KING OF THE DUDES- lyrics and studio approach

KING OF THE DUDES


“If there was a town
If there was a city
If there was a world worth lordin’ it over
I would be there ignoring one and all
Cool as spreading fern
King of the dudes
Deep in imperial splendour
You can call me king of the dudes
I sit under the cool canopy of a perfumed tree
Sippin licorice tea
I shun the trouble of conversation
The displeasure of memory
The vanity of thought
I would be there ignorin’ one and all
King of the dudes
Ah yeah
Cool as spreadin fern
Derangement of the body and mind?
No!
I would know the race!
Hypocritical politeness
Slavery of civilization
Love
Drugs
Spirituous liquors excite only disgust
I would be there ignorin’ one and all
King of the dudes”


http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/king-of-the-dudes/id505021621?i=505021623

or get the full AIFF version here

http://davegraney1.bandcamp.com/





I played electric and acoustic guitar and pressed play on the rhythm machine. I recorded the rhythm track after Id done all the guitars and set it to the tempo of the click track. It’s a 90s electro groove that I recorded with effects and cut it up and used fills to vary it here and there. I am no expert at that sort of stuff and seemed to get lucky.
I bounced the whole rhythm track through a tape simulator with lots of slap delay, wow and flutter and noise dialled in to give it some weirdness and grit and then used that as a stereo track again. I then put some of those elements back in without all the delay to get some punchiness back in to the mix.
The lyric was written ages ago. A long time ago. I have a folder of scribbled and printed pages called “old shit?” I found it scribbled on a crumbled up page. “King of the dudes”. I added a few lines here and there.
The title was inspired by a fellow called Evander Berry Wall who was known as “king of the dudes”.

http://www.nysun.com/on-the-town/king-of-the-dudes/15834/

I read a lot about those late 19th century American robber baron types. I found them fascinating as they were so far from my world. From a time when the super rich paid no taxes and were laws unto themselves. Diamond Jim Brady, the Pittsburgh Millionaires, Lucius Beebe, The Gettys, the Vanderbilts, the Hearsts. They seemed exotic and comedic. Silly! We knew better.
Now that kind of super rich class is back in town. All over the world. So the title seemed to have some juice to it.

The song is more about being away from the world. Being a writer and an observer and feeling powerful, having the right to call out and name everything in sight. Away from the numbers. Of course, you have to rejoin the fray eventually- the social world.




Look out for us playing at the Spiegeltent Sunday March 25th at 5pm