I wanted the intro to sound retro/lo-fi, with a brushed snare, “telephone EQ” on the kick and on Natalie’s voice. Like a black and white movie. Then, ffffft, into the present with the first verse. When Rodney Mills (Sheryl Crow, Journey, REM, Skynyrd…) mastered this track, he worked some magic to help make this vibe work.
The plopping, percussive notes in the intro are Marcus Henderson (Marshall Tucker) whapping keys on his sax without blowing: didda-lidda-diddle-oop... shhooop! Sounds like a typewriter, or a lost track in the intro to Money. Don’t steal this, we thought of it first.
On the sax solo, I asked Sean O’Rourke (Sugarland, Mother’s Finest, Aquarium Rescue Unit…) to go “tribal” on the drums. What tribe we got remains unclear, but they are full of rage, not to be trifled with. This is the dude’s part of the song. So this just hit me -- in the video, this is where the ex - realizing he’s no longer calling the shots - has a massive hissy fit, goes all Christian Bale.
My favorite is Natalie's sweet, empowered kiss-off on the bridge. “I’ll see you on down the road, my friend.” Then her scattin’ on the outro. We did a bunch of takes, then just turned ‘em all on at once, for the heck of it. Sonic madness. Sorting all this out was a joy. We ended up with 11 Natalies, in three groups of three, around the center, mid-left and mid-right, with two more Nats panned hard left and right. Maybe I can sell ring-tones of this at $1.98 a pop, and climb my way out of this sweet bourgeois life.
lyrics
___________________________
LYRICS
I guess I wanna thank you
for doin' me a favor
cause this newfound freedom
is a taste I'm gonna savor
and I believe
and I can breathe
I guess I wanna thank you
for doin' me a favor
startin to see you oughta believe
in the little things that set you free
finally makin time for me again
at the end of the day I gotta say
everything's gonna be OK
maybe I'll see you down the road, my friend
and I believe
that I can breathe
I guess I wanna thank you
for doin' me a favor
you poor thing, thought you had it down
but the little boys they just fool around
I will leave this wreckage gracefully
do what you like, and like what you do
I'm doin it all without you
maybe I'll see you down the road, my friend
baby I'll see you down the road, my friend
maybe <down> I'll see <ooh> you on down the road....
beeda liddit bowm...
credits
from Betcha Didn't Know,
track released July 1, 2009
__________________________
CREDITS
Vocals: Natalie Kendrick
Lyrics: Natalie Kendrick and Mike McLeod
Guitars, Keys, Sequencers: Mike McLeod
Sax: Marcus Henderson
Drums: Sean O'Rourke
Mixing: Mike McLeod
Co-Producer: Gene Kendrick
I’m an Atlanta based performer, songwriter and producer. My “main gig” currently is Mike McLeod Music, a solo looping
performance. See my FaceBook or YouTube pages for more info.
This BandCamp page has my 2011 album with Chelsea and Natalie Kendrick, and a couple of lo-fi demos of acoustic-only instrumentals.
If you want amazing live music - Contact Me! Full band sound, one guy....more
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