Me (about a sweet pic Mike took): It's a masterpiece, Mike!
Mike: And masterpieces are only created by masters.
Me: . . . or pieces.
:-D
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Recording
Well folks, it's May 5th. That was a rude awakening. I thought it was the 2nd, or maybe the 3rd, till I checked my phone at lunch. Uncle Keith gets here in three days, bringing with him unknown amounts of non-music activity, and we leave on the 12th, early early. So the 11th will be all packing up. So I have 6 days left. That hurts just to say.
The last week has slipped by quickly with Mike here. It's easy to spend time on the laptop or watching hockey. The deadline to finish the album recording has been increasingly pressuring me, and a lot of days have gone by with not much time spent in the studio.
But here's the thing. I have 9 out of 12 songs for sure done, and two of the remaining three probably done, but with a chance of re-recording them.
The recording is going fantastically!
I've been knocking out two songs a day most days. Walk downstairs, set up a new project in Sonar 2.0, check levels, and 30 minutes later, a new final-quality track is down on the hard drive.
In case it's not obvious, let me say that this doesn't happen normally when I record. That's a big reason I don't spend more time in the studio at home. More often than not my efforts end in frustration and futility, or something that's 80% good, but too hard to get that last 20%, so it's useless.
A lot of the reason for this progress is the type of music I'm working with. These songs are meant to be sung. They live just coming out of your mouth. "Arrangements" are self sustaining even with just a guitar for accompaniment. If I botch a take it's no biggie to re-do the whole thing, or pick up part way through where I messed up. It is truly a delight to work with such excellent songs.
But there's more than that.
I still undoubtedly have the capacity within myself to ruin the recording of even such robust and intrinsically valuable songs. God has to be blessing my efforts. I am playing (i.e. "practicing") the songs, yes, but I get good at playing them faster than my rate of practice. Things are falling into place, and when I'm sitting in front of the mic, with the ominous red "Record" button pressed and destiny hanging in the balance... I'm playing and singing at my best.
God is--at the least--staying the tide of my own self destruction, and allowing me to record these songs in a manner doing justice to my musical abilities and the quality of the songs. I don't take that for granted, and every time I run up the stairs singing at the top of my lungs with another track crossed off the list, I am grateful afresh.
I am really looking forward to sharing these recordings with everybody, and I hope that they can be received and learned and sung with as much joy as I have gotten from them myself.
--JPB
The last week has slipped by quickly with Mike here. It's easy to spend time on the laptop or watching hockey. The deadline to finish the album recording has been increasingly pressuring me, and a lot of days have gone by with not much time spent in the studio.
But here's the thing. I have 9 out of 12 songs for sure done, and two of the remaining three probably done, but with a chance of re-recording them.
The recording is going fantastically!
I've been knocking out two songs a day most days. Walk downstairs, set up a new project in Sonar 2.0, check levels, and 30 minutes later, a new final-quality track is down on the hard drive.
In case it's not obvious, let me say that this doesn't happen normally when I record. That's a big reason I don't spend more time in the studio at home. More often than not my efforts end in frustration and futility, or something that's 80% good, but too hard to get that last 20%, so it's useless.
A lot of the reason for this progress is the type of music I'm working with. These songs are meant to be sung. They live just coming out of your mouth. "Arrangements" are self sustaining even with just a guitar for accompaniment. If I botch a take it's no biggie to re-do the whole thing, or pick up part way through where I messed up. It is truly a delight to work with such excellent songs.
But there's more than that.
I still undoubtedly have the capacity within myself to ruin the recording of even such robust and intrinsically valuable songs. God has to be blessing my efforts. I am playing (i.e. "practicing") the songs, yes, but I get good at playing them faster than my rate of practice. Things are falling into place, and when I'm sitting in front of the mic, with the ominous red "Record" button pressed and destiny hanging in the balance... I'm playing and singing at my best.
God is--at the least--staying the tide of my own self destruction, and allowing me to record these songs in a manner doing justice to my musical abilities and the quality of the songs. I don't take that for granted, and every time I run up the stairs singing at the top of my lungs with another track crossed off the list, I am grateful afresh.
I am really looking forward to sharing these recordings with everybody, and I hope that they can be received and learned and sung with as much joy as I have gotten from them myself.
--JPB
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Yo, wassup
It's 10:07pm SLC time. Mike and I finished "Blazing Saddles," and now we're in our default positions: hunched over each's respective laptop at the non-dining-room-table-table. The automatic lights came on and dimmed at 8, so we have yellow light till 11pm. It's shining on the pile of field guides, Utah atlas, electronics, beverage containers, Cheetos, tumbleweed, sandstone, masking tape, song lyrics and other shtuff that covers the table. We're groovin' to The Meters. If you don't own "Look-Ka Py Py" by them, you should buy it. I feel comfortable promising that whoever you are, you will not regret that purchase.
Another day like every other day of my life: started with a goal, got diluted immediately. Instead of waking up and hitting the studio, I woke up, had breakfast, and Mike and I went on some errands. Finally after getting home and making buffalo chicken salad and macaroni & cheese for lunch, I took the tepid-but-still-delicious remains of my Rovico's americano down to the two by four and insulation room for some folk song work. Laid down what will most likely be the final tracks of "Good Morning Blues," and got "Pick a Bale of Cotton" started. One take with guitar and singing, and then lots with additional singing and clapping. My plan is to do like 10 tracks of harmonies and different parts, all with clapping, and get a good group work feel. Right now I'm pursuing that direction, but I don't know if it will work. All I know is I did a few test tracks, and then 3 serious ones, and after that my hands hurt from clapping so I left.
Helped Mike work on fixing Uncle Keith's tent from its wind-induced destruction. Ate a mango with a knife, rejoiced in the fact that there was nothing "instant" to eat in the fridge or the pantry, and fried up some corned beef hash and eggs for dinner. XX'd it and watched the Mighty Ducks and Redwings battle on the ice. Then to Blazing Saddles, and you know it from there.
I am currently wishing that Mike could appreciate food, that people on Facebook would appreciate my profile pic, that the world could appreciate my unique(?) brand of optimistic adaptability, and that I had the "spark," or charisma, like some people have.
Currently delighted by my vanilla bean in vodka success, the ease with which I am getting final-track-quality recordings for this album, the amount of vegetables and real food in my shopping cart earlier today, and the understanding of music history that is in truth unfolding as I read "Rock and Roll: An Introduction," by Michael Campbell and James Brody.
I take yet another moment to sit back, look around me at the railings and airy ceiling and shimmering sea of lights out the window, and appreciate where I am. This is amazing, and what a blessing to get to be here, for so long, so free. This is one of the best places on earth, and I love it.
Another day like every other day of my life: started with a goal, got diluted immediately. Instead of waking up and hitting the studio, I woke up, had breakfast, and Mike and I went on some errands. Finally after getting home and making buffalo chicken salad and macaroni & cheese for lunch, I took the tepid-but-still-delicious remains of my Rovico's americano down to the two by four and insulation room for some folk song work. Laid down what will most likely be the final tracks of "Good Morning Blues," and got "Pick a Bale of Cotton" started. One take with guitar and singing, and then lots with additional singing and clapping. My plan is to do like 10 tracks of harmonies and different parts, all with clapping, and get a good group work feel. Right now I'm pursuing that direction, but I don't know if it will work. All I know is I did a few test tracks, and then 3 serious ones, and after that my hands hurt from clapping so I left.
Helped Mike work on fixing Uncle Keith's tent from its wind-induced destruction. Ate a mango with a knife, rejoiced in the fact that there was nothing "instant" to eat in the fridge or the pantry, and fried up some corned beef hash and eggs for dinner. XX'd it and watched the Mighty Ducks and Redwings battle on the ice. Then to Blazing Saddles, and you know it from there.
I am currently wishing that Mike could appreciate food, that people on Facebook would appreciate my profile pic, that the world could appreciate my unique(?) brand of optimistic adaptability, and that I had the "spark," or charisma, like some people have.
Currently delighted by my vanilla bean in vodka success, the ease with which I am getting final-track-quality recordings for this album, the amount of vegetables and real food in my shopping cart earlier today, and the understanding of music history that is in truth unfolding as I read "Rock and Roll: An Introduction," by Michael Campbell and James Brody.
I take yet another moment to sit back, look around me at the railings and airy ceiling and shimmering sea of lights out the window, and appreciate where I am. This is amazing, and what a blessing to get to be here, for so long, so free. This is one of the best places on earth, and I love it.
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