ALBUM: SPERIS

BRIAN’S SPERIS BACK STORY

In the late 80’s and early 90’s Nashville music stores had “Musicians Wanted” bulletin boards. I answered an ad posted at Corner Music on 12 South. “Pop Rock Band seeks Lead Guitarist”.. I called the number and spoke with the band leader for a few minutes, and was invited out to hear the band rehearse. I showed up a few nights later just to meet them and hear the band play. Not really an audition yet. Dieter Spears was the long time bassist in that band and was clearly the standout player in the room. I ended up landing that gig and played with the band for around 3 years initially, and decades later for another 2 years, when the band reformed.

Dieter and I hit it off and ended up carpooling to rehearsals for many months after that. At some point Dieter played me an instrumental tune he had composed for a spoken word scripture piece. A light bulb went off in my head, as I had been writing instrumental tunes for several years at that point. Almost nobody had heard those tunes and I did not see an outlet for them. I wrote them because I had to. Pure expression. Besides bass guitar, Dieter had formidable skills on keyboards, drum programming, and MIDI sequencing. This was done with mid 90’s hardware based gear. No DAW’s, no computers, no plugins…primitive by today’s standards. We synced 8 track tape machines to the sequencer to capture the guitar tracks.

The pop rock band we played in eventually dissolved, and we started collaborating weekly on an eventual body of around 20 tunes. These writing sessions were fueled by strong coffee and reruns Star Trek Next Generation.

Dieter was prolific and wrote music on a regular basis. My role in these sessions was to come up with melody lines, a bridge section, or maybe a chorus. Sometimes I came in with a near fully formed tune and Dieter would provide a bridge or chorus section to bring one of my tunes to completion. Over the course of 2 years we collaborated on 20 or so pieces of music.  At some point we agreed that we were making an album. 

We did a round of mixes in fall of 1995, and in 1996 we were approached  about remixing the tracks and enlisted the help of a couple of Nashville based drum programmers. Once these new drum tracks were completed we did full remixes of all 10 tunes at a commercial studio outside of Nashville. 

1997 saw us pitching the album to a number of New Age oriented radio outlets and record labels. We never got any real traction from those efforts, and after a point the project gathered dust for many years after.

Fast forward to 2023 and the decision was made to resurrect these tunes from the ground up. We both began building out the musical frameworks in our respective DAW based home studios. For the next two years these session files took shape beyond all expectations. The resulting SPERIS album keeps one foot in the old versions, with every embellishment we could muster to bring them into the modern day, sonically.

DIETER’s SPERIS BACK STORY

My college band Picture This had a solid run playing across the Mid-South, but like so many groups, it faded as members got married and moved on with life. Around that time, I crossed paths with Brian through an original band Subject To Change that I was playing in. While I loved collaborating and being creative, I was never fully satisfied with the level we reached—I craved more polish, more perfection.

That hunger pushed me to build a small MIDI studio (long before computers became the standard) where I would lock myself away for days at a time, creating “art” that truly moved me. Eventually, though, I needed to know if my music could move others too. When I shared my work with Brian, his reaction was exciting. Then he shared his own music with me, and I was equally moved. That moment sparked a partnership.

Creating music together opened up a whole new level of vulnerability. The creative process is deeply personal, and compromise doesn’t come easily. But Brian and I found a balance—we built a dialogue that allowed us to push each other while still protecting the heart of the songs and each others creative process. Through his connections, we took our bedroom mixes into a real studio and had our original tracks professionally mixed and mastered. I was grateful for that opportunity, but in my mind, they were still “great demos,” not finished pieces. The album eventually ended up on streaming services, but whenever I listened back, all I could hear were the demos.

Fast-forward a couple of decades: Brian and I stayed in touch, even playing a band reunion not long ago. I told him I believed the songs themselves were strong, but our limited recording knowledge back then held the project back. I suggested we rebuild everything from scratch, this time armed with modern tools, keyboards, and production experience. Brian agreed, and we dove in—rewriting, reprogramming, and replaying each track.

The songs started to come alive again, but I knew they needed real drums to reach their full potential. That’s when I called up Gray LeGere. I asked him to just do his thing on drums, as a test to see how the music held up through another set of ears. Gray loved what he heard and jumped on board without hesitation.

Now, 25 years later, these songs have been reborn. What started as “great demos” has finally become the record it was meant to be. We’re thrilled to share it with you—enjoy.

HISTORY

Back in the day, pre-computer Dieter was using an Alesis MMT-8 sequencer and HR16 Drum Machine. This connected to Korg M1, Roland D5, Proteus XR & Orchestral, Quadrasynth Rack Mount units , A Quadra verb and rackmount disk drive to store. Would mix down to DAT. Eventually, we added in a Fostex DMT 8 track hard disk recorder. Also, had a Joe Meek Tube pre, for recording vocals and stuff for friends/clients….First Daw was early cakewalk, but waiting on computer speeds, just wasn’t worth it, so, stayed with the 8 track digital recorder….

THE SONGS

1. New Beginning

This may have been the first tune Dieter surfaced for the project. Originally a music bed for a spoken word piece, given a pretty heavy tribal meets rock treatment. We both agreed the thought for the song was a jungle waking up for the day. The mystery of what does the day hold, the beauty of light bouncing thru the leaves, the shadows slowly moving around.

2. First Time

This tune celebrates the rush that comes from initially meeting someone that you really click with, or being in the moments on being in a situation that you wanna conquer and excel at. The sonics of immediate attraction and excitement.

3. Malawie

Reference point is photo of a lake in Africa. A dance tune that has a subtle tribal rhythm. A massive body of water that provides life and death on a daily basis.

4. Innocence

A quiet reflective piece with a delicate melody. Suggestive of the innocents everywhere, whether young or old. Dieter was inspired by Patrick O’Hearn on creating the root of this one.

5. Giants At Dawn

Dieter started this song with the idea of what would it feel like to just sit on the bottom of the ocean and be an observer. The distant sounds of whales communicating across the distances. The whales have ample vocal takes on this one and sang pretty consistently on key. Side note: Dieter got scuba certified and tried sitting on bottom and was happy that the emotions of this song matched his time on bottom.

6. The Villa

This one and Faces and Hands were just 2 songs that just came out without much effort for Dieter. Brian says this one makes him think of an imaginary Salvador Dali painting, one that maybe never got put to canvas.

7. The Train

This one goes back to a 4 track demo Brian did in Memphis in 1988. Dieter wrote the chord changes for the solo section. Brian originally called this one “Windows Of The Soul”.. renamed due to the locomotive sort of cadence of the track.

8. Deserted

Another 4 track Brian demo. Initially called “Desert Song” for its “horses gallop through the desert” vibes. Heavy Floyd influence on this one. When we say “ambient fusion”.. this is what we mean. 

9. Faces and Hands

The title reflects the ticking clock cadence of the music. Clock faces and the hands of time ticking away.. time marches on yadda yadda..

10. Lost Blessings

This is all for “the ones that got away”. It could be a loved one, a cherished pet, or a missed life opportunity.

All Songs Written by Dieter Spears and Brian Paris

Dieter Spears: Bass Guitar, Midi Drums and Synths and MIDI programming, Sound Design

Brian Paris: Electric and Acoustic guitars, Synths and MIDI programming, Sound Design

Gray LeGere: Drums

Dashmesh: Percussion on New Beginnings

Produced: Dieter Spears and Brian Paris

Pre-Mix: Dieter Spears

Mix and Mastering: Mark Richardson for Alchematic