Skip to main content

Day Fifty (Year Four)

Today was a day I'm really glad I've got the music room here in Dubuque.  It seems like it's the only place I can find much peace of late, and it's also helping me to get some work done.

But before I delve into all of that, I want to take a moment to comment on some of the listening I've been doing lately.  I'm through the remastered version of Mellon Collie, and into the first disc of demos, rarities, and extras (out of 3).  What strikes me, from a songwriting perspective, and gives me hope at the same time, is just how much material they had that didn't make the final cut of the record.  In many cases, the demos are just as big and elaborately produced as the songs that made the record, and there was one for sure, "Ugly," that I'm shocked didn't make the record.

So, I have everything from yesterday's post laid out on the work table, and before I went crazy adding more things to the pile, I figured I should sort through the contents of the magazine files to finalize in my head what is there.

Here were the piles that got made out of the 5 magazine files I had filled with stuff:

IMAG0327.jpg

and here was the worktable, with the basic stuff I hope to start with on it:

IMAG0328.jpg

It's oh, so nice to have a space wherein I can work on a project, leave it as is, and be able to come back to it later and have it just as I left it!  I think that factor alone will increase the amount of work I get done.

Back at the binder, and the practicing, tomorrow!

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....