Tim Randolph Controls The Universe
I first met my buddy Tim in the summer of 2001 at work. He was there doing some consultant work and we struck up a conversation about guitars. He seemed like a cool-enough guy and we had stuff in common - music and So Cal - so I invited him over for dinner to meet the wife and check out my music room. He was impressed with some of the tunes off of bikini that I had finished, and after I saw (and heard) him play, I asked him to play a guitar solo on one of my songs.
That song turned out to be You, and he did an amazing job. In October 2001, after just a couple of takes, he laid down the most incredible solo. Since we were already set up for recording, I asked him to do a outro solo for the song, too. Another amazing take.
Since he travels a lot, I told him to give me a call next time he was in town - that we would get together and jam. I began to think that it would be a great I idea if I had him play on another song, so I re-worked an old song that I was going to record for my first CD, man makes plans and God laughs, and got it ready for him the next time he would be out. He came over to listen to it, to try and get a feel for it, and I burned him a CD of the song's basic tracks so he could work on it when he was home and during his many travels.
The instrumental I wrote is Bravo, and my idea was for him to play melodies over the entire song. He came out again in February 2002 and again, after a couple of takes, he played some pretty great stuff. I recorded him on separate tracks to make it easier for him, so he wouldn't have to play everything all the way through. That seemed to work well, and when put together, it's simply some jaw-dropping riffing! I gave Tim half of the writing credits on Bravo because his melodies make the song.
Here's how a typical recording session with Tim turns out: He comes over and eats with the family - barbecue, Baja Fresh, whatever. We drink a bunch of beers. He picks out one of my guitars and I press record - it's that easy! Oh yeah, we drink a bunch of beers...
I'm very pleased with all the work Tim has done on bikini and I look forward to working with him again. He certainly plays a style of guitar that I don't (can't) and I think it adds a lot to my music. He's a great friend!
UPDATE: April 2004
Tim also helped me out on a Don't Worry, Baby cover for my 4-song STOP WORLD PEACE EP CD and played on three songs on Lead Foot Lucy - 44 (co-wrote), Tonight, and a cover of Houses Of The Holy, where he played the lead and rhythm parts. Before Tim moved on to Texas in April 2004, I also got him to play on a tune he co-wrote with me called Wreckabilly (his title), which will be finished shortly and included on a future Smithtone CD.
Although we won't be jamming in person all that much more, we have planned a way to share music via SmartMedia cards and a couple of Zoom PS-02 Palm Studio Digital Recorders, so I'm sure he'll be playing on a lot more Smithtone music down the road. Thanks again, Tim, for all the super playing, valuable feedback (he actually 'gets' my music), and great friendship!
UPDATE: August 2004
Tim also was out my way in late June for a Van Halen concert, so I tapped him to play solos on Dig It and my cover of Save It For Later, off the 3-song EP Dig It. As usual, he kicked ass!
UPDATE: May 2005
Tim was out my way for the Memorial Day holiday weekend and I tapped him to play lead guitar on a cool new instrumental, Eleventh Hour, for my 2006 CD, Ethereal. As usual, his playing was superb.
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