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Soldier Of Misfortune

from Deep Water by Allan Thomas

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about

'Soldier Of Misfortune' backstory:

Round about twenty years ago I was devouring a lot of contemporary novels. There happened to be a thread connecting them all: a protagonist who was a misfit of some kind. These salt-of-the-earth anti-heros were usually big fuck-ups in one way or another, but they were at least lovable, and for some odd reason I could relate to their deal. Anyway I thought it might be fun to portray such a dude. Things always get a little twisted in his world, but at least he is out there taking risks and trying things. But, you can count on him to wind up falling for someone or something which will prove to be his undoing. Yet time after time he survives, swearing that it's the last time he'll repeat that mistake again, whilst simultaneously setting his radar for the next drama to come rolling down the pike. He is that character always seeking the high seas rather than safe harbor even if his ship has a slow leak. Sound familiar?

My long time co-writer and guitar slinging sidekick Bryan Kessler, and I, wrote the groove and chords for 'Soldier Of Misfortune' on Oahu, sometime in 1992. I brought the budding tune home to Kauai and wrote the melody and lyrics soon after. Later we recorded a spanking live demo* of the song at Bryan's home studio. Except for a few years of performing the song at my gigs of the early nineties, I lost sight of it for a while, but it never lost sight of me.

When scouring the archives for possible songs for the 'Deep Water' record, 'Soldier Of Misfortune' jumped right up out of the box and yelled "yo!" There was something about the lyrics that I thought would translate well into current times, and I loved the moving jazzish chord progression that Bryan and I had devised now twenty years past. In thinking about the overall subject matter for the record I knew 'Soldier…' would fit well, plus, it gave me another shot at trying to convey something possibly smirk-worthy on the album, regarding the attitude and foibles of our hopeless subject.

* Stephen Barncard and I wound up choosing that live demo track of 'Soldier…' on the 'Brooklyn Boy In Paradise' best of unreleased recordings from 1980-1994 compilation CD in 2009

Recording version #2:

In early 2010 I began the new 'Soldier Of Misfortune' sessions by picking a tempo and choosing some phenomenal Steve Gadd RMX drum loops that were exactly what the song was looking for. After dropping them into place I found and recorded some very dynamic and great sounding Jerry Marotta RMX Taos drum loops, and applied them sparingly on the intro/re-intro sections. Following this I employed my usual arsenal: the Sadowsky Tele Standard plugged into the Carr Rambler tube amp, and mic'd with a U87 into a Neve preamp. Seems to do the job, like every time, whether I'm playing the combo or a visiting guest is. Next came my lead vocals, and as always I recorded a bunch of takes in one session, trying slightly differing styles of phrasing on each. I wanted the vocals to be as good as they possibly could be so that whoever played next would not only have a good basic blueprint of the song, but a vocal track that would hopefully inspire them to carry the torch onward with the best playing they could muster. It wound up that all the lead vocals on the album were recorded before any other player came on board. Though it would have been fun to re-record the vocals with all the musician on the track, there was no need to ever record it again, as when I lay 'em down I'm trying my best to make it a one-time deal.

After editing the vocals into one seamless comp track the song was ready for the next layer, and that layer would come from a brother who is no stranger to Allan Thomas music - Michael Ruff. In one way its tough for the second player on a track because he doesn't have the benefit of getting inspired by several instruments already in the mix. But if the player is up for it, then he gets to be a bit of a prospector and explorer, and winds up shaping the arrangement of the song to a large degree. I wander through this discussion with Mike and Bryan Kessler often about who wants or doesn't want to be the second player recording after my basic tracks, and it always works out well either way. Since Bryan lives on Oahu and it's more of a deal for him to get here, it falls into the capable hands of Ruff more times than not. Ruff played piano first and after a couple of takes recorded Hammond organ. I'd have my acoustic on my lap so that if he needed to know a particular chord change I'd be able to play it for him, as I sure as shit most likely wouldn't know it's name or have a chord sheet for him, sad as that may be. But this NEVER slowed him down as he could figure out any chord change just by hearing it a couple of times. It's always huge fun to hang with Mike and be right there with him creating the parts and having conversations about what works or doesn't work, stopping for a Snickers bar, and carrying on in one continuous flow till an hour later it's in the can.

It so happened that my old friend and LA guitar heavy Jeff Richman, was on Kauai for a few days. He offered to lay down a guitar track if I had anything that could use his flavor. It just so happened I did. Jeff brought along one of his Strat's and a few pedals which we utilized in conjunction with the Carr Ramber amp, Neve Mic pre, and a Sanken CU-44X for the speaker cabinet. The Neumann U 87 was used for the room sound. Since I didn't have a chord chart Jeff took the time to write one out, familiarizing himself with the tune at the same time. Then we began recording in earnest, rolling tape - as it were - from one end of the song to the other so Jeff could just play it through. Once we had a few solid full takes under our belts we dug in to the solo section letting Jeff rip a few more, and that was it. After two hours in the fun zone he's back in his rental car heading to Oahu and I'm sifting through the wealth of electric guitar mana he's left behind. His part added immensely to the track and now it needed the bottom addressed.

One word: Jimmy Johnson. That's it. That's all I have to say. 'Soldier Of Misfortune' cried out for Jimmy's signature bass, and nothing else would do. OK I might be overstating it here, but you catch my drift. To my ultimate good fortune the dude was available and could find the time to do the deed on his new home studio rig within a week. It didn't always work out so easy for JJ to be available on the 'Deep Water' sessions, as he tends to spend a fair amount of time on the road as JT's bassist, but here again lady luck was riding on my shoulders. After downloading and dropping his new bass parts back into the session, I was simply jaw-droppingly floored. There was nothing I needed to ask for or have redone, that was it. Jimmy's outstanding contribution to 'Soldier…' took it to another domain, a domain where nothing else was needed, except drums.

By now Los Angeles drummer extraordinaire Joel Taylor, had played on several 'Deep Water' tracks, and I knew this song was also right up his funky alley. Since we already had a good groove established with sending tracks back and forth across the internet, and communicating our ideas about the arrangements in a crystal clear manner, working together on Soldier was nothing short of a smooth endeavor. Joel proceeded to tear this track up, way beyond my expectations, and that was that. Done!

lyrics

Soldier Of Misfortune

words & music Allan Thomas
music Bryan Kessler


They say that in a dark time the eye begins to see
And at the bottom of the abyss comes the voice of salvation
Sometimes I'm so high I'm walking on water
It's like standing at the top of the world
Other times I'm a lost cause in a jam walking in sand
Soldier of misfortune that's me

People say the way up is the way down
You gotta do it wrong do it wrong to get it right
That's what they say
That's certainly my case wrong time right face
Too many miles and margaritas
Been two-timed double-crossed was a sure-thing but I lost
Soldier of misfortune that's right
Soldier of misfortune

My friends are a cast of characters
Misfits and renegades one and all
Don't know where they're going
But you can tell where they've been
Soldier of misfortune Soldier

A ship on the open ocean adrift in the night
No map or radio compass or starlight
Time for a weather-check on my soul
Yes my life's a big fiasco
Gotta get a grip maybe take a trip to Thailand
Hook-up with some sweet Mamasan
Soldier of misfortune that's me soldier of misfortune
Soldier of misfortune - soldier of misfortune
Soldier of misfortune - soldier of misfortune that's me



©2011 Black Bamboo Music - BMI
Brian Kessler Music - ASCAP

credits

from Deep Water, track released October 18, 2011
Allan Thomas - vocals, electric rhythm guitar, percussion
Jeff Richman - lead & rhythm guitar
Michael Ruff - piano, organ
Jimmy Johnson - bass
Joel Taylor - drums

Tip of the hat to Jerry Marrotta for the Taos drums

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Allan Thomas Hanalei, Hawaii

Aloha and welcome to my Bandcamp Music Store home page. Here you can listen to full-length samples of all seven Allan Thomas albums and three singles. Also to be found are credits, photos, stories and lyrics for all songs. Dig in...

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