Are you ready to follow the rabbit down the hole?
As already mentioned, Patrick left behind many boxes filled with lyric sheets, note books, cassette tapes and reel to reel tapes.
Naturally, I went through the lyrics and note books first, and then many of the cassette tapes. In truth, I've still not come close to finishing off the cassettes, and I had barely given the reel to reel tapes a proper look in. But now that the Black Apple project has concluded, I have plenty of time to listen to those tapes. And I have been pleasantly shocked upon what I've been finding. But I'll come back to that later.
Patrick was a wee sporadic with his notes and labels, but then, most songwriters work fast and have no time for such organizations in the moment of creating.
Many of his tapes were labeled with dates, but not much more. I was able to deduce that Patrick had a system that he liked, one which correlated dates between lyrics books and tapes. That was the only way to tie the songs to dates and some times titles.
Sadly, much of his reel to reel cases had rotted due to a damp attic with a leaking roof. But really, I couldn't read much of anything written on the cardboard cases anyway, as they had been written in pencil and faded over time. So I found myself shying away from that work load. Its a bit of a hassle to load reels repeatedly. But I did load a few over the past few years and I'm at it again.
When I put the first reel on, I was surprised to hear songs that were clearly recorded in the 60s and 70s. It is such an odd feeling to hear new music from that era, and especially music that sounded vaguely familiar. And now that nearly 5 years have gone by since this journey started for me, and 5 albums later, I am excited to put on a reel tape and hear a band from the 70s cover one of Patrick's songs that Famous Groupies has also covered. Its quite exhilarating.
Some time ago in a previous journal post, I had the idea of releasing a batch of Patrick's demos, but that discussion didn't go over well with everyone in the family (for reasons I won't go into), Needless to say, we are all in agreement that releasing some of these demos as recorded by various artists from the 60s and 70s is a good idea. So, who are these artists anyway? Well, I'm hoping that you can help us figure that out. We believe that we recognize at least three of them, and yes, they are famous. Or at least, they were famous at that time. I think I recognize two others who may be a bit more obscure. A fair mix of American and UK groups here.
I put together a video with a montage of Patrick's songs as recorded by these artists. The American groups reminded me of their breezy summer beaches, so I pulled some related footage from the tube and used that as the back drop for this audio montage. I should explain that what you are about to hear will sound different from our versions (Famous Groupies). It was explained to me that back in those days it was common to have multiple arrangements of songs you have written for other artists. This was expected by the labels, and the song needed to be customized for that specific artist, so that they could perform it as a song that blended well with their other songs and records.
Enjoy chasing this rabbit, we hope to see you on the other side.
KM
As already mentioned, Patrick left behind many boxes filled with lyric sheets, note books, cassette tapes and reel to reel tapes.
Naturally, I went through the lyrics and note books first, and then many of the cassette tapes. In truth, I've still not come close to finishing off the cassettes, and I had barely given the reel to reel tapes a proper look in. But now that the Black Apple project has concluded, I have plenty of time to listen to those tapes. And I have been pleasantly shocked upon what I've been finding. But I'll come back to that later.
Patrick was a wee sporadic with his notes and labels, but then, most songwriters work fast and have no time for such organizations in the moment of creating.
Many of his tapes were labeled with dates, but not much more. I was able to deduce that Patrick had a system that he liked, one which correlated dates between lyrics books and tapes. That was the only way to tie the songs to dates and some times titles.
Sadly, much of his reel to reel cases had rotted due to a damp attic with a leaking roof. But really, I couldn't read much of anything written on the cardboard cases anyway, as they had been written in pencil and faded over time. So I found myself shying away from that work load. Its a bit of a hassle to load reels repeatedly. But I did load a few over the past few years and I'm at it again.
When I put the first reel on, I was surprised to hear songs that were clearly recorded in the 60s and 70s. It is such an odd feeling to hear new music from that era, and especially music that sounded vaguely familiar. And now that nearly 5 years have gone by since this journey started for me, and 5 albums later, I am excited to put on a reel tape and hear a band from the 70s cover one of Patrick's songs that Famous Groupies has also covered. Its quite exhilarating.
Some time ago in a previous journal post, I had the idea of releasing a batch of Patrick's demos, but that discussion didn't go over well with everyone in the family (for reasons I won't go into), Needless to say, we are all in agreement that releasing some of these demos as recorded by various artists from the 60s and 70s is a good idea. So, who are these artists anyway? Well, I'm hoping that you can help us figure that out. We believe that we recognize at least three of them, and yes, they are famous. Or at least, they were famous at that time. I think I recognize two others who may be a bit more obscure. A fair mix of American and UK groups here.
I put together a video with a montage of Patrick's songs as recorded by these artists. The American groups reminded me of their breezy summer beaches, so I pulled some related footage from the tube and used that as the back drop for this audio montage. I should explain that what you are about to hear will sound different from our versions (Famous Groupies). It was explained to me that back in those days it was common to have multiple arrangements of songs you have written for other artists. This was expected by the labels, and the song needed to be customized for that specific artist, so that they could perform it as a song that blended well with their other songs and records.
Enjoy chasing this rabbit, we hope to see you on the other side.
KM