nothing to talk about in the news today. Tomorrow I’ll be lunching with Gaza the bass player. I found a track this week that I had recorded a while ago that I had forgotten about. It was a re make of a Go Wild in French tune called ‘Being and Nothingness’, and it’s great song. I’m saying its great because it is. Nobody apart from a few people have any clue about anything I do anymore so I’m advocating for myself here. The arts, literature and entertainment industry is largely controlled by gate keepers who decide who should be famous and who should not. They don’t get to decide who I am or what I’m doing, I do.
If I wasn’t me, I would still think it was great. Part of what this re-recording makes it great is Gary’s bass playing. Try as I might, I couldn’t find the original multi track, although I’m sure I have it somewhere. When all of your music is scattered over multiple hard drives, it’s difficult to find things. In the old days you’d have tape boxes which might be labeled. You can’t label a hard disk that has thousands of files on it that easily.
The other problem is that the multi track recording that I’m looking for could be mislabeled. If I search for “Being and Nothingness”, all I get are mixed down recordings, the original Go Wild one and the mixed down version with Gary playing bass. It could be part of some other session, I don’t know. In the end I gave up looking and went with the one I have.
I would have rather re-done the vocals but since I don’t have a non vocal version this will have to do. Randy Bulpin had put some guitar parts on one version I found, but it was out of synch in parts so I couldn’t use it. No fault of Randys, it was entirely mine, I’m afraid.
Yesterday I spent a few hours putting some new guitar parts on the recording, as well as some more vocals, keyboards and percussion. I don’t want to overdo it, because less is better. You can listen to the track below to hear what I started with before I added everything else.
I also realized that I have enough new material to put out a new album. Incrementally over the last year or so I have written and recorded at least a half a dozen new tunes, probably more. The band have tried playing some of them and a couple have worked out ok. Some of this stuff doesn’t work as well as it could with just a three piece, so I’ve put it aside. ‘I’m Gonna Burn a Hole in the Sky’, is one of them, as well as “Love’s Gonna Die on this Hill”. They’re too complicated. Three chords is better for my purposes at the moment.
There are other songs that I can’t remember, and parts of songs that aren’t quite finished, such as “I Don’t Care”, which the band is playing now, but needs a little re-working of the back end. This is what I do all day when I’m not fixing broken stuff in this ancient nest. Sometimes people here who don’t know my history assume I’m retired from some career I used to have.
I’ve never had a fucking career. This is it, and I’m never gonna retire from it. I’ve had lots of shitty jobs along the way, but I’m not doing that any more. I guess if I’ve retired from anything, it’s from working for someone else. That’s not for me anymore, and it never really was.
Good day
For any bands who would like a quality song to add to your repertoire, here is a chart with lyrics – you’re welcome
Being and Nothingness – words and music by Ian Stephen
Vs 1
Am Dm Am Dm
I walked around the city, I felt so depressed
Am Dm Em F
Everyone looked so bad, I needed a rest
Am Dm Am Dm
I think I must have known you in some other lifetime
Am Dm Em F
You seem so remarkably close to me
CHORUS
Gm 7 G bass /F7 G# bass/ F m G G# A
I thought that I loved you, BUT NOW THE WHOLE THING SEEMS SO FAR AWAY
Gm7 G bass/F7 G# bass/ Fm Em Dm
BEING AND NOTHINGNESS, AND NOW THE WHOLE THING SEEMS SO FAR AWAY
Dm Am G
middle section
Vs 2
I WALKED around AIMLESSLY, MY MIND’S CRACKIN UP
WHAT’S LEFT TO LIVE FOR, LIFE’S SO ABRUPT
MELBOURNE’S a depressing place, people like it that way
There’s no place for romance, there’s no place for chance
I thought that I loved you, BUT NOW THE WHOLE THING SEEMS SO FAR AWAY
BEING AND NOTHINGNESS, AND NOW THE WHOLE THING SEEMS SO FAR AWAY
BEING AND NOTHINGNESS AND NOW THE WHOLE THING SEEMS SO FAR AWAY
Being and Nothingness – Gary Ferraro bass, Ian Stephen everything else