Thursday, June 26, 2008
When the music's finished
The masters for my new CD are done and on their way, to me and to the duplicators.
I've been listening and sending feedback and my producer has been tweaking and sending me MP3s for the better part of a week, as we've been finishing it all up. Today was mastering day for Stephen, and I just got notification that the disks are now in the hands of FedEx.
It's sounding very good. I've been listening and listening and listening, and while only Earthwalker makes things perfect, this album is coming out extremely well, and I'm proud of it.
The album cover is now up on my music page, in miniature, and I'll have the lyrics to my own songs up by tomorrow sometime - I have the lyrics page done; I mostly need to put the links into the album detail page. Once I have the master, I can start creating samples for each song too - expect those up by sometime next week.
I've been listening and sending feedback and my producer has been tweaking and sending me MP3s for the better part of a week, as we've been finishing it all up. Today was mastering day for Stephen, and I just got notification that the disks are now in the hands of FedEx.
It's sounding very good. I've been listening and listening and listening, and while only Earthwalker makes things perfect, this album is coming out extremely well, and I'm proud of it.
The album cover is now up on my music page, in miniature, and I'll have the lyrics to my own songs up by tomorrow sometime - I have the lyrics page done; I mostly need to put the links into the album detail page. Once I have the master, I can start creating samples for each song too - expect those up by sometime next week.
Labels: CD, music, new album, trop rock
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Deadlines in the sand
Sometimes the best way to get something done is to just tell the world when and how you want it.
If you've been following what I'm doing at all, you know that I've been working on an album for most of this year. You've also heard me say "any time now" quite a few times. Well, the end is in sight.
There's a Parrothead "phlocking" coming up in Las Vegas the last weekend in July called Migration. Two days of music, socializing, drinking, and having fun, and a prime place for me to let people know about my music. And I really, really want to have copies of my album there.
Well, last week I got off my fundament and got in touch with the duplicators, and asked them how much lead time they'd need. They told me. I turned around and shared that information with my producer, who told me when he needed the final tracks in order to be able to meet that deadline. And then I checked in with Tom and told him when I needed the rest of his sax stuff.
And presto, the sax is done and in my producer's hands, and I'm starting to see final mix candidates. And the album art is likewise moving forward on a parallel track that will be ready when I need it. Nobody was holding anything back; there just wasn't much urgency until I created and communicated it.
So here's the scoop: Official release date is August 1; unofficially I'll have CDs a week before that and will be taking them to Migration with me.
The "official" album page for Every Day's a Holiday will be up within the next week or so. I'm revising song insights, to give people an idea of what it's all going to be about, and I need to compile and tag the lyrics. Samples will come a bit later, after the final mixes are done.
We're on our way, and it's gonna rock.
If you've been following what I'm doing at all, you know that I've been working on an album for most of this year. You've also heard me say "any time now" quite a few times. Well, the end is in sight.
There's a Parrothead "phlocking" coming up in Las Vegas the last weekend in July called Migration. Two days of music, socializing, drinking, and having fun, and a prime place for me to let people know about my music. And I really, really want to have copies of my album there.
Well, last week I got off my fundament and got in touch with the duplicators, and asked them how much lead time they'd need. They told me. I turned around and shared that information with my producer, who told me when he needed the final tracks in order to be able to meet that deadline. And then I checked in with Tom and told him when I needed the rest of his sax stuff.
And presto, the sax is done and in my producer's hands, and I'm starting to see final mix candidates. And the album art is likewise moving forward on a parallel track that will be ready when I need it. Nobody was holding anything back; there just wasn't much urgency until I created and communicated it.
So here's the scoop: Official release date is August 1; unofficially I'll have CDs a week before that and will be taking them to Migration with me.
The "official" album page for Every Day's a Holiday will be up within the next week or so. I'm revising song insights, to give people an idea of what it's all going to be about, and I need to compile and tag the lyrics. Samples will come a bit later, after the final mixes are done.
We're on our way, and it's gonna rock.
Labels: album, Migration, music
Monday, June 09, 2008
Vegetables and quirky electronics
I played my second farmers market gig of the season on Saturday. It went well, better than the previous week in Hayward, I think.
I've been having some odd problems with my gear. Last week in Hayward, my PA was putting out distorted sound. I'm guessing that I was getting dirty power from their generator, as everything is clear at home.
And this Saturday my mike was cutting in and out. I think it may be the mike and not the cable, as I swapped out cables. So I'll need to get a new mike. Oh joy, oh rapture. I'm looking at the Audixes, at the recommendation of a friend, though I have other friends who swear by the good old Shure M57 and M58.
Other than that, it was a good day. I'm trying out a new "performance piece" called "Traffic Jam" that relies heavily on my new looper - I set up some background guitar and vocals, and then riff over the top of it. People really liked that. I think it will definitely be in the set more often, and I'll need to keep polishing it and embellishing on it.
And people are really enjoying my new feel-good "Margarita Ya Ya." It's got a singable chorus, and a catchy beat.
Meanwhile, I'm getting some new sax tracks in from former "Coral Reefer" Tom "TC" Mitchell. He is *such* a nice man to work with, a true creative soul. We've got the better part of two songs done, out of four he'll be contributing to for my new album, and I really like what he's been doing with my songs. I've got my fingers crossed for having the finished CDs in my hands by late July now, so I have them for Migration.
I've been having some odd problems with my gear. Last week in Hayward, my PA was putting out distorted sound. I'm guessing that I was getting dirty power from their generator, as everything is clear at home.
And this Saturday my mike was cutting in and out. I think it may be the mike and not the cable, as I swapped out cables. So I'll need to get a new mike. Oh joy, oh rapture. I'm looking at the Audixes, at the recommendation of a friend, though I have other friends who swear by the good old Shure M57 and M58.
Other than that, it was a good day. I'm trying out a new "performance piece" called "Traffic Jam" that relies heavily on my new looper - I set up some background guitar and vocals, and then riff over the top of it. People really liked that. I think it will definitely be in the set more often, and I'll need to keep polishing it and embellishing on it.
And people are really enjoying my new feel-good "Margarita Ya Ya." It's got a singable chorus, and a catchy beat.
Meanwhile, I'm getting some new sax tracks in from former "Coral Reefer" Tom "TC" Mitchell. He is *such* a nice man to work with, a true creative soul. We've got the better part of two songs done, out of four he'll be contributing to for my new album, and I really like what he's been doing with my songs. I've got my fingers crossed for having the finished CDs in my hands by late July now, so I have them for Migration.
