Category: samples

people get ready

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

We have a few things in our demo recording pipeline, but none of them feel right at the moment.

Instead, we want to share this older demo recording, what was really just a soundcheck in the studio and a completely different take from our live performances of this song. People Get Ready implores us to get on board, no ticket or baggage required.

People Get Ready, studio soundcheck

The music we’re privileged to play is built from jazz and blues traditions that were crafted in slavery and servitude, as well as the civil rights movements that are unfinished. We’re grateful to have the music; and we’re responsible to hold true to its message.

I only ever loved your ghost

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

Here’s offering number two from our pandemic demo sessions — tracks recorded in separate homes and pasted back together. Unlike our pandemic debut (Don’t Get Around Much Anymore), this is a song we’ve played before in front of audiences. Still, it takes on a different character when we’re isolated, and we were able to play around with the dynamics. In some ways it’s a better fit for quiet isolation than a late Friday night at the bar.

Stick around past the first verse into the second and see if you have the same reaction that Anna did.

I Only Ever Loved Your Ghost, by Jens Kuross, performed by Standards & Substandards
Anna, a socially distanced and disaffected college student, responds enthusiastically as the second verse surprises even her jaded sensibilities in this troubled time.

I Only Ever Loved Your Ghost is composed and originally performed by Jens Kuross. Here’s his version, which is worth listening to for comparison and because it’s simply a great song.

Jens Kuross performing live.

We learned about this brilliant piece when we were in The Proper Way studios and Scott Rogers had us listen to it. We started playing through the chords along with the recording and we loved it from that first moment. Shane Osguthorpe of The Proper Way did this Tom Waits-esque version. Again, it’s a fun comparison of what this song affords, but it’s also just fantastic in its own right.

Sublime version from The Proper Way.

We’re still working in our isolated corners, rehearsing new stuff for some future day as well as laying down tracks that we can share. We hope we hope we have a few more samples soon.

don’t get around much anymore

~ Adam Johnston ~ 1 Comment

As we’ve navigated the pandemic and all of our distancing, we’ve been trying to figure out how to make music together while separated. There have been comedic failures and overall it’s just kind of sad not to be in the same space and work on things at the same time. Playing in the same room and riffing off of one another is how we naturally function.

So, we’re kind of proud to show this off, our first pandemic demo, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, by Duke Ellington. This is the product of us each working on our own track, building on what each of us creates separately, and then mixing it back together. It’s inconvenient and inefficient, but it’s fun to hear it work when everything is layered correctly:

Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, from our pandemic demo sessions

We thought this worked to share right now for a few reasons. First, we all don’t get around much anymore, and especially since this refers to Saturday evening social events, this Saturday felt just right. Also, it happens to be Ella Fitzgerald‘s birthday, and she puts out classic renditions of this standard.

But mostly it’s just fun to share and for us to keep working on stuff. We learned this from scratch and we have never actually played this all together in the same room (yet). This is not as much fun, but we’re learning new things as we go. We’ll see what it sounds like when we actually get to play it live!

Our separate spaces for making our separate tracks.

Stay tuned! We think we’ll be able to share more things like this in the near future.

sing to prevent disease

~ Adam Johnston ~ 1 Comment

We know there’s legitimate caution about coming out to public gatherings and shows while everyone is concerned about disease spread and public health. Certainly, some people may stay home more often and people should be mindful about how they’re interacting with one another. Social distancing and waving instead of hugging and hand-shaking are perfectly good ideas.

But, also, most especially, hand washing. The key ingredients include soap, water, and 20 seconds of scrubbing. But how do you keep track of the time you’re washing your hands? People suggest different songs to time your good hygiene, but here in the corporate offices of S&S we recommend the bridge of Sing, starting at about 1:20 on this track:

Just sing along to the “la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la” line (you can’t say you don’t know the words!) three times at our tempo for plenty of washing thoroughness. Twice through will work if you’re singing it a little slower. We don’t care exactly how you do it, but we’re happy to help.

We’ll teach you the song at upcoming gigs as a public service, and we’ll listen to hear all of you putting this to good use in the restrooms. As the song goes, “Sing out loud, sing out strong.”

released!

~ Adam Johnston ~ 1 Comment

It’s here!!!

Happy birthday to our album! As of today, December 6, it is live on streaming services, downloadable, and arriving as an old fashioned CD! Take a look at our music page and visit the liner notes to get a preview.

And it turns out that tonight we’ll celebrate with a gig at Lighthouse Lounge (~9:00 – Midnight, 21+, $5 cover) here in Ogden. We’ll bring CDs as well as our live selves.

It’s us! On the back cover of our very own self-titled CD!