Making Space

New Album

Thank You

Making space was truly a team effort. At the heart of it lies the collaboration between Kenny Siegal and myself, two musician producers sticking their heads and hearts together for weeks on end, making something from my pile of song ideas. Kenny is such a gifted musician and his playing can be found all over the record. I am most grateful for his passion and vision, for bringing the band The Restless Age into the project and more specifically, the way he pushed me vocally to open up new doors. Old Soul is a beautiful creative zone that is sure to see me come around again! I want to thank Will, Lee and Brandon from The Restless Age, “my” band, who did such an amazing job on this record, feeling into my tunes and making them their own. Their creativity, riffs and licks kick and dance on these tunes! These guys have their own studio called The Building and I have recorded there more recently with an artist I produced (Sophia St Helen). Just a great, talented bunch of guys! Thank you to Gwen “Blueberry” Snyder, Carol Gingles and Kenny and Phoebe Siegal for singing backups! Thank you to Pete Adams for his Pedal Steel skills on “Slip Away”… like butter! Thank you to Ian Evans for playing one of the keyboard parts on “Love You For That”. Thank you to Matthew Cullen who mixed the album at Old Soul. He’s got a great set of ears on his head and I can’t wait to work with him again sometime! I also want to thank Clemens Knieper and Dan Stern who jammed some of the songs with me in 2016, exploring different approaches and directions.Thank you Jackson Whalan for working on early demos for some of these songs as well as helping with promotion efforts. Jackson is a hip-hop lyricist and producer with his own studio and I have known him for almost 15 years, when he was just a kid helping out at the studio. Thanks to Brandon Lewis who played drums on earlier versions of the songs. Two of those recordings made it onto the record, so I am glad his effort bore fruit! Brandon goes by B-Riddimz and loves to lay down sick hip-hop grooves. Kenny, Gwen, Phoebe and I did overdubs at the Old Carpet Factory Studio on Hydra Greece. Thanks to studio owner Stephan Colloredo for offering his space so generously! Thank you Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound for helping us get “Making Space” across the finish line (and for playing me a preview of “Talk Is Cheap”!!). This is my 4th record with Sterling and I can’t thank you guys enough!

Carol Gingles, thank you for all you have done to support me being an artist, for being such a light in my life and for singing on my record to boot! I love you and I look forward to helping you get your own beautiful songs out!

My late father Michael Baier was the executive producer of Making Space. Thank you for your never-ending support, your love for music and for your son, who misses you very much! I guess you know all about Making Space now! Sorry this took so long to get out! It would have been fun if you could have watched its release!

Studios:

SubStation Studio Housatonic MA

SubStation Studio Lenox, MA

Old Soul Studio, Catskill, NY

Old Carpet Factory Studio, Hydra, Greece

Sterling Sound, New York, NY

Album Credits
Produced by Kenny Siegal, Old Studio and Robby Baier
Recorded at Old Soul in Catskill, NY, SubStation Studio in Housatonic, MA, Old Carpet Factory Studio in Hydra, Greece and at Robby Baier’s studio in Lenox, MA.
Mixed by Matthew Cullen
Mastered by Greg Calbi, Sterling Sound
Band: The Restless Age
Will Bryant, Lee Falco and Brandon Morrison

Drums on Making Space and Love You For That by Brandon Lewis

Back Up Vocals by Carol Gingles, Phoebe Siegal, Kenny Siegal and Gwen “Blueberry” Snyder

Preproduction with Clemens Knieper and Dan Stern

SONGS:

ANIMALS
© 2018 Robby Baier
Published by Robby Baier Music LLC

Robby Baier: Vocals, back-up vocals, acoustic guitar
Kenny Siegal: Electric and slide guitar
Will Bryant: Moog, Rhodes and B3
Brendon Morrison: Bass
Lee Falco: Drums, percussion
Gwen “Blueberry” Snyder: Back-up vocals

Drums, percussion, bass and keys recorded at Old Soul in Catskill, NY. Acoustic guitar, vocals and back-up vocals recorded at Substation Studio in Lenox, MA. Additional percussion, electric guitar, additional acoustic guitar, Gwen back-up vocals recorded at The Old Carpet Factory Studio, Hydra, Greece.

Produced by Robby Baier and Kenny Siegal. Basics and overdubs engineered by Kenny Siegal at Old Soul. Additional overdubs engineered by Robby Baier at SubStation Studio and Old Carpet Factory. Mixed by Matthew Cullen at Old Soul. Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NJ.

Notes:
I wrote this song in 2007 and it has gone through several demo sessions. I was alway unsure of the structure of the song because the intro is so long and there is only one verse, 2 choruses and an endless outro. It was hard for me to break from my idea of what a proper song structure should be, so it took me a while to accept and allow what this song wanted to be: A strange, mysterious journey a la Tom Waits. Now it has become one of my favorites on this record, not in small part because of the beautiful atmosphere the band has created. And… Gwen’s beautiful singing makes me smile every time I hear it! When I was writing this melody I was picturing the Starship Enterprise theme music.

DON’T LOOK AWAY
© 2018 Robby Baier
Published by Robby Baier Music LLC

Robby Baier: Vocals, back-up vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead guitar, percussion
Kenny Siegal: Fuzz and slide guitar
Will Bryant: Mellotron, Rhodes and B3
Brendon Morrison: Bass
Lee Falco: Drums

Drums, percussion, bass, keys, fuzz and slide guitar recorded at Old Soul in Catskill, NY. Acoustic and electric guitar, vocals, back-up vocals, percussion recorded at Substation Studio in Lenox, MA

Produced by Robby Baier and Kenny Siegal. Basics and overdubs engineered by Kenny Siegal at Old Soul. Additional overdubs engineered by Robby Baier at SubStation Studio. Mixed by Matthew Cullen at Old Soul. Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NJ

Notes:
This song was written in the late 90’s and was part of the last demos we made as Pearls At Swine (Berlin), just before I quit the band and moved back to the States. Having grown up in Southern Germany, I was picturing the Train Station in Stuttgart, the Hauptbahnhof, when I was writing the song. Listening to this version now makes me miss the Pearls and all the great times we had together. I am thankful to the guys for rocking with me for all these years. Their ideas, riffs and feel live on in this recording and in my heart…

EVEN NOW
© 2018 Robby Baier
Published by Robby Baier Music LLC

Robby Baier: Vocals, back-up vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Will Bryant: Rhodes and B3
Brendon Morrison: Bass
Lee Falco: Drums

Drums, percussion, bass, keys, fuzz and slide guitar recorded at Old Soul in Catskill, NY. Acoustic and electric guitar, vocals, back-up vocals, percussion recorded at Substation Studio in Lenox, MA

Notes:
The song was inspired by my mother, Sibylle Baier’s music, specifically her “go to” 3/4 rhythm and picking pattern. It was written in Episkopi, Hydra, Greece in 2013 on a Guitarlele, a tiny little guitar with nylon strings.

There are 2 electric bass tracks on this recording, both played by Brandon, one thumpy and one sustained. Kind of like something Carol Kaye (Wrecking Crew) would do.

In writing the song I am imagining a second floor apartment in a city, the sun streaming through the window. The apartment is in a state of moving, boxes and stuff piled up. The couple is splitting up and she is just about to leave, like a moment frozen in time, a story about these 5 minutes as she is getting ready to walk out the door. I like to do this while I am writing, imagine a very specific place, imagine their lives and why it might have led to a break up, the backstory. The stronger I build up this world in my head the easier the lyrics start to flow… Even now…

MAKING SPACE
© 2018 Robby Baier
Published by Robby Baier Music LLC

Robby Baier: Vocals, back-up vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, bass, station piano, Casio, percussion
Will Bryant: Piano, Rhodes and B3
Brandon Lewis (B Riddimz): Drums

Drums, bass, acoustic, casio, piano, vocals, back-up vocals was recorded at SubStation Housatonic. Percussion recorded at SubStation Studio Lenox. Electric guitar, Rhodes and B3 was recorded at Old Soul. Drums were piped into Old Souls live room to capture the room sound.

Produced by Robby Baier. Engineered by Robby Baier at SubStation Studio Housatonic. Overdubs engineered by Matt Cullen at Old Soul. Mixed by Matthew Cullen at Old Soul. Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NJ.

Notes:
The keyboard melody came first during the writing process. I enjoy picking up strange instruments at garage sales and this melody was written in 2007 on such an instrument, a Casio Casiotone MT-100, a little toy keyboard. The song was called “Great Divide” for a long time as I was making demos of it. The lyrics for it were finished before we started recording in 2017. Making Space is a significant song for me on this record – of all the songs it speaks most about what i am going through in my life: a feeling of wanting to erase everything and start over. To blow it all up, “to light the fuse” to see where the pieces may land. This song is me coming into my own in a new way.

NEW DAY
© 2018 Robby Baier
Published by Robby Baier Music LLC

Thank you Darren Todd

Robby Baier: Vocals, back-up vocals, bouzouki, acoustic and electric guitar, blues harp
Kenny Siegal: Moog Sub37
Will Bryant: Rhodes and B3
Brendon Morrison: Bass
Lee Falco: Drums

Drums, bass, bouzouki and keys recorded at Old Soul in Catskill, NY

Vocals, back-up vocals, blues harp, recorded at Substation Studio in Lenox, MA. Percussion, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Moog Sub37 recorded at The Old Carpet Factory Studio, Hydra, Greece.

Notes:
The original musical idea for this song I wrote at Darren Todd’s (fellow Melodrome band mate) House in Great Barrington, MA 2006. It was the first day we met and the musical chemistry was there from the start. We came up with 4 song ideas that day, Darren on a jug band tub bass and me on a huge Ukulele he had there. Lyrics were written in 2018. The words were inspired by a line my father Michel used to say to my mother Sibylle when she woke up grumpy: “It is a new morning and the day is offering you its friendship”. What a nice idea! I try to look at my mornings this way now too. The riff in the beginning is being played on a Bouzouki, a greek instrument I picked up at a flea market in Athens, Greece. I love the positive cheesy feeling of this song. Sometimes when I am writing a song, I catch myself landing on something really cheesy. I then ask myself if I should be brave and follow the cheesy idea. Yes, it takes guts to stay with something cheesy! The easy and natural instinct for me would be to find something “interesting” or “unusual”, or “ambitious” or “sophisticated” (see “Love You For That”). To stay with a simple, feel good idea is much harder. As you are working on it it is like eating candy. You get sick of it after a while and doubt yourself.The reward comes when you step away from it and visit it the next day. Then it sounds fresh and happy, positive and light. Yes… sometimes… be brave and be cheesy!

Actually, the middle section in this song is quite interesting and unusual, featuring switching chord progressions and reverse piano pad and closely voiced back up vocals… Damn!

IT’S HAPPENING
© 2018 Robby Baier
Published by Robby Baier Music LLC

Robby Baier: Vocals, back-up vocals, Optigan, Mellotron, percussion, toy piano, glockenspiel, melodica, acoustic guitar
Kenny Siegal: Cymbals
Will Bryant: Farfisa
Brendon Morrison: Bass
Lee Falco: Drums, percussion

Drums, bass, cymbals and farfisa recorded at Old Soul in Catskill, NY. Vocals, back-up vocals, Optigan, Mellotron, percussion, toy piano, glockenspiel, melodica, acoustic guitar recorded at Substation Studio in Lenox, MA

Produced by Robby Baier and Kenny Siegal. Basics engineered by Kenny Siegal at Old Soul. Overdubs engineered by Robby Baier at SubStation Lenox. Mixed by Mattthew Cullen at Old Soul. Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NJ.

Recording Notes:
I wrote the original chord progression and melody in 2012 on the Optigan, a strange toy piano made by Mattel. It features an optical reader that plays back sounds from a transparent acetate disk, like a very early sampler. It is very temperamental and is always on the brink of failing. You have to start the thing and let it run for like 30 minutes for the motors to stabilize. Then, as you are recording you have to constantly mess with the speed wheel because the pitch starts wavering. I had to record the song in many little segments to make it work. Then, it makes this cool sound when you turn it on and off while a disc is in the reader. That is the sound you hear at the beginning and end of the song. I also did 2 takes of the song on the Optigan, one with the disk in the right way and one with it upside down. Upside down all the sounds play backwards! Then I lined it all up on the computer. All in all I was busy for a day getting this all to work. Fun and frustrating at the same time. I sold the thing after I finished this song. 🙂

“It’s Happening” was a lyric I already found as I made my first demo of the song. It was new for me to sing in this way, more open and less affected. Years ago a band rolled into the studio called “The Top”. My friend Clemens Knieper,co-founder of the band, is an old family friend. His father Jürgen Knieper is a film composer and grew up making music with my father Michael. With Clemens I went through old recordings our father’s had made in the 70’s and it inspired both of us to explore this kind of old songwriting style that was popular in Germany during that time. You can find one of our father’s songs on The Top’s record. It is called “Diggi Dee”, sung by The Top’s Dan Stern. “It’s Happening” pays homage to the music our father’s used to make.

https://soundcloud.com/user-591576364/sets/time-tourist?fbclid=IwAR3l7FL4sNRgyygHXixAahfn-VF6kKsrcXv26VWPkTtLASFeV6rWbhsbiLo

SLIP AWAY
© 2018 Robby Baier
Published by Robby Baier Music LLC

Robby Baier: Vocals, back-up vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, Mellotron and percussion
Will Bryant: Piano and B3
Brendon Morrison: Bass
Lee Falco: Drums, percussion
Pete Adams: Pedal Steel

Drums, percussion, bass, keys, pedal steel, electric guitar and percussion recorded at Old Soul in Catskill, NY. Acoustic and additional electric guitar, vocals and back-up vocals, percussion and Mellotron recorded at Substation Studio in Lenox, MA.

Produced by Robby Baier and Kenny Siegal. Basics and overdubs engineered by Kenny Siegal at Old Soul. Additional overdubs engineered by Robby Baier at SubStation Studio . Mixed by Matthew Cullen at Old Soul. Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NJ

Notes:
Written in Richmond, MA, probably 1991. I recorded a demo of it in my basement and then a second one with Pearls at Swine, my band from Berlin, Germany. We had rented the gym at Camp Deerwood in Great Barrington during the winter of 1992 when the band toured the States. It was never officially released. I revised the lyrics a little bit for this version.

During the process of picking songs for this record I gave a huge pile of ideas, half songs, demos, new and old to Kenny to help me pick out the songs for this record. Kenny had a big influence on which songs ended up on the record. I am happy that some of the old stragglers, like “Slip Away” made it onto the record and can now see the light of day. The hard thing about this was, that by the time the record was done, part of it felt like the old me, the one I was trying to leave behind in “Making Space”. I think that this is why it took so long (3 years) for me to make friends with the record, to feel proud about it, to even love it. Maybe this is because now all the songs on it seem old to me now?

I look forward to making a new record with all new songs now…

LOVE YOU FOR THAT
© 2018 Robby Baier
Published by Robby Baier Music LLC

Robby Baier: Vocals, back-up vocals, bass, acoustic and electric guitar, piano, blues harp
Kenny Siegal: Electric guitars, Wurlitzer Wah Piano, Moog Bass, percussion
Will Bryant: Rhodes and B3
Brandon Lewis (B Riddimz): Drums
Ian Evans: Piano in middle section
Carol Gingles: Back-up vocals
Gwen “Blueberry” Snyder: Back-up vocals

Drums, percussion, bass and keys recorded at Old Soul in Catskill, NY. Acoustic guitar, vocals and back-up vocals recorded at Substation Studio in Housatonic, MA. Additional percussion, electric guitar, additional acoustic guitar, Gwen back-up vocals recorded at The Old Carpet Factory Studio, Hydra, Greece.

Notes:
I wrote this song on our piano at home. It has a really sexy Fender Rhodes sound that inspired the 70’s soul vibe of the track. I suck as a keyboard player but I am good enough to hack together a part for a recording. You can still hear my playing in the intro of the song. But the track really lifted to a new level when Will Bryant took over on the keys. Some nice riffs on the old acoustic upright piano upstairs at the SubStation Studio are audible in the middle section, played by Ian Evans. I really love how this song builds. My writing has gotten more complicated in recent years in the sense that I like to modulate more (changing the key). The song modulates in each verse, then again in the middle section and last chorus. Kenny kills it on Electric guitar and the Wah Wurlitzer riffs.

GOT THIS FEELING
© 2018 Robby Baier
Published by Robby Baier Music LLC

Robby Baier: Vocals, back-up vocals, bouzouki, acoustic guitar, percussion
Kenny Siegal: Moog Sub37, electric and slide guitar, percussion
Will Bryant: Wurlitzer Piano, B3
Brendon Morrison: Bass
Lee Falco: Drums

Drums, bass, keys and bouzouki recorded at Old Soul in Catskill, NY. Acoustic, electric and slide guitar, Moog Sub37, percussion recorded at Old Carpet Factory, Hydra, Greece. Vocals and back-up vocals recorded at Substation Studio in Lenox, MA.

Produced by Robby Baier and Kenny Siegal. Basics and overdubs engineered by Kenny Siegal at Old Soul. Additional overdubs engineered by Robby Baier at SubStation Studio Housatonic and Old Carpet Factory, Hydra, Greece. Mixed by Matthew Cullen at Old Soul
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NJ

Notes:
The music for this one was written on bouzouki in Hydra, Greece. A lot of Greek traditional music is in 7/4 or 9/4 time. The verse riff for “Got This Feeling” is in 5/4 and was inspired by these Greek songs. The band just rocks on this one!

The lyrics talk about being out on a vision quest, to spend 4 days out in the desert, surrendering yourself to the universe, to reboot yourself, to find out once again that you do “belong” here. Vision quests are a big part of my life, having studied with Elias Amidon as well as The School of Lost Borders. I have also led quests and consider myself a vision quest guide.

I think this is Kenny’s favorite track on the record!

Robby Baier: Vocals, back-up vocals, acoustic and electric guitar
Kenny Siegal: Lead and rhythm guitar, percussion
Will Bryant: Piano, B3
Brendon Morrison: Bass
Lee Falco: Drums
Gwen “Blueberry” Snyder: Back-up vocals
Phoebe Siegal: Back-up vocals

Drums, bass, keys, guitar solo, electric guitar, recorded at Old Soul in Catskill, NY. Vocals, back-up vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, Phoebe and Gwen back-up vocals recorded at Old Carpet Factory, Hydra, Greece.

Produced by Robby Baier and Kenny Siegal. Basics and overdubs engineered by Kenny Siegal at Old Soul. Additional overdubs engineered by Robby Baier at Old Carpet Factory, Hydra, Greece.
Mixed by Matthew Cullen at Old Soul. Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NJ.

Notes:
I wrote the music for this one at SubStation, maybe in 2010. Then in 2017 I wrote the lyrics in preparation for the record. “It’s Easy” was already there as the chorus when I wrote it. The vocals for this were recorded in Hydra, Greece with Kenny producing. I remember how Kenny pushed me to sing the verses in a very specific, rhythmic way, kind of like Prince. I really like how the vocals turned out.

Love You For That