2024-Nov-02 - Pandemic
This week's randomly selected song is Pandemic, track #13 from disc #3 of my album It Was All Just a Dream.
I previously released Pandemic as a single in 2020, but this final version features new drums, a few re-recorded guitar parts, and a new mix.
Early in 2020 the world froze dead in its tracks and we suddenly found ourselves locked down, isolated, and glued to the reports of surging numbers of infections and losses of life due to the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. It was during this time of global unease and fear that I wrote Pandemic, trying to capture those feelings.
From a compositional standpoint, I knew the song had to be HEAVY, so I employed my pair of 7-string guitars to provide the extra brutal rhythm guitar parts. I intentionally used tense and unresolving chord progressions to heighten the feelings of unease and tension. But I also wanted to capture the feelings of isolation and paranoia, so parts of the arrangement are more spacious and open, while still very dissonant. For the verses I used 8-tone diminished scales which are very tense and unresolving, and these lead into a chorus with an ascending minor-to-major pitch axis pattern that also has no clear resolution. ALL TENSION, ALL THE TIME!!! 🤣
Melodically, the chorus of the song features the most difficult to play arpeggio sequence I've ever written. It was so difficult in fact that I injured my wrist recording the song, and couldn't play guitar for weeks after I finished. I've shied away from attempting to perform the song for fear of re-injuring myself.
I'm particularly proud of the guitar solo on this song. The harmonic foundations underneath the solo feature a similar unresolving pattern of chords. And the solo features tense sequences of odd numbered groupings of notes, exotic scales, unconventional open strings, and a wide range of the fretboard.
I ended up using 3 different guitars for lead parts, based entirely how each instrument sounded with each part. My Charvel Pro-Mod DK-24 was the voice for all of the verse and chorus lead parts. I played the guitar solo on my Ibanez S5521. And there are a few supporting counter melody parts played on my Ibanez J. Custom RG8571. All of the lead parts were played through my Mesa Boogie Mark VII using the IIC+ voice. For the chunky 7-string rhythm guitar parts, I used my Jackson Guitars RR7R and Ibanez Guitars RG7PCM played through my Mesa Boogie Mark VII using the killer new VII voice.
You can listen to this song as well as the entire 44 song collection right here on the website! If you love what you hear and want to support the music I make, please consider purchasing this album on CD or digital download. I will gladly personalize and autograph your copy.
https://chrisstark.com/it-was-all-just-a-dream
Keep an eye out for next Saturday's song spotlight, and as always, thank you sincerely for all of your support!
Love, Aloha, and Rock!
❤️😎🎸