Producer's notes..
Steve Martin * The Crow
new songs for the 5-string banjo
It has been 45 years or thereabouts that I have been listening to Steve play the banjo. We both started about the same week, in the mid-'60's music haze found in Garden Grove, California, during our years working in the Disneyland Magic shop. One day at my house, my brother Bill had a friend of his over playing music. (Dave Simpson) Dave was playing his RB 150 banjo.. He kind of knew Jesse James, Jed Clampett, Hard Ain't it Hard.. and Cripple Creek. It was the best sound we'd ever heard. I remember Steve asking this music store owner (Dave owned the Long Beach McCabe's Guitar Shop) “just how much is a good. used.. cheap banjo, anyway?” Well, Steve ended up buying that banjo from him, and I think you'll agree, when you hear the Clawhammer Medley on the album, it was a smart move. It records GREAT.
Dec. 19 that year, my 18th birthday, a begged for gift from my father appeared. I had my first banjo, a Ludwig, and started my career as a groupie for the Dillards… well, I did average seeing at least 6 -7 of their shows a month, watching Doug like a hawk. I remember showing Steve during that following year Dillard, Keith, and Scruggs licks I was picking up from slowing down records and watching Douglas… about half way through he would go his own way. Soon, a couple years later, his own way led to his own tunes, and the ones he came up with often made me jealous. That was then.
Over the ensuing years every now and then he would say, “hey, listen to this new tune”, and once more he had come up with a new statement for the banjo. Now, “only 45 years later”, there are enough for a whole album. Instead of jealous, I am the proud producer of what I think is the best album of new music for the 5-string banjo in years.
I went to several different musical worlds to frame his notes and found, that like his film and book works, there were many different frames that seemed appropriate. I was able to use almost every recording technique I have picked up from doing film scoring - from arranging to recording in advance for something to go along with something else that hasn't been done yet. . . and it all worked out.
The Calico Train, starting as an instrumental, just sounded Irish to me. I told Steve to get the coming lyrics to reflect those influences. He did. As Mary Black is one of Steve's favorite singers, I emailed Joe in Dublin (her husband/manager) about our hope to have her sing Steve's song. On the way back from Dublin three weeks later I felt like that dream had come true. I hope you like it as much as we do, and find lots of ear cookies in it. It is one of my favorite recordings I have ever made.
Since the decision to make Calico longer came in after it was recorded, and because the slow rubato part was led by Steve's banjo.. I had a lot of doctoring to do on the front.. I had Stuart play along with Steve's performance on the basic, the first slow part. Then took out all the basic track instruments from this slow part.. I made drone sounds with hammering on open tuned guitar and mandolin, bowing my guitar in G tuning, and then adding bagpipe drone D in Ireland, and overdubbed electric bass. Since there was SO MUCH leakage on all the mics, I had to get rid of the basic tracks instruments for this part of the song. I had to do this because Mary's voice just did not sound good in the slow part with the banjo plinking away, and the original track parts did not fit the vocal no one knew was going to be there when we cut the basic.. but it worked against the mournful fiddle of Stuart. Then .. when the tempo picks up.. it is all skate and everything is fine. Overall, I feel like this is one of my of recording, arranging, playing and producing.
Pitkin Co. Turnaround is one Steve and I had played for years, even once in the '70's on 'the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson', and it got knocked out quick as a double banjo tune. Again, one I wish I had written. The great Chris Caswell and I had so much fun with his three overdubs it made it sound like some of these songs were written for his keyboard talents. Chris's accordian hides in there nicely. Brittany played a solo on this, as did Russ and Matt, that just like with their other solos on the album, showed they are masters at their craft.
A great team had been assembled with hot licks waiting, thanks to Tony and Pete for getting things together for the basic sessions to start in Englewood, New Jersey, at Bennett Studios last July. We didn't have to wait long, as we cut 15 tracks in 4 busy days. I then did overdubs in Nashville and Dublin.. and a little in my studio in Hollywood.. mixed a lot at my place and then at Nick Sevilla's. I had previously worked with Nick many times, and thought he would be the perfect engineer for this. I was right.
Tony and Steve 'killed the Crow', and 16 year old Jourdan jumped right on top of Banana Banjo. You can find out about the incredible Jourdan Urbach on his website.. just google him. I saw Jourdan at a Carnegie Hall concert last November and went backstage to meet him. He was performing some classical pieces with the symphony, the field his music is in, featuring that night a three-part piece Chris Caswell had written for him. I asked him if he would like to play on this cut, and a couple days later we got it done. I wanted to orchestrate Banana Banjo since first hearing it, because I think some of this type of music can reach a broader audience if it has these kinds of sounds, and it lent itself to that 'bigger' treatment. And that is again where the genius of Chris came in. He caught it good with his orchestra, then I plugged in Jourdan, stretched the song from 1:02 to 2:06.. and am shocked about how it worked.
Stuart Duncan filled any missing spaces, Jerry Douglas fluxed his way in and put his icing on the Steve cake, Kenny Malone kept it moving in the way only he can. Dolly and Vince came to the table and left us with a classic old country song, weaving a duet that shows Steve can write 'country'. (I tested this on several astute old-country ears, and they were shocked they had not heard this 'old song', which lyric was finished about an hour before they sang, and surprised to find out the author).
My great friend in music, David Amram, gave many of these songs his im-pick-able worldview, and Tim O'Brien made it sound like his Daddy Played the Banjo. It made my son Andrew cry when he heard this sad song. Tim had a cold the first day, but came in a second time without a fever but hot, and killed it right off.
As we recorded, things would happen. As when Steve wanted to write lyrics for a cool frailing instrumental - Late For School (frailing, like 'nother', is not in the dictionary, but that is a whole nother thing). That 2 _ min song became 3:50 or so, and will set a new mark for most words in one bluegrassy song. Thanks to my protools working well, and a couple years of practice with it for my XM radio show, several things were sewn together.
Going to Capitol Records (the famous round building in Hollywood) for their echo was exciting. They have the best chambers in the world, and as Steve allowed me to work with his actor budget instead of a banjo budget, we went there and got it done. Listen for that sound when Dolly sings 'you' at he end of a sentence. or the last word of any lyric. I used the studio where we (ngdb) did our first Hollywood audition in (1966.. they passed on us. . . but we ended up on Liberty, which years later was bought by UA, then Capitol bought UA) to get that magic echo. Nick also used up everything he had learned, and kept all this in line.
It has been great getting some of my favorite pickers together and laying in to music that I think will stand the test of time. I truly feel that if I was starting now to play, I would spend time slowing down this record to figure out Wally on the Run and just what are those cool chords climbing up the neck a la Don Reno, as well as several of the other tunes. Don't have to now! Tony is writing a book of all the tunes tabbed out! Did I mention that Tony's banjo harmonies on Wally on the Run? oh, never mind.. he is always good, and this is a high mark for him.
Pete played a solo that was so good on Words Unspoken I wanted him to sell it to me so I could call it mine. His Pretty Flowers backup was great too.. he takes it after the Steve opening, then bows out of the way for Earl to come in. Overall, we came.. we picked.. We conquered .. and as we attacked all these songs written by Steve it became apparent that he is a musician disguised as an actor.
This is an album I think you will want to stick in your ears many times. It will take you back to a place you've never been . . . it has me, and I was there.
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