Happy Wednesday to all our friends out there!

Chris here writing to let you know about our newest post “Grown” which was mixed a few days back. Once again Matt and I continue to explore a variety of musical terrains and “Grown” can be thrown into several catagories I think. A very moody opening showcasing something like 5-6 vocal tracks Matt put together. On my first listen I got major chills which is a good indication that we’ve done something powerful, unique, soulful….

I had a pretty solid idea of what I wanted this song to sound like right from the start and Matt did an incredible job finishing my musical thought (we do that a lot actually). This song uses simple chords and live drums much like the last few we’ve posted. Matt has a solo in here that is unlike anything he’s played EVER. I have really been pushing him with the solo’s lately and I know you’ll hear the results on this song. Matt’s feedback to “Grown” was overwhelmingly positive and he’s told me he feels like my songwriting has gotten better as we collaborate : )

We are still in a holding pattern on hearing back from the government on copyrighting our first LP, but should be hearing something hopefully this month. From what Matt told me, the artwork is in development and is picking up steam, so stay tuned! In the meantime you can hear everything at www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling and go over to our new blog at www.leeandcluthemusic.blogspot.com to check out what we’re up to! Thanks so much for all the support! We have been watching the playlist counts and are thrilled our stuff is getting to your ears!

So here it is guys and gals, say hello to “Grown.” Enjoy!

“Grown”
Chris: Organ(keys), Electric Guitar, Drums
Matt: Vocals/Harmonies/Lyrics, Slide Guitar, Lead Electric Guitar

hi everyone.

chris wrote a post about the last 2 songs, so here i am to give you a little info on these two little ditties. i was going to write about how they were completely different, but the more i thought about it, i realized that they are quite similar. sure, they SOUND drastically different, but they are tied together thematically.

“Inside|Out”

as you all know, my sister Maura is working on the artwork for our album. (you can see here stuff here…it’s awesome & definitely worth the visit! www.frag-ment-ed.com) several years ago, Maura had an art show at her studio in the Hobbs building in Kansas City & i played 2 sets during the show. it was a blast & i’d always hoped that we’d do another one someday. fast forward to late 2009…i emailed my thoughts on doing another one to Maura. except this time, my goal was to write a whole new set of songs that were based on her artwork. when my wife & i were up there for christmas, Maura & I were able to talk it through. she told me that she had the idea of “Puzzles…life as a puzzle” as her central theme. first off, i was just really excited that she wanted to do another show with me! then, my mind started racing a bit. as soon as we made it back to Texas, i found myself thinking about the puzzles theme and started writing. the result of that initial writing session was the song “Pieces Apart” which finds the main character deconstructing their life (pulling the pieces apart) to start over & make some kind of sense of it all.

i’ve stuck to this theme & have continued to write & develop ideas for the collaboration with my sister. i’m trying to examine this theme from as many angles as possible & i’m having a lot of fun doing so. it’s a totally different kind of writing for me, i think. enter “Inside|Out.” here we find ourselves eavesdropping on a conversation. the main voice is trying to find out exactly what’s going on with the other person while the other person sits there silently and completely worn out by life. the song slowly builds as the conversation reaches its crest and the silent partner leaves the conversation feeling rejuvenated and buoyed by his friends’ words of hope.

“Where’s that happy road you’re seeking? Long gone are the days of closing your eyes and pissing life away.”

then the conversation leads here…
“Open up your eyes, sunshine. Let the morning rest onto your life, you’re blessed.”

so this is the second song for the puzzles collaboration. we hope to put on a show someday once all of the pieces are in place.

Inside|Out
Matt Cluthe: words, vocals, acoustic guitar, bass
Chris Lee: electric guitar, shaker

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Rise & Fall”

i’m not sure that i can go into nearly as much depth when explaining this song, to be honest. that may be a good thing!! ha! this song was really spontaneous & it started with me just jamming out on my Strat with the amp turned way up. one thing led to another & it seemed like a structure accidentally emerged. i sent a rough demo to Chris & he was enthusiastic and told me to keep pushing. he heard potential in this song long before i did. he’s always pushing me & it really helps when i have some kind of reservation or metal block.

this one was a lot of fun to play. it has that marching chord progression & i was excited the whole time i was recording b/c i knew that Chris would add some really awesome elements to it. and you know what? i was right! i love his lead throughout the song…it’s so sneaky. it was tricky to mix, that’s for sure. but we’re both really happy with how it came out. this is one that you may want to turn up.

Rise & Fall
Matt Cluthe: words, vocals, electric guitar, bass
Chris Lee: electric guitar, lead guitar, organ

so there’s the update! we have another batch brewing as i type this. Chris wrote this really amazing “zeppelin-esque” song that i absolutely love. i’m actually just about to record a little slide guitar & djembe for it. as always, thanks so much for listening (& reading!). here are the music links for ya. enjoy!

Matt

www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling
(10 most recent songs)

www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling
(all of our songs)

Hello everybody!

Chris writing from cold/snowy Columbia, MO to let you know that Matt and I have finished 4 brand new songs and I am posting/writing about two of them.

“Blue”

A song with Matt stepping away from his acoustic to play his Fender Strat on this song. Our guitars are really in sync on this song and I find it to be a different approach than our usual formula. Blue is a song that has a very tender vibe to it, but somehow the lyrics have an incredible sense of hope (“everyone’s criticisms seem to roll away”). The solo I played has a very anti-solo feel to it. No face melting here as Matt would tell me. This song also brings a more organic percussion section with live snare/hi-hat and tambourine. I think you’ll be hearing more live percussion on this next batch of 2-4 songs and in future songs to come.

Matt: Fender Strat (rhythm), Fender J-Bass, Lyrics/Vocals
Chris: Lead Guitars and Drums/Percussion

“Oh, My Darling”

My second favorite song Matt and I have done. I initially recorded some pretty shite backing vocals for the song and after sending them along had a moment of panic. I told Matt not to use them because I thought they sucked! He ended up coming back to me with encouragement to try again. Backing vocals aren’t standard in most our songs to this point. Matt gave me a nice pep talk about the differences in our voices which got me thinking about why I like our collaboration so much. We push each other into sometimes uncomfortable spaces musically/creatively and I really think this song is a solid example of that and how differences and discomfort can create AMAZING art. I feel like Oh, My Darling is an unabashed love song and more direct than other Cluthe compositions that I’ve interpreted. Matt really put himself out there on this song and I told him the other day its a song I could listen to every day for the rest of my life.

Matt: Takemine Acoustic Guitar, Fender Strat, Fender J-Bass, Vocals/Lyrics
Chris: Lead Guitar, Keys (Organ), Drums/Percussion, Backing Vocals

Matt will be posting the second 2 songs from this batch of January sessions. Stay tuned and go check out these new songs on www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling and www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling

Chris-

Check, check….is this thing working??!

Hi everybody!

I just finished posting 2/4 new songs Matt and I finished this month called “Blue” and “Oh, My Darling” on our Reverbnation page and Myspace page. Here are some notes on “Blue” and “Oh, My Darling.”

pressing buttons…let the reels fly by…

recording a new song called “Grown”…

Recording parts for new *old* song Man of the Mountain

hello out there…

first off, we just want to thank you guys for checking out the latest songs. the response has been overwhelmingly positive & we really appreciate all of the support!! our pages have been getting a lot of hits & we really hope that you’re all enjoying the music!

with that being said, we just wanted to let you know to be on the lookout for several new songs that will be posted in the next few days. i had a free day today from classes & work and was finally able to sit down & work on mixing/editing these songs. several of them feature Chris on drums & his drumming has boosted these songs in a big way. we’re constantly trading instruments on these songs & it’s always interesting to see what they’ll end up sounding like. the new songs are in no particular order:

BLUE
OH, MY DARLING
GROWN
RISE & FALL
INSIDE|OUT

more info on these songs coming soon when we post them on our pages. as always, you can hear our songs here:

www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling
(most recent 10 songs)

and here…
www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling
(all of our songs)

thanks for listening & happy wednesday!

Matt

hey there…

“Stay” & “Go Home” are now posted on our myspace page! go check ’em out. we have about 3 other songs that are nearing completion as well. they are: “Blue”, “Oh, My Darling” & “Untitled (at the moment)”…look for them to be posted in the next few days.

happy thursday,
matt

Hi all

Chris here. I really like this new bloggy blog Matt set up. I thought I’d give you listeners a quick update. I’ll be posting two new tunes called “Stay” and “Go Home” on www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling and www.reverbnation.com/presentlyfalling later on today.

“Go Home” had many twists and turns along the way. To quote the mighty Jack Irons, the song was ‘given’ back in mid November 2009 and started out as an acoustic ditty using that main riff that starts this version. 2 more versions were developed, one of which used a drum track. In the late stages just when we were thinking this song was finished, Matt and I talked and he mentioned one of the previous versions without a drum track and how much he liked that one. I had forgotten about it, went back and listened to that version and felt like that was the one that needed to get out there for everybody to hear. Maybe someday we’ll post the crazy guitar/drum loop driven version?

“Go Home”
Chris: Guitars, Bass
Matt: Vocals/Lyrics, Guitar, Djembe/Tambourine

“Stay” is a song that I wrote back just before Christmas. It started when I was playing around with the keyboard on “pipe organ” and had started playing this really sad sounding set of keys. I wanted that organ to be the main feature of the song but felt like something was missing. When I sent it to Matt I asked him to put down a firey guitar solo. He was pretty stoked to plug in and let it fly. The solo he plays in this song sounds awesome! It has a very Neil Young (Crazy Horse days)sound to it and I had told him that it sounded like his guitar was crying! So, now that both the organ and guitar are crying, I think you get the idea that this song is a tad emotional. Matt’s wife Laurel makes her return since “Pieces Apart” and puts down a hammer of harmony that will raise hairs on your neck. You have been warned : )

“Stay”
Chris: Acoustic Guitar, Organ/Keys, Bass
Matt: Vocals/Lyrics, Electric Guitar(lead), Djembe/Tambourine
Laurel: Backing Vocals

Thanks to everybody for listening and supporting what Matt and I are doing. We sincerely appreciate it!

Kirk out….

“ECHO”

“MIDNIGHT”