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MP3 Jordan Kolton - When the Hammer Drops
11 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Folk Rock, ROCK: Acoustic
Details:
June 7, 2003 -- Riomaggiore, Italy
A lot of people ask me what I''m doing here. I''ll tell you...
I came here for the first time in 1999. I was 22-years-old, fresh out of college, and backpacking around europe. I had my guitar, my journal, and no return ticket...
Playing a little street music -- making some traveling change -- seemed worth a try. It worked. My guitar case routinely filled with francs, lire, deutchmarks, kroner and pesetas, not to mention the occasional brick of hash or flirtatious phone number. I went back to New York (one of my erstwhile homes) after a year and a half. But I hadn''t gotten it out of my system...
I went to Lake Tahoe. The plan was to become a ski bum, but instead I ended up with a rock ''n'' roll band called Childproof. We developed material that I had written in my travels, along with some tunes by Andre Mistier, my college friend and lead guitarist for the band (Childproof''s ''Evicted from the Birdhouse'' will be available on cdbaby soon, and Andre is releasing a record this year, too. More on that in the future...). We gigged, toured, and -- when we were on -- rocked. Mostly we learned, especially Andre and I who were backed by an older and more experienced rhythm section. As Childproof''s history came to a close, we toured through Portland, OR, and I found a new pace to call home.
(Don''t worry, I''m getting to the part where I explain why I''m living in Italy)
In Portland, I found the kind of music community I had always hoped for. Singer-songwriters galore, excellent accoustic music, and all the rock, funk, blues and jazz you could hope for... With in a month, I was lucky enough to meet Billy Oskay and start interning at his Big Red Studio. My year in Portland was a musical -- especially recorded music -- crucible for me. I worked with amazing artists from around the world in an inspiring rustic setting. The studio is an audiophile''s dream, and I started to appreciate the art of recording. I also wrote, played, and met some fantastic Portland musicians. The groundwork was laid for a solo album...
With my newly-acquired portable pro-tools-and-laptop recording studio, I started to demo an album. My plan was to make some rough sketches of my tunes, find some musicians to play them with me, and record them at Big Red. Where could I go that would offer some inspiration and be a peaceful place to work? I had been longing to go back to Italy, and Riomaggiore is a truly charmed riviera village. I figured I''d take two weeks...
Five months later, I had scored a sweet appartamento, lined up a summer''s worth of gigs, and had made a great life for myself here. A quick trip to Oregon was my whirlwind chance to find musicians, rehearse, record, mix and master ''When the Hammer Drops.'' Ben Witte played drums and percussion beautifully. His years in jam bands back east really trained his ear, and he showed great sensitivity to the singer-songwriter material. Peter Rosenfeld, an orchestral double-bass-playing friend of mine, came up from Berkeley to try his hand at the folk-rock genre, and he shined, pizzicato or bowed, funk or ballad or rock. What tone! Several guest musicians were a treat to work with: my great friend, roommate and once-partner-in-crime in Italy, Andrew Lynch, did some fine vocals, percussion, and vocal production, as well as doing all of the design work for the album. He, too, is currenty recording a funk project -- I''ll give you the update as soon as I can. Steven Pile laid down some sweet slide guitar and some tight electric bass, and it was a treat to work with him again -- Billy Oskay and I had recorded and, with Steve, co-produced, his 2002 release ''Overnight.'' Check it out on cdbaby. Vocals by Jess Lageson, electric guitar by Ben Cartwright, and percussion by Josh Hurwitz were all fantastic, and before I knew it, I had a CD. Billy''s ear, experience and attitude brought the utmost out of everybody''s performance, and I can''t even begin to describe how much I respect his work, how indebted I am to him for all I''ve learned, and how much I value our friendship. Check out https://www.tradebit.com for information on a veritable temple of music...
It''s been three days since my disks arrived here in Riomaggiore. I''m still high from last night''s release-party -- a solo gig overlooking the Mediterranean. If you''re traveling this way, come see me. It''s a little town and I''m not hard to find. And drop me a line if ''When the Hammer Drops'' says something to you that you want to share.
Grazie. Arrivederci.
- Jordan
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