An old childhood taunt has found its way into my bass line.
You know the one: “na na na na na.” Lote uses it in the lyrics to The Devil’s Dance, one of the songs on our upcoming album, WooWoo & VooDoo. While working on the bass part, I decided to sneak that little phrase into the music earlier in the song.
The lyric doesn’t arrive until about three-quarters of the way through. By then, if my little experiment works, the bass will already have planted it in your ear.
Will anyone notice? Maybe. Maybe it’ll just feel familiar when the vocal comes around. Either way, I’m pretty pleased with that one.
A Few More Bass Lines
The last couple of weeks have mostly been about finishing my bass parts for WooWoo & VooDoo.
Channeling is complete, and Sly has sent back an updated version with the new bass in place. It’s sounding pretty good. I’ve also sent him my part for The Devil’s Dance, which is a really cool song and one I’ve particularly enjoyed working on.
That leaves Straightjacket and Do You Believe, the last two songs needing bass. They’re on my agenda this week.
These final parts are a chance to listen closely to what each song needs. With The Devil’s Dance, the lyric gave me something to play with: a small connection between the bass and the story, separated by a few minutes of music.
That’s the kind of detail that keeps the work interesting, even this far into an album.
Exploring Some Guest Vocals
One of the ideas Lote suggested was bringing other singers into some of our songs. It’s an opportunity to add different voices to the mix and hear what a guest vocalist might bring to the music.
I’ve been exploring a couple of possibilities for WooWoo & VooDoo, although getting things lined up has taken a little longer than hoped. After a couple of months of back and forth, one prospective singer has withdrawn. Disappointing, but these things happen.
Another possibility came out of my wife’s family reunion in late August. I was talking with my niece, who is a music teacher and also involved in creating music, and she agreed to try some vocals for us.
We’ll be exploring that over the next couple of weeks. It’s early days, but I’m looking forward to hearing what she brings to the songs.
October-ish…
Last month, I was aiming to get WooWoo & VooDoo across the finish line September-ish.
Well, the “ish” is doing some work.
We’re now tentatively looking at mid-to-late October for a final review at Fox’s Den, Sly’s studio in the Algonquin Highlands. There are still parts to finish and vocals to work through before we get together to listen, compare notes and agree on those last adjustments.
Meanwhile, early work continues on Urban Legends. That project is still taking shape, so we’ll leave those stories simmering for now.
Seventy Years of Sly
And September brings a milestone worth making some noise about: Ron Fox, a.k.a. Sly, our fearless leader, turns 70 this month!
Ron and I have known each other since we were five years old. That’s 65 years of friendship, with plenty of laughter and music along the way. It’s pretty special to still be making music together after all that time.
Guitarist, songwriter, arranger and the man who turns so many of our ideas into songs, Sly has his fingerprints on all of the music for SixFootStilts. There is not a song that he doesn’t touch!
With a new studio in the plans and more music taking shape, he’s clearly got things to do.
Happy 70th, Sly! We’ll raise a glass at Fox’s Den. In the meantime, keep the music coming.
For September, I’ve got a few more bass lines to record and some new vocal possibilities to explore. And somewhere in The Devil’s Dance, the bass is already letting you in on a little secret.
Listen for it when the song comes your way.
JawnyB
Labour Day, September 7, 2026
Still a labour of love.
