Crappy Rehearsal Tape mp3: What the Beat Is For

2.8.04
Now that we've decided to stop writing new songs, we're taking existing ideas and rewriting them. Thursday's rehearsal was spent rewriting "Guided by Eric" into a form in which the only remnant of the previous song is the bass lead--which was an afterthought to begin with. But that's the way this band does things sometimes; we'll start down one road, and it'll lead to another...and another. One example is "Vive Les Animaux," from our El Dorado LP. It began as kind of a Prince song, and then it mutated into different forms, such as our "No One Can Double You" idea we resurrected briefly for these sessions, and finally became the version on the album. So while this process is nothing new to us, it's still quite a bizarre road to take.

Andy has brought in some of these new ideas, and the latest song mutations wouldn't have been possible without his input. We've also begun rehearsing the songs with a click track, which Wayne loves, hates, and definitely needs.

Here's a quick look behind the scenes of our highly complicated recording techniques. And as for photography techniques, why do Eric and Wayne look like Laurel & Hardy? We're not sure, but it must be the same reason why Jeff's torso can't size up to a ride cymbal.

1.31.04
Tonight there was a special surprise party for Jeff's birthday at his buddy Clint's apartment in Long Beach. The secret had been well kept, with Eric even feeding Jeff disinformation at the end of Thursday's rehearsal: at the end of the night, Eric says, "Ok guys, see you Tuesday." Masterful. Obviously Eric should be working for the CIA, because that kind of cunning is just unheard of. Jeff says he was completely surprised, and a good time was had by all at the party, which featured a lot of classic Motown hits and some early Jam.

At rehearsal on Thursday, we completely reworked "Baja" into something less Neil Young and more Echo & the Bunnymen (if that makes any sense). We thought that there was too great a chance of it being nominated for next year's Jammy Awards, so we took it in another direction.

1.28.04
A little while ago we received an email from someone who objected to the f-word in the song title "Don't Fuck With the Money." Last night, while working on that song, we thought about changing the title so that it didn't contain profanity. In the end, though, it was decided that "Cop a Feel" was just too vulgar.

In actual music news from last night, Jeff reworked his guitar parts for DFWTM, making the song less goth-rock and more dancefloor circa '85. Of course, when we say something's going to sound like this band or that era, you know it ain't gonna be so--when was the last time you heard us do a cover? (Actually, we started and then aborted an attempt to record "Crimson & Clover" around the time we recorded the "I Duel Sioux" songs.)

There's also an update on the News page.

1.23.04
When I was 16, I had to watch a 15-year-old drummer play Rush's "YYZ" note-for-note. He also claimed to have played with Elton John--unlike me, who at 16, barely played like Animal from the Muppets. What a dick.

Years later, though, The Lassie Foundation has unearthed the mighty secrets of Rush. All of their intricate time signatures, complicated arrangements, and Middle Earth lyrics have finally been woven into one present-day sonic masterpiece. This is why we've written a new song we call "Club Mix."

1.20.04
Well, apparently the self-imposed cap on writing new songs lasted about 2 weeks. What inspired the new creative surge? You pick: a Guided By Voices collection, Joy Division rarities, or a Generation X compilation.

Tonight's new one is tentatively titled "State of the Union." Of course, it was a complete coincidence that President Bush gave a speech tonight of the exact same name. Maybe the song will address the biggest challenge facing our nation in 2004: steroid use in sports (yawn).

Songs on the table (20):
Sunset, Castillo Lake, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, Miracle on Ice, The Playboy, Blow It, Face Your Fun, Kiss the Crook, Boy=Girl, Light Yourself on Fire, Don't Fuck With the Money, Baja, We Are the Kings, Ramoney Baloney, What the Beat Is For (C-C-Cucumber), Guided By Eric, No One Can Double You, Going Home (Parliament Division), State of the Union

We've also narrowed the field down to these 13 choices:
What the Beat Is For, Going Home, We Are the Kings, Sunset, Face Your Fun, Baja, Boy=Girl, Don't Fuck With the Money, Blow It, Guided By Eric, State of the Union, Wayne's Ballad, Castillo Lake

Last, but not least, there's a new mp3 up. As you'll notice, this Bunnymen-inspired jam has a new, non-Bunnymen-inspired title: "What the Beat Is For." We hope you like it!

1.13.04
We took some rad photos tonight. Here are stunning polaroids of Jeff, Wayne, and Eric holding our new favorite record, "I Ain't Into That!" by the Rappin' Reverend C. Dexter Wise III. Brilliant, huh?

Also, we've been asked to post lyrics on this site. Until we can bribe our web designer to make it look good, here are some cheap links to the album lyrics:

The El Dorado LP
I Duel Sioux...
El Rey EP
Pacifico
California

1.6.04
Since there was a limited supply of beer and cigarettes, we got straight to business and wrote another new song, "Parliament Division." Eric got this one going with a nice Joy Division/New Order-esque bass line, while Wayne provided the fresh and steady backbeat. And Jeff--well, he just watched the whole thing happen and played a few one-note licks, hoping the boys wouldn't give him too many dirty looks.

I think we might cap the song list for now, so here's the final list of song candidates:

Songs on the table (19):
Sunset, Castillo Lake, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, Miracle on Ice, The Playboy, Blow It, Face Your Fun, Kiss the Crook, Boy=Girl, Light Yourself on Fire, Don't Fuck With the Money, Baja, We Are the Kings, Ramoney Baloney, C-C-Cucumber, Guided By Eric, No One Can Double You, Parliament Division

1.2.04
Happy New Year everyone. We're stoked that everyone is looking forward to this record as much as we are. Today we jammed out a new Eric-led song we'll call "Guided By Eric." Then we pulled out an old track that we had rehearsed for the El Dorado sessions but ended up mutating into "Vive Les Animaux." Wayne held onto the earlier idea and re-introduced it to the band. Then we re-worked it into something we like now. It's called "No One Can Double You."

Songs on the table (18):
Sunset, Castillo Lake, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, Miracle on Ice, The Playboy, Blow It, Face Your Fun, Kiss the Crook, Boy=Girl, Light Yourself on Fire, Don't Fuck With the Money, Baja, We Are the Kings, Ramoney Baloney, C-C-Cucumber, Guided By Eric, No One Can Double You

12.30.03
In concert with the new Ocean Rain re-issue, we unknowingly wrote a track called "C-C-Cucumber."

12.21.03
With the holidays upon us, we figured it would be a great idea to record an updated version of the Nutcracker Suite. An even better idea is that we will release it this summer, because you never hear it then. So we spent our time today working on that.

Ok, just kidding.

Actually we wrote a new number that Wayne's home demo called "Ramoney Baloney." Although over the course of the day it started to sound much less like the Ramones and more like Joy Division, it is possibly the fastest-tempo song we've ever done. Who would've thought a card-carrying sissy like Wayne would have a musical idea faster than 92bpm?

Songs on the table (15):
Sunset, Castillo Lake, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, Miracle on Ice, The Playboy, Blow It, Face Your Fun, Kiss the Crook, Boy=Girl, Light Yourself on Fire, Don't Fuck With the Money, Baja, We Are the Kings, Ramoney Baloney

12.18.03
After marveling at the genius of the Stone Roses' first album, we worked on "Sunset" and "We Are the Kings." Then we marveled at the genius of the Stone Roses' first album.

12.12.03
New mp3 up. We like this jam, although (like everything) it'll probably change.

Now that I think about it, it's pretty nerve-wracking to put these mp3s up. They are a) crappy recordings, b) not even finished songs, and c) one take. I can't think of a band that has done this kind of thing, but perhaps I'm forgetting something. Let us know if you've heard enough, and we'll gladly try to "keep the mystery alive," because mystery is sexy, and we would like to be sexy.

12.11.03
Talk is cheap, and The Lassie Foundation might be the biggest misers around. But we did a lot of talking tonight--about our direction for the next few months--and we think we're digging a goldmine.

Andy was on hand for the discussions, which revolved around what to do now that we have 14 ideas for songs and no finished ones. We're going to focus on the long-play album (that's LP, for short) and start splitting our time between writing new songs and honing existing ones.

Originally we were going to try to push an EP out (for various reasons), but we feel like if we work toward the full-length first, then we'll have a better idea of which songs to keep and which ones should get thrown off the train. And by that I don't mean to put on the EP, I mean thrown to the dogs or wolves or wolf-dogs or whatever animal you feed your scraps.

"Wolf-dog, you're so like me/Wolf-dog, you're so damn free..."

12.09.03
After cleaning up the studio thanks to our messy neighbors (anyone want some earwax tissues?), we listened to a couple tracks from the Guided By Voices best-of cd. Then Andy joined us with his great insight, and we wrote another hit. Actually, Jeff re-vamped the "Blow It to the Smithereens" idea and got rid of the Smithereens part. Excellent idea. Less butt-rock, more Lassie. The result is another song we like alot. Shortened to "Blow It."

Andy also played us his initial mix of "We're the Number Ones," which was a fantastic start. Once we get the guitars to sound more like Boston, everyone will love it more. Trust us.

12.05.03
Thanksgiving chaos, the flu, and children's songs have collectively thwarted our efforts recently, so we haven't been able to get together in the last couple of weeks. But we're going to try hard to get more done before the next round of holiday madness is upon us.

11.20.03
The Doc was at a bible study so we had another evening to write some jams. When I say "jam," it's really not a "jam" in the Phish/Santana kind of way. Usually someone comes in with a riff or a progression--a verse, a chorus, whatever--and then we, uh, "jam." Although we have been friends for many years (at least a decade or more), it is always still very awkward to present an idea no matter how developed it is. Last Thursday was one of those nights when you think you've got a stinky jam that could go a million different ways so you start to present it every different way. And although you feel like you're naked when presenting this idea, someone says, "That is cool."  Then you get to put your pants back on. But more importantly, you realize how great your friends are and how much they care and love, and you write a stinking great song. That was Thursday, November 20; we called it "We Are the Kings."

Songs on the table:
Sunset, Castillo Lake, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, Miracle on Ice, The Playboy, (Blow It to the Smithereens,) Face Your Fun, Kiss the Crook, Boy=Girl, Light Yourself on Fire, Don't Fuck With the Money, Baja, We Are the Kings

11.19.03
Andy made it! He's 1-for-4 now.

Last night we listened to the songs and talked about where we wanted to go with them. So far we think generally the EP will probably be more raw sounding than the LP. The LP will be the best-sounding thing we've ever tried to do. Every recording we've done has been jerked with due to a number of different factors--and we still love 'em for it--but this time we wanted to try to minimize those limitations (no time, no money, no sex, no drugs, no wine, no women, no fun, no sin, no you, no wonder it's dark).

So far we've had no problems (knock on wood). The music might take a while to finish, but we're hoping that these next releases will be the band's finest moments yet on record. Or CD. Or cassette. Talk about old-school: Jeff recently taped one of his LPs so he could listen to it in his car. Does anyone do that anymore?

Anyway, after discussing the state of the Foundation, we worked with Andy on "Miracle on Ice."

11.14.03
Why do we keep listening to The Alarm? Who knows, but it's quite inspiring. Maybe it's a throwback to a more idealistic time, or maybe it's an underrated band trying to write just one good song.

Tonight we wrote a new one, "Baja," which is kindof in the vein of "Cortez the Killer," or something quasi-stoner like that. And it stoned us to our soul, stoned us just like jelly roll.

Songs on the table:
Sunset (Hearts of Glass), Castillo Lake, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, The Miracle on Ice, The Playboy, Blow It to the Smithereens, Face Your Fun, Kiss the Crook, Boy=Girl, Light Yourself on Fire, Don't Fuck With the Money, Baja

11.10.03
When we arrived at the studio, we realized that we fell victim to subterfuge. Our brilliantly designed "TLF" in duct tape on the wall was mutated to read "TLC" by our conniving fiend roommates. We took care of it, and then we were back on track after listening to a bit of the new Strokes and some old Sonic Youth.

So focused was our resolve that we wrote 2 new songs: a New Order-esque dance number we call "Light Yourself on Fire," and a somewhat dark rock song sensitively titled "Don't Fuck With the Money."

Songs on the table:
Sunset (Hearts of Glass), Castillo Lake, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, The Miracle on Ice, The Playboy, Blow It to the Smithereens, Face Your Fun, Kiss the Crook, Boy=Girl, Light Yourself on Fire, Don't Fuck With the Money

11.06.03
We came to the studio listened to some old Lifesavors--"A Kiss of Life" album. If you don’t have this record you need to pick it up. It is great. After that we started jamming on a tune. We were sort of out of songs and ideas at the time, so we just playing whatever. What began as a Sonic Youth linear jam eventually evolved into a Yo La Tengo vibe. A lot of G, C, A, and Em. It is a very beautiful song; full of Jeff Shredder’s great melodies. We called it "Boy=Girl."

And, oh yeah, the Doc is 0 for 3.

Songs on the table:
Sunset (Hearts of Glass), Castillo Lake, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, The Miracle on Ice, The Playboy, Blow It to the Smithereens, Face Your Fun, Kiss the Crook, Boy=Girl

11.04.03
After listening to Nazareth for a half and hour, we got to work. First, we duct-taped The Lassie Foundation’s initials on the wall of our rehearsal space. "TLF" on the wall behind the drum kit seems to inspire us.

Next we went around and checked out the expensive kool gear of the band we share the rehearsal space with: a bunch of Vox’s, about 17 different kind small mixing boards, an Yngwie J. Malmsteen overdrive pedal, and 72 different JBL powered monitors. Oh yeah, lastly we got to work on some new jams.

We introduced Eric to the new hit, "Face Your Fun." Then we took a quick smokie, and we're on to another new jam. It was kind of an enigma of voicings and rhythms that Jeff took over and developed into a rock n roll song. We guess it sounds like something between Creeper Lagoon and the Smashing Pumpkins. I guess we will have to see. The Doc did not make it down; he's 0-for-2 now.

Songs on the table:
Sunset (Hearts of Glass), Castillo Lake, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, The Miracle on Ice, The Playboy, Blow It to the Smithereens, Face Your Fun, Kiss the Crook

10.30.03
How many hits can one band have? Unlimited. Just ask Kiss. They haven't had a hit in almost 20 years, yet the fans still demand their presence. Of course the Foundation hasn't reached Kiss status, but we think our fans demand the same dedication that Kiss delivers to their Army. Maybe that's why we're a Foundation. It's unlimited. It's an endless cycle of music and mass that helps us all "get through this crazy thing called life," as Prince said. And he was a sexy mf.

Jeff and Wayne got together tonight and listened to The Alarm's "Declaration" and Yo La Tengo's "Elec-tro-pura," then jammed on a couple of new ideas. That might be the best indication of what the hell is going on with these sessions. One jam was a bit bar-rock ("Blow It to the Smithereens"), but we're still in discovery phase, so who cares. The other song may be another international hit ("Face Your Fun"). As Gene Simmons probably says, "If the fans demand it, it will come...." More on that later.

Songs on the table:
Sunset (Hearts of Glass), Castillo Lake, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, The Miracle on Ice, The Playboy, Blow It to the Smithereens, Face Your Fun

10.29.03
Andy was a late scratch, but that didn't stop us from writing another hit. Eric brought an idea that ended up being a sort of New Order/early 80's New Wave thing. Fast, furious, and very Foundation, it's tentatively titled "The Playboy."

Songs on the table:
Sunset (Hearts of Glass), Castillo, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, The Miracle on Ice, The Playboy

10.28.03
Last Thursday saw the birth of a new jam with the working title "Seeker & Pusher," although Jeff and Eric won't know until tonight that Wayne has a new name for it: "Miracle on Ice" (and how's that for speaking in the 3rd person?). Right now the song sounds like either Pacifico-era or El Dorado-era Lassie--we're not sure which one.

So far, our method has been to jam out an idea with guitars and drums (or guitar, bass, and drums), then make a one- or two-microphone recording of it. At the end of the night, Eric burns the jam(s) onto a CD for Wayne to take home. Wayne then makes an mp3 of it and sends the mp3 to Jeff and Eric.

Andy Prickett, the producer on this project, is coming to the studio tonight for the first time. The pre-game rumor is that he'll say our arrangements are strange--but then again, this is coming from a guy who unashamedly admits he owns and enjoys the last Destiny's Child album (sorry for outing you Andy!). However, if anything on this record sounds like "Bootylicious," you'll have to blame Wayne and Wayne alone.

Songs on the table:
Sunset, Castillo, Galaxy Girl, Wolf-Dog, Seeker & Pusher (Miracle on Ice)

10.21.03
Tonight we worked on the Boy-era U2 jam now tentatively titled "Sunset." It is probably one of the most different things that Lassie has ever done or attempted to do. Wayne brought some lyrics and melodies to rehearsal so we have some tentative titles for the jams.

Songs on the table:
Boy/U2 jam (Sunset), Kevin Castillo jam, Weller/Who jam (Galaxy Girl), The Velvets/Foundation jam (Wolf-Dog)

10.16.03
Thursday night we got to a late start due to Campuzano's late arrival. We are trying to be a modern rock 'n' roll band, so Cupie brought his 4-track and stand-alone cd burner to record rehearsals. While getting line checks and levels Jeff wrote a riff. We worked on it for about half an hour and had another new track. It is somewhere between Paul Weller and the Who. The rest of the night we worked on the other two songs and got some decent arrangements so Wayne could start working on melodies.

Songs on the table:
Boy/U2 jam, Kevin Castillo jam, Weller/Who jam, The Velvets/Foundation jam

10.14.03
Since Lassie news is an erratic thing, we thought it would be fun to start a journal to keep all peeps up to date on the new Lassie F songwriting, pre-production, and recording sessions. This is not meant to be narcissistic, but rather to let those who care to know know.

Although it seems like last night was our first night of songwriting, it was actually our second. We started last month (before Wayne and Eric went to Europe to finish their last tour of duty with The Prayer Chain) when we jammed out a song with Kevin Castillo (Coco B's/Retriever). We are trying to do a couple of things right now. We have plans for a new ep and lp to come out within the next 6 to 9 months. We are trying to write both records at the same time, since our time is very limited (day jobs, doctoral theses, dogs, etc.). Last night we worked on two songs: the first one sounds like Velvet Underground meets The Foundation -some boogie woogie going on this one. The second one we only explored for a bit as it was brought to the table a bit underdeveloped. It has elements of "Boy"-era U2. The Kevin Castillo jam was in the vein of The Jesus and the Mary Chain. As you can see, we are going to be exploring a lot of territory and see what happens.