Following
albums that pertained to futuristic science fiction (Beyond Time)
and the tried and trusted topic of relationships (Sticky Love
Songs), American pop maven Michael Laine Hildebrandt and
his entourage / moniker Bubble Gum Orchestra takes on somewhat
deeper psycho-social issues on the 2017 CD release of Sixthoverture.
Regarding the raw emotional content of Sixthoverture songs
like Living On Earth and Lower Than Low
Michael tells mwe3.com, I was so glad to get Sticky Love
Songs out of my life just from the emotional standpoint. I let myself
go into somewhat uncharted BGO territory and started writing what
was to come for me... a thrilling, emotional and super positive journey
of 11 songs. The mood reflects just some of the chaos going on in
this crazy world today. A friend told me the album art was dark
yet beautiful. Musically, Sixthoverture features
the Bubble Gum Orchestra retro / futuristic pop sound throughout,
yet with earlier album concepts of outer space and sticky love songs
well done, is Sixthoverture a different kind of BGO album?
Decked out with haunting and harrowing album artwork, Sixthoverture
is yet another thrilling BGO album filled with soaring pop melodiesHildy's
usually upbeat tracks fueled by lyrics that looks straight into permanent
human conditions like love and life. Also on Sixthoverture is
a fine Beatles' tribute, to which Hildy adds, More than any
other previous BGO album. I guess I was feeling a little experimental.
The Beatles Made Me is not my deliberate tribute to The
Beatles though. Its a relationship song about whomever you want
it to be about, bringing two people back together through the joy
of music and the band that just happens to be doing that is The Beatles.
Music fans who have been hip to BGO since their early breakthrough
album Out Of This World will find much to like about number
6Sixthoverture. Aided and abetted by BGO guitarist Douglas
Hildebrandt and guest vocalist Les Farrington of Sugarbomb,
Michael Laine Hildebrandt and Bubble Gum Orchestra takes pop-rock
to a higher state of the art on the spectacular sounding animated
groove of Sixthoverture.
mwe3.com presents an interview with
MICHAEL LAINE HILDEBRANDT
of Bubble Gum Orchestra (BGO)
MWE3:
How are things in Texas? I know its a huge place, as is Florida
but what are you making of the Harvey event? Seems like these things
are every other week and season of the rooster is coming full circle.
I hope BGO is able to escape the worst of this tropical madness!
MLH: All good here in Dallas thankfully. Down South got hit
hard with the hurricane and my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone
affected.
MWE3: Sixthoverture is kind of darker and more reality
based than Sticky Love Songs. What does the mood of Sixthoverture
mean to you and what kind of response are you seeking from the listener
on this album?
MLH: You are spot on with your observation except for some
of the reality parts. I just want to let everyone know I am doing
very well and not to worry about my state of mind on this new album.
Not to ruin the mood here for anyone but 99% of these songs are not
about me so everyone take a deep breath
Ive been getting
a BIG laughable kick out of people concerned that I was at rock bottom,
down and out, depressed and writing about it. Dont hide the
knives just yet! Pauls not dead and neither is Michael.
I was so glad to get SLSs out of my life just from the emotional
standpoint I let myself go into somewhat uncharted BGO territory and
started writing what was to come for me a thrilling, emotional and
super positive journey of 11 songs. The mood reflects just some of
the chaos going on in this crazy world today. Unfortunately for a
lot of people, life is not a sunshine drenched, cotton candy, happy
go lucky heard it a million times power pop song type existence and
I write about those individuals in my songs sometimes. I LOVE to compose
as the third person. The listener will hopefully take away what they
want out of Sixthoverture
after hearing it.
MWE3: The concept of Sixthoverture is enhanced by the
cover art with the tornados and the blue cellos burning in the landscape.
Is it kind of apocalyptic especially in light of the hurricane attacking
Texas as we speak? The devil gets his way
MLH:
The Sixthoverture cover and back cover art represents a violent
storm rolling over a cello graveyard. It has nothing to do with any
hurricanes. There are six cellos because this is the sixth BGO release.
I went with a monotone landscape with a splash of blue in there. I
basically wanted something I had not done before on a BGO album cover.
No spaceship, no big theme going on
just different. I dont
even know what it all means
I just like it. It reflects a little
bit of the mood I was in at times during the writing sessions of this
new album. A friend told me the album art was dark yet beautiful.
A very good description indeed. Lets just go with that
MWE3: Is A New Kind Of Love Song a kind of modern
day protest song? Seems like were still fighting the devil to
get to some place new? Kind of The Archies meets Phil Ochs? Have you
written another song in this spirit before? It would make a great
single. You sound a little depressed
as we all are.
MLH: I wrote A New Kind Of Love Song for two reasons.
One, the last album was so slammed full of some real life situations
occurring in my life at that time I just wanted to hear A New
Kind Of Love Song so I wrote it. The choruses were written around
those thoughts. Secondly, the verses are a totally different beast
going in a somewhat dark direction reflecting all the terrible stuff
going on in the world today. Bullies, the Devil seemingly getting
his way are all covered here. Depressed about the bad guys in this
world killing innocent people on a daily basis
hell yeah!
MWE3: Youve Been Hurt Before is very ELO
influenced. Is there a story behind it? The guitar solos near the
end are by Douglas. How many tracks is Douglas playing on the new
album? Speaking of ELO, you must have been happy to see ELO in the
Rock Hall. It was long overdue.
MLH: I thought the title was a nice one so I wrote the music
around it. Im sure there is a deep meaning lurking around in
there somewhere, but Im not gonna start digging around to find
it. Did that on the last album. Douglas played all the guitars on
this album, fantastically I might add. The RRHOF is good in theory
but it has many obvious flaws. ELO should have been in there years
ago. Kelly Groucutt being omitted was a crime. His vocal contributions
are a major part of ELOs iconic heyday sound. The RRHOF is fucked
up. Its just stupid how they vote on who gets in and who doesnt.
I wont get into how I really feel!
MWE3:
Is The Beatles Made Me your long awaited tribute to The
Beatles? What parameters did you set out with as there have been other
Beatles tributes songs
You only mention Abbey Road nearly ruined
you? Is that because it was over by then? Abbey Road was underrated
but then you had the Get Back / Let It Be album to deal with
just around the same time. But Abbey Road might have ruined
me too! How did you arrange the chord structure in that song, theres
some interesting key modulations. You dont do that kind of thing
enough!
MLH: A friend gave me a vintage 1976 Rhodes piano just before
I started writing Sixthoverture. I wrote most every song on
it. That being said, The Beatles Made Me started out on
piano and was then transposed to guitar along the way. It starts out
in the key of C and goes where it goes from there. The Sixthoverture
album has many key changes and modulations happening. More than any
other previous BGO album. I guess I was feeling a little experimental.
The Beatles Made Me is not my deliberate tribute to The
Beatles though. Its a relationship song about whomever you want
it to be about bringing two people back together through the joy of
music and the band that just happens to be doing that is The Beatles.
So, its about 90% relationship oriented and 10% my nod to the
Fab four. The Abbey Road part is the 10% nod.
MWE3: Is it difficult to write a troubled lyric like Living
On Earth? It seems it fits in with the general gothic nature
of the album. Does it make for good songwriting? Who is the singer
singing to? It has a kind of Kinks feel although its pretty
authentic.
MLH: Its not difficult, just somewhat troubling. The
verses of this song reflect real day-to-day life for some folks on
both sides of the human coin. Uncertainty, doubt, wondering what tomorrow
will bring, not having money, having money. The chorus takes a turn
and ponders life without someone you love and what it might be like
with or without him or her. Whenever I get inspired by something it
always makes for good song writing. I generally write as a third person
making life observations about others. Thats what I did on this
one. Its authentic, original and non-gothic.
MWE3: Lower Than Low is also sad and somber. Are
you writing about yourself? Better to let bad vibes out in a song
right? Lennon did that a lot.
MLH:
Melancholy is beyond sad, its Lower Than Low
Its
not about me though, its about a friend. This friend was going
through a long time relationship breakup and was feeling very sad
and everything that comes along with that sort of thing. After speaking
with him, I felt so bad I went right into the studio around 12:45
a.m. and sat down at the piano. I actually channeled that conversation
from my mind into the piano opening and the first two verses as if
it were him. I wrote it through him as being on the borderline of
desperation and lost love. It was a first for me and I really enjoyed
that new writing process. The chorus continues the sad storyline but
I threw in a curve and surrounded the lyric tone with the most upbeat
music I felt appropriate. The mixture of sad and happy really clicked
and I love how it turned out. It was a great way to end side one of
the album.
MWE3: What brought on God Is Good and its
interesting that it follows Lower Than Low! Is that your
new mantra for the 21st century or are you saying something else?
MLH: Another song I started and wrote on piano. Its about
a guy and girl in separate life scenarios so down on their luck that
they are thinking about ending it all. They read a verse out of the
bible and it changes their life around for the better and ends up
saving them. No preaching or statements being made by me, just an
observation. It was a nice ultimate uplifting message to write about.
Positivity, heavy guitars and hope is what Im saying. I thought
my friend Les Farrington of Sugarbomb and solo artist fame would be
perfect singing lead on the second verse so I called him. He was all
in so we got together in Blue Violin Studios and went for it.
We had a great time and it turned out so very cool. It kind of has
a Sugarbomb/ Jellyfish vibe in the verses
mostly a BGO vibe
though. Les played piano on the BGO II and BGO III albums here and
there. I hope to have him sing and play on a future BGO album.
MWE3: Its good that The Other Side Of Midnight
is another upbeat, song. Long forgotten romance is always a good subject
matter for songs, no matter what decade right?
MLH: I thought The Other Side Of Midnight was an
interesting tile so I wrote a song around it. I incorporated a nice
key change and a modulation which really mixed things up and made
it a really fun upbeat adventure. Modulations and key changes through
out. I like it a lot! It brings a smile to my face every time I hear
it or think about it.
MWE3: How about Remember Me? Its too early
for your obituary or is it another long lost lover memory resurfacing?
MLH: I had that title bouncing around in my head for awhile
and wanted to approach it delicately without people thinking it was
some morbid downer song or about me. Its not gender specific
and is basically stating Remember Me, I dont want to ever
be forgotten
forever by you. It has some tempo changes
and nice musical break-downs here and there. The message is universal
and applies to just about anybody with a beating heart. I want the
listener to hear it and get what they want out of it. I dont
want to spoil someones perception of this song by saying that
I just made it up
in which I did.
MWE3: Elizabeth is brilliant!
MLH:
E- liz - a - beth had four syllables and sounded just right in the
chorus plus the fictional verses really had some depth to them. Its
deep and has a nice melody through out. One of my favorites for sure.
MWE3: You save the best for last as Have I Told You
would be a great single from the album. Did you want to go out with
a bang? Again, the best guitar solo on the album? Two minus One is
the loneliest number
classic.
MLH: Have I Told You was the first song I penned
on Sixthoverture. For me, its a bang from the get
go on all my albums so ending with this particular song just
seemed the right fit. The line, A simple deduction of the
total sum of the reasons that we still try
two minus one is the
loneliest number that we know so well is very telling for
many people out there. A very upbeat chorus and troubles verses. I
love that mixture
its how I write.
MWE3: Six albums in and another six coming from BGO? Does Sixthoverture
give way to Seventh Heaven? When does the Sixthoverture CD
come out and are you pressing vinyl too? Is being a musician like
being an athlete in training? Anyway with all these storms around
you better take out some insurance on your cellos! Whos, I mean
whats next?
MLH: Yes, six amazing albums and so many wonderful memories
since 2011. Im blessed to be a little prolific at this and still
very inspired. It never feels like work and I never write unless I
feel an idea is worthy. In this fucked-up so called music business
that is going on out there Im debating releasing CDs this time
and definitely not vinyl, just the download. The music heroes I grew
up loving cant sell CDs these days
how can I? My brother
had to pretty much talk me into even releasing this album. I do this
for ME and if it stays with me in the studio and never gets released
so be it. My worth as a song writer is not dictated by clicks
and likes or some negative, spiteful people saying I worship
the ground Jeff Lynne walks on blah, blah, blah
Just to let
you all know
Jeff Lynne is Not GOD!
I
will never let the decline of the music industry and cheaters file
sharing out there diminish my true love of writing and recording BGO.
Its beyond obvious that the cream doesnt rise to the top
of the music world anymore. The next 10 song album is titled ZENTOPIA
and is 95% written and recorded except for vocals and backing vocals,
mixing etc. The BGO spaceship is found after disappearing centuries
ago on the Beyond Time album. Im busting with excitement
during these Z recording sessions. Life is great here
in BGO land. Ive eliminated all the middle men trying
to take a cut of my hard work and time spent on my compositions. Sixthoverture
will be released on September 19th 2017 ONLY at bubblegumorchestra.com.