gschmitt song: Without Your Love

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Without Your Love (lyrics) – gschmitt discusses this song from The Year in Pictures

“This is a simple song with simple lyrics and a slow, tight reggae groove.

The original plan was to have a big guitar solo come in at the break and grow through the end chorus. The more I thought about it, though, I kept hearing a horn instead of my guitar….thought about a trumpet. I got in contact with Mac McDonald and asked him if he’d be willing to blow on it. He lived with the idea for a while and decided it was a flugelhorn solo this tune needed and put it together. I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t sure what I wanted and I pretty much gave him artistic license; he blew me away.

Another important part of the performance and recording of this one was in Ariel’s drum part. I insisted he tap out the snare drum ghost notes with his fingertips while he played the cross stick groove. He laughed at me, muttered “you’re making me WORK” in Spanish, went home, hit the woodshed and came back to the studio a couple days later and just killed the tune in one take. Nasty, man. Nasty.”

- gschmitt