Like all new endeavors, Beneath the Surface, is both a continuation and departure from our previous work. While one can hear the DNA of our previous songs, Blind Spot and Andi’s Song, the new EP extends that sound, featuring Anna’s soaring voice nestled in an ether-pop mix of electronic sounds and lush string arrangements.

Speaking of strings, those were arranged by JooWan Kim. We loved working with this gifted artist. Check out a video of one of our favorite pieces by him, Ave M. You can read more about JooWan at our website.

We also love to work with Kris Giampa, who mixed and mastered Beneath the Surface. He is also the founder of Red Session Records. Check out his latest release, a compilation of 24 RS tracks, Best of 24, which includes three Glycerin remixes on Beatport.

You can listen live on iTunes radio (filed under Alternative, Spread Radio Live) or at spreadradiolive.com.

We all have built-in antennas. They pick up signals and noise, conscious and subconscious. We also have tuners, which we must maintain with vigilance. Otherwise, we follow noise or weak signals and get bogged down with futile activities.

Inspiration is an antenna. Keith Richards was known to raise his hand and say, “Incoming!” when a song was requesting manifestation.  Out popped the riff to Brown Sugar. Clearly, Keith had proper alignment.

I’ve recently undergone a deep musical “antenna realignment”. That’s why our new EP release, Beneath the Surface, sounds so different from Motionless.

Just in case you were wondering.

Me: What happens if you don’t launch or delay the launch?

A: You get fired. No deadlines can slip.

Me: Even if the scope changes?

A: The scope always changes.

Me: Is that why everyone seems so unhappy? I never see smiles or jocularity in the office….

A: There’s no room in the scope for smiles, let alone laughs.

His resume is impressive, having collaborated with such folks as Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Curtis Counce, Shelly Manne, Art Pepper, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, Sammy Davis Jr., Rosemary Clooney, Diane Schuur, and other greats. He also had an 18-year gig as featured soloist, resident comedian and musical director on The Merv Griffin Show.

Also, he can sing. He sang the vocals for Schoolhouse Rock in such episodes as Conjunction Junction and How a Bill Becomes Law.

He plays trumpet, the band swings and he tells dirty jokes. What else do you need?

Glycer'N Stly'D

Here’s a taste. Starting at 10:25, you can start to hear the strains of Motionless (the song) providing the soundtrack to boy band V Factory choosing clothes for a photo shoot. I sense skinny jeans will be a plot point…

Interested viewers can check out the rest online. Here’s a full list of the episodes and the songs featured:

Upcoming shows:

Episode #106 to air 12/8/09 (Fade Away & Serenade)
Episode #107 to air 12/15/09 (Aftertaste)

Past shows:

Episode #105 (Serenade & Fade Away)
Episode #104 (Fade Away)
Episode #102 (Serenade & Strangers Waiting)
Episode #101 (Motionless)

I also really love classical music.  I love to listen to interwoven melodies of all the instruments that work in such harmony with each other.  I appreciate the energy that flows with movements that crescendo and the more subtle parts that surround you in a warm bath of sound.  Interestingly, dance music is very much like classical music, relying heavily on dynamics and repeated motifs.

I don’t follow as many current bands as I should.  There’s tons of great music out there.  But, it’s really hard to work on music and then listen to lots of other musicians.  I have been trying to see more live shows, which is a wonderful way to stay connected to music.  Music is only as good as the connection it provides, whether to another person, to a moment in time or to an emotion.  Music breaks my heart sometimes.  I often tear up to the little melodies I make up as I drive around town.  These melodies vanish as quickly as they arose, but for that brief time, I was completely moved by music and in the moment…

The class starts at 8 am 4 days a week, and getting up at 6:30 is no small task.  Honestly, most days I barely make it to class on time.  Our instructor is well worth the effort though.  Joyce Sweeny is one of the most entertaining teachers I have ever had.  She has the most entertaining disposition, makes the funniest facial expressions and can go into a 30 minute tangent about any point in history.  An opera singer when she was in her musical prime, she is now head of the music department at the college.

It’s been about 10 weeks, and I feel that I know so much more about music and can talk in musical terms (which honestly, is half of it).  Rich and I now talk about intervals, leading tones, tonics…it’s very exciting.

We’ve been working on a song called “You Came To Me”.

Often, a song starts in a form I call Basic Chord mode. It’s chord progression played on piano that dutifully changes on the 1st beat of each measure, unless I’ve figured out something more clever to do.

Here is the Basic Chord version of the 1st verse:

We like the melody Anna is singing and the chords support her well. But for the first verse, we’d like to thin out the harmony a bit, give it some air. Also, in the 3rd stanza, her melody goes up, but the underlying harmony is unchanged.

So in the next version, we’ll stick with the same basic instrumentation, but be a bit more coy with the harmony.

Here’s the next version:

In this version, we start with a nice ascending scale that gives the song momentum, but also lets the vocals lead. We also changed some of the harmonic elements to give it an airy quality, especially in the 3rd stanza we mentioned earlier. Lastly, there’s nice momentum rolls on the 4th bar of each stanza to give it some gallop.

Next, we’ll work on the chorus and add some other instrumentation.