Words that make people go “Huh?”

You’ll notice in the previous blog that the word “gear” was used a couple times, referring of course to musical “stuff”. We realized that there are probably many odd words that us musician types use on a regular basis – words that make people go “Huh?”
So we present to you, for your education, a handy glossary of commonly used musical terms (you may want to print it out and keep it in your pocket for handy reference).


GROOVE: This is the feel of a song, or sometimes more specifically, the feel that is established between the bass player and the drummer. “Just listen to that funky groove those two are laying down.”
CHOPS: This refers to one’s ability to play a musical instrument well. To have great chops is to be exceptionally skilled on one’s instrument. It can also refer to massive side-burns.  “That guitar player has fantastic chops. He also has fantastic chops.”
EARS: In-ear-monitors. It’s just easier to say ears rather than in-ear-monitors. Pure laziness.
GIG: This should be a no-brainer, but in case you don’t know, it’s a show or an event. Add the word “bag” or “rug” to it and you have something you take to a gig. “We packed our gig-rugs and our gig-bags and drove to the gig where we did some gigging.”
IN THE POCKET: Referring back to groove, this is the depth to which one is able to establish and maintain said groove. “That guy is so in the pocket he’s lint.”
dB: Abbreviation for decibel, a unit of measurement of audio level. This isn’t to be confused with a dB meter, which is a device that instantly causes the drummer to play quieter!
AXE: Electric guitar, although I guess it could also refer to an acoustic guitar. “Man, that Gordon Lightfoot sure can shred on that axe of his!”
FEEDBACK: The return of a portion of the output signal to a device's input.  That’s the technical definition. It’s that ear-piercing, high-pitched blast that makes people run screaming from the building.
HOT: Very loud and/or sensitive as in “This microphone is really hot – can you turn it down?”  Also, “That drummer is really hot”, but that’s a whole different blog.

Hey, We Can Dream Right?

We have been writing a number of songs  over the past few years, and  we would really like to record them and have an album out by the end of 2011 (hence the title of this blog). To that end we met with veteran producer extraordinaire, Roy Salmond last night. Great guy with a very friendly and cozy feeling studio (and lots of great gear as well). Connie almost fell asleep on the couch, which means a few things:

1. It’s a comfortable couch
2. It’s a comfortable studio
3. Roy is a comfortable guy, and
4. He loves to talk about gear (which, if you haven’t figured out by now, is why Connie almost fell asleep in the first place!)

We’ll keep you posted. Check back often!

New pics on website!

There are new pictures up on the website for your viewing pleasure! Just go to www.shesayselectric.com and then click on the "Pics & Vids" button. Or just go here.