Just got off the phone with Dawn, a publicist with The Press House in New York. Talked about the disc and my idea of two CD releases... told her that my goal was to get some buzz so that I can break into licensing (TV, Cable, Movies).
After listening for a while, she recommended that I come up with a timeframe (April - June) and list of cites where I'd like to focus. We're targeting April - June because people will go to shows in the Spring, not Winter and this will be during the semester for schools.
My ideal scenes would be:
Cambridge / Somerville
Burlington, VT
Amherst, MA
Albany, NY
Portland, OR
Also, when I mentioned licensing, she said she would put me in touch with Kevin Laughlin in NY. She mentioned several radio stations I should send my stuff to.
I should work with her on two levels: Big pubs that need a 3-month lead time, blogs and the publications around my gigs.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Almost done mixing at Verdant
Have not posted for a while, have mainly been in love and busy with tracking.
Spent the weekend of 11/17 & 11/18 up in Athens Vermont with a good friend, Pete Weiss. He owns Verdant Studio and has worked on a number of projects with me.
Very, very happy with the results and love the plate reverb he has (he asked me several times to move the reverb level on the tank which was a room away from the studio). No digital reverb was used in the making of this record - only plate and spring.
Tracks mixed so far:
Tendril Stem
Blue Van
You Got Me Lost
Peel Away (beautiful Viola parts)
Just Have To Know
Good Morning You (Daniel Johnston)
With You
I Want To Go Away With You
Coming Down On Me
Brother Jim
Your Blue Eyes Don't Reflect That Kind Of Light
Going back up to Verdant on 12/15 to mix the following:
Gone Long Gone
Last Night What You Told Me
Into A Spark
Spent the weekend of 11/17 & 11/18 up in Athens Vermont with a good friend, Pete Weiss. He owns Verdant Studio and has worked on a number of projects with me.
Very, very happy with the results and love the plate reverb he has (he asked me several times to move the reverb level on the tank which was a room away from the studio). No digital reverb was used in the making of this record - only plate and spring.
Tracks mixed so far:
Tendril Stem
Blue Van
You Got Me Lost
Peel Away (beautiful Viola parts)
Just Have To Know
Good Morning You (Daniel Johnston)
With You
I Want To Go Away With You
Coming Down On Me
Brother Jim
Your Blue Eyes Don't Reflect That Kind Of Light
Going back up to Verdant on 12/15 to mix the following:
Gone Long Gone
Last Night What You Told Me
Into A Spark
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Blue Bird Cafe
Matt Duane Griffin encouraged me to take a week down in Nashville and hang at the Blue Bird Cafe, an all-night open mic. He said I could really learn the music biz there just by talking to people and asking them what they do. Maybe I'll do this in the spring right around when Phantom Heart comes out.
I feel like I've slowly broken through a limitation in my mind about my music - as if I really do see my work's quality on the highest level. I've now realized that, although it's different, it's equal to some of the best stuff out there.
Spoke to Seiki last night over dinner about success in music. Success for me is really that I have not given up - that's a total victory. Success in my music "career" is slower than I'd like, but success in my artistic development is way beyond where I've dreamed.
Need to keep performing live and receive confirmation of my music - this helps build my own confidence.
I feel like I've slowly broken through a limitation in my mind about my music - as if I really do see my work's quality on the highest level. I've now realized that, although it's different, it's equal to some of the best stuff out there.
Spoke to Seiki last night over dinner about success in music. Success for me is really that I have not given up - that's a total victory. Success in my music "career" is slower than I'd like, but success in my artistic development is way beyond where I've dreamed.
Need to keep performing live and receive confirmation of my music - this helps build my own confidence.
Tracks / Musicians for Moontower 8/12 session
For the session next weekend, I have mapped out the following game plan:
- Tendril Stem: Me on Acoustic, electric, drums and vocals
- Last Night What You Told Me: Me on Acoustic and Vocals, Drums, Seiki on Acoustic.
- Coming Down on Me: Me on Acoustic, Electric, Floor Tom, Tamborine and Vocals, Seiki on Acoustic. Seiki on Classical Guitar percussion.
- You Got Me Lost: Me on Acoustic and Electric, Tamborine, Floor Tom - fly in midi drums.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
How much should I allow fans to have a say?
Wondering if it might be a good idea to have fans/friends have a say in cover art, track order and design of the CD. Have been reading a lot about the closer relationship between artist and fan....
Monday, July 9, 2007
Why am I starting a blog about my 5th record?
Because I want to get my thoughts down, recorded for the future - maybe I'll be the only one who reads it, but maybe other will find it useful somehow. I hope someday my son, Guthrie, will read it and say "Uh, my Dad was really interesting".
I also want something that I can refer to as the project develops and changes. I have many ideas about production, arrangements, who I want to play on the record and so forth. I also have many ideas for the design and title. For example, I have the working title "All Mistakes Are Intentional", but that may change. I also have "Grey" as a title on the CD cover - black hand-written letters on a white background.
I guess the main reason for getting this shit down is to contextualize where I'm at in my life - all of the heartache, challenges, disappointments, victories and happiness. My intention with this blog is to crystallize a focal point so that the end product (the record) is very powerful - for me and the listener.
The 25 songs or so that I am currently weeding through for the record have been written over the past 18 months, starting when I separated from my wife and child (Guthrie), to now, where I am deeply in love with a woman who may be be leaving for Los Angeles. I have gone from having a very sedate and simple life (wife and kid, good money) to being fully engaged with living and what is means to turn suffering into joy.
The previous records I did certainly reflected my life at the time - there's no way art cannot be a reflection of one's life. However, this recording project and all of it's songs have a lot more urgency for some reason. It's almost like I'm desperately trying to inscribe my life into stone.
I also want something that I can refer to as the project develops and changes. I have many ideas about production, arrangements, who I want to play on the record and so forth. I also have many ideas for the design and title. For example, I have the working title "All Mistakes Are Intentional", but that may change. I also have "Grey" as a title on the CD cover - black hand-written letters on a white background.
I guess the main reason for getting this shit down is to contextualize where I'm at in my life - all of the heartache, challenges, disappointments, victories and happiness. My intention with this blog is to crystallize a focal point so that the end product (the record) is very powerful - for me and the listener.
The 25 songs or so that I am currently weeding through for the record have been written over the past 18 months, starting when I separated from my wife and child (Guthrie), to now, where I am deeply in love with a woman who may be be leaving for Los Angeles. I have gone from having a very sedate and simple life (wife and kid, good money) to being fully engaged with living and what is means to turn suffering into joy.
The previous records I did certainly reflected my life at the time - there's no way art cannot be a reflection of one's life. However, this recording project and all of it's songs have a lot more urgency for some reason. It's almost like I'm desperately trying to inscribe my life into stone.
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