Session Drummer | Studio Drummer | Touring and Worship Drummer for Hire | Dale Baker | Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, NC

The Physics of Meaning

I'm playing on this record by this new band called, The Physics of Meaning. 

How's this -  they have a sound that's like Life of PI meets Led Zeppelin.  Okay, I know that's a totally lame comparison, but it was the first thing that jumped into my mind...(um, I meant it more figuratively than literally...)

Listen for yourself to this demo: Cameron and Columbia 

Daniel, the mastermind behind this band, is brilliant at writing beautiful, soaring melodies and creating phrases that cross bar-lines and playfully dart back and forth...Great stuff...I hope you like what you hear...it's not often I get to play a pop song in 17 or maybe it's 9+3 ahh...anyway...give it a listen.

You can check out more about the band and all that stuff at their official website.

We'll be recording the record over the first two weekends in February over at the Buhanan Recording Complex, nestled in the fairly hip community of Chapel Hill.  Chapel Hill is to Durham what Murfreesboro is to Nashville.  Wait, maybe I got that wrong...I think Durham is to Murfreesboro what ...oh, nevermind.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to it.  Recording over there is always fun and exciting. 

Bob Lefsetz is my hero.

He says stuff like this:

"Don't you get it?  It's IRRELEVANT whether the iTunes Music Store tracks are
compatible with other devices...BECAUSE NOBODY IS BUYING TRACKS FROM THE STORE TO BEGIN WITH!"

And his style is a bit abrasive and kinda of elitist...but I can't stop reading his emails.  It's like he believes he knows the future of the music industry...and not that he will necessarily benefit from the future...but more that he knows where things are heading...

I like to think he's a modern day prophet of sorts...only he's prophesying about the coming music industry, the one that looks ALOT different from the one that we've all been raised with and operating under since the 1950's. 

And the cool thing about his writings, is they fill me with hope, not only about my music but about the music I frequently record drums for of artists who are completely off the radar and make their music because they have to, whether or not they eventually get signed.  It's like I know a change is coming...I just don't know what it is...and so by reading Bob's emails I feel like I get a little closer to knowing what that change will look like in the coming years...

The other thing is...this guy is prolific...he pumps out about 2 or 3 emails a day it seems...so often does he write, I sometimes wonder if he's real.  And after reading his emails now for over a year, I feel like he knows what he talks about...and that, though abrasive at times, his voice is one that needs to be heard and one that I will continue to enjoy hearing...

Long live Lefsetz...

Prayers and Tears and Esopus Mag

Last weekend I fell down some ice covered stairs (I think the fact that I've been doing pilates kept me from really hurting myself) and then with blood encrusted wrists and elbow and scrapes on my back I recorded a nice and subdued drum track for Perry Wright (aka, the prayers and tears of arthur digby sellers) over at Buhanan Studios in Chapel Hill (aka the go machine house).  Anyway the song was for an upcoming compilation that Perry was asked to be a part of and well...let me have him tell you the rest...

"The song, Lisa, is named for its subject, an imaginary
friend from one of Alan Sparhawk's (Low) childhood, (btw it should be noted that Sparhawk is a reader of the magazine);

the magazine (Esopus) collected submissions from its readership about
imaginary childhood friends and commissioned specific
songwriters to reimagine the stories in song.

We had a whirlwind recording schedule: drums early
Saturday morning, cellos in the afternoon, bass in the
evening.  The song has to be close enough to complete
to mail to Canada by the middle of the week, where our
friend and personal hero John Samson (The Weaker Thans)
will record one harmonyvocal, while we record the second harmony vocal here
with Heather McEntire (Bellafea) and the violins with Daniel Hart (The Physics of Meaning)."

The compilation is due out the end of April...so check it out and pick up a copy...

Arrested Development...

Is now my favorite show...I rented Season 1 last night and watched the episodes...this is the funniest thing I've seen in a long while...Thanks Brandon for mentioning it to me.  My favorite characters so far are the magician, Gob (pronounced like the biblical character Job) and the character David Cross plays.   But none of it would make much sense if it wasn't held together by the dry wit of Jason Bateman.  He is really good.  And the writing is brilliant.  Anyway, if you haven't seen this show...make it a point to get started...I haven't laughed this hard since Police Squad (which was subsequently cancelled by ABC because it was "too funny.")  Hopefully Fox will let this series continue as long as the Simpsons!

And by the way, the music underscoring most of the show is brilliant...really cool stuff. 

New Sixpence Compilation Released!

Compendia Media Group has just released a new compilation of Sixpence songs.  And so to help those who wonder, "who or what drummer played on (fill in the blank) song?"  Here's the skinny:

Band:  Sixpence None the Richer
CD Title:  the Early Years
Label:  Compendia Media Group/ Intersound
Release Date:  Jan. 25

1. Healer:  Features Dale Baker on drums
2. Angel Tread:  Features Dale Baker on drums
3. Within a Room Somewhere:  Features Dale Baker on drums
4. The Fatherless and the Widow:  Features Chris Dodds on drums
5. Trust:  Features Chris Dodds on drums
6. Field of Flowers:  Features Chris Dodds on drums
7. Bleeding:  Features Dale Baker on drums
8. Love, Salvation, Fear of Death:  Features Dale Baker on drums
9. Spotlight:  Features Chris Dodds on drums
10. Dresses:  Features Dale Baker on drums
11. I Can't Explain:  Features Dale Baker on drums

Anyway...there you have it.  I thought you might want to know.

dale

Blurb in Rocky Mountain News about Sixpence

I don't about you but it's kinda odd that one of the Sixpence songs that features my drumming is now used for a birth control commercial.  I mean it's great that I can hear myself on TV almost everynight (the commercial is usually played sometime during late night TV) but knowing the history of the song, and the history of traditional Christianity and it's opposition to birth control, makes me think the placement of that song in that commercial a bit odd and a tad ironic.  Well, apparently I'm not the only one who thinks that.

In this article from the Rocky Mountain News, Mark Brown says the following...

"But the current classic has to be There She Goes. Originally written by The La's, it is thought by many to be a love song. It is, of sorts: a love song to heroin. "There she goes again, pulsing through my veins . . . no one else can heal my pain," lead singer Lee Mavers crooned in 1990 before the band disappeared into oblivion, commercial and otherwise.

Now it is covered in a commercial by Sixpence None the Richer, a Christian band out of Texas that had a minor hit years ago with Kiss Me. It's a commercial for drugs of another kind - birth-control pills."

I'm published at Amazon!

Many of you know that I took the photos and wrote an essay for the City on a Hill book that came out about a half decade ago.  Anyhow...I just found out that my essay is the one featured on Amazon.com when you click on the link that says, "look inside this book."

You can view the excerpt by clicking the link at the top of the Amazon.com page you come to, or by clicking through the book until you see the start of the essay...

You can also view one of my photos that appears in the book (and the essay) as well.

Now, if I could only get another book deal...or at least a photography job...that'd be awesome...

Become a friend

So my side-project, The Maudlin Fee, is still slowly but surely coming together.  I've opened up a myspace account so that when they're ready I can post the mp-3's I'm working on.  And maybe one of these days I'll actually get my songs from the BARE ep posted as well. 

Until then, go over to www.myspace.com/themaudlinfee and sign up to be my "friend."

mp3's of the Prayers and Tears...

I posted an album review  a few days ago of the upcoming Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers cd that is due out in March.  Well, if you're curious you can listen to some of the album over at my space.com...here is the link.

The first two songs feature my drumming, and I think the third song...if not me...then it's James from Ester Drang playing. 

Anyway, if you get a chance, check out the songs and support the band! 

New Photos added!

I added some new photos to my photo gallery...click the link on the left side of this page, or click here.

CD Review

CD Review by Dale and Carole Baker:
{editors note:  both Carole and Dale are friends of Perry (and Dale plays drums on alot of this disc), yet this review has been unsolicited...we just REALLY like this record and want to spread the news of its yummy goodness...}

Band:  The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers
CD:  The Mother of Love Emulates The Shapes of Cynthia
Label:  Buhanan Records (www.buhananrecords.com)
Release Date:  March 2005

The opening of Perry Wright's (aka: The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers) masterpiece, The Mother of Love Emulates the Shapes of Cynthia, makes one who is wary of self-made CD's in this era of home computers with hacked copies of Cubase feel justified in her criticism of so many homemade vanity projects.  The audio fidelity is suspect, the track hiccups and basically starts to degrade...ah but the cynic is wrong. To the contrary, this opening is a clever acknowledgement that such self-produced pap is running rampant in our current day.  This album is not pap. 

Perry Wright with co-producer/ mixer Alex Lazara have created a stunning piece of work, competent and complex in it's portrayal of longing, love and loss.  At times, Wright sounds like a male version of Bjork, with production matching.  Other times he's like a mash-up of Iron and Wine versus Pedro the Lion.  There's so much analog warmth to this digital production you almost think you could make an album like this yourself.  But don't be fooled.  This is the work of stunning genius. 

Perry Wright proves he is a capable, talented, and creative singer and songwriter who knows how to pick collaborators who will make him and his music shine. The collaboration between Wright and Lazara results in a finished product so seamless it is nothing short of an event.  Yet, each song- so well crafted -easily stands on its own.

Everything about this project, from the booklet design to the carefully crafted overarching narrative, makes this CD well worth owning. And don't be surprised if you find yourself making room in the 'ole CD collection for more Prayers and Tears a.k.a. Perry Wright and friends. Go ahead- With work this good it's sure to be more than wishful thinking.

Recently I was asked:

What songs feature your drumming on that new Sixpence record:  Best of Sixpence None the Richer?

I played drums (and percussion) on the following tracks:

1.  Loser Like Me
2.  Us
3.  Too Far Gone
4.  The Ground You Shook
5.  Kiss Me
6.  Breathe Your Name
7.  Melody of You
8.  Dancing Queen

10.  There She Goes
11.  I need Love

13.  Breathe
14.  Brighten My Heart
15.  Angeltread
16.  Within a Room Somewhere

18.  Kiss Me (Japanese version)

So out of 18 tracks on this CD, you'll find me on 15 of them.  Happy listening!

New Sixpence compilation

Jan 25 is the release date for Early Years, a collection of Sixpence songs, pre "Kiss Me" era.

You can pre-order the CD on Amazon.  From the initial track listing, it looks like this CD will also feature a majority of tracks that I recorded with Sixpence, "back in the day."

New Photo posted

I just posted a recent photo of the kit I use (most of the time) when I'm recording.  You can see the photo here. The picture is actually pieced together from 3 shots I took.  I messed around with the 3 photos in Photoshop and tried to make the picture as seamless as possible.

Btw, I have a whole slew of new photos that I'll be posting over the next few weeks...so stay tuned!

Durham Drum Lessons!

It's finally official.  Durham Drum Lessons has it's own site!

Go to www.durhamdrumlessons.com for information about taking drum lessons with Dale Baker.