On Borrowed Time

In a perfect world, I would be telling you that RISE is completed and I can't stop doing happy little jigs all the time. As things actually stand, in what is commonly referred to as reality, we are just a handful of mixes and some mastering away from a completed album. This news has a huge silver lining to it because since we are NOT yet done, I don't have to say goodbye quite yet to this amazing time and the lovely people who have made this experience so wonderful.

And if you must know, there have still been some happy little jigs because the songs that we have completed mixing sound so good! They make me cry, they are that good. I really, really, really want to share them with you. I am chomping at the bit to even give you one little taste of the deliciousness I've been hearing. But I've decided to hold off and save it all for the big reveal. No appetizers at this banquet, but once dinner is served there will be 13 courses of flavorful songs to delightfully devour. Ok, so maybe I went a little bit too far with the food metaphor there, but you get the idea.

I've got some time off before we get back into the studio to finish off the mixing. So I've been making myself useful by starting to figure out what the heck I'm gonna do once this album is done. There is a whole world of endless tasks in the way of promotion and marketing: cd packaging, photo shoots, submitting the album for reviews, a cd release party, a tour of select cities; all of these things are percolating in my brain. I think partly I am trying to keep myself busy so I don't have to face the fact that this project is pretty much over.

It's been such an incredible process working on this record from start to finish. I am absolutely thrilled with how it's turning out and all the wonderful people who have lent their talents to make this project as good as it is. When I look back at where I was at the beginning of 2014 I am amazed by how far I've come and how much I've learned this year. I have been bold and courageous in pursuit of my dreams. I raised more money than I ever would've thought possible. I practiced my butt off and managed to hold my own playing with two of the most talented musicians I will ever meet. I spent hours and days carefully crafting and planning out the arrangements these songs. I have had the honor and the priviledge of working closely with the one and only Julie Wolf. I have been so incredibly blessed.

I hope as you look back on your year and take stock you can find your own host of things to hold dear and be proud of. I wish you a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year. May light and peace be abundant in 2015.

Gratitude

RISE is coming along quite nicely. Last week we finished up lead vocals, laid down some harmonies, trumpet, organ, and spent a day with a fantastic guitarist Michael Papenburg who created some beautiful, driving, and spacious layers to add to a bunch of tunes. I am amazed at how these songs keep sounding better and better.

We’ve just got a few more odds and ends to record and concurrently we’ll be diving into mixing next week. Mixing is the final stage of the project, when you take all the elements that you’ve recorded and make sure that everything is sounding it’s best, and all the different pieces are balanced and placed properly. The quality of the mix can make or break an album. Luckily, I’ve got a magician of an engineer doing my mixing, and Julie Wolf at the helm to guide and watch over the process. This is a very good thing, because honestly, there is a great deal that goes into mixing that is just over my head at this point. It takes a certain kind of ear and very fine tuned and specific listening to do it right, and while I’m sure by the end of this process I will be closer to having that kind of ear, it’s not something that comes naturally to me. That’s why I am so glad I’ve got the dream team in my corner, and I trust them completely to make this record sound fabulous.

 Julie Wolf and Adam Muñoz (aka The Magician)

I know there is still a lot to be done, and we won’t officially be finished for another couple weeks, but I am already starting to feel a bit sad that this project is coming to a close. I knew that it would go by fast, and I have been careful to thoroughly enjoy every bit of it. But like all good things, it must come to an end, and it’s going to be hard to let go. It’s been such a dream come true to work with so many talented people in one of the finest studios in the world. I am so thankful. SO THANKFUL!

I hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving. Thanks for following along with me as I walk this path, and thanks, as always, for listening. I am thankful for each of you. I am thankful for all the factors that synched up so that this project could come to fruition in such a wonderful form. I am thankful that there is yet work to be done and that I get to spend some more time with the wonderful people I’ve had the privilege of working with. I am thankful that after this project is over I will get to share the result with you and that there will be many new musical adventures to be had… 

Close Call

Last night, walking home from the bus stop I almost got hit by a car. That'll make you stop and take stock.

They were turning left. I was crossing University and the numbers were counting down but I had plenty of time to cross before the light turned red, so I was quickly making my way through the crosswalk. About halfway through, I look up and see this car coming towards me. I lock eyes with the driver and she looks shocked. It was one of those moments that happen really fast, but those few seconds expand in your mind so it feels like a lot longer. The car ended up stopping a few feet away from me and I just kept hustling to get out of the middle of the road. At first I was just indignant about the whole thing. What was she doing driving into me when I had the right of way? And my first thought after that one was: this cannot happen right now; I have an album to finish. As I continued walking home it slowly hit me that my evening could've just taken a very difficult turn. 

I was listening to Radiohead on my headphones and the song Videotape came on. It's a song about leaving a videotape to say goodbye to the people you love after you've died. It's one of my favorite Radiohead songs, just beautiful. I don't know if it was the song, or the stress, or the thoughts running through my head that I could be in an ambulance on my way to the hospital right now, but I found that there were tears streaming down my face. It's always so strange to be passing people on the street when you are openly crying. You feel like it's so obvious, but it was dark and most people aren't paying much attention to the other people they pass on the street so it's not likely they'll notice.

When I got home I lay down in bed and let myself cry for a while. I'd actually been in a funky mood all week so it felt good to let out some pent up emotion. Once I'd calmed down I started thinking about how thankful I was that the woman driving the car saw me and was able to stop in time. I thought about how everything for RISE is coming together so easily and beautifully. I thought about how thankful I am to have this project in my life that makes me really clear that I do not want to go anywhere.

Sometimes I think of myself cradled in the palms of God’s hands. It’s a very comforting image. It reminds me that everything there is to think about, it’s already been considered. This path has been laid out for me long before I was even strong enough to powerfully choose it, and everything is going to be all right no matter what happens.

I do believe that. Even if that car had hit me last night, somehow things would’ve worked out. But, thankfully, that wasn’t the plan.

Today we’re going to be sorting out string parts for a bunch of songs. Recently we’ve been finalizing some horn arrangements that are sounding so amazing! I need to start inventing adjectives to describe how wonderful they are… stupendincredifabulous. There you go. Gotta get going now. More from me later. Thanks for reading and I’m so glad to be writing to you with all of my limbs intact from the comfort of my home instead of laid up in some hospital bed. Phew! 

Delicate and Subtle

The recording is going just great. We got all the basic tracking (drums, bass, and piano) done over the course of three days and it sounds fantastic! I was very pleased with myself because I was so prepared that it felt natural to play my parts while keeping up a steady rhythm, and I could focus on the sound of the band and just enjoy myself. I am so in love with the grand piano at Fantasy Studios. It is the nicest piano I have ever played and it was just delightful to get to play my songs on it for three days and really mine the instrument for all the wonderful dynamic range that it has.

There is definitely a kind of magic that happens in the studio. You discover new things and songs come together in ways that you didn't expect. The energy of the instruments working together in tandem is so exciting and invigorating. It was just a blast to work with such talented musicians and to actually feel like I was holding my own and keeping up my end of the trio well. I am so pleased with how it turned out and with my performance. I really couldn't be happier.

It was a little bit sad when it was over. It's the kind of thing where you look forward to and prepare for so long and then it all goes by too quickly and you miss it as soon as it's passed by. But I know no matter what, I will always treasure these moments of doing the basic tracking for this album. It really is like a dream come true to be working at a world-class studio like Fantasy with such an all-star team supporting me. I know I am also so blessed that the people surrounding me are not only talented, but wonderful to be around as well. Whatever happens with this record, I am so humbled and grateful that I get to have this experience in my life. 

I had a couple of days off and today I was back in the studio working on vocals. It was fun and challenging in a very different way. For one thing, it's just me in the live room and my producer and engineer in the control room. So the nature of the work is much smaller and focused on me as an individual. It has the potential to be a very high-pressure situation, but I felt really comfortable and at ease. I've been learning that singing live for a gig is very different than singing in the studio. It's like stage acting versus camera acting. Things that I am used to doing in a big and loud way can be done in a contained and delicate way. It was challenging because I am not used to it, but I actually felt like I discovered some really beautiful moments and connected with these tunes on a profound level by relating to them with such subtlety. 

We got six songs done, which is apparently "pretty unheard of" according to my experienced engineer, Adam. He said he would've been pleasantly surprised if we'd gotten four done, and was only expecting we would complete three. So I am giving myself a big pat on the back right about now. J

It is great working so intimately with him and Julie, my producer. I so appreciate their impeccable ears tuned towards capturing the essence of these songs. Julie is adept at communicating what she is looking for and making suggestions about how to execute it, and Adam is just such a master at his craft. He works so quickly and efficiently to make sure that everything is sounding great, and he manipulates the software so effortlessly he's always right on point and ready to get things set up for whatever the next step is. It's amazing to watch him work when I get to sit in the control room after we're done recording while we listen back and weave together the best takes into the final comp.

I’ve got another day of vocals tomorrow, then a week working with Julie outside of the studio to assess where we are at and finalize what’s left to record. Hopefully we can break my record and get seven songs done tomorrow-then all the lead vocals would be completed. Exciting! I’ll let you know how things are going again soon.

Day One Done

The rehearsal day went great and I've got my first day of basic tracking under my belt and everything went very smoothly. Yay! We were able to get 4 songs done, which was our goal for the first day. And I succeeded in my personal goal which was to not be the weak link in this trio that consists of extremely talented, seasoned musicians, and little ol' me. I totally held my own though and I am proud of myself. :-) Now that I've got one day down, and a couple of the trickier songs taken care of I feel way less nervous about the next couple of days.

The drummer and bassist that I am working with are so friggin awesome! The Sensational Todd Sickafoose and the Marvelous Allison Miller. It is exciting to hear them playing on these tunes and I am having so much fun working with them. I can't wait for you guys to hear this album. We're all going to have to wait a while though. I'm hoping to have the pre-release digital album ready for IndieGogo folks by the end of December. It'll be here before we know it.

My producer, Julie, gave me a great compliment yesterday. She commented on the fact that my energy yesterday was really calm and grounded. I was happy to get that feedback, because that was definitely another goal of mine. I want to walk through this whole process with as much grace as possible.

As you can probably imagine, taking on a project like this is a huge endeavor, and it is all to easy too get caught up in the pressure. We've got 3 days to record the basics for 13 songs-that's not a lot of time. When that tape starts rolling every little thing you play, every tiny mistake on timing or dynamics, is getting captured forever. It could be really stressful. 

But I was really able to keep my perspective yesterday. I just focused on enjoying playing these songs with my amazing rhythm section, and savoring the chance to play them on the gorgeous grand piano that they have at Fantasy. Guys-this piano is literally the nicest piano I have every played on. I am in love! Seriously. I am excited to play it again over the next couple days. :-)

Speaking of which, I should probably get ready to head over to Fantasy for day two. I woke up at 5 this morning and I was so excited I couldn't go back to sleep, so hopefully I can still hold myself together in a mildly sleep-deprived state... Wish me luck.