journal

Here is a half decent mix of Internal Combustion. My wife was teasing me about the gaggle of guitars I have collected down here and it made me realize I actually used all of them on this piece.

mp3: Internal Combustion Update: See the mp3s page for selected tracks and a sampler of Abstract Expression.

Well I wasn't planning to write any more material until the songs I had were all recorded, but well that didn't happen.

I've been wanting to experiment with alternate tunings on acoustic guitar so I've started a piece that is intended to incorporate Michael Hedges style tunings with an Echolyn style acoustic/electric vibe. Might give me a chance to use those strings again too.

Its in the larval stage now, just a basic structure for the first 4 minutes or so. Still need to work on more melodic ideas before it is worth anything.

PS. New Echolyn record: lyrics a little too dark for my tastes but the music is amazing.

Spent the long weekend working on "The Water Discipline". This song is based on a section that was cut from "Seven Falls, Eight Rises" on the last Electrum CD.

I elected to give it a sort of ambient trip hop groove. Being my first time venturing in to that arena it took forever to get the feel and sound of the drum parts right. Then I decided to take the keyboard part which used to have a classic synth pad sound and arrange it for strings. That effort paid off huge as the strings bring a ton of richness to the piece.

I've tracked the guitar synth and acoustic guitar parts. All that is left is the electric guitars which I should get tracked during the week. I think I'll skip bass guitar on this since the string double bass and cello should cover the bottom end.

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Finally had some time to wrap up the guitars on this. Here is a rough mix.

mp3: The Water Discipline Update: See the mp3s page for selected tracks and a sampler of Abstract Expression.

For those who haven't read Frank Herbert's Dune series the title of this song is a reference to those. But whether you have read the books or not this song is about whatever you imagine it to be about. I have to call them something and let's face it, Sonata #1 for Guitar in A minor would sound pretentious.

Phil Clute (vocalist from the previous posted mp3) is doing a couple of paintings that will make up the artwork for the CD. The title is going to be "Abstract Expressions" and I'm more or less giving him creative license to do whatever he likes around that idea. I took this photo of the first painting in its present state hanging on the wall of his apartment. He was giving the heavy layers a paint a few days to dry before adding more layers of color. It is entirely possible this will look nothing like the finished product. We shall see how things develop.

While I have no ability at all in the realm of artistic painting I am in the process of painting over the drab 1970's era wood paneling in my basement studio. After trying about 10 samples Mary and I settled on a yellowish beige color called "Devonshire". The job is about 2/3rds completed. I'm taking a couple of days off work to finish the job before it gets to cold to have the windows open. While I like the color of this "Devonshire" I was fairly puzzled by the name. And as one might expect, a google search of Devonshire turns up a renaissance festival.

Just got in from seeing Kim and Steve. I briefly took guitar lessons from Steve back in high school before I went off to college. He was both an inspirational player and teacher and I think it is safe to say I wouldn't have the passion for music I have today if not for my time with him. Kim (who is a fantastic vocalist) and Steve did fine renditions of some classic rock pieces (Fleetwood Mac, Hendrix, Joplin). My favorite of the evening was Little Wing.

Phil (mentioned previously in this blog), Dave Mills (old friend and bandmate from High school), Steve and myself gabbed for awhile after the performance catching up and talking about everything from the new Star Wars movie to Jeff Becks picking technique. A good time was had by all.

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