This may not be one of my more exciting posts, just a little news brief to say how things stand.
I am actually "back in the studio" saddle again, though I'm not actually doing much. I'm sorting thru old back-up discs & paperwork, and checking my drives to see where I stand on various projects.
Several tunes originally planned for my next album have been sidelined, relegated to a future album because they have been displaced by tunes more appropriate to the theme & feel I intended for this project. A couple are nearly done, so it will save me work in the future.
Have run into some problems with the artwork for the liner, as there seems to be no way to easily create some figures I need in Illustrator or Photoshop. Hmmm...I'll figure something out.
Lastly, I have a tentative title for the album, but don't want to disclose it yet, in case I change my mind. Sometimes I have to live with it awhile, to sort of test in on myself lest it be too corny. The catalog # I will use is already settled since it is on all my paperwork already. "In house" I already refer to the project as DNL-041.
That's it for now. I have practical obstacles that must be done before I can get serious...also need some "acoustic treatment" to reduce the boominess of the new room. But with any luck, I'll be laying down tracks in the coming months, re-educating lazy muscles to play those instruments again.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
To Record or Not to Record....
It has been going around my head ever since I wrote about the difference between "consumer music" and "music as art" that there was another schism or split in the music world that maybe needs addressing as much or more if we wish to gain an understanding of what is going on.
I sort of touched on the subject when I was discussing the making of recordings, and on the differences between studio and live albums/performances. Ever since the technology became available to capture a musician's art to be reproduced later (thank you Thomas Edison), there has gradually been developing two camps: Those who concentrate on giving live performances but enhance their careers by making recordings, and those who devote themselves to making fine recordings but do live shows in order to promote their albums.
While certainly not the more lucrative of the two choices, I am and have always considered myself primarily A RECORDING ARTIST.
I don't want anyone to misunderstand, I really enjoy giving live performances. Playing in front of a crowd is fun & exciting, but I must admit I enjoy the people that have come up to me after the shows to talk even more.
But I decided early on that I was not cut out for a steady diet of touring, running here & there from show to show...When it comes to the point where I cannot give a fresh, heartfelt performance to my audience; if my songs become stale, and the crowd just a bother I long to escape from...then I might as well be selling shoes.
Like many artists, I am of a solitary nature, and my best inspirations and work are produced in seclusion. So being a "recording artist" seemed my best choice.
Besides not being a great way to get rich, RecArtists have many other pitfalls to deal with. For me, equipment problems are always one. What does one do when you REALLY NEED an instrument for ONE TUNE, but makes no sense financially to go out & buy it...that's where it helps to have other musician friends who can lend you things; something I don't really have available to me. Here's where your dedication to making the best possible recording can get severely tested.
The one that gets me the most is the obsession itself with making the tracks as good as I can make them...I do not have available to me the vast array of types of equipment, fine players & engineers that those with label backing have. These things cost millions, yet I think my recordings stand up favorably when you consider the "playing table" is as tilted as Mt. Everest.
For that reason, I know I will never make 10 or 20 albums in my lifetime, like some artists. There's no one to do the editing while I'm sleeping, or to overdub certain tracks while I take a breather on a beach somewhere. Ever try making sure all the equipment in your signal chain is set up correctly, that you're not overdriving any mixers, compressors or your hard drive while you are trying for the best possible performance?....YIKES!
For me, attempting to make a great recording is like "giving birth" (an odd metaphor for a male, I realize). While I am involved in it, it is an all-consuming obsession. It doesn't let you rest when you're tired, it doesn't give you a good night's sleep while there are problems yet to solve. It's rather like being forced to hold a hot rock, but feels so good when you finally let go. But like giving birth, it is a mixture of joy and suffering all mingled together.
I think it's like any of the other "great accomplishments" of mankind, a kind of universal experience. Do you think Admiral Peary had "fun" going to the North Pole? Lindbergh "enjoyed" his flight to Europe? It's one of those kinds of things. You do it because you deeply WANT to. The rewards are tremendous but one takes the misery with the territory.
The good news is this keeps the non-serious, the "pleasure-seekers" to a minimum, since it's unlikely anything they produce will ever be taken seriously.
I sort of touched on the subject when I was discussing the making of recordings, and on the differences between studio and live albums/performances. Ever since the technology became available to capture a musician's art to be reproduced later (thank you Thomas Edison), there has gradually been developing two camps: Those who concentrate on giving live performances but enhance their careers by making recordings, and those who devote themselves to making fine recordings but do live shows in order to promote their albums.
While certainly not the more lucrative of the two choices, I am and have always considered myself primarily A RECORDING ARTIST.
I don't want anyone to misunderstand, I really enjoy giving live performances. Playing in front of a crowd is fun & exciting, but I must admit I enjoy the people that have come up to me after the shows to talk even more.
But I decided early on that I was not cut out for a steady diet of touring, running here & there from show to show...When it comes to the point where I cannot give a fresh, heartfelt performance to my audience; if my songs become stale, and the crowd just a bother I long to escape from...then I might as well be selling shoes.
Like many artists, I am of a solitary nature, and my best inspirations and work are produced in seclusion. So being a "recording artist" seemed my best choice.
Besides not being a great way to get rich, RecArtists have many other pitfalls to deal with. For me, equipment problems are always one. What does one do when you REALLY NEED an instrument for ONE TUNE, but makes no sense financially to go out & buy it...that's where it helps to have other musician friends who can lend you things; something I don't really have available to me. Here's where your dedication to making the best possible recording can get severely tested.
The one that gets me the most is the obsession itself with making the tracks as good as I can make them...I do not have available to me the vast array of types of equipment, fine players & engineers that those with label backing have. These things cost millions, yet I think my recordings stand up favorably when you consider the "playing table" is as tilted as Mt. Everest.
For that reason, I know I will never make 10 or 20 albums in my lifetime, like some artists. There's no one to do the editing while I'm sleeping, or to overdub certain tracks while I take a breather on a beach somewhere. Ever try making sure all the equipment in your signal chain is set up correctly, that you're not overdriving any mixers, compressors or your hard drive while you are trying for the best possible performance?....YIKES!
For me, attempting to make a great recording is like "giving birth" (an odd metaphor for a male, I realize). While I am involved in it, it is an all-consuming obsession. It doesn't let you rest when you're tired, it doesn't give you a good night's sleep while there are problems yet to solve. It's rather like being forced to hold a hot rock, but feels so good when you finally let go. But like giving birth, it is a mixture of joy and suffering all mingled together.
I think it's like any of the other "great accomplishments" of mankind, a kind of universal experience. Do you think Admiral Peary had "fun" going to the North Pole? Lindbergh "enjoyed" his flight to Europe? It's one of those kinds of things. You do it because you deeply WANT to. The rewards are tremendous but one takes the misery with the territory.
The good news is this keeps the non-serious, the "pleasure-seekers" to a minimum, since it's unlikely anything they produce will ever be taken seriously.
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