The Shaft
The Shaft
[verse]
From a darkened corner I sit and stare
An abused cliché it’s a rotten day
Masked in scandal and movie fear
Bad business broken fingers I can’t parlay
[chorus]
We don’t want (the Shaft) She may want (the Shaft)
He don’t need (the Shaft) They may need (the Shaft)
We don’t want (the Shaft) She may want (the Shaft)
He don’t need (the Shaft) They may need (the Shaft)
I am the law which they won’t abide
The creative crushed to stoke the fire
Got the cover they can not hide
My work is proof that they have no desire
[chorus]
We don’t want (the Shaft) She may want (the Shaft)
He don’t need (the Shaft) They may need (the Shaft)
We don’t want (the Shaft) She may want (the Shaft)
He don’t need (the Shaft) They may need (the Shaft)
[bridge]
Be wary of spies in the big pit
Friends and foes will do as they see fit
Don’t count your cards to soon
Money can burn and your friends can too
[chorus]
We don’t want (the Shaft) She may want (the Shaft)
He don’t need (the Shaft) They may need (the Shaft)
We don’t want (the Shaft) She may want (the Shaft)
He don’t need (the Shaft) They may need (the Shaft)
[chorus]
We don’t want (the Shaft) She may want (the Shaft)
He don’t need (the Shaft) They may need (the Shaft)
We don’t want (the Shaft) She may want (the Shaft)
He don’t need (the Shaft) They may need (the Shaft)
[chorus]
We don’t want (the Shaft) She may want (the Shaft)
He don’t need (the Shaft) They may need (the Shaft)
We don’t want (the Shaft) She may want (the Shaft)
He don’t need (the Shaft) They may need (the Shaft)
Song Length: 3:05
Writer: Jody Whitesides IPI/CAE 00196306650
Publisher: Too Much Music IPI/CAE 00456952518
Admin Publisher (Outside U.S.): Bluewater Music
Paul Kaiser: Drums
Jody Whitesides: Vocals, Guitars, Bass
Recording Info:
Notes 2026:
Cover Art: Jody Whitesides
Recording Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Mixing Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Mastering Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Atmos Mixing Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Atmos 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
Atmos Mix in LUNA with Apollo interfaces
Atmos Mastering in Dolby Album Assembler
Monitor Speakers: KRK V4 mkII
Original CD Version released in 2001 info:
Cover Art: Jody Whitesides
Recording Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Mixing Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Mastering Engineer: George Leger III
Vocal Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Producer: Jody Whitesides
Recorded & mixed at: Dancin Deer Studio in Reseda CA
The Setup: Mac G4
Logic Audio Platinum
MOTU 828 mkII
Avalon 737sp
Neumann U87a modified.
GrooveTubes MD1a
GrooveTubes Vipre
Shure SM57beta
Mastered at: Utopia Parkway Music
Guitar(s): Fender Guitar with desert paint job: my first guitar that I subsequently torn apart changed parts, repainted and rebuilt. Up from the ashes came a guitar that has since been on numerous recordings and records, more than me. It sounds great. I stocked it with a single Seymour Duncan Custom Humbucker. Strung with Dean Markley Blue Steels medium gauge.
Joe’s Guitar with Jesus paint job: This guitar has a Seymour Duncan Custom Custom pickup and a Cool Rails. It also has a Wilkinson Tremelo installed by Trev Wilkinson himself. Strung with Dean Markley Blue Steel medium gauge strings. This is the guitar used on the guitar solo.
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.
The Amp Setup:
GrooveTubes Trio: GrooveTubes Soul-O 150. GrooveTubes Dual 75 loaded with KT88’s. GrooveTubes 2 x 10″ cabs. Mic’d using the GrooveTubes MD1a. Mic’d using a Shure SM-57Beta.
Bass(s): Hohner B Bass V: Recorded direct then re-amp’d by mic’ing the signal through a peavey backstage plus twice. One time run clean, the second time with distortion via a Tube Screamer pedal.
Drums: Live drums were tracked as MIDI via the Roland TD-10 (with expansion kit) into Logic as MIDI (with a very complex environment page that allowed for all the TD-10 kit parts to be separated and associated with their control data) and audio sounds.
Re-release drum sounds are samples from Logic Pro kits assembled and tuned then using the original MIDI tracks.
Vocal: mic’d with a modified Neumann U87a.
Song Story:
This song has one of the coolest verses I’ve come up with. For some reason the doubled vocal part with the second one getting some distortion really makes me go right on! I don’t know why. Then it kicks into a chorus that has a really catchy hook.
The lyrics itself is about being fed up with getting shafted by people. Obviously it’s not cool when you get shafted on anything. The shaftee will eventually get what’s karmically coming to them (did I spell that right).
Factoids:
1. Friends can hurt you the most.
2. I’ve yet to get a finger broken. But I have had a broken toe.
The fun thing about this song is that it’s just fun to play. Again there’s little production tricks that I felt really made this a fun song to listen to. I especially like the verse vocal with it’s distorted double vocal. I don’t know why. I just feel it’s really cool.
Copyright: 2001/03/05
ISRC: USONR0102008
ISRC: USONR2400218
ISRC: USONR2400208
ISRC: USONR2400228
ISWC: T9055765327
SESAC Song ID: 594710
Harry Fox ID: X82705
Harry Fox Publisher ID: P8938Q
UPC: 654433000429
UPC: 656465068583
UPC: 656465068811
UPC: 656465068620
UPC: 656465068866