Californian singer songwriter storyteller Patrick Ames recently returned with his new single “Rubber & Glue,” following previously released tracks “Second Wave” and “You Make Me Scream”.
While those tracks were pandemic-themed “Rubber & Glue” takes a more laid back, classic Cali rock sound with an easy going vibe. With backing vocals from frequent collaborators Chana and Mikaela Matthews, the track takes on a smooth and chill tone that feels readymade for a few cold ones on a lazy summers day.
Patrick expands on the new single’s themes and recording approach:
The song Rubber & Glue has been around for a few years in my world and it has that nice worn leather kind of feel. It’s comfortable, you’ve heard it before, you like it, how far along do you start singing the lyrics? It shows my heritage. We were kids in the 1960s, playing baseball on Toledo’s streets at the height of Motown’s pull and songs like Rubber & Glue were everywhere on the radio – take a known expression and make it into a song. From I Heard It on the Grapewine to Cloud Nine I played my best baseball to those endless songs on a transistor radio tuned to CKLW.
For this Rubber & Glue, I recorded by mic’ing to the studio amp and then laying over the vocals. For some reason it got a little swampy, as in Mississippi river blues, which Jon Ireson, our producer, bassist, and acoustic guitarist, managed to save and embellish. The swampyness saves the song from going to close to pop. Dare I say Muscle Shoals. Chana and Mikaela recorded separate sessions, as I watched on Zoom with comments and direction. Chana has the high spots on this one with her Yeah, Yeah voice. Instant classic.
Jon Ireson, Producer, pieced it all together. Playing bass, and guitar, and fixing all he “artifacts” in my studio recodings, and the vocalists home kitchen. Jon really gave it that simple, Motown beat and rythym and blues.
Find “Rubber & Glue” streaming now below.
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