Icebox Records » Recording

Cough Cough Cough

Jason Cooley — Wed, 23 Apr 2003 17:18:27 +0000

Fucking sick again. This sucks. You know how it is, no need to explain.

May is going to be a busy month around here. Finishing up the School Bus ”Blue Button” CD, mixing some Kochalka tracks, finishing up the Kochalka album, preparing for the very first School Bus live performance (May 17, w/ Swale at Radio Bean), Kochalka gig opening for Mike Watt (May 3, Higher Ground), tooth extraction (May 16), and finally, picking up Led LO/CO at the airport (always a fun job) and driving them to their marathon gigs at Red Square (May 9) and Nectar’s (May 24).

James Kochalka depicts me in his comics as a dog with a robot brain. When we went to Oklahoma last year (which has become the subject of a tune on ”Blue Button”) we were presented by a girlie named Heather Peanut with sculptures of our characters. Thanks, Heather.

Breakthrough

Jason Cooley — Thu, 10 Apr 2003 02:23:15 +0000

So I had sort of a breakthrough yesterday, with the music stuff. I was getting pretty depressed about how things were going, but now I’ve tripped over some ideas and they sound good. I even think they can be performed live. I woke up this morning sure that it sucked, but I’m listening to it now and it’s still good. I’m all eager to keep going, but unfortunately I have to work all day and night…11:30 am to 11:00 pm. What timing.

Daniel Johnston is playing tomorrow night…I wonder what that’s gonna be like.

The GLC (this is how I do it)

Jason Cooley — Wed, 09 Apr 2003 02:20:23 +0000

Instrument>sampler>multiple delay boxes>4 track tape recorder>live stereo mix>computer. Then I sit there and move the mouse around for a while. What do I get? Music. Today I rubbed a wine glass and got some pretty noise.

So…a week ago I got a ‘get well’ card from “The GLC”. Wasn’t sure what to make of it, butnow I’ve gotten email correspondence from them as well. Turns out GLC stands for “Girls Love Cooley” (I thought it was “Good Luck Club”). I’m down with it. Random anonymous adoration is cool in my book, and just what I need, in fact. Too bad I’ll probably never get to meet them, though, cause you know, Cooley loves girls, too.

Werk

Jason Cooley — Sat, 05 Apr 2003 02:04:36 +0000

It can be be so fucking hard to make myself do something. I’m trying to force myself to go downstairs and start work on something musical, but it ain’t happening. What the fuck is wrong with me? Once I’m there doing it it’s no problem. But right now, thinking about makes me sluggish and lazy. I want to finish this CD. Why don’t I? I got a new delay box yesterday, top of the line. Don’t I wannna use it? And what’s with all those unfinished squares in my room? Shouldn’t there have been at least twice as much done by now?

This new Manitoba “Up In Flames” CD is both inspiring me and making me want to abandon everything musically. It’s that good. Mmm.

Okay, here I go.

Bloody mouth

Jason Cooley — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 13:33:41 +0000

There’s a soaked little piece of paper towel stuck in my cheek right now. Why? It’s protecting my tongue from the jagged edge of my now-fillingless tooth. I was eating some nice chicken curry yesterday at work when BOOP hey, there’s a fucking hole in my tooth! I freaked for a while, not believing it had happened, and I’m seeing a dentist tomorrow and now I’m freaking about that. Fuck.

You can tell I’ve been making progress on the new CD because my room hasn’t gotten any cleaner.

Bloody hell

Jason Cooley — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 13:26:14 +0000

This here’s a scene from this afternoon that we (me and Eric) haven’t seen since the latter, white-trash, ambulance/police car/firetruck three-times-a-week-needing nextdoor neighbor days of 34 School St…tho, there weren’t the usual screaming sirens this time…maybe they run things different over here on the south side of town…

I’m at that phase when I’m doing something where I’ll scribble lots of meaningless ideas into a notebook (“shorten…listen to older demo, take out hiss, add strings, re-record, feed piano-loop thru delay pedals, build on melody, backwards ebow, equalize drum track”) until some of them make sense/or appeal to me. Then it’ll take weeks or months to force myself to actually sit down and execute them. I got 5 minutes of basic tracking done. Yee fuckin haw, man.

Pow! Wood Pussy!

Eric Olsen — Sat, 22 Mar 2003 00:53:25 +0000

Sure, take it as it comes. Take a picture. Remember the moment you laughed hardest today, then take it with you.

It rains as we bomb. What a glorious morning, I’m happy again. (Ah, Debbie Reynolds coming back to mind … it’s been a week, lovely.) So we started playing again, this formation once known as POW, soon to be known as … something else. Any ideas? How does Wood Pussy sound to you (it’s archaic for skunk)? Or Black Beauty? Let us know what you think.

No matter. I really have nothing to say. Just wanted to put up this picture of Jason blowing a dusty trombone. What a setta …

earshot, side 1

Jason Cooley — Fri, 21 Mar 2003 00:51:31 +0000

This is the scene in my room last night as I began work on the next School Bus CD3, tentatively titled “Earshot, Side 1″. It’s the first side of a whole album…maybe it’ll turn into a double or a triple album, I don’t know. But you’ll be getting one side at a time, then maybe a box-set. It’s a little noisy so far, with the usual 70’s funk breaks. I was at work yesterday and it was dead, so I started scrawling ideas down on a piece of paper and suddenly got super-psyched to start recording these ideas but of course these old guys came in and hung out for more than two hours, keeping me there all day…I was going fucking nuts, slowly losing whatever drive I had. I finally got home and commenced work, but by then it was too late. I was a little tired and it took me three hours to execute one three-minute idea. Actually, I guess that ain’t too bad. At least I got started.

JF and the 2 Dumbfucks

Eric Olsen — Tue, 11 Mar 2003 23:59:22 +0000

Jeremy Fredrick, drummer extraordinaire and all around rhythm wizard, has just left the building. We’re recording some of his pieces for a CD3, and we’re very excited. Tonight, we recorded a caustic version of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Toccata from Gillepiana” … here’s some pics Jason snapped while behind the knobs.

CD done

Eric Olsen — Tue, 04 Mar 2003 17:19:18 +0000

Well, ok, fuck it. The CD3 is done, the album art is done (I guess), the cd art is being made today … now all that’s left is to get some semblance of my life back in order. My muscles ache and my lips are chapped so bad they’re bleeding. Took off the beard … what simplicity. Car won’t start, but fuck it, where’m I going to drive to anyway? Weather supposed to be warmer today, but it’s not looking too likely, what, with “feels like –15″ as the current outlook at 8:49am? Nah.

Then there’s the house … shambles. Chords everywhere, amps, MDs askew … underwear may as well be hanging from doorknobs all over the house. I’m going to clean the house and then buy a plane ticket to a Central American country that will remain nameless. Seriously. And although I won’t leave for a few weeks, I gotta get my Spanish on … feeling rusty.

Keep it simple, stupid. Coffee and yogurt, soup in the evening.