Here is a version of Silent Night I recorded for my mother this year for Christmas at the suggestion of an old friend. It features Heidi Alexander on vocals, Rusty Miller on piano, Jamin “Sudsy” Barton on saw and bass clarinet, Jeffrey Luck Lucas on cello, James Finch Sr. and Alex Finch on barroom vocals, and myself on electric guitar, spoken word and upright bass. Hope you enjoy.
Phonetic representation of the French phrase from "Into that Darkness"
A collection of scraps relating to “Into that Darkness”
A rubbing from the headstone of Francisca Granados, upon whose grave I recorded the banjo track.
A depiction of Mission Dolores, where the graveyard is located.
This is the first completed “Found Song”, Into that Darkness… It is from a prescription by Christian Kiefer that reads as follows:
Graveyard
Dark
Black metal
Vikings
Gang vocal
glockenspiel
cello
banjo
electric guitar
percussion of your choosing, but not a drum kit
Must include this line:
“Go you into that darkness, my friend.”"
I recorded the Banjo for the first movement while sitting on the grave of Francisca Granados, who died in 1858 and is buried in the Mission Dolores cemetery, a few blocks from my house. After fleshing out the first movement with glockenspiel, electric guitar, wood blocks and Jeffrey Luck Lucas on the cello, I went to Sacramento and recorded the vocals and apocalyptic second movement with my oldest musical friends: Chris Fernandez and Aaron Holt on guitars, Ryan Avalos on bass and Doug Finley on floor tom. It was the first time we had all played together in 15 years.
I worked over the weekend of December 5th and 6th on Sonny Smith and Turnup Records 100 records (100 Records Blog) project at the Hit Pit in San Francisco. It was the second of these sessions that I have participated in. The band is great, with Rusty Miller, Kelley Stoltz, Spencer Owen and myself augmenting Sonny’s already formidable talent. Lots of coffee, lots of smokes, lots of rock and roll…
The light was harsh down there...