Glückliches neues Jahr! 
幸せ新しい年 
Gelukkig nieuwjaar!
Feliz ano novo!
Bonne année!

Šťastný Nový Rok
新年快乐

Feliz año nuevo!
Felice anno nuovo!
Godt nyttår!
سنة جديدة سعيدة

May we have a more peaceful world in 2012.

John

 The greatest use of my iphone is the voice memo recorder in the utilties menu.  I used to wake up with songs in my head or in the middle of the night and try to remember them but they were inevitably lost.  Recently I started grabbing my phone and a guitar and recording the melody before it escaped me.  This is usually before I go to bed or first thing in the morning.  So I'll record a 30 second snippet, just enough to capture the idea.

So I had not checked my phone in a while.  Last night a song came to mind and I recorded it - I was real happy with it but then noticed a bunch of audio clips.  I'm looking at them thinking, where did all these come from.  So I started listening through them and all these ideas that would have been lost came roaring back to life.  So if you're a songwriter, I'd strongly suggest you keep some kind of recording device on you at all times.  The great thing about the iphone is that it is with you all the time.  So you can be walking down the street and hum a melody into the recorder.  You have to capture those moments of inspiration before they're gone!

 

So a new song materializes - created home demo on my mac and very excited about it.  Also have a second song nearly complete.  Recorded the music and most words done, just need another verse.  Before songs were coming in bits and pieces.  Now they seem to be coming mostly complete.  That last verse always is the hardest - but then in the end I wonder how it eluded me!

I am very inspired listening to the later Hendrix period - and that's reflected in the second song that is called, Piece of the Pie.  If you have not heard the recent hendrix release, Valleys of Neptune, it is a really interesting study in his later song writing, guitar orchestration and of course his amazing solos - and not to mention creative process.  Some of the interviews with mixer/producer Eddie Kramer reveal elements of the music that I had not fully appreciated. 

I've never enjoyed playing music more than at this time in my life.  The band has come into its own and is really grooving these days!  We're all just feeding off each other's ideas and that makes every gig a new experience.  We're adding new covers and originals and just having a blast! 

Hope to see you at one of our shows!  

John    

 We've had some technical issues that slowed down production.  Glad to report we have everything working now.  We have three songs recorded with about 7-9 more to go.  We're scheduling sessions now and hope to release an early preview of a track to our fans on our mailing list.  So sign up for that on the home page!  

generating lots of music.  Some complete songs, then the bits and pieces of things of which some will take shape and others won't make the grade.   Lots of melodies, words, progressions, riffs...   Got to pull it all together and get this done!!   

John

Everyone has been so busy with their lives it has been difficult to find time to record.  We've been talking about scheduling a series of sessions and knocking this out.  It is so hard to balance work and family and carve out time for this project.  I am frustrated that the progress has been so slow but it is largely my own fault!   However, I keep writing - so that is good.  I want to have enough material so that in the end we can pick ten or so songs that have a common theme and sound.  I realize now that the project is what it is and it will be done when it is done.  Hopefully by the summer!  

When I can find the time, I'm busy writing the material for the rest of the CD.   our next session is on 1/29 - but more of a rehearsal for upcoming shows than a recording session.  Although, hopefully there is time to get one done.   I think being short on availability to record is an advantage - when we get the chance, we're not messing around.  We're having fun but we're working hard and staying focused.   We know we have to get stuff done!  

John

 We had our second session today.  I think we have a better idea how to get a good guitar tone.  Since my amp is set up in a garage there is a lot of natural reverb that we have controlled with sound absorbing panels.  Anyway, the tone was better this go around.  We had our good friend E.G. MacDaniel on bass.  Kevin and I are long time collaborators but due to scheduling issues, we do use a few bassists of which E.G. is one along with Chuck Comanse and Dave Forte.  They are all fantastic players and are splitting duties on the CD.  

The first tune was an uptempo funky jam called "One Life."  I finished writing the ending while we were there and chose to resolve it away from the tonal center of the whole song for the final chord.  It is a little out, but sounds cool!  It does spin your head as you don't see it coming.  

The second is a ballad called "Only You."  We had nailed the track but the computer had a digital hiccup in a few spots - everything dropped out for 3 or 4 beats in a few different points in the song!  NO!!!  So we spent an hour or more trying to fix these spots but could not do it as the song just flows and there are no opportunities to "punch in" and "punch out"  - a recording technique that allows you to play along with the recording while recording what is happening live and then it just records the space between these two punch in and out points.  Finally E.G. said let's just play it again.  This final take was better that the first.  It had a better feel.  

Reality is, the band is learning these songs in the studio and trying to play them like we've gigged or rehearsed them.  While not ideal, they are fresh to us and that breeds a certain inspiration.  It will also be interesting to see what they evolve to later when we have a chance to perform them live.

Peace,

John

We had a productive first session.  Kevin did a great job engineering.  We set up my amp in the garage to get some good separation and Chuck went direct with his P bass.  I played through my Fender Deville 4X10 and 2010 Stratocaster Deluxe with Lindy Fralin Blues Special pickups.  We nailed our first track, a song called "Alive."  And we have solid rhythm tracks for a second song called, "When She Smiles."  We had a lot of laughs along the way, maybe one too many drinks, and ate some great mexican food cooked up by our host!  All in all a great first session and we're really excited about where the music is going.

I posted a few pics on the gallery tab.  Scroll down to see them.  

Peace,

John