Rough Mixes (2007)
10 tracks by Robert James
I tried doing the RPM challenge in 2007 but was delayed for a couple of months. These are rough mixes of mostly finished songs recorded at that time.
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Four Walls
"Four Walls" is the oldest song of the bunch. It was written early in 1992. I had been working with a drummer friend of mine for a while during the Fall 1991 semester. We'd get together once every few weeks... (more)
Thursday
Written during Spring Break 2001. Can you guess which day it comes from? The lyric is about how I was on day 4 and had already run out of ideas. Kinda typical.
Commented on 1 times.
Stupid Punk Song #1
"Stupid Punk Song" is... well... stupid. I woke up one morning and the entire song, lyrics and all, was stuck in my head. I let it rattle around for a few days before putting it down on my new 8-track. I played... (more)
Blink Your Eye
Early Prime Meridian song, also known as "Mega Closer" as we used to stretch out the ending in huge Rock fashion.
Something New
Originally written in my bedroom in 1992 or so. Later rewritten and played by Prime Meridian from 1998-2000. It was basically forgotten about until I found it on a tape in 2004 and brought it out for Break Even.
Commented on 1 times.
A Matter of Time
Written while working at Northeast Broadcasting School. Started out as a piano/bass/drums groove and sort of evolved into this forgettable number. The lyrics took about 4 seconds to write.
Photograph
Written during a spring break writing experiment in 1999. Write one song a day. I did it pretty easily. This is about a photo of my grandmother that I saw at her wake in 1998.
The Sun
Written at Northeast Broadcasting School as an experiment in replacing recorded sounds with samples. It was played pretty much as is by Prime Meridian in about '99 or '00 or so. It was heavily reworked and... (more)
Commented on 2 times.
Vanishing Point
"Vanishing Point" was an attempt to force myself to write a full song. I had been playing in Break Even for about a year and found myself completely unable to write music. I had just set up a nice little 8... (more)
Mall Rat Blues
"Mall Rat Blues" was written by Prime Meridian in 1997. It was the 2nd song we wrote. It was also the first song we dropped. I don't think we ever played it live. It's stupid and boring, but I have never been... (more)
Break Even - The Right Place (2004)
7 tracks by Robert James
Jeff Bissett - Vocals, percussion, drums
Dave Gammon - Bass
Bob Sullivan - Drums
Rob Parker - Guitar, Voice (aka Me)
Steve Wyka - Guitar, Keyboards
The band made one record with Tim Sullivan on guitar. They wanted to add another guitar player. D
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Break Even - The Irony of it All
Steve's drop D grunge rocker mixed with Jeff's great lyric. This song and the title track make the whole experience worthwhile for me. Jeff played the drums on this one and tore it a new one. He is the King.
Break Even - The Right Place
Bassist Dave Gammon wrote most of this one. I added the little 2 bar break in the middle of the verses and some how ended up with a writing credit. This is the best song of the bunch in my opinion. Jeff... (more)
Break Even - Turn Away
Steve Wyka, our other guitarist, wrote this one. He spent a ton of time on the leads trying to get the sound just right. The 12-string was my idea. Surely the most mileage I've ever gotten out of 6 notes.
Break Even - Four Walls
This recording came out absolutely terrible. Where'd the cymbals go? I knew I had them here a minute ago. Sorry about that guys, I totally dropped the ball on this one. Fitting seeing as it was the only... (more)
Break Even - Suicide
Steve Wyka wrote this one and played the leads. I added the lame little harmony parts at the end because I am a soloing whore and just needed to do something with this song.
Break Even - The Sun
One of those songs that I wrote ages ago that everyone wants to play.
Break Even - Black Mark (Live)
A live take of a song from the band's first record. I recorded this onto my 8-track right off the board. I had versions from two shows. One show had the band playing well but my leads were a little weak... (more)
Prime Meridian - 4 Track Demos (1999)
5 tracks by Robert James
Maria Withey - Drums
Mike Geyer - Bass
Rob Parker (me) - Guitar and Vocals
We didn't play out much. We never went into a professional studio. We did, however, record a mountain of 4 track tapes. Almost all of them were live recordings of rehearsal
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Prime Meridian - Overexposed
One of our attempts at an actual demo. The lyrics are about being completely sick of the constant media coverage of the OJ Simpson trial. It was topical at the time I wrote it. Not so much anymore.
Prime Meridian - Instinct
One of our attempts at an overdubbed demo. It doesn't work. There is actually a couple of bars missing after the first verse. We had no isolation and no monitors when we recorded it so I couldn't really... (more)
Prime Meridian - Accidently
A very sloppy attempt at a demo. We all liked this song a lot back then. Now that I listen to it again I can't figure out why. Enjoy!
Prime Meridian - Halloween
A holiday song. If I remember it came together in about 5 minutes. We started noodling on some goofy little riff and before we knew it the song was complete. It's been a long time, but I think Mike the... (more)
Prime Meridian - Blink of an Eye
This was a rehearsal. We called the song Mega-Closer because we used to sit on the last chord for about a week at a time. I liked the little instrumental riff, and I loved the dynamic changes. Otherwise the song is kinda hokey, but I still like it.