Charging Confusion 2022 – 2023

Faith In Failure (2023)

1. Bancroft Way (5:07)
2. You Will (4:11)
3. Designer Fabrics (5:12)
4. Hated (3:38)
5. It’s All Opening Up (7:31)

6. Biscuit Tin (5:04}
7. Faith in Failure (4:52)
8. Disappearing Firelight (3:44)
9. Not For You, Anyway (4:30)
10. Charging Confusion (5:10)

What now? There is a lot of background work to prepare promotion. The websites need to be updated, a Bandcamp page created and the same on Discogs. I’m collecting all the materials that will be needed for these platforms.

Now that the music is out of my hands, it’s time to move forward on the next batch of songs. I’ve got a couple of new things in the works. Once the ideas are worked out and demos recorded a review of the songs will decided what the next album might look like. This may seem overly ambitious, but no, this is the long term plan for Donovan’s Brain.

This chapter of the recording diary will be winding down and a new page started.
The story Continues here: Regrouped And Renewed

The guitar solo wasn’t a problem. It wasn’t the long section I thought it was. I spent a couple of hours learning the changes and trying ideas. I cobbled a solo together then decided to try again to get the ideas to flow. That worked. The song has come out well. Kris added vocals and Joe did the bass. Maybe the heaviest song on the record.

Jim Dickson was confident he could arrange a recording session with Brent Williams before the deadline. He’s spent the time learning the songs, so it should be a simple matter. I decided to mix the three songs with my bass parts and then spin the mix with out bass. Then it’s a simple matter of dropping in the new bass parts. That will save at least a week of time having the mixes done in advance. Should the Australian sessions fall through, there will be final mixes with my bass parts. I was able to check the mixes and finalize the running order. I made one change when I realized the two songs Scott sang were side by side. The adjustment improved flow. There might be be one song that I wlll have to remix. This isn’t a problem and not unexpected.

The results are very satisfying. It shows the songwriting is evolving. Looking back, Sandbox Shadows was a five year process with the Convolutions box and Burnt Trees side project in that period as well. We started writing for the new album while Sandbox was being completed and prepared for release. In the end I had about twenty songs to choose from. Chiêm Bao Thấy Bậu pulled a few songs from that list. It was at that point that I was able to see this new album more clearly. The songs on the new album are all recent compositions. It feels fresh. There were few leftovers from the Sandbox sessions. The three outtakes from that era found a home on the soundtrack. There were other songs recorded in the period after Burnt Trees, but these were never considered for Sandbox. It was only last fall that I was able to do a deep review of all the songs in progress. None of these were considered for Faith In Failure. The songs had been firmly decided by early 2022. With the new album nearly done, I can start looking forward to the next one. That work won’t begin until Faith In Failure has been sent off to be mastered.

I spent four days building up the track. First thing I did was cut one verse. There were five and then an instrumental verse at the end. I’d only written lyrics for three verses. I then moved most of the end section to the middle of the song. This created a symmetrical arrangement. That worked better for me. Once that work was completed, I sang it again adding the lyrics I’d written for the forth verse. It was done. Since it was fresh in my head and set up on the board, I went ahead and mixed it. That felt like a free song. It’s now in the finished folder, but more about this song later.

There is the matter of getting the new album done. The deadline is coming up quickly. Not For Me, Anyway was still not completed. This was a concern, and I considered dropping it from the album and replacing it with another. I tried again to get a keeper vocal, but failed. Rather than give up, I asked Scott Sutherland if he’d want to give it a try. He accepted the suggestion eagerly. Once he had time, it was done in one session. With that in the can, I asked him if he’d try the end solo. He had an idea. There was a Fender VI in the mail that he thought might work. We also discussed redoing the rhythm guitars on the song. In the end, Scott just added a bit on the end section and told me the original parts were good enough to keep. It was then just a matter of dialing in the tones for the two parts. He was correct. They worked just fine. I spend a couple of days mixing. I added a little more mellotron on the end section as well. This fit in with Scott’s idea of the song building up to the finish. Scott signed off on the final mix. Before I put it away, I made two very small changes. This one is now done. Jim Dickson had been assigned the bass on this one. While working on the track, I fixed some timing errors on my original track. It worked a lot better. I’m still hoping Jim will be able to get to the three songs before the deadline. With that in mind, I did a mix with out bass. I can then just drop in his part. At the moment Jim is not sure that he can arrange a session in the next three weeks.

There were a few days open while waiting for Scott’s work. That gave me time to return to Synth 2, a long instrumental piece I’ve been working on. This is a long term project. There are seven sections now. I’ve been adding layers to the various sections as time allows.

Designer Fabrics has been lacking the end guitar solo. I’d asked one of our extended family if he could have a go at it. Sadly his own album work had made it impossible for him to make time. I’d forgotten which song it was I’d asked him to play on. I got it in my head that it was Charging Confusion. When I pulled that one up i discovered I’d done the solo on that one and it was mixed. Kris and Joe had done work on Designer which came out very well. When I reviewed the song, I realized that the solo was actually part of the arrangement, not a stand alone guitar ride. Our friend’s talent would have been wasted on this. I set up to do it myself. I spent most of a day working out some parts and piecing them together. When I got done, it sounded just like that. A bunch of pieces. I decided to have a fresh go at it now that it was in my head and my fingers knew what notes worked. This second attempt worked. I did fix one awkward phrase and called it good. I’m working on the mix at the moment.

A few days ago I remembered I had found a CD with a mix of the song called The Overture. The exciting thing was this was the early version with Richard Treece playing guitar. He’d worked on this while doing overdubs for Defeat Of Echoes. The session got shut down just as he was getting a handle on the complex chord changes. He was upset the engineer pulled the plug right in the middle of his work. I figured I had this mix on my computer and did a search. What I found surprised me. It was the session, not just a mix. This early version had Seth Lyon doing the drums. The song would ultimately appear of Fires Which Burnt Brightly. That version was updated, with Mike Musburger replacing Seth on the drums. Deniz Tek did the final guitar solo.

This rediscovered session file also had the second section of the original planned long piece, hence the Overture title. While working on it with Seth, he suggested just finishing the first part. The second section was an early version of She Sits In Her Room. See above. Curious that this would surface twice in the last few weeks. Now that I have the raw tracks, I can do a final mix with Richard’s guitar. The idea is to put out another digital only release of this track. I needed a B-side to do it right. After searching the memory banks, I decided to used the original rough mix of Bok,The Beer Elf. It’s not what Richard had in mind, but it is a blazing variation. I had hoped to get this out before Christmas, but I don’t see that happening. The Overture it a complex track and will take a few days to map out. Richard’s work deserves a listen, even if it wasn’t what he thought he could do given more time. It is the last piece Richard worked on for Donovan’s Brain.

The plan now is to complete the last three album mixes. I can add Jim’s bass should he be able to contribute. This means I should be able to get this off to be mastered in January. The art work is completed, so the process could move along quickly.

Continuing the studio archive search. I wanted to review a song that never got too far along. At one point I sent it over to my friend Gaz Hunter to see if he had any thoughts. He put a load of guitar on it, but it still wasn’t a song.
Finding it turned out to be a chore. I couldn’t remember the title I’d given it and there is another with a similar title. Turns out it’s called What They Want. I’d moved it to a different folder too.

Along the way I found a piece called Foolish. I had no idea what that might be. I thought maybe an early version of something. It turns out to be a piano study. Several ideas just strung together. If this got reworked into something else, I didn’t recognize it. I think I’m going to offer this one up as my part of a long piece Scott Sutherland wants to record next spring. I can do most anything with it to fit the larger idea.

What They Want Is pretty simple. A halftime section and a rocking section. I sat down and learned it. Except for the bridge. I’m playing some fancy chords there. I’ll chart it out tomorrow and then think about it. I’m thinking I could removed the halftime section and use it for another idea. The rockin’ part rocks. I’ll be doing some edit experiments. Some different chord choices might change things. This is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Something to keep me busy on these cold snowy day

The last two months have been a difficult time. Burying Bobby Sutliff was not meant to be how I’d be spending my summer. There was some comfort meeting up with Tim Lee and John Thomas, Bobby’s two close friends.

Music therapy has been the only way I’ve managed to keep myself occupied. After toying with a couple of Colter’s unfinished efforts, I pulled up one of my own. Ron’s New Song was recorded at Ric’s first drum session for the Brain. I quickly decided it wasn’t up to par with the others we’d done and shelved it. It was meant to be a rocker, but the tempo was too slow for that. The chords seemed too busy too. Again, I charted it out and started again. It’s now called Between Broken Lines. This one is a bit of architecture. The new track took some work to find the proper feel. I had to listen to what Ric was playing to find a groove. It’s taken a couple of passes to finesse the lyrics and the singing.

While working on this one, I’ve attacked several other projects. It worries me that I’ve been bouncing around between these various ideas. I started on a synth tune. It’s slowly building up. The one thing I did finish was a benefit digital single. Tim Lee and I have been working on ideas to raise some funds to help out Wendy Yee, Bobby’s wife. I decided to to a single. Neither song is new, but the pairing works. The A-side is a remix of Carefully Considered Answers from Fires Which Burnt Brightly. I was happy to get a chance to remix that one. Bobby played an important part in realizing the idea I had for Colter’s riff. For the B-side I did a mix of Donnerdodal und Emanzipation. This one had appeared on Eclipse And Debris, though in edited form. When Ric started coming around I pulled up some of these synth things to add human drums. Once he’d played on this one, just filed it away. I was very surprised when I revisited this one. Ric took my idea and did it in his own way. Very different from what I had envisioned. It was brilliant. For this release, I mixed the completed version, about twice as long as the original. It’s one I like very much. You can purchase this from our BandCamp store.

While working on Donnerdodal, I pulled up another synth piece. This unrelease song has the working title of Mick. I recorded some new parts and did a final mix. Again, Ric’s drums transformed this one. It will appear on one of the next albums.

Not done yet, I pulled up yet another of Colter’s songs. CGL aka Moose #2 was used for Where The DJs Roam and an excerpt can be heard on Convolutions. I’ve always liked this and wished we had finished it as a proper song. I did some edits and created an arrangement. Then I got the idea to send it over to Kris for her thoughts. She’s agreed to have a go at it.

While all this has been going on, the long awaited companion album to the So Good, I Can’t Take It documentary has finally been released. There are some big name Montana bands heard on this, Silk Worm, Deranged Diction, Ein Heit and Steel Pole Bathtub. The Donovan’s Brain track, Lowlands is an early 4-track cassette recording which was on the 1990 cassette Peer Pressure League. It’s a raw example of my earliest songwriting attempts. You can hear the seeds of the Brain on this one. There was talk of rerecording this one, which still may happen

One of the stops along the way was a visit with Scott Sutherland. I hadn’t seen Scott for over two years. This was a quiet gathering at his house, south of Seattle. Ideas were discussed and the previous albums assessed. Scott has a curious idea brewing which we will turn to shortly. He had a good suggestion for a drummer for this next session.

Prior to the West Coast trip, there was a drive to Missoula. This gave me a chance to review the next mixes in the final running order. Disappearing Firelight was the only mix that was rejected. It was a simple matter to spin it again when we got back home. With this done, I once again took a stroll through the folder of songs that have been shelved for one reason or another. The 2011 track Break In The Weather seemed a lot farther along than I had thought. I pulled it up to work on. In the end it got some new lyrics for the bridge and second verse and new vocals. Piano, synth and guitar was also added. I spent a couple of days dialing in the mix. This one has now moved up to the A list for the next album.

Another surprise was Ghosts, though I don’t know it will be called that in the end. I didn’t recognize the complete makeover this one had got.

Next I decided to return to the two songs of Colter’s which were abandoned. I’ve worked on Scatter Gun in the past, but I’m still not happy with the results. The drum track is fantastic. The problem was with the original idea. Too many chords and two bridge sections that don’t add to the song. This one will take some thought, which I don’t have time for right now.

The other one of Colter’s was titled Going Back To Cali. It’s a pleasant set of chord changes, but they don’t amount to a song. Again, it’s a great drum track Ric did. You can hear him trying to make something happen. I deconstructed the song, charting the chords and arrangement. I decided to extend the introduction and add a solo section. I wrote all new chord changes to go over that. I just did a framework to see what I had: guitar, bass and organ. I’ll return to this shortly.

At the moment I’m trying to get If Not For You, Anyway up to speed. I wasn’t happy with the lyrics or vocals. A second try at the lyrics failed also. The third draft seems to have solved the problem. I will be working on the final mix this week. I found I had done the guitar solo, so that is checked off.

At the moment it appears Jim Dickson won’t be able to get to our songs until late in the year. This will push back the release until March. I’ll use the time to return to writing new material

The cover are for Faith In Failure is now nearly complete. Only the disc face remains to be tackled.

Work on the album is currently paused while waiting for overdubs from Jim Dickson, Bobby Sutliff and Matt Piucci. If the current schedule holds, the record should be completed by September.

The new songs were written and recorded in 2021 and 2022 with one exception. The instrumental It’s All Opening Up dates back to the end of 2020. Material for two more albums were recorded over the same period. The abundance of material meant others were recorded during the Sandbox sessions and put aside once the tracks for those albums were decided. Two songs penciled in for Faith In Failure were dropped from the list once the final running order was decided. There are two more albums to follow over the next year or so. The third album in this series will included some stray tracks never released on CD.

Upon returning, I did a final mix of Charging Confusion. This turned out to be a much more complex song than I had realized. It’s one of the “big” songs and has been given the closing song position the track list.

Next up was Designer Fabrics. This is another of the heavier songs. After some work, I realized it needed one of the A-list bass players to do the job. Joe Hughes was the obvious choice. I could hear an upfront part, almost a lead bass line. He was up for it, though it took a while to fit in his schedule. When I checked back, I suggested maybe Kris could sing a bit on it too. This reminded her she had Bancroft Way on her desk. I was assured they would clear of the next weekend to tackle these two. Joe agreed to play bass on Bancroft as well. My efforts fell way short of the goal. These two are pros and had the work done as promised. I’d given Kris free reign to add to the lyrics on Bancroft. After working in it here, I thought the bridge was where she needed to look. The results were a nice surprise. Both songs have been lifted up to the next level.

I’d asked Matt Piucci about doing some guitar. He told me to get back to him in July. It was Designer Fabrics that he would get. When I followed up with him, he said to send the track and he’d get to it soon.

There were some parts I’d added to Designer I had some doubts about. When the track was returned with the new bass and vocals,I stripped off some guitars I’d added. First off, I redid my vocals to better match Kris. I came up with a repeating piano figure for the intro. I decided it would work on this section every time it came up. I also added some droning mellotron, inspired by Brian Jones’ work on We Love You.

Bancroft Way is the follow up to the song Telegraph Avenue on Sandbox Shadows. It still needed a guitar part over the end. I decided to redo the whole power chord part and take it through the solo. That was fairly easy. I may revisit it one more time to see if an idea I have will work on the chorus. I just now went through the song and did some repairs to the two lead vocal tracks. It now works better with Kris’ harmonies. Once I sort of the guitar, it’ll be ready for mixing.

There is now the final ten song running order. It may change once all the mixes are reviewed. The final three songs needing bass overdubs will be sent down to Jim Dickson as soon as he’s back in Sydney. One of those still needs a guitar solo. This is to be determined.

Meanwhile the new album has been getting reviews and radio play. That was the goal of that release. Keep our name active while work continues on this new record.

One of the guitar parts I scrapped was the middle section solo. There was also the matter of the end solo. I decided it would be guitar on the end section and fuzzy organ for the middle. The guitar solo took some work to find the correct sound. I first tried the SG Standard, then the Jazzmaster. Neither gave me the sound I needed. These tests were good practice, looking for the final lines. In the end it was the Les Paul and Marshall that did the business. I kept the signal chain simple, just adding MXR Distortion+ for a little drive.

For the organ solo, I set up the Farfisa with distortion. I was looking for that Soft Machine fuzz organ sound. This came together quickly. It was mostly a matter of dialing in the sound. I did a second track for the left hand bass notes.

Now for some vocal repairs and a mix.

It’s important for me to keep some notes so I know where I need to direct my attention.

The new album songs are very much in the Brain style. Some of the textures heard on Chiêm Bao Thấy Bậu are being incorporated into the new songs. This is just a natural progression. After fourteen albums, no one should expect us to keep repeating ourselves. We never have. That said, you should expect a couple of classic Brain jangles on the new one.

The process of finishing the songs and then determining which ten will make the best album is the exciting part of the effort. Nothing is set in stone until it’s mastered.

I returned to Bancroft Way last week. The track was still in basic form. The vocals were the first concern. Work was done to get final vocals. That also required finalizing the lyrics. The chorus had never felt finished. A piano part over the chorus informed the new lyrics and vocal delivery. In an effort to move the song forward, organ, mellotron, guitar and a synth part have been added. At this point all thirteen songs under consideration for the next album are pretty far along. I feel confident enough to put them aside while I tend to other business. A few bass parts will be assigned to Jim Dickson and Joe Hughes now. Kris will get the revamped version of Bancroft for vocal overdubs. The current state of things makes the October deadline seem well within reach.

I’m already thinking about the cover design. Discussions with the pressing plant have dashed the original idea. The quote from the printer came in far too high to make it possible. A second idea is being drafted.

A video for I Would Not should be completed early next week. Kris did some footage for the idea I had. A foundation for the idea has been assembled and finish work will be applied in the next two days.

Meanwhile the new record has gotten some radio play and the first reviews have appeared. A detailed review was published this week on the Terrastock site. You can read it here.

Donovan’s Brain will continue work on the material we’d accumulated for the next three albums. When new songs appear, there will be some audition drum sessions. It’s not a matter that needs to be resolved just now. The album currently under construction will be out in January 2023. The final track listing is still in flux. A final decision will be made in September. There are actually 13 songs in play at the moment.

Over the last few days, Not For Me, Anyway, Biscuit Tin amd Ghosts have gotten some new parts. Lyrics have been finalized and final vocals recorded. Time now is split between promoting the new release and racing forward with the next ones. Jim Dickson has confirmed he’ll be on board to add some bass. That will be in August after he returns from holiday.

The song formerly known as Ghosts is one of two old songs that had been shelved. I suspect they both date from the Turned Up Later Era. A few weeks ago I reviewed all the cast offs in search of usable drums. Not Coming Back and Ghosts got moved up to the active file for overhaul. The remake of Ghosts has come out well enough that it is now on the A list for the next album. The chord changes were altered and simplified. The arrangement was also altered, extending the parts. A new set of lyrics were written. After doing some work, I decided that the song needed one more verse after the bridge. That edit has now been done. The transformation has been pretty dramatic.

Meanwhile, Will You has been sent off to Bobby Sutliff for a string arrangement. This is the final piece to that puzzle. It could be the central song on the new album.

In the background, work on the release of Chiêm bao thấy bậu is moving forward. A lot of elements need to be in place for release day. At the same time, I’m already thinking about the cover format for the next album…

Work on a new album continues at a steady pace. Most of the ten new songs are pretty far along. The work now is focused on getting solid vocals on all the tracks and adding to the arrangements. Only Bancroft Way is in what is called the framework stage. Kris has suggest she might be able to add to this. She’s currently back in the States, so she’s not able to do any work at the moment. Two or three songs will be offered to Jim Dickson for bass overdubs. A review of the songs in the next few weeks will be an opportunity to make some important decisions about assigning parts. A quick look shows this album is nearly half finished.

Like most things Donovan’s Brain does, there is a good chance things will change before the album is completed.

Linear progress is not a term well known in the world of Donovan’s Brain. It’s not been uncommon for The Brain to have worked on two albums at the same time. Tiny Crustacean Light Show and The Great Leap Forward were the product on one three year recording period. Turned Up Later and Heirloom Varieties were also created over one continuous five year session. The period between 2016 and 2022 gets even more convoluted. Those six years produced material for seven new albums, and a three disc box set. Burnt Trees In The Snow, Sandbox Dispatches and Two Suns Two Shadows grew out of work on the follow up to Heirloom Varieties. The assembled albums were not arbitrary collections, but each was well thought out.

As Sandbox Shadows was being finalized, new material was being written and recorded. There were several leftover songs as well. These thirty songs were organized into three folders, three potential albums. The one labeled “Soundtrack” was meant to be the third album to be released. That quickly changed in December 2021, when it moved to the front of the line. One new song was added to that collection in February. Another song appears in two different versions on the album. While all this was going on, several older songs were given a new life. What this means, is despite releasing a new album in the Spring of 2022, there are three more albums in the works. Make no mistake, these are songs which are fully formed and existing as basic recordings or completed tracks.

That is where it stands today. A new album of Brain songs has been under construction since last Fall. Now it is time to focus on these ten songs. Three, possibly four are now competed and have received a final mix. Work will continue on the others with the goal of seeing it released by January 2023. This diary page will follow the work on the album currently titled Faith In Failure. Most likely new songs will appear over the next few months. Work on the other sixteen songs will occur as time abd attention allows.

Today’s task was a second round of piano overdubs on Will You. This is the newest song on the track list, having been written and recorded in early February. The oldest song on the new album dates back to 1992 or so. It was recorded three times in rapid succession. This version is the third attempt. Along the way the words and melody have been revised several times. There may be a couple of elements of the original track on this version. I had enough faith in it that I asked Tom Stevens to add a bass part. When I reviewed the work a couple of days ago, I felt like the mix wasn’t quite there yet. Otherwise, it’s considered done and assured a place on the next release.

No rest for the wicked.