There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person. - G.K. Chesterton
Tomorrow I start recording my bluegrassy/celtic acoustic album. I’ll be producing it with the help of a good friend of mine who’s got a nice little recording studio attached to his house. I’d like to get done with it in a year, but since there’s going to be a lot of arranging and [...]
I finally managed to finish the new lead to Old Joe Clark. I’m not sure exactly what took me so long to get around to it, other than the six months spent working on the graphic novel and a few other projects. On a whim this evening I decided I should just go [...]
1) Have talent.
2) If you are unsure whether you have talent or not, ask 12 people who have heard you.
3) If you still must perform, choose 1 instrument and work out live versions of your songs.
4) Do not, I repeat DO NOT, record one instrument at a time into your portable recorder to [...]
Yesterday I was told that when I post after drinking a glass of wine, I come across as being more chatty. Well then. I suppose you’re in for a chatty post this evening.
I’ve decided to work on a bluegrass album this year. I figure it’s about time, and since I’ve got all [...]
I’ve been playing guitar to unwind lately in-between slinging the coffee and drawing the comics. While most of the fledgling guitarists I knew in high school and college were trying to be the next Van Halen, I was drawn more and more into bluegrass…which explains my complete lack of coolness during adolescence (well, that’s [...]
There are a few Christmas songs that deserve to be hated. Happy Christmas by John Lennon, and Christmas Shoes by…that guy, are the first two that pop into my mind, and I have managed to avoid them for the last 2 seasons. This year, the “Holiday” music channel on Dish Network has [...]
I’m listening to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite all the way through for the first time. I have thought privately (and never blogged on) how television commercials vulgarize and humiliate great works of art, especially music. Case in point: When I heard the March from this suite, I immediately envisioned salads being tossed and then [...]
I have a modest recording setup in my studio that has gone neglected for some time as far as music goes. I do record podcasts on it, but that’s like using a tank to shoot crows.
This week I got the urge to finish something I started playing around with a few months [...]
Recently I read C.S. Lewis’ Surprised by Joy, the autobiography of his early life up until his conversion from atheism to Christianity around the age of 30. As I mentioned to several people, this book made everything in my life seem to me to be utterly trivial. Whereas my childhood was filled with [...]
It’s been almost 7 years. I remember working a full, 8 hour day, going home to eat dinner with Sarah, then off to Rob’s studio to work on our album until about 3 or 4 in the morning…Three hours after I would wake up and repeat the process.
One of the first things that comes [...]
I was handed the baton, so I suppose it’s time to expand the music category of my blog.
I don’t talk about music with very many people. The exceptions being a few musician friends, and, every once in a while, someone who I know will like something I’m into. Music is deeply personal [...]
Although I’ve been drawing since I was old enough to hold a pencil, my main creative focus was music until just a few years ago. I think I’ve said before how I’m afriad of losing my love for making music. Partially because I’m afriad of losing a part of my identity I think, [...]
As some of you may or may not know, I have been singing with an a cappella group for about 5 years now. Not to go into all the gory details, but for the first several years we were a strictly “Christian group”. I use quotes because as I have gotten older [...]
I have found myself shying away from discussions about music lately. Which is unfortunate because not only do I love music, I am a musician. For a long time I wasn’t sure exactly why I have felt uncomfortable when people start discussing the music they like, but I think now I’ve nailed [...]
Today I noticed that Hip-Hop and Country music have more in common than you might think. What they have in common is this: The subject matter has a tendency to boil down to the singer ranting on and on about just how hip-hop or country they really are.
It should also be noted that [...]
I’m big on making up my own meaning to songs. Especially the cryptic ones. In fact, I think I tend to be drawn to songs whose lyrics are pretty nonsensical on the surface. This is because I’ll usually make up the subject matter or story in my head. Who cares [...]
Someone told me recently that for a musician I rarely ever talk about music.
So today I am.
About 6 or 7 years ago I bought an album by Bela Fleck called ‘Live Art’. I listened to it a couple of times and put it away without every really getting into it. A [...]