Americana Highways brings you this video premiere of Alicia Blue’s song “You Turn Me On.”
“You Turn Me On” was recorded Live at Revival Studios at The Complex in West LA. The video crew was Defector Films: Tommy Zhao (executive producer), Ross Warr and Dante Marino (producers), Benjamin Winters (associate producer), Ross Warr (director of photography and colorist), David Howard (steadicam operator), Doug Thomas (camera B operator), Tommy Zhao (gaffer), Benjamin Winters (key grip), and Dante Marino (editor). Makeup artist was Emma Cole.
Musicians are Alicia Blue on acoustic guitar and vocals; Patrick Taylor on bass; Jason Goldstein on keys; Ben Greenberg on guitar; and Max Meizlish on drums. The recording was engineered by Noah Dresner and mixed by Jason Goldstein and Brian Ross, with thanks to studio owner Marlon Ray. Alicia Blue creates offbeat, eclectic songs, which, if you haven’t heard, you should. Try this one.
“You Turn Me On” is a story about the battle between reason and emotion. I wrote it a few years ago when I hadn’t really paid much attention to musical conventions, things like keeping a song in one-time signature or intentionally repeating a phrase so that a song can become ‘catchy.’ I was just following the lyrical movement, which ended up leading to really different rhythmic feels in the verse and chorus. I think every drummer I’ve brought this song sorta freaks at first and then ends up loving it.
So there it is, the calmness of reason in the verse, leading to something a bit more chaotic, almost carnivalesque sounding, in the chorus. The way we play it with this band has that feel in the most natural way. Max Meizlish on drums made the transitions seamless. Patrick Taylor runs bass lines toward the end that sorta pop in out of nowhere and makes me smile every time. I’d played this song with Jason Goldstein (keys) many times before and he brings out these psychedelic sounds that cut through without ever being kitschy…especially when he runs the verse melody on the short instrumental section. Ben Greenberg (electric guitar) adds these heavily overdriven tones to what I’m already doing that brings depth to this version and it runs right to the space I was trying to inhabit.