Transcript

10.00hrs James arrives for the final session of his ‘Mad Music’ project.

STEVE McDANIEL

[00.12] We might be able to get a mix sorted so that you’re actually going out with something that is relatively complete. There will be a time I’m sure we’ll find a gap somewhere, where you can come in and do it again but it’s like I don’t know when

JAMES

[00.22] Yeah

STEVE

Yeah

JAMES

Alright, cool

STEVE

[00.24] Can you…….work er, with James to get a mix of what is there now as close as we can, right, to some kind of completion.

CALLIER

[00.34] …this is a really loud amp isn’t it

A N OTHER

…very loud…

CALLIER

I think it’s one of the lowest settings anyway so it's alright…..

STEVE

[00.45] Do that, will you….how, how about if we hang it up, oh no, one of you hold it and we stick a microphone at both ends. James and his friends are putting the final touches to their latest song

JAMES

[01.04] When you….when the guitar is added over that it might just work I think

GAWAINE

[01.07] Yeah… ‘cos it does need to cut through it……

JAMES

Yeah

STEVE

[01.15] Hold that…. that is so cool isn’t it. Come on mate you’ve got to use that. That’s got such a lot of resonance if you pick it up off the floor.

STEVE

[01.44] I’m going to get back problems you realize this don’t you LAUGHTER

STEVE

[01.47] … suffering for my art, 0h, actually suffering for your art.

A N OTHER

….Yeah

LAUGHTER

STEVE

[02.11] Yeah, right that was really good, really good and the end bit where you went tch, tch, tch, tch, tch that was excellent. That sort of went against the er the original rhythm.

DRUMMER

[02.16] I mucked it up see….it was like oooh

STEVE

[02.18] No but it sounded good actually, I think we’re there, I think we’re there. That sounded to me to be much tighter.

A N OTHER

(WHITE T-SHIRT) [02.30] I was hoping to put a…..wow, wow, wow…kind of thing going on there…..

STEVE

[02.32] I love you lot ‘cos, because you always force us, erm to be creative and do something I’ve never, never done before.

LAUGHTER

2.34pm Steve’s first session helping Jackie with her new song

STEVE

[02.47] Is it really slow? Is it, has it got a sort of rhythm to it. What do you mind, what do you sort of expect?

JACKIE

[02.53] I like the fact it goes kind of high and then goes down a bit

STEVE

[02.58] Actually, hang on, let’s stop that for a minute. I’ve got perhaps a better idea. I think what you’re going to have to do is just give me erm just burst into song with it.

JACKIE

[03.07] What from ‘watching… ’?

STEVE

Yeah, just go on…try

JACKIE (sings)

[03.11] ’Watching it towering me. Sending it down’

STEVE

[03.14] Right…hold it….so (PLAYS PIANO) SINGS…’sending it down’. That’s alright isn’t it.

JACKIE

Yeah

STEVE

[03.22] SINGS AND PLAYS…..’watching it towering me. Sending it down’ Alright, ok now, hang on I heard a chord. It might be PLAYS…. Hang on

BOTH SING

[03.32] ’Watching it towering me. Sending it down’ James has volunteered his services as a session musician

STEVE

[03.35] Right, so now, I’m hearing four……’watching it towering me. Sending it down’. Actually you’ve got a waltz, believe it or not, I think. So let’s, let’s start with that then. I just want to get that verse in our mind, really really clearly. So it’s…..count with that……

BOTH SING

[03.58] ‘The spirit falling from the sky. Watching it towering me. Sending me down’

STEVE

[04.12] …then you repeat that then…

BOTH SING

????????????? Please catch me now

STEVE

[04.18] Now, just a minute James. What I’m going to try and do now is decide on the next chord. Well, in fact, I’m not going to decide, you’re going to decide. I’m going to try a few options. Right. SINGS…..’my….

STEVE

Oh, hang on…..

BOTH SING

..’my soul has turned again’

STEVE

[04.38] Do that again…SINGS ‘my soul…

JACKIE

…’has turned again’

STEVE

[04.43] Ah,…you’re doing something really interesting …..that’s what you were doing the first time. I kind of like that.

JACKIE

Ok

3.41pm

STEVE

[04.50] Yeah, what do you think? Do you …is it er feeling kind of right at the moment

JACKIE

Yeah….

STEVE

[04.55] It’s a bit early days. You can’t really tell.

JACKIE

Cool

STEVE

What….I’ve now…that drum rhythm is really odd

LAUGHS

but I kind of like it

JACKIE

Yeah, yeah it’s cool

STEVE

[05.03] Yeah, cool. It’s kind of making….it’s sending it off in a different direction slightly, isn’t it.

JACKIE

….different, yeah.

STEVE

[05.08] Yeah, erm it’s er, tell me again about. You started to talk about erm how this, what the, the purpose of this…..

JACKIE

Yeah…

STEVE

..when you wrote it.

JACKIE

[05.18] Yeah, ‘cos my mate went through a lot when she, when we wrote this so she kind of like put it down on paper.

STEVE

[05.24] So really we should make it quite dark and….

JACKIE

[05.25] …the first two are not too bad but the s…the second. The first two? The first verse and the chorus are quite light, but

STEVE

[05.36] …make it immobilized….what er…I mean, you don’t have to say anything about it if you don’t want to but what, can you be more specific about when you say she’s been through a lot?

JACKIE

[05.47] Well, erm she ended up, she kind of like ended up self harming herself that’s why she wrote it down. So I said to her right stop doing that and write it down. It’s so much easier and less painful as well, well, but physically it’s less painful but erm….

STEVE

So you’re actually helping her?

JACKIE

Yeah

STEVE

[06.10] I tell you what, you know, this erm business of erm working with people who’ve got, who’ve got, you know, you are actually in pain as it were, working on songs is er, is an amazing thing and I know that myself when I’ve had bad times I’ve written lots of songs.

JACKIE

Yeah….?

STEVE

LAUGHS….and it kind of gets it all out doesn’t it

JACKIE

[06.27] ???????????

4.37pm

STEVE

One, two, three, four…

BOTH SING

[06.33] My spirit’s falling from the sky Watching it towering me Sending me down Looking dreaded from slavery Please catch me now

STEVE

[06.51] …that’s it.

BOTH SING

[06.52] My soul has turned again Sending my spirit high What did they expect me to do Totally immobilized

STEVE

[07.08] That’s fine. That’ll be great ‘cos that’s all we need for now and we can worry about the way actually it’s going to go later. Excellent

JACKIE

[07.15] I really didn’t believe I could do this.

STEVE

[07.15] We have written a song

BOTH LAUGH

JACKIE

Right

BOTH LAUGH