DECEMBER 2003
Jeff does a percussion session for “Mexico” and the French Medley. I especially like the tympani at the end of “Mexico”.

We also mix “Mexico” and discover to our horror a click track tic-tocking away during Chris’ acoustic guitar section, probably leaked thru his headphones while recording. No way we can remove it without affecting the guitar, so we look for new approaches.

A really great improv errupts during a rehearsal-INSTANT TUNE! Juz luuuuvs dem ol’ improvs that don’t need much tweeking to become new compositions!

NOVEMBER 2003
Warren and Chris finish their tracks for “Mexico”, and apparently this time they REALLY MEAN IT! NO MORE NEW IDEAS! They also finish mixing Chris’ tune “TANNAM”; it therefore receives the honor of being the FIRST TUNE MIXED for FTV8.

I decide to re-cut bass tracks for “TEARS OF A VELVET CLOWN” using the Steinberger I knocked the frets out of recently [a consequence of having Percy Jones & Tunnels stay at my house last month]. There were always a couple of sections that seemed to call for a fretless, but I end up using it on 90% of the tune! Warren seems pleased at the results.

In other boring equipment news, I trade in the ol’ Ibanez 5-string for an electric blue Cort 6-string. I subsequently have to remind myself there are, in fact, lower frequencies that can be utilized from time to time.

More twice weekly rehearsals with Jeff, more refinement of new tunes.

OCTOBER 2003
Another improv session yields 2 more gems: One is fantastic and will require very little in the way of re-writes and could essentially be played verbatim, at least until the proverbial “better ideas” emerge. The 2nd has quite a few good sections but will need further drafts. FTV9 may arrive sooner than we think [ohhh, God….].

I junk the “ARACHNOID” section of the French medley [couldn’t fake my way thru the fancy piano runs-sorry guys] in favor of a 2 minute clip from an ANGE tune. Originally, I wanted to avoid covering anything by any French bands still in existance, but it seemed bizarre to NOT cover Mr DeCamps & co. Blame the harpsichord…

I record them keyboards Oct 20th. As of this writing [Oct 23], cringing is at a minimum. The PULSAR section is quite a bear to record, due to the loooooong gaps between the heavy accents [and no, a click track doesn’t help]. Not to mention my having learned one of the sections incorrectly. However, Howie’s exquisite sense of pitch saves the day.

Preliminary mixes of “Tannam” and “Everything Works…” are due on the last weekend in October.

SEPTEMBER 2003
Still more tweeking on “Tannam” and “Everything Works in Mexico”, delaying mixing until October. The results are certainly worth it, judging from the working tracks I’ve heard.

Jeff and I finally record our rhythmn tracks for Warren’s tune “Tears of a Velvet Clown”. Nice to not have THAT hanging over our heads anymore.

To save time on finishing the cd, Warren opts out of contributing to the French medley. After weighing several options [including guest keyboardists], I decide to learn the keyboard parts myself, and rent a Quadraverb for a month. This is the 1st time I’ve played extensive keys on a French TV record [aside from a stray chord here and there].

Once Jeff & I finish with “Tears…”, we begin recording a series of improvs during rehearsals. One looks very promising.