Pins and needles…

Pins and needles would be a blessing compared to what I’m sitting on waiting for the final bits and bobs of this album to be completed.

Last week my engineer dropped off the mixes to Doug who will “master” the album.  Doug is the best in the business - his job is to… well, I’m not really sure of all he does but I do know that the album sounds even better when he’s done.  Last Friday I met with the art director to go over the last minute additions and revisions to the album design and layout. Then, yesterday I spoke with the t-shirt guy to discuss shirt brands and printing methods.  The copyright has been secured for those songs that I wrote and today I will obtain licenses for the ones I did not write. Later this week I will also order the other sundry items that were promised to my contributors. 

Then on Thursday – if all goes according to plans (wait… I had a plan?!) I will pick up the “Master” copy from Doug, get the final artwork from Jennell and send it all off to the manufacturer for duplication. Gulp.

You have all been very patient and I very much appreciate it.  Good intentions and all I thought you’d have your album by now – and I apologize that you do not.  However, I’m not sorry that I and my production team have put in as much time and energy as we have for this album because the end product is going to be so much better than I could’ve imagined.

Studio notes...con't

Done.

The album is in the proverbial “can”. An old-fashioned expression (somewhat appropriate given my predilection to referring to it as an “album”) for an old-fashioned album full of old-fashioned music.

I must admit I found myself, on more than one occasion, performing dance style’s that were popular in the 60’s; the Twist, the Mashed Potato, and even a subdued Bob Fossy-ish mincing about.  Which may be indicative to what we’ve created over these last few months.

As we listened to the final cut getting mixed I couldn't help but hear the pop-ish folk/roots rock of the 60s and 70s.  The songs overall are an amalgam of genre’s, some old and familiar, some new and untested, some twisted and reformed into a piece that I could not recognize when I first wrote the song.

Whatever it is that has been wrought twixt the artist and the digital canvas it’s safe to say I’m diggin’ the hell out of it.

I have thanked all of you for your support of this project and now it’s time to thank the people who made it come to life like I never could.

Adam Stemple – my good friend and co-producer of this album. His experience, attention to detail and keen sense of what sounds good and what doesn’t was an indispensable asset and testament to how good an album can be if you have the right people.

Leo Whitebird – a man I’ve known for many years and who I now can count as a true friend.  I’ve worked on side projects with Leo in the past and knew him to be an engineer in every sense of the word. Leo was the gear piece that kept Adam and I moving ever forward. He really knows what he’s doing and I couldn’t have done it without him.

Jennell Bergwall – she has been the architect of the visual aspect of this project to help focus and meld what one see’s to what one hears.  She’s been a good friend to me these past few years in building my website and creating the album art for this and my last album.

Through it all these people have shown me patience, assistance, reason, thoughtfulness and above all proved that they are just as vested in creating a solid, powerful work of art as I am.

Now begins the myriad and sometimes tedious tiny details that go into post-production.  I shan’t boor you with the details but suffice it to say we’re not out of the woods yet but I can see the sunshine thru the trees.