My very first real (sort of) solo album. Previously if you wanted to find professional recordings of me yelling and hitting a guitar you would only land upon The Magyars "What are you Waiting For". The lone album from my three piece rock band with Brad Wood and Ryan Abbott (currently of Coal Moon).

But when Rylee Taggart of Rebelle suggested I do something for the Christmas Artist Gift Box I foolishly assumed I could deliver an album on time. Well, I'm writing this the day it's being delivered while exporting the final songs and getting the CDs and this download ready. I didn't sleep last night either, insead, I was putting the final polishes and even recording last minute vocal changes at 5AM (not a great time for the voice).

As you and all of my teachers and bosses and girlfriends and pets have noticed, I'm terrible at managing time so I accept that I must sacrifice things like sleep to pay the toll that arises from to the toll late and forgetting my wallet.



Anyways, ABOUT THE ALBUM

I had nice handful of weeks but was intimidated to begin. I had a rough idea of how people record and I've been in professional studios, but finding great sounds from microphones and subtle tweaks (engineering), choosing a direction (producing), mixing and editing it all together are arts of their own that require great skill and experience. I was mostly worried that I would sing and play and it would sound terrible. I love playing live as mistakes are forgotten immediately and you are judged on the overall delivery of the experience, where as a microphone does not lie, and when you record yourself pretending to be a singer and guitarist and you listen to the playback at its most raw, well that can be tough on the ego, of which mine is fragile (is this what therapy is like)?

Anyways, ABOUT THE ALBUM
It went terribly at first, but once I switched from my powerful PC and Reaper to my older macbook and Logic I was able to get some decent vocal sounds and BROTHER that was the kickstart I needed. Logic is fantastic for newbie album makers as many things can be done with presets that will give you a great starting point. This was great for me to begin recording instead of facing frustration and sinking into google rabbit holes about the best way to EQ a guitar pick.

Once I got some steam I really started to enjoy the process, especially the ability to experiment and create something you hadn't intended. The best example would be after failing to come up with a good acoustic guitar rhythm in the Mariah Carey song, I tried my electric after ignoring it for many years and totally fell in love with the weirdly beautiful things they can do. That song did almost drive me insane though as I learned a valuable lesson about planning ahead and keeping your recording files organized, a lesson I will remember until right before I need it.

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