Fine. I'll write the (insert expletive) book!

It's been a good while since I have posted anything here.  Trust me, the irony has not been lost on me.  Given my proclivity (oooh, that's a good word) to ramble on generally, I have clearly been, it would seem, holding back.

In truth lots has been going on and I really cannot account for why I have not taken the time to write more here.  So for some odd reason, late at night, tonight, when I should well be asleep, I have decided that it's time to remedy that.

The family is great and I am as ever the luckiest man in the world.

As for projects, that has been quite a ride lately.  For a good bit now the main thrust of my "free time" has been to deal with the perfecting the EARS™ concept and the unreal amount of work that goes along with the related intellectual property issues.  On the whole it is going very well, but wow, lots of work.  EARS™ has taken on a level of legitimacy that I cannot fully express.  It is a unique feeling to know, with 100% certainty that something works as it should.  Wonderful, but unique.  At least for me.

 I have also, after what seems like far too long, really gotten a sense of my next musical project. It's called "With One Voice" and it will very much feature my lovely Michele.  I don't wanna give too much away just yet, but I have been quite captivated by a band from my past called Jellyfish - you should check them out - and when combined with my love of the Beatles, Queen and a few others, it got me thinking...and then my friends George and Nils (seriously, how lucky am I?) both gave me, without likely realizing it, some great ideas for how to go about creating the music.  Very very VERY excited.  Anyway, more on that later....

Right now my other push is a book about CMAS.  Or maybe more accurately, my sense of what I have learned from creating and facilitating CMAS.  I am not kidding. A book feels like a good idea right now. Even if only as a kind of cathartic exercise, it might prove useful.

I already have some of the chapters/major topics worked out:
(in no particular order at this time)
1.  The Music Eduction World is NOT Changing.  It's Already Changed.
2.  Seriously?  You're saying I should do my job less effectively to keep you from having to do yours as well?
3. Money isn't everything, but you cannot expect to run most music programs on very much these days
4. There are only two kinds of music: good and bad.
5. Arrogance is the enemy.
6. Education decisions should always be made based on what;s best for kids, not adults.
7. Yeah.  You heard me right.  It's not just a music program, it's a legitimate record label.  Get over it.

There are surely to be more, but that's what I have so far.  My real issue is the book's title.  I suppose I will eventually stumble upon it but for some reason I feel like until I have it I cannot truly write. As of now, I am leaning towards:

"I've Come to Kill Your Music Program"

but I am open to other ideas if you have any.

Follow this blog

Lift: An exercise in "does/should this matter to anyone other than me?"

"Lift" will be (is?), in some ways, a departure, and in others, a kind of musical reunion. For a while I felt I needed to move away from my more Art/Prog-Rock tendencies. I was having a very difficult time aligning my sense of being a singer/songwriter and those more "artful" musical interests. That's not to say I am particularly artful - though I'd like to think so - but I certainly have a great affinity for many of the Prog-Rock genre.

I am huge fan of musicians like Asia, Genesis, Yes, Peter Gabriel and so many others. For the longest time I have always wanted to be able to create that kind of musical atmosphere, but always felt I was coming up short. Actually, I should also mention that I am a big fan of the intricate orchestrations of bands like Iron Maiden. The orchestral nature of their music has always been very inspiring to me. There are of course countless other bands and artists (The Beatles, Queen, Toto, Flecktones, The Who, etc.) that are significant to me; but it would take me pages to get through them all.

In any case, with "Lift" I have decided not to worry at all, on any level, how the material might or might not translate to a live performance. Not only has this been very liberating from a creative standpoint, but it has also allowed me to somewhat rethink my entire creative process. "Lift," like much of my work, has its share of love songs and ballads - can't get away from who I am in that regard (and don't really want to) - but there is also a fair share of other subject matter as well.

The project is still a work-in-progress, so to some extent everything I write here is really just speculation as I am still waiting to hear what the final result really will be; but what I am confident in is that "Lift" is strong on all levels. Very strong. Only time will tell if others agree or not. Either way, as long as people are listening, it's all good.

Remix, rethink, remaster... REDEUX!: How going back can help to move forward

Over the past several years since I have released any new music, several significant things have happened. Beyond the more important ones like lots of Gray-and-daddy time and Tanner arriving, I have also made some very serious changes in my entire approach to to producing music and general audio engineering. A lot of those changes have coincided with the formal adoption of the Contemporary Music And Sound (CMAS) program, and a lot have evolved out of what I feel is just a very natural progression towards such things. The other major factor has likely been my development of a very strong sense that the real beauty of being an independent musician, is just that: the independence to do what you feel is best. Certainly there are endless drawbacks, but if there is one true benefit it is the complete artist freedom I am afforded.

The fact is that I have never been truly pleased with the end result of many of my past recordings. Much of that dissatisfaction can easily be attributed to my, admittedly not always helpful, refusal to ever be satisfied that anything I do is "perfect." (I have a pretty hard time "letting go," but that is another topic) but much of if is also rooted in aural reality. Songs are good, songs are bad, but the production has tended to get in the way and not, in my view consistently, allowed the music to stand on its own - good or bad.

So as I began to finalize the writing of my next project of original material (working title is "Lift) I started to take a look at the older stuff as well to see how I wanted to apply my new production techniques to the new recordings. While doing that I found that it would not take too much effort to go back and "redo" (Redeux?) the production and get many of those old tracks into the aural shape they deserved to be in. It's kind of a going-back-in-order-to-go-forward kind of thing, but it has already proven very useful.  "Redeux" is not really about re-recording or re-tracking, it's more about re-thinking the production.  Certainly this may cause arrangements, and some other aspects, to change but I think on balance it will all be for the better.

The "Redeux" project will actually be a series of releases. I am not entirely certain how "Lift" will fit into the overall time line, but it'll be along soon as well, and if nothing else, will certainly be worth the wait. I feel the material on "Lift" is the strongest I've ever written, but in truth, as I said above, I am not convinced that I was ever able to give the earlier material its proper due to allow it to stand on its own. Again, the Redeux project is now making that possible.

The first release of Redeux will be from the more recent material that appeared on "Ties" and "Pulse" and a few others. The second will be the entire "Fade" CD from back in 2004 that featured Michele on vocals. For many reason I cannot wait for you to hear those tracks "redone" (Redeuxed?) For a very long time I thought that all the "Fade" sessions were lost forever do to a failed hard drive but just recently I was able to restore the session data and so am really excited to hear what comes of it - Michele's vocals alone are gonna just blow everyone away. There is a possibility of a third release as part of "Redeux," which would be going all the way back and examine the sessions for a "bootleg" from many many years ago that actually still sells well for me called "093003." If we get lucky, as we did with "Fade," to find a way to restore the sessions from the old hard drive, then we can make that third release happen as well. I am cautiously optimistic.

As ever, things all seem to be happening at once, but it's all good. Very good. And now it's back to work...