Let Me In Preview

Here are some photos from the studio this past week:

My favorite instrument in the world–pedal steel

Matt Pynn playing the aforementioned wicked awesome instrument

Producer Will Dailey and engineer Steve Scully making the music on the computer glow.

When you hear the ripping guitar solo on “Sisters”, you’ll be surprised to learn it was on this little green amp.

keyboard player Phil Aiken tracking to “Let Me In”.

Also, it’s ridiculously cold outside. I seem to have lost my wool coat and I have no idea where it could be, which is strange because there aren’t many places it could be. I can’t wait to go to San Francisco in February for my fact-finding mission. OK, I may be a little grumpy.

Last night, however, was great. Chad is a stand-up dude and I was able to hang out with him a bit before the gig. It was touching to see him and the band play forty-fives, a card game from Ireland that is largely played in the Merrimack Valley (which is where we’re all from). I’m diverting like crazy. Anyways, that was nice.

After all my worrying (are we going to suck? Is anyone going to show up?) the shows are never as bad as I think they’re going to be. We weren’t able to practice this week, which miffed me more than a little bit and I thought we were going to be really rough. Also, the band room was really small and I didn’t have much space or time to warm up my singing.

We got on stage just before 10 and tore through a bunch of songs off of the new CD. In fact, only three songs that we played last night (Strangers, On My Mind, and Cavity) are not going to be on the new CD. People responded pretty well though I have long since come to grips with the fact that my audience will never align with Chad Perrone. Still, everyone was very respectful and we got a lot of compliments after playing. I want to thank everyone who came out to see us last night! To the people who came to see Chad and dug us, thank you as well.

Last night, my goal was to not be afraid to suck. What this means is that I really tried to ‘go for it’ and stretch out my voice and emote more at the expense of some performance aspects. My voice cracked and I topped out at a couple points and screwed up more so than usual BUT I think it was more effective than other performances. I’m trying new things to better connect myself with the audience and I think not being afraid to suck allows for the tunes to come off more genuine.

So, cool.

The next full band show will be the CD release, which I’m still planning and I won’t commit to a date until I have the mixes in my hand. Still, I’m looking forward to it and am going to try and make it a SHOW, a spectacle, something special though I haven’t quite figured it out yet.

I have pictures from the studio this past week, but once again, I don’t have my camera handy. I plan on getting them up in the next couple days though most of them are crappy. You’ll get the idea though! I also have a 30 second video from my digital camera with Phil Aiken laying down keys to “Let Me In”. It’s the closest thing I have to any sort of album preview. None of my friends or anyone close to me has heard anything so far from the studio. I’ve kept it under lock and key and I don’t even take mixes home with me when I have time off. It’s been a nice separation of studio and non-studio time.

I’ll be back in the studio this Tuesday and Wednesday and by then most of the vocals and guitars will be done. We’re getting close. I’m really, really, really, excited. I don’t think I can say it enough. This time is for real!

Hurrah! Have a great weekend.

Anyhow, I’ve finished lead vocals to “Have Heart” and “Let Me In” and they both came out great. That was one thing that has been painless so far, which is funny, because I always struggle with vocals. It’s tough to be objective with my vocal takes because listening back to yourself is always awkward. I sing basically until Will tells me that it’s good enough.

Matt Pynn has been blazing on guitar for the past couple days and has added some rock ‘n’ roll and some Oomph that my music hasn’t had before. It’s fantastic. We also spent two hours tonight laying down pedal steel, which is my favorite instrument ever. I brought my camera today but left it at the studio. I’ll have some pictures hopefully this weekend.

Tomorrow night I’m playing at Johnny D’s after I get out of the studio. I’m very excited! It’s my last show of the year with the band. If you’re around, come check it out!

My biggest struggle lately is that I haven’t been writing music. I decided that I now refuse to write about nothing. It’s a bit of an experiment but I’m tired of sitting down to write and coercing words from myself that talk about something but don’t mean anything. I’m trying to write a lot more intentionally and I’m trying to consciously avoid wondering, would anyone actually care? My logic now is that if it is full of intent than someone would care, even if they don’t quite understand why. I’m trying to will it into being.

We’ll see how that goes.

I didn’t.

And I’m glad I didn’t.

I don’t want to get into all that happened but suffice it to say that I’m looking forward to 2009 like crazy. I’ve established some solid relationships this year that have stimulated and affected my life in profound ways. Because of those relationships and countless other reasons, I don’t identify myself as a musician now, rather, I’m a person first and music is intertwined within. That’s liberating.

Next year is shaping up to be primo. For one, I will be making money. I start up my TA position, I have some promising gigs, and I’ll continue to tutor the SAT for high school children. This year, I have hovered just above poverty levels, though I don’t feel poor. I think more than ever I’m less frugal and I think I’ve been able to soften the grip that monetary comfort once had on me. I feel rich and I feel secure. That’s liberating as well.

Anyhow, I’m moving towards something definite now. I’ve now fully invested myself in the idea of moving west. I’ve romanticized it like crazy and I’m gung-ho now. It might crash and burn like the time I spent in New York but I think as a person I’m more complete than I was then. I think I can handle it.

So things coming next year? How about:

• CD release show and the new CD that follows that.
• We got asked to play a high school junior prom, which is going to be a BLAST.
• We just got asked (though it’s still in the planning stages) to play a 60’s themed show in the summer.
• I’ll be hitting the road either in late January/early February and will also be visiting San Francisco in February.
• TA position (helping to teach the “History of Rock Music” at Northeastern). It’s a job, it pays well, and I enjoy the hell out of it.
• Continued knowledge of myself.
• Moving away.
• Playing Faneuil Hall but not having to rely on it. The economy made street performing a constant struggle.
• Many, many more.

I don’t know what made me think of it but I can’t believe how far I’ve come in three years. In retrospect, that EP sucked. I think part of it was that Andy had never done serious recording before (no discredit to him) but the main problem was my singing and songwriting. The recordings are uneven and when I listen to them now, I cringe. At the time, it seemed new and wonderful. I hadn’t recorded anything of that quality up until that point, but now, it’s kind of scary.

I can’t wait to see where I am in three years. Hopefully it’s still making music. It will probably be in San Francisco but if not, I hope wherever it is, that I’m happy and am producing worthy material.

So many things have happened since then. I won’t get into all of them but I appreciate all of them (good and bad) and I thank those of you that have shared those times with me.

Here’s to three more!

If I had it my way, I’d have the CD release at The Paradise Lounge, but that doesn’t exist anymore (major bummer), so I’m considering other options.

Potential Venues:

1. Club Passim (new 1st choice. I played there as an open mic feature a couple of years ago and at a capacity of about 125, I think we could sell it out. It would be a great, chill venue to have a CD release show and I think we could give it a very laid back atmosphere)
2. Great Scott (I’ve never played there so it might be tough to get in there)
3. The Lilypad (This place is tiny so it would be a very intimate shindig)
4. The Middle East Upstairs
5. TTs The Bear
6. Any Lowell venue…

It didn’t take us very long to get back in the swing of things. I look forward to the gig on the 21st!

Longer updates to come.