Today I finished up my share of the album. Voice and acoustic guitar on thirteen songs. Now I’ll sit and wait for thirteen people to record their cameos. It’s such a huge relief to get my bits done and dusted. This chore has been hanging over my head like a dark cloud for too long. Now I’m waiting for the rainbow.
Today I had the great pleasure of meeting Tom and Helen from Pillowfish. They came all the way from England to see me in Seattle (okay, perhaps they had other reasons for making the journey as well :p). They’re the first peeps I’ve ever met from Second Life and if I hadn’t had a show to play in SL, I’d have hung out with them longer. They are just as cool as I hoped they’d be. I love their music and they’re fab human beings to boot. Fun day indeed 
Since I never was successful in getting a proper video for any song on my last album, I now have the next best thing. Doldrum now has a page on YouTube with two tracks filmed by local indie author Noble Smith. They’re also on MySpace. For your viewing and listening convenience, they’re pasted below as well. Cheers.
In the absence of any updates on the upcoming album, I decided to upload Bathed In Lavender (click for lyrics) to my handy dandy MySpace (click for song) for your listening pleasure. If you already own Falling To Pisces, you can listen to that song anytime you want. For those of you who don’t have the album and are on the fence about buying it, maybe this song will push you over to my side.
Apologies for the lack of news lately, but Mom always said… if you don’t have anything nice to say… well, you know the rest.
I try to go for walks as often as possible. I’m also a creature of habit and so my walks usually take me through the graveyard by my house. I’ve known for a while that I wanted to shoot my next album cover in this graveyard, but was waiting for just the right light and quality of the sky. Today I think I got it. I just did a mock-up for the album cover tonight and I’m pretty pleased. I can’t say I’ve settled on the photo I’ll end up using because I took quite a lot of them. But, I think the one I chose just might be ‘the one.’ We’ll see. At any rate, it was nice to cross that off my to-do list.
I still haven’t recorded my keeper takes yet. I told myself I’d have them finished by the end of January. Zero songs down, eleven to go. But, since they’re performance takes and not full blown album tracks with six million layers each, and since I’ve been playing these songs live already, I still think it’s within reach. I don’t have all eleven cameo players lined up yet. But, I figured once I finish my parts, whoever is available on the day will make the cut.
Phemie Alcott sent me her demo the other day and it sounds fab. For those who read this blog, you’ll remember that Helen Bell also sent me her fab demo a while back. So, that’s two peeps who are for sure in the mix. Nine more still need to be put in stone.
Just today, two more heroes said yes and made me do backflips. Graig Markel, who I played bass for in his 2004 live band, and a singer-songwriter I’ve admired since I met him in the mid-90s. And Anna-Lynne Williams, who sang harmony on Million Shades Of Curious before her old label wouldn’t let us release it, so I had to sing her parts instead. These two are arguably the best male/female singer-songwriters in Seattle, so their saying yes on the same day is massive to me. Even if it doesn’t work out, I’m going to consider this a good omen moving forward.
My manager Sesi Ackland just alerted me to the fact that my first show at Dear Prudence after a three-month health hiatus was reviewed at Metaverse Music. I assumed the worst since I was just trying to get my sea legs back, and also performing brand new songs I don’t quite have sussed yet. But, I was pleasantly surprised. Enniv Zarf, who is real life musician/actor Paul Kwo, didn’t throw me to the wolves like I’d feared. I read some other reviews of his and he doesn’t pull punches. So, the fact that he thought I was half-decent, even after the shortcomings I listed above, made me glad and grateful that he took the time to wave my flag. Happy Friday indeed.
I’ll be playing at the Toys For Tots drive in Second Life tomorrow morning. If anybody wants to come see/hear me perform for a half hour at 11:30 PST, please don’t tip me. Take yer loot and donate it to make some little moglets happy on Xmas morning. It’s an all-day festival, maybe even all weekend. So, if the Seattle storm doesn’t kill our power, I’ll be there with bells on, croaking and crooning with my trusty acoustic guitar. See ya there (virtually)!
I decided to do some spring cleaning in winter by giving this website a facelift. The dark, gloomy, bug-ridden code has been replaced with something a little more hopeful to gaze at. It’s always good to get some new year’s resolutions done and dusted ahead of schedule. I plan to continue easing my way back into performing live shows, and added a Calendar section for those who want to keep track of me. The idea is to use these concerts to tighten up my new songs so I can record them at the start of January. I say this every year, but 2009 is going to be the best year ever. Believe it.
I’ve got eleven songs written for the new album. I’m hoping to move forward with these eleven songs and nix the idea of reworking old tunes for the B-side of the album. Eleven new songs is better. Keep it fresh, eyes forward, etc. So, this does mean that I have more willing helpers than songs. Not everyone who said yes will actually get a song to play on. Hopefully, nobody will be too cheesed off. At one point, I was just going to have helpers from Second Life. But, that’s too limiting. There are people from Real Life I want on the record as well. So, the current plan is just to move forward with the folks I’ve been in touch with recently, and hopefully make this as quick and painless as possible. I still haven’t recorded keeper tracks for my parts yet. But, since I’m only recording vocal/guitar for each song, it should go quickly once I start. Simon Hinkler was the latest person to say yes to a cameo part on the album. Last time I worked with him was on A Cooler Stream Of Heaven. So, I’m super snazzed at getting his chops in the mix again years later.
Sorry I dropped off the face of the earth for a while. Been having some health problems, but I’m trying to bounce back so I can continue work on my new album. Helen Bell sent me her addition to the demo I sent her and it is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. She’s Rowanna Sideways in Second Life and one half of the brilliant Pillowfish. I can’t wait to work on the keeper track with her. Nobody else has sent me anything yet. But, I haven’t sent anybody my keeper versions yet, only demos. I’m still wanting to record simply and make it a performance more than a typical album recording. I’m treating my parts as live shows because I’m still hoping that my keeper tracks will come from live shows. I just haven’t played any in a while. But, don’t count me out yet. I’ll be back.
