Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

[tag]Jason Peri[/tag] made the six hours-and-change drive from the Southern California city of Diamond Bar to play at Listen & Be Heard?s Poetry Caf? on the afternoon of August 12. He performed on guitar and vocals with a trio comprised of Folsom?s John Colter on cajon and some guy named Tilton on harmonica, guitar, udu, and vocals. Among the songs was an original titled ?Vegas Baby? from his just-released and [tag]remixed solo CD[/tag] [tag]Raw Blue Energy[/tag] on his Newhatrecords label.

A few days later, Jason was kind enough to answer a few questions about recording, remixing, backlogs, and beer. His responses are presented below and offer an interactive review of the above-mentioned CD, from artist to listener.

LISTEN & BE HEARD: Raw Blue Energy was released in 2001 and you released a remixed version of it five years later. What are the differences between the two versions?

JASON PERI: The desire to do a remix came from my hatred for the drums on the album. I just wanted to redo all the drum parts, which were electronic, so it just needed some computer editing. Well, as I went along, I found other things that I thought I could improve upon. So, I ended up with new drums, as well as some new guitar, organ, vocals and bass parts. I even threw in a bonus track called ?Hiding in the Dark.?

L&BH: Is the remixed version going to be the only way to hear this music or will you be offering both versions at your website?

JP: I am only offering the new version. I think of the original version as a demo. But, anything can happen. We?ll see.

L&BH: Let?s go back to ground zero. Tell us about how these songs originated and how the CD took shape.

JP: I wanted to do an album of songs that had basically the same instrumentation, which is contrary to the way I usually do things. I had a few songs at the time that were kind of bluesy and jazzy, as well as some progressive rock stuff. I felt they would work well together if they were produced in similar fashion. I don?t recall which songs (if any) were written specifically for the album. It is more likely that the songs were gathered from my backlog of tunes, and recorded to fit the project. I had planned to put a band together to play the songs live. Unfortunately, the band never came to be.

L&BH: The song ?Senses? was written with Donny McCleary. Which parts of the song were written by him and which parts were yours?

JP: For the most part I wrote the music and Donny wrote the lyrics. I don?t remember which came first.

L&BH: Do you approach your projects with a particular ?sound? at the beginning of the process?

JP: Usually. However, I have a huge backlog of material. Sometimes an album project starts the way RBE started, by collecting songs that haven?t been recorded yet, and putting them together. Other times I?ll spend a day writing songs in a particular style. They become part of a new album project and define the style of the album. I bought a new acoustic guitar recently. When I got home, I opened the case and pulled out the guitar. I played a few chords and had a new song five minutes later. By the end of the evening I had a dozen or so new songs that all fit together nicely with a light jazzy sound. I?ll be recording the songs in the next few months, I hope.

L&BH: Your guitar sound on Raw Blue Energy is [tag]reminiscent of mid-1970s rock[/tag]. Did you intentionally pattern it after someone in particular?

JP: I don?t think so. It?s probably a combination of a lot of guys. (Richie) Blackmore, (Jimmy) Page, (David) Gilmour…I just wanted a big sound with lots of distortion and echo.

L&BH: What was the most difficult aspect of the recording process for this CD?

JP: Definitely the drums. Using drum samples instead of a real drummer is always tricky. An unnatural drum track seems to always be the first thing to draw scrutiny. So, rather than keeping the drums simple, I made them complicated. I even had drum solos. What was I thinking? Anyway, as I said earlier, the drums were the main reason for re-doing the album in the first place. So, I simplified the parts and went through everything with a fine tooth comb. I?m pleased with the way it turned out. I?m sure there are still people who will say they can tell it?s not a real drummer. For most, I think the overall songwriting, performance and production will be the focus.

L&BH: What was the easiest part?

JP: The bass. Only four strings, and only one note at a time.

L&BH: How does this CD compare to your other solo recordings?

JP: This album is probably my heaviest in terms of rockin? energy. My recent album, [tag]The Threshold of Yesterday[/tag], had a sixties pop/rock theme. It was lighter and happier. Most of the work I?ve done with The Seventh Triangle tends to be more jazzy with a lot of variety in instrumentation. Other solo recordings include orchestral tracks I recorded for various films. There were also those Electronic Impressionist Jazz recordings I did in the nineties, such as Please Pass The Jazz and Drastic Measures. Those were more of a jazz-fusion/classical style.

L&BH: Do you have any plans to remix any of them?

JP: I do. Sounds Like Heaven is a jazzy pop album that I recorded in the late nineties. It is currently unavailable, but I want to release a remix because I know I can make it sound a lot better with the technology I have now. Also, it has some of my favorite songs. ?El Dorado Hills,? ?Betty,? and ?An Epitaph for Love? are my top three. Of course, the title track still gives me goose bumps when I hear it. I wrote the song with my good friend, Bruce Thiessen. He had some lyrics that paid tribute to The Beatles and the release of ?Free as a Bird? from ?The Beatles Anthology.? I wrote the music to have a Beatle-ish sound. I hope to have the new version of the album finished by mid 2007.

L&BH: One more question: the song ?Vegas Baby? mentions ?lots and lots of free beer.? Are you allowed to tell us where to go for it?

JP: I think most casinos give free drinks to people who are gambling (a smart business strategy). I?m not much of a gambler, nor am I a big drinker. But when I?m in Las Vegas, I am both. I?ve noticed it?s not easy to find a cocktail waitress when you?re playing the nickel slots. So, my ?how to succeed in Vegas? tip would have to be this: play the quarter slots until you get your drink. Then you can go back to the nickel machines and enjoy a slower, more relaxed road to bankruptcy.

For ordering and additional information, visit www.newhatrecords.com.

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