The 12 Weeks of Fate Line (aka Fate Line Fridays) – Fate Line

I had the bright idea after the release party to keep going with our Facebook band page postings – Fate Line Fridays – but instead of songs and music that influenced the record, we’d feature a track a week and give background and Shiner perspective on each tune.

So to start things off, the first and title track of the record is Fate Line. Written on the shores of Lake Skootamata a few summers ago, this song was an exercise in unpacking what it meant to have been told by a palmist that I had a long fate line. What evolved lyrically was a study of the forces at play on our lives – and the compulsion to seek or flee the ghosts that haunt us now.

And Lord knows I love alliterations and word play, hence the bridge:

I can’t escape
Those escapades
That I eschew too late
I’m preordained
And predisposed
To predicate my fate

One musical detail or influence I remember, perhaps if only by osmosis, was that that summer I was listening quite obsessively to a new release from Elvis Costello – his bluegrass or old timey country album Secret, Profane and Sugarcane. I feel that the stripped down mood of Fate Line (at least at the start of the song and in the bridge) emanates a bit from that steeping.

The Good Doctor John’s take:

Fate Line is a relatively old song, so I originally started off playing bass on it. When I switched over to guitar, I had to come up with something that fit into what was a fairly established arrangement by that point. I particularly didn’t want to take away from Jonathan’s lovely violin parts – both the serene harmonized sections in the chorus and his melodic lines elsewhere.

I decided that it might sound nice to have a very repetitive pattern on high notes to complement a fairly mobile, often descending bass line. Initially I just played the high notes, but that started to get a bit lame. So I decided to double up the descending bass line and play the high notes at the same time. And that is what I play now. My only moment of doubt came recently when I realized that what I play veers fairly closely to the guitar part in Tal Bachman’s She’s So High. But since no one else appears to have noticed the similarity, we’ll just keep that our little secret.

Simon says:

Fate Line (or Phattalina as it’s known in our band?!) evolved over quite a few years, with each member of the band finding their parts as it developed. We did a demo of it in 2009, Jon’s beautiful Bach-like violin part he created was there at that stage but the groove and feel wasn’t defined until later. The rhythm section vibes came later as we played it live, honed the feel and Astrid and I found our flavour on Bass and Drums.

There are three interesting peaks in the song structure: I love the way it drops into the groove for the first verse (this moment always feels good live, the sound of the Shiners getting down to business!)…then the movement into the bridge after Jon’s solo for a big change in mood and then when remerges into the broken down exposed chorus: Jen and her guitar, harmonies and the Violin theme. It’s also special that the song starts with just Jen’s guitar, as all of her songs are written on her acoustic guitar!

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Fate Line Friday for November 7th, 2014

Fate Line Friday:

Jen here with my turn again to share a musical love or passion or influence – and the obvious choice for me this week, particularly in light of her own release and impending Toronto gig, is Lucinda Williams!

I’ve long listened and been a fan – had the honor of meeting her at Merlefest in North Carolina some 15 years ago. I was very pregnant with my daughter at the time and so in addition to sharing my admiration for her music, we talked about my large belly and why I had given my baby the in utero name “spudnik.” I still have the autographed Car Wheels on a Gravel Road CD which states: “spudnik – hurry up and come soon.”

It is her poetic plain spoken lyric, her gravel voice, her Gurf Morlix and her moody southern sound that always got me. Seems her new album shows that she’s still got it – but I’m choosing an old one I use to cover all the time. “Hard Road” is a jaunty tune for her but equally edgy poignant lyrics – a cry out to a friend in need.

I’ll be missing her show on the 20th as we’ll happily be performing at the Justice for Children and Youth Benefit that night – but I’ll be sure to dedicate my song “Living Out Loud” to her, as she is referenced in the tune and lives out loud as a songwriter in a way that always inspires.

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Fate Line Listening Party

Dark moody shots of a luminous evening! We had an intimate listening party for friends and family at Canterbury Music Company last night. We wanted to say a special thanks for the support the band and project have received. Great food and drink followed by a listen front to back of “Fate Line” interspersed with comments and illuminations into the process and songs. We ended the night with an acoustic version of the song that ends the album, “After A Fall.” Simon was on the gorgeous grand piano used during the recording. Very beautiful night of music and appreciation in a beautiful space – thank you to all who showed up and warmed Canterbury on what was a cold first day of November. Especially grateful to Jeremy and Jonny and Imali and all the Shiners, who contributed to making the evening memorable

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Fate Line Friday from October 31st

Simon says…

CHILLING HALLOWEEN FATE LINE FRIDAY!!
Just a couple of weeks to go before our album launch… there was really only one choice for the tune to choose.

It has all the elements that we love…that glorious phatt crunchy 70s sound, plenty of ‘tude… with a twisty, mysterious lyric on the top!

There are other resonances too: we played the heck out of this tune years ago together at the Jackman School Harvest Festival ( where our kids went) That wonderful event had a big part to play in the story of our band. Also Jen’s song He Once, second on the album, talks about a geezer dancing away his demons in London Town!

 

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Fate Line Friday for October 24th

FATE LINE FRIDAY.
Here is our good Dr John’s second installation:

A few of you may be aware that I am a Who fanatic and have spent many years honing various Pete Townshend guitar techniques. Although his acoustic guitar playing is fantastic, he is probably best known for his slashing power chords on radio staples like Baba O’Riley and Won’t Get Fooled Again.

A standard chord involves playing the first, third and fifth notes in a given scale (with additional notes added for more complex chords). These kinds of chords sound great on acoustic guitars and non-distorted electric guitars. However when played through distortion, these chords usually sound very messy. The reason for this is that when two notes are played with distortion, a whole host of additional notes are generated. By limiting the notes in the chord to just the first and fifth, you also limit the number of extra notes generated and thus the chord sounds cleaner and more “power”ful. (You can sneak in a third note without making it too messy, but only if it is up high.)

In a Hand or a Face is far from my favourite Who song. But it does prominently feature power chords at the beginning, including the technique of cutting them off suddenly to make them more percussive.

Pure and Easy is a much better song, but the power chords only really come in at the end, starting at 4:03. Also at 4:07, you’ll hear Pete hit the power chord by hitting the strings open (no chord) initially and then hammering on the chord a split second later. This sounds like striking the strings twice but he is only doing it once at the start with the left hand hitting the strings completing what sounds like the second strike.

I use all of the above power chord techniques in Audience – the quick cutoffs, hitting the open strings and then hammering on the chord. I also do a lot of power chords in 17 Years, both in the refrain and particularly in the bridge.

I’ll admit it is very tempting to windmill these power chords in performance, but I am not sure such stage histrionics would fit the Shiners vibe.


John

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