One of the fun parts about writing a soundtrack for a book is focusing more on mood. Writing soundtrack music allows you to be less specific, not referencing direct actions in the text, but capturing the overall feeling or emotion of a section. A key elements of No Tears for Old Scratch is the concept that there is a part of Knob’s End, the town at the center of the story, that most people don’t see or choose to ignore. Every town has those places, the ugly parts underneath. It doesn’t necessarily mean a seedy underbelly — although that is apt in some cases — it just means there are sections of American towns that either are grossly neglected or serve no purpose to the people living there.

The main character of the book spends a lot of time walking through those sections of Knob’s End. And he sees things that the citizens of the town have hidden away, almost as if they didn’t exist. So I wanted a theme that would fit those parts of the story.

The other fun part of creating a soundtrack are those moments of improvisational inspiration. Suddenly realizing that a section needs a beat, but the only thing that will work is that old ceramic drum you picked up in Morocco several years back.

And as always, stellar guitar tone is key (as is a Bigsby). Enjoy.

Listen to “The Parts of Knob’s End You Never Get To See”

… And so it begins. Here is the first behind-the-scenes footage of yours truly working on the soundtrack for the upcoming novel, No Tears for Old Scratch. Keep checking back as I’ll be posting footage as the creative process continues. (an alternate link here as well).

No Tears for Old Scratch: Soundtracking the Novel, Part 1 from Ken Wohlrob on Vimeo.