You're The S#!t 2 Me (Alternate Version)(2009)

take deep breaths 
and drink a little water 
settle down and surrender to the bottom 
the pills have won 
but l get the feeling you ain’t done 

I have robbed and I have lied 
and I have stolen from my kin 
and I have sworn I was invincible 
and pulled far away from all my friends 
this is how I roll and how I think 
and how I might pretend 
but you’re the difference now today 
between everything I do 
and everything I did 

so rise and take a stand 
but offer no demands 
‘cause if we don’t kick right today 
then baby we may not have a chance 

we’re drowning with the band 
it’s like we just don’t give a damn 
I just don’t understand 
why I love drugs and 
sex and money 
and you 

before when I was born, 
my gramps, he was a hurricane 
he drank until the death and as it were, 
my mama did the same 
their ghosts are in my blood 
but my life is in your hands 
so I’m begging you from the bottom up 
please listen up to your man 

so rise and take a stand 
but offer no demands 
‘cause if we don’t kick right today 
then baby we may not have a chance 

we’re drowning with the band 
it’s like we just don’t give a damn 
I just don’t understand 
why I love sex and 
drugs and money and 
rolling them bones and 
licking those lips 
when you’re coming on strong and 
you’re shaking that bong 
I love every goddamn tiny sexy little thing about you 

so take another breath and 
let’s get set for hope and prosperity and 
forget about that itch and heal the stitch, 
the blood and the misery 
for you are not a victim and 
I am not a whore and 
I’m begging you from the bottom up 
can I give you just a little more and 
understand 

we’re drowning with the band 

***** 

Music and Lyrics by Brett Lyda 

Brett Lyda: vox, guitars, keys 
George Bernardo: drums, keys 
Michael Feldman: piano 
Jason Chesney: bass 

Produced by 
George Bernardo & Jeremy Underwood 

Mixed by David Bianco 

Recorded and engineered by George Bernardo, Michael Feldman, Brett Lyda, Shawn Power and Brian Walsh. 

Mastered by Tim Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering 

Design by Canteen 

from the Elvis Orbison LP 'Invisible Me' 

For more info and exclusive content: 

www.elvisorbison.com

Drowning With The Band (2010)

Mei Lana (2013)

With a little David Bowie, James Brown, Talking Heads, Beck, Steve Miller Band, and a pinch of Dr. Dre sprinkled throughout, "Neptina" is undoubtedly the funkiest song I will ever compose. The demo version dates all the way back to 2004 and it sat around for 8 years before I seriously took it on. But once my first Elvis Orbison album "Invisible Me" was put to bed, I went back in the vaults to see what I could use to help build out my forthcoming second LP "From The Hip To The Heart" and there it was, just as I had left it, replete with a few guitar licks and a one-take scratch vocal of unintelligible white soul gibberish. 

I really wanted this next album to ooze that cool, dry, 70's Pink Floyd, Pretty Things, Alan Parsons-ish analog vibe. I brought some songs over to Tracy Chisolm in South Pasadena to record drums, with all of this 70's rhetoric in mind, and called on steadfast skin man George Bernardo to play the role of funky drummer. I remember asking Tracy for the dryest drum sound he could deliver. "You mean like Neil Young and Crazy Horse?" My heart skipped and I fell in love. "Um, yes, that will do just fine". Tracy is accustomed to producing big rock drum sounds so I was excited that he instantly knew what I wanted and was up for the challenge. 

Once we were up and running, George pretty much killed it. My only request was that there were to be no cymbals for "Neptina". No cymbals and no guitars. For some reason, this felt like a bold idea to me. George obliged and every take was better than the last one. That's how Georgie rolls. The problem with heavies like Bernardo is that you just wanna keep on recording to see what they'll come up with next. This can be hell during post production sorting through all that extra media. But these are Cadillac problems, someone once told me. 

I also asked Jason Chesney (Santana, Old Californio) to play live on these sessions alongside George. Jason had played beautifully on my first Elvis Orbison album. I'm convinced he is the bastard offspring of the late Motown great James Jamerson. So fluid, so organic. And forever the consummate professional, always on time and well prepared. His contributions to this album are noteworthy and cherished. Unfortunately, for "Neptina" I gave Jason some bad direction and asked him to trace over the demo version's bass line that I had composed myself. Over time, It grew too repetitious for me and I chose to abandon the idea. In retrospect, I should have just let Jason be Jason. Fortunately everything worked out in the end, which I will get to shortly. 

After the Chisholm sessions concluded, I called on music maestro MIke Feldman to play piano and other keyboards. Michael's capacity to absorb musical ideas and vocabularies is astounding. If I'm thinking it should sound like Dr. John circa 1968, he'll go on Spotify, listen for a few minutes, internalize its essence and then deliver excellence (and tastefully so, I might add). Never seen anything like it. For "Neptina" I asked him to trace over my skeleton keyboard parts and then do his thing. This time, everything took beautifully. Perhaps I had learned my lesson with Jason and loosened the leash a bit. The keyboard solo you hear on the LP version is what happens when you let Feldman be Feldman. So good. He really should be a session musician. 

With all these great players, the track was sounding pretty hot. I'd phased out almost all of the midi programming, dropped all of my guitars, but kept the cool Dr. Dre inspired flute-ish synth line you hear in the instrumental choruses. All the while, my original one-take scratch vocal of gibberish was still serving as a placeholder. 

It was time to call Alanna Lin and see what she could add. I knew I was asking her to work outside her comfort zone, but I wanted a female vocal on this record that was unique and would not try and emulate that 'gimme shelter black girl' vocal cliche that worked so nicely for the Stones but too often ruins many white soul rock records. We tracked for a day and a half and by the end, Alanna came up with a crucial counter melody vocal which is featured prominently throughout the track. I love it. Thanks to Alanna, the song shifted from potential "KC and the Sunshine Band" territory over to a more respectable "Blondie/Roxy Music" lineage. We freestyled all sorts of Yoko weirdness for this session. Background vocals, crazy alternate vocals, spoken word and God knows what else. Some of it is really pretty cool. Perhaps an alternate version release is in order. 

It was during this time that I was beginning to seriously doubt my bass line that Jason had so graciously obliged to play. The part needed to be a bit more minimalist. I kept picturing it sort of popping in and out at unexpected places, like something you'd hear on one of James Brown's 70's deep cuts. I mentioned to Alanna that I was bringing in bassist Joey Maramba (John Cale, Rickie Lee Jones, Ninja Academy) for a separate song and she suggested I give him a shot at 'Neptina'. I'd known Joey for a decade and had played with him once or twice. He is loved by many and has so much intuitive musical talent, it boggles the mind how good he is. I mentioned to Alanna that if anyone from our Highland Park scene of players would ascend to another level professionally, it would be Joey. He's just got that perfect blend of affability, taste, and talent. All I said to him was something like "70's James Brown" and "pop in and out" and he understood inherently. I'm going on record as saying that Joey saved my song. Or at least elevated it to another level. Joey was the missing link. 

The days right before mixing were stressful. A bonafide deadline had been set with veteran uber-mixer David Bianco (Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty) and I still had a few fixes and flourishes to tend to. It was time to hunker down and seriously commit, but now I was hearing orchestral strings in weird places. My mind was racing. Should I or shouldn't I? The strings could be too much. Plus, do I even have a decent string sound at my disposal? Cheap orchestral plug-ins will bring a good track to it's knees. But it's go time, so here I am, in the midnight hour, composing little lines with the pitch bender, trying to capture the essence of the TV theme song from "Dexter". Are these lines good enough? Who taught you you how to play keyboards? God, I wish Feldman were here. Ugh. The process. 

But the biggest decision was whether I would put forth and write and record a brand new set of lyrics or would I stick with my one and only vocal pass from 2004? I did give it a few tries but what I came up with was anything but magical. So I made the call. It had to be 2004. That one improvised pass had endured thus far, after all. It was fun. It was spontaneous. And it was "only rock and roll" as they say in the biz. What finally sold me was that, at it's core, I wanted this album to have moments of genuine uncut honesty and you can't get any more honest than a first take. That vocal is my high school senior mullet photo. So tap your feet, have a good laugh and enjoy- my treat.
credits
released 05 January 2013 
Written by Brett Lyda 
Produced by Brett Lyda 
Mixed by David Bianco 
Recorded by Brett Lyda, Tracy Chisholm, 
Mike Feldman & George Bernardo 

LP Version 

Brett Lyda: Vocals, Synths 
Joey Maramba: Bass 
Mike Feldman: Hammond, Rhodes 
George Bernardo: Drums, Shaker 
Alanna Lin: Background Vocals 

Demo Version 

Brett Lyda: Vocals, Synths, Gtrs 
George Bernardo: Drums

Neptina (2012)

Late one night, I was licking my wounds in the "loser's lounge" section of Kyle Gass' Burbank condo after a brutal no-limit poker beatdown. As a courtesy to the fallen, he had this amazing econo-line Martin acoustic guitar lying around- it was so groovy. With a capo attached, it produces this lovely sort of Lindsay Buckingham/Chinese Guzheng sound, and it wasn't long before the main piece of music for "Chung King" revealed itself. 

I'd been listening to Devendra Banhart's brilliant "Cripple Crow" album for awhile and grew disappointed that I hadn't yet recorded something as organic as that record. A lot of my music is fairly ornamental, which I like, but sometimes all the bells and whistles run the risk of obscuring the heart or essence of a song without my realizing it. So "Chung King Summer" is my attempt to keep things simple and try and preserve the earthy dynamic which I'm so in love with but hadn't yet wholly incorporated into my repertoire. 

I'd been wanting to collaborate with Alanna Lin for a while. She is an excellent songwriter and one of the most genuine human beings I know. I really felt she might suit well the occasion and lend creedence to this whole 'genuine article' aesthetic I was shooting for. But she is a fleeting beauty and sometimes hard to pin down (as fine artists can be), and so it took many attempts and plenty of patience to persuade her to visit my studio in South Pasadena. When she finally arrived, I was so excited I could barely hide my enthusiasm. I'm convinced she should be famous, only the rest of the world doesn't know it yet. 

By sheer luck, it was the most beautiful day of summer 2012. There's an old enchanted magnolia tree that sits in a park by the library near the center of town. It is truly a massive wonder. I asked Alanna if she wouldn't mind shading alone under this tree for a spell with an iPod, a pen and paper. She obliged and returned a few hours later with some lyrics and a melody. Just like that. I'm a little jealous of artists who can drum up the goods in such a small amount of time. It takes me forever. Which brings me to my next thought. 

I'd had an orphan piece of music lying around for years which grew into the instrumental section at the end. I was never completely satisfied with it. As with the tree scenario, I stayed out of the way while Alanna sketched and tracked her vocals, hoping that my absence might facilitate a somewhat purer moment. When I returned, I observed that she had also spontaneously composed a keyboard string score for the end music section. To her, it was merely a device to root out melody and was never intended to stay. But it was beautiful. One of the lovliest moments on this recording happened as an afterthought. Just another one of those happy accidents that comes with making art. And I was blown away. 

With the vocals now recorded and this new unexpected emphasis on the end music, I started listening again. This time, I heard Dylan's "Nashville Skyline"- in particular, the sweet percussion found on Bob's classic "Lay Lady Lay" which served as the soundtrack to a beloved, freeing, and beautiful summer road trip across America many years ago. Summer. I asked the always reliable George Bernardo if he wouldn't mind assembling an assortment of pots and pans etc. What he returned with was even better than what I was hearing in my head. It was a delicate side of George that I'd yet to hear. With these two great artists at my side, the end result, in my mind, is one of the most beautiful and understated collaborations I've ever participated in. 

So thank you Alanna and George. 

Sincerely, 

Brett
credits
released 28 August 2013 
Alanna Lin: Vocals, Strings 
Brett Lyda: Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Background Vocals 
George Bernardo: Percussion 

Written by Brett Lyda & Alanna Lin 
Produced by Brett Lyda 
Recorded by Brett Lyda & George Bernardo 
Mixed by David Bianco 

Chung King Summer (w/ Alanna Lin of Fascinoma) (2013)

you are the loveliest 
girl in the room 
you are cool 
you are beautifully blue 

you taught me many things 
that I never use 
it was you you bought me 
these walking shoes 

and we waited for another day 
to come and blow us away 

like perfume 
sweet perfume 
drifting in out of the room 
sweet perfume 
the sweet illusion 

but still it came undone 
and still nobody won 

you are the kindest and sweetest 
vision of grace and godliness 
you are so blessed 
and I wanna thank you 
for bringing out the very very worst in me 
and the very best 

you gave me every beat of your heart 
and every inch of your breast 
and I’ve no regrets 
but I cannot be who you want me to be 
you will be missed 

and we waited for another day 
to come and blow us away 
to come and make it ok 

like perfume 
sweet perfume 
drifting in out of the room 
sweet perfume 
the sweet illusion 

***** 

Music and Lyrics by Brett Lyda 

Brett Lyda: vox, guitars, additional piano 
George Bernardo: drums 
Jason Chesney: bass 
Lloyd Tucker: piano 
Michael Feldman: keyboards 

Produced by 
George Bernardo & Jeremy Underwood 

Mixed by David Bianco 

Recorded and engineered by George Bernardo, Jeremy Underwood, David Bianco, Michael Feldman, Brett Lyda, Geof Brandin, Michael Marqueson, Shawn Power and Brian Walsh 

Recorded over three years in various houses and garages in Los Feliz, Silverlake, South Pasadena, Highland Park, Pasadena, Hollywood, Glendale, Culver City, San Gabriel, Echo Park, Happy Valley, North Hollywood, San Diego and St Lucia 

Additional recording at 

Dave’s Room in North Hollywood 

and Spotless Digital Studios in San Diego 

Mastered by Louie Teran at Marcussen Mastering 

Design by Canteen 

For more info and exclusive content: 

www.elvisorbison.com

Like Perfume (2010)

West S (Circa 1969) (2011)

In 2011, with a baby on the way, I commenced in earnest my desire to get this and a new album's worth of other tracks finished. I'd been fiddling with the demo for a few years, hunting and pecking and "Feet" is the latest in a long line of original songs that have been gestating for anywhere from about 5-10 years. I set up shop for a weekend at Tracy Chisholm's Del Boca Vista Studios and starting tracking drums and bass for several songs. I brought in the lock-step teamwork of funky drummer George Bernardo and bass-master supreme Jason Chesney and made comps of their best takes. Tracy helped us get a really nice dry sound, and from there, I started adding elements from the demo like the swirling synth hook, some funky guitar "chanks" and some rudimentary string parts as well as most of my lead vocal. Thanks George, Jason & Tracy.

My next stop was chameleon keyboardist Mike Feldman's house where he tried two ideas. He gave me about six passes that were all pretty sweet. I assembled two comps of his best parts, moving around a few sections, but for the most part keeping those lines nice and honest. One is a perky Hammond keyboard solo and the other, an equally stoney Rhodes solo. They were both excellent comps but how was I going to use both without overburdening the listener (or myself)? I was concerned I might have to lose some of this sublime goodness but then it occurred to me- why not to create one shorter 'single' version and a longer, jam band version with all the stuff I can't fit elsewhere? Bam. 'Problem' solved. If you really want to hear Feldman shine, check out the longer "Sax" version of "Feet" featuring some great extended keyboard parts. Thank you, Mike.

I'd been loving my recent collaborations with Fascinoma's Alanna Lin ("Chung King Summer") and I felt like this tune could really benefit from a good strong female hook. This is a formula straight from my love of Death Row producers like Dre and Daz Dillinger. I set her up in front of the mic and recorded her freestyling various phrases and melodies. For inspiration, she grabbed a nearby Storm Thorgerson photo book of much of his iconic album artwork. This is the guy responsible for many of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd's most famous album art designs, including "Dark Side of the Moon", "Houses of the Holy", "Physical Grafitti" & "Wish You Were Here" and many, many more. In retrospect, how appropriate that she would grab THAT book since, from the outset, I had always intended this to be my "Floyd" record. And so she stood in front of the mic, book in hand, conjuring phantom melodies inspired in part by Strom. There's all sorts of interesting vocal outtakes from these Alanna sessions, but the "keep it in the desert" line really stuck with me. That line takes some very interesting turns. I love it so much that I built an orchestral string part to mirror her vocals. It marries her vocal to the track in a way that kind of seals the deal for me . So thank you, Alanna Lin.  

As if this all this goodness wasn't enough, I still had a saxophone solo from the demo that I couldn't let go of. Way back in 2007, Javier Vergara popped in for a visit to lay down some sax for the Evangenitals' "Sun Is Shining." We had a few extra minutes so I asked him if he'd lay down something on "Feet." In 2012, I took a closer look at his sax track and felt there was definitely something there that oozed 1970's psychedelia, but tend I agree with Courtney Love in that you have to be careful with the saxophone- it's really easy to fall into cliché and ruin a good rock recording with that instrument. But, Floyd did it, and for this record, it seemed wildly appropriate.  But it still needed something extra. I'd never heard a backwards saxophone before so I tried grafting Javier's forward-moving intro line with another segment of his performance which I rendered backwards. It makes it a little freakier. Can you spot where I made the switcheroo? But as with the Feldman keyboard parts, the backwards sax solo could be too much information for one song that has literally no chord changes and so I left it off the single version. You can hear Javier's excellent contribution on the "Sax" version of this song include on this EP. Thank you, Javier.

Once I had all these elements up on the canvas, I realized I still had an itch that had yet to be scratched- moog. I kept hearing a super low burpy moog synth note to play underneath those sweet Alanna hooks. Now THATS Floyd. But I can't tell you hard hard it was for me to manifest this sound from my head. Until I contacted Michael Marquesen, who always brings the secret magic spice. Moog! Thanks, Michael.

Written by Brett Lyda & Alanna Lin 
Produced by Brett Lyda 
Mixed by George Bernardo 
Recorded by Brett Lyda, Tracy Chisholm, 
Mike Feldman & George Bernardo 

Single Version: 
Brett Lyda: Vocals, Guitars, Synths
Alanna Lin: Vocals 
Jason Chesney: Bass 
Mike Feldman: Hammond, Rhodes 
George Bernardo: Drums
Michael Marquesen: Moog

Sax Version (same as above except):
Javier Vergara: Saxophone

Demo Version: 
Brett Lyda: Vocals, Synths, Gtrs 
George Bernardo: Drums
Javier Vergara: Saxophone

Feet Don't Fail Me (w/ Alanna Lin of Fascinoma) (2014)

It’s humid. There are hundreds of mosquitoes taking samples of you. The water flows languidly, almost tumbling over itself in heaps. Even the grass is despondent. What can you do? If you’re Brett Lyda, aka Elvis Orbison and the singer-songwriter for Soft Surfaces, you wait. Patiently. Sooner or later something will move, letting you know it’s time. Time to move your index finger from the B string to the G. Then you wait some more. There’s no hurry. You want to make sure it feels just right. And just right is just how Invisible Me feels. Like love: unplanned, serendipitous. It just feels...good, I’m guessing, is the word Mr. Lyda is thinking, in the gorgeously sleepy "Friend Like Me". But of course it need not be said. The feeling is all over this record. Even in the sad numbers, the implication is that all is well, or at least as it should be. I think it’s safe to say that Elvis Orbison lives up to its name, at least on a genealogical level. Using a moniker scoured from the remains of a John Lennon interview, Mr. Lyda has performed no small feat of alchemy in combining his father’s and mother’s (respectively) two favorite singers in a quip coined by a member of his own all-time favorite group.

Elvis Orbison

Popular tracks