I went to the producer's house today with Dad. Me and the producer went over the songs again with a metronome; he seemed marginally pleased with the fact that I could play in time to a beat. However, he also said that I have a tendency to start flat and swing "up" into the note I need; I also, apparently, have a tendency to sing the fifth harmony of a root note, which means, if I am playing a C chord, I will sing G note. Which is not bad, I guess, but he wants me to work on the "tonal memory" of the songs, so that I can sing the note perfect every time.
Me and Dad got back to my place and took the starter off my car. Either the starter or the solenoid got FUBAR'd, 'cause one or the other of them was "stuck." Dad fooled around with it for a while after we got it off and got it working, but we've decided not to take any chances and just replace it.
Monday, we're in Spokane finishing the cover demo; Tuesday is band practice; Thursday I am going shopping with Mom in the morning and cleaning my house in the afternoon and evening; Friday is my party; Saturday, we have a show; Sunday is the birthday party. Next Monday, I plan to sleep all day. Hahahaha.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Busy Week Upcoming
Saturday afternoon I must go to Spokane to do some more work on my songs with the producer. Monday, I'm back in Spokane finishing the cover demo with the recording studio guy (the one who is having me make him a web site). Tuesday is band practice. Thursday, I am cleaning my house in preparation for my birthday party. Friday is my birthday, and, therefore, my party. Saturday, the band is playing at The Riverbend in Oldtown.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Whaddya Know?
I've got to get $3,000 by the end of May. I was sort of counting on the dispatcher job to cover that, but that is taking too long. Luckily for me, I went The Rio tonight, and ran into a guy who does radio jingles for eight radio stations in the local area. He liked my voice and wants me to do radio jingles for him at $100 per. Score! If I can do 35 of them, I got this thing paid for!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Weekend Report
Sunday, I had gone to bed at 5 AM and got up at 11 AM. Got ready and went to Spokane and had the meeting with the recording studio guy I am doing a web site for. I took a design to him and he liked and said go with it. Okay. Meeting over. I ran on down to my sister's house for the birthday party.
The meeting with the producer got moved back from 4 PM to 6 PM. He wanted me to play my newest stuff first, so I started with "The Night Let Me Down." He didn't say anything while I was playing at all, but when I finished, he says, "yeah, that's a good song, as is." So, yay. He does a few things figuring out about the song, like what key it was in, what other instruments he would put in it, et cetera. Then he said, "Play me a fast one," so I started playing the other one I wrote last week, "The Cover." When I had played it for Kenny, he said it sounded like The Beatles. I was unconvinced. Then, when I played it for the producer, he said the same thing. Said it was definite "hit," and then it was very catchy and hooky, and that, if I cut out a few things that it would be a massive hit. I was okay when he suggested that we cut out the pre-chorus, but when he said that I should cut the first four lines of the chorus, I was dubious, but I said, "Well, let's get Dad out of the sawmill then." So I am re-writing that one. I played all my other newest stuff. The ones he picked to use were "Rumors," which is a new one I wrote back in January or something; "Strings"; and "Relax," a pop song I wrote in 2004. He taped me playing the songs on a little bitty recorder, and then we talked about what direction he would steer my career.
The meeting with the producer got moved back from 4 PM to 6 PM. He wanted me to play my newest stuff first, so I started with "The Night Let Me Down." He didn't say anything while I was playing at all, but when I finished, he says, "yeah, that's a good song, as is." So, yay. He does a few things figuring out about the song, like what key it was in, what other instruments he would put in it, et cetera. Then he said, "Play me a fast one," so I started playing the other one I wrote last week, "The Cover." When I had played it for Kenny, he said it sounded like The Beatles. I was unconvinced. Then, when I played it for the producer, he said the same thing. Said it was definite "hit," and then it was very catchy and hooky, and that, if I cut out a few things that it would be a massive hit. I was okay when he suggested that we cut out the pre-chorus, but when he said that I should cut the first four lines of the chorus, I was dubious, but I said, "Well, let's get Dad out of the sawmill then." So I am re-writing that one. I played all my other newest stuff. The ones he picked to use were "Rumors," which is a new one I wrote back in January or something; "Strings"; and "Relax," a pop song I wrote in 2004. He taped me playing the songs on a little bitty recorder, and then we talked about what direction he would steer my career.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Songwriting
There isn't much going on except that I wrote two new songs. One of them was re-appropriated lyrics from 2003. I've turned it from a boring song into a 1960s pop track. I really like it. It rocks. It is called "The Cover." The other one is kind of a country/rock ballad. It's called "The Night Let Me Down."
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Devil's Handiwork Excerpt
Best lines I wrote tonight:
Grabbing the leather jacket on the bed frame, I slid the backpack on and,
bringing the pistol to the ready again, slowly made my way down the stairs. As I
settled my foot on the last step, my eyes adjusting to the darkness again, he
cleared his throat.I recognized him immediately, and I still shot a hole in the
chair he was sitting in, mere millimeters from his testicles."God damn it, Shelby!"
I shot four more times at the chair’s seat, putting the bullets within
hair's breadths of his thighs. He recoiled violently through the tufts of
recliner stuffing floating through the air and toppled backward, chair and all.
I launched myself across the room and vaulted over the now-holey recliner. My
knees pressed into his elbow joints, and I sat hard on his chest. My left
forearm came down across his windpipe while I shoved the barrel of the
still-smoking 9MM into his left nostril. "You've got five seconds to tell me
what the fuck the Council wants with me before I wipe your nose with something a
little more dangerous than a tissue, Billy."
News of Note
Friday night, me and Kenny went to see the drummer's Dad's band play at The Rio. They had me and Kenny play an entire set and a half.
But what I really want to talk about is the OTHER thing that happened Friday night. I had previously arranged for a producer with whom I had been trading messages on MySpace to contact me about 9:30 Friday night. He called while I was at The Rio. This is the same guy I've mentioned before. Well, he told me on the phone that, while the band needed some work the last time they'd seen us, he still thought that I would have a better chance of success by myself as a solo artist. He said that he "really dug" my songs; that they were pop, but had darker lyrics, kinda like a mix (in his words) of Stevie Nicks and Sheryl Crow. He said that he doesn't just work with anybody with money, either. He said that he only works with people he thinks have a real chance of making money with music, and he thinks I have that potential. Yay!
Now, I have been thinking for quite a while about the next record. Obviously, we can't just record the next album the same way - live - as we did the last one. The thing is, to be accepted into the new music business model, you have to have a product that is instantly marketable. Which means paying for world-class recording. If I were to choose just a recording studio, I'd still end up paying them at least $2,500 for the recordings... and I'd be producing them. Honestly, I think I have gone as far as I can all by myself and doing everything. I think it's time to move to the next level and get some professional help for this next project. With this guy, even though I will be paying him $3,500 to record it, he is also going to produce it. Make the songs marketable. Make them sound world class. Make the production sound like everything else.
I had to drive through snow today. Arg. No word from any clients, so I am home-free there. Band's next show is May 5th, with maybe at least one more before then.
But what I really want to talk about is the OTHER thing that happened Friday night. I had previously arranged for a producer with whom I had been trading messages on MySpace to contact me about 9:30 Friday night. He called while I was at The Rio. This is the same guy I've mentioned before. Well, he told me on the phone that, while the band needed some work the last time they'd seen us, he still thought that I would have a better chance of success by myself as a solo artist. He said that he "really dug" my songs; that they were pop, but had darker lyrics, kinda like a mix (in his words) of Stevie Nicks and Sheryl Crow. He said that he doesn't just work with anybody with money, either. He said that he only works with people he thinks have a real chance of making money with music, and he thinks I have that potential. Yay!
Now, I have been thinking for quite a while about the next record. Obviously, we can't just record the next album the same way - live - as we did the last one. The thing is, to be accepted into the new music business model, you have to have a product that is instantly marketable. Which means paying for world-class recording. If I were to choose just a recording studio, I'd still end up paying them at least $2,500 for the recordings... and I'd be producing them. Honestly, I think I have gone as far as I can all by myself and doing everything. I think it's time to move to the next level and get some professional help for this next project. With this guy, even though I will be paying him $3,500 to record it, he is also going to produce it. Make the songs marketable. Make them sound world class. Make the production sound like everything else.
I had to drive through snow today. Arg. No word from any clients, so I am home-free there. Band's next show is May 5th, with maybe at least one more before then.
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