“Midway Creatures”

How The Song Came About:

Fooling around with the Eventide DSP 4000 again...

What Was I Thinking:

The album liner notes:

“The Captain’s only relief from the dementia comes when he is transfixed by the multitude of reflections that pass before his eyes on the still surface of the pond. She emanated the most profound purity that had ever come before his eyes. When she loses her grip on the Sound Current, the madness takes hold, and the cherry blossoms eventually turn to either dust or a rich, mud-like substance in the depths of the void. As a result, sprouting forth from a far-left dimension of the abyss is where the creatures come from. They march forth in search of…”

Recording It:

It started with the riff and then it was just built from there, adding Jeremy and Billy first. The main rhythm guitar sound was constructed with the Eventide DSP 4000 going directly into a Whammy pedal set to an octave below. Then the signal was routed through a Sans Amp with heavy E.Q.

The main solo guitar was the Jem77FP floral with a Roland guitar synth pickup on it. The guitar pickup was processed through a Legacy amp and the midi information was captured with the Roland guitar synth. I then used a Korg Triton for some sounds and mixed the guitar signal in with the samples. That’s why the solo has that surreal type guitar and synth sound.

Instruments Used:

Main melody guitar: Evo through a Legacy with the use of the Roland Guitar synth to capture midi notes.
Main Rhythm guitars: Evo
Melody and solo guitar: Floral Jem
Additional guitars: Carvin Black Beauty electric acoustic, 78 sunburst strat, Euphoria acoustic.

SV Comment:

My goal here was to create a lyrical melody that emulates some kind of a creature speaking, but keeping it within the confines of the melodic sensibilities of the song. The results are a blobulent extravaganza.



Vai.com Home > Inside Real Illusions: Reflections > Track 9: “Midway Creatures”