Crossing The Finish Line

I checked this morning, and Gravedigging For Two has hit Spotify, Apple Music, and iTunes.  Downloads and physical CDs are also available at CDBaby.com.

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/gravedigging-for-two/1321697501

This is a milestone – it’s done.  There’s nothing more I can do on Gravedigging.  The songs have been written, arranged, recorded, mixed, overdubbed, and mastered.  The artwork has been designed.  The thank-you’s said (mostly).

I hope you listen to it.  I hope you like it.

I don’t do this for commercial interests (although a bit of cash is nice once in a while), but I think it’s a good thing.  I write music that I want to hear, combined with what my inner demon wants to say to the world.  With no concession made for what others want.  And that’s what you’ve got in Gravedigging For Two.  Ten songs, ten stories that I needed to tell.  Ten songs that get my groove on.   I wrote this album for me, but I hope you like it too.

The Grave Has Been Dug, Now It's Time For The Headstone.

This weekend I’m back in the studio.  John and I will be tweaking the final mixes for the album, and mastering it.  After that, it's just a matter of sending it out for distribution.

I’ve also finished the cover art.  By which I mean “I took an amazing painting by Jonathan Barrie, and added my name and album title to it.”

The tough part now will be to decide which to release as the “publicity single,” that gets pushed on the free sites.  I’ve got ten children on this album and have to pick one.  Do I pick the most commercial?  Do I pick the one that seems to reflect the album best as a whole?  Or do I pick the weirdest one?  I’m blessed with having too much – whenever I’m listening to a song, that’s the one I want to tell everyone about!

Gravedigging At The Finish Line

We’re almost there…

All ten songs have been mixed for ‘Gravedigging For Two’, and I’m booked back in Soundhouse Studio on November 11 and 12 to close out the project.  One day for a handful of tweaks – lower the bass guitar in Your Loving Song, push the rhythm guitar in My Clown, etc…, and then one day to master the tracks.

After that, it’s just a matter of getting the album artwork from Jonathan Barrie (I’m desperate to use one of his pictures, it actually inspired the album name), and send the songs out for distribution.

So hopefully it’ll be spreading the world in time for Christmas!

Six years in the making, and the finish line is an arm’s reach away.

Dig Your Grave, or Join The Fight.

On Saturday, John Jamieson and I were in Soundhouse Studios mixing 'Gravedigging', not aware of what was happening in Charlottesville.

I just realized how poignant it was for us to be working on that particular song about complacency and not standing up for what is right.

"Dig a grave and climb right in, Just give up and turn away.

Or tackle the spite, and start the fight, Drop your gloves and join the fray.

Gravedigging your heart away, you could be so much bolder.

Gravedigging your life away, it makes you so much older than you are."

I'm grateful that there were so many people at that rally, fighting against the Nazi hate that's brewing. Hopefully more of us can push this problem back down into the toilet, where it can be flushed like the shit that it is.

Saxophones!

This weekend we were overdubbing the saxophone on 3 of the upcoming songs.  Kristen Prince did an AMAZING job!

I found her through my engineer, John Jamieson.  John and I had been listening to the demos I recorded for the album, and I had programmed a sampler to play the saxophone lines on Gravedigging, You’re A Star, and My Clown.  There was something ‘strange’ about those tracks, something we couldn’t put our finger on.  John works with Kristen pretty frequently, and recommended her.

She got the lead sheets and a rough-mix MP3 a week beforehand, and then on ‘recording’ day we just went over what worked best for the songs, and hit the RECORD button!  It wasn't quite a "1-take wonder," but she knew what we wanted and laid down some beautiful work.

Our next mixing session is booked for over a month from now, but I’m anxious to get these last songs finished.  I couldn’t be prouder of how this album is coming.  Having another musician play on it is a huge leap for me – even more so because she was a stranger!

Progress on the Album

It's May 1st, and in the time since my last post, Gravedigging has been moving along well.
It's a pretty slow process, but is having some surprising results.
John Jamieson is mixing the album.  I've been listening to various incarnations of these songs for about 5 years, while he's hearing them for the first time.
This is a huge bonus, because he's not following the assumptions that I've always had about them.  For example, if I've added a trumpet line at the end of a verse that I'm using to help build into the chorus, I might assume that it'll be a subtle thing for texture.  The type of thing that the listener wouldn't focus on, but I'd feel that something was missing if it wasn't there.  John, on the other hand, sees it as a hook and puts it in a prominent place in the mix.
Suddenly it's a part that you're humming when the song is done!  It has changed from being "that acoustic guitar song" to "the one with that Bah-bah-BAAAAH trumpet!"

Gravedigging For Two has been a long time in the making.  I wrote the songs and realized that they should be combined into one project, an album.  But then I spent years trying to make them fit.  it wasn't easy, and I took time away to write and record The Scars That I've Earned as a way to distance myself from Gravedigging, to have a breather.  Not My Song, for example, went from being slow, dark blues, to klezmer, to reggae, to a faster blues...  And now it's a great rocker that disappears into a weird 70s spaced-out thing.  It's a totally different beast than when it first emerged from the black hole of inspiration.

My biggest surprise is how energized and fresh these songs are sounding.
So far we've mixed Little Rose Tattoo, Not My Song, Kill Me, You And Me, and Tonight.  Next up will be recording the saxophones on My Clown, Gravedigging, and You're A Star.  It's still a month away, but I'm really looking forward to that - I don't normally have another person play on my albums, but I'm sure she'll add another spark to it.

That's it for now, thanks for reading.  Thanks for listening.  Thanks for Supporting.
It's a long slog, but I couldn't be happier.

Matt

The Gravedigging Has Started!

Today is the day!

All ten songs for my upcoming album are recorded!  All tweaks have been done, all arrangements completed.

In 2 hours I'll be heading over to Soundhouse Studios and giving John Jamieson a USB key with 300ish individual tracks.  Then we'll start the sonic jigsaw puzzle of putting them together and mixing Gravedigging For Two.

I'm very excited.
This album started in 2012 when I wrote 6 or 7 solid songs within a month or so.  I added one song that I actually wrote in 1999 but was never truly happy with (until 2012), and another couple of songs showed up while I was working on the initial 6 or 7.
The project was pretty discombobulated - there was a country song, a punk rock song, and the sounds didn't seem to fit together well.  I wanted to keep them as one project, since the lyrics and melodies hinted that they should be one family.  So I tried, and tried, and tried a little more.
I took time out in 2014 to record The Scars That I've Earned, a collection of songs I had written since Gravedigging started, and were recorded over a span of 2 weekends.
Focusing on Scars let Gravedigging have some breathing room.  Slowly, through lots of edits, trial and error, and rearrangements, the true soul of the project came to light.
One song actually went from being a Depeche Mode-like electropop track, through slow blues, klezmer, reggae, and then to it's final form (which is none of the above)!  I loved every version, but the final cut is the one we'll keep.

John did a fantastic job mixing Scars, his creativity drew him into playing keys on about 1/2 the album, and totally re-shaped at least one of the songs.  He took the project from the "decent" level that I had it, and pushed it far above what I would have ever expected.
So he's got some tall expectations to fill today, as we start our second project.  But I'm sure he'll wow me again, he always does.

Alright, time for me to put on my Rock N Roll face and head over to the studio.  See you soon!

Inching Towards The Finish Line

I woke up this morning at 3:15.  Almost 3 hours before I needed to wake up, almost 6 hours before I WANTED to wake up.
What to do?
Put on a pot of coffee, and head into the home studio.

I've been having trouble getting decent rough mixes of Gravedigging For Two.  I want these so I can play them endlessly to myself as I rock out on the subway.  It gives me time to process how I want the mix to end up when I finally have John Jamieson mix it (and when I can finally put it to bed and move on to the next project).
I spent my spare time this morning working on Little Rose Tattoo, and think I've got a solid feel for how the song wants to be heard.  VERY happy, for me.  Now I can move on to the other 9, trying to combine the urge for each track to own itself while shaping them as a cohesive album.

I guess I shouldn't be anxious to rush this - I wrote LRT more than 15 years ago.  It's gone from a cool swing, to a chugging dark rant, to something that (to me) brings out some old-school R&B/Soul.

Either way, I'm excited to have reached another milestone.  I think.

Replay

As I waver back and forth on how to finish Gravedigging For Two...

Yesterday morning I was watching TV and plucking away on a guitar.  Playing one of the new songs (You and Me),   A new countermelody came out, so now I'm redoing the trumpets and trombone.

The beauty of writing and recording music:  Songs can take on a life of their own, pulling in unexpected directions and evolving like a child.
The pain of writing and recording music:  Songs can take on a life of their own, making more work for you and evolving like a child.

I hope this one grows up to be strong and resilient.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Yes, it’s been way too long without an update.

What’s happened since April?  Well, let’s see. 

My studio computer died a miserable death.  And since it was a Windows XP machine, when I replaced it I had to replace the interface and most of the software.  This meant that I had to learn the new workflows for Sonar X3, since I had been using Sonar Producer for years.  X3 is a fantastic piece of kit and comes with loads of extra software, so along with learning the DAW itself, I also ended up adjusting to the fancy toys that came with it.

Right before I replaced my studio PC, my wife and I decided to move.  So that took out some time.

Now for the good stuff…

During this downtime, I had a wonderful idea on how to produce my next album.  I’ve always loved Motown/Stax-Volt type music.  As a bassist, that’s how I learned my craft – learning from Duck Dunn, Bob Babbitt, etc…  So I’m going in that direction.  Not totally soul, but my current style leaning in that direction a bit more than usual.

This past weekend, I finished the drum tracks and general arrangements.  This is the biggest stumbling block for now, since the guitars and bass can be done in a couple of quick takes.  That will just leave the vocals, traditionally my biggest pain.  But they shouldn’t be too taxing this time, since these songs have been WELL rehearsed in my summer break.

Anyway, things are very exciting at the moment.  My breakfast is done, time to put on the headphones, sling the bass across my shoulder, and groove.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Sorry, it's been a few months since I've been in touch.  But what a few months it has been!

First, my studio PC died suddenly.  It had lived a long and prosperous life, but I was waiting a little longer to replace it.  I waited too long...
Luckily I save my data to a second hard drive (VERY IMPORTANT TO DO!!!).  This kept my musical projects saved safely, when the primary drive died and locked away everything on it.  Unfortunately, this included my collection of music from everyone other than myself.  All my MP3s were killed!
Since I'm a paranoid geek, I planned ahead and backed up everything on another external drive.  So imagine my surprise when that drive died as well, while copying my music collection onto another computer!  It got from Abba to Prince before failing.
So lost is my discography of Rolling Stones, Roxy Music, Stereophonics, Yazoo... you get the picture. 

Luckily I still had most of them tucked away as DVDs in the basement.  For the rest, I downloaded bit-torrents.  While I usually avoid downloading torrents (i prefer to pay the artists for their work), since I had actually purchased these on DVD, i think i've covered my obligation...

At this point, I should have been ready to just replace my studio PC and get back to writing and recording, right?  Wrong.  Since my studio PC was on Windows XP (and had not been online in 6 years), I also have to replace my IO Interface and recording software (Sonar DAW). 

I checked out my options, and priced out the best products to suit my revamped, basement home studio.

Suddenly, my wife and I decided to buy a condo and move out of our rented townhouse!  Luckily, I hadn't yet bought all the new gear for my studio.  Since now I won't have a studio per se... 
The new studio setup will be a  Windows 8- based 17" laptop, a Focusrite IO Interface, and headphones.  As for software, I'll be upgrading to Sonar Platinum.  I've been a big fan of Cakewalk/ Sonar since dipping my toe into PC-based recording in 2003, with their HomeStudio line of DAWs.  Platinum will require a learning curve, as there have been 3 major releases in between my Producer 8.5 and the newest Platinum.  That'll take some time to get used to, but I'm sure it will be worthwhile - from what I've seen this upgrade should really streamline my processes.  And hopefully ease the transition from a dual-monitor PC with lovely (speaker) monitors to one laptop screen and headphones....

Stay tuned, I'm still here! 
I swear...

Revitalization

I just got back from New Orleans.
It was my first visit to the city, but won't be my last.  I LOVE it there!  The art, the friendliness, and the music EVERYWHERE.
I spent most of my days sitting on the Royal St sidewalk listening to incredible musicians busking.  It was incredibly inspiring.

One morning, out for a wander, I stopped to listen to a couple of street kids that were jamming on acoustic guitars.  We got talking about our tattoos, and they noticed the Bowie, Ferry, and Richards portraits inked on my forearm.  Then they offered me a guitar to bash away on.

My set included:
Romeo & Juliet by Dire Straits
Dead Flowers by The Rolling Stones
Unchained Melody by The Ritcheous Brothers
Burn, by me
This Dream, by me
I'm Alright by The Stereophonics
Heroes by David Bowie
Love Is The Drug by Roxy Music

I earned a fair bit of cash, but left it for them.  I was in town for fun, not work.  It really made me feel at home there, and I frequently saw those guys later in my visit.  I don't think they ever knew my name, and I didn't ask theirs.  They would just shout "Hey Moustache!" and wave whenever we crossed paths.


Coming back to Toronto, I was inspired to work on my own albums.  I have so many in the works...
Gravedigging For Two is written and demos recorded.
I also have another half-record written.
But I'm feeling the need to remix 2011's Love Isn't Enough collection.  I really like this batch of songs, but my home-mix isn't quite up to snuff.  And while John Jamieson and I mixed Your Heart And Mine, we noticed some consistent issues with my drum programming.  So I'll reprogram LIE's drumming before heading back to the studio.  That has also lead to redoing some overdubs...

Here's a clip from yesterday morning, where I am recording the lead guitar line from This Dream:





And for context, here's the original version:

Action Pants

A new project is starting rehearsals this week!
Three friends and I are putting together a band called Action Pants.  It's a cover band, doing inappropriate versions of songs we all know.  Inappropriate because it'll be a dance/distortion/punk performance of decidedly non-aggressive songs from artists like Gowan, Chris Isaak, The Shirelles, Kylie Minogue, and Petula Clark.  Among others.
I've been in a few bands that take themselves way too seriously.  This one will be FUN.  We're determined to do a good job, and treat the songs with respect, but we're all adults with no sense of shame.  So we're going to do what we want with the stages we're allowed on.

Sorry to keep this short, I have to get down to my studio to figure out how to funk-up Wicked Game...

Wham Bam, Thank You Ma’m!

Last Saturday (the 18th), I woke up early and just a little bit hung over.
I made a pot of coffee and headed downstairs to my studio, where I turned on the computer. Eight hours later, I realized that I hadn’t had breakfast yet, but had instead programmed the drums for eight exciting new songs!
Between Saturday and Sunday I recorded the drums and bass guitars. Monday I recorded all the guitars, keyboards, and percussion. Tuesday I did the vocal tracks for 6 of the songs. Wednesday morning I finished that last two.

That’s it! An 8-song record in 5 days! It’s raw, it’s organic, it’s flawed (a bit), and I love every note!



The Scars That I’ve Earned

One Sin
Judgement Day
Your Heart And Mine
My Revenge
Watch The Blood Run
Promise
Today And Tomorrow
Goodbye


Now I’ve just got to mix and master the project. I can’t wait!

Scattered

Yeah, I know. Delinquent blog. I’m not much of a writer, but I DO like blogging this stuff…

What’s been happening? As I said before, the music is complete. Just need to record the vocals. I’ve been trying to lay down the tracks, and they just haven’t been sounding right. I think there’s too much reverberation in my studio, so I’m going to look at building a vocal booth. For now, some supports and a couple of blankets should make a “fort” that will deaden the sound going into the microphone (no jokes about my voice, right?).

I got a little frustrated with the lack of vocal success the other day, and watched Stand Up Guys. Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin… can’t go wrong with that cast! What struck me was the killer soundtrack. Old soul music, Detroit & Philly grooves. I took some inspiration, and have tried to re-arrange and re-record some of the songs with that late 60s/early 70s feeling. It’s pretty cool, but far from the more “guitar pop” genre that I normally focus on.
So now I’m going back and forth between the two. If I could compete with my ambitions, I’d record both. It’s like having 2 hot dates on the same night, and not being sure which to pick.
I remember my dad once telling me (lies) about how he managed to do it before meeting my mum. Also, I’m expanding my instrument collection.

For Christmas last year, my wife gave me a cheap harmonica. I really liked the instrument, and have written a few pieces that really suit it. So for my birthday a few weeks ago she bought me a set of good ones. I’m loving them, and they’ll certainly be on the roster for whatever comes next.
I also picked up a new ukulele last night. It won’t be a big addition to the music, but is perfect in small doses. No “tiptoe through the tulips,” I promise!


Here's some Baby Huey.  Inspired me, maybe it'll give you a kick too!

Return to Splendor

Remember me? It’s been 5 months…

I had a bad neck & head injury, and had to postpone my recordings for a while. I just couldn’t focus on singing when every movement pulled me out of the song and back to reality. But we’ve got a sunny, warm weekend coming up, and I’ll be spending it in the studio. RECORDING THE VOCAL TRACKS! FINALLY!

Here’s a little filler to while away your time…

Years ago, I wrote a piano-based song called The Shadow. I’ve always enjoyed that track. One of my many ideas was to record a techno album of my favourite (self-penned) songs. I put together a rough techno version of The Shadow, and it seemed pretty cool. Very ‘early Depeche Mode’. Unfortunately that idea hit the backburner, and it’s languished there ever since. One of the surprising aspects of the project was that if I changed the bassline, it inspired new melodies. One was a keyboard line that would have never fit in the piano version.
Last night I was plucking away on a guitar, and started playing that Shadow-inspired keyboard line. I changed the key into one more suited to the instrument, accidentally replaced one of the chords, and away I went. Straight into a brand new song! With the changes resetting my view on the song’s history, a new chorus followed. And a few shouted-out sentences that might form a basis for the lyrics.
And then company came over for dinner and I put down the guitar.

Today this new songs is running through my brain over and over. I’ll be rushing into the studio tonight to lay down a demo. I’ve got to get this one on tape before I forget it. Very excited!

Guitar Accompli

Well, it’s been almost a month. I’m still slugging away at the album, but these songs are seriously kicking some ass!

Let me backtrack a bit. A month ago, I was recovering from a f’ed up hand. It was slowly getting better, but the knuckles for my pinky and ring finger were starting to get cramped and stiff. For some reason, I decided to grab the 2 fingers and lightly pull. They pulled out about ¼”! That was a little scary for a minute, I thought I’d pulled them off! They instantly started to feel better, and have been fine ever since. I guess they just needed realigning.

As for the record, I just finished the guitar tracks on the weekend.
I tried a new routine this time. Normally I’ll record in this order:

1. drum programming
2. bass guitar
3. acoustic guitars as a foundation
4. electric guitars
5. keyboards, pianos, synthesizers
6. vocals

This time I switched it up a little. I recorded all the electric guitars first, then added the acoustic guitars. I wouldn’t have thought it would make a difference, but it really has. Instead of having a fat acoustic bulking each song, they’ve become more of just an accent on some tracks. Sure, some have a driving acoustic rhythm behind them, but on others it’s just a chord here and there or a subtle riff. On a few of the songs it’s really changed the feel. I also did most of the synths and keyboards before the acoustics. I’m really loving these tracks. It’s not unusual to find me rocking out these days with the speakers blasting!

Next up: Vocals.  I haven’t done any real singing in over a year, except for the live stuff with The Boys From County Hell. And for the live shows I usually can’t hear myself and just shout while hoping I’m getting close to the right notes.
I have notes from my signing lessons, and am going to spend a few weeks going through those and rebuilding my vocal chords. Like an athlete’s muscles, they get flabby and weak if you don’t practice and keep them in shape. Once my throat is buff again, I’ll be ready to step up to the microphone.
I'm getting close!

Introducing The Uke

I buggered up my left hand a few weeks ago quite badly, and haven't been able to do much work on the new album.  I don't think it was anything major.  I spent a week or so doing the squeezy-squeezy thing on my hands, comparing the damaged left with the healthy right.  There was some swelling, but the bones didn't wiggle anywhere that they shouldn't.  Probably just some tendon damage.  So I've been letting it heal by itself - all a doctor would offer is "rest it" or "surgery."  Hopefully "rest it" is working.

I can play for an hour or so now before it starts to ache, so it IS healing.  It's just taking longer than it should because my other passion, sailing, has been putting a strain on it every time it starts to get better.


So here's a product endorsement and story to tide you over...

In June, I was at the Beaches Arts & Crafts festival with my wife.  Tired of the usual hand-made rugs, toys, and paintings, I leaped when I saw a small tent packed with ukuleles and banjos.
I ran over, talked to the luthier, and started plucking away on his wares.  I fell in love instantly, and came home $200 lighter with an amazing handmade Tenor Resonator Ukulele from Rosbilt*.
I've spent the summer playing it and getting used to the size and chords - ukes are new to me, but I'm a solid fan now.  If you're curious, check this guy out - Ross Stuart.  He makes some incredible instruments!   Mine has perfect intonation, sounds metallic yet strangely fragile and soft, it's a bit louder than standard wood ukuleles, and even after daily playing it only needs a minor tuning adjustment maybe once a week.

Sitting on the couch one weekend morning watching TV, I started plucking away absentmindedly on the uke.  An interesting melody came out, and my focus instantly changed to the instrument.  I rushed down to my studio and powered everything up.
I didn't want to bother setting up a microphone for the ukulele, so I decided to play it on an electric guitar.  Just get the damn thing recorded before it's forgotten!  30 minutes later I had a basic drum track programmed and a full song arranged.  Still, I wasn't ready to leave it alone.
While listening over and over to the song, I reached for the harmonica I had sitting on the mixing desk.  Virtually instantly a counter-melody came out of the instrument that, again, I had to get down on tape before it disappeared.  Again, no mic.  So I set up a synthesizer and played it on the keys.
And listened to it over and over and over.
The song was too good to leave alone, so I finally set up the mic and sang whatever came to mind.
Less than 3 hours from when I first plucked that melody from the uke, I had a full song written:  drums, bass, guitar/uke, harmonica/synth, and vocals.  Just wild...

I love the song, it's one of my strongest.  And it'll wait in line for the project after the one currently in production, to give it a little time to "mature."  One of the things I love about it is that it was written on 2 instruments I'm not particularly adept with, ukulele and harmonica, but built itself into beauty.  And yes, the uke will be on the record, it's just too cool to omit.

God, sometimes I just love music.

*and for the record, I have no professional interest in Rosbilt.  Ross (can I call him that?) has no idea that I'm writing this, and likely doesn't remember me at all.  But CHEERS to him!

Mr. Bass Man

Drums? Done.
Bass?  DONE.

I just completed the bass tracks for all ten songs in the new project. The big surprise for me was that I did them all in one single day.  Normally this should have taken 3 or 4 days I think.
Perhaps it's due to this album being in "pre-production" for a year.  Just not having enough time to record it, I've spent the last year tweaking the songs.  With rough demos done on a computer, I can mute the recordedguitar and vocal trackss, set up a mic, plug in my guitar, and play along with the drums, keys, and bass.  Or I can just mute the bass and play it live.
I've been doing that constantly, changing the lines I'm playing to see what's working best.

So I got it all done in one day.  I ripped through each song one right after the other.  I don't think any song took more than 2 or 3 takes (with maybe 1 or 2 punch-ins).  My fingers are numb and callussed, but those are war wounds I'm proud of.

I'm pretty anxious to get started on the guitar tracks.  These shouldn't take long.  The vocal tracks, that's what will take long...

The Boys From County Hell, Sunday

There's a great band I play guitar with, called The Boys From County Hell.  Even though there's a girl in it, the name is sticking.

We play (mostly) rowdy Irish folk songs, some more 'rock' than others.  And there's a smattering of traditional reels in it to add some fun.  Lots of Pogues and Dubliners songs.

And it's always a DAMN GOOD TIME.

We're playing this Sunday (july 29) at Graffiti's, 170 Baldwin St, Toronto, from 4-7pm.

If you're in the city, come and check it out!


Here's a clip of The Dubliners playing 'Whiskey In The Jar'.