Posts Tagged ‘1978’

REFLECTiONS on the making of ‘THEY SAY i’M DiFFERENT’, TORRiD PRODUCTiONS, 2011

Published by cctadmin on February 22nd, 2012

Although I am back in the recording studio and focused on new material, I do have to take a moment and reflect on an album I think many people still need to hear.  That album is THEY SAY I’M DiFFERENT and it is my independent debut release, recorded in 2009-2010, released independently last year by Torrid Productions.

At the time I began recording tracks for THEY SAY I’M DiFFERENT, there really was no album to speak of.  In fact, CLAUDE MARQUiS (of The PEPTiDES) had me over to record what could have been my one and only track: DOLLY PARTON’S ‘THEY GRASS iS BLUE’.  I have always had a strong affection for folk and country music; growing up it’s what I lived on.  PARTON’S music is and always has been influential to me, so I took the opportunity to record with MARQUiS on what I initially took as a one-chance opportunity.   I’ll never be able to thank MARQUiS enough for that gesture, because once my THE GRASS iS BLUE cover leaked online and I began to share it – I was baffled at the reception it got.  I was mostly touched by how many people reached out and shared their connection to me or the beautifully written tune.  It was encouraging for someone very shy like me.

From there I began to envision what it might be like to continue working on music: recording it and laying it down in a way that I could extend it to other like-minded people.  On top of that, I performed at a few weddings over the summer of 2009 and again, the response I received from the crowds was so positive – how could I not consider pursuing music more?

 

Enter DANNiEL OiCKLE, founder/producer of TORRiD PRODUCTiONS.  Much like MARQUiS, OiCKLE generously invited me into TORRiD PRODUCTiONS as a resident artist, where we developed the idea for a full length grass roots/folk album with original material as well as covers of some of my favorite tunes.  OiCKLE is another major force behind what soon became THEY SAY I’M DIFFERENT – and over 2010 we were in and out of the recording studio laying down potential tracks.  For someone like me, who was used to singing alone in my living room and playing solely for my cats and boyfriend – the concept of coming into  a recording studio and laying down raw music was completely foreign to me.  I’ll be honest and say that I have ton of learning to do; although I do consider myself a singer/songwriter – I also know my limitations.  Every week OiCKLE and I got together, I used our sessions as opportunities to flex myself and push what it is I think I can do.  Before I knew it, we had laid down tracks for all of my original tunes: LONELY BLUE WAVES (i WANT YOU), iLLUSiONS, SAViOUR iN A CAGE, BLUE, SAiL AWAY WiTH ME and THE GENTLEMAN.  The results are admittedly mixed but I will say a valuable lesson learned is that much like children, a song needs time to grow and develop into its full potential, and so while I can appreciate that there is major room to grow – these recording are very representative of a certain time and place for me as an individual and artist.  They are my first recordings.

 

These recording sessions at TORRiD PRODUCTiONS were very affirming to me as a musician – and I also jumped on the opportunity to cover some of my favorite songs by other artists.  HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU, originally a NEWTON-JOHN number from 1978’s GREASE remains a song close to my heart.  It made sense for me to re-work it and present it in a stripped down manner where listeners could hear the beauty of JOHN FARRAR’S lyrics.  Additionally we recorded TiLL i GET iT RiGHT , originally a TAMMY WYNETTE song done in the early 1970’s.  Her version is a classic that moves me even today – but getting to put my own twist on it as well as include it on THEY SAY i’M DiFFERENT meant a lot to me because the song reflects how I feel myself – ‘If I fly my wings/ and if I try long enough/ I’m bound to learn to fly/ so I’ll just keep on falling in love/ till I get it right’.  This is the essence of THEY SAY i’M DiFFERENT.

As the tracks with OiCKLE kept adding up over the year, I was able to return to MARQUiS’ for some additional recording with him.  MARQUiS has an ear for music, as is clearly evident in his work with THE PEPTiDES – so having him lend his touch of talent to TOMORROW iS FOREVER and my own PRAiRiE BOY further fueled the reality that I truly was on my way to putting together a full-fledged/full-length album.  Wrapping up with MARQUiS we laid down a cover of STEViE NiCKS ‘AFTER THE GLiTTER FADES’, this time he also invited THE PEPTiDES member OLEXANDRA PRUCHNiCKY in to add her beautiful harmony (making it my first official duet), as well as accordion player JUDY JiBB.  AFTER THE GLiTTER FADES remains one of the songs people refer to most and I can understand why.  PRUCHNiCKY (also a member of TORRiD PRODUCTiONS) and I have continued to work together on numerous other projects since our time on GLiTTER, including OiCKLE’S very own baby, THE CORRUPTiON of FLESH.   I think it’s pretty safe to say that I wouldn’t even be involved with CORRUPTiON had I stayed playing guitar in my living room.  This goes to show that making THEY SAY i’M DiFFERENT was as much about extending myself to the world as it was about making a folk record.

THEY SAY i’M DiFFERENT may have wrapped up recording at the end of 2010, but a lot of work was put into its release in 2011.  Again, I am so thankful for all of the people involved in making this project happen; I have since watched it be received in a way that I really can only be thankful for.  We held the CD LAUNCH party at ELMDALE HOUSE TAVERN in July, to which I faced a big fear of public performing.  I’ve done a hand full of other live gigs since then; including THE RAiNBOW, BACKYARDS of CHiNATOWN and even played up in Manitoba’s NorVA Centre, where I also had an exhibit of my photography.  Ottawa’s Xpress even nominated me and THEY SAY i’M DiFFERENT for BEST ALBUM and NEW MUSiCAL ACT in their October Best of Ottawa 2011 Contest.  I’m no fool and never expected for a moment that I would win either category – but it was yet another source of encouragement; someone out there heard potential.  Besides, I’ve only just begun!

Everything about THEY SAY i’M DiFFERENT; leading up to it and after wards has been incredibly rewarding.  Reviews, although slightly mixed – do indicate to me that any flaws aside (and I do recognize a great deal of flaws) there must be something good.  If anything, THEY SAY i’M DiFFERENT woke me up to my own potential.  It’s not the sum of who I am but it certainly should be seen as a work in progress.

As I move forward and continue to record new material – I take these experiences with me and strive to evolve even further as a singer/songwriter/performer and artist.  Going forward I will take my time and collaborate with like-minded musicians who want a piece of the CC TRUBiAK experience – creating intimate, grass-roots folk and country-tinged music full of hope and optimism.  Fortunately for me I have peers like DARREN HOLMES, iSAAC VALLENTiN, JENNY NASMiTH, KETURAH JOHNSON, SHANE NORRiS along for the ride – I can assure you that anything you see from me next will be a labor of love – for if I’ve learned anything from these past two years; take you time and be proud of what you do but always strive to outdo even yourself.  Stay tuned!

In the meantime – take a moment to check out THEY SAY i’M DiFFERENT, which you can find on iTUNES here (http://bit.ly/zQFwDg).  Below are youtube vids for several tracks, and stay tuned for what will be my first official music video release this spring; I’m currently working on a video concept with TORRiD pals OLEX and DANNiEL for an accompanying video to AFTER THE GLiTTER FADES.  It will be beautiful I can assure you!

CC

xxxx

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PRETTY BABY BROOKE SHEiLDS & THE SEXUALiZATiON of CHiLDREN for ‘ART’

Published by cctadmin on October 6th, 2011

I’m really not the biggest BROOKE SHEiLDS fan per se – so one would have to wonder why I blog about her at all.  To clarify, I mean I’m not particularly a fan of her as an actress or even a leading HOLLYWOOD STARLET, if you will.  She’s never  made a lasting impression on me despite having seen ENDLESS LOVE, THE BLUE LAGOON, or even SUDDENLY SUSAN, arguably her biggest contribution to pop culture history (if you don’t count her famous CALViN KLiNE adds).

On the other hand, being a child of the 1980′s I do recall BROOKE SHEiLDS as a public figure; in particular her 1978 appearance in LOUiS MALLE’S PRETTY BABY, a movie in which she played a child who lived in a brothel.  SHEiLDS was 11 years old at the time and filming nude scenes, raising all sorts of questions about child pornography and subsequently leading  to a lot of controversy.  Like I said, the controversy didn’t necessarily make PRETTY BABY a good film, but it made SHEiLDS a household name; her LOLiTA-esque beauty undeniable.  This is something I find intriguing about her;  she is a prime example of child-like innocence being turned into a commodity.   Even being a gay boy I couldn’t help but look at her myself and see her for what she was – a beautiful, sexual and exploited little girl.  I found the images of her career at this point in time often depicted her as this nubile creature – beautiful yet somehow suggestive and inappropriate…. I mean I knew how to separate sex from the freedom of expression that is photography, film and art – but I also knew that it raised valid questions about the sexualization of children for ‘art’.

I find BROOKE SHEiLDS was far more interesting as a child than she is an an adult.  Even doing research on her for the sake of this blog I kept thinking – wow, how come you were more intriguing to me as a child than you are currently today?  Perhaps part of it is that, from the time she was 11 months old and modeling (iVORY SOAP adds),  she was promoted, even by her mother and former manager TERi SHEiLDS in very provocative ways.  At 14 she was the youngest fashion model ever to appear on the cover of the top fashion publication VOGUE, and soon after in controversial print and TV adds for CALViN KLEiN jeans.  The TV add included the famous tagline “You want to know what comes between me and my CALViNS?  Nothing.”  This alone helped catapult KLEiN’S carreer to super-designer status, yet again providing an example how how her youthful sexuality was used to make money, with or without her full comprehension or consent.

By the age of 16, SHEiLDS had become one of the most recognizable faces in the world, because of her dual career as a provocative fashion model and controversial child actress.  TiME magazine reported, in its February 9, 1981 cover story, that her day rate as a model was $10,000. In 1983, SHEiLDS appeared on the cover of Paris VOGUE, the October and November issues of American VOGUE and the December edition of Italian VOGUE. During that period SHEiLDS became a regular at New York City’s nightclub STUDiO 54 as well – yet like I said, never quite found that acting role that would have the public believing fully that she was more than a ‘pretty baby’.   Finally, in 2009, a naked picture of BROOKE SHEiLDS, taken when she was 10, was originally included in RiCHARD PRiNCE’S ‘SPiRiTUAL AMERiCA’ exhibit but was ironically enough removed by police after being deemed a “magnet” for pedophiles.   Yet again, it serves as a reminder of not only SHEiLD’S history of such controversy but of the topic of child pornography and the sexualization of children for art .

Check out a scene from PRETTY BABY as well the infamous CALViN KLEiN jeans add & selected BROOKE SHEiLDS photographs.

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The MUSiCAL SURREALiSM of KATE BUSH; THE KiCK iNSiDE (1978)

Published by cctadmin on October 4th, 2011

THE KiCK iNSiDE is by far my favorite KATE BUSH album, although I know many a BUSH fan who would opt for THE DREAMiNG, HOUNDS OF LOVE or even THE RED SHOES, and with valid reason.  These are all fantastic in their own right but I choose to look back on THE KiCK iNSiDE, primarily because it was the first full-length album of hers that I ‘got’ from start to finish, and to me everything about it from the cover art to her personal style  at the time felt very determined and unique.   Also being a big fan of the 1970′s in general, I did find it slightly more difficult to follow her music into the 1980′s after THE KiCK iNSIDE; if only because at times I got lost in the experimental nature of it all.  I understand that this experimentation is part of what makes BUSH the individualist she is as an artist, and I would never have wanted her to progress in any other way – there is something to be said for how simple THE KiCK iNSIDE comes across comparatively, despite its own experimental feel.  It’s far more accessible for me personally.

KATE BUSH was 19 years old at the time THE KiCK iNSiDE was released in 1978, and according to research some of the songs had been written when she was as young as 13.  This is quite impressive, considering the level of songwriting as well the subject matter she sings of in ROOM FOR THE LiFE (motherhood/pregnancy), THE KiCK iNSiDE (incestuous pregnancy/suicide), and THE MAN WiTH A CHiLD iN HiS EYES.  Also, take for example FEEL iT – where BUSH sings:

After the party
You took me back to your parlour.
A little nervous laughter
Locking the door.
My stockings fall
Onto the floor.
Desperate for more.

Nobody else can share this.
Here comes one and one makes one,
The glorious union.
Well it could be love,
Or it could be just lust,
But it will be fun.
It will be wonderful.

Oh, feel it. Oh, oh feel it,
Feel it, my love.
Oh, feel it. Oh, oh feel it,
Feel it, my love.
Oh, I need it. Oh, oh, feel it,
Feel it, my love.
Feel it!
See what you’re doing to me?

It’s not as though women before her didn’t sing of sexuality and/or taboo subjects – you already had JONi MiTCHELL, PATTi SMiTH, HEART, and STEViE NiCKS contributing in this way.  Yet KATE BUSH embodied sensuality in a way unlike a lot of women before; and when she wrote about sex she stayed away from the norm, tackling mythological incest, infant sexuality, the ghostly paramours of masturbation.  She took from history.  Her softness was and is intense and hard at the same time.  What she did was establish a female presence within rock that neither mimicked male style nor aspired to pinup status.   She gained a reputation for intense musical perfectionism, reclusiveness and dedication to esoterica.   THE KiCK iNSiDE wielded the giant European hit WUTHERiNG HEiGHTS – the gothic novel retold from the viewpoint  of its ghostly protagonist, Cathy.  The electric musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the UNiTED KiNGDOM’S most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.  It’s also quite clear she influenced many other female vocalists of our time, including TORi AMOS, BJORK,  and ALiSON GOLDFRAP to name a few.

Check out the following links below photos for selected tracks from THE KiCK iNSiDE -

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TRiBUTE: PATTi SMiTH

Published by cctadmin on September 25th, 2011

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SPOTLiGHT : OLiViA NEWTON-JOHN – PHASE ONE OLiViA

Published by cctadmin on March 23rd, 2011

OLiViA NEWTON-JOHN rules.  Let’s just make that abundantly clear.   A critic once quipped that ‘If white bread could sing, it would sound like Olivia Newton-John” and perhaps this is the case.  I never really knew this was an insult, for I grew up only eating white bread.  It was only years later I understood the negative connotation much more.   But  we’ve all been fed white bread for years and just because brown bread has more substance and nutritional value – DOES NOT mean that we all couldn’t stand to eat a little bit of white bread every now and then, to vary up our diets.  Right?

I have a love for OLiViA that runs deep and perhaps this is because from the time I was a little kid I can remember OLiViA being present in my life in one way or another.  Dad had one of those big old record players in the basement – you know, the kind that stood more like a giant wooden cabinet than just a simple turn-table.   Dad clearly had a hankering for OLiViA too, for he was the first one to introduce me to her music.  Within his selection of records for which I used to love filing through I could always stop on any LP of OLiViA‘s and find thorough enjoyment.  From the ethereal photos of her that usually graced her records, to the soft, sweet tone of her voice on HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MELLOW (1975), CLEARLY LOVE (1975), DON’T STOP BELiEViN‘ (1976), and 1974′s iF YOU LOVE ME (LET ME KNOW).  The later is one of my all-time favorites of what I refer to as PHASE ONE OLiViA.

PHASE ONE OLiViA was the OLiViA of early 1970′s;  the earthy wholesome OLiViA that you could almost picture running through the fields in slow-motion, singing in that trade-mark breathy voice.  This was the Olivia the world was initially introduced to long before her Hollywood success with movie’s like GREASE (1978) and more poppy albums like PHYSiCAL (1981).  Those achievements fall under other phases of OLiViA but for today I choose to salute the introductory phase of her career, which often gets overlooked in the face of such other big stamps on pop culture history.  In fact I’m often surprised that people forget that she really started out in the folksy genre of music (in England and Australia) , and only later crossed over into the faux-barnyard country music band-wagon of the mid-seventies United States.  Of course this caused a lot of fuss from country music puritans, for they didn’t really know how to feel about a girl born in England, raised in Australia – singing country music.  All fuss aside, when iF YOU LOVE ME (LET ME KNOW) exploded on the music scene (landing the #1 spot on Billboards top 100) , there was no denying that the public found something worth enjoying in OLiViA’S unique style of music, white bread or not.   And no one could sing into the camera with sad eyes like OLiViA.

The title song and I HONESTLY LOVE YOU (written by PETER ALLEN), became the first of OLiViA’s songs to reach #1 in the U.S. due in part to listener requests  as well as OLiViA’S growing star power.   Both songs reached the top 10 of the U.S. Pop, Adult Contemporary and Country charts, affirming NEWTON-JOHN’S status as the top female country-crossover star of the day and continuing the chart hot streak begun with the Grammy-winning LET ME BE THERE the previous year.

The title track ranks as Newton-John’s highest charting single on the country charts, reaching #2, although she would have many more top 10 hits to come.

A good friend of mine who also has an affection for the early work of OLiViA used to get into conversations about where OLiViA strayed, in terms of her music career.  It is true that her starlight eventually faded somewhat over the years, not counting the lasting success of GREASE and guest stints on GLEE and AMERiCAN iDOL. But my friend and I used to talk about how if we were OLiViA’s representatives we would have long ago urged her to go back to her folksy roots and come out with an album much ore organic and pure – as opposed to the over-produced brand of easy-listening music she would begin to put out regularly.   Perhaps she could have toured  Folk Festivals and really changed up the music she started with by going the more acoustic route.  Yes?  No?  I can’t fault her completely but I do think she would have been wiser to return to her roots.   Some may disagree and others may not give a rats ass~!

Stay tuned for OLiViA PHASE TWO but in the meantime, enjoy these PHASE ONE OLiViA gems:

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