Publicity
Publicity
[verse]
I I
Want to be famous
A A
Star of the small screen
Do Do
Whatever it shall take
Say Say
I’ll Be the biggest
[Chorus]
Good news Bad news
It’s all fake news
Lets press the negativity
I’ll need lots of Publicity
Publicity Publicity Publicity
[verse]
The The
Fans will all agree
I I
Sell them what they wish
A A
A little controversy
Die Die
A death and I’ll be missed
[Chorus]
Good news Bad news
It’s all fake news
Lets press the negativity
I’ll need lots of Publicity
Publicity Publicity Publicity
[bridge]
Touch myself in all kinds of places
See me make all kinds of faces
Watch me play all kinds of stages
[Chorus]
Good news Bad news
It’s all fake news
Lets (su)press the negativity
I’ll need lots of Publicity
Publicity Publicity Publicity
Song Length: 4:28
Writer: Jody Whitesides IPI/CAE 00196306650
Publisher: Too Much Music IPI/CAE 00456952518
Admin Publisher (Outside U.S.): Bluewater Music
Bob Roberts: Drums
Jody Whitesides: Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Additional Drum Programming
Recording Info:
Recording Notes 2025:
Cover Art: Jody Whitesides
Animation Direction: Ken Bailey
Recording Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Mixing Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Mastering Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Vocal Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Producer: Jody Whitesides
Remixed at: Snow Park Studio in Park City UT
Mixed in LUNA with Apollo interfaces
Mastered in LUNA with Apollo interfaces
Monitor Speakers: KRK V4 mkII
Original CD Version released in 2000 info:
Cover Art: Omar Cano
Recording Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Mixing Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Mixing Engineer: Rokk Lattanzio
Mastering Engineer: Rokk Lattanzio
Vocal Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Producer: Jody Whitesides
Recorded at: El Padden Studio Jr in Porter Ranch CA
Audio Interface: Emagic Audiowerk8
Also recorded at: Das Poolside Studio in Tujunga CA
Audio Interface: Emagic Audiowerk8
The rhythm guitars for the right side of the song were El Padden Jr.
The rhythm guitars for the left side of the song were recorded at Das Poolside Studio.
Mixed in Logic Audio Platinum
Mastered in Logic Audio
Monitor Speakers: Custom Built by Rock Lattanzio and Jody Whitesides
Guitar(s): Joe’s Guitar Whitesides Viper 7 Redwood: This is a custom 7-string guitar that Justin built for me to specifications for the neck. The body is two different woods, the back of the body is alder with a redwood top. The neck is maple with a Bocate fingerboard, jumbo frets. Strung with Dean Markley Blue Steels. The bridge pickup is a custom built Seymour Duncan Custom Custom, made specifically for me prior to 7-string guitar pickups becoming an actual line. Thus it’s pieced together by Seymour’s custom pickup department. The neck is a stacked humbucker, also created by Seymour Duncan’s custom pickup department. This was voiced to be more like a custom.
Ibanez Universe 7 string guitar: This is number 96 off the assembly line. I got it for $400 with the case, about 6 months before Korn hit it big time. Then the value shot up to over $2000. Seymour Duncan Custom Custom 7 string model – custom wound. Plus my middle pickup was custom wound by a guy in Canada, sounds ok, but I don’t have his name. Neck pickup wasn’t used on this disc but is the stock pickup. Tremolo was useless with strings this heavy – so I blocked it off. This guitar was strung with Dean Markley Blue Steels medium gauge.
The amp setups:
Fender VibroChamp. It was re-tubed by Aspen Pittman of GrooveTubes. The distortion pedal I used was a re-issue Ibanez Tube Screamer.
GrooveTubes Trio: GrooveTubes Soul-O 150. GrooveTubes Dual 75 loaded with KT88’s. GrooveTubes 2 x 10″ cabs.
Bass(s): Hohner B Bass V. At the time of this recording it was strung with GHS Boomers bass strings. The bass was recorded direct into a tube screamer, and a Peavey Backstage plus amp. Mic’d with a Shure SM-57Beta.
Drums: Live drums were tracked as MIDI via the Roland TD-10 (with expansion kit) and later dumped into Logic as MIDI (with a very complex environment page that allowed for all the parts to be separated and associated with their control data) and audio sounds.
Additional drums and percussion were from Spectrasonics loop libraries. Meticulously edited by Jody to loop perfectly without hiccups.
Additional Drum Samples provided by Rokk
Vocal: All vocals in this were recorded using a GrooveTubes MD1a.
Song Story:
Long story short: I wrote this about getting famous.
Publicity is one of my takes on how desperately people want to be famous. I actually wrote the lyrics some time around the infamous O.J. slow speed following on national T.V.
What’s really crazy is that I can’t believe how extreme it has become for the television screen. Now we have American Idol, Rockstar, Survivor, Wife Swap, the Apprentice… It’s actually quite sick. Even more stupid is that I was attempting to get famous at that time too. However my approach was typical music in getting there through word of mouth. I think the instant fame of the T.V. won’t work for someone like me. ** [It’s no longer most people’s goal either, in 2025 its social media and attempting to be an influencer.]
Another thing that is scary is the media, which is how we all may get our fame. It gets manipulated in various ways to sell pretty packaging instead of actual goods and talent. It no longer matters if the light you’re painted in, is good or bad it still gets your face and name out where people can see it. I just prefer it to be good stuff when it relates to me. And I attempt to keep it as real as possible.
CD concept wise, this album was started as a backlash to the shit that blew up Amalgam. I created it not caring if it could be done live. I wrote and recorded it to have fun. I also did it as an exploration to recording on a computer for the first time. The whole album was recorded in a bed room and a closet.
I had just gotten another 7 string guitar. This time custom made just for me, a model with my name on it – the Whitesides Viper 7 by Joe’s Guitars. So all of the songs were recorded using the two 7 string guitars I had.
Factoids:
1. I recorded the guitars through an old Fender Vibro Champ
2. Someone once asked if I was writing about them (I won’t say who)
This song was part of an album that was my first foray into computer recording. At the time, the El Padden Studio was no longer at my beck and call and I had to make arrangements with recording with my own gear. I was using a Mac G5 with an Emagic audio card (yes, the people & company that created Logic Audio).
I had a super simple setup. The guitars and vocals were all mic’d and played live. The drums were also played live on an electronic kit and as noted recorded as MIDI. The bass was recorded thru a Peavy Backstage Plus. It was a massive learning experience at a time when digital was very much in its infancy. There weren’t a lot of plugins available and things were stupid expensive compared to today’s digital recording.
This was where my initial steps to computer based recording began. I haven’t looked back. The power and the ease of recording on the computer, minus the mucky muck of boards, tape and knobs was awesome.
I had met Rokk who was a great teacher on getting me info about EQ and where to listen for things to modify in sound. He was great. We built a nice set of speakers to mix with and listen to, unfortunately I don’t have them any more. Rokk taught me an awful lot about mixing for a better production sound.
Additional rhythm guitar tracks were inspired by Mark Jackson (guitarist and producer extraordinaire). I knew Mark from Musician’s Institute and he was working for A&R at Columbia records When I wrote and recorded this. He felt if I beefed up the guitars I’d get signed. It did flesh out the sound and got that beefier vibe, but it didn’t get me signed.
Copyright: 2000/04/11
ISRC: USONR2400111
ISRC: USONR2400101
ISRC: USONR2400121
ISRC: USONR0010001
ISWC: T0709688130
SESAC Song ID: 700326
Harry Fox ID: P8197L
Harry Fox Publisher ID: P8938Q
UPC: 654433000221
UPC: 656465412973
UPC: 656465413031