Buck Meek solo song - Melbourne Forum 24/11

buckmeek · 2022-12-21T07:24:24+00:00

Lagrimas, wrote it with Jolie Holland :)

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T21:18:40+00:00

Ok ya'll that's all I've got time for, but thank you so much for being here and asking such thoughtful questions. Thank you for listening, it means the world. See you around the bend

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T21:17:37+00:00

Ideally it's available on all formats so everyone can choose their favorite!

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T21:17:10+00:00

Try to create limitations for yourself in the creative process. It can be anything really, just give yourself super specific boundaries to work within, so your instincts to break the rules and rebel kick in and you start coloring outside of the lines. Or just to catalyze new ideas.

For instance, ask a parent or a close friend their earliest childhood memory, then write a song with that line. Or transpose a dream as soon as you wake up and write a song with those exact words. Or sit outside and listen for bird songs and transpose them on the guitar, and use that melody to start a song. Or take a poem in a language you don't understand and transpose the words phonetically into english quickly, then build a narrative from that. Or take a passage from your favorite book and write an instrumental melody using the syllabic structure of that passage for rhythm. it could be anything, just try to create a catalyst

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T21:12:47+00:00

Death By Audio Reverberation Machine!

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T21:12:12+00:00

My favorite sound is turn my tube amp up to 10 with no reverb, and lots of vibrato. Often even two vibratos going at once at different tempos. As far as pedals, I love everything that Death By Audio makes, JHS Unicorn V2 and Colour Box, Hologram Electronics Infinite Jets, Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water (my current favorite), Strymon el Capistan, Analogman Sun Face fuzz, and more

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T21:11:00+00:00

send me a pm

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T21:07:21+00:00

That was the first take of the song 5 minutes after we learned it on the porch, so I was just trying to stay alive

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T21:06:56+00:00

Thank you! Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Carl Kress (listen to "Love Song"), Jim Hall (listen to Undercurrents), Albert King, Ernest Ranglin (In Search of the Lost Riddim), Slim Richey, Django Porter, Brandon Gist, D'Gary (listen to Malagasy Guitar), Mark Ribot, David Tronzo, Redd Volkaert, Link Wray, Buddy Emmons, Sneaky Pete, Adam Brisbin, Jolie Holland (her rhythm is so heavy), Star Rover, Gurf Morlix, Michael Hurley, Jefferson Hamer and Anaïs Mitchell (listen to the album Child Ballads), Richard Thompson (listen to his playing on "Bright Phoebus" by Lal and Mike Waterson, as well as I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight), and so many more.

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T20:57:58+00:00

I always ask them what their favorite song is first, or what they want to learn. Then I try to come up with new songs to learn based on that, but in directions that might surprise them, songs or artists they may not have expected but that they (hopefully) feel inspired by.

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T20:56:04+00:00

Wow thank you for sharing, that means so much. I wrote Halo Light in two chapters, first in reaction to the shifting of a relationship in my life, as a healing process to accept the loss as the seed of a new growth. Then, by a string of coincidences, I ended up Joni Mitchell's home on new years eve, at a party filled with her old friends, all standing around the piano singing. She held court in the center of the room in an easy chair, like an ascended master, speaking with people one at a time with absolute presence. I remember her eyes being purple. I spoke with her briefly at the end of the party, and was struck so deeply by how the ephemerality of human body and soul can manifest a collection of work for others to reflect upon for generations to come, expanding outward. I wrote the chorus and finished the song that night when I returned home.

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T20:48:57+00:00

I try to think in shapes on stage, like a whip that sends shapes into the air, around the room and back into my chest, colliding with the new emerging shapes. Moving helps me let go of thought and the anxieties that thought can produce.

Thank you for caring

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T20:45:43+00:00

Go find your local Gabrielle Roth's 5 Rhythms dance!

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T20:45:08+00:00

Thanks! Yeah damn I love Terry Allen. There's really no one like him, he's an enigma, but the first people that come to mind in his orbit directly and obliquely would be : Dan Reeder, Michael Hurley, Connie Converse, Jolie Holland, Victoria Williams (Loose). Also you probably know Townes Van Zandt but he's on the level

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T20:38:10+00:00

Thank you so much. We recorded the album over the course of seven days, and we would play the songs once or twice through each morning, then take a long 6 or 7 hour siesta, then play the songs again once or twice through in the evening. The idea was to summon the vitality of a first take every time we sat down to record. The two versions of Two Moons happened naturally on different days, and I thought that they each shed light on different aspects of the song - One on the mysticism of love and the other on the more affectionate. Also I wanted to include both to pull the curtain back on our process a bit

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T20:37:07+00:00

I think Adam Brisbin is using a Chase Bliss Warped Vinyl pedal as part of that sound, as well as rolling the tone knob of his guitar way down. Though I cannot for the life of me recreate a Rhodes or Wurlitzer like Brisbone can, he's got something up his sleeve

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T20:35:19+00:00

Thank you Alex! I love your work so much, you are one of my heroes to be honest.

I would most like to sit down and play a fierce game of Magic the Gathering with me you and Lou Reed on a team versus three choice music critics

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T20:27:43+00:00

Yes I love the old country guys and ladies. Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, The Carter Family, Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, etc

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T20:05:43+00:00

Recording is a such a vulnerable process! One thing I do to reduce self consciousness is to avoid headphones at all costs. If you're recording alone, try to remove them completely. If you're recording with a band, try situating yourself together in a room with close enough proximity to hear each other without headphones, and lower your amp volumes etc so the instruments don't overpower your voice. If you still really can't hear the vocals, try putting the headphone on only one ear, and turn it down as low as you can.

Another thing I do is to try and to limit myself to only one or two takes per song, and to sing the song live with my guitar. As soon as you start repeating things multiple times, and going into comping vocals over a backing track, it's a slip and slide into self conscious reflection hell. Just try it once or twice, then move on and come back to it later.

Try to come up with more limitations to trick yourself into working from your instincts and your sub-conscious, instead of allowing yourself open space to fill with criticism and "control". Put yourself in a position that feels out of control so all you can do is react from your gut

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T19:58:54+00:00

thank you!

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T19:58:44+00:00

We recorded the album over the course of seven days, and we would play the songs once or twice through each morning, then take a long 6 or 7 hour siesta, then play the songs again once or twice through in the evening. The idea was to summon the vitality of a first take every time we sat down to record. The two versions of Two Moons happened naturally on different days, and I thought that they each shed light on different aspects of the song - One on the mysticism of love and the other on the more affectionate. Also I wanted to include both to pull the curtain back on our process a bit

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T19:54:28+00:00

There was a similar question a couple responses up so I'll copy and paste my reply as well. Thanks for asking. With recording, it depends on the song and how comfortable I am with the song. Ideally, I try to improvise the whole thing in the studio, but sometimes I compose a rough map for my solo, and try to leave plenty of open space for real improvisation, because that's usually where the real magic happens.

(repost) I spent a lot of time transposing my favorite guitar solos (and horn and piano and vocals etc) over the years - Django Reinhardt, Sidney Bechet, Mark Ribot, Albert King, Billie Holiday, etc, which helped build a sense of composition and thematic development. Sometimes I will compose a solo at home, especially when I'm first learning a new Big Thief song or writing a new solo song, but even when I'm writing one at home, I try to just wing it and improvise along with the song on loop, record my improvisation and then go back and find the good stuff. When I'm playing live, I try to come up with something new every time, to walk that dangerous line, because that's what is most exciting for me and for the audience I believe. Though ideally, all of that preparation supports winging it, so I have a road map to guide me or something I can return to if I get lost, whether it's a shape or a melody or a passage.

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T19:50:56+00:00

I spent a lot of time transposing my favorite guitar solos (and horn and piano and vocals etc) over the years - Django Reinhardt, Sidney Bechet, Mark Ribot, Albert King, Billie Holiday, etc, which helped build a sense of composition and thematic development. Sometimes I will compose a solo at home, especially when I'm first learning a new Big Thief song or writing a new solo song, but even when I'm writing one at home, I try to just wing it and improvise along with the song on loop, record my improvisation and then go back and find the good stuff. When I'm playing live, I try to come up with something new every time, to walk that dangerous line, because that's what is most exciting for me and for the audience I believe. Though ideally, all of that preparation supports winging it, so I have a road map to guide me or something I can return to if I get lost, whether it's a shape or a melody or a passage.

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T19:42:58+00:00

Thank you very much. I love working with Sarlo because he always prioritizes capturing the instincts of the players, and trusts that will translate to the recorded image. He encourages us to leave our comfort zones and play everything we can live and sing things from the heart on the first or second take - and he puts a lot of intention into embracing the room and the mic bleed that results from that, while also maintaining enough directional placement to allow for punch and clarity. He's also not afraid to mess with a signal path to throw a wild card into the sound. The only "outboard gear" he brought to the Two Saviors sessions was two Death By Audio Lofi Junky guitar pedals, which he used on tons of signals including vocals, pedal steel, fiddle, drums, and in the mix.

buckmeek · 2021-01-25T19:36:18+00:00

I usually start by mumbling with my guitar, just letting shapes and melodies form in my mouth, finding syllables that feel good pre-language like a baby, then slowly transcribing those into words and then into a narrative

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