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Mar 23 2011
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My Music

Bass Looping Pedal Video (brought to you by Moonwalking Stormtrooper)

I’ve been seeing a lot of videos of looping pedals over the past few months and they are…well they are just awesome.  So naturally, I thought that Source Audio could benefit from jumping on the fun by putting out a video of our own.

Fortunately, by virtue of the bass effects themselves the video stands out at least somewhat from the rest of the bass looping pedal videos out there.  I wanted to make it as unique as I could, so I also avoided the really rhythmic slap happy funk route that sounds great, but is really too common to need my contribution.  They’ve got it covered…not to mention, that wouldn’t really be doing my job of making the pedals sound good.

That doesn’t stop me from doing that on my own time though.

For example, check out this dude who is killing it on his Fodera:

So with the big distortion tones of the Multiwave, I went the Ratatat route and came out with this song.  I thought that it sounded decent as it is, but liked it a lot more when I reversed the loop.

The nice thing about this particular video is that it’s essentially pure improvisation.  All of the other videos have involved writing the bass lines before recording them and then it’s a matter of choosing the best take.  Watching this video back, I can see myself making up music as I go along and it’s very easy for me to get back into that head space while watching myself improvise…and that’s one of my favorite moods to be in.

Hope you like it!

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Jan 31 2011
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My Music

‘South Hero’ A Song For Vermont

I decided to just go ahead and lay down an acoustic performance of a song I’ve been kicking around the last couple of weeks.  Just ship it out and see how it does.

This song is called ‘South Hero’ and it is an expression of how living in the city sometimes makes me feel like I’m compromising on all of the things that used to be so important to me.  Now it’s all about keeping up and trying to navigate through the noise.

The chorus is a fantasy of Vermont.  Where I’ve been going with my girlfriend Alyssa these past two summers to just be the way I used to be, want to be and am supposed to be.  Every time I play this song, I’m singing to her.

The lyrics:

South Hero

This town is holding on to me.

It brings me down to compromise

on all my plans I’ve held since I was just a starlit night

in my father’s eyes.

But city lights, they burn right through the sky

on every night when the stars should shine.

I’ve closed my eyes to hide from all the signs.

They list a price, they steal my mind.


So I’ve been thinking…

Our hearts are waiting on us to make up our minds.

Let’s get out, just get out

While we’ve got time

Let’s run, baby…

Run for the hills

The wind will take us to our better selves.

Lay me down in those fields

where the clouds we name are the only thing that’s real.


Your soul is tired ’cause work takes everything

you used to have to feel alive.

Walk for miles through suits and heels and noise

to pay the price of what you can’t enjoy.


So I’ve been thinking…

Our hearts are waiting on us to make up our minds.

Let’s get out, just get out

While we’ve got time.


Let’s run, baby…

Run for the hills

The wind will take us to our better selves.

Lay me down in those fields

where the love we make is the only thing that’s real.

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Sep 24 2010
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My Music

Working on vocal melodies and my voice

The Hum (instrumental) by willcady

This track is the instrumental version of one of my most recent songs that I am working on.  The song is called ‘The Hum’ and it is about that deepest, most central part of who we are that cannot be described.  The lyrics:

Every day he wakes up and he fights,

trying to control his world

But all of his tricks just fail.

As he builds a past, his mirror asks

Who are you right now?

He never knows…

just stares into his eyes until he

hears it in him, breathing through him

The Hum that calls him back

‘What are you fighting for?

Who are you living for?’

(Hmmmmmmmmmm)

The girl she waits until her moment’s right

Then she’s gonna start her life

She never seems to find the time

As the nights go past, her pillow asks

Who are you right now?

She never knows…

Just stares into the night until she

Hears it in her, breathing through her

The Hum that calls her back

‘What are you waiting for?

Who are you living for?’

(Hmmmmmmmmmm)

I use this track to practice my vocals and to write melodies with as I drive to and from work.  I’m not sure if the idea to do this came from my own mind or if I read it somewhere, but it’s nothing short of miraculous in that it seems to create practice time out of thin air.  The privacy of a car is so definite when you cruising down the highway at 80 mph.  It seems like a good idea to use that privacy for something other than picking my nose.

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Sep 24 2010
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My Music

Keeping a promise to myself

The gig at Source Audio is a fulfilling one.  Making pedal demos is nice because I get to showcase my bass playing in a way that is so isolated in comparison to how it’s heard in the context of a band and people are really noticing it.  The job keeps me moving around the world between Boston, Los Angeles, Nashville and Frankfurt allowing me to meet and build relationships with people who are literally the world’s best bass players and musicians.  The access I get to concerts is surreal.  I get to be right there at these shows where creative people are putting their ideas into action and the crowds are loving it.  I get to bear direct witness to the work and emotions of the people who are functioning at the level I have always wanted to be at.

The truth of the matter is, though, that every day I wake up and I feel that I’m not truly putting one foot in front of the other unless I am creating something from my heart…and most days I’m not.  When I was playing with The Help, I felt fulfilled because while I couldn’t always relate to or stand behind the lyrics and melodies and therefore the conceptual center of the work due to the fact that it originated from another mind (that of Alex Gaynor), I was able to write the most passionate blocks of music I could muster on a near daily basis and know that it would be received by a growing audience.  I was somehow squeezing my own story in there; channeling something from my heart, and that felt right.  What’s more, I knew that my band was a stepping stone to the rest of my career when my real expression would begin.

The end of The Help came in the way that most things end…after I could see it coming, but before I was ready for it.  My bass playing was where I wanted it to be because that’s what I’ve been leaning on for the past 11 years.  My songwriting was getting there, my guitar playing was solid but my voice needed a lot of work.  I loved the character of my voice, but I knew that I needed to sharpen my ability to maintain pitch and to get the breathing right and…to be able to sing with my voice like I can sing on my bass.  Mindless.  I just wasn’t ready to take the leap.

The point of this blog was to be completely utterly transparent about my artistic life and I have not kept that promise I made to myself (and to you, Internet).  The truth is, I’ve been keeping a lot hidden.  I’ve been writing my ass off this past year and I simply haven’t shared it because I have not felt ‘ready’.  Well, I’m still not ready, but it’s time share (or as Seth Godin would say, it’s time to ‘ship’).  The truth is, I could die tomorrow and what a shame it would be that I never got to share even a sliver of my conception of reality because I was just too embarrassed to put it out there.

Last week I debuted some songs that I’d written a while ago at what I consider my first open mic at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA.  There were times during the performance where I felt like I was blowing it and I wanted nothing more than to put my guitar down and run away.  Still, there were also times where I disappeared into the performance of my song.  Listening back to those moments, I can hear where it happens…where it all seems to click a little more and the crowd feels like they are with me.  Now I just need to grab that moment and make it bigger!  If it lasted 10 seconds last time, maybe I can make it last 30 seconds the next time until I can make it last the whole song…until I can make it last the whole show.

So here you are, my two songs from The Lizard Lounge open mic.  If you hear something I need to work on or something that you think is going well, please leave a comment and let me know.  A little guidance goes a long way for someone trying to figure it out on their own.

Jackies Song by willcady

Lullaby by willcady

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Jul 14 2010
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Music, My Music

Bass Wah Pedal Extravaganza

Made a new video with Source Audio.  Ickle-Picklestein got herself a little cameo in this one too.  Hope you enjoy!

This one is an all-bass Multitrack Videosong (a la Mystery Guitar Man or Pompaloose) that we filmed in my old apartment in Brighton.  There’s a decent chance of this music becoming a more developed song with vocals later on, but we’ll see about that…

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Apr 29 2010
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Music, My Music

Playing Jaco

‘Portrait of Tracy’ is a song that I learned back in high school during my independent studies.  I was very lucky to have a teacher who was willing to just shut me in a room and let me practice for half of the afternoon every day.

As for the song itself, those high ringing notes, the harmonics, are really what make it speak to me.  They truly expand the sonic scope of the bass to create this wide sound that is almost mystical in how soothing it can be.  If any bass players out there are interested in learning how to play harmonics on the bass, this is certainly the song to turn to.

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Apr 13 2010
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Music, My Music

Mailbag: Making a Living in Music

I woke up the other morning and saw that Mike Park sent me an email with a few questions about life as a musician.  Mike is on the path himself and I have to say I am deeply complimented that he thought to ask me for some advice.

I’m just getting started in this life of music so I am not so sure that I can offer any groundbreaking words of wisdom here.  However, I do know that there are a lot of us out there trying to figure out what to do with ourselves and it always helps to talk about it.  If you want to send me an email like Mike did, my address is:  willcady@gmail.com

It would be great to hear from you.

Mike wrote:

Hey Will,

I’ve been really thinking about majoring in music lately, but I wanted to get an “inside perspective” of things and I wanted to get that perspective from as many people as I can.  I’ve asked my best friend who is currently a freshman at William Patterson University in New Jersey as a Music major, as well as my guitar teacher, so I thought I’d also ask you.  I’ve just wondered what it takes to be successful as a musician.  I don’t mean like going to Hollywood and getting Rock Star status or anything, but just how life is like as a musician and stuff.  I’ve been really thinking of being a music teacher or a tutor while being part of a band on the side or something, much like my choir teacher from high school or my guitar teacher who tutored me.

Basically I guess I’ll just list the few questions:

1. How stressful can it get being a musician?  Is the payoff/good feeling from being a musician worth the stress?

2. What is the likelihood of making a modest living off of being a musician?

3. What are the things that producers really look for in an artist/band?

I love music and really want to do it, but I want to know what I’m getting myself into before I do.  I know I’m not the greatest musician or singer, and I also know that I’m not the worst, but I’m worried that if in the future I start a family I wouldn’t be able to support them with a career in music.  Thank you for your time :)

Sincerely,
Mike

So, to answer Mikes questions:

1.   I have found that being a musician means that I am solely responsible for the outcome of my career.  That’s either deeply terrifying or truly liberating, depending on which way the wind is blowing.  I have imagined myself as a songwriter, session player, music critic, stage performer and a few other things at different points in my life.  Regardless of the identity I want to call my own, making sure that I am good at what I do has always been on me and me alone.

The best way that I have learned to deal with the stress of it is to just create.  I can’t prove to anyone that I’m a songwriter if I can’t show them any songs.  I can’t call myself a session player if I haven’t made music with anyone else.  When the creating just isn’t happening, then it’s time to practice because it means I’m not good enough to pull off what I’m trying to do.  So is the payoff worth the stress?  Yes, because the stress comes from wanting the payoff.

2.  To make a living off being a musician, you’ve got to have your hands in a lot of different things.  Right now, I’ve got most of my eggs in one basket at Source Audio, but they are asking me to wear a lot of different hats.  Each responsibility I take on has everything to do with the fact that I am a musician.  Marketing and sales are skills I’ve developed marketing myself and The Help.  Writing and performing bass lines has been the core of my musicianship for years.  Sound engineering is something I’ve learned from recording myself and being in professional studios.  The concept of “artist relations” to me, is just making friends with people like me.  Explaining the details of the pedals feels no different from giving a private lesson, really.  All of these things are pretty unique skills, that I didn’t realize were valuable until someone started paying me for them.  As for the rest of my life, I can it all and apply it anywhere.

There are many ways to to make money from these skills being a musician gives you.  You can offer them to one or to many people who will pay you, depending on what opportunities are available to you but it’s going to be work and you have to be sure you want that.

Check out this article about The Black Eyed Peas

This is not a case of earning a modest living, but it’s worth thinking about.  They are making big money from the skills they accrued by being musicians on the world stage and there could be a trade off.  They are doing it in a way that, in certain respects, damages their ability to let their artistic message be heard.  “Hold on everyone, Will.i.am has something to say!  Oh no wait, he just wants me to buy a Coke”.  Maybe you don’t listen to him next time…or maybe if he never shilled for Coke, you’d have no idea who he was.

It’s a thin, thin line to walk making money as an artist so you must be very conscious of every step you take.  The important thing is to think about and act on what you want for your life and for your music and to also understand that they may be separate things.

3.  This is a question that I am not the best authority for.  I’m not there yet.  I can say this though:  People stop and listen to a unique voice so try to make sure there is a human in the music.

And make sure you have a great drummer.

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Apr 02 2010
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Music, My Music

Jamming with Reeves Gabrels of David Bowie

Just a couple of days ago, I returned home from lovely Frankfurt where I drank beer, ate sausages, conserved energy and talked too close to peoples faces just like the Germans do!  It was great.  I was there for Source Audio to show off the new line of pedals at Musikmesse, a stupidly massive international music instruments trade show.

I was parked in the Warwick booth and hitting the stage with Reeves Gabrels, an extremely proficient guitar player to say the least.  He’s had quite a strong career thus far and it was an honor to be sharing the stage (little as it may have been) with someone as accomplished as he.  He is best known as David Bowie’s guitar player of choice throughout the 90′s.  Here is a quick video of him and I doing our thing for Source Audio:

There are a few more videos of our jams and a whole lot more to check out at the Source Audio Blog.  Have a look!

So…Frankfurt was awesome.  The city itself presented a stunning portrayal of old and modern side by side.  I had the best beer of my life in the bar district of Sachsenhausen, a place you simply need to go when you visit (no matter how touristy it supposedly is).  The beer in question, by the way, was a Franciscana…brewed by monks for an extra holy buzz.

The work side of the trip was spectacularly fun.  Since we were performing as a part of the Warwick booth, I had four days to really hang out with some top-notch musicians.  I had especially great hangs with Jean-Paul Bourrelly, Divinity Roxx of Beyonce’s band Suga Mama, DeWayne ‘Blackbyrd’ McKnight of P-Funk and Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne.  Each and every one of them showed themselves to be kind, eloquent people with a sincere interest in thought provoking conversation.

On top of that was the always enjoyable sight of Bootsy Collins strutting his bad self back and forth and the moment when TM Stevens came strutting up to our stage to give me a glass full of Jager, insisting that lay down a tasty bass line for him.  Amazing!  I was more than happy to oblige.

The highlight of the week had to be jumping on-stage at the Warwick after party and shaking my tiny American ass in front of everyone for whom I was supposed to be on my BEST behavior (distributors, magazine editors, artists, etc).  You can catch quick very glimpses of my shameless white guy moves in the mainpage video on Warwick’s website (bonus points for good footage of Frankfurt).

Fantastic music, terribly unhealthy food and unforgettable experiences.  Great trip.  The only thing missing was my lovely assistant to be there dancing to my music ;-)

Big thanks goes out to Brett Gildersleeve for being a top-notch travel companion who actually managed to get me out to a Euro-club…and I liked it.

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Mar 22 2010
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Music, My Music

Slappin’ Da Bass!!

So, I was kind of sticking my nose up at slapping bass during demos for a bit there and then I realized that it’s awesome and I should do it.  So I did.

Also a sidenote:  I went without my Fodera for this one because there were many who wanted to hear the pedal through a different bass.  This is a Mexican-made J-Bass.

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Mar 15 2010
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My Music

Another reason why I love my job…

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