, but not Whiskey Daydream.

Throughout EKe I was drawing my influence largely from Edwin McCain, Duncan Sheik, and people I knew, like Rob Woerther. However, towards the end of EKe my influence had shifted to Ryan Adams, Son Volt, and Drive by Truckers. You could hear it in songs like "Monday Morning" and "Restless Sheets," so when Scott left the band in 2005, and it slowly morphed into something that was no longer EKe, I called it quits. A couple months later, when I was ready to start a new project, I went into it knowing I wanted to create an Alt-Country band, and I did.

Whiskey Daydream was formed in November of 2005 and ended in June of 2007. It was short lived but powerful. We were nominated for the Best Americana Band in St. Louis by KDHK and Playback:STL. We got second place in the Battle for the Ark which helped us fund this CD, and played a LOT of shows, going as far north as Michigan, holding residency at Ten Mile House and made a second home at Off Broadway. It featured Corey "Woody" Woodruff on drums, Brian Ruby on leads, and Benjamin Ash on anything we asked him to play (primarily bass).

I knew going into this week that I could not pick one song. I just love this CD too much, so what I have selected are the 2 songs that were really the catalyst for the creation of Whiskey Daydream. The songs that once written made me realize I was operating from a different place, and I needed to embrace it.

"Whiskey Days" Is pretty straight forward Country Rock. We brought in the amazing Scott Schwartz to lay some Pedal Steel, featured my acoustic, and a tasty country-clean lead by Ruby. Brian's fingers spoke country and blues, and his voice is very distinct on this track. The laid-back brushed beat of Woody's drums still makes me smile. I had spent years with super busy drummers, so to work with someone that allowed the song to breathe and grow was so refreshing. And you can never say enough about a solid bass player. Although Benjamin could literally play anything, he was a terrific bass player, just super solid.

Whiskey Days by Whiskey Daydream by SoMuchCloser

Lyrics:

Dirt road, Grandma’s house
Gravel drive and the tall cattails
That’s me on the motorbike
Grandpa waving me home

Those are days when lightning warned of thunder
And rain clouds meant it was time to play
Before these whiskey days

Left my summers in the Hot Springs
Flew north to the dirty city
Skateboard wheels carving fresh asphalt
Remember how the girls were so innocent and pretty

Those are days when lightning warned of thunder
And rain clouds meant it was time to play
Before these whiskey days

Trapped inside 4 walls
And the window is crying
The bottles empty turned over
And I know you’re not coming back this time
All I have left is your picture,
And the edges have faded
Take a step outside
Let the rain kiss my forehead
Turn your picture over
Gonna rely on memory instead

My last offering to you is the other song that made me realize I had moved beyond EKe. While "Whiskey Days" was more Country-Rock, I think "Layover in Louisville" lands in the Alt-Country category. What I love about this song is not the song itself, but the recording. The dynamic shifts are powerful, Brian's lead is probably the most aggressive and eager lead that has ever been on one of my CDs, we worked the feedback like a ghost violin, Benjamin and I using a cheap keyboard and two Pods where able to create one of the best B3 sounds I have heard recorded, and while all this cacophony was developing, Woody was content to lay back and let it flourish rather than over power it. For those of you that know Woody from his time with Alvin Jett and Phat Noiz or The Lucky Old Sons or All Roostered Up, know what an incredibly sick drummer he is, part of that is his ability to hold back and then explode when the moment calls for it. He is kind of like a suicide bomber; he is the quiet neighbor that you would never expect to display that kind of behavior, and then one day...BOOM!

Layover In Louisville by Whiskey Daydream by SoMuchCloser

Layover in Louisville

The dance halls are empty tonight
Like my glass of whiskey
Lay my head on the dusty counter
‘Cause the bartender’s nowhere to be found

On a Layover in Louisville
And I’m 300 miles from somewhere
On a Layover in Louisville
Feels like I’m headed nowhere

The sound of Whiskey River;
Its urgency lifts my traveled head
The Mark burns just a little
And my glass is half empty again

On a Layover in Louisville
And I’m 300 miles from somewhere
On a Layover in Louisville
Feels like I’m headed nowhere

I take my last swallow
Let the Whiskey go down slow
I pour myself into 15D,
And I wake-up home

Under Tray, Whiskey Daydream Logo:



Back of CD:

Favorite Track - the reality of monday morning

Alright, quick recap. You have caught me in the middle of a blog series based on my favorite track(s) from each CD I have recorded. Caught may not be the best word, it is not like my hand is deep in the cookie jar with only my elbow exposed as I fish out the last chocolate chip. Of course maybe it is worse, blog after blog of me talking about songs I have written and why I like them, could I be more of an egocentric prick? Possibly, but for a quick refresher, this is how all THIS got started.

It wasn't me, someone asked.


the reality of monday morning was very much a pinnacle yet transitional CD for me. It was the last CD EKe would ever record, but by many opinions the best CD I have ever recorded. It sold the most units, was the most favorably reviewed, received the most radio play...heck it even landed me my first gig at Mississippi Nights, a venue I had been trying to play since I moved to St. Louis.

I will never forget that call. I had recently sent press kits to every venue, radio station, and magazine in the area. I was sitting at my desk on a lunch break and my cell went off. I answered. On the other end I heard, "Hey this is Tim Weber (I may have pissed myself at that moment) from Mississippi Night." In my head I was screaming fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck it's Tim Fuckin' Weber - I cuss a lot when I am in shock. You have to understand this was my forth CD, and I had sent him everyone. My ex even walked Lost Angel into his office. I didn't think I would ever get this call. "Man, I have to tell you I NEVER do this, but I really like this CD, and I would like to set-up a show for you here."

This CD, the reality of monday morning, featured EKe v2.3. We were on our 3rd bass player, Mat Haynes, second drummer, Brian Sigmund (former percussionist), and had switched from guitar/keys to a dual guitar format with the leads being held down by Scott Allen, and Scott changed everything. He was (is) amazing. He played with soul and texture, and when required he would kill a lead. We became more jammy and somewhat Southern Rock. This was also the first CD without Rob Woerther. I decided it was time to move to a big boy studio, so we went to Smith Lee to track and the Double J Ranch for vocals and overdubs. John John engineered and produced the CD.



When I was going over the tracks on this CD, I immediately knew what my favorite track was. Although I love them all, "Been Down" had to be the pick.

Been Down by EKe by SoMuchCloser

"Been Down" received more radio play then any other song I have recorded. We were working with a radio promotion company at the time, and received lots of international play, as well as regional and local play. I know this sounds very David hasselhoff, "I am huge in Germany," but "Been Down" was actually the most requested song 2 weeks in a row on a small station out of Perth, Australia. I've always assumed they thought Been Down was like Down Under, but whatever. It was a cool feeling.

The song is actually about a movie I saw in 7th grade, The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Something about that movie stuck with me, so I wrote the song from the perspective of one of the victims. The story teller is outside himself watching the events occur. I let the girl get away.

Been Down

Intoxicated ignorance on a catfish Friday
There’s lovers in the parking lot calling his name
Bodies gyrate beneath my cherry glow
Beneath my cherry glow

There’s a cross swingin’ from the rearview
Tornado siren across the lion wind
Energy in the air but Momma I’m still alone
Oh Momma I’m still alone

Been down so long, oh my Momma
I’ve been down Momma, I’ve been down
Been down where the grass don’t grow no more
I’ve been down Momma, I’ve been down

Wet steal tapping glass
The crucifix pauses for a moment
He looks in and she looks up
Yes she looks up

Her torn dress disappears into night
There’s fire and lead across Emmanuel sky
My head it burns, I’ve got scarlet stains
I’ve got scarlet stains

Been down so long, oh my Momma
I’ve been down Momma, I’ve been down
Been down where the grass don’t grow no more
I’ve been down Momma, I’ve been down

There is another song that I really wanted to share. It was the closing track, "Time Disappears." By itself is a great song. It has timing shifts, a solid groove, and probably the best all out jam on the album. What it also has is a back-end hidden track. That is kind of a signature trick for me. I really like to hide tunes so those that are really listening get a little gift. What is so special about this hidden track is it was completely improvised. The band didn't even know we were going to do something. When they thought we were done tracking. I told them to throw a groove,and I would make up lyrics over it thanking all the people that had been supporting us. All I had was a list of the names of people we wanted to thank. To come off the cuff with music and lyrics and have it actually work is pretty damn impressive. It is long, so grab a beer, and give it a spin.

Time Disappears...Surprise Jam by EKe by SoMuchCloser