I dream of painting and then I paint my dream

– Vincent Van Gogh

I’ve recently been checking out Carly Paradis, keyboardist and newest member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I first noticed Carly when seeing Cave & Co. at their Toronto stop on last year’s North American leg of the Wild God tour. As a longtime fan of the Bad Seeds, I was immediately aware that there was someone new in the fold. When seeing live music, I’m there for the music, but I also geek out on what’s happening on stage, the gear, the sound, all of it.

That night I noticed, during the song Red Right Hand, which has been a staple at Bad Seeds live shows for over thirty years, that something wasn’t quite right. The keyboard hits were landing on a beat different than we’re used to hearing. It was one of Carly’s first gigs, so she was still putting it all together. Nick Cave noticed, too. While stalking the stage, singing the song, he looked over at her. He realized what was happening. He ran over to his piano without missing a beat and started playing the part, demonstrating it for her. She sorted it right away and the band played on. It was an amazing musical and personal moment between both the players on stage and a longtime appreciator of all things sonic sitting twelve rows away.

The other night, I had a dream where I was with Carly. We were discussing a piano part I had to write for Nick. I had the tune all set out. I woke up with it still in my head. As I’m sure many creators do, I lay there, wondering if I would remember the dreamy nugget. Sometimes we think it’s there and nod back off, only to find it’s slipped back into the collective ether from whence it came. I did fall back asleep, and, glory be, dreamt of it again. I woke up before dawn and trudged down our dark hallway, taking my guitar into the bathroom so I could record it without waking the kid. Although a piano song in the dream, I sketched out the guitar chords, with the melody over top it and got it down on tape (read: iPhone).

I realized later in the day, part way through work, that it needed to be finished on the piano. While taking lessons last year, I started to write some songs on the keys, but couldn’t quite get there. This time, I did. It was so amazing. The melody worked exquisitely with the chords. I hadn’t played any piano in weeks or maybe months. Also amazing is that the little bit of piano theory and form that I’ve learned was available to me as a composer for the first time.

Last night, I started to write the lyrics. They tumbled out mostly fully formed. I woke this morning and listened the the dailies. It all sounds really good. I’m going to sign off here and finish up the words and coffee, then head back home to put it all together. If it goes well, hopefully the new recordings will have a piano song among them…

As always, thanks for reading.

K. xo