Charley Weber Portfolio

Music Spotlight – Stephanie Rainey

A couple of breaking new artists, to complement the historic and legacy podcast interviews, are Stephanie Rainey and Lola Lennox. Stephanie is a massively talented singer and songwriter from Cork in Ireland whom I recently had the pleasure of interviewing. She has a couple of new releases coming up, 100 Like Me and Woman. Lola Lennox, the daughter of Annie Lennox, is another featured podcast, also a supremely talented writer and singer in her own right. Lola is releasing her first single, In The Wild, in Autumn of 2019.

Alt-Generations! Coming soon…

Issue No. 1 October, 2019

Stephanie Rainey – Music Spotlight, Alt-Generations, Issue 1. October, 2019.
100 Like Me – Stephanie Rainey. Current release.

Her new single, 100 Like Me, which is about speaking up about mental health issues, is a tense, but animated anthem which was released in Ireland and is still new to the U.S. and the UK. Given the company Stephanie was keeping at the Golden Stone Years concert – which included the likes of Donovan, The Stranglers and The Waterboys – Stephanie is no shrinking violet on stage and definitely a live act worth checking out.

Coming soon! Podcast interview with the October launch issue.

Hailing from Cork in Ireland and having struggled to get recognised for years, in 2015 Stephanie released an emotionally powerful song and video with Please Don’t Go, which was about her brother who sadly passed away from cancer. The video and song quickly went viral and notched up a few million views online. Since then Stephanie’s career has been going from strength to strength and after Donovan and Linda Leitch saw her at a concert in Ireland they invited her to perform at the Golden Stone event.

We have a podcast interview with Stephanie Rainey who, according to Jason Rothberg, the organising producer of the recent Golden Stone Years tribute to Brian Jones, ‘stole the show’ at this year’s concert.

https://videopress.com/v/WhqP2s4w?preloadContent=metadata
Nothing of You Left to Love – Stephanie Rainey

Lola Lennox – Singer Songwriter

In advance of Lola’s phenomenal sounding first release, In the Wild, a podcast interview and some of Lola’s extraordinary writing and music!

Alt-Generations will spotlight a festival and a new or legacy artist every month. This section is dedicated to music on the site, primarily that of other musicians with songs, interviews, stems and remixes offered monthly. My own music is used to create base tracks for remixes by various guest producers as well as to illustrate parts of the music history E-book.

C.Weber/We Are Juan Music Publishing (Ascap)

The biography section is in web-documentary form, which includes music, voice and various supporting browsable multi-media.

To supplement a website about artists, mostly accomplished ones, I suspect we need to cross a few boundaries in style, if for nothing but to be open to some kind of exploration, growth or development.

Out On A Limb. A strange DB track I wrote as a music club director in Istanbul. Road to Reach You, by We Are Juan. Available on iTunes.

This one, Welcome New World or The Pirate’s Song, I’ve just finished working on but started writing years ago in New York. It was inspired by my room-mate at the time, Mr. Kim, a consultant lawyer to the government from South Korea. An amazing and fascinating guy who, during our time and friendship in New York, opened my eyes to a different, mostly Korean, perspective of the world – in terms of music, health, relationships and work – and inspired me to develop a singing voice. Before that I only ever played guitar.

The song is about a certain time and arriving in New York, but has parallels with colonial invasions and the arrival of pilgrims in the New World. Interestingly, huge 400th anniversary celebrations are planned for in 2020, both where I live, where the boats sailed from in Plymouth UK and also in Plymouth Rock, on the other side of the Atlantic.

Is You Is. Nell Carter is the other voice on this song, the male voice and re-production is mine. It’s actually a reinterpretation of Cole Porter’s ‘Is You Is’ (some parts from a Verve remix track need replacing). Nell was a Grammy and Tony award winning actress. She was the lead in ‘Ain’t Misbehaving’ – a hugely successful revue from the 80s and 90s – as well as an actress in a number of tv series. She had gone through a roller coaster of fame, substance abuse and man troubles. By this time however, mid 2000, she seemed to have overcome them and was extremely happy. Unexpectedly, we got a call in the edit room informing us that Nell had just passed away from a heart attack. Ironically just as we were editing the final ensemble cast scene under credits for Swing, the little indie film I flew from Istanbul to edit. 

Kinder Days. An unusual folk/rock track I wrote and recorded for We Are Juan’s ‘Road to Reach You‘, available on iTunes. The song came to me in ten minutes and I almost didn’t bother to stop and write the thing before leaving the Sheraton Hotel to go to work to edit Swing. It seemed too simple. Although people laugh at the idea, it’s a conspicuously different experience for songwriters, perhaps a channelled thing.

A Day in The Life, by Lennon and McCartney (C. Weber voices, arrangement and instruments). The first of monthly remixes from the site. The idea is to produce reinterpretations – ideally with the artist we spotlight – each month. This first one will be explored as a Jungle interpretation and incorporate guest vocalists, remixing the best of them into an ensemble piece not unlike the BBC reworking of Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’. There are others, like Layla, and a Dub version of Debbie Harry’s Call Me. The remixes are seen as an interesting exchange and meeting point between various generations of producers and artists.

Above and below are a selection of songs, some original and some re-interpretations, which will underscore the biographical chapters in the E-Book. A few are in the music player (lower right, main screen). Right now they are getting upgraded with new recording equipment; my mustang guitar; new and better drums and a deeper and more polished level of production.

Original Unpublished Music

Sentimental Soldier – C. Weber (Free/Not Published).

Soldier – C. Weber music, voice, instruments and arrangement. Written in Istanbul initially, on seeing two soldiers walking arm-in-arm – one wearing mascara – down Istaklal, the main pedestrian shopping and entertainment district of Istanbul. Just added new drums.

Not The Same – C. Weber (Free/Not Published)

Not The Same – C. Weber. A song about very different siblings. If there is a thematic song, apart from a reinterpretation of someone else’s classic using multiple artists and different players, like A Day In the Life, it could be this one. A decent song but the vocals, mix or arrangement feel like they need a little work to add punch or more dynamics.

Two Tracks – C. Weber (Free/Not Published).

Welcome to The New World/The Pirate’s Song – C. Weber (Free/Not Published)

Everybody Else – C. Weber (Free/Not Published).

Once – C. Weber (Free/Not Published).

Spanish Lullaby – C. Weber (Free/Not Published).

Third Rose – C. Weber (Free/Not Published).

Reinterpretations and Cover Material.

Arrangements, voices and instruments by C. Weber (Ascap).

Is You Is – C. Porter. Dance. With Nell Carter and C. Weber vocals.

Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys – W. Jennings.

Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys. W. Jennings. Electro version. European mountain or country music is a unique cultural genre. I’ve written a new original in that style – Two Tracks – sort of in the vein of Seasick Steve, although currently the production seems too full at the moment. But for many of us, Gram Parsons, Carl Perkins and Willie Nelson are or were among the greatest.

Angel – J. Hendrix. Alt Rock. Incorporating the new production sounds, particularly crisper and more open and authentic drums.

Angel, Jimi Hendrix. A reinterpretation, instruments and voices by Charley Weber

A number of the tracks will be posted with audio stems, for budding mix engineers into giving that a whirl. Particularly Layla (which is supposed to be a rural Turkish flavoured remix), Call Me – the Debbie Harry track (supposed to be more of a deeper Dub reinterpretation). A couple of others, like My Baby Just Cares for Me, I Don’t Claim to Be An Angel and Shine A light, which I sense need either new vocals or some traditional Gospel backing accompaniment.

Layla – Derek and the Dominos, Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon.

Layla – E. Clapton. A reinterpretation, instruments and voices by Charley Weber (Stems available). An historic song and behind the scenes romance story, which opens up all kinds of explorative questions about love, projection, escape and addiction. Treading a balance between truth and tongue in cheek: a modern retelling of the story of Layla and Majnun, largely told visually. An Anatolian Saz player gets banished to the mountains and living among his goats, he writes love songs for his beloved, Layla. Her parents have forbidden the union, deeming him unworthy marriage material for their daughter. It is intended to underscore an E-Biography section posing the question: does everyone have at least one Layla in their lives? To me the production sounds a bit too straight at the moment. The intention is for a more Anatolian mix and feel.

Shine A Light – Jagger/Richards. According to the Stones, this seems have been written about Brian Jones.

Call Me – Dub/Electronic – D. Harry.

Lover You Should Have Come Over – J Buckley.

My Baby Just Cares For Me – N. Simone. Electro version.

I Don’t Claim to Be An Angel – K. Wells. Slide version.

The longer term aim is to finish a collection of songs at Flame/Mussel Shoals Studio (I’ve made contact, discussed it and gotten a pretty reasonable quote). In the meantime we will use the tracks to illustrate the biographical chapters.