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.

Rock N Roll Dropout

I finally finished recording my new album, Gravedigging For Two.
Ten songs that I'm really proud of, that have evolved from sketches, through a few different iterations and styles, to a cohesive package.

Now it should be time to mix and master the project, then putting it out in the world for sale/ consumption.  SHOULD...

Along with music and my wife, I have a huge passion for sailing.  And I'm not a rich man.
If I pay to have Gravedigging mixed and mastered, that will take a huge chunk of cash away from my sailboat fund (that will actually come into existence once my credit card debt is paid).
I waver on my choice daily, but for today I'm planning on doing a rough "monitor mix" of Gravedigging For Two.  Something I can listen to on my headphones, but not put out to the world.  Then, I can get closer to buying my sailboat and feeding THAT side of my soul.

I'm also planning to spend the winter re-recording Love Isn't Enough, and possibly Overture and Reflecting The Broken Mirror.  Other albums that I've written and am really proud of, but which had less-than-stellar recordings.

For now, I guess I'm climbing back into the woodshed to be a musical hermit.  But I'll be back!

Crash Course for Performance!

The other day, I was asked to sit in as a bassist for a friend of a friend.

I'd never heard of him, but said "sure, what the hell."  It's always good to get outside your comfort zone, and playing a show 4 days after first hearing the music definitely fits.

Luckily, I'm loving the album.  It's the best new music I've heard in ages:  Sam Taylor & The East End Love.  My wife heard the first couple of tracks, and thought it's "very me."  Great, stripped-down dirty blues-rock.  Just what my soul needs these days...

So I've got the songs down, got my Fender PJ ready, and just have to find a sexy outfit.   Okay, so that last part won't matter - nobody notices the bass player anyway.

Anyway, I'm REALLY excited to be a part of this.  I'm not sure if it's open to the public, it's at Cherry Cola's on Saturday night for Bob Segarini's birthday party.  And it's going to be a lot of fun!



ps.  That "Fender PJ" reference is the style of bass guitar.  I will NOT be wearing my pyjamas.

Recording Blast

Where has the time gone?
I've spent the last 6 months working and re-working Gravedigging For Two (the new album), and finally have arrangements that I can commit to.  The instruments are recorded, I just have to do the vocals now.

Tonight, however, I'm very excited to try something new:
A live-off-the-floor recording.  Just me. One microphone, one guitar, one take.

Here's the planned set list:

Love is the Drug,
Dead Flowers,
Dirty Old Town,
Downtown Train,
Sister Morphine,
Hurt,
Irish Heartbeat,
Romeo & Juliet,
Song To The Siren,
The Harder They Come,
The One I Love,
Play With Fire,
Unchained Melody
Will You Love Me Tomorrow.

Thankful For Tape Oxidization

Working on the new album last night, I was revelling in the way Little Rose Tattoo has turned out.  It’s been a long time in the making – I wrote the song in 2000 while apprenticing as a tattooist.  But it never felt “right” until now.  Some songs just need to mature to hit their stride, I guess.

It got me thinking of my history with songs.  In particular, the first one that I wrote.  “Unknown Desire” was a disgustingly saccharine ballad that I wrote when I was 15.  Predictably, it was about I girl that I was too shy to approach.  I don’t remember which one, there were so many back then.

Thankfully, I don’t remember the lyrics.  Unfortunately, I recorded my feeble attempt at rock stardom.  One take, me mumbling the song as I strummed away into a cassette recorder.  I gave it to a friend’s girlfriend as a birthday gift (my first groupie), and a few years later she played it back for me. 

I’m glad I wrote it – every attempt improves your craft.  And I learned from the experience (never give sexy gifts to friends’ girlfriends).

Of all the songs I’ve written, and there are hundreds, Unknown Desire is the one that I’m glad will never be heard again.  As long as that damned cassette tape has oxidized by now…