Timewellspent - Timewellspent
The debut release of timewellspent is best described as an ambient,
subtle, poignant, somewhat shoegazey cross between The Beatles,
Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, The Zombies and Pink Floyd. The collaboration
of Casey Fundaro and Christopher Moll has resulted in a recording
highlighted by unique sounds, complex harmonies and simple lyrics.
The melancholy but hopeful theme of the recording, brought to
life by the care taken in the writing, recording and mixing of
the debut, is at the root of the band name, timewellspent.
In making the record, their first question was: how would a Paul
McCartney or Brian Wilson approach the songs with the tools we
have today like computers, editing software, samples and the
like? Their answer was to use the best vintage source material,
i.e., drums, guitars, amps and mics, and combine them with the
flexibility and options made available by computers, editing
software and processing software.
As Chris says: "...[t]he tools we have today are infinitely
more than the mellotrons, theremins and other instruments that
Brian and Paul had in the '60s. To try to do another "Pet
Sounds"," Sergeant Pepper's", "Dark Side
of the Moon" or whatever you consider classic makes no sense.
Those records were made with state of the art, cutting edge tools
of their time and the results had not been accomplished before.
At the end of the day, your recording will be a derivative 'attempt'
at a clone, no matter how good it is. We were inspired by great
artists like The Zombies, Beach Boys, Beatles and present day
artists that are pushing the envelope with new sounds, much of
it done at home. Our goal was to create something contemporary
without trying to make a recording that sounded retro at all.
I think we accomplished
our goal."
Casey adds: "...contemporary bands like Wilco, Radiohead,
The Flaming Lips and Pernice Brothers take the best of diverse
influences and create music that has defined the bar as to what
is quality contemporary pop music. Diverse influences are there,
but you can't pick just one. The great bands of today are a product
of influences of every quality artist and genre from jazz, country,
blues to standard pop. The Beatles are the prototype example
of the sum of diverse influences. I wanted to try to come up
with a record that had structure like a classical symphony with
the main elements of rock, pop, psychedelia, jazz and Broadway
styles."
Chris and Casey met when Chris answered Casey's ad for musicians
in their home base of South Florida. Casey Fundaro had played
drums in numerous indie rock bands prior to meeting Chris. He
had most recently fronted a guitar pop band with one CD release
along with several contributions to various compilations. Notably,
Casey grew up around rock 'n roll. He is the nephew of Danny
Hutton, the founder of '70s hit makers Three Dog Night.
Christopher Moll had been a key member of the South Florida music
scene for over a decade. Chris fronted and founded 23, a band
whose drummer, Alex Gimino, went on to play in Ursula 1000. 23's
sound was in the Brit Pop tradition of The Boo Radleys and The
Stone Roses. From his time with 23, Chris' passion for experimentation
in engineering and recording, combined with his multi-instrumental
talents, made him a perfect partner for Casey and his songs.
Chris describes the evolution of his collaboration with Casey: "...[t]here
was a melancholy and hopeful message in Casey's songs that comes
from a sincere place. I thought that with some extra care and
some attention to detail the new songs would come to life. I
saw us as kind of a reverse Van Dyke Parks/Brian Wilson collaboration:
Casey had lyrics and the basic songs; I had the sounds and production
skills to bring the material to a higher level. What started
as a producer-artist relationship evolved into a true collaboration
and friendship."
When the record was done, Chris and Casey contacted Thom Monahan
of Monsterland, Lilys and Pernice Brothers fame. A few e-mails
and months later, Thom agreed to do the mixes. Chris and Casey
flew to New York and mixed the CD with Thom and Ken Heitmueller.
The record presented unique challenges as there were many tracks,
complex vocal harmonies, string arrangements, samples and choices
to be made. As expected, Thom and Ken made the right choices.
The mastering by Jeff Lipton, whose past work includes Pernice
Brothers and The Magnetic Fields "69 Love Songs", brought
the sound to an even higher level.
As Casey explains: "I wanted to communicate through this
recording the power of human connection. People come in and out
of our lives. Friendships and relationships that are fleeting
and those that are life long begin with a hello and usually don't
even end with a goodbye. What is profound to you may mean nothing
to someone else. But random human connection can also have major
impact leading to brief as well as lifelong relationships. The
time spent to make, keep and break human connection is a common
theme throughout the recording. Those moments in time are exhilarating,
devastating and, in any event, impactful. The recording attempts
to capture those moments in time that we all experience, time
that ultimately is life defining and well spent."
 
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