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The new Slim Man Bona Fide CD dropped last Tuesday. It's called...Slim Man Bona Fide.
Clever!
When I decided to make a new CD, the reaction from people on the West Coast was different than the East Coasters.
West Coasters asked--in earnest--why I was making a new CD. They actually wanted to know. There was no hidden meaning or implications.
East Coasters asked the same question but it felt like they were leaving something off at the end, like...
"Why are you making a new CD, you moron?!? Don't you know people aren't buying CDs anymore? That nobody even has a CD player? Are you nuts?"
Well, yes, I am nuts.
However, I feel the need to explain--to East Coasters and West Coasters alike--why any musician would release a CD in a day and age when it seems a bit...nuts.
First of all, I was really excited about the new music I was writing. I couldn't wait to share the new songs with SlimNation.
Plus, I felt it would be cool to combine the music of my two bands--Slim Man (vocals) and Bona Fide (instrumentals)--on one CD.
And finally...I love making CDs. I do. I love the whole process. The artwork. The graphics. The photos. The packaging. But most of all the music!
It all starts with a song...
For instance, I wrote a song called Lunch with the Queen.
After I wrote it, I thought, this needs piano and guitar.
So I rang up Peter White and asked him to play guitar. Peter got his start with Al Stewart and Basia, and he's really good. And really poplar.
I didn't think he'd have time to do it. But he loved the song! Peter not only played an amazing guitar part, he added accordion at the end, which...I can't tell you how much joy that brought to the ol' Slim heart!
Marc Antoine suggested I get Philippe Saisse on piano. Philippe is a pretty big star, he's played with everyone from David Bowie to the Rolling Stones. He's an amazing piano player--from France, like Marc--and he loved the song. Oui Oui!
And Philippe's ivory tickling on Lunch with the Queen is stellar.
The musicianship on the whole CD is brilliant.
And the quality of the recording is Slimsational.
Once I had all the songs done, I dove into the artwork.
I wanted to incorporate the Slim Man and Bona Fide logos I created a while ago...
I was working on a new Bona Fide CD in 2014. Marc Antoine was producing and playing guitar. As he was recording, I was lounging on the couch in the corner. An idea came to me for the cover art.
I started drawing silhouettes on a sketch pad of people in the shape of letters. For instance, for the letter "F" I drew a rough sketch of what I wanted.
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