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Alan K. Stout
When it came time to record a song for the final "Concert For A Cause" album, I obviously wanted to do something special. I've been contributing a track to the annual charity CD every year since 2003, when - at the urging of my friend and former Weekender editor Joe Student - I included my original song, "Summer Days," on the "Concert For A Cause II" record.
Since then, it's something I've enjoyed doing every year. And, in a way, I've let it serve as a tribute to some of my favorite artists of all time. One year, I recorded a Beatles song. Then, I did a Bruce Springsteen song. And I followed with tunes by John Lennon, Elvis Presley, KISS and John Mellencamp. I've always worked with Bret Alexander at Saturation Acres Recording Studio, and I've always had a blast.
Working on a track for the CFC album each year has also allowed me the chance to work in the studio with some of my favorite local musicians. Bret not only produced all of my recordings, but he also played on all of them. Ron Simasek, Jeff Feltenberger and Paul Smith of The Badlees have also appeared, as have A.J. Jump from Underground Saints, Paul Young from Panacea, Dustin Drevitch from Lemongelli and Jane Train from M-80. Jim "Rosey," the guitarist in my old band from college, also played on one of them. Great times. Every time.
Over the years, I've accumulated enough material that I now have a full album's worth of songs, though they're actually scattered across eight different CDs. And again, when it came time to do one last track for the final CFC album, I thought long and hard about what I'd like to do.
The band I chose was U2. They've always been on my list of groups I wanted to cover, and I've said many times that they are, without question, the greatest rock band I've ever seen. In fact, for the past 25 years, I'd say they've been the best rock band in the world. The song I chose was "Walk On." And the reasons were many.
First, I think it's one of the best songs the band has ever written. Second, its lyrics, in many ways, seemed absolutely perfect for the final "Concert For a Cause." And third, its lyrics also seemed perfect for the beneficiary of this year's show, the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Anti-Bullying Program. If you listen to the words, I think you'll know what I mean.
I was very fortunate to have some great help in shaping the recording. Bret, as always, was magnificent in the studio, and he and drummer A.J. Jump laid down all of the basic tracks. I then cut some vocals, but I left plenty of the song unsung. And that's because - for this particular track and this particular album - I didn't care very much about what I sang or what I didn't. I wanted it to be an ensemble recording with some of my all-time favorite singers, and I was very blessed to have them all show up at the studio on what would become a very memorable night.
Bret Alexander of The Badlees. John Smith from Underground Saints. Eddie Appnel from Mere Mortals. Tim Farley from Panacea. Dustin Drevitch from Lemongelli. All in the studio together, all singing on the same track. In the end, all I ended up singing was the intro, two verses and the bridge. I also joined in with everybody on the chorus at the end. Other than that, I stayed out of the way.
Ironically, or coincidentally, the session took place on Dec. 8 and on the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's death. We didn't plan it that way, but that was the only night the studio was available, and I do think we felt some of Lennon's spirit in that room. There are several framed posters of Lennon in the studio, and it did seem fitting that we were recording a song written by Bono, one of Lennon's greatest disciples, and that we were doing it for what we all felt was a very good cause.
Of course, I did bring some cold beverages, and at one point, we had ourselves a nice toast to Mr. Lennon.
What happened over the course of those few hours was one of the coolest things I've ever seen and certainly something I am proud to have been a part of. These guys - all very gifted singers - worked seamlessly together. We didn't even have a real plan before we got there as to who was going to sing what parts of the song, but we worked that out rather quickly, and after that, it was magic. No ego. No tension. Nothing but great camaraderie and creativity. Everybody contributed. Everybody had ideas on how to try and make the song better. Eddie sang behind John. Tim sang behind me. Sometimes, we all sang together. We had a wonderful time, and I know I'm speaking for all of us when I say we came up with something we're all pretty happy with.
The song, along with 29 others, will appear on "Concert For A Cause 9," which will be released on Wednesday to all Gallery of Sound stores. There will also be a CD-release party on Thursday night at The Woodlands. Linked here is our version of "Walk On," which is set to some images of "Concert For Karen/Concert For A Cause" from the past 12 years.
I hope to work with these people again on other projects, and I know I'll be back in the studio again someday. But as for "Concert For a Cause," this is the final show. One last time, and then .... we walk on.
"All this you can leave behind ...."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-7vXcEGbpk
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About the Author
Alan K. Stout is the music columnist at The Weekender and has been covering rock and pop music in NEPA for more than 15 years. His column, "Music on The Menu" appears every week in The Weekender.
Alan has won a Keystone Press Award for Excellence in Journalism for his music coverage and has been voted Northeast Pennsylvania's "Favorite Newspaper Columnist" seven times.
Alan's interviews include conversations with Billy Joel, Steven Tyler, Eddie Van Halen, David Bowie and Ray Charles. He also wrote the liner-notes to the entire Motley Crue catalog, he is the host of the monthly "Weekender/Mountaingrown Original Music Series" and is the founder of NEPA's annual "Concert For A Cause." He also hosts a weekly radio show, "Music On The Menu Live," which can be heard every Sunday night at 8 p.m. on 102.3-FM, The Mountain.
In addition to his work with The Weekender, Alan also serves as the Newspapers In Education Manager at The Times Leader.
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