changin' times
original louisiana soul & blues
foto: recording session, monroe, louisiana
music clips, downloads and cds are available from:
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| 1. carnival time in the city *** 2. fallen angels 3. bitter wine *** 4. nothing ventured, nothing gained 5. home sweet bourbon street * 6. love into my life 7. it’s time | 8. reach out for me 9. sweet soul sister * 10. sweet disposition * 11. changin’ times 12. the first taste of trouble 13. workin’ man’s blues |
*** horns arranged by josh keene- * horns arranged by doug duffey
doug duffey: vocal/piano/organ - jerry beach: guitar - tommy miller: guitar - doug johnson: bass - steve wade: drums - lisa spann: vocals - michael rasbury: vocals/percussion - josh keene: trumpet - thad noland: saxophones - jeremy davis: saxophone
engineered, recorded, mixed, and mastered by michael rasbury
all songs written/arranged by doug duffey (C)(P)2006 published by doug duffey music, bmi
executive producers: jacqueline trachsel & doug duffey
special thanks to jimmy and ellen balfour for the use of "little chicago"
fotos from the sessions : left to right: jerry beach; tommy miller; steve wade; doug johnson; doug duffey: michael rasbury; lisa spann; jeremy davis, thad noland, & josh keene
click on fotos to enlarge
doug's notes:
[on the sessions]
for this cd i wanted to record in a relaxed no-stress environment. I find most studios to be sterile and uncomfortable; too much like offices or work places. I can’t stand sitting around in them for days, weeks, or months, twiddling knobs, listening over and over, dissecting/editing/changing the music, etc. The end product usually ends up being over produced and far from the original concept [sometimes better but more often worse] - although it seems to be a necessary evil, I don’t really like the multi track approach to recording anymore [i can do that alone, on my computer, thank you]
I find that live recordings always have the best energy. I wanted something that sounded closer to what I do live.
I wanted to record more like people did in the old days: with everyone in one big room, playing at the same time. I find this a much more honest approach to making music. I also wanted to record where we could take our time, work at our own pace, come and go when we wanted to- with no time-clock or restrictions- but get the tracks cut right... and quickly. ‘back in the day’ most records were recorded ‘live in the studio’- to a 2 track machine- in one take; if someone screwed up… they started over… then kept the best ‘cut’. [Unfortunately “little chicago” is right by the railroad tracks AND directly on the street- so train horns and loud cars often stopped everything! so, we had to start over many times! we'd just have a smoke break when that happened... then started over! ]
I asked michael rasbury if he could do the recordings ‘on location’. I asked my friends jimmy and ellen balfour is we could use “little chicago” [which they own] to record in. luckily everyone said “yes!” and so the project began.
“little chicago” [500 desiard street, monroe, louisiana] is a landmark, and was a bar from time immemorial. It’s a great space, downtown, with old brick walls and hardwood floors. it has a long history and it’s been various bars/clubs over the years. [it’s unfortunately not a music club anymore] we’ve all played there, at various times, in it’s different incarnations, since the 70s… so we felt right at home!
The basic tracks [guitar, bass, drums, piano, scratch vocal] were recorded live- in 3 different sessions over 3 days time- at “little chicago”. We set up in a circle, Michael mic-ed everything, got the levels, we ran through a song once or twice, then recorded it, and kept the best version, then went onto the next song. We knocked out 4 or 5 songs a day!
We didn’t go completely old school, as much as I would’ve liked to. we recorded the basic tracks live, then did overdubs [horns, backing vocals, some of my lead vocals, guitars, extra keys] at Michael’s house or mine, afterwards.
I find this cd to capture the musical ‘feel’ of this region [north Louisiana] where blues, soul, r&b, rock & roll, country and gospel have all intermingled forever. I also find this cd to be very organic, with most of the songs written here in Louisiana, recorded “smack dab in the middle” of my home town, in an old club I used to play, with great friends I have luckily had most of my life.
a big “thank you” to everyone who participated in this project, and made it possible.
[about the songs]
I decided to go through my archive of songs for this project, and find those that would best fit the overall ‘louisiana flavored’ blues and soul concept, and songs that would feel good played live. there are some songs about new orleans [my former residence and ‘spiritual’ home] mixed with some cajun, some songs that almost sound ‘country-ish’, as well as ‘old school’ Memphis style r&b - and some rock… all done North Louisiana style! i call it "louisiana americana"
Although, I’ve recorded some of the songs solo they’ve never been released, or haven’t been released as recorded with a band; many are from my writer's tapes- and have been waiting for years for their chance to come to light. I hope you enjoy them!
[c]2011 DOUG DUFFEY
