I’ve been really all over the place with my song selections lately, but this week I settled on the new song “Your Decision” by [wiki]Alice In Chains[/wiki].  It just seems to fit well with my style, and I thought it would do well.

I had planned for the first time in a podcast to record multiple track/layers, and do some video effects, but I ran out of time.  Additionally, I forgot to bring my voice recorder (Sony ICD-SX700 that I always use for podcasts) home, so I ended up having to use Audition on my recording machine anyway.

Given that, I decided to go ahead and tweak the audio (EQ, reverb, compressor) and add a lead.  Somehow, whatever I did makes the entire video seem dubbed (the guitar solo and one little vocal part are, of course, dubbed, but the rest is not!!)  And yes, I had to extend the lead a little, because I left too many measures with the rhythm.  lol  I typically like leads anyway, so it gave me a chance to use the old lead and add a little of my own flair.

Anyway, I originally (after recording) wouldn’t have said it is my best performance ever, but the quality overall seemed better the more I listen.  The tweaks on the vocals definitely highlight my voice way more than typical.  This new recording style may be here to stay, given that it’s really no more difficult than the voice recorder, and it lets me add additional layers.  This in turn gives me more time to play around with studio equipment and try out and perfect techniques for future albums.  Let me know what you think!

Direct link to podcast video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc9YDp4b6j4

This week’s podcast is the awesome new song by Shaman’s Harvest called “Dragonfly.” I have to admit I really don’t understand the lyrics (it’s hard enough just to find a good transcription of the lyrics), but the song rocks hardcore.  I see it as either a dying person wavering on lucidity or a prediction of the end of the world.

At any rate, I’m noticing my podcasts become more and more challenging, so I find myself pressed for time to record them.  (I give myself about an hour or so on Wednesday evenings).  Anymore, this includes time to learn the song.  That being said, this week, I compromised and did my own arrangement, because, while I know the song pretty well, the faster parts take a little rehearsing to sing along with.

And wouldn’t you know it, I kept screwing up, take after take, and finally I got a pretty good one, and I left out the bridge!  D’oh!  Oh well … here it is.  There are more “so-so” parts than usual, but there are some of my finer musical moments too.  That’s why I decided not to risk another take (even without the bridge.)  Enjoy!

Direct link to podcast video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go11eRUM-Q4

For those who don’t know the back story, my friend Phil Taylor and I, having been somewhat lacking in the new material, challenged one another to write and record a new album before and to be released on January 1, 2010.  This was in approximately November (2009 of course).

Knowing my own lack of spare time, I knew I would not be able to do full studio productions, but I felt confident I could write the songs.  After all, I had made a 2009 resolution to write new material, and I needed some catalyst (kick-in-the-butt).

I had originally intended to do 13 songs, but I ran shorter on time than even I anticipated, so I settled on 10.  I would release the album as my podcast on January 1 (how convenient that it fell on a Friday).  I figured that would would be perfect, because in my business I had missed 2 weeks of podcasts already.  Unfortunately, even at that, due to the New Year’s gig I did with Town Crier, I lost my voice, so I even missed the January 1 podcast.

At any rate, I finally got the songs recorded (once again on my trusty Sony ICD-SX700), and here they are.

1. The Teacher mp3 lyrics
2. Can’t Say mp3 lyrics
3. The Fortune Of Fallacy mp3 lyrics
4. The Way Home mp3 lyrics
5. The Thirst mp3 lyrics
6. The Walls mp3 lyrics
7. The Restless Folk mp3 lyrics
8. The Mirror mp3 lyrics
9. The Things I Say mp3 lyrics
10. Stand By mp3 lyrics

Unlike usual, I did do minimal editing, but only to do some equalization correction.  The recordings were not perfect anyway (they include the occasional flub and some cameos of my son screaming), but I wanted them to be as “tolerable” as possible.

My goal is to do full productions of this album by March of this year (2010), but I admit this is highly ambitious. 

So take a listen, enjoy, and feel free to impart your reactions here!

I actually recorded this podcast as well as next week’s two days ago.

At any rate, the song for this week is “Careless Whisper” by George Michael/Seether.  My version is much closer to that of Seether, and, frankly, I don’t really do it justice, but I’m singing it in Town Crier, so I thought I’d offer the preview.

podcast.0011-Seether-Careless Whisper

As usual: me on my acoustic, in my studio, no editing, recorded on Sony ICD-SX700, blah, blah, blah …

These are low-fidelity recordings … unfortunately, I am not able to do large size files which trigger high bandwidth yet, but these will work for the time being.

Hopefully, I’ll have all the mp3s I had on the old site uploaded within a week or so.

So follow the link, take a listen, and use the awesome new commenting feature to let others know what you think!

“Woke up this morning // Can’t believe what I saw // Hundred billion bottles // Washed up on the shore”

This line is perfect, simply put. It just amazes me how that particular line tells me so many things without telling me any of them.

(This was written a long time ago, but I thought I would port it to this blog)

Anyway, I didn’t even fully appreciate it until I started making my own music, and I realized how incredibly adept this album is musically. The bass player alone will bring you to your knees, and the lyrics have such a beautiful subtle satire and cynicism that I don’t think I could ever master a work so perfect. Every song just tells me something new.

(This commentary was written a long time ago, but I thought I would port it to this blog)

Honestly it is because not much has been happening … a lot has been going on in my life, moving, new g/f (not so new anymore) etc. and anything musical has kind of taken a back seat. Of course, looking back on things, this time of year is always kind of lethargic for me musically. I think I’m ready now to get back into the swing of recording TSOTSS, and maybe even work on some new stuff, but anyway I am going update some other things that need updating and hopefully keep on top of things here again. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day ! … It’s been a while so I thought I’d post some updates. I celebrated my mom’s birthday last night by playing Open Mic … you know totally different than my typical Thursday evening. I played a pretty good set anyway … one of my best performances by at least one count I think my mom, stepdad, and granddad agreed but it’s hard to tell. Not really their style of music anyway.

I have the first four songs of TSOTSS recorded, although I will likely need to redo the acoustic guitar on “Appreciated.” Recording has gone relatively well, considering, and the final products are excellent. I haven’t budgeted my recording time terribly wisely, however. It’s the time of year when things start to get hectic, and I have a lot on my plate as of late. Hopefully, I can get it all together and get another two or three recordings kicked next week. I’ll let you know.

As some of you know, I have started recording “Two Sides Of The Same Soul,” and, as of today, have completed track 1: “A Dream.” So far everyone who has heard it has really liked it, and it is honestly my highest quality recording to date. It sounds very good, and somehow still maintains the feel of the original demo. I am very pleased with it. I’m not sure when I will continue with the rest of the album, but I’ll let you know as I make progress. I’m guessing I’ll be ready to release it by late summer–I am putting a lot of attention to detail into these recordings. I want them to be as perfect as possible … after all I am eventually going to want radio airplay of them.

Anyway the lofi of “A Dream” is up so you should check it out. Until next time …