Above: The author of Minute Men: Execute & Run framed between concept creator Christopher Connolly (left) and bandmate Duane Davis (right).
If you’ve viewed any of the trailers and videos for the forthcoming novel Minute Men: Execute & Run, then you’ve heard the Minute Men theme.
If you’ve somehow missed those videos, you can begin catching up by clicking here:
Like the members of the Minute Men team, the theme music features a pensive intro that transitions to a one-minute burst of adrenaline-fueled power. After that, its superpower spent, it winds down to conclude with the tonal equivalent of a recovery phase.
You can hear the complete theme here:
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To achieve the haunting quality of the opening and closing sections, the track features my long-time bandmate Duane Davis on bass and drums, and me on rhythm and Ebow guitars.
What’s an Ebow guitar?
Glad you asked.
In the novel, Dr. Christian Chase disables her adversaries with violent bioelectric pulses. (You can see her doing just that on the book’s cover.)
The Ebow isn’t quite that powerful … but the sound it produces is electrifying.
Above: An Ebow straddles a Stratocaster.
Basically a handheld electromagnet, the Ebow uses magnetic current to activate the strings on a guitar. The result: sustained notes that can be modulated to mimic the sounds of a flute, violin, or theremin.
Interestingly, although the music represents the dilemma faced by the novel’s heroes, it was originally part of a longer piece on my 2008 album Veins: The Soundtrack.
Above: Album jacket for Veins: The Soundtrack. Art by Jeffrey Harris
But sonically representing the dilemma of the novel’s characters is one thing. Actually telling their story is another. For that reason, a few weeks ago, brother Chris decided we needed a Minute Men song.
The song’s genesis began with Chris writing a tight piece of rock-n-roll poetry titled “Sixty Seconds to Fight.” I put the words to music, and then—working from an arrangement provided by brother John J. Connolly—Dune Davis and I set to work recording the song.
In all, as in the Minute Men story, teamwork was key.
No Ebow this time, just some rockin’ retro guitar to fit the up-tempo arrangement.
Click the player below to hear how it all turned out.
Guitarists have been using the Ebow since its introduction in the mid-1970s. Sometimes the device drives the instrumentation (as it does in the Minute Men theme or the song “Christian Says” by Tones and Tail), but more often it simply provides a few subtle flourishes. You’ve certainly heard it, though you might not have recognized it for what it was.
And that brings us to a new challenge.
Above: Recording artists who performed with Ebows.
The six bands/performers pictured above all recorded songs that employed the Ebow.
How many of the bands/performers can you identify?
Respond by email or by leaving a comment via the button below.
In 1917, Max Fleischer devised the process called rotoscoping. It involved meticulously hand-painting frames of live-action film to create smooth, like-like animation.
Can you name two or more of the films/cartoons that featured the rotoscoped images shown above?
For the answers, and to learn more about what the rotoscope process has to do with Minute Men: Execute & Run, be sure to check out this week’s blog post.
If you enjoyed this installment of the Minute Men Newsletter (and that must be the case if you’ve read this far), why not drop us a comment and let us know?
Do you like the videos and graphics? The challenges? How about the behind-the-scenes stuff relating to the creation of various Minute Men spin-offs? Would you be interested in reading a chapter from the novel? How about the chance to listen to an audio excerpt?
Now’s your chance to let us know by sending an email or leaving a comment.
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