DONE.

Last Day of NaSoAlMo 2006!

I'm putting the finishing touches on my album today and I'm mostly pleased. At some point I just gave up the idea that I was going to do something that had any real polish to it in 30 days and started having fun with effects, fake instruments, and ambient noise. My voice is lazy, my piano skills rusty, and my recording abilities limited - but I have gotten out of this project what I think it was intended for. I am more motivated to go back and record all of the songs that Phillip and I have written and to keep pushing forward with music. This has been very fulfilling for me and I'm very glad to have done it. I'll put the songs up on the website tomorrow. (And yes...I used this accordian in at least one recording...)

4 DAYS TO GO!



Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

This Thanksgiving we are in Baltimore visiting Phillip's father and step-mother. We've had a great time with them so far. (and we've eaten some terrific food!) Today we went to D.C. to look around and the trip was very inspiring. Here's a short poem I wrote when our day was almost through:

On the fresh concrete
the last of the summer leaves
lay scattered
leaving their impressions
under Lincoln's steadfast gaze
Absorbed in admiration
for their gentle,
earnest protest
I wonder -
will my mark
last as long?

The Recording Process


I've started recording, but I'm having issues making what ends up on the computer match what's in my head. Writing the songs was EASY compared to this! I've done some recording before, both in professional and amateur studios, but I've never been the one calling the shots and trying to make sure all the settings are right, the sound is right, etc. Its frustrating, but I'm learning from it. I'm stuck at home today because my car is back in the shop, so fortunately I'll get to work on it some more.


I've also made a bit of a resolution to continue recording after the NaSoAlMo project is over. Phillip and I have over 30 songs we've either written together or separately, and some of them are actually worth recording I think. Stephanie mentioned that she wanted to have some of the songs she liked on a CD, so I think its worth trying to accomplish especially if its for the friends that were there for us when we were actually performing.

The Den Of Wolves

Over the weekend after November 1st I worked with my sister to pull off an extreme makeover of my nephew Jonathan's room. I had so much fun, and here are a couple of photos from the walls I painted. You can't see it in these photos, but we actually put trees around his dresser on one of his walls so it looked like he was in a forest.

The moon glows in the dark and the trees are supposed to look like they come out into the room.



This is the wolf that stands over his bed as he sleeps. The den is built out of paper mâché and goes all the way across one wall.

It was a hectic weekend, but you only turn 13 once, right? And he's worth it.

The October Game

Bill Counts never ceases to amaze me with his talent, and he always seems so completely unconscious about it. I can't decide between October 12th and October 22nd if I had to pick one to be wrapped up for me for Christmas...but I'm leaning towards the 22nd:

I'm really pleased with my NaSoAlMo progress so far. I think I've discovered a faster, more efficient way to churn out songs! I used to try to come up with the idea, flesh it out, write it, edit it, and THEN come up with the title. Could take months. But for this I actually wrote the titles first based on a theme: the year I turned 30. I didn't have anything very specific attached to each title--just a vague idea, but it seems like the ideas have just flown from the titles themselves! I think I'm going to try this for future writing projects.

I'm now up to six songs that are pretty close to done with the lyrics and melody, so I'm going to do some rough recording to figure out the chords and make sure I don't forget the tunes!

I drove four hours today to get to Bristol (for my nephew's 13th birthday) so I was able to concentrate on writing another song. I decided I'm not going to put a new post up every time I write something, but I am going to keep my sidebar (--> ) updated. I think I'm up to THREE people checking my blog now! This is exciting!

Well, its November 1st and I think I'm off to a good start with my album! I wrote three verses and a chorus this morning on my commute to work. I normally write while driving (yes, dangerous when I have a pencil in my hand and my notebook open in my lap I know...) and hopefully nothing exciting is going to happen in the world in the next 30 days because I will basically be on a media fast with the radio turned off most of the time. I tend to get all of my news on my drives to and from work going between NPR and talk radio (I like to get both sides!).


Here are the song titles I am working with:

Turn The Page

Love Less

Musings

Fear of Me

Deep the Well

Devotion

Chapter Four