The Kintners Music Pour One Out by Marc Schuster and 5 questions.

A hamburger I made on the grill. No reason, I just like burgers.

Keri and I got a call, or an email.

Not long ago, we were asked to collaborate on a tune with Marc Schuster. I enjoyed listening to what Marc sent and he seemed very open to our ideas. It felt good. I wanted to talk a bit about it for a few reasons. 1. I really like his song. 2. I’d like to do more of this kind of work. 3. I hope once folks see how easy it is and how good it sounds, they’ll email us like Marc did.

The Bass.

I did the bass in a few takes gave everything to Marc. I had a few styles going and wanted him to decide what he thought was best. The song was sparse, so I leaned into that a bit. But I didn’t know if the final would be sparse or not, so sent versions accordingly as well.

The thing about fretless to me, is the trombone type slides. Even in sad music, they add a little something. Not a lot of instruments can do it. I’m always thinking trombone with fretless bass.

The Choir.

Keri and I both grew up singing in church. The choir feels like a natural thing for us. It’s nice to bring the best part of church into the studio. I tried lots of mic combinations and rooms. My small studio room wasn’t ideal for tons of choir parts. But setting up a condenser, and then mid/side for the soprano parts, seemed to do the trick with Keri all over the stereo field. Like a ghost. Which worked (in my opinion).

Choir isn’t going to work for every tune. But wow is it sure nice to use when you can do it! I love the atmosphere and Keri’s soprano with lots of reverb. There will be some more of that coming in the future!

Pics from tracking here in Texas.

A big condenser and a big room seemed great for choir parts

5 questions for Marc Schuster.

1. Is there anything applying to message with this song you feel like saying, or is it a “song says it all” type deal?

I actually had to go back and listen to the words to answer this one. Maybe it’s like the flip side of “My Way.” Like, you can always do things your way and take pride in the fact that you never compromised, but then you end up the old, lonely guy at the bar with nothing to offer but an ear and sympathy.

2. I have a hard time with figures mourning themselves in the media. Some folks have had it made my whole life and want the public to feel sorry for them. But, I love lamenting myself in a song. I feel like that’s where it is supposed to happen. lol. Any thoughts about that?

Yeah, I think a bit of self-pity is good in a song, but it’s also good to have a sense of humor about it, or at least a sense of self-awareness. And sometimes it’s just a case of deriving at least something from a prolonged slump: That was a shitty couple of weeks, but at least I got this song out of it. And there’s always the possibility that it might resonate with someone else.

3. This sounds like a play or soundtrack.. would you say that’s intentional?

I had a more upbeat version that just wasn’t working, so I sat down at my keyboard and tried to strip it down and play the verse and chorus in one take. But I’m not a great piano player, so I had to take it slow. While I was working on it, though, it did sound like something that could fit into a Bertholt Brecht play or something like that. As far as intention goes, I’ve been listening to Paul McCartney’s first solo album, McCartney, a lot lately, and I wanted to do something like that. Maybe not the way it sounds so much as the homespun, DIY approach to making music.

4. How was working with The Kintners?

Amazing. Seriously. You guys obviously love making music, and that makes the whole endeavor feel more meaningful. And this is kind of funny: You were telling me about your ribbon mic and how well it works for recording acoustic guitars, and I replied “How about vocals?” Meaning “How’s the mic for recording vocals?” But I think you read it as a request for vocals for the song, which in turn led to the choir parts that you and Keri recorded. It’s one of those instances where I could have clarified, but why? Especially when letting it go could lead us somewhere completely unexpected and cool.

5. For the last question, was hoping you could give us your deets so I don’t have to look everything up. I love your blog. Start there!

I’m off social media, but I blog at marcschuster.com. My main gig, music-wise, is playing bass in DelCobras, which gives me a chance to balance out the downbeat nature of my own music with some feel-good power pop. You can find more info about DelCobras at DelCobras.com. When I’m not playing music, I teach English.

Share this one. Not for us, not for Marc, but for music you like listening to.

I feel like when we do something like this together with folks we meet online, we are exercising the good things humans can do. Celebrating them, even if the song is sad. Sharing a song is your throwing the confetti up. Participating. It inspires more songs. Personally, that’s something I could use in my life.

Sharing a song with a friend is telling them you love them, at least if you are my friend it is.