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"Perfect World"
Here's a sneak peak at the upcoming album from Dave Roe, Warner Hodges, and Timm! Hot off the mixing console, this tune is called "Perfect World", and its lyrics are inspired by the Amish right of passage known as "Rumspringer".

"The music for this tune came together very quickly", says Timm. "As we were getting ready to lay down a rehearsal take of it, Warner and Dave began singing the words 'Amish Girls...' where the lyrics 'Perfect World' are now. I thought it was great; because I'd just seen a documentary about Rumspringer, I thought it was very topical. As we continued to work on the song, its working title was 'Amish Girls'. A few months later, when we were ready to track vocals for the tune, we still had no lyrics, and we were still calling it 'Amish Girls'. One day, I had a moment of inspiration and the lyrics came out that ended up being the majority of the 1st and 2nd verses. Dave and Warner helped smooth the rough edges, and we all wrote the 3rd verse together in the studio. Still, the title was 'Amish Girls', and the chorus lyrics were a bit different. After listening to the final vocal tracks for a couple weeks, Warner still didn't dig the chorus. Our rule is that if one person isn't 100% behind something, we work on it until everyone is. And that's what we did! I think we ended up making the lyric stronger, and really found a way to put across the angst and confusion these kids feel at that point in their lives. Still, to me, this tune will always be 'Amish Girls' on the set list."

Click play to listen to "Perfect World".

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"Outside"
Here's a rehearsal recording of Timm's new "group with no name". The lineup features Dave Roe (bass & vocals) and Warner Hodges (guitar and vocals) with Timm on drums. "We've been getting together once a week for the past 4 months or so, writing songs and having a great time", says Timm. "The goal, obviously, is to make an album and start doing shows, but there's no pressure about it."

We wondered how the writing process worked in the group. Timm elaborates: "Songs have been coming out of nowhere at every rehearsal. Someone will have an idea and start to play, the rest of us join in. Before we know it, we've got a tune. We rehearse up at The Barn, so everything gets recorded, albeit not perfectly since there's a live PA system for the voices and we're all in the same room. Still, it's more than good enough to hear where we're going, and it's an invisible process so we can concentrate on making music at this point. We only play each tune 2 or 3 times and keep the version that's best as a reference. The version of 'Outside' we're posting to the site is the 2nd time we played it all the way through."

To listen to "Outside" click play on the player below.

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"SiebenNullSieben"
Ever wonder how certain pieces get created? This download gives a bit of insight into the process, giving you a glimpse of the initial tracking for a new piece called "SiebenNullSieben". "For the last decade or so, I've often begun the writing process by playing the drum track to music I hear in my head", says Timm. "Once that's done to the point where I'm happy with it, I'll go back and add the rest of the parts. It can seem like an unorthodox way to do things, but I find it's sometimes the best way for me to bring the music I hear to life."

We'll post updated versions of this piece as tracking progresses. You can listen to or download the initial drum track by clicking here...

 

"13x7"
A solo piece called "13x7". This piece was recorded at The Barn, prior to the 2006 Nils Lofgren Band tour. According to Timm: "I had just received a pair of piccolo snare drums from Premier's Modern Classic series - a 14x4 and a 13x7. I wanted to get an idea of how they sounded on tape, so I fired up the studio and started playing." The result is an interesting look at Timm's drumming; away from the structure of soloing in a group or playing a pre-conceived piece, we hear ideas come to light, develop, then morph into other ideas - only to be returned to later in a thematic fashion. "This is the type of playing I've been moving toward over the last several years", Timm says. "For me, the drum kit can be as musical as the person playing wants it to be, though it's often difficult for the average listener to hear that musicality, especially when you're playing a smaller kit. Sometimes, you need to listen more closely with solo drum kit to hear what's really going on, but I think it can be well worth it." Though it's been available on this page for awhile now, this piece was re-mastered in early 2008 and that version has recently been uploaded to our servers.

You can download "13x7" by clicking here...

 

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