“K’m-Pee-Du-Wee”

OK, first things first. It’s pronounced “Kum-Pee-Doo-Wee.” I did not want to spell it that way for what I hope is obvious reasons...

How The Song Came About:

This song follows the same trio type tradition as songs like “Die to Live,” “Frank,” “Natural Born Boy,” “Viv Woman,” etc. Originally I just started playing this riff during a soundcheck on the Fire Garden tour. I then threw it on my trusty DAT recorder and documented it for future realization. Usually, I need to go back to the DAT tapes to remember what I did, but liked this little riff so much I would play it at least once or twice a week. Finally the desire to hear it completed became too much for me to suppress, and I decided to record it.

Every note of this song has a lyric to it. And one part is… “Don’t go in the Garden, It’s bad in the garden my little K’m-pee-du-we.”

What Was I Thinking:

The album liner notes:

“As Eve fell helplessly in love with the infant in her arms, she sang him a lullaby. ‘K’m-Pee-Du-Wee, anything you wanna be.’”

Additional story info: Eve has no idea what fate lies ahead of her. She was not even sure how she got pregnant. The mechanics of how were the issue, not the actions. All the pain and fear slipped away once she embraced her child. She immediately felt the maternal instinct take control of her even though she was only 13 at the time. It was not until after he took the child from her that she realized how deep that maternal instinct went.

Recording It:

I put down a scrap guitar track and then Jeremy did the drums and Billy did the bass. This one happened very quickly. Greg Bissonette came in later and laid down some nice percussion things with Jeremy.

Instruments Used:

Guitar/ Amp: Evo through Carvin Legacy

This track, I believe more than any other, is definitive of my playing style and sound. The guitar is Evo, my faithful Ibanez Jem. I am using only the neck position pick up (DiMarzio Evolution) for the whole song, and the guitar is plugged directly into the front of a Legacy dirty channel with no effects in the loop - with the exception of a custom made phaser that I used on the last verse. Then there is a little digital delay added.

Technically, if you were to take a stock Jem and a stock Legacy amp and play on the neck position pick up, you should have this tone. Keep in mind though, tone is in your head and your fingers and not necessarily an amp and guitar.

SV Comment:

This song made it to the record because for me it had that little special something. Maybe because it’s Lydian mode and I respond to that mode more than any others. I focused on every single note in this song and feel that there is not a gratuitous note in the entire piece. I hear the lyrics when I listen to this even though it’s an instrumental.



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