Skip to main content

Day One Hundred Thirty Six (Year Two)

I got something crossed off the list of bare-bones binder stuff done tonight: I finished off the last half of the note sheets for all of the keys.  That had been the last piece of the things that I had started last year sometime.  I know it's a small step, but it really feels like crossing off one of the small things that will let me move on to bigger and better challenges ahead.  I'm glad that's finished, and I think it will be really helpful, because when you're trying to get to where you know you need to be, it's one thing to know the steps you need to take, but it's entirely another to see them all laid out in front of you.

R. sent me a text message today, practically begging for me to set aside the new Black Keys record for her when I got to work.  I did.  And I set aside one for myself as well.  I picked them both up at the end of my shift.  We're having dinner/drinks after I get done with work tomorrow, so she'll get her copy then.  I, on the other hand, will listen to mine either tonight before bed, or tomorrow before work.

Still trying to nail down all of the magazines with Richard Lloyd's column in them.  I've got a pretty good idea of where the rest of them are, though, as I ran across another stash of mags right before I left for work today.  That's got to be where the others are, because I know I brought all of them with me when I moved here from WI.

This binder thing seems to be going really well.  There has definitely been discernible progress each day this month, which is encouraging.  I need to be doing more playing in conjunction with the creation of the binder, no doubt, but I figure that until I can get a bit more sorted out and organized, I'm doing okay with what I'm working on.

I've got to finish off that Pearl Jam documentary in the next couple of days here and get that back to the good soul who loaned it to me, if only so I can pester him about setting up the binder.

Off to crank up the Black Keys... after all, the sticker on the cellophane it's wrapped in says "PLAY LOUD."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

DayOne Hundred Sixty Nine (Year Eight)

Today was another good day.  I spent all of it with my brother, which I needed a lot, even though I just saw him over Christmas. Tonight we finally got around to some music discussion.  He took a look at my list of goals for the year, and sees it as a really good set of steps to get me where I'd like to be from where I am.  I picked his brain about a few of the nagging questions I still had as I get started, and he was able to put my mind at ease. Having a chance to sit and chat with him is always good for my musical soul, because he constantly drives me to be a better, more well rounded player, and I'm pretty sure that I can never thank him enough for all of the advice, support, and encouragement he offers every time we chat.

Day Two Hundred Six (Year Four)

Today was the first official day of the second half of my "album-in-a-month" challenge. As for today's goals, I wanted to see what I could get done in regards to track order, and get at least a little bit of a start on the lyric writing process. I spent more time working on the track order question than I did on the lyrics today, but as a result of that, I ended up with something that I think will work in terms of order. I did sit with the notebook for a few minutes at the very end of the day, and got a solid starting line of lyric and some other ideas that I hope will be jumping off points for lyrics. What I'm thinking I might do, however, is switch my focus from the lyric writing part of the process directly to the recording part of the process.  That way, if I can get the music recorded and burned onto a CD, I can take the music with me in the car, and listen and try to see what images and thoughts the music brings up.  It's a tactic that has worked for...

Day One Hundred Thirty (Year Five)

I got more time in the studio today than I have in a long time.  It wasn't quite enough for me (as always), but it was a productive re-introduction, I thought, to my life in the studio.  I: 1) Got a bit of reading done in Songs & Solos 2) Dragged out the tab book for Recovering The Satellites in preparation for the Counting Crows shows that are coming this month.  Worked on a bit of "A Long December," and a bit of "Have You Seen Me Lately."  What struck me, in taking a closer look at the tab, were the fills and arpeggios that make up a lot of the non-vocal melody.  It's fun to play, and it comes as a teaching opportunity when it comes to songwriting. 3)  I decided on the Tom Waits Biography, Low Side Of The Road for my music reading this month. 4) I didn't get to as much of the lead guitar & fretboard work as I would have liked to, but that will give me something to focus on as the week goes along. All told, it was a really good day....