The Truth For Sure

Hyperbole for sure, Sir Swift’s face told.
For truth is never so strong or so bold,
But something on which one can rest a hat;
A thing as plain as night to a bat.

⁄ ⁄ ⁄

After my last entry, I took a trip up and to the left to commune with my band and record the semi-extant songs we performed at our previous gig. We had rusted like the garage we recorded in, but to some critical minds that makes everything charming. Sessions were paused to gorge ourselves on authentic diner treats, grilled blueberry muffins and the such, as well as nostalgic rounds of Mario Kart. A late night viewing of Stop Making Sense left an unmistakable impression on all our improvisations; regrettably, there were no lamps to seduce.

How long have we been playing together? The initial attempt at a band was, I think, May 2004. Had I figured out how to play any instruments yet? Not to any real degree. We made a fucking racket and it was raw.

Then we added two more players for a sum of three guitars, two drummers, keys and a bassist. We made a fucking racket and it was intergalactic.

With each rehearsal/recording session we move closer to more traditional structures. Our line-up is never assured for a gig or rehearsal, but still, quite traditional.

Download Arc O - Urn-Burial

This was the third song we approached. Song One, "Hunting the Tiger", was soon discovered to be forgotten. The loss of "Hunting the Tiger" was a hearty blow to our morale. Song Two, "Beefheart", may have been the victim of our dismay; seven takes, all devoid of aggression. "Urn-Burial", aka "Sir Thomas Browne", aka "Egyptian", was our reawakening.

Eric's opening solo has stayed essentially the same since he first played it to us, and it remains one of his better eastern-blues inspirations. If you listen closely, you can hear someone humming something akin to a "Dream Brother" homage. The rest of the song attempts to merge our stereotypical psychedelic interests with the light-hearted instincts of current indie-rock. With practice we hope to fine-tune the tempo shifts, develop the last third into a more complete section, and finally find an appropriate way to end it. An end is a good thing.

Download Arc O - Nashe

An ode to taking a good shit, and as such, it's all about catharsis. Structurally, Nashe is almost identical to Urn-Burial: opening "guitar solo", albeit quite brief; second guitar enters, followed by rhythm section; A-part abruptly dissolves into guitar-duel breakdown (albeit more abrupt); rhythm section reenters; cathartic B-part (here, merely an extension of the A-part). This is regrettable, although perhaps irrelevant to the average listener. We enjoy the tune for its use of simple elements (namely power chords) to create a song that still sounds like us, but it's in dire need of some direction.

Download Arc O - The New Jazz (For Don B.)

We're not trying to be ironic with the title here, just referential.

The original incarnation of this was more appropriately "Alien Videogame Blues", but, with the absence of Boss Rogan, we lack that vintage Alien Blues sound. Guest guitarist Sampson can sound like a parody of the 70's fusion shit we aspire to, but considering all he was told was to solo in Bb minor, he performed admirably. The bassline to the second half was cribbed from the brilliant mind of Hugh Hopper, much credit to The Soft Machine. Like the rest, this song demands much work. Hopefully we'll get the chance to do as such.