Re: Happy Rhodes -- First Impressions

[vickie@pilot.njin.net (Vickie Mapes)]

There *is* some Kate talk in here, from me and from Happy herself.


cadence!woodruff@uunet.uu.net (Ken Woodruff) writes:

>Well, on the recommendation of the readers of this
>news group I dropped thirty bucks on two Happy Rhodes
>albums and I must say...

Great!

>.all right!  This stuff is great.  I had originally 
>planned on only getting one but because of a delay
>in getting the first one (Warpaint) via special order
>I stopped in at tower and picked up Rearmament.  

Out of curiousity, what Tower, where, and what did they
have in stock? Finding Happy's albums in a record store
is still so new and unusual that I'd really be interested
in knowing this info. 

>   The stand out song for me is the first track on
>Rearmament--The Perfect Irony.  Three seconds into it I
>was won over.  Except for a slightly more masculine 
>tone in the lower octaves, it could be Kate singing this
>song.  In fact the similarity between their voices is
>creepy--especially in the falsetto ranges.

It's a voice she doesn't use much anymore. Her first 4 albums
were recorded song by song, here and there, then gathered up
and collected on "albums." At the time she recorded these
songs she never expected/suspected that they would be heard
by other people, and she just wanted to get the songs onto tape.
She recorded them using her "practice/writing" voices, and,
especially at the Rearmament stage, was still working to find
her "own" voice, the one you'll hear when you get _Warpaint_.

So yeah, she sounds an awful lot like Kate, because she sang
along with Kate's records all the time.

>   Besides her voice, one other feature struck me as
>especially Kate-like: rich, meaty strings. Are these sampled?

They're not sampled. Everything came out of her synths. She had
just bought a synth of her own right before recording the songs
on Rearmament. My mind's a blank right now as to what kind of
synth she bought. Before that she used the one at the studio
where she worked as an appretence engineer and recorded all her
music.

>Is she using a Fairlight? 

:-) :-) :-) No, she doesn't have a Fairlight. She doesn't even
have a record contract.

> It is really extraordinary
>how much of a difference these sounds make when compared
>to the (IMHO) cheesy string sounds that most synthesizers
>(and many samplers) put out.

I agree. It's not the equipment though, it's the talent of
the artist using the equipment.

>   So here are some questions for you Rhodes fans, where
>to go next?  What's with the creepy monster people on
>her album covers?  I in fact choose Rearmament because it
>DID NOT have a creepy monster on the cover.

The other ones are just as good, just turn the CD booklets inside
out if they really bother you. Those guys are Happy's friends,
even though they tend to disturb other people. She painted them, btw.
And those are Happy's eyes on the cover of Rearmament. The 1st 2 are
much more acoustic using guitar. My favorites are Ecto and Rhodes I,
but I love them all.
 

Ecto did a collective interview with Happy, and here are 3 short excerpts
from it that touch on some of the questions you asked.
=============================================================================
Gregory Bossert:
Are there more monster paintings? When did you start painting? What is your
favorite medium to work in? Oils, watercolors etc. Do you like painting
and drawing more/less/as much as writing music? 
-----------------------------------------------

There ARE other gruesome looking critters lurking around the premises here.
I started painting when I was about 14. My father was the catalyst. The 
reason I started painting monsters was because I didn't have to follow any
rules, such as anatomical proportion. I always hated "rules" in art.
I don't exclusively paint monsters anymore, but I'll never do a landscape.
I prefer to use oils, but acrylics have their advantages sometimes.
I love to create  with a canvas, but honestly, a painting has never evoked
the kind of feelings in me, that music can. 

                                            HR
=============================================================================
Klaus:
Were you inspired by the paintings of _H.R._ Giger?
---------------------------------------------

Indeed.  Not only that, but two of my favorite movies are "Alien" and
"Aliens". 
                           HR
=============================================================================
Gregory Bossert:
What kind of equipment do you and Kevin use?  (i.e. synths, computers
sequencers, etc.) 
---------------------------------------------

A tech question? O.K.......In our home studio, we use a Korg M1, Korg T3,
                           Korg DW-8000, (no, Korg isn't paying us),
                           Juno 106,(analog lives still),a Roland
                           Octapad 2, occasionally we dust off the
                           Sequential Circuits Six-Traks and
                           Tom Drum machine and the Oberheim Cyclone.
We have an Amiga computer and the sequencer we use is Dr. T's KCS V3.5.
We have two Alesis Quadraverbs for effects, and a Soundcraft 200SR mixer.
I didn't include the noise reduction units or tape decks... that might 
get boring. When we go to the other studio to do the actual recording, 
there's more equipment involved.

                                  HR

(Note: Happy didn't have all this equipment at the time of Rearmament.
They've been building up their equipment base as they can afford it.)
=============================================================================
Tom Johnson:
Have you considered covering some of Kate's stuff?  How do you feel about
the constant comparison or your voice and hers?
---------------------------------------------

I'm not convinced that Kate's material would even be interesting if someone 
else were to sing it. Her material stands fine on its own, of course, but
it just wouldn't be special....do you agree?
I think someone should ask Kate how SHE feels to have my voice compared to 
hers. That would be interesting! I personally, would much rather be compared
to Kate than say, Belinda Carlisle.

                                   HR
=============================================================================
=============================================================================

I'm glad you like Happy, Ken. Thanks for posting! (Join Ecto!)


>On a side note, I picked up a Clannad album (Sirius, I think)
>because it was used.  I tried to listen to it but it
>was AWFUL! Basically bad new age with a poor lead singer.
>Am I missing something? Should I try a different album?

I don't care for Sirius either, but I *really* like the new one, _Anam_.

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Vickie                                   "My ears are lucky to hear
vickie@pilot.njin.net                        these glorious songs" HTR
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"Imagination sets in, then   |__|_ ||_|  ecto-request@ns1.rutgers.edu
 all the voices begin" KB                Jessica Dembski-Ecto Goddess Lady
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