Category: Progress

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We received word that the final work needed to complete the E.P. is currently taking place. Unfortunately I won’t be able to confirm anything until I’m back in the studio mixing, such has been the process so far. It’s been six months since we started this project and there have been many frustrations and delays along the way but I am optimistic that it will be worth it. I even got married in the middle of it. The artwork is complete and we are beyond happy and impressed with the skill and humor that went into it. The artist will get a separate post that she deserves after release.

All that’s left after mixing will be mastering at a separate studio and then printing the CD’s. We’re not quite sure how many just yet. There are a host of other details but my only concern, as has been since day one, is that we end up with something that we are very proud of.

We finalized our ten song set last night at rehearsal and are very eager to start performing around New York. In the meantime, it’s back to the waiting game.

Promoting the E.P. on The Sharon Spell Show.
The Sharon Spell Show
Married!

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Sunday is approaching and I have put together Seven tracks I think we can squeeze into a day of recording. Daniela wanted to do the fast version of Haunted House which should be easy enough. Only two of the songs are new (less than a year old) so I hope to breath new life into the others. It will also be interesting playing and recording loud as opposed to quietly in my apartment.

Tonight I focused on the bass lines for ‘Grenade’ and ‘Blue Skies’ which are the toughest as they don’t really need one. I wrote something very basic which I may not even use. There are two ‘fudge’ spots in both songs where the lyrics need changing or revision, as of tonight inspiration has not come and they remain as is. I’ve been stuck/unstuck for the last few months to be honest but if I wait it out it usually breaks.

‘Blue Skies’ was written for a short screenplay I wrote (The Big Day) and is story specific so I’m a little stuck in that respect. I think of it as a piano song, for some reason I can hear it clearly in my head as piano and upright bass, simple and short. This song really grew on me. The first person I played it for while busking together in Central Park hated it, I’m glad I ignored his advise. Years later I still play it live on the increasingly rare times I perform.

‘This Grenade Will Love You’ has a double chorus at the end which needs better lyrics and the whole song in general is a variation on the same structure of chords played at different locations. This is why the bass line is hard to write. I’m not sure how it will work out, I still love the song and won’t give up on it just yet.

We are rehearsing this Thursday 6-9pm to go over all the songs and make sure we are prepared for Sunday. In the last two years I’ve spent so much time at the rehearsal studio I feel like I work there part-time.

I decided to keep a journal of the band as a writing exercise but unfortunately there is not much else doing. I’m sure after Sunday I’ll have something interesting to write about.

Track Listing (so far):

  1. Wherever We Are
  2. This Other World 
  3. Everywhere
  4. Haunted House – Fast version
  5. Goodbye Old Friend
  6. This Grenade Will Love You
  7. Blue Skies
The Big Day/Blue Skies

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Last night was a dry practice, as in no alcohol whatsoever. It was an off night, it happens. I could not get a single good tone out of my guitar, I may have to change the strings already. Maybe a trip to Main Drag Music for a seasonal set up is on the cards.

We went over ‘Stop This Madness’ which may or may not make the cut. I’m unsure myself if only that it doesn’t blend well with the other songs.

Other song possibilities are ‘Goodbye Old Friend’ and maybe an acoustic version of ‘Haunted House’ which is at least fun to play. I need to record a demo of the first for next rehearsal.

No rehearsal for Two weeks. In the meantime Daniela is looking into a Studio & Producer she used before. I need to start putting together prices and a time frame for recording.

And that is the progress so far.

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Last Thursday’s rehearsal was a lot of fun. Daniela was an hour and a half late due to work which turned out to be a blessing. Leslie and I were able to work on ‘Everywhere’, a very old song that I had not got a chance to write out the music for. Leslie is classically trained whereas I am self thought which always makes for some interesting exchanges.

– It’s ‘C’ but up a bit and there is this thing, wait, that, what is that Leslie?
– So it’s a C seventh minor.
– Yeah sure okay, that and then this but it’s also a little over here too.
– What’s the bass note?
– Um, this?
– Oh so it’s not a ‘C’ it’s an ‘F’.
– Okay it’s in ‘F’ then.
– Sigh!

Leslie really done her homework this week and had worked up some amazing piano pieces for ‘Everywhere’ and ‘This Grenade Will Love You’. ‘This Grenade Will Love You’ and ‘Wherever We Are’ are standing out as the stronger tracks. They definitely are the songs we enjoy playing more.

I think that after this E.P. is done, if Daniela and Leslie are still willing to record music we will see a more collaborative effort being made. It will be interesting to see how this band grows over the next year or so.

After this rehearsal the lesson learned was: Whiskey brings out the best in everyone. Fact.

Supersmall’s Official Whiskey