More cowbell – er… woodblock!

February 19th, 2010 by Ale de Vries

One of the (many) fun things of playing in a New York City band is that you get to be in a lot of different rehearsal studios. woodblock That’s great, because we don’t plan our rehearsal very far ahead, and with so many places all over town we can almost always find a place, even last-minute.

And another fun thing about it is that – as a drummer – you get to play on so many different drum kits. There’s an element of frustration to that, too – I always end up spending at least 15 minutes each rehearsal moving around toms, adjusting hardware, and changing the ‘resident’ cymbals for my own. And for some reason the cheap and beat-up kits always sound great and the $3,000-plus kits always sound crap (which goes to show that investing in an expensive kit means nothing if you don’t know your Drum Tuning 101).

But recently, in one of those studios with a bad-sounding expensive kit, there was this treasure chest of percussive delight – rainmakers, shakers, claves, cowbells… and an ugly green cheap plastic LP woodblock. I went "hmm", attached the little green woodblock to my hi-hat stand, and without telling the other guys just started using it.

So Rob was like "is that a little woodblock action going on there?" and I was like "yeah" and he was like "killer". So the woodblock sound had found a fan base and it was decided I should get one.

The next day I went to the music store and tested every woodblock and cowbell they had in search of the best sound. I tried all the red, blue, black, stainless steel, and actual wooden stuff they had, in every possible price range; even considered getting an electronic pad with programmable percussive sounds; almost ended up with an overpriced matte-black block because it looked so cool and was endorsed by one of my favorite drummers; and in the meantime my girlfriend patiently followed me around the store while the store clerks started to throw me increasingly annoyed looks and every other customer flinched at the sound of me whacking on the next piece of metal or plastic or wood.

I ended up buying an ugly green cheap plastic LP woodblock.

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“Sausage & Peppers…A Different Kind of Heavy Song”

February 16th, 2010 by Rob Schiffmann

I often feel like all my songs need to be about deep and moving elements of my life. I rarely let myself write about some small little pleasure in my life. It feels strange to write a song about the fact that I dig watching “24″ and “Survivor”. I would feel odd writing a song about the awesome Chipotle app that I got for my new iPhone. So today I am going to cross that barrier by writing this little ditty.

“Sausage & Peppers” (to a very major key jaunty tune)

Yummy yummy sausage in a nice warm piece of bread
Peppers in my mouth and joy in my head
Sausage Pepper sandwich, please never go away
You are different but you are as good as PBJ.

Yummy yummy sausage sits alone on my plate
I really should eat it after the PM known as 8
But down into my tummy you will simply slide
Sausage pepper sandwich, will you be my sandwich bride?

Oh, sausage pepper sandwich.
Oh, how I love you so
Oh, sausage pepper sandiwch
There are tears in my eyes
You are just the perfect size
And they also give you fries!

Yummy yummy sausage from the little place next door
You can be my sandwich pimp and I, your sandwich whore
You are the stuff of legends that will forever be told
Oh sausage pepper sandwich…you are even awesome cold

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Shaker Spaz

February 3rd, 2010 by Rob Schiffmann

Are you a shaker spaz? If you have experienced any of the following, you may be.

1) You can dance and rock to the beat and yet, when you have a shaker in your hand, you just can’t keep the rhythm.
2) You have stood in front of a microphone trying to record a 16 measure shaker part and, by measure 12, you are shaking to something that is definitely not the beat of the song you are recording.
3) You have watched all your friends/band mates shake the shaker and make it look simple, but then when you try it, you become way too aware of what you are doing and are thus unable to exhibit any kind of soulful shaking.

If, after reading this, you now feel you may be a shaker spaz, fret not. Many have been where you are. There is still hope. The one and only way to cure shaker spaznocity is the following:

Keep shake-a-laking.

For some sa-weet shaking, come check out The Hillary Step live at Arlene’s Grocery (95 Stanton St. btw. Orchard / Ludlow) this Friday night, Feb 5th, at 8pm.

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Afterthoughts: Fontana’s

January 18th, 2010 by Rob Schiffmann

The gig at Fontana’s was a lot of fun. It was great to have so many friends & fans in the audience. It was also great to feel like the band is getting more and more cohesive. These songs have gone through a long journey and are still in the process of evolving. It’s great to hear what the new musicians are bringing to them. A great example of this is Ale’s reinterpretation of the drum part on Olio. He manages to fill it out but doesn’t take away from it’s inherent melodic nature (strange to think of drums as melodic but they can and maybe should be). Another great example is Greg’s added electric parts to Shine All Your Love. He brings a little southern twang to it that is subtle but cool.

Working in the club scene in NYC is a fun and dicey proposition. This time, we ran into trouble with a missing kick pedal for a kick drum that when hit, sounded like it was reverberating in the middle of the grand canyon. It also was doing so in the same frequency range as the bass and thus it was impossible to hear the bass.

And yet, through it all, The Hillary Step persevered. The name ‘The Hillary Step’ comes from a part of Mt. Everest which is the last perilous section before you reach the peak. I suppose then that it makes sense that we should be faced with these kinds of perils…as long as we eventually reach the peak. Hopefully, we are on our way. Come see how we are doing on Feb 5th at Arlene’s Grocery…8pm.

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Things to do (and not to do) before a gig

January 15th, 2010 by Jon Rothstein

Let’s start with what not to do. It’s probably a bad idea to accidentally land a knife on your fingernail and cut through the nail and into your thumb. I’d say that’s bad. Also, it’s probably a bad idea to try and learn two new (albeit previously played) songs on your instrument of choice given that you’re not quite all there with the normal repertoire yet. Things to do…get a haircut. That’s a very good thing. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be able to focus on their performance and not have to think about whether they have wings for sideburns or whether their grey hair is “too visible.” Play the new songs you are learning on your instrument of choice over and over again, I would advise 10 times through for each as sufficient. Lastly put Neosporin (or any other antibiotic ointment of your choosing) and band-aids (or any other brand of removable, adhesive first-aid strip) on any semi-deep cuts you might have received while dicing vegetables and having the knife land straight on your fingernail and cut through to your thumb. And don’t forget to get some good rest. It’s good for the pipes (the vocal ones, I mean).

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One by One, Week After Week

December 4th, 2009 by Rob Schiffmann

We are currently in the phase of making this album where we are finally mixing these songs that have been around for so long. A song’s life is made of many different stages. There’s the writing stage when the song is born. There’s the the singing it to yourself stage when the song and the melody locks into place…this is the stage when you figure out that that word on the 2nd line of the 3rd verse needs to go up instead of down like in the previous 2 verses. Many songs don’t grow past this stage.

For those that do, the next stage is the performance stage. This is where you find out how the song resonates with people other than the writers. This stage determines whether the song will become a staple in the set of will just fall back to stage two, where it should have stayed to begin with. The next stage is the recording stage where you work out all those little issues that have always bugged you about the song. This is also where you figure out what the electric guitar really should be doing on that 2nd chorus, etc.. Finally we get to the mixing stage, where the song becomes what it was always meant to be. Things fall into place and ideally the song sounds close to as pure as it did when you were in stage 1.

One by one, week after week, we have been hearing these songs arrive at this last stage. It’s an amazing thing. It is making me fall in love with these songs over again. I hope that you will also fall in love with these songs when the Hillary Step’s new CD, “Note to Self” arrives shortly after the beginning of the year.

In the meantime, come check us out on December 15th at Caffé Vivaldi…more info at www.thehillarystep.com.

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Post-gig musings

November 25th, 2009 by Ale de Vries

Hey all – here a guest post from last Friday’s drummer, Ale.

Well, where to begin… I had a blast. It’s such a treat to be playing with Rob and Jon, and to be backing them on stage with the help of such excellent musicians – Rick, Greg, Rachel. Although we obviously had a couple of rehearsals, Friday was in fact the first time we played with the full line-up, and I was amazed how well it came together. The music is so much fun to play, but also a little challenging – all kinds of different rhythms, some tricky transitions, lots of changes in dynamics… so it was very gratifying to hear it all click into place so well. And then to have such a supportive crowd – thanks so for coming out and see us play! It makes all the difference.

Greg, Rachel and I will be joining Rob and Jon again for the next gig, at Caffé Vivaldi on Tue Dec 15th. The setting will be a little more intimate, so we’ll be taking it down a notch – but only in volume: no-one ever said you can’t groove without playing loud! :) We’ll be adding a few new songs to the set list – really new ones you haven’t heard yet, and older songs we didn’t play last time. I can’t wait!

So, bring out your gig cards and come and see us – and if you don’t have one, come and get one. People are already trying to beat each other to that free-Hillary-Step-gig-on-the-site-of-your-choosing ;-)

See you the 15th! Ale

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Pre-Gig Mantra

November 17th, 2009 by Jon Rothstein

I am an acoustic rock warrior. The fact that I’m blogging after midnight, following a grueling day at the job coupled with a gig rehearsal that kicked my ass, and I’m still going strong says it all. Although I am still basically an anonymous speck who might someday show up on someone’s radar, I am still a force to be reckoned with, because I do not give up. I do not give in. I do not break down. And most importantly, I do not let anyone or anything break my will….Repeat 3 times and go to bed.

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Hillary Step FACEBOOK Song Lyric Project Update:

October 5th, 2009 by Rob Schiffmann

The Song Lyric Project we started on our Facebook fan page has grown beyond the size of a normal status update…so from now on we’ll be updating through our blog/Facebook notes. Here is the latest update…

The Hillary Step FACEBOOK HILLARY STEP SONG LYRIC PROJECT UPDATE:
Line 1: “I’m wayward and lost and I’m descending” –
Line 2: “I’m spending my days in a daze” — Annie Schiffmann
Line 3: “I’ve given up on happy endings” Kerry Harris Line 4: ”
Line 4: “Forever or just for a phase” — adapted from Canedy Knowles who wrote, “Is this my forever of just a faze” Cool spelling.

GREAT CHORUS EVERYONE! Now it’s time for a verse. Who has a first line? In thinking about the point of a verse, I like to think that the verse should prove the point of the chorus. So, that may be a good jumping off point when thinking of a first line.

BTW, when these lyrics are done, The Hillary Step will write the music and record the song and we can all become famous!

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Insongnia

August 30th, 2009 by Jon Rothstein

I’m curious to know what sort of things keep people up at night or what keeps them from sleeping in the morning? I, personally, have what I like to call “insongnia” because at 6am, on most mornings, a switch goes on in my head and it starts to fill up with lyrics and melodies. Maybe something Rob and I are working on, maybe something that’s been on my mind, but all of a sudden, it’s there and I can’t stop it and I can’t silence it until I get it out. Sometimes, it’s not ready yet, and I’ll just stay in bed and keep mulling it over until the answer hits me, and other times it’s fully-formed and I’ll go right for my digital recorder and get it down quickly before it vanishes. But it doesn’t end there…as those of you with similar afflictions (gifts?) know, we carry our idea around with us and let it gestate. So, after I’ve quietly wheezed something into my digital recorder with mock lyrics that I know will have to be changed, my insongnia usually finds voice in a songwriting journal or, in most cases, in the shower…Yes, the shower is my songwriting sanctuary, where for some reason everything seems to come together. I don’t know why, but something about the water and the steam helps me block out the world and just let my right brain and my left brain meet up and riff on an idea until it is truly mature and ready to be born (despite my pro-environment stance, I have to say I am quite guilty of overextending my showers just so I can work on songs! No finger-pointing from the peanut gallery, please, I know some of you do the same thing and I am not alone in this behavior…It is the best, and you all know it, so just ‘fess up). But, of course, the journey doesn’t end there, a lengthy shower can often lead to a verse or two and even a chorus, so, of course I can’t stop myself at that point. I keep developing the chorus as I boil the water for my morning soft-boiled egg, and more verses come to me as I dispose of the peel from my daily banana, and, if the song isn’t done by then, it will travel with me right on to the subway, where I will continue hum it quietly to myself all the way to work, courtesy of in-ear headphones, which magnify the sound in your own head and can make humming on the train, a very possible, and even pleasurable experience…The point is, I look at this behavior as a bit obsessive, but for me it’s something that (I think?) keeps me sane, otherwise all this stuff would just be stuck inside me, probably driving me even more crazy, I would guess? So, I want to know… do any of you share this with me? Ideas, that get your brain going and don’t let go of it until they’ve been exorcised? I want to know it’s not just me at 6am every morning, who can’t sleep because the thought train is burning at 100 miles an hour through his head. I want to know who else will admit to banging out an idea so hard that it feels like it has totally possessed you and held you captive for hours and sometimes even days on end? There’s got to be at least one or two of you out there who go through it, so be honest, be blunt…, but most of all, get it out! :-)

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