To the moment, I have composed ten pieces of music for the Redline Project - fairly prolific considering that I launched this effort at the beginning of January and progress is relegated to nights and weekends. Total playing time for these tracks (once finished) will probably land around 45 to 50 minutes, which is on the short side of a respectable full-length album.
My wife, who is famous around our house for practical wisdom, suggested I run with these rough recordings, sculpting them into final cuts that will land on the finished product. This seems a good tactic to me. Should this batch wrap up with days left over, I can always add new music at that time.
I like this approach because it turns the heat down two notches. According to my project schedule, I should complete all rough tracks by May 15. This puts the Redline Project a month and change ahead of the next deadline. Whoopie-woo!
Opening these rough tracks over the past two days has been a little like Christmas. Each scratch recording that I unearth coaxes a set of emotions. One piece needs a tweak or a touch to be presentable - like unwrapping a shiny red guitar. Another cut must be scrapped entirely in favor of a complete redo - evokes the sentiment of peeling back paper to find a six pack of striped tube socks.
So far I am making mental notes only. Tomorrow I will dive into thoroughly tearing each track apart and penning the critiques into my journal. From there, the Redline Project moves into the new and exciting phase of producing final music - tracks that I sincerely hope will make their way into the iPods of 10,000 listeners.
I feel a welcome glimmer of hope tonight that has been absent for weeks. Time for a celebratory bowl of Lucky Charms.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
International Collaboration
Jan Fisher, a distant relative and one of the most faithful Redline Project blog readers, recently asked me to send him the audio files to a scratch recording. Living in Germany, Jan is an accomplished guitarist and recordist, and I have been eager to hear the results of his musical input.
His guitar textures and lines are nothing short of brilliant. What I heard in my head as a major progression (I, IV, I, IV for all you theory geeks), he interpreted as a solid minor chord (vi). I am invigorated by this choice as it brought a new darkness and mystique to the original sound. Jan layered guitar lines and built the texture slowly from a distant hum to an energetic burn. Nice, nice, nice!
In short, I am thrilled to share a wavelength and I hope this is the first of many trans-Atlantic collaborations with this fine musician. This is an invitation to any and all readers: I am thrilled to paint the canvas with anyone who wants to give it a swing. Contact me if you want to get something going.
His guitar textures and lines are nothing short of brilliant. What I heard in my head as a major progression (I, IV, I, IV for all you theory geeks), he interpreted as a solid minor chord (vi). I am invigorated by this choice as it brought a new darkness and mystique to the original sound. Jan layered guitar lines and built the texture slowly from a distant hum to an energetic burn. Nice, nice, nice!
In short, I am thrilled to share a wavelength and I hope this is the first of many trans-Atlantic collaborations with this fine musician. This is an invitation to any and all readers: I am thrilled to paint the canvas with anyone who wants to give it a swing. Contact me if you want to get something going.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Circling Back
In many ways, tonight's work on the Redline Project launches a new phase of the process. Instead of working on new musical ideas, I reopened one of the first songs I wrote for the album and got busy analyzing the delightful and wretched elements of its scratch recording.
There were many tracks, especially those performed in MIDI, that are keepable with a bit of tweaking. It is encouraging not to have to scrap everything in the initial recording, which in turn gives me great hope about the editing of other works in progress.
This success holds hands with discouragement though; this song alone could soak up two solid weeks worth of recording and editing time, and those hours will be difficult to find. I am certain this album will be produced and released by the deadline, but on nights like this I wonder how it is all going to come together.
There were many tracks, especially those performed in MIDI, that are keepable with a bit of tweaking. It is encouraging not to have to scrap everything in the initial recording, which in turn gives me great hope about the editing of other works in progress.
This success holds hands with discouragement though; this song alone could soak up two solid weeks worth of recording and editing time, and those hours will be difficult to find. I am certain this album will be produced and released by the deadline, but on nights like this I wonder how it is all going to come together.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Lessons from Glen and Marketa
To say that I had a great time on America's highways over the weekend would be a grand understatement. The Redline Project is not a venue for personal pontification, so I will reserve my bouquet of wanderlust tales for blogs that exist elsewhere.
The trip's relevance to the Redline Project is somewhat limited as I did not write songs, record tracks, or research software techniques while away. In short, a fuse in my mind had blown, and I gave the old brain a weekend off. I am pleased to report that my cranium is operating at full tilt, and I am ready once again to dive into the deep end of this project.
Of all the dashboard crooners that meandered around the Gulf Coast with me, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova spent a considerable amount of time singing through a stack of songs from the movie, "Once."
Have you seen the film? If you have not, go rent it tonight. If you are busy tonight, put it on the list for tomorrow. "Once" is the story of two brokenhearted musicians who meet each other in Dublin, Ireland. The two form a beautiful collaboration and discover a life-giving friendship in the process. The film is gorgeous, the plot delicious, and the music sumptuous. One lovely detail about the movie: the main actors realized their music was meant to exist past the scope of the picture and started a band that still performs today.
Why are you still reading this blog post? Go to the rental store now, or at least hit up your Netflix queue.
Beyond enjoying the music at face value, I spent ample time listening deeply to Glen and Marketa, trying to understand lyrics and their constructions, considering song structures, analyzing chords, pondering vocal techniques.
Neither Glen Hansard or Marketa Irglova have perfect voices. On the recordings, there are notes out of tune, phrases unaligned rhythmically, and even an occasional wrong note. Why then is the music so gripping, so compelling, so haunting?
Part of the answer lies in the performers' abilities to bring their songs to life with emotional conviction. Their voices cry in sad moments and rip during choruses of rage. The two singers invite the listener on a journey into the story behind the song, and it is impossible not to taste the bittersweet sentiments carefully penned for such a purpose.
I have over-thought every lyric I have written for this project, trying to saturate every line with as much meaning and emotion as it could hold. Because I deem my voice an unworthy instrument, I have relied on words alone to create meaning in the songs I am trying to sing.
With Glen and Marketa as role models, I am going to practice using whatever voice I have to deliver compelling performances of the poetry I am working so diligently to write. I would like nothing better than for my songs to be compelling and perfect, but since I have to choose, compelling may be the way to go.
The trip's relevance to the Redline Project is somewhat limited as I did not write songs, record tracks, or research software techniques while away. In short, a fuse in my mind had blown, and I gave the old brain a weekend off. I am pleased to report that my cranium is operating at full tilt, and I am ready once again to dive into the deep end of this project.
Of all the dashboard crooners that meandered around the Gulf Coast with me, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova spent a considerable amount of time singing through a stack of songs from the movie, "Once."
Have you seen the film? If you have not, go rent it tonight. If you are busy tonight, put it on the list for tomorrow. "Once" is the story of two brokenhearted musicians who meet each other in Dublin, Ireland. The two form a beautiful collaboration and discover a life-giving friendship in the process. The film is gorgeous, the plot delicious, and the music sumptuous. One lovely detail about the movie: the main actors realized their music was meant to exist past the scope of the picture and started a band that still performs today.
Why are you still reading this blog post? Go to the rental store now, or at least hit up your Netflix queue.
Beyond enjoying the music at face value, I spent ample time listening deeply to Glen and Marketa, trying to understand lyrics and their constructions, considering song structures, analyzing chords, pondering vocal techniques.
Neither Glen Hansard or Marketa Irglova have perfect voices. On the recordings, there are notes out of tune, phrases unaligned rhythmically, and even an occasional wrong note. Why then is the music so gripping, so compelling, so haunting?
Part of the answer lies in the performers' abilities to bring their songs to life with emotional conviction. Their voices cry in sad moments and rip during choruses of rage. The two singers invite the listener on a journey into the story behind the song, and it is impossible not to taste the bittersweet sentiments carefully penned for such a purpose.
I have over-thought every lyric I have written for this project, trying to saturate every line with as much meaning and emotion as it could hold. Because I deem my voice an unworthy instrument, I have relied on words alone to create meaning in the songs I am trying to sing.
With Glen and Marketa as role models, I am going to practice using whatever voice I have to deliver compelling performances of the poetry I am working so diligently to write. I would like nothing better than for my songs to be compelling and perfect, but since I have to choose, compelling may be the way to go.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Redline Project Complete
Today is a prodigious day. The Redline Project final album is ready to be released.
April fools.
I plan on posting verbose paragraphs and recording three songs over the holiday weekend.
April fools again. There; got that out of my system.
Actually, the wife and I are headed out for some unplanned road tripping adventures around the southeast. We will be camping along the way with little or no internet access. You are welcome as always to visit the Redline Project blog, but you will not find any new material here until Monday, April 5.
Hey... everyone needs a vaction from the diligent work of blogging, right? Sincere thanks goes to the handful of readers who may actually be a touch disappointed by this. While the Redline Project fan club may be thin in numbers, its members are fortified with brilliance and creativity. Much appreciation to each of you.
For those into Good Friday and Easter, I hope you revel in the glory of life overcoming death. For those not observing the holiday, I wish you a restful, rejuvenating handful of days. See you on the other side of the weekend.
April fools.
I plan on posting verbose paragraphs and recording three songs over the holiday weekend.
April fools again. There; got that out of my system.
Actually, the wife and I are headed out for some unplanned road tripping adventures around the southeast. We will be camping along the way with little or no internet access. You are welcome as always to visit the Redline Project blog, but you will not find any new material here until Monday, April 5.
Hey... everyone needs a vaction from the diligent work of blogging, right? Sincere thanks goes to the handful of readers who may actually be a touch disappointed by this. While the Redline Project fan club may be thin in numbers, its members are fortified with brilliance and creativity. Much appreciation to each of you.
For those into Good Friday and Easter, I hope you revel in the glory of life overcoming death. For those not observing the holiday, I wish you a restful, rejuvenating handful of days. See you on the other side of the weekend.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
1st Quarter Update
An unexpected side effect of plugging away at the Redline Project is having a pointed awareness of just how speedily a set of months can slip away. Tonight is March 31st, relegating the first three months of 2010 to the past and leaving only nine in the future.
Does this shock anyone else? We just sipped champagne and exploded poppers roughly 14 days ago. How can March 2010 be hours from vanishing?
As my custom has become at the close of each month, I am taking the opportunity to scrutinize the successes and failures of the Redline Project. Where has there been progress? Where has the momentum slacked a bit? What needs to happen to keep this initiative moving forward? Are we on track for an album release on October 31?
Let's commence with the plusses. In three months, I have acquired more than enough gear to adequately record, edit, and publish an album. Many of the acquisitions (including an electric guitar, microphones, and studio monitors) are borrowed instead of purchased, which is the only way I have managed to stay within a budget of $1,000.
Speaking of budget, I am thrilled to announce that while I have spent far less than $1,000 on the Redline Project ($877 to be exact), I have sold $900 worth of bikes and related gear to offset the cost. This has required a sizable and complicated effort. If anyone has ever tried auctioning items under Ebay's asinine new user feedback policies, you know that sellers have no recourse to deal with feisty, manipulative, or deadbeat buyers.
As I write this blog post, I received an email from one such buyer who is demanding more money back from me than he ever payed for an item sold 'as is.' Lovely. Ebay is wonderful, and Ebay sucks eggs. If someone with the username jmdesigns2 tries to buy an item from you, run far and run fast.
Frustrations considered, piecing together a basic recording studio for zero dollars is a grand success, and one that pleases my wife as well.
This month, I wrote what I consider to be my best songs so far. The tally so far is nine, including vocal and instrumental numbers. Several pieces are five minutes in length, and some are longer. Mind you, these are not final recorded versions; the tracks are currently scratch recordings meant to capture the basic form and textures of each composition.
With a baby boy coming to join our family around the first of July, I have decided that the Redline Project's final product will feature 10 original pieces of music. Originally I was aiming for 12, but I needed to adjust in order to keep the project moving forward as I prepare for fatherhood.
After the scratch recording roadmaps are all pieced together, the next step is to scrap and re-record just about everything. Three or four months worth of knowledge is virtually nothing when compared to giants of the recording industry with decades of experience lining their pockets. Om short, I am a noob. That said, I know considerably more than I did 83 posts ago, and I am hoping this base of knowledge will lend a relatively clean and polished sound to the final cuts.
Is the Redline Project on schedule? The answer, according to the original array of deadlines, is a resounding yes. I am supposed to complete all the rough cuts by May 15, which is still a month and a half out. If I Complete one more composition and two more recordings by then, I can draw a red line (pun intended) through this mile marker.
Nevertheless, I feel hopelessly behind. After the scratch tracks are complete, I must get to work recording palatable music that is at least somewhat iPod-worthy. Then comes the mixing process, with the mastering procedures hot on the tail. If these daunting tasks somehow are accomplished by October 31, I then must climb the mountain of distribution. At a glance, this final step is made easier by offering the music free of charge to anyone and everyone, but that in turn complicates the matter as it begs questions of copyright issues and distribution venues.
[Insert panicked nail biting here]
Scores of miles fade into the rearview mirror as hundreds more appear on the horizon. As this project turns into something of a second full-time job, the television tempts me with endless chasm mind-numbing nothingness. But I will press on. I will create. I will get heard.
Does this shock anyone else? We just sipped champagne and exploded poppers roughly 14 days ago. How can March 2010 be hours from vanishing?
As my custom has become at the close of each month, I am taking the opportunity to scrutinize the successes and failures of the Redline Project. Where has there been progress? Where has the momentum slacked a bit? What needs to happen to keep this initiative moving forward? Are we on track for an album release on October 31?
Let's commence with the plusses. In three months, I have acquired more than enough gear to adequately record, edit, and publish an album. Many of the acquisitions (including an electric guitar, microphones, and studio monitors) are borrowed instead of purchased, which is the only way I have managed to stay within a budget of $1,000.
Speaking of budget, I am thrilled to announce that while I have spent far less than $1,000 on the Redline Project ($877 to be exact), I have sold $900 worth of bikes and related gear to offset the cost. This has required a sizable and complicated effort. If anyone has ever tried auctioning items under Ebay's asinine new user feedback policies, you know that sellers have no recourse to deal with feisty, manipulative, or deadbeat buyers.
As I write this blog post, I received an email from one such buyer who is demanding more money back from me than he ever payed for an item sold 'as is.' Lovely. Ebay is wonderful, and Ebay sucks eggs. If someone with the username jmdesigns2 tries to buy an item from you, run far and run fast.
Frustrations considered, piecing together a basic recording studio for zero dollars is a grand success, and one that pleases my wife as well.
This month, I wrote what I consider to be my best songs so far. The tally so far is nine, including vocal and instrumental numbers. Several pieces are five minutes in length, and some are longer. Mind you, these are not final recorded versions; the tracks are currently scratch recordings meant to capture the basic form and textures of each composition.
With a baby boy coming to join our family around the first of July, I have decided that the Redline Project's final product will feature 10 original pieces of music. Originally I was aiming for 12, but I needed to adjust in order to keep the project moving forward as I prepare for fatherhood.
After the scratch recording roadmaps are all pieced together, the next step is to scrap and re-record just about everything. Three or four months worth of knowledge is virtually nothing when compared to giants of the recording industry with decades of experience lining their pockets. Om short, I am a noob. That said, I know considerably more than I did 83 posts ago, and I am hoping this base of knowledge will lend a relatively clean and polished sound to the final cuts.
Is the Redline Project on schedule? The answer, according to the original array of deadlines, is a resounding yes. I am supposed to complete all the rough cuts by May 15, which is still a month and a half out. If I Complete one more composition and two more recordings by then, I can draw a red line (pun intended) through this mile marker.
Nevertheless, I feel hopelessly behind. After the scratch tracks are complete, I must get to work recording palatable music that is at least somewhat iPod-worthy. Then comes the mixing process, with the mastering procedures hot on the tail. If these daunting tasks somehow are accomplished by October 31, I then must climb the mountain of distribution. At a glance, this final step is made easier by offering the music free of charge to anyone and everyone, but that in turn complicates the matter as it begs questions of copyright issues and distribution venues.
[Insert panicked nail biting here]
Scores of miles fade into the rearview mirror as hundreds more appear on the horizon. As this project turns into something of a second full-time job, the television tempts me with endless chasm mind-numbing nothingness. But I will press on. I will create. I will get heard.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Not Going to Believe This
Tuesday night is scheduled for open shop at Communicycle, the bicycle co-op I helped to establish. We have been meeting with the youth for some basketball while the Communicycle volunteers scramble to get the shop back in order after a recent robbery. Ian, one of the program's leaders, has been striking up conversations in past weeks with Edgar, a middle school student who among other hobbies is training as a boxer.
Ian has a deep love for music, and he was thrilled to discover that Edgar and a few of his buddies have a talent with rapping. The group approached me tonight at Ian's urging, looking for some original beats to which they could find a flow.
A quick (and perhaps stunning) admission: I have always loved the sound of rap, though I know nothing about it whatsoever. But hey... the Redline Project is composed almost exclusively of project tasks that are completely outside of my knowledge base; who am I to turn down a unique opportunity to collaborate with Edgar, Ian, and others from the Chamblee area?
So here it is, in all its glory, with all its faults. my first loop ever intended to be used in rap music. Does it make anyone besides me want to dance?
Ian has a deep love for music, and he was thrilled to discover that Edgar and a few of his buddies have a talent with rapping. The group approached me tonight at Ian's urging, looking for some original beats to which they could find a flow.
A quick (and perhaps stunning) admission: I have always loved the sound of rap, though I know nothing about it whatsoever. But hey... the Redline Project is composed almost exclusively of project tasks that are completely outside of my knowledge base; who am I to turn down a unique opportunity to collaborate with Edgar, Ian, and others from the Chamblee area?
So here it is, in all its glory, with all its faults. my first loop ever intended to be used in rap music. Does it make anyone besides me want to dance?
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