And now for something completely different.
The reason it’s completely different is because it’s not at all what I set out to do. There are no mistakes, only happy accidents, as Bob Ross used to say.
My intention was to do a pretty straightforward version of Bruce Springsteen’s rocker “Sherry Darling,” only slightly countrified with a lap steel & harmonica. I laid down the rhythm track and all was well. In fact, I got it in one take with nary an error– that never happens.
Same with the lap steel part. So far so good.
All I had left was the vocal & harmonica. Vocal first, and then the harp to punctuate. I set up the mic, cued up the track and —
Ah crap. This song is nowhere near a key I can touch. I mean, I can’t even fake it. Even if I were to autotune– which I have NEVER EVER done, and never will– well, as I understand it you’ve got to get at least close for it to work. The best I could muster was worse than karaoke night in the student center at Galaudet. Guess I should have run through it at least once before recording…
Ok, let’s punt. I lay down a spoken track just for the rhythm; come back and deal with it later. Harp time.
I reached for my box-o-harmonicas so I could mimic Clarence Clemons’ saxophone part. Uh oh. The only two hambos suited for the key of F are pretty much the only two I don’t have. So I after testing a few, I select a basic Hohner Marine Band in C (like the Boss used on Nebraska, natch) and modified the part to be more free-flowing.
While playing the harp part a few times, I noticed that the spoken vocal…is kinda cool. Kinda Tom Waits. Just needs a little more character.
I redid the vocal, knowing that I could no more sound like Tom Waits than I could Springsteen. Instead of using a vocal mic, I used the Green Bullet that gives the harmonica a dirty, bluesy sound. Somehow a character emerged in my head as soon as I started– it was only during playback that I figured out I was kinda channeling Ralph Kramden being played by Clint Eastwood, as coached by Jack Nicholson.
This was incredibly tough to mix, and in the end I wish I could boost the vocal over the harmonica a bit better. Next time.
That’s the story of the happy accident which sounds very little like its progenitor. You may find it weird, but I rather like it. That’s true of a lot of things.
Say Hey Hey, what do you say?
Instruments used in this recording:
- Rhythm ukulele: Luna concert ukulele with compressor pedal
- Lap steel: homemade 3-string blue/gold cigar box guitar with brass slide
- Harmonica: Hohner Special 20 Marine Band (key of C) through Shure "Green Bullet" mic
