Rummaging Again

A couple of weeks ago, when I started cleaning out some stuff to create a little "me space" in the basement, I ran across some old tapes of stuff I did in college. In trying to work out how - or if - I was going to digitize and preserve this stuff, I ran across an old tune I'd written that I hadn't played in years. Well, I've found my next recording project... for good or ill.

I managed to spend a little time on it both last weekened and this weekend. Here are the steps I've accomplished:

First, I fired up good ol' Audacity and my cheap-o laptop mic and laid down a bare-bones demo track with guitar and vocals. I just played the song. One difference this time out is I used the Click Track feature to play along with a metronome. and this got me thinking.

See, there's two tempo and rhythm changes in the song, so that was problematic. It was good, because it forced me to think about structure... how many measures, at what tempo. So I sat down in front of the Yamaha keyboard and messed around with the metronome on there. I fooled around until I decided that the body of the song works best at 120 on the metronome, the break at 160, then back to 120.

I counted up the measures... handy feature on the keyboard - just play along and it counts them for you... in each section and was able to splice together a click track/mentronome in Audacity to match the song. Now I could begin laying in other tracks with some hope of sync'ing them up. So far, I've got a fairly clean, simple acoustic guitar track and added a bass line with the guitar setting on the Yamaha keyboard. I'm no keyboard player, so it's real basic but adds a little something.

Next, I fired up Drum Station and began the laborious task (for a relative novice) of writing and programming the drum track. I got two of the three sections complete and still need to work out the close. So, I've got the basic structure in place. Here's what it sounds like so far (coming soon). Rough, but edges are good to a point.

So. I've got something to play with on the recording side again, too. My intent is to be much more methodical with this one. I really want to see how good I can make it sound. Stay tuned for how it porgresses.

Catching Up

It's been a few days since I've posted anything, but my writing continues. This dream pages idea is a good exercise. So far, I haven't produced anything earth-shattering, but I keep telling myself that that isn't what this is about.

A couple of the most recent installments are below. It's about time to start on an actual song project or two. I've been listening to a lot of music again and practicing when I can.

I've always been a big fan of Van Morrison and have just discovered the 1991 release of Bang Masters, some real bluesy stuff he did after leaving Them on the Bang label. These raw recordings became the 1967 album Blowin' Your Mind. It's great stuff.

July 14, 2007
The sound of children laughing and screaming
Fills the air on a sunny summers day
Sunlight filters down through the trees
The air is fresh and the storms have gone away

Expectations and obligations hang in the air
But perhaps they can wait just a little longer
Today I can take just a little time
To feed the soul and grow just a little stronger

Each day is a struggle, each day is a battle
Between what we need and what we need to do
The balance is the tricky part
A daily challenge for me and you

July 12, 2007
The buzz of email and the hum of the city
Another day dawns as people fill the streets
All wrapped up in the things they have to do
They are their work and that’s all, what a pity

I heard a man this morning on the radio
Talking about sacrifice and service
A soldier, a father in a family of war
A thoughtful man full of concern and pride

Yet we all walk around and go through our day
Answering phones and making our plays
Trying to build our own kingdoms and dreams
While others out there come apart at the seams

Not looking for sympathy, pity or guilt
Not looking for ways out, but through
Serving for country and brothers in arms
Just looking for more out of me and from you

The magnets on our cars, the ribbons and such
Just don’t mean a thing, they don’t add up to much

A Walk with Dusty

We were dog-sitting last night. Here's today's installment.

July 8, 2007
The sun is bright and hot
The leash is strong and taut
We set off into the woods
Not knowing what we’ll find

The birds aground take wing
The scent of those before
Is faint yet beckons as we
Walk across the field

A faithful companion to young and old
A child, though grown and cloaked in fur
The wonder of the day before us
Spreads out along the trail we follow

Want to go for a walk?

Summer Morning

It's the weekend again. Time to make a little time again. Sure, there's a party to go to later, but those kind of commitments are fun. Due to some late-breaking stuff at work, we wound up shifting plans for this weekend. Kind of a bummer, because we'd planned to head up to Avalon for a big cousins bash at the beach. The kids would have loved that, I think, just seeing the huge crowd that is their extended family.

But we would have had to leave yesterday, and duty called. Still, it's Chuck's birthday celebration this weekend. And the kids are excited about that, too. And, to be honest, it's kind of nice not having to rush around pcaking and hauling the whole clan up north.

Here's my little installment for today. A little different tone for this one. And that, too, is a bit of a welcome change.

July 7, 2007

It’s coffee time again and I’m sitting in the shade
She’s talking about the neighbors and the weird things that he does
Filling the air is the sound of power tools and cicadas
I like the lulling sound, the rise and fall of their buzz

It feels like it’ll be a hot one in the cul de sac today
A summer’s day with little breeze to cool our brows
As we take on the little labors we’ve been saving up all week
The tiny chores that we use to fill life’s minor vows

The sprinkler pulses new life into the grass
Grass that was so green and lush in spring but now
Struggles to cover the bare patches in the heat
While the flowers flourish in their beds

On the porch, inside the screens, the ceiling fan turns
Stirring the air, a welcome but poor substitute for
The cool breeze that is still months away
Funny how we welcome the first signs of change

Sitting here this bright, warm morning
The air is sweet and ripe with song, I bend my ear to listen

More Scribblings

It's Friday and the weekend is upon us. I intend to carve out some time for writing and playing a bit. I've been pretty good - and I use the term loosely - about the Dream Pages exercise. Ramblings from the past couple of days are below. There might be a nugget or two worth exanding and refining in there. At any rate, it's nice to be getting words down on paper... any words.

Next up... guitar practice, melodies and new progressions.

July 6, 2007

Today’s the day I turn it all around
Today’s the day I start all over again
I’m tired of being sick and I’m sick of being tired
I’m gonna get back to a place where I’m back in the game
Or maybe I should stop trying to force it
Maybe by trying to do too much too soon, I just get over my head
Maybe sometimes it’s better to ease in slowly
Or maybe I just don’t understand
It’s the cycles of life that sometimes drive me crazy
Going in circles is nuts, first you’re up then you’re down
How the hell are you supposed to keep it all together
When you can’t even figure it out
Why the fear? Why the uncertainty? What happened to the confident man that was standing here just a moment ago?
Some seem to almost admire a sensitivity, a vulnerability in a man
He’s exposing his soul
Let me tell you that exposing your soul is dangerous
Have we forgotten what vulnerable means?
That’s what prey is right before he’s dinner
Not much to look up to, is it?

July 5, 2007

Willing myself to get up
Yet my limbs are like stone
I know that I must
But they still creak and groan

It’s the weight of the day that holds me down
And pins me to the sheets
It’s the drudgery and the frustration
That’s really hard to beat

Crap on tv
It’s all for sale
Clean your drains
Order by mail

It’s the weight of the day that holds me down
And pins me to the sheets
It’s the drudgery and frustration
That’s really hard to beat

Melancholy Morning

Happy Fourth of July! It's a beautiful morning, and I am taking advantage by sitting on my screened-in porch and writing a bit. Day two of the dream pages experiment/exercise continues. So, so far, so good. I'll paste the result of this morning's effort below.

It's funny that there's such a melancholy feel to it. It's a beautiful, peaceful morning. The kids are in eating breakfast. And it promises to be a great day. Somebody "has issues."

It is amazing to me that losing someone close - a truly powerful force in your life - how that can stay with you. It's partially the loss that lingers, but much more the person - the force. For me, it was my sister. She died two and a half years ago. I still think of her all the time. Every day. She's always there. Mostly, it's comforting. Sometimes, it still hurts. It's always a missing piece trying to fill itself.

Today's dream page is a little daydream of sis. It was the beautiful morning and the quiet cup of coffee that did it. She loved little things like that.

I was rummaging through the basement last night, trying to find what's left of my guitar stuff and recording gear. I stumbled across some old tapes of live performances in college. It was a kick flipping through and listening to segments. Some of it not too bad. All of it raw. I'm thinking of digitizing those. Part to preserve them. There may be a project in there, too.

So much to do. So much to see....


July 4, 2007

The breeze is sighing through the trees
That filter soft rays of light
A quiet morning filled with you
And yet you’re nowhere in sight

A cup of coffee close at hand
Like the memory of your smile
Contented birdsong ‘cross the land
But you leave a hole all the while

Will you haunt me like this forever?
Will you always be by my side?
As terrible as losing you was, I couldn’t bear you being forgotten

Sometimes joy just filled your eyes
That others felt it too
Sometimes sadness welled inside
And spilled out a woe that made me blue

Unassuming strength that saw you through
Until the bitter end
Even fear, so cold at night
Couldn’t quite make you bend

You taught so much, you taught so many
The lessons continue to this day
The children still remember all
That you had to say

I still miss you


The writing continues. Oh, and I actually picked up the guitar for a bit yesterday. Got to get the callouses back. Not to mention the skills. Am sifting through some of the Berklee stuff to help there.

All aboard....

Dream Pages...

In my rediscovered zeal, I've been checking out some pretty cool free music and songwriting lessons from the Berklee College of Music. Admittedly, they're pretty boiled-down... but can you blame them? After all, you can't give away the store.

Still, it feels like there's some good stuff to be had. One of the best ideas, from my motivational yet blocked perspective, is writing dream pages as part of a songwriting routine. Not surprisingly, the basic idea is... just write. Every day. No matter how bad. No matter how uninspired.

So, I took my first stab today. OK, so I didn't write in a notebook I keep by my bedside. They do allow that everyone is different, and that you need to adjust your routine accordingly. So, here's my first shot at my own Dream Page....

July 3, 2007

Trying to get a grip
On the things that really matter
Trying not slip
And fall into a splatter
Trying to make some time
For the things I need to do
Trying to find the time
For the reason that is you

I’m walking in my sleep
Just tripping from day to day
And the voices seem to creep
In and ruin what I’m trying to say
When the words form up inside
They all just come out wrong
In my heart there’s so much love
How come it only comes out in song?

It’s only from the fear that the yelling wells up inside
It’s only because I want you to be strong that I can’t seem to understand
Is it too much pressure on me?
Or am I putting too much on you?
What happened to the child I used to be?


So, there it is. Once again, I'm off and writing. As the summer gets into full swing, I feel full of promise and curiosity. There are things inside. Important things. Real things. Life things. Music things. Can I find the tools to dig them out? Can I develop the skills to cleam them up? If I put them on the shelf, will anyone nod in approval? Smile in recognition? Laugh in amusement? Cry in remembrance?

Either way, they'll be out. And that's most important.

We'll see how many of these scribblings I choose to post. It will be fun to trace back any new, completed works to these nascent ramblings. And to note the evolutionary process along the way.

C'mon along. I feel like this will be interesting.