LIFE HAPPENED + NEW SONG!

Boy, oh boy, oh boy... last post was two years ago! Life happened and I just didn't do anything music-wise. I finally broke the long snooze, dusted off the guitar, got some cool effects, took some piano lessons and finally wrote a new song, "Still Here".

Here's a "draft" version.



Big to-do's are:
1) Farm out bass parts
2) Figure out final structure
3) Figure out lead (if any)
4) Decide if I'm just going to use the same file or re-record all the parts from scratch (original intention)

I've already asked a couple of friends to see if they can come up with an improved version of the bass parts. If you're interested in taking a stab on the bass, please leave a comment let's see if we can collaborate online.

Mixing Vocals Tutorial from Recording Revolution

Great tutorial on mixing vocals by Graham Cochrane from Recording Revolution.

Lyric Inspiration: Bastards Young - The Replacements

Read about it in a Rolling Stones interview with Tim Kaine (Issue 1273, 11/3/16 p.15). He pointed out a favorite lyric from the song Bastards Young by The Replacements :

The ones who love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest

And visit their graves on holidays at best

The ones who love us least are the ones we'll die to please

If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand them

This is so relevant to me.

View Entire Lyrics

"DON'T ASK FOR A MILLION DOLLARS" - A Valuable Takeaway From A Rolling Stone Article

I've piled on quite a stack of unread magazine titles which I intend to digest before tossing them. It usually takes me two to three days to finish one particular issue. I'm working through my Rolling Stone magazine subscription. As of this writing, I'm about halfway through Issue #1265/1266, July 14-29, 2016. On the cover is Hip Hop artist, Future.

NEW ADDITION: THE TC HELICON HARMONY SINGER

I've been toying with the idea of going to open mics to play acoustic sets. Since I love harmonies, I thought a vocal effect processor would come in handy. So last February, I got a TC-Helicon Harmony Singer. From the reviews and videos I've read and seen, it seemed to be a nifty compact gadget.

I've gotten busy with my photography business so the Harmony Singer has been sitting in the box for the past two months. I still need to check it out so I'll be posting my review and maybe some demo videos when I get to it.