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Ty's solo album "Alone in Montana" listed on his personal page.
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Will & Ty’s Stairwell Tour 2004-05
© 2005, In the Basement of Nash Productions
^that right there is
the album cover we wish we could print. Photo by D. Walters.
Our first album. We began to dream about this album in the late fall of 2004, but it was mostly a joke of sorts, but it was the name we assigned to the one song recorded in 2004. As it says under our group info page, the album title came from the collective group dream that we might one day play songs in all of the prominent school building stairwells and thereby experience a wide range of acoustic styles.
Excuses about “Stairwell Tour…”
1. We are amateur musicians
2. We are amateur recorders.
3. We had no prior recording experience, and no coaching at all.
4. We did this album at school in 2 ½ weeks, during one of the most academically stressful times of the year at an academically stressful place.
5. Ty convinced Will to start singing for the first time about 4 weeks before the start of recording – a prospect that turned out for the better!
Song-by-song info and commentary:
Track 1: In the Stairwell (Dingy Dingy)
Music:
Lyrics: please write
On this song, Ty plays: guitar, orchestra
Will plays: guitar
Notes: This, again, was our first song (see group info page for details). We still want lyrics for it, but they have to be good. We’ve recorded this with several equipment setups, but it wasn’t until we added the orchestra part with the last setup that it truly shone with the brilliance we see for its potential. We still refer to the song as “Dingy Dingy”, because that’s the closest thing to lyrics by which we can call it. It’s been used to introduce a couple performances, and also used once in place of an organ prelude at a chapel service.
Will says: I don’t really have much to say about it. I think it’d be good in a movie, and it reminds me of snow melting.
Ty says: I like it… the orchestra sounds cool… I want to use it in a movie too. We’ve contemplated it being a walking theme. Also sounds good as a theme of beginning. We want lyrics, though…
Track 2: Icicle
Music:
Lyrics: L. Brunelle
On this song, Ty plays: lead vocals, guitar, beat-box
Will plays: guitar, harmony vocals
Notes: This song came from a pair of chords that Will picked out of memory one day. Ty made up a little rhythm for them and a melody, and then we brought the song to our friend Leigh, who wrote some lyrics, all of which we used in the song. Our second song. This song was performed in front of our student body as a chapel performance on an outdoor chapel day.
Will says: I didn’t used to like it all that much, but I don’t know why… now I think it’s one of our better ones, and it benefited from the addition of the harmonies.
Ty says: How peaceful. I love maj7 chords, so this song was right up my alley. Will’s guitar lead really makes the first half, and his harmonies make the verses. Fun song to play. A subliminally beautiful song…
Track 3: The Monk Monologue
Music:
Monologue: T. Marbut
On this song, Ty plays: Electric guitar, monologue speaker
Will plays: guitar
Notes: We were just playing around in the stairwell one day, and somehow this came out… I think we might have been jamming on Purple haze or something… anyway, we thought it was particularly badass, and that it needed a sufficiently badass story to go along with it. Then we had to settle with what we got. Our official photographer David also plays a guest monk in this song when we perform it.
Will
says: A much better experience live than recorded. My favorite part
is the
Ty
says: Yeah, definitely better live. Too bad the way the electric
worked out on the
Track 4: Jasmine
Music:
Lyrics: T. Marbut
Back-up vocals by Elena Casoni
On this song, Ty plays: lead vocals, guitar, orchestra
Will plays: guitar, harmony vocals
Notes: Our last piece work in the fall… or maybe the part of winter before Christmas that feels like fall… we love this song incredibly. When we got the first two guitar + orchestra mix done, we were astounded with what an immense thing we had created. We named it one night while enjoying cups of jasmine tea after a long winter term day. Then, the song was bettered possibly exponentially when Elena started singing it with us. It was the first time any of us had attempted or succeeded in a three-part harmony, and that was another part of this song that just blew us away. Elena and Will’s parts in the harmony between verses were absolutely key. Again, this song really blows us away… we just wish we had better lyrics for it. There was a time, before a certain live performance, when we were very disappointed by this song because we could hear its potential, but just couldn’t bring it out. Then we recorded it…
Will says: I don’t think the lyrics are bad. Definitely the best recording on the album. We got really good feedback at its debut live performance. I wish I had more to say about this incredibly beautiful piece of music. Oh – we were very fortunate to do so well on only our second attempt at recording the guitar part.
Ty says: Forgive us for bragging… we, again, are blown away by this song. And, as we said, Elena really brought this piece of music to a whole different and better level. I worked for a long time thinking about and trying to portray the emotion I could hear that belonged in both the choruses and the verses. The whole idea of the chorus wasn’t really what the lyrics said, but how I was just yelling them. At the end of each line, I felt like I should just scream into the mic for effect, but it didn’t sound very good. It was accurate. The part in the verses, particularly the first verses, was supposed be radically different, which I think turned out well. While singing the first verses, I was imagining trying to sing the way two people would talk to each other lying close together in bed – close and quiet, yet audible. You can tell how close I am to the mic in the recording.
Track 5: The People of the World
Music: T. Marbut
Lyrics: T. Marbut
On this song, Ty plays: lead vocals, guitar, beat-box
Will plays: guitar, harmony vocals
Notes: This song was truly fun. It’s our most recent song. It was made one day when Ty was in the shower. In our dorm, the shower nozzle makes this loud and annoying high-pitched whine, and Ty was bored (long weekend; for once no line for the shower), so he started messing around by harmonizing with the shower head, which averages its whine on an F… apparently. As soon as he had a cool chord progression going on in his head, he jumped out of the shower, ran to his room, went through the room holding his hands over his ears to deflect his roommate’s incessant blaring poor musical choices to gather his clothes and guitar, and then went into the stairwell to figure out the chord progression he had in his head. Then he changed some of the major chords to jazzier chords, and when Will got back for going home over the long weekend, Ty played it for him, and Will was psyched. Ty then went on to puke out some lyrics, which turned out to be (yes, purposefully, though it wasn’t appreciated until later) very symbolic about quite a number of things relating to going to boarding school, coming home, virtue and generosity, traveling, and pretty much everything else. Ty later wrote an analytical short story based on the lyrics, which had even more symbols, etc. Click here to view this essay.
Will says: I think Dispatch might have been copying us on their song “Bang Bang”. This one was all Ty, though I did nearly almost write half of an almost crucial line. I also ran the rhyming dictionary, exhibiting by literary navigational prowess.
Ty says: Read my essay – it’s chill. I hope Mr. Chase gives me a good grade…………………… Abe Lincoln would be pleased………………… oh yeah… the lyrics are in there too. As is the chord progression. Don’t steal, man, don’t steal.
Track 6: Friend of the Devil
Originally by the Grateful Dead
On this song, Ty plays: guitar, lead vocals
Will plays: guitar, harmony vocals
Notes: This was our first song that really sounded cool. We were really psyched when we made our first recording of this song. We have a terrible habit of playing it about 4x speed, though… if you ever need a sparknotes version of the song, let us know. We were kinda disappointed by this recorded version, but it’s ok. A piece of this song was performed as a chapel announcement for our acoustic concert/open mic night.
Will says: Our homage to the Dead. There isn’t a harmony in their recordings, but they do have many more instruments than we do.
Ty says: cool song. Fun harmony. Actually, our first harmony. Good stuff.
Track 7: Two Coins
Originally by Dispatch
Recorded with Elena Casoni as back-up vocalist
On this song, Ty plays: guitar, lead vocals
Will plays: harmony vocals
Notes: A fun and easy song to play. We were amazed with adding a three-part harmony, something Dispatch doesn’t have. We (with Elena, of course) performed this at a school-wide talent show, at which Elena received honorable mention for her vocals.
Will says: We should have won the talent. I’m going to withdraw and become a hermit because of that whole not winning thing.
Ty says: Yeah. Fun to play and stuff.
Track 8: Brandy
Originally by the Looking Glass
On this song, Ty plays: lead vocals, guitar
Will plays: guitar
Notes: We really love this song. We’ve performed it… somewhere or other. It was good.
Will says: The Looking Glass has – like – the chillest vocals ever. Hey – I wan’t done yet. I was gonna say, “Do-do-doDo-do-doDo-do-do-do-duh”.
Ty says: Fun to sing – kinda challenging, but just enough to make it that more fun.
Track 9: Don’t Want to Die in Georgia
Lyrics and music by T. Brewer and M. Shipley
Originally by Brewer and Shipley
On this song, Ty plays: lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Will plays: guitar, harmony vocals
Notes: …and here begins our section of Brewer and Shipley, originally planned to be four songs, and then cut down to two because of time and equipment constraints. We worship Brewer and Shipley, by the was. Go to Amazon.com. Buy the album Weeds/Tarkio. Don’t question just do it. Now. Ok, now that you’re back…
Will says: Sick-nasty guitar lead. I sure don’t wanna die in Georgia.
Ty: me either. This was a really hard song to sing, because they just sing so dang high… a G# is a bit much for me. However, I seemed to pull it off… while Will was asleep in the chair right behind where I was singing. I think he’ll make a good roommate… oh yeah, the guitar lead was lots of fun, too.
Track 10: The Light
Lyrics and music by T. Brewer and M. Shipley
Originally by Brewer and Shipley
On this song, Ty plays: guitar, harmony vocals
Will plays: guitar, harmony vocals
Notes: The disappointing recording. We do this one simply so much better live when we can hear the harmonies better. Especially in the stairwell… it’s always so perfect and awesome and stuff there. To perform, this is our favorite, but it is one of our least favorite album recordings. A really great song that we… well, didn’t help any.
Will says: We should do a staccato version of this song. I’m sure that I was a half of a half of a half of a note off somewhere…
Ty says: bummer, dude.
Track 11: Fortunate Son
Originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival
On this song, Ty plays: lead vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar
Will plays: guitar
Notes: What an awesome song. The bass was mixed a little high for our liking, but I guess that’s what some people like… Also, we played it in B instead of G so that Ty could sing it… I forget why, since Fogerty always sings in his falsetto, and it’s not like we give Ty any other breaks by changing keys (reference Georgia, Jumper, etc.)
Will says: This song was born for electrification. It came out much better in the recording than our live performance where Ty forgot all the words, and it seemed like we had more energy in it in the recording.
Ty says: So, yeah, I forget ah- words. It make - problem. Bad. Recording – than – performance. Cool though. Too – bass.
Track 12: Come Together
Originally by the Beatles
On this song, Ty plays: lead vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, and that “shhhhhoo” part
Will plays: guitar
Notes: Cool bass riff and stuff… in fact, that’s pretty much the only reason we did this song.
Will says: I wish that someday I will be able to achieve such lyrical genius as, “Joo-joo eyeballs” and “He play toejam football”, etc. believe it or not, I checked… 1+1+1 really does equal 3.
Ty says: What mathematicians… I wish they could spell as well as they could add.
Track 13: Rocky Raccoon
Originally by the Beatles
On this song, Ty plays: lead vocals, electric guitar, beat-box
Will plays: guitar
Notes: Our first complete album recording. Sounds much better than we expected.
Will says: I, too, wish they could spell.
Ty says: Darn that Dan.
Track 14: Jumper
Originally by Third Eye Blind
On this song, Ty plays: lead vocals guitar
Will plays: lead guitar
Notes: We get really good feedback when we perform this song live. It was fun to put together.
Will says: Has anyone noticed that these are getting shorter?
Ty says: That’s because we didn’t write these songs.
Track 15: Last Night
Lyrics: Robert Robertson, 1758, alt.;
Music: James C. Knox, SPS 1867
Arranged: Ty Marbut
On this song, Ty plays: lead vocals, guitar, chapel officiant
Will plays: guitar, harmony vocals
Notes: At our school, on the last night of each term, just before everyone flies away for any amount of time from 8 days to 3 months, we all gather in the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul and sing this hymn, and the last night prayer is said, and when the rector finishes saying the last night prayer, everyone rejoices jubilantly, cheering and jumping up and down and clapping, etc. Then, we all gather outside the chapel in the dark and everyone hugs one another and says goodbye for Thanksgiving, or the summer, or whatever break it is. The singing of the last night hymn, though probably insignificant to those outside our close-knit school community, is an incredibly powerful symbol of things coming to a close and ending, etc. This recording was our best attempt at re-creating that feeling. The spoken quotes are taken from the SPS Book of Chapel Services and Prayers (Fifth edition, 1988). The first is just the introduction to the Last Night pages. The second spoken, the one that’s hard to hear, is from the Last Night Prayer, a potion of the prayer that is recited by all, and reads, “We may so pass through things temporal / that we finally lose not the things eternal.”
Will says: [rambles incoherently about misled political philosophy]
Ty says: shhh. This recording came out amazingly well, I thought. I really want to add the sounds of last night service in a future mix of this song. Yeah.. I like it.
Together, in harmony: Amen