Recordings

The Confetti Clatter – September 2020

Posted on by John Giotto

It was a good season!

The group performed twice in August, concluding another summer of performances. Although the season was short, it was successful none-the-less.

Ed and Steve prepare to load onto the portable stage at Silver lake Drive-in.

First off, we added a new member to the group. Ella did a great job getting up-to-speed with Emma and Frankie. Also, by practicing familiar songs, we strengthened and sharpened some of the vocal arrangements in our repertoire.  

Secondly, we brought “The Boy Next Door,” “Sway,” and “The Loco-motion” back into the setlist, while adding “Lollipop.” These songs seemed to go over well, and they were fun to learn.

Emma, Frankie, and Ella perform in Branchport for a private party on Keuka Lake.

Finally, we experimented with four horn players for our Charcoal Corral/ Silver Lake Drive-in show. Matt Doi and Dave Burlone covered some songs where baritone and tenor sax play at the same time. Also, on “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” by ABBA, both players played tenor saxophone, and boy, did it sound good! I think this format has merit though we have to tweak it for next year. Dave recommended a dedicated baritone saxophone book as a suggestion.

Recording resumes in August

Another positive in 2020 was the resumption of recording. We began working on some of these tracks back in 2015, and it felt good to get the ball rolling again. With singers in college, we have a three-month window to prepare for live performances and record tracks. Suffice it to say this has been a real challenge. 

One person, in particular, Michael Lynch, has been extremely patient with us. Micheal provided two songs for us to record. One of these songs is entitled “Mister Sunshine.” I thought something was missing in our initial music tracks, so this summer, we added harpsichord. James created the part we recorded, and it sounds excellent. We shot the video below after James tuned the instrument. Here he is playing a Bach piece.

 

Emma is coming into the studio to record vocals early this month, and with photos already taken of the new group, we hope to have at least a single release soon. We will keep you posted on our progress in the October issue of The Confetti Clatter. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to add a comment or question.

The Confetti Clatter – May 2020 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

A look back at the making of “Dear Michelle (the Fighting’s Begun)”

I rarely seek out my music for pure listening pleasure. The reason is a cross between being too critical of everything I could have done better and a good dose of humble pie that prohibits me from falling in love with my efforts or appearing like a self-serving egomaniac. Besides, I know what I have done; I seek enjoyment out of what others have accomplished musically. Music is a fabulous medium that isn’t a zero-sum game. In other words, someone else’s achievement does not diminish my efforts one bit. With no winner and loser, it makes it very easy to “cheer” for someone else in the music business. All this said, occasionally I have an It’s My Party tune thrust upon me while traveling with one of my friends who just so happens to have our stuff on their playlist. 

Out of nowhere, “Dear Michelle (the Fighting’s Begun)” came cranking out of the car speakers while I was the passenger. It had been eight years since I last heard that song, and to my ears, it sounded great! I wasn’t listening intently at a mix-down session in 2012; instead, I was enjoying a fresh sound in 2020. The complexity of the arrangement bedazzled me since I know it was recorded totally in my living room on a portable system without the benefit of a control room. Yes, the engineer, a brilliant musician in his own right by the name of Richard Wattie, was in the room with the performers. 

Any story about this song must begin with its writing and inspiration. “Dear Michelle (the Fighting’s Begun)” is a Paul Kanack composition. Paul has been a part of the It’s My Party team in some capacity since 1986. In 1988 Paul cut his songwriting teeth, composing several songs for the group, including “Walking With Me,” which piqued the interest of Richard Gotterher, who had worked with the Angels, Blondie, and the Go Gos. Paul had always admired the Shangri-las, specifically Mary Weiss, the lead singer, and wanted to create a sound-alike record. Taking inspiration from two songs, “I Can Never Go Home Anymore, and “Long Live Our Love,” Paul fashioned “Dear Michelle (the Fighting’s Begun).” This song is track two on the Wanna Make Him Mine EP, a three-song effort that diplomatically parsed out one lead vocal per singer. Shelbie sang the opening title track. Kylie sang the last song, “Bus Driver,” while Michelle sang the song that is her namesake. The premise of the song is a young couple separated by a foreign war that takes a girl’s boyfriend far from home.

As particular as Paul is when it comes to keeping with the vision he sees for his songs, he was remarkably open to my suggestions. Rich Wattie also provided useful feedback as well during the recording. We pulled all the stops on this song, using symphonic chimes, tympani, viola, violin, trumpet, and oboe, along with the typical bass, guitar, piano, drums, and hand percussion. Rich mixed the song at the Eastman School of Music’s control room, and Matt Guarnere of What’s Real Unlimited mastered the EP.

The musicianship on this recording is top-shelf. The mother and daughter team of Alice Kanack and Daphne Pickens handled the string instruments. Alice trained under Shinichi Suzuki in Japan, and her daughter gets her musical abilities from both her mother and father, Ray Pickens. Mark Viavattine handled the oboe part, the first time we had ever used one on a track. Although Mark had never played the oboe before, his saxophone skills came in handy, and he picked up the instrument with aplomb. Rich politely pushed me aside and played all of the mallet percussion, as that was one of his majors at the Eastman School of Music, and boy did he do the song some favors. Michelle did her usual outstanding job, interpreting the song with the expression that Paul demands. I especially like the ending monologue, where Michelle moves from trepidation, to hope, to affirmation. As a final twist in the arrangement, the song resolves on a major chord to drive Michelle’s optimism home. You can listen to the song here on Spotify. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

The Confetti Clatter – June 2019 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

From Casual Fan to Support Crew Technician

One of the benefits of performing with It’s My Party is meeting so many outstanding people. Sometimes fans become an integral part of our team. Ken Peters, became our guitarist and songwriter from 1986 through 1988. Arne Kraft was our road manager from 1985 through 1986. Cedric Young played guitar for us in the late 2000s. Kevin Plinzke, a friend with a passion for music, was our outstanding sound technician in 1988. Recently, Ed O’Connell, a loyal follower, joined the group in many capacities.

Here is his story: 

Ed was raised in Bayonne and Princeton, NJ in the early to late ’60s. After winning an AM/FM radio in his youth, Ed began tuning into 77 WABC from New Your City and the Philadelphia Sound from 56 WFIL. Listening to these stations, Ed gained an admiration for the rock-n-roll and pop music of the time. Although his aunt was a musical, owning a baby grand piano, Ed never considered himself a musician, giving up on French horn. “I hated lugging that heavy case around and I didn’t think it was a cool instrument,” Ed recalled. However, in high school he joined chorus and in his senior year some members of the chorus, including Ed, began singing  doo-wop songs at school functions. 

During his college years, Ed started to listen to contemporary FM stations, which opened him up to new genres of music. Later on, through his passion for model railroading, Ed met two fellow model railroaders who happened to also be musicians, Bob, the guitarist in Big Tree Road, a classic rock cover band, and Joe, the drummer in Four Man Trio, which covered the music of the ’50s &’60s.

In 2009, while still living in New Jersey, Ed happened upon It’s My Party by way of YouTube. As he recalls, “I was looking for the 1968 hit ‘Will You Be Staying After Sunday’, but did not know the name of who recorded it, since it was by a lesser known group. I Googled the title and in addition to a YouTube video of the Peppermint Rainbow doing a lip-synced performance on a TV variety show, the second thing on the list was a recently posted video of three attractive young women in period outfits performing the song backed by several musicians in black suits.” Of course, he was referring to It’s My Party.

After checking the link to our website, Ed discovered that we were from Rochester, NY, where his sister and mother happened to live. Although Ed did not get a chance to see one of our shows shortly after discovering us, he ended up moving to Rochester, on New Year’s Eve 2010. 

The next three seasons Ed caught about three shows a year. And at our What’s ‘Ur Scoop performance in 2013, he reunited with John Clemente, the author of Girl Groups – Fabulous Females Who Rocked The World, in which John had included It’s My Party. John was the lead singer of the aforementioned Four Man Trio. Surprised to see his erstwhile friend, John sent a selfie of himself and Ed to Joe, the drummer, along with the caption, “Look who I found!”

After following us for several years, Ed asked if he could help in any way, that’s when his involvement began. Ed started out by helping tear down gear at the end of the performances. He organizing skills and trailer packing prowess were evident. Slowly Ed’s involvement expanded. From merchandising, to running lights, and even sound, Ed did it all, providing yeoman service. At the end of the 2017 tour, Ed helped store gear and repair any equipment that may have taken a beating during the touring months. One example was repairing the broken frame of an expensive glockenspiel.

He may not play an instrument, but he is instrumental.

In 2018, Ed contributed to every show, juggling his work schedule as an EMT. Ed has proven invaluable with everything he does for us.  For his efforts, Ed enjoys the camaraderie among the It’s My Party team, which includes hanging out with those who can at an after-gig, late-night meal, usually at Denny’s.

Ed recalled one special after-gig gathering, “While several of us were eating at Denny’s, someone commented on the multitude of talents I had assisting the band. I replied that I could do just about anything except play an instrument. James quickly responded,  ‘He may not play an instrument, but he is instrumental.’ I took that as the ultimate compliment.” 

From left to right: Ian, James, Steve and Ed provided setup at tear down during the 2017 season.

We appreciate Ed and all our attendees, and we are certainly looking forward to our first show of the season on June 18th at Burgundy Basin Inn. We know Ed will be there, six hours before showtime. Ed at times longs to return to New Jersey,  however, in his eyes there would be a price to pay, “You can take a guy out of Jersey, but you can’t take Jersey out of the guy. Maybe I’ll go back there someday, but then I’d really miss It’s My Party!” We would surely miss you too, Ed!

18jun6:00 pm8:00 pmBurgundy Basin Inn Cruise Night

Readers make Guesses on our Cover Song Artist

In our May newsletter we mentioned that our group is recording a cover song from an unlikely artist. We have had three very excellent guesses thus far: Darlene Love, Jon Bon Jovi, and George Harrison, however they are all incorrect. This is a solo artist who also performed with a group and garnered accolades from the music industry. Another clue is that it is male artist. Again, this artist’s songs appear to be very unlikely picks for an It’s My Party cover rendition, especially if you are not familiar with his entire catalog. If you would like to try and guess, please leave a comment.

The Confetti Clatter – May 2019 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

Saying goodbye to Sarah

Sarah performs at Silver Lake Drive In/ Charcoal Corral

After a four-year run with the group, we would like to wish Sarah the best, as she moves on to further her academic career.  Sarah began singing with us in 2014 when she filled in for Shelbie for a few performances. The following year, Sarah became a full-time member of the group and participated in the recording of the EP “He Wasn’t Like That (When He Used To Be Mine).” For more information on that recording, follow this link to a previous post.

Although Sarah was only able to sing once with us last year, it was a memorable closing show of our 2018 tour. Many fans attended along the Erie Canal in Newark. If you were there, you know she did an outstanding job.  

Here is the promotional video for the song “In Your Letter,” from the EP “He Wasn’t Like That (When He Used To Be Mine),” featuring Michelle, Sierra, and Sarah.

Surprise Track Recorded

This past December, we recorded another track for our forthcoming release. This cover song is going to surprise a lot of people, as it is not a girl group record. If you thought recording “In Your Letter” was a reach, you’ll be stunned by this one! The original artist’s career spanned four decades. The artist recorded both as a solo act and under band names. The original recording of this cover was credited to a band. If you think you know who this is, leave a comment on this post. We’ll reveal more information in upcoming news updates.

Random Music Thoughts: The Jam or The Style Council?

Paul Weller is quite a musician, he was a founding member of the Jam before leaving that group to form The Style Council, which allowed him to venture in different musical directions. Some Jam fans felt Paul was wrong to form The Style Council, as the music of his new project was so different from The Jam. What do you think? You can take our poll by clicking the link below:

 

The Confetti Clatter – May 2016 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

Band member transitions

Everyone has returned from college, and preparations began in May for the upcoming gig season. If all goes well, we will have a new set list in place for the July 1 show in Webster, and a new release by mid-July.

Sadly, we  have to announce that Dylon Walbridge will no longer be playing keyboards in the band. After three seasons and some session work, Dylon has moved on to his first passion – jazz. You can find out more about his great band, Bearcat and the Birds, by following here: Bearcat and the Birds Facebook Page. Thanks Dylon, for making us sound so good.

Also, our fantastic guitarist and saxophone player, Matt Doi, will be unable to perform with us this year. Matt is getting married this summer and plans an extended vacation with his wife, Kaitlin. Please make sure to attend our opening show this year, July 1, in Webster, as this will be Matt’s only show with us this season. Please join us as we show Matt our appreciation for his talent and friendship through the years.

We are pleased to announce that James has returned from South Dakota, and will be back on the gig this year. In the absence of Dylon and Matt, expect James to pick up some of the slack on guitar and keys. Additionally we would like to welcome Penfield High School students Luke and Nicole, who will be moving into the guitar and keyboard chairs, with the help of James.

Recording update

We continued recording in May, adding a new song to the mix, “Love is all Around” written by Sonny Curtis. Some of you may better know this song as The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme song. Michelle recorded the lead vocal tracks, and we previously tracked the drums. We are now working on the best complimentary bass and guitar lines – many thoughts are out there at this time. Sarah and Sierra have learned the backup vocals and will record them soon. I’m sure you will enjoy our version of this recognizable tune.

Here is a list of the songs we are working on:

“Mister Sunshine” (needs organ and some hand percussion)

“I Almost Forgive Him” (pretty much finished and ready for mix-down)

“That Boy of Mine” (back up vocals need recording)

“Little Town Flirt” (needs a baritone sax line recorded)

“Love is All Around” (bass, guitar, backing vocals need recording, maybe an organ track too)

 

Gifts from a fan!

One of the nice things about being in IT’S MY PARTY! is receiving fan mail. And although the 21st Century has seen a decrease in the amount of snail mail we receive, it hasn’t come to a complete halt.

Over the course of the past few years, we have one very generous fan who showers us with gifts. These gifts are always related to the girl group sound and are expensive, to say the least. The last batch included girl group 45s, LPs, CDs, and a great Shangri-las T-shirt. We can’t thank our fans enough for their generosity through the years, and we are happy to know that we have brought some joy into their lives as well.

If you are inclined to send us a physical correspondence, our address is IT’S MY PARTY!, P.O. Box 423, Penfield, NY 14526. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

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James and Michelle are excited during the “unboxing” of the mother-load of gifts.

The Confetti Clatter – March 2016 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

Recording Update

We continued to record tracks for our upcoming release. Due to the limited availability of the girls while school is in session, recording proceeded in piecemeal fashion.

We began with some unfinished business. On January 10, Paul Kanack laid down the upright bass track to “Little Town Flirt.” Paul was not available when the drums and guitars were recorded back in August. This new track added much-needed bottom to this song. At a future session, we will have Matt Doi add the baritone saxophone part, which will fortify the low end.

Paulsdigs into the bass while recording his part for "Little Town Flirt."

Paul digs into the bass while recording his part to “Little Town Flirt.”

Moving on, Sarah and Sierra recorded the backup vocals to “Little Town Flirt” on February 28. During this same session, Sierra recorded the lead vocals to “That Boy of Mine.” The playlist below shows excerpts from this recording date.

On March 13, Michelle and Sierra recorded the backing vocals to “Mister Sunshine.” The playlist below shows the girls singing two parts of the three part harmony, and then Michelle adding the third part. Notice that during this session the girls are not wearing headphones to hear the recorded music, rather, the music is being pumped into the studio by way of the studio speakers. This technique seems to create a more natural vocal performance, a positive that far outweighs the negative of any bleed of the music into the vocal track.

If you enjoyed this edition of the Confetti Clatter, please share it on social media by using the icons below. Also, if you have any questions about these recording sessions, use the comment area; we’ll get back to with you a response as soon as possible.

The Confetti Clatter – January 2016 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

IT’S MY PARTY! returns to the Recording Studio

We went back into our recording studio on January 3 to track more music that will be used on a forthcoming, yet untitled, release. Our friend and fan, Ken Kleinendorst, drove up from Central Pennsylvania with his new video camcorder and camera to chronicle the session. If you have been following our recent newsletters, you are familiar with this evolving story, if not, please read our past issues.

Engineer Calvin May started setting up the session at around 11 AM. As planned, musicians JP Pitchard, Matt Doi, Paul Kanack and I warmed up, and then laid down the accompaniment to the song “I Almost Forgive Him.” We did most of the pre-production work for this song at an earlier practice in December, so things went smoothly.

Paul Kanack, JP Pitchard, and Matt Doi get ready for a take of "I Almost Forgive Him."

Paul Kanack, JP Pitchard, and Matt Doi prepare for a take of “I Almost Forgive Him.”

The instrumental tracks consisted of JP on the Fender Jaguar guitar, Matt Doi on the 12-string Rickenbacker electric guitar, Paul Kanack on the Fender P-bass, and me on the vintage 1962 Slingerland drum set. 

Michelle sang a guide vocal as the ensemble performed five takes. A guide vocal helps the musicians in two ways. First, it helps to keep their place in the arrangement, and secondly, the guide vocal elevates the performance emotionally.

Once we were satisfied with the keeper take, we began the process of recording the vocals. Calvin brought his Sure SM7 microphone to the session to record the lead vocals. This is the same microphone used to record Michael Jackson on the Thriller album. Michelle recorded two separate lead vocal tracks as she listened to the instrumentation through headphones. We will blend these two tracks together in the mix to create the vocal doubling effect, used on many of the ’60s girl group records. Lesley Gore is famous for her vocal doubling. The Beatles cited Lesley’s double-tracked vocals as a example of how they wanted their lead vocals to sound when recorded. Doubling the vocal, when done correctly, can produce a nice fat sound. 

Sierra and Sarah practice backing vocals around the Lawson L-47 microphone

Sierra and Sarah practice backing vocals around the Lawson L-47 microphone

At the end of the session, Sarah and Sierra joined Michelle to record the back up vocals to “I Almost Forgive Him.”  We used the Lawson L47 microphone to capture the vocal ensemble. Back up vocals are best recorded using one microphone for all of the singers. It is up to the vocalists to create the correct blend and balance by moving closer to, or farther away from, the microphone and listening to each other. Some vocalists prefer to have one headphone off the ear, so they can hear each other in the room, rather than in the headphones. After the backup vocal session, we laid down a hand clap track, which included Ken as part of the hand-clap gang. Upon reviewing the instrumental tracks, it seemed as though something was missing in the percussion session, so we will add a tambourine at a later date.

Mystery Cover Revealed

In addition to recording “I Almost Forgive Him,” we turned out attention to another unfinished song. Back in the summer we laid down the instrumentation for what would have been our first recording featuring a male on lead vocal. James Schrag, our multi-talented musician, seen mostly on violin during the performance season, has a great singing voice. I wanted to give him a lead, with the girls singing the backup vocals. This format was very popular in the early to mid 1960s with artists like Bobby Vee, Del Shannon and Lou Christie, all of whom used The Angels for the backing vocals.

We chose the Del Shannon song “Little Town Flirt” for James to sing, which had also been covered by Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra, a band favorite. Our version is a bit of a hybrid of the original and the ELO version. We chose the key of C, like the ELO rendition, because of James’ limited range in the high register. The feel of our take is more early rock n’ roll, like the Del Shannon version, as opposed to the more rockin’ version of the Electric Light Orchestra.

As the session proceeded, with James singing a guide vocal for the musicians to follow, it became apparent that even the key of C, a half-step lower than Del Shannon’s original, was too taxing for James to sing clearly without straining his voice. It seemed like the whole idea was going to be placed on the scrap heap.

Not willing to give up totally on the idea, I turned to Michelle and asked her to give the lead vocal a few tries. After all, it couldn’t hurt, so we “rolled the tapes” as she sang. The results were interesting. Although the lead vocal starts out very low for Michelle, it brings out a kind of sultry delivery, and when the vocal soars into what would be the falsetto for a guy singer, Michelle was able to belt out the passage. The song now becomes a girl warning a guy about the flirt, so no changes were needed to the vocal line — wow this had some real possibilities!

So, here is an exclusive video, shot by Ken, of Michelle singing the lead vocal, see what you think. We also quickly recorded the backing vocals, but since the girls had not practiced those parts since August, we would like to record them again at a future session, perhaps in March.

Call to Action

Are you connected with IT’S MY PARTY! on your mobile phone? Just text getimp to 444999 and you’ll join our mobile app, it’s another great way to keep up-to-date with our group.

Are you familiar with the band site ReverbNation? Become one of our fans by visiting our ReverbNation site.

Are there any questions or comments you have regarding this post? Leave a reply below to start a discussion, we usually respond promptly.

Also, don’t forget to share this article on your social media pages, by using the links at the bottom of this edition. 

The Confetti Clatter – December 2015 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

Recording Update

We continued to work on our latest recording project in December. Our goal is to have a release, along with new merchandise, by the performance season this coming July. As a recap, we have three songs worth of basic tracks completed. These songs are, for the most part, instrumentally complete and ready for vocal tracks. One song “Mister Sunshine,” is further ahead, it has the lead vocal tracks recorded by Sarah, and only needs the backing vocals. “That Boy of Mine” is lacking all of the vocal tracks, as is our yet-to-be revealed classic cover song.

One of our goals in December was to assess the feasibility of a strong performance of the classic cover. Our recording of this instantly recognizable song is a half-step lower than the original, and was intended for a guest male vocalist, with the IMP girls singing backups. That idea being scrapped back in August, it remained to be seen whether Michelle could sing the lead vocal in the key of C. A December rehearsal showed promise, and although the melody begins at the low end of Michelle’s register, it may produce interesting results.

I will share one clue about this classic song, it was originally recorded and co-written by an iconic male singer/ songwriter from the 1960s. This artist saw his career resurrected in the late 1980s with the help of hit-makers at that time, who saw him as an influence and inspiration. I was very fortunate to have seen him perform live in the 1980s at the now defunct Rochester Festival Tent. His energy was palpable, and I was amazed to see so many college-aged kids rocking in the audience; newcomers, who most likely discovered his music on their parents old records.

One exciting aspect of this recording project is that we are working for the first time with Michael Lynch, a musician and songwriter from Downstate New York. Lynch submitted two songs, “Mister Sunshine” and  “I Almost Forgive Him.” These tracks, when completed, will be the first group originals since the 2012 releases of “Dear Michelle (The Fighting’s Begun)” and “Bus Driver.”

Lynch’s songs fit our style, especially in regard to the lyrical content; more on this in the following article. Both tunes ooze with the girl group feel. Lynch left room for the backing vocals wide open; there is only a hint of backups during the fade on his demo of “Mister Sunshine.” In both of his recordings, Lynch has some two-part harmonies, not all that common with the girl groups, but more so with the solo singers classified in the girl group genre, like Lesley Gore. The instrumentation on both demos includes piano and guitar. With his permission, I have included both of Lynch’s demos for our readers to give a listen. It should be fun to refer to these again, after we release our versions of these two songs.

As a producer who dabbles in songwriting, it’s always cool to work on a fellow songwriter’s material. One thing I like to keep in mind is that these songs are almost like children to the songwriters, and you have to respect their artistic vision. I usually feel out how each writer receives my suggestions. Everyone is different, and how much, or how little, of an arrangement they provide varies from writer to writer.

Syeed Abdulal-haqq, our main songwriter — he penned “Bus Driver” — takes a simple approach. He passes his material to me as a live vocal performance. Typically, Syeed opens up a legal pad, and sings the melody to his jotted-down lyrics. I get to fill in all of the arrangement, instrumentation and backing vocals, giving me a tremendous amount of latitude.

Syeed is very easy to work with; in the end, he usually says, “I like what you’ve done with my song.”  Song ideas come to Syeed spontaneously, so way back, we purchased a mini-cassette recorder for him to sing into, when the creative spirit moves him, so he doesn’t lose a possible new song idea. To this day, I’m not sure if Syeed plays a musical instrument.

Paul Kanack’s material comes to me in a more structured form. As a musician with singing ability, and a strong grasp of the girl group sound, Paul has a clear vision for his works. I can make some suggestions about the instrumentation and possible backing vocal arrangements, but, for the most part, his songs have few changes from his original ideas.

Two examples of Paul’s songs where I made some subtle changes come to mind. The first is his song “On the Beach Tonight.” On this song, I added the backing vocal chant during the fade-out, “Fun, fun for everyone; All day, out in the sun.” The other song is “The Joy of Love,” where I helped change the opening lyrics from “When he walked my home last night” to “Romeo just held me tight.” The latter change came during an inspired moment while dinning with Paul at the Burger King in East Rochester, perhaps channeling artistic energy lingering from Philip Seymour Hoffman, who once worked at this particular location. Always have a pen and napkin handy!

This is the first time I have worked with Michael Lynch. The challenge working with Michael, is that he is not local, so all communication has been through Facebook. Lynch, a multi-instrumentalist and singer, presented his material to me as completed demos (refer to the SoundCloud embedded tracks). As a producer, it’s easy to be swayed into using the exact same instrumentation, vocals, and arrangement as on a complete work. It’s not even a question of being lazy, it’s just too easy to be influenced by a song in finished form.

Phil Collins once suggesting that he’s not influenced by anybody; while that seems silly, he continued on to say that he does not listen to any music when he’s in creative-mode. For me, the more sparse the production is on the demo, the easier it is to develop an arrangement for the group.

We left Lynch’s “Mister Sunshine” very true to the demo when we recorded it back in August. During the “That Boy of Mine” session in October, we decided to defer the recording of “I Almost Forgive Him” until we could work out a new arrangement. So, on December 23, Michelle, Sarah, Sierra, and Matt Doi met with me to come up with some ideas. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep the opening riff of the song, which Lynch repeats again, in full, before the third verse. As I was about to search for something different, Matt Doi, one of our talented multi-instrumentalists, referred to the opening hook positively, identifying it as having a “Louie, Louie” feel.

“Hmm,” I thought, yes indeed, how could we change the opening after that comparison!

When listening to “I Almost Forgive Him,” I hear the Merseybeat sound, similar to Freddie and the Dreamers or Gerry and the Pacemakers. There’s room for a jangling Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, especially during the instrumental break. It all seemed to make sense. With the feel and instrumentation taking shape, we went on to consider the backing vocal arrangement.

Parts of “I Almost Forgive Him” are open to smooth vocal “oohs,” and, dare I say, perhaps some “yeah, yeah, yeahs.” The girls really dug the tune and started to offer some suggestions. Michelle and Sierra came up with the idea of using a call and answer, which would preserve the two-part harmonies in Lynch’s demo. In this idea, the lead vocal sings when there is no harmony, and the backups answer her in two-part harmony. As this idea materialized, it became apparent that we needed to change a few of the lyrics to reflect the lead singers point-of-view, and then the back-up vocal responses. We were all excited about this direction. Hopefully Michael Lynch will enjoy our interpretations of his songs.

We are going into the studio to record “I Almost Forgive Him” on January 3. We’ll let you know how things turned out in next month’s edition of the Confetti Clatter.

The Challenge of Covering Contemporary Songs

From time-to-time our fans have asked us to record a current pop song with an IMP twist. This idea piqued my interest, so I began tuning into the now-sound to see what grabbed me. I’m sure you’ve heard one of those stations that rotate the same 10 songs every hour. As tough as it was to listen to such a limited playlist, I must say, there were a few decent numbers in the short rotation, some sounding like possible targets for an IMP cover.

So, what have I heard lately? One song that is repeated every hour is a Fall Out Boy song called “Uma Thurman.” If you’ve been hiding under a radio rock since the early ’90s, like me, in this tune, Fall Out Boy lifts the Munster’s Theme by playing it on electric guitar over a thundering drum track. I’m not sure how that riff ties in with Uma Thurman, because that’s not the song she danced to in Pulp Fiction. Gee, I wonder if any of the kids listening to that song even know where that guitar riff comes from? Though it had a retro-feel, this tune was not a song I would consider for us.

“Uma Thurman” not being the best pick, the next song that lured me in was “On My Mind,” by Ellie Goulding. The song’s hook felt right, and, although it’s sung in a monotone, I thought it had potential. Feeling good about this track, I added the tune to my SoundHound app history, something I often do when looking for cover material. You see, at my age you get senior moments, but SoundHound will save the history of the songs you searched for future reference. For the record, Big Lots is an excellent venue for song ideas, they seem to pipe in a nice cross-section of music, so I always have my smartphone handy when shopping there.

Okay, so, SoundHound shows the lyrics of the song in real-time, and as I read the lyrics to “On My Mind,” this song went down the tubes as far as a potential cover song.  Now I’m not a good-two-shoes, but girl group lyrics do have a sense of innocence or naivete, such can not be said for “On My Mind.”

And I quote from the song:

“Poured it down, so I poured it down
Next thing that I know I’m in a hotel with you
You were talking deep like it was mad love to you
You wanted my heart but I just liked your tattoos
Poured it down, so I poured it down” 

I don’t think so, this isn’t even Shangri-Las material. I wonder what she’s pouring down? I have been warned by the IMP girls that today’s lyrics are the main hurdle in finding the proper fit for the group.

So, why record one of these songs in the first place? First, it’s a challenge, and could be fun. Secondly, and more important to exposure for the group, it has the potential to introduce us to a wider audience, that’s what covers do. Heck, even the early Beatles albums were heavy on cover music. Cover material, which I refer to as “islands of familiarity” hopefully lead the listener to your original material.

Call To Action!

Perhaps you know a current tune we can cover, feel free to leave a reply to this edition of our newsletter, perhaps we can get a discussion going! 

Have you visited our YouTube page? This is where we post all of our video content. Watch, subscribe, and comment!

Are you connected with IT’S MY PARTY! on your mobile phone? Just text getimp to 444999 and you’ll join our mobile app, it’s another great way to keep up-to-date with our group.

Also, don’t forget to share this article on your social media pages, by using the links at the bottom of this edition. 

 

 

The Confetti Clatter – November 2015 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

Recording update

As a continuation of last month’s edition, the fine folks at Orange County Speaker have repaired our Urei 809 studio monitors, they are now back in our possession. What seemed like a mundane task, shipping speakers, turned into any but, and yielded a funny story. As is the case of most musicians, few are getting wealthy monetarily, but oh what rich tales they can tell about the journey.

The story goes like this: Having looked over Orange County Speaker’s recommendations for shipping, I decided to use the UPS shipping center at the Staples at Panorama Plaza in Penfield. While at Staples, I ended up having a conversation with the attendant who helped me send the boxes to California; she was naturally curious about the contents — Orange County recommended shipping each speaker separately. I explained the situation and told her that the speakers had worn down after 26 years of use, and that it was inevitable that the foam portion of the speaker would eventually disintegrate.  The woman, who was both helpful and gregarious, immediately perked up and said something the effect that she was surprised that anyone would repair old speakers. I told her that these were very fine speakers and therefore there were companies that deemed them worthy of the repair.

I went on to totally set myself up by saying, “And after this repair, these speakers will be good for another 25 years!”

Her quick retort, “No offense, but you had better put those speakers in your will, because I don’t think you’re going to be around then.”

Be that as it may, for the here and now, we are ready to continue our recording project, which we should complete by January. The next song  we will record is the original “I Almost Forgive Him,” and then a few surprises. We will keep you updated in our next edition of the Confetti Clatter.

New concept/ promotional video available soon on YouTube 

Every so often we release a concept, or promotional video for a specific recording. Rather than a live performance, the audio portion of the thematic video is a studio recording of a publicly released song. In this article, I will chronicle our three promotional videos, concluding with an explanation of our most recent release, which we are sharing with you first, our newsletter subscribers.

Having completed the full-length CD Can I Get To Know You Better in 2001, we decided to promote it with a performance in Los Angeles as part of the annual International Pop Overthrow Festival. It was our second return and we had made great impressions with audiences in Los Angeles at the previous two festivals.

The entire stay in LA was magical, to begin with, we were scheduled to perform at the famous Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard. We were psyched to take the stage at this legendary venue, where so many noteworthy artists made history, including the live debut of Buffalo Springfield, the USA debut of Elton John and the LA debut of Billy Joel.

Besides performing at the Troubadour, we had a goal of shooting video footage for the song “On the Beach tonight,” written by Paul Kanack, then our de facto manager, and now our bass player. Our thinking was, hey we’re in LA, what better setting for a beach song could we find? 

Besides filming at a public beach, another thought for shooting the video was to replicate the same scene as the Turtles video for their song “You Baby.” That video was filmed in 1965 on the sidewalk in front of the Water and Power Building in downtown Los Angeles. Perhaps some of the magic from that stellar group would rub off on us. We did feel a bit of a connection with the Turtles as we too covered “Can I Get To Know You Better,” and picked that song as the title track for our album. As an aside, how many of you know the original artist of “Can I Get to Know You Better?” Feel free to add a comment, if you would like to venture a guess.

We picked Zuma Beach for one possible location, we even scoped out the downtown site, which looked strikingly similar to the Turtles video, over 35 years later.  About to make the decision for the location, we casually mentioned our intentions to members of the Teen Machine, one of the local LA bands, also performing at the International Pop Overthrow. Our idea was quickly dashed. You see, the guys in the Teen Machine know a little about the landscape of their hometown, they explained to us how strictly regulated the film industry is in Los Angeles. They went on to warn us that would-be directors have to acquire a permit from the organization Film L.A. Inc., before they can do any filming in the County of Los Angeles. At what borders on being a racket, the cost of the permit, mandatory fire hazard expert, and required insurance is staggering to the independent or amateur filmmaker. Our spirits noticeably dashed, the guys from Teen Machine suggested that if we knew exactly what we wanted to do, headed out to the location, rushed out of the car, set up quickly, and finished before we drew a lot of attention, we may be able to pull it off. Not liking our chances, we formulated Plan-B.

Google Image of N Hope St Los Angeles

N. Hope St, across the street from the Water and Power Building, where the Turtles filmed the “You Baby” video in 1965

We were staying at the Orchid Suites Hotel in Hollywood. David Bash, organizer of IPO, suggested the hotel, and the  place was pretty nice, it included a pool, as well as a roof-top deck.  We used the deck more than the pool, and in fact, we seemed like the only guests using that amenity: Plan-B!

With the help of the Teen Machine we hired dancers for the shoot, including some of the Teen Machine band members. The day of the shoot was particularly hot and, for LA standards, humid. We did make-up, hair and costumes in our hotel rooms, and then sneaked up to the patio deck. As had been the case the whole stay, no one was up on the rooftop that afternoon. We moved some of the deck furniture around, and created a space for the performance. Using a portable CD player, we played our recorded version as the girls sang over the track and the dancers created a Shindig feel.  For this video, we used three different cameras, one far-field, one near-field, and the third camera trained on Cara, the lead vocalist. Cara and Rhian’s dad, Jerry, was one of the camera men, along with Jim Sawicki, the keyboard player, and I. The whole shoot went off seamlessly, I was pleased with the dancing, it really added that feel we were after. Three tapes in hand, we returned to Rochester and passed along the footage to the Reverend Sam Lovetro, who wove his magic and produced the final video. We have embedded the clip from our YouTube channel for your convenience.

The gig at the Troubadour went very well, although bands in the festival were only allotted a 20-minute set, there were plenty of folks who came out specifically to see us. My cousin, Matt, made the trip from San Diego and my good friend Mike Brooks, whom I knew when I lived in LA back in the early ’80s, also made the trip from the San Fernando Valley. Also in the crowd that night was Darian Sahanaja, from the group The Wondermints, Andy Paley, who had worked with Madonna, Kim Fowley, formerly of the Hollywood Argyles, and Brian Wilson. Everyone wanted to get some face-time with Brian Wilson, and we were lucky enough to get a photo with him with the three IT’S MY PARTY! girls. I had a very interesting conversation with Kim Fowley. All decked out in his red leather suit, Fowley pulled me aside and asked what it would take for him to start working with the girls. Our conversation was periodically interrupted by members of the crowd shouting “Alley Oop” toward Fowley, who seemed to take it all in stride. Another memorable moment from that night was Cara and Rhian being chastised by management for walking around the club barefoot. Clearly, the amount of broken glass on the floor warranted the scolding.

The second concept video was for “Wanna Make Him Mine,” the title track from our three-song release in 2011. We had a relatively new group of girls and wanted them to create an identity. The idea was to show the popularity of IT’S MY PARTY! in the media, the video implies that the group was taking the nation by storm.

The video begins in someone’s living room, where we see a hand turning on the television set, and it’s tuned to IT’S MY PARTY! as they perform “Wanna Make Him Mine,” perhaps on Shindig.  As the picture fades to static, there is an outdoor scene. Keenan Bartlett, our then keyboard player, is at the wheel of Paul Kanack’s vintage car. Keenan turns on the car radio and is content when he hears IT’S MY PARTY! performing “Wanna Make Him Mine.”  

The most difficult part of this video was trying to move the footage inside the still shot of the old television set to create the appearance that the girls were on-the-air. The old set has rounded edges, which made it a challenge to line up the video inside the TV.

We shot the video in May of 2011, around, and on, Memorial Day. In fact, we headed off to B. Forman Park in Pultneyville for our annual band spring picnic after filming the sequence with Keenan. We used a single camera for the girls singing the song outside on the driveway of our recording studio with a bed sheet behind them as a backdrop. Later we replaced the “green screen” with the brick background. The end result was very convincing, although, if you look carefully, you can see a crease in the virtual brickwork where the actual sheet backdrop had a wrinkle or two.

The storyboard for the video, created by the IT'S MY PARTY! girls

The storyboard for the video, created by the IT’S MY PARTY! girls

Our most recent addition to the concept video promotes the song “In Your Letter,” one of the three tunes from our 2015 release He Wasn’t Like That (When He Used to Be Mine). As this is the most recognizable song, it felt like the right choice. The girls worked on the storyboard for the film, and they came up with this idea; we would have a scene where the girls are singing the three-part harmony hook, and then a look into a romance-gone-bad, through the eyes of Michelle, the lead singer of the song. Dylon, our keyboardist, played the part of Michelle’s boyfriend. 

For the chorus scene, we used one of the bedrooms at our home studio. For the happy and break-up scenes, we used to locations.  One was the Highland Bowl in Rochester, which happened to be setup for the currently-running play, Henry IV,  providing an interesting backdrop. The second location was at the Highland Park Diner, a Rochester landmark.  

I would like to thank the management at the Highland Park Diner for allowing us to use the restaurant during regular business hours, if you are ever in Rochester, please pay them a visit, the ambiance is as good as the food.

Also, thank goodness Rochester is not as strict when it comes to filming in a public place as Los Angeles, we had no problems at all shooting footage at the Highland Bowl; granted there was no one there at the time, and the production was more homespun than professional.

I’d like to also thank Billy Eberts, a prominent musician in our area, and his happy-go-lucky assistant, Chris Esfandiari, for taking time out of their valuable schedules to do all of the filming and post-production work on this video. Their willingness to accommodate our requests and lighthearted nature kept things fun.

Billy Eberts has the unique ability of gathering musicians from different backgrounds and having them come together with a unified sound. His newest project is the ’80s retro band, The Breakfast Club.  To find out more about Billy Eberts and his various musical projects, click here.

In Your Letter

Click this screenshot to watch the new video

I wanted the last scene to show two story lines, the angry diner clip, along with the chorus of girls singing, to heighten the emotion at the end of the video. The challenge for Billy and Chris was getting these two scenes to work well together, without one distracting the other. They tried a few different versions of the end scene, with mixed results. In the first version, they placed the girls singing the three part harmony in an oval on top of the blinds in the diner. It worked well, until any object moved into that area and ended up passing behind the singers. Try as they may, they could not move the scene of the girls in an area where it did not interfere with the action in the diner scene. Next they tried making the girls semi-transparent, but that fell flat. Finally, we decided on a kind of Brady Bunch split screen, and it seemed to create the desired effect. You can watch the final version here first, before we release it publicly on YouTube, by clicking on the link provided.

That’s all for this month’s issue, don’t forget to like us on our Facebook page, or share this post on your social media pages by using the icons below. If inclined, please leave a comment, we’d love to start a dialogue. And don’t forget to weigh on our poll to vote for your favorite of the three concept videos.

 

The Confetti Clatter – October 2015 News Update

Posted on by John Giotto

Group goes back into the recording studio 

IT’S MY PARTY! returned to the recording studio on October 11. Although the plan was to record tracks for two songs, the musicians decided to table “I Almost Forgive Him,” an original track by Michael Lynch, so they could work out the proper key signature and arrangement. The group instead focused on a remake of the Sherrys’ original “That Boy of Mine,” a song created with that famous Philly sound of the early sixties, of which songwriters Madara and White were a part of. You may know the Sherrys more for their hit record, “Pop Pop Pop-Pie.” 

Matt Doi, John Giotto, and Paul Kanack laid down all of the music tracks. First they recorded the bass, guitar and drums live (at the same time). Next, Matt Doi recorded a second guitar part, and then baritone and tenor sax; to say Matt is talented is an understatement. Finally, Paul Kanack and John Giotto added hand percussion, which included slapstick, hand claps, and maracas. There may be room for a symphonic chime part at a later date.

Giotto decided that Sierra’s voice was well-suited for the lead vocal on this track, and she sang live in a separate room during the basic tracks. By singing during the tracking, the musicians gain an extra emotional lift, which can help to elevate a performance. Sierra’s vocal did just that. Sierra will return to the studio at a later date to record the “keeper” vocals” along with Michele and Sarah on backing vocals to complete the tracking.

The photo of the Urei 809 speaker with the foam intact. Our Ureis were manufactured in 1987, and the foam lasts about 30-years.

A photo of the Urei 809 speaker with the foam intact. Our Ureis were manufactured in 1987. The foam lasts about 30-years before disintegrating.

On a side note, all was going well during the recording session, when suddenly the producer and engineer noticed that the left speaker in the control room was distorting badly, especially in the low, or bass, register. This was odd because all of the equipment, from the interface, to the amplifier, to the speakers, is top-notch. Giotto decided to pull the protective grill from the face of the offending speaker, and what the team saw was not good: The foam around the circumference of the speaker had deteriorated in many spots, leaving gaping spaces where the speaker was no longer supported.  An inspection of the right speaker showed tears, the first sign that the foam would eventually fall apart, like the left speaker. Both speakers were removed from their cabinets, and sent to Orange County Speaker, in California, for re-foaming. Any additional tracking and recording has temporarily been placed on hold. If all goes well, the studio should be up and running by December. In the meantime, the group will work on the Lynch tune.

As we mentioned in our September newsletter, another idea 💡 from the team is writing an answer record for a song written and recorded in the late 1970s by a renowned artist, and then covered in the mid-1980s, when it became a big hit. An answer record borrows the elements of the original song, but takes the lyrics in a new direction. We will keep this song a secret until we actually begin the recording in December. We will say that the songwriter of the original song is someone whom Giotto has great respect for, and has had the opportunity to interview on two occasions in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when he worked at WBER, a community radio station, which broadcasts from Penfield, NY. Sadly this songwriter has passed away, and Giotto felt that it was time for a tribute record of sorts. Giotto and Kanack are working on the answer record, which should be completed soon.

New YouTube video available, more to follow

Ken Kleinendorst and Michele pose for a photo at one of our shows.

Ken Kleinendorst and Michelle pose for a photo at one of our shows.

Thanks to our fan, Ken Kleinendorst, several live performance videos of our group are now available. Ken makes his way up from Central Pennsylvania on many occasions to catch an IT’S MY PARTY! show, and when he does, he usually brings his video recording gear along with him. If you have been to one of our shows, I’m sure you’ve seen Ken. In his mid-eighties, Ken is still going strong, he has been known to arrive early on the day of a performance and help with the set-up of the equipment, as well as aiding the tear down at the end of the night.

Ken recently sent us a batch of DVDs with footage from shows including Batavia, Hammondsport, Burgundy Basin Inn, and Van Bortel. This is very fortunate because we find it very difficult to set up our own video taping equipment, with so much else to do before the show. 

We are in the process of reviewing and then uploading the best performances to our YouTube channel. The first offering is a rendition of “To Sir With Love” from our August 11 show at the Burgundy Basin Inn. 

One of the challenges working with Ken’s videos is that, although the footage was recorded in 720p, the aspect ratio was set at 4X3. Unaltered, these videos would display those ugly side bars on YouTube — think old television shows. So, we have to zoom into the frame, cutting off some of the top and bottom information, to create the look of a 16X9 video. We have spoken to Ken about this , and he has set his camera to shoot in 16X9 from now on. Ken is hoping to come up during the December recording sessions, so we will have some nice videos in the near future, which we will pass along to our fans. By the way, Ken performed the sleigh bells on our recording of  “You Won’t Even Know Her Name,” so don’t be surprised if he puts down the camera and joins in again on the upcoming sessions. Ken is a great fan, friend and truly a high-energy guy!