A Track That Rocks Straight Out On Top and does A Rick Wakeman Type Of Turn at The End.
Americana in it's truest form. Blues Rock add Original Funk attitude. Current Cd Releases are available at www.cdbaby.com/cd/shaneobrien or the official OBRIES
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Story behind the song
Our Music studio has all the memorabilia for the last 30 or years and we run out of wall space. Therefor we pin things up on the ceiling now. A labor of Love to go on with our musical dreams...Something about a "Labor of Love" (C)2003
Here's a strange one from the collection of music I have penned. This one actually goes back a way in time. I think around 2003. I couldn't find the musicians I needed in the moment this song idea was actually in the now, so I had to use two cheapo keyboards I had kicking around for two different time signatures in regard to the resulting drum patterns. That would have meant two different drummers for a session as well. Remember the idea was current at that moment and ideas are so easy to forget, thus never return once forgotten.
So as it turns out, to get this song idea out of my head in the now, I had to do everything on my own, rather spontaneously as well, considering the whole song idea gets down in one take as usual. With a couple of over dubs to get the other instruments included.
It's so funny as I listen to this and reflect back to this night in 2003. I came home from a job in Parkway Calabasas, CA, which took a couple of hours to get home to my little home in San Pedro and got started on this idea which began during the drive on the 405 FWY. Since I lived on my own, it was "a go" as soon as I came in the door. I pushed all the on buttons for playing and recording. It took most of the night to get the idea developed into a legible song format.
So about midnight the idea had developed into something cohesive enough to play and sing all the way through, and that is where the "one take" took place. Keep in mind, for us musicians who write and record a lot, that a session such as this one, never ends until an initial 1st mix is completed and transferred into something that could be played back for reviews. To me that meant that I wasn't done until I had a mix on CD for listening to on the drive back to work in Parkway Calabasas, a regularly minimum two hour drive 5 and 6 days a week.
If I ended up with a couple hours sleep before heading back to work the next morning, I'd be lying, I won't do that here today. The alarm clock went off just as the first initial mix was burned onto disc. I think I got to listen to "Labor of Love" about a dozen times on my drive From Pedro to the Valley.
Just for laughs I’ll explain a little bit about the lyrics. I begin the vocal line in this piece as an invitation to other musicians to join me in this recording session, "I got an open track..." then I say something about headphones and “Can you hear yourself? and “Are the levels alright? or something like that... A normal conversation to any recording session. If you can imagine with me for a second, I'll describe just a bit more...
OK, so the other player is set and here we go, tapes rolling. That singer (me) is singing some weird or mixed up statement, but not really a mixed up statement at all. I'll explain. He is looking at the walls around him and describes what he sees. Walls jammed packed with pictures and memorabilia left by the many talented Musicians and Union Ironworkers who had taken part of their time in their daily lives, to stop by for a short period, to say hello and just be there. In one statement the singer says something about "There's more room up there...". That’s a reference to there being no more room on any wall, in every room, for any additional framed photos. So where do you go with more mementos from future visitors? Up, Up on the ceiling, "There's more room up there"... All funny, real to life stuff. As to the lyrics in this song, I could go on and on . For today though, and my own needs, just getting "Labor of Love" at a place that I could easily locate it when the urge hits me, is just fine. Right here on my Soundclick.com/shaneobrienandobriensedge profile
