Steve Babb Gives Us the Inside Scoop Behind Glass Hammer's Epic New Album, Lex Rex
September 18, 2002 Interviewed by Dave Taylor
Virtuosity: First off, I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us a little bit about your new studio album, Lex Rex. I've been a Glass Hammer fan ever since I copped a used copy of Journey of the Dunedan off a guy on the net that had an extra. It was even autographed by you guys (with a note that said "Tolkien forgive us!"). Since then I've purchased all your other cd's as they've become available. Being a fan of both Tolkien, Lewis, and old school progressive rock, I must say, your music is consistently right up my alley. Besides that, Glass Hammer just gets better and better with every album. How do you guys find the time and energy to keep putting out quality music?
Steve: Well, first of all - thanks! We work really hard on our music, and hearing positive feedback from listeners keeps us going. Ah, time and energy! I own the studio where we record, and Fred is the chief engineer. Thus, we are here many hours every day producing albums or commercials. Some days are blocked off entirely for Glass Hammer, while on other days we squeeze in an hour or two if time permits. But even though every day at Sound Resources is filled with music, it is typically someone else's!
Here's how a day goes:
Yesterday, I began at 7:30 a.m. answering emails and writing letters. By 9:00 I was making custom sound effects for a huge haunted house attraction in Atlanta. Around 12:00 I find out that the new Glass Hammer ad will be running in Progression Magazine in three weeks, so I have to get the Lex Rex master off to the duplication plant. No time for lunch! At 1:00 I record a new-age guru for an hour and a half. He did a presentation on how to "reach a bliss state". Creepy, but it paid the electric bill for the month! Fred shows up at 3:00 and we discuss changes to the GH master. He begins recording gospel music for another client, while I check the master for errors, and run a few office related errands. We both manage to eat around 6:00, and the gospel singer shows up at 7:00 and stays until 10:00. Whew! We're done! It all begins again today - but with a clarinet player and a CCM artist later on.
Since we are currently caught up on GH, none of this presents a problem right now. But I think next week we really intend to get cranked up on a new album for 2003. It will take months to write and record - you can be sure of that!
Virtuosity: I've been listening to Lex Rex for a few weeks now, and its obvious that this album is just huge, in scope, recording quality, content, musicianship, and spiritual punch. It really is epic. You guys obviously took a lot of time and loving care to make certain this album is your crowning achievement thus far (which it most definitely is). The recording quality is amazing, and the tones you and Fred get are classic! Tell me approximately how long it took to record, and gear that you guys used.
Steve: Total studio hours have never been calculated, but I'd guess it would amount to around 400. We started writing and recording a few basic tracks in May of 2001. We finished mixing around the first week of August in 2002! So, it was spread out over months. I took a break from it for around three months after my wife and I had our first child in January. (Its a boy! And Jon-Michael loves listening to GH.) Musically, we were through when the baby arrived. But the lyrics were really tough to finish. You don't get much sleep with a new baby in the house, and it took around 3 months of adjusting. But even when I was rested enough to take up the pen again, it took hours and hours to record the vocals. And you just can't sing in eight hour stretches. So, the last bit of recording was stretched out over most of the summer. The equipment is 'fairly' basic. Three ADATs total 24 tracks of digital tape. We bounced tracks to make room for around 40 tracks however, and then moved everything over to the computer for mixing and to master the final mix. We use Sonic Foundry software to handle all of that. We've got a variety of mics and outboard effects; a room full of guitars, basses and amps. We've got a real Hammond and Leslie cabinet, plus a lot old analog synths we've had since we were kids. If your readers are interested, they can check out our gear page on the Glass Hammer website. (http://www.glasshammer.com)
We've recently added a Roland V2480 that's not on the site. This actually replaces just about every device in the studio from the board, the ADATs, the effects - you name it. It also gives us the option of doing Surround Sound recordings, which we've been dying to do.
Virtuosity: You guys do it all on your records, and you do it well. How many different instruments are you proficient at?
Steve: We are proficient enough to 'record' ourselves on a great many instruments. I don't think we'd wish to perform them all live though. I'm primarily a keyboardist first, then a bassist. I could also fake a bit of mandolin and guitar if it were ever necessary - which it isn't! Fred seems to excel at whatever he picks up. But he is primarily a keyboardist - then a guitarist and percussionist. He also plays a little flute and recorder, but his new instrumental fascination is with the lap steel guitar. You can hear it all over Lex Rex. He only began playing it around a year ago, and he already rocks!
Virtuosity: Glass Hammer is really starting to develop a unique sound, but its still hard not to make comparisons to some of the pioneer prog bands, mostly due to the keyboard sounds you use, like the classic Hammond solos. With this album, I don't really hear as many passages that remind me directly of the classic bands, other than a few very Wakeman-esque keyboard solos and Howe-like steel guitar parts. Are you guys annoyed or flattered when people compare you to bands like ELP or Yes?
Steve: We are positively flattered! These are two of my favorite groups, and Fred and I are fans in the traditional sense. I don't think any reviewer has ever labeled us a 'clone band' however, and for that I am grateful. There's a big difference between being compared to a group you are influenced by, and being labeled a knock-off. Of course, on Chronometree we did a few 'tribute' sections that are truly supposed to sound like the older groups. But that had more to do with the storyline behind the album. Chronometree was about a Yes fan in the late 70's who went overboard with his albums - so the sound of the album needed to be very retro, and reminiscent of Yes and ELP. But here's the deal. We picked up on prog in the golden days of the genre. It was my favorite music then, and remains so today. As a young musician, you tend to style yourself after your heroes. Thus, I play analog synths like Camel and Oldfield while playing bass like Geddy Lee or Chris Squire. But I have metal influences as well - and that keeps it from being clonish. As an organist, Fred followed Emerson - but he has other influences beyond ELP, and those keep his sound fresh. We both LOVE the old prog material, and each album is probably a subconscious attempt for us to recapture the fire and the passion of our youth, and those early, near magical experiences of discovering music as teens. I never grew tired of listening to "Going For The One" for instance. But Yes never made another album like it. I have a need to hear more of it though - so I write it myself. We never quite manage to recapture what we're after however, and so the next album begins. We're not rock stars like those guys, and we don't 'have' to do another album - we 'need' to! It is an endless cycle that seems to work for us. Part of the theme behind Lex Rex deals with this. Lex Rex is a tale about a quest for glory. Great music is a glimpse of glory for me, and it transports me spiritually, so to speak. It is not the true source mind you; rather a shadow of the real thing.
Virtuosity: Lex Rex is a concept album with a very original theme, the story of a First Century Roman soldier that is in search of glory, like you mentioned, and he gets more than he bargained for in the end. Tell me how this idea came about, and explain to me the typical Glass Hammer songwriting collaboration process that you and Fred used on the album.
Steve: I am a Biblical 'literalist'. In other words, I believe it word for word. But I have an imagination too, and I wondered about the life of the soldier whose task it was to spear Christ at the crucifixion. I'm not sure where or when I decided to embellish his tale, and I had no idea where it was going when I began. There is a legend about this soldier, but I found out about that when I was nearly done. It just so happens to have nearly the same outcome as my tale - so much the better. I didn't realize it until near the very end of the writing process, that the soldier I was writing about was an 'every man'. He has a hole deep down inside of him that needs to be filled. He feels that he is created for some magnificent destiny, and many characters enter into his life - each with their own idea about how he should seek to fulfill it. But something 'majestic' is calling to him, and no matter how far he runs in the wrong direction - the voice beckons and the hole gets bigger. He searches for glory in battle, in love, and within the lives of others - heroes and kings. But he finds them all wanting. His doom, and the central theme of the album is this - he searches for glory and finally finds it - but in
following Rome he must help to slay it. It is while guarding the tomb that he comes to grip with his life and where it has led him. And just when he thinks that all is lost, Glory itself rises from the tomb. He is forgiven, and learns that he really was created for a grand destiny. But it won't happen in this world or in this life. He cannot earn it, it is freely given. And truthfully, we all played an equal part in the tragedy of the cross. We've all got blood on our hands, and we're all searching for Heaven. So I think his story reflects our own lives in a number of ways. That's a long answer I know. But believe me, I could have gone on for pages!
As for the writing process, Fred concentrates on music while I develop the lyrics and the story. I also write a great deal of music as well. Here's how it worked on a few tunes: He wrote the opening track music, while I wrote the vocal melody and the lyrics. The next song, "One King" had pretty much the same approach. Next up was "Further Up - Further In". We both wrote the music for that one, and we both contributed to the vocal melodies. Fred wrote the beginning section, I wrote a middle section that runs for around six minutes, then Fred wrote the end. Later on you'll hear "A Cup Of Trembling" and "When We Were Young". The music and lyrics are both mine, but Fred embellished it all quite a bit. We try to stay out of each other's way, and we each contribute where needed. All in all, Fred wrote around 70 % of the music and I wrote the rest, plus the lyrics.
Virtuosity: Glass Hammer, as a very spiritual progressive rock band, has always personified the heart of Virtuosity. Perelandra and On To Evermore very successfully explored spiritual themes lyrically in subtle, allegorical ways. Even Chromonetree has some hints. With Lex Rex, the hero has a very moving encounter with the crucified Christ. No subtlety there, although you tell the story in a very compelling way. Has your approach changed, or did this story just require a bolder touch?
Steve: Perelandra was an odd experiment really, because it was mix of very diverse influences. Fred and I were both fairly blown away by David Lynch's Twin Peaks film, "Fire Walks With Me". He did a tremendous job of portraying evil in that film. But the final 'redemption' scene was something that I truly wished to capture musically. You'd have to watch the film and get caught up in the whole Twin Peaks mythos to understand, and most folk probably hated the movie anyway. Suffice it to say that a fair amount of Lynch's magic is accomplished by keeping the viewer guessing. What is he trying to say? Was that a clue? Was that a dream, or did it really happen? He makes art. That's what we tried with Perelandra. Was it successful? I've always thought the album had more to offer in the production department. We doggedly continued the vague approach to the storytelling with On To Evermore. What's it about? What are they trying to tell us? But even with all of the hinting and lyrical 'clues', it is fairly easy to know that we're talking about good vs. evil. And I think most folk can tell whose side we're on. But with Lex Rex, I just wanted to come out of the closet so to speak. I'm certainly not going to promote the album as a Christian album. People would imagine it to be CCM - and it isn't CCM! Outside of my Christian friends, and those who read this interview, no one will be told anything about the story at all except for a few basic things. It is the tale of a Roman soldier and his quest for glory. But I'm not really trying to be sneaky either. I just don't want to shut the door on listeners who are prejudiced against Christians. There is more to Glass Hammer and Lex Rex than the lyrics and the story. Take keyboards for instance. A lot of non-believers love to hear Fred jam on the Hammond organ. I don't want to run them off. If I knew an album was particularly religious in a way I didn't agree with, I might avoid it all together - and I might be missing out on some great music as a result. I don't want that to happen with Glass Hammer. But Lex Rex does present the gospel in fairly clear language. The soldier does find glory, and the listener is told exactly how he finds it and who it is. And they, like the soldier, are given a choice. Listening to this album has eternal consequences for the non-believer. For they'll find Christ within it, and they'll either dismiss him, or look a little deeper. Now I may never go that deep again with Glass Hammer. I don't have any plans to do so on the next album. But if I ever feel 'led' to do so, I won't shrink from it. I've done so much bad in my life, the least I can do is devote a portion of my creative output to the God who made me. It is the most important message in all of creation. Mankind is a fallen race, and Christ is the cure. What are you going to do about Him? People deserve to hear that message in ways that they can understand. I'm not sure if prog is a proper evangelizing tool, but listening to music may be the only spirit life that some people ever experience.
Virtuosity: You guys have a fairly large following in secular prog circles. Do you fear being labeled as a "Christian" band?
Steve: Yes I do. Sadly enough, I don't like many Christian bands - the music isn't challenging and the business is mostly corrupt. I find most of the Christian songs I hear to be cheap knock-offs of secular pop tunes, which aren't so good either! Call me a snob - I'll admit that I am. I've been involved in Christian music since I was a child. In the last few years, I've been active in several projects that also involve elements of the CCM scene in Nashville. Its all rumor and gossip, but the word is that CCM is in a bad state. Oh sales are up, and there are many good Christians involved within the industry, but there are some bad apples as well. The companies are mostly owned by secular interests, and the projects and songs are conducted by formula, and a bad formula to boot. Yet the churches ram that stuff down the throats of their youth, who mostly follow along blindly - having no idea where the music comes from, or what sort of theology is driving the process. We owe God better than that. Pray for those people who are directing the course of modern Christian music. They truly need it.But very few people from Nashville are asking my opinion. And those who do aren't happy with me once they hear it. So let me add a little positive in with all of the negative. There are Christians doing CCM, and even a few who run the companies. The production is far better than it once was, and some of the songs are both beautiful and well written. And frankly, some Christians find secular music to be offensive - which leaves no alternative. For them, CCM is a blessing I'm sure.
But getting back to the original question; we do want to be labeled a prog band - even though we've dabbled with other forms of music on Glass Hammer albums, and some of the lyrics are Christian. Conversely, being labeled "Christian" in this day and age isn't going to win GH new fans in the secular world, and that is the world that needs to hear GH the most!
Virtuosity: Do you see Glass Hammer as an artistic expression or a ministry?
Steve: Mostly an artistic expression. Lyrically I have a lot to say - or attempt to say, and I love telling stories. The Middle-earth Album is full of stories, while Lex Rex is one tale from beginning to end. A lot of that comes from reading so many books in my spare time. But not everything I read is Christian. Thus, I'd like to take a stab at some of Tolkien's Silmarillion tales someday, and I'd like to spin a few of my own new yarns as well. So that really can't be ministry, even though there is a ministry aspect at some levels. I spend a lot of time helping and advising young musicians here at the studio, and at church. That's ministry to me - helping others. Lex Rex tells the gospel story in a fantasy setting, but the next album might be about a Tolkienesque Dwarven warrior slaying a dragon! Fred and I just wrote a 'Christian' musical called David and Goliath. And though it's available on the website, it wasn't done under the name Glass Hammer - even though it is the same people. So, we have an outlet for the true Christian music, even though GH music will go that direction from time to time.
Virtuosity: Tell me about the success of your Middle Earth Album. Your timing on that one was impeccable, coinciding perfectly with the hysteria surrounding the Fellowship of the Rings movie. I'm assuming that was intentional.
Steve: Because of the movie, and because of our first album "Journey of the Dunadan", Fred and I were invited to speak at a huge sci-fi convention in Atlanta. We've played the same con from time to time as Glass Hammer, so we were well known with that crowd. The movie was all the buzz of course, and we dropped a few hints about doing another album. The Tolkien websites like http://www.theonering.net and http://www.Tolkienonline.com offered to help us promote it, so the decision was made to proceed at once. Of course we hoped we might find a back door into the actual movie, but that never materialized. We were just invited to perform at the Oscar party next year, and we might do that for the fun of it. Needless to say, Fred and I are huge fans of Tolkien and The Middle-earth Album was a blast to make. It confused many of our prog fans, but most GH fans are very tolerant of all of our whims. It was a huge success for us, and will continue to be as long as those movies keep doing well!
Virtuosity: Are you thinking about a follow up to coincide with each segment of the Trilogy?
Steve: I'd love to, but it just isn't possible. We might do another album before the third movie is released, but we'll just have to see if time permits. Prog is our main focus right now, and getting another prog album like Lex Rex ready for 2003 is our main goal.
Virtuosity: What single Glass Hammer song are you the most proud of?
Steve: "When We Were Young" from Lex Rex. It does everything that "Heaven" did on Perelandra, but a lot better. At least I think so. I wrote it the day that Julie (my wife) told me she was pregnant with Jon-Michael. I was literally sitting at the keyboard when she told me. There is joy in the music - joy about Christ and joy about the prayer he'd just answered for me. There's a big musical climax at the end of the tune, and that is where I hit you with the gospel. The angels all come down and sing of the defeat of death. The stone is rolled away, and Christ is revealed. The soldier knows the truth, and Love becomes his eternal King. It all happens in less than three minutes. The music is just building and building, and my hope is that the listener will feel it swell inside of his or her spirit. Maybe the non-believer will come to associate the way this song makes them feel, with the words that are being sung. Maybe he'll explore the matter further and find out the truth about his soul, and about God. I'm hoping it creates a desire for Heaven, but that's all up to the King of Kings. He calls whomever He calls! Either way, "When We Were Young" may end up being the least favorite song on the album, but it will always mean a lot to me.
Virtuosity: Any plans for some Glass Hammer live shows in the near future?
Steve: Maybe the Lord of the Rings Oscar party, and one other Lord of the Rings event. We may play the movie premier in Toronto. Of course they'll probably ask us to dress up like elves and we'll only be doing our Dwarven drinking songs! Not much for the proggers there! Otherwise, unless we're asked to do one of the really big prog shows like Nearfest - we're pretty much content to hide away in the studio. We spent many years touring, and I'm just burnt out on the whole thing. I'm not ruling it out mind you, but I've got no plans to perform in the foreseeable future.
Virtuosity: Tell us a little more about the Faith and Reason album, and if and when Glass Hammer fans can expect to hear it?
Steve: You will hear it in bits and pieces, turning up here or there on compilations or videos. Two of the songs have videos, which will be released alongside Lex Rex in a few weeks as part of a one hour GH documentary and music video collection called "This Way To Evermore". Why was it never formally released? It was (overall mind you) too accessible of a sound. Too much rock and not enough prog. The Christian lyrics were over the top as well. It was a neo-prog Christian album, and that wasn't what we wanted for GH. But there was a lot of great music there, and we're not ashamed of any of it. We just don't see it as an album anymore.
Virtuosity: What other bands have you been listening to lately?
Steve: We produce so much music here that I rarely listen for enjoyment. When I do, believe it or not, I still like the same old albums I grew up with. Yes, ELP, etc.
Virtuosity: I know you are an avid reader. Tell me about some of your recent literary explorations.
Steve: I read lots of historical fiction. I love Napoleonic sea tales like The Hornblower novels, and I've been reading a lot of the newer attempts at that style by various and sundry authors. I just read a new Sharpe novel by Bernard Cornwell - I've read all of those. But at this particular moment I'm in the middle of a Robert Howard Conan novel, Tolkien's Silmarilion, a reread of Wangerin's Book of the Duncow, and On The Eve of Adam by J. R. Church. I like to keep 3-4 going at once.
Virtuosity: Time for my standard closing questions. You are exiled to a desert island for a year, and you can only take the works of one author, one rock band, and 12 cases of your favorite beverage. What would they be?
Steve: Well I'm going to sneak in a copy of the Bible - I am always reading the Bible. But that can't count for my book. That being the case, I can leave Lewis at home and take Tolkien. I'll reread the Lord of the Rings while listening to Yes and drinking coffee all day.
Virtuosity: What person/character out of the bible do you most relate to?
Steve: After just rewriting the David and Goliath story, I'd have to say .... Goliath. Nope - just kidding! David is a hero, a king, and a songwriter. What's not to love? But he is also a very flawed man. He falls down a lot spiritually and morally, but he gets up and keeps going. And God dearly loved him. If God can love such a man, He could even love me!
-
virtuosity
