Stuttered Step Shadow Shimmy (Dance)

▲▲▲▲

▲▲ v.2 ▲▲

"Stuttered Step Shadow Shimmy" is a light-hearted piece that began with a riff I stumbled upon one that, to my ears, had a definite Brian Wilson-esque, Californian vibe. While I'm certainly no Brian Wilson, that initial spark deeply informed the feel of the track.

This offering was recorded at Level 3 Mania studio in the NEBULA workshare space, located in the Cherokee District of South Saint Louis. It was an affordable, small room where I set up my gear, and it had everything I needed to record. The people there were friendly, and one day while working on "Stuttered Step," there was a knock on my door.

It was my neighbor from next door, a lovely woman from Santa Barbara, California. Before I opened the door, my first thought was, "I must be playing too loud." Instead, she asked to step inside and wanted to know about the "fairy-like" song she was hearing. She said it reminded her of home and asked if she could get a copy.

I told her that my very first thought after finding the riff, which came floating in like magic, was that it had a bit of a Brian Wilson sound, and she completely agreed. I burned her a copy of what I had, and she seemed genuinely thankful. She soon left "The Lou" for her Southern California home (and who can blame her?). It wasn't too long afterward that I bailed and moved to Hawaii myself. The sun and the Pacific Ocean can have a mighty strong pull on a being.

That day was a fabulous day for me as a discovery artist because what she did, and how she found the song, was discovery in the purest sense of the word. A lot of my tunes have been discovered randomly, it's the only way to secure a tune—but this was a truly authentic connection. It was a special-delivery discovery made in person. Very cool.

Some folks have two left thumbs; I, however, have two left feet. It's rarely a problem... that is, until I attempt to dance on a Pacific coast beach at sunset. It's in those moments I perform my signature Stuttered Step Shadow Shimmy.

This offering includes the original multi-track mix, alongside a second version that is beautifully similar, yet distinctly different, from the original take.

(Dedicated to Elaine)

heyraildog@gmail.com

▲▲comments▲▲

शान्ति εἰρηνικός سلام 和平 ☮︎ शांति 평화 ſíot͡ʃáin ሰላም pax