Dave Troland

Type of studio :

Sonar, musician, Don't Know What All The Buttons Do

Country :

United States

Website address :

http://www.myspace.com/trollman1955

About :

I can play a little bit of guitar, bass, drums and keys but not well enough to make a living at any of them. So like many people my age I retreat to the bedroom studio to make music "for my own amusement." At 54 it's getting harder to learn new stuff, so I try to make the most of my limited skills and diminishing aptitude for musical growth. Personally, I'm content to bang on shit and strum something melodic.

"Things Change". A simple chord arrangement that allows me to play guitar god for a few minutes. Not much more to it than that.

"Sic Transit." A spoken word piece that I wrote a few years ago that explores the concept of life after death, but not necessarily as most would see it. The basic premise was driven home for me when my very sick mother-in-law passed away shortly after her new granddaughter's birth. Everyone was saying things like "She held on just long enough to see her." I was intrigued with the thought that maybe she held on long enough to BE her. And maybe this means that every death sparks a new life someplace else, much like a lawn that maintains its integrity by having new blades appear as the old ones wither away. Well, anyway, I took the poem and set it to a guitar loop and the ambient sounds of a hospital room.

"I Wanna Grow Old With You." I think everyone has someone that they feel this way about. Sometimes it's a spouse, sometimes a best friend. For me they're the same person.

"Comfortably Numb". Well what can I say? I love the song and can reasonably sound like David Gilmour so it was inevitable. Guitar lead and voices are me, the rest is a backing track.

I was thinking about what it would be like to be a former rapper in his seventies, which led me to creating "Fallen 4 U". Adopting the persona Nasty T ( and my wife contributing as a Brittany Spears sound-alike dubbed Bang Bang 80) I took a single loop and added vocals and an occasional keyboard swell to make this here geriatric Hip Hop offering. NC17. Filthy, but I think hilarious.

My song "My Angel" has been updated with new dates as it progressed. At this point I'm tired of playing it, and even thought it's too long and has some bad notes I'm okay with it. It's about a melancholy guy who's dealing with the fact that he no longer has a Guardian Angel since she's abandoned him for another. Turns out that the angel is really his daughter who's all grown up. Who coulda' guessed?! Not autobiographical, but an interesting sentiment for the over-40 crowd. Rolling Stone called it "another song by somebody." Well, not really.

"Must Move Along" was penned for a German friend of mine who inexplicably liked country music. Totally goofball and predictable, except that it needs an entirely new arrangement, better singing, and overall musicianship. Simon Cowell would call it boring, atonal and forgettable.

"Quiet Voice" is for anyone interested in "The Secret" or videos/books of that ilk. Nothing profound here. Better vocals will be forthcoming and I still need to add a lead guitar solo as well as some drum breaks, but this one at least shows some potential. Dare I say that I like this offering? Let me know what ya' think.

"Amor Me Hace Vomitar" is my take on an Enrique Iglesias classic. Well, actually it's total Spanish gibberish I concocted while putting English words into a Spanish online translator. Sounds romantic in Espaniola, but in English I'm singing about loving the taste of cigars off the sidewalk and that I have children with long red tails. Play it for a Spanish friend; let them interpret.

Engineers :

Me

Clients :

My wife, who has to listen to my Sonar drivel more than anyone should have to. She's a champ. Oh, and I'm hoping that "Amor Me Hace Vomitar" will be picked up by a smallish AM Spanish radio station somewhere on the outskirts of Tucson where it will reach # 27 on their charts. Yeah, in my dreams.

Kit List :

Yamaha DD-65 Electronic Drum Kit, Casio WK-1300 Keyboard, Yamaha APX-4 Acoustic/Electric Guitar, Ibanez Electric, Epiphone Les Paul Junior, Austin Bass, Sonar 3, AKG Perception 120 Condensor Mic, KRK Rokit Monitors, Behringer Eurorack MX 802A, Alesio Modeling Amp, Sony MDR-XD300 Headphones, AKG K-220M Headphones, TOA Studio Speakers.

Influences:

Todd Rundgren, Gino Vannelli, Beatles, Raspberries, Adrian Belew, Sparks, Kings X, Louden Wainwright, Emmit Rhodes, Jimmy Mack from the Earl Slick Band (too bad you never heard of him; the guy's great).

Secret Weapon :

Nexium