Belladonna is (in alphabetical order):
Matt Brauer: electric guitar, acoustic guitar on "After Fires & Earthquakes", keyboard on "National Snowman Burning Day"
Nate Brown: bass guitar
Dan Couture: drums
Ian Kells: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
This album was primarily recorded live in Dan's attic ("The Loft"). There are no guitar overdubs, nor bass or drums, though there are, admittedly, a few edits that were made to prevent small mistakes from ruining an otherwise perfect live take. These edits were kept to an absolute minimum. Because of this, and in spite of the fact that I just used the word "perfect" to describe the takes, you may hear a few small mistakes here and there; these were left in intentionally to preserve the "live quality" of the recording. That's the fancy answer, at least; a much more realistic reason is that we had time constraints, limited equipment, and, besides, we screw up sometimes. Vocals and keyboard were added later in the den by the computer in my house; the noise at the beginning of "No Pockets" and the entire "After Fires & Earthquakes" track were also done at that time. All of this took place between December 28th, 2007 and January 4th, 2008, with additional mixing on January 21st.
Produced by Matt Brauer with Belladonna.
Engineered, recorded, and mixed by Matt Brauer.
All instruments on tracks 1-8 were recorded live in The Loft between the 27th and 29th of December, 2007, except for vocals, keyboard, and the introductory noise on track 1, as well as tracks 9 & 10. These were recorded January 3rd and 4th, 2008.
I need to thank my brother Ethan for letting us use a lot of his equipment, without which this would have been completely impossible.
Our good friend Nick Beyer drew the picture which appears on the cover and I digitally edited the colors.
A note on the writing process:
We like to jam a lot. Many of our songs include a lot of improvisation or elements that change from show to show and evolve over time. Because of this, it is sort of hard to pinpoint exactly who wrote any specific song, even though for each one there was a specific band member who introduced it. So, in crediting the songwriting, I listed the name of the person who brought in the main elements and then, if the song was developed by the band as a whole, I added "& Belladonna". I don't thinnk it would be fair to say that any one person wrote the entire song; none of us would claim at all to have written Dan's drum parts, to say the least.
Below are the lyrics for each song as well as my own notes on the writing and recording process.
- Matt Brauer
Friday, February 1, 2008
No Pockets
Music: Ian & Belladonna
Notes: Ian introduced the chord progression and we just rocked it out; basically, this whole bit grew up through improv, mostly during live shows. I added the introductory noise after all the recording had been finished, mostly as an afterthought and to experiment a little bit with what I could do with my guitar.
Notes: Ian introduced the chord progression and we just rocked it out; basically, this whole bit grew up through improv, mostly during live shows. I added the introductory noise after all the recording had been finished, mostly as an afterthought and to experiment a little bit with what I could do with my guitar.
National Snowman Burning Day
Words: Ian
Music: Ian & Belladonna
Notes: During practice, Ian introduced some of this song, but what really brought it all together was Nate's bass lines. From there, the final product developed through jamming in practice and especially at our live shows, where the keyboard element came into its own.
Delighted man
With is suit coat
Nodding his hat
To my shadowing intellect
But he has no pockets
Away, away
Goes the path that captures
My intentions
Holding hands with the wrong
Esteems and resurrections
I am, I see, and I live
I am aware
That I have no pockets
Or sincerity
Open book to the thoughts
That are sometimes in flames
And he has no pockets
Music: Ian & Belladonna
Notes: During practice, Ian introduced some of this song, but what really brought it all together was Nate's bass lines. From there, the final product developed through jamming in practice and especially at our live shows, where the keyboard element came into its own.
Delighted man
With is suit coat
Nodding his hat
To my shadowing intellect
But he has no pockets
Away, away
Goes the path that captures
My intentions
Holding hands with the wrong
Esteems and resurrections
I am, I see, and I live
I am aware
That I have no pockets
Or sincerity
Open book to the thoughts
That are sometimes in flames
And he has no pockets
You Once Knew
Words: Ian
Music: Ian & Belladonna
Notes: The main section of this song - verses and choruses - were written by Ian, except for the lead guitar over the intro and chorus. The ending section developed in our practices and is one my most favorite things we've ever accidentally played.
A rooster crows
And in my hands I place my face
The frailty of a human kind
A rooster crows
The filth of a selfish mind and
Crimes of fire and ropes that bind
To undermine
To deceive oneself unto belief
A criss-cross of high and mighty
High and mighty
High and mighty forgets and nots
And motivated by what?
Stand among them warm yourself
In fallacies
And ungrateful disgrace of all
You once knew
Indifference the drowning sound
I hear, the air is
Sweet with soft melodies
But all are deaf to hear
A polished brow, a narrow chance
To passively avoid the day
I deny
But my accent gives me
But my accent gives me away
Music: Ian & Belladonna
Notes: The main section of this song - verses and choruses - were written by Ian, except for the lead guitar over the intro and chorus. The ending section developed in our practices and is one my most favorite things we've ever accidentally played.
A rooster crows
And in my hands I place my face
The frailty of a human kind
A rooster crows
The filth of a selfish mind and
Crimes of fire and ropes that bind
To undermine
To deceive oneself unto belief
A criss-cross of high and mighty
High and mighty
High and mighty forgets and nots
And motivated by what?
Stand among them warm yourself
In fallacies
And ungrateful disgrace of all
You once knew
Indifference the drowning sound
I hear, the air is
Sweet with soft melodies
But all are deaf to hear
A polished brow, a narrow chance
To passively avoid the day
I deny
But my accent gives me
But my accent gives me away
That Is Fasting
Music: Ian
Notes: This is an older acoustic song Ian wrote a year or two ago; it also appeared on our first demo. We re-recorded it for this album.
Notes: This is an older acoustic song Ian wrote a year or two ago; it also appeared on our first demo. We re-recorded it for this album.
Nothing Has Changed
Words: Matt & Dan
Music: Dan & Belladonna
Notes: Dan introduced the chord progression and form to the band while we were on a trip in New Orleans and I wrote the main guitar melody at that time as well. For a while, we practiced this song with Dan on guitar and Ian on drums, but we switched back to the normal lineup before recording. Nate was still improvising and developing his parts during recording. The lyrics didn't come together until the night before mixing; all the recording was done save a few small touches and the vocal part for this song because we didn't have any words yet. So, I dug into some of my own poetry and writing and found a piece that we adapted and Dan contributed the spoken section and his own thoughts as to what he wanted to do with the song; Ian then hit the final version in one take.
Bethlehem's cement tenements are a far cry
From the humbly stabled cradle where you
Debuted your epic cinema
That carefully shook fundamentalist churches
Across America
We've made films since yours
Written books and poetry
I've even gotten on my knees
And I've prayed
Buildings break and walls fall down
Twenty years won't know this town
Why should I pray
When it seems like you just stand and let it drift away
Watched it go, let it all go
It's been two and a half weeks since I wrote these words
And nothing has changed
Where you rode upon a donkey
Today's earthquakes ride buses
Strapped with megatons
Of fervor and fear
But little else has changed
Music: Dan & Belladonna
Notes: Dan introduced the chord progression and form to the band while we were on a trip in New Orleans and I wrote the main guitar melody at that time as well. For a while, we practiced this song with Dan on guitar and Ian on drums, but we switched back to the normal lineup before recording. Nate was still improvising and developing his parts during recording. The lyrics didn't come together until the night before mixing; all the recording was done save a few small touches and the vocal part for this song because we didn't have any words yet. So, I dug into some of my own poetry and writing and found a piece that we adapted and Dan contributed the spoken section and his own thoughts as to what he wanted to do with the song; Ian then hit the final version in one take.
Bethlehem's cement tenements are a far cry
From the humbly stabled cradle where you
Debuted your epic cinema
That carefully shook fundamentalist churches
Across America
We've made films since yours
Written books and poetry
I've even gotten on my knees
And I've prayed
Buildings break and walls fall down
Twenty years won't know this town
Why should I pray
When it seems like you just stand and let it drift away
Watched it go, let it all go
It's been two and a half weeks since I wrote these words
And nothing has changed
Where you rode upon a donkey
Today's earthquakes ride buses
Strapped with megatons
Of fervor and fear
But little else has changed
Drowning Sound(s)
Music: Dan & Belladonna
Notes: This was originally part of "Nothing Has Changed", but we decided to separate it to use as a transition and to keep the length of the songs down a little bit. Again, the riff is from Dan and the finished product is the result of our own spontaneity. Ian suggested adding spoken words at the end and my younger brother suggested Camus' "The Stranger".
Notes: This was originally part of "Nothing Has Changed", but we decided to separate it to use as a transition and to keep the length of the songs down a little bit. Again, the riff is from Dan and the finished product is the result of our own spontaneity. Ian suggested adding spoken words at the end and my younger brother suggested Camus' "The Stranger".
Wonder
Music: Ian & Belladonna
Notes: Ian originally introduced this song for Fishbarn, at which time he intended to write lyrics for it, but that prospect fell to the side and it remained an instrumental song. In the formation of Belladonna, the opportunities for extensive jamming in this song fit perfectly with the direction of the new band, so we picked up the song. The atmospheric introduction with the bass was initiated by Nate and developed from our first demo to the version here now. Other than the chord changes, this song is more or less completely improvised every time.
Notes: Ian originally introduced this song for Fishbarn, at which time he intended to write lyrics for it, but that prospect fell to the side and it remained an instrumental song. In the formation of Belladonna, the opportunities for extensive jamming in this song fit perfectly with the direction of the new band, so we picked up the song. The atmospheric introduction with the bass was initiated by Nate and developed from our first demo to the version here now. Other than the chord changes, this song is more or less completely improvised every time.
Eyes Closed
Words: Ian
Music: Ian & Belladonna
Notes: Ian brought the basic idea for this song, essentially the verse and chorus as well as the ending and an idea of the intro. These developed during practices as I introduced my own lead parts and Nate and Dan refined their own parts. Ian, Nate, & Dan came up with the bridge while jamming. A different version of this song appeared on our first demo; the drum solo and half-time section at the end are new to this recording and developed from our live show and accidents during practice.
Hooray for the daze of
Unexamined habit
Lightning without a storm
I'll walk the steps
I'll draw the lines
Leaving only a pulse
Say hello
To a pure and sweet
Defiance of the way
The persona of another underneath
With my face down and my hands high
Eyes closed
It lingers there across the way
But I don't think about it
A new wind blows across my face
I saw the door, I opened up
And I don't wonder
Wisdom is what I seek
But I am my own Judas I
May never see
Music: Ian & Belladonna
Notes: Ian brought the basic idea for this song, essentially the verse and chorus as well as the ending and an idea of the intro. These developed during practices as I introduced my own lead parts and Nate and Dan refined their own parts. Ian, Nate, & Dan came up with the bridge while jamming. A different version of this song appeared on our first demo; the drum solo and half-time section at the end are new to this recording and developed from our live show and accidents during practice.
Hooray for the daze of
Unexamined habit
Lightning without a storm
I'll walk the steps
I'll draw the lines
Leaving only a pulse
Say hello
To a pure and sweet
Defiance of the way
The persona of another underneath
With my face down and my hands high
Eyes closed
It lingers there across the way
But I don't think about it
A new wind blows across my face
I saw the door, I opened up
And I don't wonder
Wisdom is what I seek
But I am my own Judas I
May never see
After Fires & Earthquakes
Music: Matt
Notes: These chord changes were originally intended for a track called "Afterword", also to follow "Eyes Closed". My original conception, however, was much more ambient and floating and also included lyrics, which I never fully wrote, that would sum up the thematic elements of the album. However, when Ian brought in "This Is It", I realized that the chord changes here would allow for a great transition between "Eyes Closed" and "This Is It", so I simplified my idea in favor of a more minimalist track which I recorded on my own just before mixing the album.
Notes: These chord changes were originally intended for a track called "Afterword", also to follow "Eyes Closed". My original conception, however, was much more ambient and floating and also included lyrics, which I never fully wrote, that would sum up the thematic elements of the album. However, when Ian brought in "This Is It", I realized that the chord changes here would allow for a great transition between "Eyes Closed" and "This Is It", so I simplified my idea in favor of a more minimalist track which I recorded on my own just before mixing the album.
This Is It
Words: Ian
Music: Ian
Notes: Ian stumbled across this very old song of his completely by accident and brought it in on the last day of recording. One take (plus re-doing the very beginning) was all it took to put together what I think is the perfect closer for this album. The spoken words at the end, as with "Drowning Sound(s)", are from Camus' "The Stranger".
Crinkle up the sky and take it with you
Close the door and lock it tight
If I can help it, I won't touch the ground again
Riding the tails of that kite
And say hello
Apparently this is it
It will show
Apparently this is it
Music: Ian
Notes: Ian stumbled across this very old song of his completely by accident and brought it in on the last day of recording. One take (plus re-doing the very beginning) was all it took to put together what I think is the perfect closer for this album. The spoken words at the end, as with "Drowning Sound(s)", are from Camus' "The Stranger".
Crinkle up the sky and take it with you
Close the door and lock it tight
If I can help it, I won't touch the ground again
Riding the tails of that kite
And say hello
Apparently this is it
It will show
Apparently this is it
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