Blood From a Stone

I have been in Toronto for the past week working on a show called "Instant Cash". It's a reality-styled game show where unsuspecting folks walk up to an talking ATM and end up playing a quiz/dare show. At the moment I am actually at my in-laws in Highland, California. The shooting schedule for the show has me flying back and forth a few times. I fly back to Canada on Monday. On Friday instead of flying all the way home again I have requested a ticket to Rochester and back. As it turns out my parents will be out of town that weekend so I'll be staying at there house by myself.

The other big happening is that my lap top, the one I recorded, mixed and mastered my album on, not to mention building the graphics for the album cover and all CD packaging has died. after three years of being in operation probably an average of twelve hours a day in all sorts of adverse conditions I could hardly have asked any more from it.the battery was already unable to hold a charge and it was showing many other signs of age.

Yesterday I replaced it with a machine that does more for less than I paid for the last one. It will be weeks before I am up to speed on this one. There is much to install tweak and get used to. The only other disadvantage is that this is the time when all the Mac pundits come out of the woodwork to convert me.

Don't get me wrong, Macs are great, but even staying on the same platform and the same manufacturer is more transfer curve than I really want right now.

Blogward...

Have you ever been in a position where bill collectors, landlords, ex-wives, and your cat all seem want the money you owe them right now. You can't seem to convince them that there simply isn't any money to be found no matter how they all scream and cry.

You can't get 'blood from a stone'.

There are some songs I write with only peripheral personal experience. It's one of the things I think I do pretty well, placing myself in a situation I've never actually been in before with considerable culpability. “Blood From a Stone” however, was derived from periods of my own life.

The world can be a scary place when you can see the span of time and money between when you are clothed fed and sheltered and when you are homeless. I've never been homeless of course but, as they say, I've seen it from here.

The world can seem an unfair place too when I see folks who owe millions of dollars they can't pay back and yet they somehow continue to live better than I do.

How does that work?

I don't want to come across as anything short of a capitalist. My problem is that dealing with money has always been a scary concept to me. I don't know why exactly but when it comes to all things financial I just want to talk (or write) about something else.

I hate asking for ten bucks from my friends to buy my CD. I believe in my album's worth without reservation. The actual transaction however causes me some anxiety, especially with friends.

All transactions do to some extent. Even the simplest thing like buying groceries. I am thankful for things like “pay at the pump” and self check out. I have always avoided any sort of retail work the thought of an entire day spent taking money and making change and being expected to have the right amount of money in my drawer at the end of the day makes my skin crawl.

When working on Jeopardy we get meal vouchers for a certain amount that we can purchase food with and the Sony Commissary. Whenever I get to the front of the line I worry that my purchase will be over the amount on the voucher. As a result I try to make certain I have well under that amount. The cashiers, keen to bill Jeopardy for as much as they can, then tell me my total and suggest that I might be able to get something else, putting me right in the situation I was trying to avoid.

I know that if I feared money it less I would be much further ahead than I am today. I would have better credit and maybe some sort of savings or investment thing going. I often think, if only I had a lot of money. This, of course, is bunk. If I had more money the problem would be compounded like interest.

I understand being smart with money. I've heard all sorts of tips from radio and TV shows as well as friends and family. Most of is really just common sense anyhow. What no one ever seems to talk about is the emotional quotient that seems to put a wall between all that common sense and putting it to use consistently.

I don't have it as bad as some folks. I don't have thousands racked up in credit card debt, thank God. I'm also better than I used to be thanks to some hard lessons in the past. I have had a car repossessed at three AM; an experience I don't wish on anyone. I have had bill collectors hounding me on the phone night and day. I've had services shut off many times. I've had to leave groceries at the checkout because my debit card was refused.

It was during a period like that that I wrote “Blood From a Stone”

Click

to listen to the song as you read on

Blood From a Stone

© Joel T Johnson 2006

A big heap of nothing

Blood from a stone

I'll tell you something

Blood from a stone

Blood from a stone

Blood from a stone

I'll tell you something

You can't get blood from a stone

My pockets turned out

I'm dry to the bone

Blood from a stone

Blood from a stone

A deep shade of red

Blood from a stone

Just can't be bled

Blood from a stone

Blood from a stone

Blood from a stone

I'll tell you something

You can't get blood from a stone

Mister could you please spot me a loan?

Blood from a stone

Blood from a stone

(bass solo)

(harmonica solo)

The junkman has near everything I own

Blood from a stone

Blood from a stone

If you forget

Blood from a stone

guess what you'll get

Blood from a stone

Blood from a stone

Blood from a stone

I'll tell you something

You can't get blood from a stone

Mister could you please spot me a loan?

Blood from a stone

Blood from a stone

I'm just

Old...

Fashioned...

Broke!

The Music:

I was working on a bass-only version of “Manic Depression” by Jimi Hendrix playing those iconic three chromatic chords and octaves on the bass. As I often do, I started messing around with my own ideas and came up with the groove that ended up being “Blood From a Stone”.

I have yet to fully work out the Hendrix tune.

The Recording:

I recorded a bass and voice version of 'Blood' and posted it to my MySpace page. I had plans of adding drums to it and even had a pretty clear idea in my head of how they would sound. I got a phone call one day from my friend Kenbone (Kenny Nichols)

“Would you mind if I added some drums to “Blood From a Stone?” He said.

“Please do.”

It was only a matter of hours later that I got an email from Kenny with a file attached. I lined it up with my existing tracks in Cubase. It worked perfectly!

Also attached to the email was a picture of the ancient drum kit he had used to record the track.

A 1956 Ludwig with a 26” bass drum. Kenny bought at a flea market. The calfskin heads were still on the drums! The snare is a Ludwig that Kenny bought used in the 80's. The dog's name is “Buddy”.

Michael Fell is one LA's best harmonica players and I was lucky enough to get in my studio to record tracks for a couple songs. When you hear the way his harp screams in the first few bars it's obvious how lucky.

 Michael Fell, master blues harpist, wit and general wise guy.
His solo album is called "Michael Fell and His So-Called Friends"

It was also lucky that I was able to record him in the middle of the day when my neighbors we not around because it was LOUD. Even after loading his amp with a couple of my bass cabinets in another room it was loud.

Michael's 1980s Bassman amp isn't quite as old in years as it is in miles.
Michael used to tour with jazz organist Jimmy smith until his death in 2005

The bass I recorded with my usual unusual method of splitting the signal between a bass amp and an over driven all-tube guitar amp. One thing unique about this tune is that the guitar amp side of the signal was run through a Leslie cabinet (a speaker with baffles that literally spin around -often used on Hammond organ).

 This not the Leslie cabinet I used.
Mine is 'virtually' much smaller -if you catch my meaning.

Download Blood From a Stone, the whole album or buy the CD by clicking here. Trust me, it ain't easy to ask, but I need your support.