The Unwritten Future Rolls on...

Okay, I'm trying to prepare for my move back home to California but there are so many other things that seem to be getting in the way.

1: I need to still get rid of a lot of shit;

2: I need to work on my voice....BIG TIME!;

3: I'm fucking bored!;

4: I need to work on my voice...BIG TIME.

Did I repeat myself? Well, duh! The old vocal chords are seriously in need of help and no matter what I seem to try only serves to illuminate just how bad my voice has become since TTT (that stands for THE TUMA TIME). Yeah, I know it's spelt TUMOR but it's my attempt at levity. It's a long road back to where I was two years ago when I was still in a band and singing all the time.

I guess I just have to take heed to that old joke: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!

Digital Transfers of Analog Music

I just finished transferring about 2 1/2 hours worth of old material to digital. There really isn't too much that I can do to make it sound better (other than completely re-recording it) but I did it so that I have it on disc as opposed to analog tape which will either break or deteriorate over time. None of it is really for public consumption and I only did this for myself. It feels good to hear this stuff in clean digital sound. I did boost and clean up the sound as best as I could but you can't really polish a turd (not the songs or vocals themselves, the recording quality).

Since the masters of these exist only as analog four-track recordings and my four track machine died a long, long time ago, these archived music files are all that basically exists of my pre-2000 material, much of which goes back to 1987. Perhaps one day I'll get my paws on another old school analog 4 track recorder and save some of my other stuff. Some of it was very good and some of it was very bad, but I still want to have a record of the things that I've written and recorded so that maybe some time in the future my family and friends can listen to them and discover something about me that they didn't really know.

Har

Sick as a puppy!

Not a full grown dog sick, but still bad! I've officially lost my voice so there will be no recording this week or next. There's so much left for me to do and arranging the basic tracks just about knocked the fuck out of me. I'm taking this slow on purpose since I want it to be as different from RENDER as it was from all previous efforts were from another. That's hard to do, especially with so little to inspire me these days. I need to take some kind of vacation soon in order to break the monotony although some might argue that this brief bout with unemployment qualifies as a vacay of sorts. Methinks not! Packing and unpacking and packing and unpacking my shit kinda sucked a bit of the life I had in me and while I'm still motivated to complete the current album at hand it's taking every last bit of strength (mentally and physically) out of me. It's not supposed to be this way, right?

Allo!

Allo Guvnor!

Aven't dun fuck oll on the alboom, but thought it mighn't be nice to say Appy Thanksday!

Pees Ow-T!

Arry

Two Hours at the piano...

...yields six new songs...well, four actually and two re-written. Woke up from a horrid dream (don't wanna discuss) and felt incredibly prolific though I am feeling rather sleepy now....zzzzz.

Track listing for the new album is growing larger and although I was looking to make it a short affair (nine songs) I'm getting excited about all of these songs and while I have 11 now, I still need to get at least six of them down on disc. Oh, maybe I'll start up the machines and put some tracks down...Still have to haul the keyboards out though. One song is actually from 2001 and it's pretty much done except for the lead vocal. I did have a lead vocal on it but it's crap so forget it. This song was one of my faves but it got the boot from "render" when "render" started to run long...in fact, I think "render" is too long and I should've cut a couple songs, but, whatever...yup, 8 years later and I'm still trying to fix shit that's already done! So typical. Thanks to the cubmeister for keeping me company whilst I was writing....love that chubby little fella!

Working on another song today...writing, not recording. Just not in the mood to record right now! Enjoying an early evening breeze by the piano with Cubby (the dog) by my side. Seriously trying to avoid previously used chord progressions and old melodic tricks is extremely difficult when you're feeling tired...it's so easy to just say, "whatever and move from chord to chord " as opposed to working and clutching and unclutching in an effort to make something resonate. The voice is getting back into shape too thanks to practising with Kate and Tori and even some of my old material. Listening to a lot of Bowie too so his influence is showing up in quite a few of the songs. Hurry up warm weather and go the fuck away! I hatest thou!

Firing up the machines today to record a song...or two. Just tracks no vocals yet. I can't wait for summer to be over since I so hate the warm weather and sunny, sunny days! I need to be some place where it's raining, dark and cold at least 11 months out of the year. I think the babies were switched in hospital because I feel little to no connection with this supposed island paradise that I was born in. I don't hate it, but I don't like it either.

Oh, machine's are ready!

TTFN