Winds of Change – written sitting in my living room one morning, looking out at the wild Pacific Ocean throwing 4 metre waves onto our beach. We were swimming in the sea – an Indian Summer - only two weeks before, and now the full force of our winter was becoming obvious. Originally I wrote this as an acoustic piece for me and the Seagull – then things started getting out of hand ;)
I use a simple drum track when I record because the Logic metronome isn’t loud enough for me. On this, the drum track I used inspired me to see what bass might sound like, then maybe a bit of Telecaster (just to spice it up a bit) etc.
I’ve been doing a few songs with rtcooper recently, so I sent a draft to him to get some advice. To cut a long story short, Coop’s lead Strat is in the right channel and my lead Tele is in the left (and riffing in the centre). There are also various rhythm tracks in there at different stages from each of us. The drums and percussion are midi – originally GB loops, but heavily modified with the pencil tool. There is a Seagull acoustic track (one track recorded in stereo), a Fender bass track, two (maybe three) Telecaster tracks, and a couple of Stratocaster tracks by Coop. Vocally, there is a lead vox track, an echo lead vox track (with slight chorus fx) and a harmony vox track with similar level of chorus. Coop adds a good dose of grit to this which I could never have had the courage to play myself – interestingly, the Tele is the round and smooth lead sound here and the Strat the raucous voice.
A word about Coop: I have done at least four tracks prior to this with Coop, and have really enjoyed his quirky vocals and aggressive guitar. He is a collaborator’s dream, full of ideas and articulate in his suggestions for the track in progress – he’s even made me believe I can play lead guitar! After playing bass (and drums) on so many of his, I am really pleased that he could join me on this. Now if we lived a thousand miles or so closer to each other it could be a hell of a band (we’d just have to get some young folks to pack the truck and load the Zimmer frames ;)
Lyrically, you can think about this on at least three interacting levels: the obvious (“crikey it’s cold today, it must be winter, but it’s OK ‘cause summer is just around the corner”); a political statement about the “winter” of our governments’ social policies and; getting older and the possibility of reincarnation (pretentious, moi?). There may be more – if you find one, please let me know!
Looking north across the bay
Winter winds have found
Their way down from the mountains
Winter swells arrived today
I can see them march
Across the dark horizon
I opened up the daily news
That was the first mistake
I made this winter morning
I’m battling the winter blues
Once again the cold and rain
Have crept in uninvited
But seasons change
It’s not too long to wait
‘Til winter turns to springtime
And seasons change
For you and me
Even in these darkest days
There is a little ray of hope
That glimmers in the distance
There may have been a small delay
But seasons turn as sure as
Night turns into daytime
Summer seems so far away
But it’s bound to come and break
The icy spell we’re under
Though the skies are dark and grey
The turnaround will come and we’ll
Live warm and bright new days
Seasons change
It’s not too long to wait
‘Til winter turns to springtime
And seasons change
For you and me
credits
from jiguma dreaming,
released July 7, 2007
Lead guitar (the raucous one) - RT Cooper, All other instruments and vocals - Neil Porter
An evolving "album" of 20 songs by the Pambula Beach Garage Band collective. Live and studio recordings with a cast of thousands (well, up to 30 or so). FREE DOWNLOAD. Neil Porter
The eclectic influences of this California group shine through on these creeping tracks, full of dark electronics and intimate vocals. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 15, 2020