What The World Needs Now!

I'm happy to announce that work has commenced on my next "album": Tone X - the sound of love..

The world is in need of some love, and I'm gonna try to do my part in spreading the word. It's another concept album, as was my first album - I Am Atomic Man!. The reason being is that as a limited songwriter, I need....focus and boundaries, or I would just sit there wondering what the hell I was going to write about.

After the last Loud Family tour, I was determined to do a solo album at home, on very low rent equipment. I was talking this over with Stacey, and after I confessed to her that I had no idea what to write about, she smartly (as expected) suggested that I write about a subject I know about and enjoy. Well, I love 50's pulp science fiction and that opened the door in a grand way. (funny, though - take away the sci-fi decorations and what I ended up writing about was basically my inner demons and experiences!) Regardless, it was the perfect solution.

For this one, I got the germ of the idea from my friends Bradley and Gina, asking if I would be interested in maybe coming up with a song or two for their after-wedding party. Thrilled, I went for it! I had a couple musical ideas floating around in my head, and now I had the subject matter!

The lyrics came quickly, I practiced the 2 songs for weeks, and very nervously, actually performed them solo at the bash. That was a huge accomplishment for me. Never in my life had I done such a thing! It went over pretty well (of course it helped that the audience were mostly friends). I still can't believe that I actually did it.

The next idea that I came upon was a title for the next album. Not too long ago, I asked Mitch Easter what was responsible for that very groovy, buzzy and distorted bass sound the Rolling Stones used so much on their earlier albums. He mentioned that early Vox bass amps actually had a "Tone X" knob that was more or less a distortion control. I immediately fell in love with the phrase, and I'm pretty sure that I mentioned to Stacey later that night, that "Tone X" had to be the name of my next album. It's just awesome on so many levels!

It wasn't long after that, that I realized I already had 2 songs about Love already written, so I merged the two concepts together and came up with the present title. I also have a third tune (lyric-less) recorded, so I feel I'm on my way !

I plan to write about my recording struggles as I progress. I also will be providing a couple of...crude multi-media examples of the experience. Please stay tuned.