{"id":628,"date":"2020-05-25T15:58:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-25T13:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taractaylor.com\/TCT\/?p=628"},"modified":"2021-10-03T20:14:26","modified_gmt":"2021-10-03T18:14:26","slug":"this-is-how-we-like-to-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taractaylor.com\/TCT\/628\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThis is How We Like To Play\u201d ;-)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey there!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Saved by a hair appointment, no more COVID-19 roots!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I decided to write this blog entry after \u201cWorld is Watching\u201d episode 08 (Season Finale) premiered because I am gearing this post to be more like a postmortem\/reflection of the whole house concert and collaboration process. Here we go!<\/span><\/p>\n

The songs I chose to perform for the \u201cWorld is Watching\u201d episode 8 (aka The Season Finale) were \u201cLove Will Tear Us Apart\u201d a Joy Division cover and \u201cLeather & Love – Berlin Darkroom Dance Mix Featuring Matthew Presidente.\u00a0 The reason why these songs were chosen is because both songs have a long and vast history with myself, Matthew Presidente and Don.\u00a0 Don has had a concept for shooting \u201cLove Will Tear Us Apart\u201d for a long time and this was the perfect time for Don\u2019s visual concept to come to life.<\/span><\/p>\n

My love for Joy Division & New Order…a brief history.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cLove Will Tear Us Apart\u201d is a song by the Manchester Post Punk band Joy Division.\u00a0 I think I first heard the song in 1988 on a mixed tape that was given to me by a friend and coincidentally the tape also had a New Order song called \u201cBlue Monday\u201d on it.\u00a0 At this time in my life I was getting these great mixtapes with bands like Depeche Mode, Erasure, Yaz (Yazoo if you\u2019re outside of Canada), The Smiths, The Cure and S-Express and I was falling in love with alternative\/electronic music. When I had heard both \u201cLove Will Tear Us Apart\u201d and \u201cBlue Monday\u201d I fell in love with them immediately not knowing that the two bands were related to each other. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"I discovered the history of both these bands in 1990 and It drew me ever closer to what all the members would do.\u00a0 I have been a fan of all members in and out of the two bands.\u00a0 Peter Hook would do projects like \u201cRevenge\u201d, \u201cMonaco\u201d and later on \u201cPeter Hook & the Light\u201d & also also recently collaborated with Gorrillaz. \u00a0 Bernard Sumner would be a part of the projects \u201cElectronic\u201d, Bad Lieutenant, and he would also do guest vocals for electronic bands 808 State & the Chemical Brothers.\u00a0 Stephen Morris & Gillian Gilbert would also do a separate project called \u201cThe Other Two\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"As a side note…Peter Hook has not been a part of New Order for years.\u00a0 I have met him on a few occasions at his Peter Hook & the Light shows and at a book tour stop in San Francisco for \u201cSubstance: Inside New Order\u201d.\u00a0 I have seen New Order with and without Peter Hook as a member.\u00a0 I have not met the other members of New Order (I would like to…some day.).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In 2008 Photographer, Video and Film Director Anton Corbjon released a film about Joy Division called \u201cControl\u201d.\u00a0 In my opinion the film is an absolute masterpiece and after I watched the film I knew I had to cover \u201cLove Will Tear Us Apart\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In regards to covering a much beloved and sacred song like \u201cLove Will Tear Us Apart\u201d (also like \u201cEnjoy the Silence\u201d) I felt I had to dive deep into what was in my own heart.\u00a0 Would the song be like the original which is a song you can dance to at 120 bpm or would it be a melancholy slow ballad to reflect my feelings about a brilliant lyricist taken from us too soon.\u00a0 In the end I would go with a reflective melancholy ballad.\u00a0 I proposed this idea to Matthew and he was totally onboard to play piano\/synth and backing vocals on the cover. \u00a0 When I brainstormed my idea for the cover with Don he immediately had a concept. For you see, Don is a guy with an eye for design. \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019s had a design concept for the video. \u00a0<\/span>I would be dressed in black and lit to appear in void. \u00a0Matthew would be lit in a similar manner and added to the video like a ghost.\u00a0 Since we currently don\u2019t have ability to rent spaces due to COVID-19 we would have to settle with our at home DIY film studio!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Don moved our living room furniture for space, rigged the space with a series of lighting stands and truss poles and hung black curtains as a backdrop.\u00a0 We set the mic stand in the center, riggaed a spotlight on me.\u00a0 I was dressed in a two piece outfit to look like a solid back gown, long back gloves and a small hat with a mesh \u201cblack widow\u201d face cover attached.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"We filmed multiple takes of my live performance. \u00a0Once again we selected the best single take and sent it to Matthew to record his parts. Don spoke to Matthew and described the lighting and “stage” setup required so he could match his living room film set to ours.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Matthew sent his footage to Don we immediately looked at the video and as usual Matthew did not disappoint.\u00a0 The feel from my footage and his matched perfectly and then it was time for Don to Utilize Final Cut Pro to edit it all together.<\/span><\/p>\n

The end result was brilliant and haunting. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"The second song I had to film for episode 8 was \u201cLeather & Love\u201d.\u00a0 So, Matthew Presidente and I wrote \u201cLeather & Love\u201d and he released it on his 2017 album titled \u201cEvery Single Sin\u201d.\u00a0 The song is about Matthew\u2019s first adventure he encountered (with Don & I) at the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"The sound of the original song on the album has a Roland 303 GrooveBox, piano, synth supported with a little electric guitar (from me).\u00a0 The vocal is a he\/she duet. We managed to record the track in our home studio and it sat on the shelf for a while. In 2017 Matthew released the original version of Leather and Love as part of his album “Every Single Sin”… Seem appropriate.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2019 Matthew released the album \u201cMatthew Presidente with The Boys\u201d. The album is a compilation of Matthew\u2019s favorite songs he has written over the years.\u00a0 The songs were re-recorded with the band and \u201cLeather & Love\u201d was rerecorded and added to the album.\u00a0 The album has a \u201crock\u201d sound which is a little of a departure from his previous work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"That album \u00a0\u201cMatthew Presidente with The Boys\u201d got me thinking about rerecording \u201cLeather & Love\u201d with a twist.\u00a0 My plan was to rewrite some of the lyrics to reflect our times together in Berlin and rerecord the song as a dance mix. I approached Matthew with the idea and once again he loved the idea and he was totally onboard! \u00a0 After reworking the song it was ready to be rerecorded & filmed for Episode 8 and as a plus, the finger I sliced up a few weeks ago was 95% healed so, I could play guitar again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once again Don staged the apartment accordingly and I dressed up like I would for a night at the KitKat Club in Berlin.\u00a0 We recorded and filmed our part, sent the files to Matthew via Dropbox.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Matthew sent back his recording and video footage so, <\/span>Don could work his Final Cut Pro magic.\u00a0 Matthew also wanted to do his version of Leather & Love with the Band so, it was agreed that episode 8 would open with Leather and Love (with the band) and my version of \u201cLeather and Love – Berlin Darkroom Mix (featuring Matthew Presidente)\u201d would be the closing song for the episode.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWorld is Watching\u201d episode 08 (Season Finale) premiered on Youtube Monday, May 11th at 8:00 p.m. (pacfic) and due to the 9 hour time difference the episode premiered in Berlin on Tuesday, May 12th at 5:00a.m. (CET).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The Sun Rising in the East!<\/p><\/div>\n

Don and I made the decision to stay awake and watch the premier with everyone on Canada\u2019s West Coast to watch the show and participate in the Youtube live chat.\u00a0 This decision might have messed up our sleep for the week but, it was totally worth it.\u00a0 It was really wonderful being a part of the live Youtube chat with all of our friends in Vancouver who were also watching the premier.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Coming to the end of the show after \u201cLeather & Love\u201d played there was an unexpected encore by Matthew.\u00a0 Matthew\u2019s father had passed away a few days before episode 8\u2019s premier and Matthew is a person that will push forward because his mantra is \u201cthe show must go on.\u201d \u00a0On the piano solo Matthew played Simon & Garfunkel’s song \u201cBridge Over Troubled Water\u201d and dedicated it to his dearly departed father <\/span>Captain Peter Tobias Presidente.\u00a0 Don and I knew Matthew\u2019s father and we really liked him so, at 6:30 am (Berlin time) Matthew\u2019s performance brought us to tears.<\/span><\/p>\n

To close a moment of time in this blog…<\/span><\/p>\n

I have to say I really enjoyed participating in Matthew President\u2019s the \u201cWorld is Watching\u201d house concert Series. It\u2019s been a lot of fun recording, filming and collaborating. Don has really enjoyed filming, producing and editing. I have been so productive in the past 8 weeks and I could not ask for anything better to do during a pandemic. You can see the full series here on YouTube<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now that season one has come to a close I am looking at starting my own at home Youtube variety show.\u00a0 I am currently contemplating a few formats that are on the table.\u00a0 I will keep all of you posted. \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

So, for all of you out there that decided to take a moment to read this blog I hope you all stay safe and stay healthy!<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for a gin martini…\u00a0<\/span>Cheers!<\/span><\/p>\n

TCT\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n