eric Metronome

Cover of the Week - 01/01/07

eric — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 01:14:00 +0000

"Happy New Year" by Eugene Chadbourne

HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is a song written by Eugene Chadborne of Shockabilly but the version that I know and love was recorded by LUNA. I went ahead and did an extra for you all to celebrate not only the new year but also the completion of my year-long project. I'm really glad it's over, but it's been a lot of fun too. I'm sure I'll be posting more media/covers/video? eventually on my blog and hopefully I'll get around to gearing up my site and recording a new album for 2007. Thanks to everyone for listening and mentioning me in your blog this year. Take care.

Cover of the Week - 12/31/06

eric — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:13:00 +0000

"Lucky Ladybug" by Crewe/Slay

The Guv'ner version of this song is the one we love...Kim really wanted to do this one with me but it doesn't have any kind of holiday significance except that it was really fun to do. Kim makes her solo singing debut on this song; I think she did a great job. She also plays the bells again and some crazy vocals and baby piano with Phoenix at the end. It's weird that this is the last one for the year...I have to make sure I've done all 52! Time to add them up. Hope you had a wonderful holiday season.

Cover of the Week - 12/24/06

eric — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 00:40:00 +0000

(photo by Kim Rottmayer)
"Baby Blue Sedan" by Modest Mouse

So I've had a pretty active year; A new solo album released, a new house bought, an old band retired, a new live project started, a new job...many new things. And thru it all, my wife Kim has helped me keep it straight and figure things out so I didn't get freaked out about everything. Also recently she has been playing music with me and my some other folks live and that has been going great. So I asked Kim to play some Glockenspiel and sing some backup on this Modest Mouse cover that I've been wanting to do forever and I think it came out really good. I got to spend a lot of time on this cover over the Holidays...the past 2 or 3 have felt really rushed but I got to spend hours on this one and I just kept adding and adding...maybe too much. But it was a lot of fun. Modest Mouse has always been a favorite of ours and I remember hearing this song for the 1st time...I think on a vinyl copy of the album...it was only on the vinyl. They later released it on the b-sides comp cd. Coincidentally, my wife Kim is also a photographer and just recently had a photo that she took of Modest Mouse published in a new book about them. Very cool.

Only one cover left for this project and then I get to begin work on a new album. Happy New Year to everyone.

Cover of the Week - 12/17/06

eric — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 03:18:00 +0000

"Untrustable" by Built To Spill

Yeah, I'm late again. SORRY. But I'll be posting 2 covers this week including this one and the last one is next week...you never hear me do another cover. Just kidding, there's still a TON of songs that I've thought about covering and I'm sure it will continue as long as I've got hands and ears. Speaking of ears, BTS was one of the 1st bands I heard that really made me want to be in a band. I bought all the 7" records as they came out and they had a huge impact on me with guitar playing, writing songs and just listening to music and words. "Untrustable" is off of Perfect From Now On, an album which I had a difficult time getting into but it's now probably my favorite BTS record. Of course I love There's Nothing Wrong With Love and I'm sure those are Doug's best songs but something about PFNO's struggle that really endeared me to the band. I also desperately love Doug's solo album and i wish he would have done another one instead of the last BTS record which is not one of my favorites. But maybe it will be another PFNO for me and start a revolution in my mind. If there ever was a time I was open to that, It's now. So please check out BTS ASAP.

BUILT TO SPILL

Cover of the Week - 12/10/06

eric — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 03:26:00 +0000

"Jesus Christ" by Big Star

OK, so this is getting pretty hard. I'm behind a week but I'm gonna try and make it up tomorrow. I did this Big Star song as another Holiday song...it reminds me of the Holidays not just cause of the Christ thing. It's got that joyous feeling or something...I don't even care if Chilton was being facetious when he wrote it, I like it. So this song is going to be featured in a cool podcast next week: The Contrast Podcast, so please go check it out. I recorded a special intro on the version that he will be posting. exciting. happy hollowdays. Oh yeah, Big Star/Alex Chilton is one of favorite all timers. Please learn more if you know not.

Cover of the Week - 12/03/06

eric — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 03:20:00 +0000

If Everyday Were Like Christmas by Red West

Sorry, I had a birthday and then I got sick and blah blah blah I'm late again...But at least it's a Holiday song! It's the Red West classic but I've always known it because of the ELVIS version. In fact, I know very little about Red West except that he has an awesome name. ELVIS is a pretty awesome name too and his version is the classic I was really refering to. Anyway, my voice is creaky due to illness but take it for what it is I guess and have a happy Holiday season.

Cover of the Week - 11/24/06

eric — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 03:01:00 +0000

"Right Down The Line" by Gerry Rafferty

This one is a request from a friend and it really isn't one that I would've picked to do, which is great because sometimes when you do something for a whole year and have total control, it can begin to get a little stagnant. The words to this song have become very important to me during this process; this is a song I've known for a long time and have always heard on the radio but never gave it much thought besides how cool the guitar solo is. But the lyrics are great and very relevant to my own feelings about my better half. She's always there for me and I feel like she always will be which is a great feeling. Anyway, thanks for the request, Bobby. Hope you like it.

Sorry...

eric — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 14:20:00 +0000

I'm late posting my COTW...for last week! The Holiday weekend got the best of me and I was unable to get my song posted in time but I will try and have it up by sometime tonight. Only a few more weeks to go and I may never cover another song for the rest of my life. That's a lie. Hope everyone had a happy Holiday weekend.

Take care,

eric

Cover of the Week - 11/18/06

eric — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 01:36:00 +0000

"I've Got A Feeling" by Neva Dinova

I've made it no secret that Neva Dinova are one of my favorite current bands; my old band TIARA used to play a version of this song at our live shows. I guess Jake Bellow's songs just really hit close to home with me, his writing style. There is a uncompromised starkness of his words that I really appreciate as well. This song has some negative connotations towards religion and, well, maybe everything in general that I can understand, even if it's darkest line is somewhat sarcastic. Please check them out now if you haven't already.

Neva Dinova

Cover Of The Week 02/01/06

eric — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 15:57:00 +0000

"A Hit" by SMOG

for the whole month of February, i'm doing songs that i've recently re-discovered because of putting my whole 7" record collection down to digital and into my iPod. these ones stand out to me as being very influental to me in my early recording years. this one is by Bill Callahan who is SMOG. my band before TIARA actually opened for SMOG at Staches and they were amazing so i bought this record. the year was 1994. i added another verse at the end as a little update. enjoy.

Cover of the Week - 11/08/06

eric — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 03:31:00 +0000

"You Have To Be Joking (Autopsy Of The Devil's Brain)" by The Flaming Lips

I saw the Flaming Lips at Staches way back when. They weren't full-blown experimental live show crazies yet, but they did have Xmas lights wrapped around every inch of themselves and all the amps, drums and gear. It was pretty wild. They opened the show with A Flock Of Seaguls song (the name of which is now escaping me; no, it was not I Ran) and they f-ing rocked me into another world that night. Brian F's brother Craig got me into the Flaming Lips and I'm so glad he did. I think Hit To Death In The Future Head is still one of their best albums. I missed their last show here with Sonic Youth but I did get to see Wayne backstage for a minute...he was talking to Kim Gordon about the Jon Benet Ramsey thing. Crazy. Anyway, to me, The Lips were my introduction to the idea of really trying anything with recording to get different kinds of sounds, really a mind opening kind of band. They are huge to me so please check them out. And if you only know the current Lips catalog, go back and get a few of the older albums. In A Priest Driven Ambulance is also incredible.

The Flaming Lips

Cover of the Week - 10/25/06

eric — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 02:39:00 +0000

"The Way I Feel Inside" by The Zombies

One of the reasons I thought it would be fun to do this project is because figuring out and playing songs that I like is part of my creative process, even if I never get to the recording stage. So before I was laying down a cover every week, I would often play a cover at a live show. That is the case with this song; I used to play it out a lot. When I got the Zombie Heaven box set for Xmas from my Mom & Dad several years ago, I could not stop listening to the songs. The Zombies had a really era-specific sound; most folks know them from radio hits "Time Of The Season" or "She's Not There", but the other songs, the non-hits are the really great ones to me. Not because they went unnoticed but because they are just really good songs. Please listen to the Zombies with frequency:

The Zombies

Cover of the Week - 11/01/06

eric — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 22:40:00 +0000

"Back Of Your Head" by Cat Power

I never really got into Cat Power until I heard her cover of Sea Of Love which I thought was so beautiful and different; done her own way. So I got that covers record and it has some good covers on it. Then I remembered Moon Pix, an album which I had always heard about but had never really listened to except for this song that I'm covering here. The rest of that album is also brilliant. I recently read some news about Chan Marshall that specifically reflected some personal things that I've also been dealing with, so I thought it would be a strange parallel to do one of her songs. Good luck to her and good luck to me. And you - you just enjoy.

Cat Power

Cover of the Week - 10/18/06

eric — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 21:23:00 +0000

"Salute My Shorts!" by Rilo Kiley

From what I understand, the original name of this song was "Spectacular Views" and written by Jenny Lewis but Blake also wrote a song by this name which Jenny sings on, so Blake sang this Jenny song and titled it after one of the TV shows he was on as a kid actor. Whew, these kids are complicated. But I love this song and I was performing it live for a while. Kim mentioned that she'd like to hear a recorded version, so here we are. I really love "Take Offs and Landings", the Rilo Kiley album that this song is taken from, but lately I've been enjoying their respective solo efforts, The Elected & Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, much more. Please check them out:

The Elected

Jenny Lewis

Cover of the Week - 10/13/06

eric — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 04:26:00 +0000

"I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick

So as you may or may not know or care, my life has been slightly more busy than normal. I got a full-time day-job again after not being employed for about 4 months (good times), I recently closed on a house with my wonderful wife Kim and we just spent two consecutive weekends on the east coast playing shows with some incredible bands and people. One of those awesome people is Megan Palmer who I recorded this cover with today. The song was her choice and It's a classic; It has everything I love in a well-written song. I think she had been covering it at her live shows and Robert suggested that we get together and make a recording of it and I couldn't be happier with the results. Megan sings and plays violin and my good friend Matt Duckworth added some electric guitar as well. This is really the first collaboration that has actually come to fruition with my 52 weeks project and so it's very special to me. Something equally as special is that Megan Palmer is going to be performing at my CD release event this saturday (tomorrow? yikes!) at Little Brothers here in Columbus OHIO. My friend Matt will be joining me as well along with several other local superstar musicians. I am very excited about this show. Please go check out Megan's site and buy her wonderful album on Sunken Treasure Records here:

Megan Palmer

Cover will come later...

eric — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 11:21:00 +0000

I've been really busy the past couple of weeks playing shows out of town with Megan Palmer and Joanna Newsom so I haven't had much tome to work on the cover this week...but it will be up by Friday for sure. And it's going to be extra special this week so stay tuned. Remember, my CD release event is this Saturday, Oct. 14th at Little Brothers in Columbus, OHIO so please come out if you can. We have new T-Shirts made by my friend Nick @ Alison Rose which are super-cool. Hope to see you there and check back tonight or tomorrow for the new cover.

Thanks to everyone for checking out my 52 Covers In 52 Weeks project.

Cover of the Week - 10/04/06

eric — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 01:58:00 +0000

"Motion Picture Soundtrack" by Radiohead

I know, I know, I'm totally late putting this one up...I bet you thought I maybe stopped putting up covers huh? Not this guy. Anyway, here's one of my favorite Radiohead songs from Kid A. This song was actually supposed to be on OK Computer but got the axe somehow. I added the last verse which was originally in the song but taken out for the album version. I think it offers a little resolution which is sometimes nice. So - back to my being tardy today...I started a new job last week and It's been a little more difficult to get these covers totally done the way I want them to be in a timely fashion. But I'm still putting them up even if they aren't fully realized. I hope you realize them though. Also, you really should be listening to Radiohead if you aren't. Go here:

RADIOHEAD

Cover of the Week - 09/27/06

eric — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 23:58:00 +0000

"Lines In The Suit" by SPOON

SPOON is one of those bands that I totally missed the boat on. It's weird because we have some good friends from Austin and they were always trying to turn me on to them but I just never really got it. Not until I heard Kill The Moonlight; I originally wanted to do a cover of Paper Tiger. Then Girls Can Tell became a huge album for me and I still wonder how I could have missed that they are so great. But musical tastes change over the years - mine certainly have - and so I guess that's just how it is. Please check out SPOON if you haven't already:

SPOON

Cover of the Week - 09/20/06

eric — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 17:50:00 +0000

"Sadie" by Joanna Newsom

I When I first heard Joanna's songs I was floored. She is simply an incredibly talented and amazing songwriter & musician. Hearing her new songs...they are on an even higher level of description and storytelling. It's very theatrical and it's very, very good. Anyway, here is my totally different attempt at covering her song "Sadie". Sometimes when I do these covers they come out very different than I had envisioned them and that is often very pleasing. I didn't want to do an acoustic-style version of this song because the original is so beautiful, any version that would resemble it in style would probably pale in comparrison. So I took a different approach, Hope you enjoy it. And please do yourself a favor and listen to Joanna Newsom everyday. Go and buy her cds now:

Joanna Newsom

oh, BTW, I'm opening a show for Joanna Newsom in Conneticut. Check it out here.

Cover of the Week - 09/13/06

eric — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 15:53:00 +0000

"Girl In A Box" by Blake Babies

I bought a Blake Babies cassette at Magnolias the summer between my senior year of High School and going away to college. I hadn't heard them, I just thought the cover looked cool or something and they soon became one of my favorite bands. I started learning all of their songs on guitar and playing them often and developed quite an obsession for them. I never got to see Blake Babies live but I did see Juliana Hatfield at Staches with the Lemonheads. Later I ended up liking Antenna (John Strohm's band after the BB's) a whole lot more than Juliana's solo project and I realized that a lot of the BB's songs I really loved were written by John. Anyway, here's one of them.

Blake Babies

John Strohm

Cover of the Week - 09/06/06

eric — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 13:42:00 +0000

"Gone To Seed" by Moviola

Moviola is a band from Columbus OHIO that I've always admired and enjoyed. They have been playing together for as long as I can remember and digging new tunnels with each new single, EP or album they release. They are also home recording enthusiasts and do most of their production themselves, to unique results. To me, Moviola was doing Yankee Hotel Foxtrot long before WILCO ever did and with their new album, Dead Knowledge, they scrape new surfaces and continue the journey. I was going to do an earlier song, like Payday, to reflect my years of love for them but I think Gone To Seed may be one of the finest songs in their catalog. Check them out as soon as you can and buy their new album:

http://www.moviolamusic.com/

Cover of the Week - 07/05/06

eric — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 15:23:00 +0000

"The Fairest Of The Seasons" by Jackson Browne / Nico

I know this song was actually written by Jackson Browne & Gregory Copeland but the version i've known so well comes from Nico on the album Chelsea Girl. This song was featured fairly recently in the wonderful Royal Tenenbaums film and soundtrack and after hearing it in that context i knew it was only a matter of time before i would record a version of it. It's just a beautiful little number framed in tradition and transition and it's context is not all that different from my own affair i suppose.

Cover of the Week - 08/30/06

eric — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 12:58:00 +0000

"Vincent O'Brien" by M Ward

M Ward's first name is Matt not Montgomery. I was really excited to see that he was coming back to Little Brothers and then I got the call saying that I would have the opening slot. M Ward was on Letterman that same night and it all seemed too good to be true. Well, it was. I got a second call saying that they had only really wanted the 2 band bill for the evening. So I am officially off that show - sorry to friends and family who were planning on seeing me play. Obviously, you should still come to the show because M Ward is a wonderful songwriter. You know I'll be there if only to listen.

Cover of the Week - 08/23/06

eric — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:31:00 +0000

"How Much I've Lied" by Gram Parsons

This song means a lot to me...so much that I wish I would have written it. If you don't already know about Gram Parsons you need to do some homework. I guess you could start right here:

http://www.gramparsons.com/

Cover of the Week - 08/16/06

eric — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 04:15:00 +0000

(photo by John Vanderslice)

"Cubs In Five" by The Mountain Goats

John Darnielle is one of those songwriters that I couldn't get into for the longest time...I had always been told that I would really like The Mountain Goats but I was turned off by his unmistakably flat vocal delivery. Basically, he speaks more than he sings and he also sort of sounds like a high-school substitute chemistry teacher with a sinus cold. So after a long time of avoiding The Mountain Goats, I was once again confronted with the challange of listening to some of his albums via my wife. But this time, I heard something very different. What I missed before is that his songwriting is really more like poetry and his singing is really supposed to be more like speaking. And his songs are brilliantly witty and charming and brimming with realism. How could I have neglected The Mountain Goats for so long? I see it as my own loss, but I'm making up for it now. Here's a song for a very special couple who I deeply admire and respect. You know who you are. Check out The Mountain Goats...you'll be sorry if you don't.

http://www.themountaingoats.net/

http://www.mountain-goats.com/