Writing process for JCC's first album? Lyrics, song structures, chords, etc?

[guest33]

I've been googling around but can't really find any good info.

What part did JC have in the structuring of the songs / writing of the lyrics and chord progressions?

Have been listening to it recently and really enjoy it, and was under the impression it was just him jamming on the drums along with some friends and thus organically working out some songs (thus very jazz-like).

[Springbridge]

Good question.

[Pizza Club]

I think it's a terrible question.

[Rickpat12]

I find it to be a mediocre question.

[Slurpee]

Out of order? This whole thread's out of order!

[guest33]

All the reviews I've been seeing allude to him writing all the lyrics, and some even to him writing the songs... though I wonder if that means he actually sat down and worked out melodies / chord progressions or what.

I'm just so curious about this... would've been cool to get a documentary on how he works his magic sans-pumpkins.

[guest33]

Awesome... in da studio :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc_m43daJJI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3jFkcAxSws

[guest33]

Finally... found the info... here it is for anyone who cares.

Jimmy Chamberlin Complex Life Begins AgainCD @ Rikks Revues

Ranging from the sweet and lush (the ethereal "Loki Cat") to the moody and mean ("Cranes of Prey"), Life Begins Again is the brainchild of both Chamberlin and friend, colleague and multi-instrumentalist Billy Mohler, an L.A.-based songwriter who has worked with everyone from Macy Gray to Fred Durst. The two first met when Mohler, who sings lead on "Newerwaves," auditioned for Zwan. While he wasn't hired for the gig, Mohler and Chamberlin became quick friends. It was him who Chamberlin called first after securing a record deal.

The two built the disc's rhythm tracks first. "Once the bass and drums were done, you could kind of hear the songs finished," Chamberlin notes. "It was just a matter of waiting for God to drop the guitar player or piano player in your lap." That heaven-sent duo wound up being Sean Woolstenhulme and Adam Benjamin, respectively. The latter came in at the 11th hour, lathering the trademark Rhodes organ sound over several Chamberlin and Mohler creations. Woolstenhulme's participation, meanwhile, was sort of a last-minute addition, as well: "Originally, I didn't want any guitar on the record," Chamberlin says. "I just sort of wanted all this distorted Fender Rhodes all over it. And when Sean came in, he immediately started playing me stuff that sounded exactly like distorted Fender Rhodes. I thought, 'This is exactly what I want-it sounds nothing like guitar.'"

All of the lyrics on Life Begins Again were written by Chamberlin (with the exception of "Lullabye" written by Mohler and Becca Popkin), who makes his debut as a lyricist. While Mohler sings "Newerwaves," ex-Catherine Wheel front man Rob Dickinson is the voice behind the title track and "Love Is Real," while Rock n' Roll Hall of Famer Bill Medley (one-half of the Righteous Brothers) takes the mic on "Lullabye." Corgan teams up with Chamberlin for "Loki Cat." Chamberlin says, "I played the CD for Billy and when he heard that song, he immediately asked if I had lyrics. I told him, 'No, the song is an instrumental.' He said," I would love to sing on that song! Write me some lyrics and a melody." So after a couple of attempts at lyrics, I hit on something we both liked." The chemistry and love between these two friends makes for one of the strongest tracks on the record.

The album's lyrical concept, Chamberlin says, is freedom of the spirit: "I think that love and spirituality - and this cosmic vibration that runs through everybody - is a real thing. For me, music is a testament that if you acknowledge the vibrations going on around you, it's possible to reproduce that in to an art form. To me, this CD is an acknowledgement of the natural vibrations running through me. It was just a period of my life where I was able to channel those into music because I was given the freedom to do so."

[1100ww]

M-AUDIO - Jimmy Chamberlin ? The Making of ProSessions 24

Heavily immersed in the studio scene for the last decade, Chamberlin has spent countless hours in the studio trying to coordinate the creative energy of four different individuals. “I've recently gotten into Ableton Live and computer-based technology,” Chamberlin enthuses. “These types of resources are invaluable—and that's how I assemble songs now. It’s a lot timelier for me to sit home and do an arrangement with Ableton Live than it is for me to amass four guys from different parts of Los Angeles, stick them in a sweaty room and have to sit there. It's so much easier to go, ‘Here's the new arrangement. Learn it, come back, play it.’ It’s so much more time-effective and everybody's on the same page when you get to rehearsal. On the last Pumpkins record, we demoed a lot of stuff, recorded to DAT or Pro Tools, and chopped and pieced the arrangements together. It was nice to be able to just chop it apart, without having to count on four people getting the arrangement right. As far as time goes, it’s a great tool.”