 Act
I:
The Lion's
Den
Act II: Songs of the Wild Act III: Stage Tricks Act IV: How the Elephant Got its Thick Skin Act V: Beyond the Jungle
Copyright
© 2005 Edie Marshall |
...some
animals should not be caged.. |
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1.
The
Innkeeper's Grin (Keep the Customer Satisfied)
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Listen to The Innkeeper's Grin (Keep the Customer Satisfied) The Innkeeper's Grin comes from working in the hospitality industry (which I still currently do.) I was sent to participate in a guest service class which included a section on faking the perfect smile. I was so inspired (i.e. revolted) I decided to do my own re-creation of the class in musical form. Ahh how I love the ridiculousness of the customer service industry. One day I will devote an entire album to it. The second half, Keep the Customer Satisfied, obviously ties into the first half with its subject matter. But, its reason for being there goes deeper than just relatable subject matter. That particular song goes back to my childhood when my father was a manager at Radio Shack, and my brother and I would play that song over and over and sing along. It reminded us of him. This song was recorded in 2003 when I was working mainly with Cubase SX, back before the latency issues with my cheap soundcard made it impossible to use that program. (And, still, 2 years later, I have not purchased a new soundcard.) The organ sounds were created with my Yamaha P-80 electronic piano. I decided my plan of attack would be to sit down and improvise something for a couple minutes which I would then mix underneath the spoken script. Keep the Customer Satisfied was recorded at a later time, and I didn't initally record it to be added onto the ending of this piece. After it was done, though, it just made sense. The cover song itself was initally recorded with a regular piano line beneath it. All the strange noises you hear beneath the vocals were actually piano parts I played, HATED, and then transformed into dirty waves using the program Reaktor. I guess I just couldn't stand doing a straight cover of that song, I wanted to find a way to express the darker side of what it implied. I was advised not to use this track as the opener for my album. I know it's not exactly the most inviting song to draw people in. I think that's why I like it being first. I want your first impression of me to be one that makes you think. Maybe even confuses you a little. Or, at the very least, makes you feel like you've just heard something/someone different, even if you're not sure you like it or not. As long as I make you feel that way at some point, then you're allowed to listen to my prettier songs. Just don't be like my mother and ask me to write more pretty sounding songs. I will respond to you with an album's worth of screaming, tortured kittens. What? Kittens are pretty. |
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