"Downtown"

4-23-10, Things are just happening in a good way for me. I might as well roll with it and see where it takes me. Originally this tune was going to be called "Cool Cat Cunning" or "Kicking About", but I think "Downtown" will work out better. This is nothing more than a lyrical idea that I came with about 7 years ago. I can remember driving in the mail truck and singing the chorus. About 2 years ago I came up with the verse lyrics (it's me versus the police chief, mayor and governor ... guess who ends up going downtown). After a good workout at Anytime Fitness, I came home, sat down with the acoustic and came up with some chords. This is definitely going to be a fun, playful novelty song. I think that one of the tricks to being a good songwriter, is to always carry a notebook and write things down. You never know when an idea is going to hit you. Besides all the old songs I have recorded on cassette, I also have a bunch of lyrical ideas written down. I have another one that is called "Wilderness Of Mirrors", which has a CIA/spy theme. Maybe if things go well with this tune, I'll work on that one

* I also want to add that I am totally impressed with my BR 1600 digital recorder. When I started out, it was all foreign to me. As time has gone by I have become very comfortable with it. I originally thought it would only hold about 7-9 songs. Well, I'm at 11 tunes now and there is still plenty of memory space left. I still have to learn the mastering tools, and how to burn Cd's, but I'll cross that road when the time comes.

4-24-10, I am starting to get the drums together. It's another chromatic song. I think that's about 3 in a row using this approach. It's usually a bit of a challenge with song keys but, if it's done right, it gives the tune a unique character. This song tells such a fun story, if it's done right, the listener should be able to concentrate on the words and not get too distracted by the music. On the other hand, I also want the music to compliment the lyrics, so I need the groove to be upbeat and interesting. The arrangement, so far, is falling into place. The swing on the song is set to 66 (50 being lowest and 75 highest). The bass line is going to walk it's way through the entire song (using every note). For the most part, this should leave the acoustic guitar free to do some straight forward strumming. Maybe, if it's needed, I'll add some rythym solo's. The 3 main keys to be used in the song are G Minor, A Minor and D Major. The biggest challenge to writing fun novelty tunes is to make sure that the whole thing doesn't get too hokie. Fun and playful is cool, because listeners usually appreciate the change of pace. I like to be known as a creative writer, so the playful tunes are just part of my repertoire.

4-25-10, The drums are recorded. It's a very short song at about 2:45, which is alright. The drum track is nothing flashy ... nice, tight, straight forward and strong on the accents. The drum and bass should blend together well for a nice backbone to the tune.

4-26-10, Dang !!! Another lesson learned. I almost had the bass track finished, I was doing one last edit, when my recorder froze up ! I ended up having to unplug it. Well to cut to the quick, I lost the entire bass track because I didn't have it saved. 4-5 hours of work gone in a flash. The lesson learned is to save frequently. On the positive side, at least I have the track worked out. I'll just have to lay it down tomorrow. I do have a lot of songs and data saved in the recorder, so I may want to keep a closer eye on things. I am hopeful that the freeze up was just an odd occurrence, and nothing more.

4-27-10, Today was for me ! An afternoon at the beach, a few pints at a local Irish pub and a night of partying at some local beach bars. Of course my clumsy ass couldn't make it through the night without spraining my ankle. Maybe someday I'll figure this walking thing out.

4-28-10, That's more like it. The bass is recorded ! The song is mostly in G Minor and D Major, the A Minor wasn't needed. There is a lot of chromatic work in this song, I actually did end up using every note (another first).

4-29-10, Yes !!!! Sam Ash was running a 20% off sale today, so I went and bought a pair of Samson Resolv A5 active studio monitors. With the cable it came to only $231. The speakers were out of stock, so I am using their floor model until mine comes in (2 weeks). I tested them out when I got home and they rock ! It was cool hearing my tunes outside of the headphones. With my last 2 Cd's I used my home stereo as my monitor, so this is my first pair of official studio monitors. April, 2010 (my birthday month) has been my best songwriting month ever ! I have completed nearly 5 songs ("Same Old Troubles", "Where's The Sun", "Doppelganger Blues", "Coming For You" and I'm working on "Downtown"). I started the month with 7 songs finished, and I am ending it working on song #12. I listened to all of them through the monitors and I am very happy. This Cd is going to be excellent ! I am still working out the guitar for this tune. It will probably be recorded within 2-3 days. I will also have to resume trying to find a place where I can record the lead vocals.

4-30-10, For the most part the lead guitar is recorded, I just need to do some final editing. I have a funny feeling that I may need to add another track or 2 (this track mostly follows the bass line). At a minimal, I am going to need something during the chorus to make the whole thing bigger. We'll see what develops. I came pretty close to finishing in the song in April. Happy May Day !

5-1-10 (10:30 p.m.), Away from home most of the day, visiting with family. I'm sure I'll be up till the a.m. hours finishing the guitar track. (4:30 a.m.) I've got the lead track finished. I have also been working on a rhythm guitar track, to pad the verses and add more uplift to the chorus. Since things are going well I may even experiment with the keyboards. I don't know if it will lead to anything, but then again, maybe it will.

5-2-10, I did it ! The music for "Downtown" is finished. Today I completed the rhythm guitar and 2 keyboard tracks (orchestra and trumpet). I also saved/protected the song and backed up the data. The 2 keyboard tracks are mostly used in the chorus and fill part. The tune ended up becoming a really cool composition, with a big chorus. Well, this means the music is completed for 12 tunes. It would be an absolute dream come true if I could finish 2 more (a 14 song Cd release would be perfect). I didn't experience any more troubles with the recorder, so the freeze up was probably just an odd occurrence. The 2 ideas I am still contemplating are "Wilderness Of Mirrors" (lyrical idea) and "Simple Minded"(2/3 worked out). "Simple Minded" would be the easier of the 2. It's a straight forward Rockabilly tune with a Catholic theme. Acoustic guitar, bass, drums and some slide guitar would do the trick (it's been a while since I used the acoustic). In the meantime, I also need to get out and find somewhere to record the vocals.

5-3-10, Good things just seem to happen for me when I go headfirst into songs that aren't worked out, like with "Sweet Adelaide" (bought my keyboards and came up with "Under The Weather"). During the process of this tune I bought my studio monitors and may have also found a place to record my vocals (see "Miscellaneous" post). If the storage unit works out, it will be my 3rd wise investment this year. The keyboards were $100, monitors $230 and the storage unit $120. That's $450 of well spent money !

5-4-10, I got the call this afternoon that the storage unit was available. It ended up costing $150 for 2 months. As you probably guessed, I just couldn't wait ... so, I went and finished the lead vocals for this song and "Coming For You". It was a bit on the hot side in there, but I managed to grind it out. I discovered another cool feature in the BR 1600, it has phantom power built in. This meant that I was able to use my AKG C3000 Condenser Mic. The reverb in the unit was perfect. This turned out to be a very interesting song. It has kind of a melancholy vibe to it, which actually sets up the storyline real well. The decision to use G Minor during the verses and D Major in the choruses was a good move.

5-5-10, I listened back to the vocals today and everything is good to go. A few hisses and slurs, here and there, but that's alright. Vocals are similar to recording an acoustic guitar. The extra little sounds are always going to find their way into the mix, but that's just how it is. If I dwell too much on perfection, I'll never finish anything. The vocals are clear enough that there shouldn't be any trouble with the listeners understanding the words, which was one of my priorities. I cleaned up the track, saved/protected the song and backed up the data. Since it is Cinco de Mayo, I will take a break from recording tonight to enjoy some of the festivities. My voice is also a tad hoarse today. I imagine this will be a common occurrence over the next few weeks. I had a very good night hanging with a few acquaintances later in the night, we eventually ended up in Dunedin. There were a few rough experiences trying to flirt with the ladies, but oh well. I actually am a shy person, it's kind of funny that my persona fits my name. I am not embarrassed to admit that I have never been very good at being a playboy (I'm a songwriter so I'm much better at being an observer). After a few drinks my courage does go up, but it also causes me to come across more like a bumbling idiot. Thankfully, I have a good sense of humor and I don't take things too seriously.

5-9-10, This song is good to go. I am happy with the vocals !