So, there I was, minding my own business at the local Cooperative, when what to my wondering ears should appear? “Prairie Dogs.” It took me a second for it to register. I recognized the guitar part as something really familiar, then I realized what it was, then my voice came in.
Let me just say, it is still shockingly cool to hear myself on the radio, randomly and unexpectedly. I may try to be cool, but inside I’m doing that scene in “That Thing You Do.”
So, I was watching VH1 the other day, waiting for the fire alarm guys to upgrade my CO detectors, and I saw a video that made me think, “I could do that.” Hmmm.
I talked with a guy last summer who said nice things about my songs and my stage performance (!) and such and he thought a video out there on the interwebs was in order. He had a particular song in mind, but it’s a song that I haven’t recorded. So, I’ve been hemming and hawing and putting off this whole video thing. But ya know what? I have a whole CD of perfectly good recordings. Duh!
This realization has kicked me back into “I should make a video” mode. So, I’m gonna chat with my pals in the video business and see what we can do. One thing I can promise you: there will be no kissy-face in this video. Nor will there be a tire-swing or a blonde in a white dress with the sun behind her.
So, in addition to the RPM Challenge in February (that’s coming up pretty soon, isn’t it?); making another full-length CD with the guys; and making this website more interesting (freebies, blogs, videos, witty observations about airline food, outtakes, stuff like that); now we’re making a video. It’s gonna be a good year. Stay tuned!
So, the wheel has spun its way ’round again. It’s a shiny new year. I’m looking forward to this one. I hope to see many more of you much more often this year. I’m particularly looking forward to the RPM Challenge in February (and perhaps sharing the tunes with you this time) and dragging the guys off to the Milltown Recording Company again to record another full-length CD. I also hope and expect to post more stuff here and let y’all know how the music’s going and put up some more tunes and stuff. Just to keep it interesting.
WUTB
Nine songs written. Four other good ideas. Six recorded. Twenty-six minutes on tape. No mixing, no mastering, just on tape. A couple of those songs are actually good. So, not enough to count the challenge as “successfully met.” However, I did spend a lot more time writing and working on music last month than I have in a typical month in the last year, so it’s still a win for me. Thanks for having me. See y’all next year.
Oh no! My left hand announced this weekend that it would not be participating in any guitar playing or anything. Oops. I did get some more writing done last week. Let’s say two more songs. So that’s four written. One recorded. I’m behind on the plan, but not sunk yet. I hope I’ll have better news to report next Monday. See y’all then.
I just thought I’d check in and let y’all know what’s what. So, I can make noise on Sundays for a few hours. That’s it. I haven’t taken the month off from work or chores or anything and I spent last night figuring out how Audacity works and I’ve got exactly one song “on tape” with guitar, vocal, and maybe bass. And so far, this is AWESOME!
The plan was simple: write 2.5 songs per week; record them on Sundays; burn it all to CD and put it in the mail on Monday March 1. I’ve got two really good new songs in this, the first week. Played ’em live on Friday and folks dug ’em. 🙂 And I’ve got some idears for more songs that are showing some promise. I’m fascinated because I’m much more familiar with writing when the lightning strikes…
The gear: Larrivée OM-09 acoustic guitar; Fishman Loudbox 100 amp; SM58; SM57; small Behringer unpowered mixer; MacBook Pro with Audacity installed (yup, it’s all going in through that poor 1/8″ stereo jack; no USB, no nuthin’); Precision Bass; Strat; noisy ol’ Fender Pro Reverb amp. Sometimes there’s drums around. We’ll see.
So last night I learned that I can a) get the bass into Audacity and b) find the “time-shift” feature to make the tracks line up. Whew! I also learned that I can, in fact, actually play the bass a little. This challenge has already paid for itself…!
Jim Maxwell will play a demo of “You’re the One for Me” during his “Art Talk” show this week. That’s 107.7 on your FM dial, wvew.org for you computer streaming audio types.
So, I signed up for the RPM Challenge 2010 this morning. That means ten new songs, on tape, in the mail postmarked by March 1. I’m looking forward to this. Maybe I’ll have something new to play at Friday’s show…
So, I noticed that it’s a shiny new year. I’m done with the flu(s), suitably recovered from the holiday zaniness, and looking forward to getting back to work. Practice, practice, practice…