| the nautical rock historian

New Single – Bones Beneath A Dead Man’s Feet

Hello! I know it’s been a long long time since we last spoke (or typed) but I’m back and I hope all of you have been doing great. I’ve been really busy with my new band Anchor & Bear. We’ve been playing lots of shows and finally finished up our debut album “Ahoy!” which is due early 2015. Besides the Anchor & Bear activities I’ve also been working a brand new Paul Starling album with Anchor & Bear producer Kc Staples. We are recording directly to 16 track analog tape and have tracked 3 songs so far. One of the three is my newest single “Bones Beneath A Dead Man’s Feet”.

Televisions add beautiful acoustics to any room!

We started “Bones Beneath…” September of this year with Katy Pearson (Bearkat, Anchor & Bear) on bass, producer Kc on drums, and me on drums as well! That’s right, dueling drums. It was such a blast recording the backing track with Katy laying down solid bass to my right and Kc accenting radical off-beats to my left. Once we got the drums and bass down, I recorded an electric guitar part with my trusty Fender Telecaster. Katy & Kc really helped me come up with a cool guitar part that I wouldn’t have been able to think of without them. To be honest the whole song took off thanks to the talents of Katy & Kc. I’m really excited to finish the rest of the album with the Double K’s!

little drummer boy

After we got the guitars down, Kc suggested the track might benefit with a bit of Moog Synth. I wasn’t so sure… but we fired up Kc’s old Moog and I gave it my best shot. Of course he was right on the money and the Moog is now the highlight of the track! Kc even played the pitch bend while I played the keys, so in addition to our dueling drums we also did dueling Moogs!

Producer Kc & Paul with dueling facial hair.

Next came the backing vocals. We decided to try something a bit different and record the backing vocals in Kc’s projection room. It’s a tiny space, about the size of closet. Katy had no problem sliding behind stacks of 35mm film canisters. I on the other hand had to squeeze my 6 foot 1inch frame into the corner next to the projectors. Once we were in place Kc set up the mic and Katy and I stacked lots and lots of harmonies that you hear on the song now. Recording harmonies with Katy is so much fun. Singing with someone that sings dead on in tune like she does, is truly awesome. Besides the fact that she can sing like a bird, she also has a great ear for harmony parts.

Paul using modern technology

The last thing we tracked was my lead vocal. I gave it a few tries and bing bang boom: song complete. Of course we also had to mix & master it, but I won’t bore you with that process. Anyway “Bones Beneath A Dead Man’s Feet” is available at the Paul Starling Bandcamp page along with the B – Side “Town Burning”. So head on over and get yourself a download!

until next time,

Paul Starling

Happy Birthday Brian Wilson

My musical hero Brian Wilson turns 71 years young today. Not a day goes by where I don’t whistle/hum/sing/play one if his melodies. Here’s a cover I did of his tune “Please Let Me Wonder”. Download it for free and feel the Brian Wilson love. Happy Birthday Brian!