We want to rock. Natasha’s car screeches over twisty country roads winding along the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. Destination: Jam Nite Studios to slap down a couple of demo songs. We pull up to the cabin-like mansion via a crunchy gravel driveway and no sooner do the car doors clunk shut then little Max comes running out to greet us. His grandpa, Big Al Carter, engineers the session and set us up with some of the gear. Orin's playing darbuka, Natasha plays bass and sings vocals. Big Al hands me one of his prized Red acoustic electric guitars mounted to the studio wall. I eschew a stool for a comfy patch of carpet. He mentions that he's never seen anybody record while sitting down. However, that's how I've been playing these songs to date, so we'll keep it that way. We are about to rock our songs.
The studio is magnificent. There is a bar on one end, an all-American diner setup on another end, complete with plush benches and a pinball machine. A two-year-old-Max scampers around the studio picking up random instruments. He fixates upon a drum pad, bangs on it, and abandons it for another, entranced yet once again. We frolic through a lively rendition of 'Tuberculicious' and a cover version of Sinéad O'Connor's 'Last Day of Our Acquaintance' one with bass, another without. Natasha lays down the bass track and Max takes hold of the mic screaming into it, "ON HIS FARM HE HAD A POLAR BEAR! EE-EYE EE-EYE OH!"
Big Al fiddles with the knobs tweaking the EQ. We decide to cut the guitar tones drastically, letting the darbuka pierce through the mix. These songs seem tame.
Gripping the mic with a vengeance and stamping his foot Max shouts, "OLD McDONALD HAD A FARM!" My shoulders slump. Clearly, Max is rocking it and thrashing it mightier than we can ever possibly dream of any longer.
Selah,
Rev. Brobish Tiburon Perdue
Senior Affenreich Correspondent
PDX, Autumn 2008
Here are some ‘Tuberculicious' lyrics...
"Death settles gently like mist upon a field
Your eyes before me are urging me to heal
you look straight through me and it's hard to look away
But baby I want to so please take me to bed
Fear is like glass because it can be broken
The words you offer never need to be spoken
'Cuz I know - because I know
Because we never are prepared
I was not ready to let go
And yet still was taken
Though the going was so slow
I can't do this but we can
I feel your presence in the ring upon my hand
The move forward - every step toward you
It's your love that keeps me guided
It's the thing that sees me through
Fear is like glass because it can be broken
The words you offer never need to be spoken
'Cuz I know - because I know
So hold me and take me
Love me and break through my walls
'Cuz I know - because I know"
