An hour just flew by as I doodled out a cover of Little Dragon’s Twice. I have no intention of ever performing it, but I absolutely love the simplicity and beauty of the song. My original plan was to work on tweaking the chords on my latest song, but I couldn’t resist. I’ve created an amazing, fantasy space of my own in my room over the past couple of hours, where I’ve been listening to Max’s latest version of the single we’re working on, practicing Twice, and working on the production of one of the songs I finished writing last week. For the first time in weeks, I’ve finally found a pocket of peace and calm. I’m really grateful for it…it’s been a crazy few months.
Tag: music
Getting Closer To The Finish Line
And yes! I’ve finished all three songs for the next gig. I now have 6 songs done for a new EP, 8 songs in total that are performance ready. I’m only planning to use 2 songs from my first album if there’s a longer gig in the fall, sadly. I’ll need a total of 10 songs for about 45-50 minutes of performance time…there’s an old song that I’ve finished writing the lyrics for, but I still need to work on the chords for song number 9. What’s my final song going to be about?? Super excited to explore this idea, but I have no pending concepts to flesh out. It’ll have to be something brand new. Lots of numbers in this post. 🙂
Success!
I managed to finish writing the lyrics for the song I was feeling blocked on last night. I’ve still got the chords left to work on, and I’m still wrestling with the 5/4 time signature. I’m going to get some feedback on it during my voice lesson tomorrow. If the time signature sounds too forced, it may be time to abandon it for something a bit more normal. I’m really hoping I can make it work, though! Only one more song left for the gig now.
Brain Locked
I’ve had some extra time over the past few days, and I’ve managed to finish writing one song out of three for my next gig in August. I’m prepping for a longer show sometime later in the fall. I’m stuck on song number two, and have no ideas for the third. Song number two is rough and it’s in 5/4 time signature. I’ll admit, while 5/4 is my favorite time signature, it’s not an easy one to work with. I need to find some emotional inspiration for the song as I’m drawing a blank on the lyrics, though I’m extremely excited about the concept I’ve sketched out for the song. If I get it right, this could be a really cool song. Drawing a blank on words, though, that’s not normal…Frustrated. 🙁
Strange Worlds
I finished writing another song today. It’s remarkable how much easier it gets every time I try to put something together. Ten years ago I would never have imagined I could finish one song, let alone finish an EP and be working on my second one. I spent several hours in the studio today with the two downtempo producers I work with to finish up vocals for two tracks we’re on a tight deadline for. It was amazing. All of us can spend hours doing this stuff. As we walked out of the studio after we’d exhausted all the time we had available to us and my voice was starting to get hoarse and scratchy from singing, it felt like we’d left a completely different and wonderful universe behind. As we walked back into this world, it was definitely an adjustment and I always feel a sense of regret as I leave that space.
I hope everyone finds a little bit of the same kind of peace and happiness this weekend that I get when I’m in the studio. It’s such a great feeling, and I’m radiant when I leave.
Martuni’s – All Original Set!
I finished up my gig at Martuni’s tonight with my first set there with all original songs. Milestone crossed off my list, yay! I was terrified when I got up on stage, and my mood had been down most of the day. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to give it my best. I forgot some important words in my first song, Poison, but I recovered during Porcelain Doll and Cycles. Credit definitely goes to my voice teacher and accompanist, Robert Robinson (RHR studios), for doing an amazing job. I had a great time watching the other performers, and loved meeting some really great people who’d come out to watch and support their friends.
D-Day :)
Today’s the day of the red carpet event. Trying, in my usual fashion, to squeeze in as many other things as I can during the day to feel like it was productive. Had a great voice lesson this morning, which left me feeling like I was in good shape for tonight. Apparently the format for tonight’s performance isn’t quite set, so anything could happen. 🙂 Surprise elements in music are always fun. I’m tired after a long week, but looking forward to getting dressed up and having a good time.
Forces Beyond Control
Someone whose opinion I trust once said, “don’t worry about the stuff you can’t control.” Great advice, but tough for me to put into practice sometimes. As time continues to speed by, I can only do my best, and hope the rest works out…
Getting ready for Sunday and Monday’s gigs :)
It’s been a long week at work, and I’m trying juggle a few things on the side, but I’m super excited about getting the chance to perform a short set on Sunday at a red carpet event, and again on Monday. I will be performing all original songs for the first time ever. Really looking forward to both events!
The Trail Leading to “Impossible”
Max and I have started working to finish “Impossible” as a single. Trying to figure out all the instrumentation is really exciting, but I need to curb my disappointment when a version doesn’t make me cry. 🙂 My gauge for how effective a version is depends on whether it brings me to tears or not because the track really needs to hit me with fresh emotion in order to be working. I just heard the first version and I was nearly crushed because it didn’t make me cry. I sent a rather blunt email in response to Max; I tend to be very frank in my communications whether positive or negative as I think it’s really important to be clear about what you think and want when defining the shape of a track. Can’t wait to hear the next version.
Max is great to work with and is very talented. It takes resilience to have an artist throw criticism at you and not take it personally. I’ve always loved working with him, and I’m really happy to have the chance to work on another track as a team again.