Ukulele

Some of the new tunes haven't been laying out on the dulcimer very well. This is actually been an ongoing issue since I started to play dulcimer. It's one of the reasons why there are so many covers on Moonshiner's Atlas for whatever reason it's been far easier to recreate or adapt, than it has been to create. I think this is why one song, called Weathervane has been in contention for this album since I first wrote it (which was like 2004): it's the first time that a lick on the instrument inspired lyrics (that's how I've written in the past). Anyway, although I've worked out dulcimer versions of all the tunes I'm kicking around, there are three that just don't sound right. Normally, that would just mean those songs weren't going on the record. But one of the tunes that's causing me a lot of consternation is a new one called Be Somebody (Do the work), It's what my old roommate used to call "the single" (my old roommate is also a songwriter and we used to throw a lot of ideas back and forth to each other). It's a euphemism, since realistically hoping for airplay has been a pipe dream since Clinton initiated the telecommunications act of 1997 (the so-called "information superhighway" that deregulated radio and allowed Clear Channel to buy them all). But it still means to us, that song that is gonna make you want to buy the album. On Moonshiner's it was folk songs and 52 Vincent, on Shady Grove it was Eleanor Rigby and (surprisingly) Birdwatching. A single doesn't necessarily mean the "best" song on the record, just the one that compels you to buy the record. If you think of albums as collections of songs that tell a story (and I do) the single is the sizzle to the steak.

I think that that song is Be Somebody, but it hasn't been working out as a dulcimer tune. So, as I've been talking with Folkcraft about one they're developing anyway, I figured maybe I'd try one out. I'll let you know how it goes.

Day Two.

Obviously I'm not keeping this diary as a day to day thing. In part because I'm not recording everyday. In fact I feel as though I'm still demoing...I am still demoing. It's just that the line between demo and recording is going to be ever blurring. Last time I ended up recording what I thought were demo's only to have the whole thing be done in Garageband (A recording program that comes with the Mac). To that end I bought a new Mac Mini specifically to have a dedicated computer for recording. Then my laptop bit the dust again, and it's become clear that as much as I would like to separate work and creative computers I can't do that yet. And anyway, what does that mean? Anyway, so that's been the plan, But I've been slow on getting a dedicated space together and the new computer has been a source of some consternation. The Zoom I used before and the new version of Garageband do not like to play well together, an issue that will have to be resolved before I can move forward full time, which is what I'm playing on doing come March 1st, which was yesterday...You following me?

Something that I've noticed is that the recording of this album and the writing have become inseparable. Used to be I'd write a bunch of songs on guitar, play 'em out some and then go add other instruments to it. Here I've been using the recording process on a couple of tunes, New Used Car, and Be Somebody. I spent way too much time working on the intro to Angry Anymore as I see it as the intro to the album. But it starts with this old scratchy recording, Just like Shady Grove did, just like the intro to Old Home Place on Moonshiner did (and how long did we spend on that?!?!). And just like those, I've always heard this tune coming out of an old machine, preferably from an Edison wax cylinder. The problem with this genius idea is that occasionally people will come up and tell me that they're something wrong with their CD, a woman in Florida even asked for her money back (WTF!) So now I'm actually torn between art and commerce. Maybe I should put a sticker on the front that says "the first 30 seconds of this CD is supposed to sound like shit."

Day One (or the story so far)

I just re-read Ed O'Brien's diary from recording "Kid A" and (probably just because I'm a big fan) found it fascinating reading. I said to myself, I' think I'll do the same thing once I start recording…except I already have.

It's a bit like they said in the movie Inception. You don't remember how a dream starts, only that you've been in it for a while. Same with recording for me I guess.

One of the things I find interesting is that when Radiohead was recording Kid A, they took evenings and weekends off. You know…like a job. I guess that's 'cause it is.

So here's the story so far: A few weeks ago I wrote down a bunch of tunes that I wanted to record, separated into four categories: original songs, original instrumentals, covers and traditional tunes. Right now it's heavily skewed towards originals, so I've been starting there. I spent a day (and blew my voice out) recording a bunch of the originals to have in the car with me, but thus far that hasn't quite worked out. Some of the tunes are brand new, written in the last couple of months. Well others I've been picking at for years. Some have changed meaning as the context of my life has changed…I'm not saying which ones. Got to be a bit of an enigma. I think I know how this record will start, and kinda what it will be about. But I have NO IDEA what it will sound like when it's finished. This starting set of tunes is actually pretty bluegrass-sounding, ironic since one of the reasons I put "Shady Grove" last on the last CD was to be a launching pad for something completely different. I haven't ruled out the idea of having the record remixed, perhaps as two CDs. This is the best part, when it's all possibility. The rest is actual work.

Songs so far:
Originals:
1. Where's the damned river when you need it
2. Angry Anymore
3. New, Used Car
4. Heavy Metal Farmer's Sons (aka the ballad of Travis Kilgore)
5. A Long Way from Settling Down
6. Before the Flood
7. Weathervane
8. Brown Liquor
9. Down Where the Mountain Used to Stand
10. Shenandoah
11. Be Somebody (Do the Work)
12. What Have You Learned
13. All I Need is You
14. Betty/The Path of Least Resistance
15. Weatherman/Tornado Girl

Instrumentals/Traditional or Both
1. Little Liza Jane
2. Prototype
3. Cluck O'l Hen
4. Old Aunt Jenny with her Nightcap On
5. Elzic's Farewell (Jay Ungar)

Covers
1. Brand New 1964 Dodge (Greg Brown)
2. Brothers on a Hotel Bed (Death Cab for Cutie)
3. Here Comes the Flood (Peter Gabriel)
4. Shenandoah (Anais Mitchell)
5. Beeswing (Richard Thompson)
6. Blackout (The Affordable Floors)
7. The Pig (Todd Young)
8. Walk Beside Me (Tim O'Brien)
9. Little Liza Jane (Dave Carter)
10. Birches (Bill Morrissey)

No way is this a definitive list or a double-album, I'll be sure to drop a lot of these (and add a few back too), and don't be surprised if I end up writing a few new ones as well.