Had a productive meeting last Monday with a local musician named Juan
Barbosa, arguably one of the more talented singer/songwriters in these parts,
and I will hopefully be hiring him to record several of my songs. We spent a
couple of hours talking about our
respective tastes, referring occasionally to YouTube videos for reference, and
I think we are on the same page as to what I hope to achieve. I might be one of
the few songwriters out there who does not really want to go out and perform
his songs. If Juan can translate some of my rough demos into polished songs, I
will have accomplished what I hope to achieve. I simply want to give some of
these songs life. I recently finished three demos with Dave Housser at nearby
Bay Lake Studio, and while Dave did what he was supposed to do, I came to the
realization that it’s time to let professionals take over on the performing
side. It’s a learning process. I still want to use my
fingernails-on-a-blackboard vocals on at least some of the tracks, but I’ll
probably leave most of the music to professionals. I also hope to get my buddy
Bobby Cameron back east from Edmonton to record some of my songs this
spring/summer. Between Juan, Bobby and perhaps Sean Cotton and some other
artists, maybe I can have an album of songs finished by summer’s end. I’m very
excited about this project and it has inspired me to go back and finish some
songs I tabled a decade ago. All of those songs are constantly rattling around
in my head, and occasionally the missing lyric will come to me in the car, or
the shower, or at 3AM. I have learned to get the words down on paper or on a tape
recorder before they disappear.
Final notes…As I do on a semi-regular basis, I take a look at various
news sources to see what’s going on in the world, and this week was a reminder
of how much does not make headlines. Never have I been more confused about the
information I glean from the internet, and new sources, especially concerning
Russia and Syria. As an example, it has been reported that Right Sector
gangster groups attacked Ukrainian soldiers in Slavyansk last week, but more
and more it looks as if it was pro-Russian Putin thugs trying to make a case
for Russia to step in and “restore order.” The Assad regime in Syria is again
accused of using chemical weapons against its people. It is difficult to
confirm some of these reports because it is so dangerous for reporters to cover
these regions. What else. Two months before the World Cup finals are scheduled
to begin in Brazil, there were riots in the streets of Rio, sparked by alleged
police brutality. Not great press leading up to a world event. A bomb ripped
through a Shiite political rally in Bagdad last Friday reportedly killing 28,
and someone caught it on video. While I take most of what I find on the
internet with a grain of salt, some of this video is undeniably compelling. Short
of outlawing all cell phones and computers, I doubt that bad governments can
put a lid on this information. The trick is sifting through the spin. Every so
often, I take stock of my good fortune and remember to be thankful for my
freedom. Sometimes I can’t help feeling the wolf is at the door.
2 comments:
How about Festivus?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus
Maybe a festivus weasel? a badger?
Post a Comment