I was really getting sick and tired of coming to the site and seeing the same old WordPress Theme, so I finally decided to change it up a little.  This new one is just a nice little puff of fresh air.  Eventually I would really like to redesign the entire site and custom-tailor it to moi, but for now, WordPress will have to do. 

So I haven’t forgotten about the pics and videos from the studio.  Kasey and I just finished editing everything not too long ago, so don’t you worry, they’ll be up soon! 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Today we started around 10 a.m., like a race horse charging the gate.  Or something like that   I re-recorded Through the Ages in a few takes, slightly slower this time.  (Side note: I had originally recorded this song with Kenny, and although I was pretty happy with it, I noticed a few flaws here and there – from my part, not his.  Little things like my fingers fumbling in the second instrumental interlude, vocals coming in a little late on a few phrases, pronouncing words weirdly…as much as I enjoyed that recording, those little things irked me.  The rest of the world may not notice, but I sure did, so I jumped at the chance to re-record it.  Besides, when I decided to record at Spaceway, I realized that I’d need to pick songs that would be able to stand on their own with just a piano and vocal, and Through the Ages was a good candidate.)

Recording the vocal track to Through the Ages was also done in a few many takes.  It was a tough song to sing to, mainly because it is so free-flowing.  It made it difficult to know when to come in on a few of the phrases, but eventually I got it.  It Was Me was a lot easier because there’s a nice groove in the song.  That was probably my favorite song to record the vocal.  It’s a fun song for me, and, after what felt like 20-something takes of Through the Ages (which is a 5 or 6 minute song, by the way), it was a breath of fresh air. 

Later in the afternoon, my dear friend and photographer, Kasey, came over and shot me.  That is, she took some pictures.   We got a few good ones and she even took some fun little videos.  I hope to have those up pretty soon, so keep checkin’ back!

The last song we worked on was Let It Go.  We had some really solid takes, and I ended the day feeling good.  It was definitely an “Ahhhhh” moment.  Will’s going to do the clean-up and mixing, and then in a few weeks I’ll probably head back into the studio to add a few harmonies and re-do any vocals if necessary. 

It was truly an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it.  Will and Jeff are two of the nicest guys ever, and they are awesome to work with.  I’d love to record a full album there one day and let Will have at it.  He’s produced a lot of other amazing songs, and I’d be so interested to see - ahem, hear how his creativity would package my music.  Perhaps one day I shall procure the necessary funds, whether it be by working my tail off, finding investors, winning the lottery, or, as Will suggested, marry rich.

A few other things I learned:

1. Dasani water is GREAT
2. singing in a t-shirt & jeans is much better than singing in a sweater & jeans
3. upright pianos are infinitely cooler when the front board is taken off and you can see all the hammers and whatnot
4. even the coasters are cool at Spaceway

Ahhhhhh. 

Goodnight.

Ahhhhh…

That was the sound of a satisfied sigh. Yes, friends, today was the first day of recording at Spaceway Studios.

The day started around 11 a.m., and after meeting Jeff (my contact man) and getting a tour of the studio, we met up with Will Hunt. Will and Jeff are soooo nice and made me feel really at ease in the studio. I enjoyed talking with them and picking their brain as they set up the mics and cables and checked the levels and phase…and a plethora of other technical stuff that is quite beyond me.

After playing the songs for Will, we got crack-a-lackin’ and recorded It Was Me. Ahhhh… (yes, there’s that sigh again!) I forgot how wonderful it felt to play a real piano (and a grand, at that) after having played a keyboard for so many months. There is nothing like the feel of the action of a piano, of putting your whole self into it, of reaping a sound that reflects the emotion feeding it, a sound that goes beyond the little “volume” slider and built in speakers. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so grateful for my roommate’s Yamaha keyboard (yay for weighted keys); but, man, there’s NOTHING like a real piano. Ahhhhh…

And Will didn’t make me play to a click track!! How liberating. It was wonderful. Click tracks and I have a very, um, dysfunctional relationship. When I play to a click track, I get so focused on the beat that I lose all emotion and it ends up sounding very mechanical. (but I am fine playing with actual drums…go figure)  Anyways, no click track today, and it was a beautiful thing.

After It Was Me, we tackled Let It Go, and then Through the Ages.  With each song, we recorded about 10 takes or so.  Out of that batch were usually 1 or 2 really solid ones, and the rest of the takes gave us material to play with in case we needed to patch it in other parts of a song. Every now and then comes that “perfect take”…but more often than not you record a really great take but it has a small “hiccup” somewhere in the song. Thanks to ProTools (and Will Hunt), you can use that part from another take and plug it in and voila! A SUPER solid take!  Now, I’m definitely all for excellence in musicianship.  But, man alive, it’s a lot easier (and time-efficient) to fix that little hiccup than to scratch everything.

We recorded Through the Ages, but we’re going to re-do it tomorrow morning.  After listening to it at the end of the day, Will and I agreed that it was slightly too fast.
Tomorrow’s agenda: knock out Through the Ages, do vocals, and…ahhhhh.

So….change of plans!  A lot has happened in the past few weeks, not the least of which has been a new opportunity to record in Dallas-based Spaceway Studios!!!  Long story short, I will be recording a 3-song demo (just piano & vocals) this Monday and Tuesday.  My producer will be none other than THE Will Hunt (Shane & Shane, Bethany Dillon, Ryan Cabrera, Nick Lachey, Amy Lee, etc.). Needless to say, I am ridiculously excited!