YOUR QUESTION:

09/21/2024 Wilson (Take 3)

A few questions:
Why is the mix on Chemical Marriage much more quiet than the rest of the album? Was this intentional? (I guess yes because it made it onto the record).

What is the harmony going on in Vanity Fair? I'm a Bass player and I always listen to the harmony. I think the chords go C#maj Bbmin Dmaj6, then ??? It sounds like it goes to Ab so it rounds off with a 5 to 1 back into the C#, but it also sounds like it's some A chord as the 5 of the D part. The bass part is where it's hard for me to tell. I feel like it's in-between the two root notes, sorta microtonally. It sounds like the bass and vocal bass are blending the two, but I'm not sure. The melody is an Ab, so it hints that this is what the root "should be", yet the bass note itself is note just sounds and feels different.
Whatever it is, I've always loved this track because of this specific occurrence in the bass. It's very unique, never heard it in anything else.

I've read some random comment that Frank Zappa was to produce Mr. Bungle's first album but he didn't due to the state he was in. Is this true? If so, what was the correspondence between him and your group like? How did y'all communicate? I am a fan of Bungle's work, and a massive fan of his work, and I hear a connection between the works, intentional or not.

If you have read this, thanks! I know the musician grind is tough, so if not, I get it.

MY ANSWER:

I don’t remember exactly but that record was a bitch to master— maybe ask Bernie Grundman. There are a lot of dynamics going on in that disc.

You’re really testing my memory, but I think you may have hit this one on the head. I could be wrong—-but I wrote it so I can re-write it haha—-I think the concept was a very basic chord progression ( I vi ii V I ) with a minor 9th or some other horrendous harmony in the bass — a note that would properly belong in the upper structures of the chord. It’s low enough to be just disconcerting enough.

It’s true about Zappa. We knew someone who was dating Moon Unit at the time and had access to Frank via our manager. We never spoke to him directly. We put out a request and he gracefully declined. I think he passed about 2 years later. Supposedly he eventually heard that record and said he’d wished he’d been responsible for it. Not sure if that part is true, but I’ll just believe it regardless.