Jim Lamarche - SAVING LIVES - BLOG/journal: June 2022

Thursday 2 June 2022

PROJECTION

fake a smile

no one knows you're broken

demi lovato

P R O J E C T I O N

volume up . 720p

story below

optimized for night vision

a jim lamarche remix

composed & performed by Mark Clifford

assembled in photoshop, logic audio & final cut

featuring the Roland System 8

read more of Jim's blog posts here

http://jimlamarche.blogspot.com/

PROJECTION

the story behind the song

Recorded 43 years ago in a community college 8 track studio in London Ontario (all analog). Ah ... to be 22 again - we kinda knew what we were doing but were clueless at the same time.

In 1979, my old friend & musical partner Mark Clifford returned to finish his third & final year (Music Industry Arts) there after we had performed together in Major Hooples out of Kitchener. Touring in the large format was epic. Blast actually. Thunder Bay to Halifax (and everywhere in between). Hundreds of shows - serious fun.

Turns out, Mark's intimate & accelerated recollection of turbulent times closing out that torrential year (particularly amongst band members) lives on. A difficult memory. It felt like a 747 (landing), careening off the runway at 200 mph and crashing into a forest.

and so there's a dark departure, followed by a welcomed arrival.

Crafting layered taped vocal loops (not unlike the U.K. band 10CC did just a couple of years earlier on their monster hit 'I'm not in Love'), only in a much humbler recording environment; playing all the instruments - including sitar which he still has, and engineering it himself.

Listening now (4 decades later), it almost defies all logic that such a beautiful song production could possibly be created in such a rudimentary place (w/fondness). It's almost inconceivable that it gently unfolded into such a brilliant conception in such a quiet, unassuming setting (Fanshawe College), flying under the radar since.

Major Hooples - 1978 (Matador - Galt/Cambridge)

(left to right)

Peter Beacock - baldwin piano, B3 organ, mellotron, arp synthesizer, vocals

Jim Lamarche - guitar vocals

Ed Miller - drums

Keith Stahlbaum - bass, vocals

Mark Clifford - guitar, vocals

Mark, (living in his hometown, St Catharines now) sent a .wav file to me a week ago (late Oct 2022), vaguely remembering it before doing it up after imagining a new mix launch after a few listens, enjoying it more & more as it evolved. Finishing an audio remix first, then seeing pictures; faces. Out of Logic and into Final Cut we go. So here we are.

I'd like to think that it's a fresh take on a classic caper. Relevant? ... oh ya.

JL.