Factoids about "Death To Westside Culture"

It exists.

Well, I finally got this album printed.  "Death To Westside Culture" was the album I immediately started working on after I finished "Sicks".  I wasn't trying to to be so productive, but the music seemed to keep coming.  This was by far the quickest, and easiest album I've ever made.  I also feel it's my strongest.  It seemed that "Sicks" was excruciatingly long to write (7 songs, over a year!), and perhaps that got me warmed up to crank out this one. "D2WSC" took about 4 months (8 songs, plus 12 b-sides).  There's something to be said for the immediacy that happens when one is inspired.  The frustrating thing was that this album was done in May of 2011, and only am now getting it printed.

Interesting factoids:

• the title track, "Death To Westside Culture", was the last song written (although the album already had the same title), and the name is a loose concept about class warfare.  I'm not one to get all political, but I've been immersed in boutique culture this past year (my day job), and it got me thinking...
• "arbitrary movements of the hand" was titled as such when i was noodling around one day, i felt that i was--quite literally--arbitrarily playing chords in a random sequence, and i liked it enough to solidify it into a song.  i also sang vocals along with the guitar as i was writing it, making it the only song i've ever done where vocals were written at the forefront of a songs inception.
• in "i want to live", there are 2 layers of drums, a cowbell, washboard, jaws harp, and a tambourine.  it almost didn't make the album...i thought the song was too self indulgent.  i was also really pushing my vocals into a high register (something i've never done)
• "interlude 10" started out as a simple guitar riff several years ago (written during the "V" album sessions), but never quite materialized into anything.  it was the first song on the album that had vocals; i'm singing something about "the venus in the foreground".  because of it's lightness, and relatively short length, i tagged it as another "interlude", as part of the ongoing "2v1 interlude songs".  (the previous 9 "interludes" are sprinkled throughout all previous albums)
• "wear again" was the first song written for this album, (it's original title was "sit on a cop on crack", a reference to an old 2v1 song) and even when the music was complete, i still felt it lacked something.  so i turned to my friends caroll sun yang, and sarah newberry for lyrical inspiration.  sarah had just finished publishing her first book of poetry, and i bought one, and asked if i could have permission to pull some of her writings for potential lyrics.  she said yes, and i thought there would be plenty of material to create lyrics for the entire album.  instead, i took several poems and totally re-positioned and condensed the words into one song.  i also took 6 poems by caroll (things she's sent me over the years that were meant specifically for lyrics).  it became a bit of a lyrical hodge-podge word salad.  but there's a brash beauty in their words that i love.  i will continue to approach caroll and sarah for lyrical/vocal input, as long as they'll let me. (oh, and don't worry, we'll be splitting the millions equally three ways on this song.)
• the static-y noise you hear at the beginning of "i'll come running" (just before the vocals start) is me quickly repositioning the mic, so i can begin singing.  the title is also a little "tip o' the hat" homage to one of my heroes, Brian Eno.
• my wife Seadra walks in at the very tail end of "minimalism makes my teeth vibrate", so that's her you hear singing.  she often sings in her very long commute home from the westside, and will at times carry that singing into the house.  it just so happened that i was sitting there recording guitar when she walked in.  

When "D2WSC" was finished, i was left with about 12 additional songs that didn't make the cut.  i was also still writing, but didnt want to seriously commit to making another album so soon.  so, i made a conscious desicion to put all the leftovers on another "Throwaways" album (another ongoing 2v1 series), which is an album of half-finished songs, and other ideas that popped up and presented in a very informal state, just after the "D2WSC" sessions.

Right now, I'm back in serious writing/recording mode, and working on a new album called "We Are Sloppy-Fi".  This new album is going to be heavier, noisier, and more saturated with the clashing qualities that make up 2v1's ideas.  It's going to have death, thrash, drone, atonal, folk, improvisation, and pop; all coming from an acoustic guitar.

Email me at info@twoversusone.com if you'd like a copy of "Death To Westside Culture"

You can also listen to it on twoversusone.com, or on the soundcloud page.