graysummers

All posts by graysummers

And so the story goes, to where? No one knows. But it involves a Volkswagen T2 Crossover Bay Bus called Billie Bud (known to most people as ‘WOW, a camper van’); a Pentax LX SLR camera loaded with black and white film; cooking vegetarian food on a basic set up of Cobb cooker, a couple of gas rings and an open fire; reading books; listening to music and the ruminations from a retired Staff Nurse. Well......got to fill the hours outside of being a pensioner somehow.

The Bare Bones.
A Silhouette of Mirror.
Photograph by Gray Summers.

Recently, the idea of getting back to bare bones of songs is playing around in the mind. Listening to a lot of other artists’ songs currently where the premise is simply a guitar and a voice. But they are a million miles away from my naivety when playing guitar and singing.

Sun goes down

However. Something came to mind. Listening again to the Devendra Banhart album called ‘Mala’? Suddenly the Lightbulb moment went on. There are beautiful little Bass guitar melodic inclusions that are inherent in the songs.

I never play a Bass Guitar foundation at all anymore. And ….. I was always actually a Bass player first and foremost back in my band years of the 1970/early80s years.

I need to go back to my roots and play the main part first and foremost by playing my bass guitar in simple riff melody captures. And build on that premise!

I built this one up ages ago by putting down the Bass Guitar first on top of the drums.

It would be good now to find a sound of simplicity. Yet unique. I do like the vibe of ‘And so the story goes’ below. Tonight, I found myself singing a low bass line melody to add to the song. I will probably re-record this one soon and build up from a bass riff on a simple drum percussive beat.

And so the story goes.

Messing about with this tonight too. Just a trial song. Acoustic and poor keyboard playing skills. But I’m beginning to realise, with lots of new songs, that acoustic guitars, played alongside electric echo swirling riffs, could be a nice Frail Autumn pursuit.