Challenges

I have been trying an experiment for the last couple weeks, which I hope to continue for the next few months. . .

I recently found myself getting bogged down in the minutia of songs that are mostly completed.  “Perhaps I should invert this chord, or move that one note in the bass line up a fifth, or add one measure of 23/8”.  It was getting quite maddening! I listened to the same two tracks over and over again until I would find myself spontaneously bursting out in song to questions like, “Can I use your restroom?”  As you might imagine, I have this tendency to be a wee-bit perfectionistic when it comes to music, and as such tend to perseverate on songs until I feel they are “just right”.  Unfortunately, to get a song “just right” I would need to focus on it to a point nearing self-abuse.  No, not the Freudian definition (sicko!), more like that endured by Manuel Noriega when troops played loud music outside his Palace in an attempt to get him to hand over Panama.   While this process has always resulted in music I am happy with and want to listen to, I am finding that it really stifles the creative writing process.  As a result, I have created the “Two-week Song Challenge” for myself.

The Two-week Song Challenge is based on a book writing challenge I heard about.  In that challenge, aspiring authors are tasked with writing 50,000 words in 30 days, without self-critiquing their work as they write.  The idea is to let the creativity flow, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.  After the 30 days are up, the budding authors can then go back and see what they have, decide if it’s a keeper and edit, or throw it back. 

In this spirit, I have decided to try to write and record one complete song every two weeks for the next few months.  The goal is to get these songs to the point where they are “acceptable” rather than “perfect”, and then just move on.  Then, after a few months, I will go back through the completed songs, decide which ones should be “perfected”, and do so.    My first attempt at this started with a classic prog/rock style song that I am very happy with.  The next two week cycle begins this Thursday and I have no idea what will come out.  This is very exciting to me as I will again write with no preconceived ideas about how the song should turn out.  One thing I am pretty certain about is that these songs will have a heavy prog influence.  When I first started writing Judgment I tried very hard to write straight ahead rock songs, but they kept turning out prog.  Prog has run in my blood since my first Genesis concert in 1980 and no matter how hard I have tried to move away from it I always end up back there.

Well, wish me luck!  Hope fully I will have a lot to show for this experiment soon. 

Craig  

Sugar-induced mania

Who would have thought that having six preteens running around the house for 24 hours would have presented an opportunity?  I had pretty much decided that it would be impossible to be creative while my oldest son had his 13th birthday sleepover at the house this weekend (Happy Birthday Buddy!).  As a result, I hunkered down to try to get a lot of the boring technical stuff out of the way on Falling and Anthem.  Both songs are nearing completion, but we are attempting to have Falling ready for mix and master in the next few weeks so that we can let everyone hear the direction NOS is headed in. Between the running, jumping, video games, sugar-induced mania, and late-night nerf gun wars, I was able to get Falling completely setup in my studio so that it can be shared online with Jay and can eventually be sent electronically to the mixing engineer.  Additionally, I was able to get Anthem half-way to that point as well.  So, although creativity was generally low, productivity was high and we keep moving forward.

I am really loving the new sound, and am very excited to have my first taste of some independent work Jay has been doing.  His writing style really adds a whole new dimension to the music of NOS.  I only wish we had the next album finished today so that we could share!

Take care,
Craig

Home Bass

Spent a good part of the day re-recording the bassline for Falling, which was no small feat given that I tore part of a fingernail off on my right hand.  I have a feeling I will be going back and rerecording some of the faster runs in a few days.  The goal is to have Falling completely finished in the next few weeks and send it out for mixing/mastering.  We then plan to put it up online in some way (as yet undecided) in order to let everyone have a listen to the new sound.  Of course, I still have to write the lyrics, but at least I have an idea what it is about (falling, I suppose).

I'm meeting online with Jay tomorrow for a writing session.  We have been generating lots of new ideas that we should be able to form into coherent songs somewhere along the way.  More to come soon . . .

Take care,
Craig

The Technology Gods Have Smiled Upon Us!

Yesterday, the technology gods truly smiled upon Not Otherwise Specified.  After several months of work, Jay has his home studio up and fully running, including a HD video cam and Skype connections.  To our surprise and excitement, we can actually hear each other over this connection and can play multiple instruments without feedback or distortion.  1000 miles just became a much smaller distance.  Things should begin to move more rapidly now, not only on the songs we have been working on, but with the new ones we hope to write in cyberspace.  We'll keep you posted!

Take care,
Craig

New Review of Judgment!

A new review of Judgment is up at Progressor.  Thanks for the kind words guys!

Skeletons in the Studio

It's been a while since my last update  The holidays and life in general have created a long string of priorities more important than playing with my guitars  After about two months of writer's block, however, I finally have a full working skeleton of Anthem. Well, skeleton is a bit of an understatement. More of a skeleton with a 23 minute circulatory system, nervous system, wimpy musculature and a little bit of skin.  In the words of Dr. Frankenstein, "It's ALIVE!!!"

I was so excited to listen to it in its entirety that I bounced it down to my iPhone so I could play it on my drive to poker night (what a fun way to lose $20). I get in the car, plug it in, and . . . silence. Then organ. . .  23 minutes of organ. . .  I left the track solo'd when I bounced the song. Very disappointing.  Needless to say I did a proper bounce this morning and I am pretty happy with the results.  

Jay is getting his studio up and running.  We had a chance to work together during my recent trip to NY.  I'm really excited about the direction this project is heading. The next album looks to be significantly more sophisticated, developed and proggy than Judgment. Longer songs, more rhythmic complexity, dripping with wholesome prog goodness.  Hopefully destined to become an important part of a healthy prog diet.   Come on . . . clean your plate. . . there are listeners starving in Europe. . .

Vocals and Travel

Not a lot going on since the last update.  I have been bogged down in work and have had less time than I would have liked to spend in the studio writing.  However, I have been focusing on strengthening my voice quite a bit lately.  For a while there I thought I was going through puberty again by the way my voice was cracking.  I found out that your voice goes through changes again later in life as well, thus the prepubescent squeaks that have been coming out of my middle range.  I'm trying to spend 30 to 60 minutes per day (mostly in the car) singing and focusing on the fundamentals.  I am happy to say that after a couple of weeks, I was able to sing all the way through Octavarium and Home (Dream Theater) on my way into the office this morning without a hitch.  Feels great to start getting my voice back.

Headed up to Rochester, NY for the holidays this Thursday.  Really looking forward to seeing family and friends!  This trip will also give NOS a chance to be in the same room as I will get to see Jay Rowland in person for awhile, rather than as a stream of texts and phone calls.  After the holidays, things should be able to pick up a bit on Happy Accidents.  However, it appears I will need to come up with a new name for the next album.  But that is a story for next time. . .

Take care,
Craig