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Roger Street Friedman is set to release a new EP, “Come What May,” in July, and the second single from the EP, a cover of the Bruce Hornsby song, “Mandolin Rain,” is set for release on May 28, 2021. It is a rare example of Friedman choosing to cover another artist’s song, and he did everything on “Mandolin Rain,” including producing, engineering, and mixing. The video for the song was shot and edited by Friedman himself, as part of a pandemic undertaking to learn more about video creation and production. Vents Magazine is thrilled to exclusively premiere both the track and the video here today.
A melancholy, evocative cover, Friedman’s version is spare and languid, stripping the song back to expose the soulful vocals as the guitar chimes. While a tasteful nod to Hornsby’s original is evident in this lovingly crafted take on the iconic song, Friedman has made it his own, too. It’s a must-listen, and the video highlights a studio performance of the song.
We sat down recently with Friedman for an exclusive chat to get the inside scoop on this stunning cover of “Mandolin Rain” and how it was to shoot the video himself. Vents: This song is a really evocative take on the classic Bruce Hornsby hit. And you typically don’t do cover songs. What was it about the song that speaks to you? What made you want to cover it?
Roger: I’ve always loved this song. It paints such a visceral picture of a summer romance that comes and goes like a song on the wind… such a relatable story. The imagery is so evocative… the rain, the lake, the carnival tent, and the “boat steaming in,” it just grabs me every time. I guess being locked in at home made it seem like the perfect scene to escape into!
Vents: Your take on the song is different from the original. Can you speak about some of the specific differences? How did you come to decide to record it in this stripped-down fashion?
Roger: Bruce’s vocal and piano playing on the original is so iconic that I felt it really had to be different enough as to not try to approach his version. No way could I touch that! But when I was exploring the tune on the guitar, in an open G tuning, the resonances and chord voicings really started speaking to me, and I thought it was interesting enough to give it a go.
Vents: What can you tell us about the recording sessions and working on this song?
Roger: Well, most of the time was spent really learning how to play it and finding the place for my voice while also playing. It actually took a few weeks for me to get comfortable enough to go into the studio. Beyond that, it was just setting up the right mics and doing about 20 takes until I got one that I thought captured what I was going for. It was a really interesting and instructive process for me.
Vents: How was it trying to find your own place in lyrics that you didn’t write?
Roger: Having enough time to spend with the song before recording really helped in that regard. I was able to make up a story about the characters: where he is from, where she is from, how they met, what kind of a family they each came from (he was a local and she was a tourist in the version in my head). Studying the characters and letting them develop in my imagination helped me to make the story my own.
Vents: Time to tell us a secret — what is something about this version of the song that you haven’t mentioned anywhere else?
Roger: It took me a very long time to get that F-sharp, which is the high note in the chorus, placed correctly in my mix. I had to practice it… a lot!!
Vents: Your press materials say that you have been working on learning video production during the pandemic and that this video is one you put together yourself. How did you decide to do a straight performance-type clip? What has it been like learning video production and editing techniques?
Roger: I think the initial lockdown had something to do with deciding to do a stripped-down version. There was no option to bring in the band. Also, it was an opportunity to do some pure acoustic recordings, which I had not really done before, and I’m super happy with the results. I hope to produce more pure acoustic work.
I’m thrilled that I had the time to learn some video production techniques. This was one of the first videos I’d done, and I really just had the basics down. So I set up a few GoPro cameras and shot every take with three cameras, and then it was just a matter of some basic cuts and panning and zooming! The thing about learning is it takes a ton of time to do anything, and I had zero experience when I started. Thank god for YouTube — anything I needed to know was just a Google search away!
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBlYME_0HfmGs73o2fRWh0g
