Another instrumental track from my project about my Danish ancestors.
Huge thanks again to Joe Bush for the drums here.
1950 National Dynamic lap steel and Bondo Gedsercaster guitar.
Last September I visited Denmark and had the chance to go inside this historic
lighthouse where my great-grandfather was the keeper 1915-20.
It is closed to the public, but on spec I wrote a letter addressed to “The Lighthouse Keeper”
and a while later I received a reply telling me how to gain access to the place.
I am grateful to Anders and Penille for opening up the lighthouse and allowing me, my son
and my brother to climb right to the top.
Over coffee and Danish strudel, Anders showed me a book from 1927 which confirmed
the record of my great-grandfather’s time at the lighthouse. It was as though I had passed
his polygraph test, and that this stranger from Hong Kong really was telling the truth
about his ancient ancestor.
The lighthouse was built in 1900, and the huge Fresnel lens is still operational.
The light flashes every 5 seconds, and I’ve arranged the closing section of the
song to reflect that timing.
Here is the link to the audio, but I’m told that a YouTube search for “Tad Lowder”
turns up a video in which my song has been used. What a thief!
Very lovely instrumental track. I always love your lap steel playing. Sounds great in this one. And I don’t have any complaints about the drum mix on this one. You did something different, didn’t you? (It was never about the drum playing; Joe Bush does an excellent job).
I should have added that I indeed owe Joe a huge debt of gratitude.
When asked, he happily came on board with this project knowing it would be for
at least a year. I know he put in countless hours of drum tracking for me and
that’s a big ask when you’re working and have a family.
Very classy; love the organ start and then the tone of the guitars. Nice sound on the cymbals and the high end of the kit. I can hear this as the soundtrack of something a bit melancholy on the TV. Or film. Is this also your cool new amp?
Steve, thanks for your kind comments on this track.
I chose the organ as the starter and finisher after seeing the beautiful model ships that
hang from the ceiling above the central aisle in most Danish Lutheran churches.
They represent successful trade and give thanks for the safe arrival of ships and crews.
So for me, the lighthouse was also a sacred symbol.
Yes, this is also the Tungsten Cortez amp. I purchased it last year in advance of
the creation of this new album, determined to capture a decent sound for my
guitars. I used the amp on every take. I am very happy with it, and am chuffed you like the tones here.
I’m using a Weber Minimass and am also delighted with what it allows me to achieve
in my tiny apartment here where the neighbours would chop me into stir-fry bits
if I didn’t have that gizmo!
I would love to see night vision of the lighthouse with this song as background,
but we all have our dreams!
I would have like to hear Joe’s drums up just a hair. Especially toward the end you have a lot of other tracks going on, and so his playing really gets pushed back into the mix. They aren’t completely lost, but they are definitely less prominent. Of course, this is all personal taste.
I’m listening again. Still love it. But I’m just going to agree with Larry on this. A little more drums would be great. And I do like the Tungsten Cortez. May I ask how you miked it?
Well, coincidentally, I finished mastering this album yesterday,
and one of the mix changes I ended up making during that week-long process
was to this track. So Larry and Leon, you may well prefer the
final version which I have now posted. We were on the same page!
It was an SM57 on the Tungsten throughout this album, right in the
middle of the cone about 1/2" from the grille.
Nice playing and composition. It kind of has a Mark Knopfler quality in a way (I say that as a compliment). I’m thinking of his soundtrack to the film Local Hero from the early 80’s. I thought the mix was good. Drums up or down certainly would be a matter of taste. No suggestions for improvement.
Thanks for listening and for your kind remarks.
I am happy enough if listeners don’t think
a tune is pure sludge, so any extra compliment is
more than welcome.
This is mix #26, so if it isn’t right now, it never will be.
