The Concept of “BE”
The recording of “Be” took place over the course of 3 weeks…in the daytime. In the evening and night hours, I was out playing at various clubs around Denver, mainly as a session guitarist, bassist, hand percussionist, and the occasional background vocalist. While the sessions were filled with a sense of musical experimentation, I was still searching.
That feeling of always searching musically can really drive someone or make them go insane. I think I did a lot of both. I was craving something new – a new way to live this language. Completely intrigued by the idea of finding the importance of one single note again and the way it interacts harmonically with others, I started recording “Be”, although it wasn’t named yet. The name “BE” along with every track name, came from how the pieces made me feel.
Be Creative and BeIng were recorded at the same time – the same moment. They always felt like brothers. The concept for these tracks was to take the idea of creation, the act of being creation and turning it into a spiraling, chaotic, yet controlled piece – with so much haste to reveal the creation that unraveled itself into this world. BeIng is that very unraveling – the curtain call for Be Creative. Images of a human discovering the body they reside in kept running through my mind while composing and hearing it.
Be Joy is a circular piece – a mantra. The two sections always constantly becoming one another. Composing this, I knew it was right to go to the opposite section when my craving for it could not wait any longer.
Be True formed first among the other pieces and personally, it sounds like it. It’s an infant, playful, peaceful, and full of joy. Yet, some noises may give you a hint at another thought. While the melody if easy to listen to, the rolling and sweeping sonics that appear in the background hint at a different understanding of truth all together.
Be Alive is passion. Full of peaks and valleys. A sonic land scape. By far the hardest piece to manifest for the series of pieces. I only recorded parts for this track when completely in the mindset of intense passion. Those beautiful vocals are front man from Glowing House, Steve Varney.
Be Different and Be Something are minimalistic. These two are miles apart from Be Alive on the sonic landscape, yet polar opposites on one another. Be Different sings to the earth while Be Something chants to the ocean. Ying and Yang but folding into each other.
Be Hope, the cousin of Be Alive. Brimming with life, but with a twist. This is the manifestation of Hope – where none exists.
Instruments and Recording by Dave Preston
Vocals on Be Alive – Steve Varney
Vocals on Be Hope – Michael Amidei and Hannah Gore
Artwork layout and design – Michael Amidei and Dave Preston
To purchase “BE”, click on the album cover and you will be directed to CDBaby
“BE” was released by Dave Preston in 2008
Copyright Dave Preston
Feeling God Has Left You
Solo acoustic guitar with lyrics and melody to the last track of Soundtrack For Motion.
Please enjoy and share…
Pre-Production on “Come Alive”
The idea behind COME ALIVE is special. Inspiration.
Photo by Rob Drabkin
After finishing an ambient show at an art gallery in Denver, Sam Gathman and I had a conversation about what inspiration means and how it relates to music. Understanding that music is a language and that it is greatly affected by the intention of the player (and listener for that matter) is one of the places where the conversation stalled (and continues to) due to the great interest that this statement carries. The idea behind an unspoken connection between two people through music, a series of tonal vibrations,
COME ALIVE, the album and concept was born from meditations of inspiration, emergence, and ultimately spreading light.
As all the songs were written, tempos decided on and album flow where we wanted it, it was time to think of the musicians in the rhythm section that would add to this image. I met bassist Rich Ross couple years back and we bonded instantly. Together we played numbers times in The Samples for some of the greatest crowds. Brian McCrae over the years has established himself brilliantly with not only live drumming with various national acts, but through starting his business DrumOverDubs.com, Brian found himself recording drums for artists and cinema the world over. Sam and I met Jon Powers when playing with Matt Morris and together and along with other great and wonderful musicians, we appeared on national and international media markets. Jon’s leadership quality is outstanding. The finesse he carries with always promotes the very best from each member.
Sam Gathman is an intentional player, always playing what is needed (if anything at all). Watching him with other sessions, he is perfectly fine not playing a note the entire song – the mark of someone who understands the language. For me, it is completely impossible to imagine this album even existing without the addition of Sam. Words can not express how honored and humbled I am.
Here is Sam getting ready to record some strings on the pre-production of “Shine”, the 7th track on COME ALIVE.
All of us we be gathering at Macy Sound Studios in the end of September to work with Jeff Kanan, a incredibibly talented engineer and producer.
There will be plenty of videos and pictures posted very soon. Wish us all luck and send your absolute best.
Spinning Away From The Earth
Video By Dustin Cotter
Music By Dave Preston & Mingo
My friend Dustin put the musical collaboration “Spinning Away From The Earth” off of Soundtrack For Motion to a series of videos and pictures of mankind’s discoveries and adventures into space. I have a deep fascination with Astronomy and hearing the textures of synth that Mingo created with these visuals is really a pleasure to watch. Please enjoy and share…