Bad Omens For Good People

“I had initially wanted to do a project called “Butterfly.” But somewhere in the middle of making it, I felt I had gone down a different road than what I pictured “Butterfly” should be. So, instead, I’ve compiled all the tracks instead as “Bad Omens For Good People.” Because lots of bad things have and are going to happen to very good people. It is a disturbing truth. And this is a disturbing album. But I guess it is kind of hopeful too. You can take those bad omens, and spit in their eyes, you know, defy fate. It can be done, I suppose. I don’t know yet, I’m still learning.”
– Catch The Reference?, October, 2009

1. “Here Comes The Sun” (Harrison)
-the album opens with a most unusual and almost unrecognizable Beatle cover. It is made almost entirely without instruments, and instead just the voice (manipulated and mutilated all the way through.) Catch The Reference? name checks his secret crush in the track, but even in an isolated multitrack, it is virtually inaudible, let alone in this messy menagerie. Made in September 2009, after an awkward experience with aforementioned secret crush.

2. “Mariachi Man/Backwards Chat” (Traditional)
-in a nearby backyard, a Mariachi band was playing. Catch The Reference? was able to record them from his window. Later that night, him and his brother Justin recorded themselves saying “cuff” and “Jewish,” and reversed it, resulting in this strange ending to a “found” track.

3. “Key Bored” (Filosa)
-some noodling around with a virtual keyboard. Nothing more, nothing less.

4. “Somedays” (Filosa)
-this track has some history. Catch The Reference? wrote the lyrics on June 5th & 12th, 2008. This was around the time he was doing “Feedback-Laden Fantasies,” and also when Miley Cyrus first stirred the controversy pot with her Vanity Fair shoot. Catch The Reference? had written these lyrics with Miley in mind as a possible singer. Fast-forward more than a year to August (or late July) 2009. Catch The Reference? decided to forge ahead with a new album, on his new laptop. With his other 3 albums finished, but then unreleased, he decided to make a new basic track, to see where it would take him. As he worked on it, he felt the lyrics of “Somedays” would fit over it well. He continued work on the track over time, re-recording vocals, and adding a dub or two along the way.

5. “Bishop, Come” (Gutierrez)
-This is a short sound collage based mainly on brother Jonathan calling to the dog, Bishop. Bishop is the dog on the album cover. He is a Jack Russel, and his birthday is in July. This track probably hails from August.

6. “Dark As Viruses” (Filosa)
-The lyrics to this are older than anything else on this album, but the recording is the newest. The lyrics were written in June 2006. The lyrics all refer to various imagery that appeared dreams Catch The Reference? had. Catch The Reference? even dreamt Paul McCartney had done a song called “Dark As Viruses” on his “Red Rose Speedway” LP. The music was recorded in October 2009, and marks one of the few times Catch The Reference? had planned a song before recording it, having written down the basic structure the night before. Even so, the harmonica was a spur of the moment addition, and probably the most impressive instrumental work Catch The Reference? has ever produced. The harmonica goes from playing the melody to vamping over the track, making passing references to Jack Bruce’s “Train Time,” or Beck’s “Lampshade.” The drone track is from “Frozen Melt,” which in turn is from “Maytag Live.” Further more, the short sample used to make the drone is available as “Buzz.”

7. “A Moment’s Peace” (Filosa)

8. “You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told)” (White)
– atop a hot mess of recordings made with virtual instruments, Catch The Reference? recites some lines from a White Stripes song. In the beginning, we can hear a snippet of “For Your Love,” a Yardbirds song, sung in the style of Howlin’ Wolf. September, 2009.

9. “Not Much, How ‘Bout You?” (Filosa)
-just another splatter of virtual instruments. The track ends with a conversation between Catch The Reference? and his young sister, Sarah, who had barged in during recording.

10. “Experiment (It’s A Jazz Thing)” (Filosa)
-After seeing a jazz trio play outside by Columbus Circle (a good way to try and forget about a secret crush, by the way), Catch The Reference? decided to revisit “Good Friday (On A Holy Saturday),” which is the jumping point for this new track. Again, it is all virtual. September, 2009.

11. “Time Travel” (Filosa)
– first off, in August, 2009, Catch The Reference? recorded him and William jamming and talking. He cut it up, mixed it, and called it “Soundk Lodge.” Later in August, Catch The Reference? recorded a short track using Peter Krow’s guitar, and he titled the track “A Guitar’s Alright John, But You’ll Never Make A Living Out Of It.” Later into August, Catch The Reference remixed them heavily, and made this piece, originally meant to evoke a carnival. However, he saw it more as the sound of time travel, hence the name.

brother Jonathan on track 5
brother Justin on track 2
Bishop the dog on tracks 1 & 6 and on the cover
sister Sarah on tracks 1 & 9
William Gerrard on track 11 (on keyboard)

all instruments by Catch The Reference?