With my Portland departure imminent, I wanted to leave a sort of thank-you note to the music and arts scene of Chico. I thought the best way to do that was in the form of an album. It's called Thank You Chico, Goodnight.
There are so many talented musicians, artists and songwriters in Chico, and not enough time to be in a band with all of them. In lieu of that, I decided to record one song with each of them. I asked 20 people to write a new song between 2 and 5 minutes in length about Chico, or an experience they had in Chico...and if they could, not to use the word "Chico" in the song. The songs came in varying styles and varying stages of completion. In some cases I suggested a few changes like tempo, lyrics or meter. We recorded vocals and accompanying instruments, usually an acousic guitar, onto a pair of ADAT machines, avoiding the use of a computer. I wanted to keep the recording raw and basic...that, and I don't own much gear. Once the songs were formed I began inviting other musicians to layer in drums, guitars, keyboards and bass, and had some of the writers back in to record background vocals and harmonies. I mixed straight off the board through a Roland Space Echo and had Chris Keene master the finished songs, polishing them up. Micah Black and Jody Nixon created the artwork and designed the CD, respectively.
So here it is, 21 songs about a special place we all hate and love. I hope you like it. I think it came out pretty good.
- Maurice Spencer, 4/16/2011
credits
from Thank You Chico, Goodnight,
track released May 6, 2011
Zach Zeller - vocals, guitar
Kirt Lind - keys, beats
Maurice Spencer - instruments
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