Song;
Another play on visual lyrics. Every line conjuring up imagery. Only this time it was about the glitz and glamour of the Californian or Hollywood dream. I’ve never been actually, but I doubt that the reality is anything like what has been shoved in our faces since The Beach Boys were singing about it in the early to mid 1960’s?
Either way I like the Californian dreamland imagery because I am a dreamer myself and these melody lines suggested sea, sun and beaches etc to me, so I went with it. I know that the title California has been done to death but it is a dream that is still relevant 50 years on. I am one of hundreds that look at this dream from different angles.
They still push this bullshit dream. This is one of many takes on that imagery which includes lots of sarcasm to boot. Like the song ‘Come On’ on this album it is meant to pull this subject apart. It is pro Hollywood until you actually analyse each line. Then it becomes sarcastic when you listen through it again.
Video;
A friend of mine over the internet made a video of a working nearly finished demo of this song a while ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DJDjE5JSeM He actually lives in California and he included homeless people living on the streets in the video. I was glad that he saw another side so I went with his view which is relevant today. Maybe he sensed the irony behind the intention of the song?
If I made a video for this it would include the drug culture, prostitution, poverty, crime, mind control showing the true reality behind this man made so called paradise. Hollywood and California is a man made illusion. Yes its warm and sunny out there but this is the only natural thing around this place. The rest is about business and money.
Recording;
Here, I am fully equipped with my own recording studio software in my own studio like with most of the songs on this album and the last one. I chose pro-tools because of my past studio ventures which where equipped with the same and I was getting used to it. Pro-tools became familiar to me very quickly.
I originally played all these parts into my composer workstation. After flying all these finished parts into pro-tools, later adding vocals, acoustics guitars, electric guitars and slide guitars, I invited my usual merry band of musicians to make it an organic band. I discarded my workstation drums and bass and replaced this plastic rubbish with their real parts. I even went as far as going to a local airport to record planes taking off and landing for the start and end. Talk about being an anorak? lol
Players;
Paul; Vocals, Acoustic guitars, Electric guitars, Slide guitar
Omar Wilson; Bass
Rob Franks; Drums
Airplane; Courtesy of Humberside airport!
Marklew ©
Album; Songs From The Bridge
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