Im leaving for the Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Panama City, FL tomorrow, traveling with Bob Bergland. Friday morning Ill be on a local entertainment show. However, tomorrow is the CD release party for Mindi Abairs new CD Wild Heart, and we co-wrote two songs for that album. So, Ive been buckling down, learning my own songs (because writing em is one thing, learning them is another….), but also a fair amount of new Mindi material that I didnt write! Im not usually the one learning other peoples songs - thats why I write my own. Im too lazy to learn other songs! But its been a lot of fun, learning Joe Perrys guitar parts for Game On, learning Keb Mos harmony part on Ill Be Your Home and Greg Allmans parts on Just Say When… I felt a lot like Mike Aquino shedding songs for World Stage! However, Mindi will be joining me on Eye of The Tiger and Vehicle and were going to do Sall Good together. Not only that, but we get to meet our dear friends Steve King and Johnnie Putman since they also have a place in Panama City! Theyve promised to take us to a down-home restaurant that features things like catfish and cornbread… Yum. Last week, former Chicago member Bill Champlin stopped by the studio. Gregg Bizzaro picked him up at the airport and brought him out to sing some parts on the Fergie tribute song I wrote called Youre In Our Hearts. I laid the bait out originally, but he said, Ill be there. Tell me when, and Ill be there. I said, Do you want me to send you the demo? and he said, No. I dont want to over-think it. Ill just get the vibe from the song in the studio and go from there. I wrote the song about three days after Fergie passed away. I sat down and watched the video for Follow Your Heart, the song I had written for Colin that Fergie actually recorded in tribute to his own son. I hadnt seen it for about a year and a half. I was holding back my emotions, saying I was going to be strong, hes gone now and I wont let it get to me. Then I saw the video and saw Fergie and his son, heard my song, and suddenly the tears flowed and I began to feel. As soon as the song ended, Karen said, Where are you going? and I said, I have to go to the piano. Right now. So I turned on the iPhone recorder and in one fell swoop I had the whole thing - melody, verse, chorus, and some of the words. I worked for the next couple of days and had the whole lyric. I suddenly thought, This would be perfect for Marc Scherer! He adored Fergie, his voice is the right range…. I felt it important that I tell Bill that story so hed know where I was coming from, that it comes from a genuine place. So he said, OK. Now play me the chorus. Again. Again, and suddenly he starts singing these parts. I hear this part. And this part. And another part. And suddenly weve got eight vocals stacked over the vocals, in that brilliant layering he did for Chicago, for Earth, Wind & Fire, and for George Benson. It was just amazing - I dont think Ive worked with anyone like him before. Every phrase was perfect, every pitch was dead on, all of the layers in the multi were perfect. And there was the magic sound of Bill Champlin. And we had fun! We laughed our asses off at that session. That night we had a wonderful time at the California Transit Authority concert. Champlin sounded just like he did on all of those Chicago records, and Danny Seraphine is a force of Nature. Its really Dannys show… Hes truly one of the classic drummers - he was fusion before there was even a name for it. Karen and I just had a blast. Have a great weekend! Keep Rocking Jimbo
Posted on: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 04:17:09 +0000
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