Q: “Living the Dream” is an eclectic and thought-provoking track. What was your creative
process in making this song?
JAMISEN: It started out on an acoustic guitar. I worked with it for many months, and it definitely went through some major revisions along the way. In fact, the co-producer and collaborator on the song, John X Volaitis; a professional recording engineer and producer, dramatically changed the song structure from how it was originally written and arranged to emphasize repeating “Living the Dream” as the chorus section.
He had cut up the guitar parts of the demo I had sent him, and rearranged them into what seemed like an entirely different song. When he sent it back to me, I really wasn’t sure about it because I had been playing it with a completely different idea of the chorus. But, as I absorbed and processed what he had done, the logic of repeating “Living the Dream” as a chorus began to make more and more sense from a songwriting perspective. I kind of had to re-learn how to play the song again so I could feel it in my DNA – and that led to some embellishments in the transitions between sections. I also edited some of the lyrics out entirely. The new approach definitely helped the song mature and grow.
Once John’s arrangement was internalized, I insisted on recording the acoustic guitar part again with the new feel and transitions, using a very basic drum track to get the song going. I also added some electric guitars and a vocal, which is pretty much the vocal you hear on the finished song. John re-programmed the drums and eventually added the bass line.
After the basis was completed, I sent the audio files to another producer friend in Denmark that I’ve worked with for many years (Joachim Michaelis). He’s a serious audiophile, mostly into experimental electronic music, but I had a feeling that he’d add some cool flavor to the song with his unique perspective. He delivered some beautiful synth parts that worked really well with the acoustic guitar, and gave the song an almost Pink Floyd kind of vibe.
Once the synth parts were edited into shape, I reached out to a guitarist that I found through a website called Fiverr. John had introduced me to Fiverr to find backing vocalists for a song we produced before “Living the Dream.” It’s an amazing platform to find freelance talent.
This guitarist (Josh Lattanzi) is phenomenal – such a great musician. I sent him the audio files, and he layered in the main electric guitar parts.
Then I reached out to another amazing musician (Philippe Willems) and sent him the audio files as well. He’s a former L.A. studio session player and guitar teacher living here in Arizona now. He had also played on the song that was recorded just before “Living the Dream.” The contrasting styles of these two guitarists really complimented each other – even though they had never heard any of their guitar parts in the context of each other until they were edited into a two guitar thing and the final mix was finished.
After the electric guitars were recorded, I searched Fiverr again to find backing vocalists.
I hired two vocalists specializing in R & B, Soul and Gospel styles. One is from the U.S., the other is living in France. We sent them the audio files of the song to work with – with basic instructions of what we were looking for in their performance. Neither of the vocalists were ever aware of each other’s performances. They both delivered some really great vocals that John edited and processed. It sounds and feels as if they’re in the same room singing together.
Ultimately, John and I evaluated which guitar and vocal parts worked best, and edited everything while meeting up through Facetime. He also uses a special software program with artists that he collaborates with remotely, so it almost felt as if we were in the same space working together.
The entire production was done remotely. John was living in Los Angeles at the time, and I’m in Arizona. No one was ever in the same location together at the same time. While I was able to talk with Josh, Philippe, Joachim, and John on the phone, or through Facetime, all of the communication with the background vocalists was done through the Fiverr platform.
Q: Did any real-life events occur in your life that inspired the song?
JAMISEN: It’s mostly a commentary about how it feels to be living in the world today, how the values seem to be inverted, convoluted and disorienting in comparison with the view of American society that I grew up with. The utopian ideals it felt we were evolving towards have been eroded, undermined and betrayed. My grandparents, my mother’s parents, were my primary role models. They were wonderful people and great influences. That generation operated with an honor system where a handshake agreement meant you kept your word and your end of the deal, or else you couldn’t be trusted. Their social prestige was predicated by how much they were able to contribute back to society, not by how much wealth they personally had. Those values may have been diminished, but they haven’t completely disappeared.
Q: Was there a pivotal moment in your life when you decided to follow your path as a musician?
JAMISEN: When I was in high school in Woodland Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, I threw a huge “kegger” party once when my father went out of town. I wanted a band to play at the party, so I was told to go see these local musicians perform at a junior high school in the area. These musicians were all teenagers like me, but they were really great – it was exciting, and the audience was going crazy. I had an epiphany that this was something I could be a part of too, so I wound up joining a garage band that some friends in my neighborhood had formed. I became the lead singer and co-songwriter. The guitarist in that band, Danny Saber, wound up becoming a record producer working with artists like the Rolling Stones, Alice Cooper, and the singer from INXS, Michael Hutchence.
Q: Who would you most like to collaborate with, if it could be anyone in the world?
JAMISEN: Annie Clark (St. Vincent)
Q: In your own words, how would you describe the music that you typically create?
JAMISEN: Thought provoking, timeless, penetrating.
Q: What projects are currently in the works?
JAMISEN: Right now, I’m promoting an album of ten songs called “Life Lessons,” of which ”Living the Dream” is a part of. I’m also beginning to record a new song that’s been in development for several years, one of four songs that were created around the same time as “Living the Dream.” It’s called “Leave It All Behind.”
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