Category: Song Writing

Car Music

This morning before work I drove over to my recording studio and did some vocals. By recording studio I mean I sat in my car in an empty movie theater parking lot and yelled at a microphone.

I had two songs ready to go and I did them both, but it was rough. Very rough. I’m just getting worse and worse at the whole singing thing in general, but add in some allergies and it was just so much harder than usual. I’m seriously afraid to listen to what I recorded because it’s going to be even more awful than my usual awful.

Oh well, that’s show biz for ya.

Lunch Break

Ready for a lunch break post?

I still can’t get to the editor on a Vivaldi non-private browser window on my work laptop. It works in a private window and it works on Vivaldi on every other computer in my personal computing universe. What up?

I’ve had a couple of good nights sleep lately, but I still feel tired. I think the Covid is finally wearing my out. I put all new parts onto my breathing machine last night, which was nice, and I slept like the dead for over seven hours, which was nice, but I’m still tired today.

Did I mention the Bruins advanced to the second round? I think I need to start watching the Penguins/Islanders series. I don’t like either team, but the Bruins looked like world beaters in the first round so I’m cautiously optimistic about all possible opponents.

Music, right? I want to do car music tomorrow morning, but I don’t have anything written. There are two songs from this month that are ready for lyrics, and three more from the past couple of months too. I have to write ’em before I sings ’em though. I’m hoping that tonight before bed I’ll be able to sneak some writing in. I’m doing a challenge to record at least one song every month and I have one for this month that’s ready to mix. I just don’t know if it’s as good as some of the other things I’ve worked on this month. We’ll see.

Also music: The recording nook right now has the Vox AC15 plugged into the normal channel and the pedals are a Klon Klone, a Rat klone, and a Muff klone. I think I need to swap out the Rat for something else, and I’m not 100% sure I like the AC15 on it’s own. Maybe it’s time for the Bassbreaker 15 to come back. What I really want is my Deluxe Reverb, but it’s still at the band’s rehearsal room at our bass players house. What to do, what to do. Tone, am I right?

The kids are at their dad’s for the next couple of days. I miss them already. Harry went to school this morning and Bellana just left a minute ago. I am sad. I want them here 24/7 because I am greedy and selfish. Crud.

I should do some sunrise pics soon. I don’t know what my nana-sitting schedule is like off the top of my head, but there is a holiday weekend coming up. There’s also a wedding anniversary for someone coming up too. I wonder who?

Okay, fat boy, back to work.

Music Plans and Weekend Plans

I failed to play the guitar last night, but I did come up with some kind of running order for Quarantine Tunes Volume 4. I can sense your bliss.

I have one song for May that is close to being finished. There are a few more that I might be able to get done by the end of next week. I also have a potential batch of songs for a fifth round of re-recording, but I am seriously at the bottom of the barrel. So far I have tweaked a song lyric here or there, and one song had the lyrics rewritten. I think I’m going to have to do that a few more times. Of the 10 songs on the new list, three are actually written about the RPM Challenge. That’s no good. I see some new lyrics in my future.

Plans for the next few days include:

  • Finish watching this week’s episode of The Bad Batch (nine minutes to go)
  • Work
  • Nana sit overnight tonight
  • Nana sit tomorrow until around dinner time
  • Hang out with my family tomorrow night. If time allows, maybe play some guitar.
  • Sunday, celebrate Bellana’s birthday by watching The Godfather and The Godfather II and cooking a steak dinner on the grill.

Not a bad weekend.

The Last Quarantine Tune

I finished the last of the fourth round of re-recordings tonight. I mixed it using Air Pods Pro which was probably a bad idea. I’ll share it for now, but if it sounds like garbage on better headphones, or on actual speakers, I will remix it.

I still need to come up with a final running order, but that’s it. After that I have to decide if I want to do volume five or not.

For the record, the lead guitar parts here are my new birthday present Les Paul. Have I mentioned that I love that new guitar, and that my wife is amazing for getting it for me, and that I love my wife more than words could ever express?

Best Birthday Ever

My wife got me a birthday present yesterday. Something so far above and beyond the call of duty that I was literally speechless.

It’s a brand spanking new Gibson Les Paul Standard 50’s (tobacco burst). The one with the big chunky neck that after one day I already love more than words can express.

I spent about an hour and a half to two hours just noodling and then recording some parts. My finger tips are killing me, and they are pitch black from the lacquer rubbing off. It’s so friggin’ cool I can’t get over it. What a kick ass birthday present. I had no idea. None. Zero. I am shocked and awed and very thankful.

What a way to kick off my 50’s! Let’s get the band together so I can show it off! Awesome!

Almost Bed Time

The Red Sox lost, I did a load of laundry, my mother sat up for about an hour before going back to bed, I watched an episode of That Pedal Show that is making me want to go into cellar storage and find my cheap uni-vibe pedal, I wrote the music for another song that could possibly make good use of a cheap uni-vibe pedal, and the first episode of season four of The Handmaids Tale has some seriously dark shit in it.

I’ll be turning in soon. Here’s hoping my mother sleeps through the night. She was asleep when I got here. She woke up a couple of hours later thinking it was morning. I asked her if she wanted dinner as she was fishing out a package of instant oatmeal for breakfast. Hashtag, le sigh.

Prep for a Binge Watch

I’m Nana sitting at my parents’ house tonight. I just gave her dinner and her evening pills and we had a quick phone call with my dad. Dad seems okay tonight but Mom is having a rough day. I left my house at a couple of minutes past 6:00 tonight and I will be here until around dinner time tomorrow night. I’m trying to think of what I am going to do with my time while I’m here. The Red Sox are on right now and they just coughed up a lead to the Rangers in the third inning.

I’m thinking about some May music ideas. I’m doing the RPM Challenge record one song each month thing. In March I started five or six songs and then waited until the last minute to finish anything and as a result I only finished one. I have four more ready to mix but I haven’t gotten around to them. In April I started one song early in the month and then waited until the last week to do anything. I started a second song and that’s the only one of the two I finished. In May I am thinking of getting back onto the album-in-a-month bandwagon and seeing if I can crank out 10. No promises, but here we are on May 1st and I’ve already got one underway.

I could work on music while I’m here, but let’s be realistic. I’m probably going to watch TV on my iPad. I have one episode of The Flash to watch but I’ll wait on that one and watch it with Harry, if he wants. There are a couple of Supergirls to watch but I’m kinda not feeling it. (note: The Red Sox just tied the game at three in the top of the fourth inning) The fourth season of The Handmaid’s Tale just started on Hulu and they released a few episodes on the first day, I need to watch those. I’m into the third season of a rewatch of Community so I could try some of those. There’s one other idea that popped into my head earlier today.

Harry was humming the theme from the second episode of WandaVision. Hmm… If I’m going to be here all day tomorrow, and the chances of me sleeping much tonight are somewhere between slim and none… might I be able to watch the entire season of WandaVision in one extended sitting? Nine episodes, roughly 30 minutes each… I might do it. If for no other reason then to hear the Agatha All Along song in context one more time.

It might happen.