PEDESTRIAN

much of my time here in louisville recently has been spent walking to various places i haven't been to for a long time. it's nice to be walking more. i definitely haven't been able to do that much in atlanta. last thursday i stopped in for a drink at a bar on bardstown road named cahoots. during the early 80s to mid 90s, the space that cahoots now occupies was known as tewligans, a live music venue. it was (and this is an understatement) an amazing place to watch a show. the floor was always dirty, the lights were always low, and the smell was always distinctly magnificent. aside from watching scores of great local bands there, i was also able to see national acts such as fugazi, nation of ulysses, and bikini kill. most shows were all ages, five dollars, and very loud. anyway, i'm not sure why i'm sharing this with you. you've probably never been there. i guess i just miss those times.

ABSTRACT & UNWOUND

more feedback and strange keyboard sounds today. tomorrow we start on vocals. but i believe we're finished with recording all the instruments. and since i'm such an extraordinarily talented singer, the vocals should most likely be finished tomorrow by around 2pm. that is unless i need to take half an hour to admire myself in the mirror.

yesterday i spent some time in the decatur cemetery. my seventh grade history teacher used to take us across the street to cave hill cemetery during class. colonel sanders is buried there. anyway, here are some names that caught my eye yesterday: okarma, ponder, strange, tuggle, crim, muscsik, zabenko, broniec, farrar, birdsong, luck.

and a headstone of interest:
in memory of
goodrich cook white, jr.
lieutenant u.s. army air corps
son of helen chappell and
goodrich c. white
born aug. 8 1918
died in combat over the baltic sea
sept. 12, 1944
"he went out on wings like an eagle
even accompanied by the music he loved to make."
“living, you made it goodlier to live.
dead, you make it easier to die."

WE RECORDED LOTS OF GUITARS AND A BASS SOLO YESTERDAY.

and we edited more. big surprise. at the moment, i've settled on ten songs to focus on for the finished product. one or two might still be added though. this coming monday i have more feedback to record before we start on the vocals. after consideration, i may keep some of the original demo vocal tracks.

also, i've decided to start work on another 'mini-release' of 4-6 songs after this current project is finished. most of the songs for this new endeavor are comprised of selections that aren't making it onto the current album for whatever reason. it's not that they're not good enough. they just don't fit alongside the other songs i've been working on lately.

BACK IN ATLANTA

i arrived back in atlanta at 3am this morning for my session at 10. driving at night really is the best option. however, when i tried to buy beer around 2 at a gas station in north georgia i was told no sir, no beer after 1am. i said it was bunk. bunk i said! silly laws. at least in kentucky i can still order a rare hamburger.

anyway, here was my day in the studio...
wake up ... drive to orphan ... turn on computer ... begin to edit ... edit ... edit ... edit ... edit ... edit ... coffee break ... edit ... edit ... edit ... edit ... edit ... coffee break ... edit ... edit ... bathroom ... edit ... bathroom ... edit ... edit ... edit ... edit ... outside screaming session ... deep sigh ... edit ... edit ... edit ... edit ... lunch ... edit ... edit ... edit ... drank a lot of water ... edit ... bathroom ... edit ... edit ... edit ... multiple ibuprofen ... deep sigh #2 ... edit ... edit ... edit ... fin.

tune in tomorrow for another exciting bulletin.

I AM NOW A RESIDENT OF LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY AGAIN.

it feels great waking up here. what an amazing city. i've visited frequently over the past ten years to see friends and family, but it's been ages since i felt a true sense of ownership to where i live. there seems to be some sort of subconscious element here reminding everyone that they are a part of something, reinforcing their reason for being, pushing them to create an outstandingly unique habitat for each other.

BACK TO WORK

we recorded drums for three new songs today. tomorrow we'll edit today's tracks as well as those from our previous drum session. but lo and behold, we are now finished with all of the drums. sweet...

last night was the first evening at my new temporary housing situation in atlanta. endless thanks to the cliftons for letting me stay in their guesthouse. although the floors are concrete and there's not much furniture (none really), it has air conditioning, a shower, and a kitchen. much more than adequate. no devil television either. and there are dogs. i like dogs. i've also brought an air mattress for lounging/sleeping. and as a first impression, avondale estates feels pretty nice. i've already found a good coffeehouse and david tells me there's a good farmer's market nearby. so now all i need is a pub of some sort.

on a completely different subject, i saw mc hammer in concert last thursday. he performed several irresistible hits such as 'pumps and a bump', 'pray', 'too legit to quit', and 'u can't touch this'. no 'have you seen her?' for me though. but it's nice to know that he's officially a master of ceremonies again.

LAST NIGHT

i attended the irongrass cd release party at the evening muse in charlotte. it was a rather bittersweet evening, but it turned out better than my last visit there when i was the victim of a three legged chair (i almost recovered two or three separate times, but eventually i fell and spilled a beer on myself. it was quite a spectacle. just ask lauren dennis).

anyway, i knew last night would be the last time i would see some people for a long time. as excited as i am about moving, there are so many individuals here that can never be replaced. i suppose they'll remain with me in my head somehow, but that's not the same, is it? i've lived in north carolina for ten years now. the first four were for school. the next four were for a band. the last two i'm still trying to figure out. but the time has come for a change, so next week i move to kentucky. and that is bittersweet indeed...

BAD AUTHORITY

at the end of this post is a link to a new song. for various reasons, i've chosen not to include it on the upcoming album, but wanted to share the demo version with you. not putting it on the album has nothing to do with me not liking it. i like this song, but it doesn't fit into the 'big picture' as well as some of the others do. the production value also isn't that great since everything was recorded at home on my computer. for the most part, i had no idea what i was doing.

but now i present you with a choice.

you can either 1) read the following - a short reflection / defense / description of the song, 2) scroll down, click the link, and skip the obiter dictum, or 3) close this window and do something else. if you want to learn before you listen, the first option may give you a bit of insight. if you want to be surprised, i suggest the second. no option is better than another. that is unless you choose the last option and go drop-kick a puppy or something. the choice is yours.

this song is called BAD AUTHORITY.

i wrote it sometime in december 2004. bush had just won the election, our band was falling apart, and i was generally pissed off and depressed. i turned on my drum machine one morning with the intention of writing something loud, dark, and aggressive. i guess i was upset. i wrote and recorded the rhythm tracks, then layered bass and guitars on top of it, then added words over the next couple days. i felt a new sense of energy after i had finished everything, but was also confused at the fact that i had never written anything like this before. this was a new direction from the songs i had created in the past, whether as part of CIF or bands from high school. but it also left me with a 'what the hell was all that about?' sort of feeling. nevertheless, it was purged from my head for whatever reason as an outlet for how i was feeling at the time about 'the state of things.' it was me or some version of me in december 2004. and that's it. as far as what the actual words mean, i'll leave that up to you to decipher. here they are. the link for the song comes right after them. and whether or not you enjoy this, thanks for reading. and listening...

BAD AUTHORITY

is the keeper of the uncarved
always searching for a blade?
has the ism that you've trusted
now become a masquerade?
do you think there's something out there
coming for you in the night?
won't you tell me, what's your pleasure sir,
out of mind or out of sight?

oh, they're watching over me!
i'm ready to betray the bad authority!

does confusion from messiahs
leave you nothing to control?
do you think there's something better
than just doing what you're told?
can't you see the soldiers marching
as you scream your favorite tune?
is there reason to believe
when all you see is sun and moon?

oh, they're watching over me!
i'm ready to betray the bad authority!

so come away with me tonight
we'll travel at the speed of light
we'll drop our faith to join the craze
our dreams are full of golden rays

oh, they're watching over me!
i'm ready to betray the bad authority!

DERBY

the derby party at glenn's on saturday was awesome. i met several nice people like the guy who does the music for "good eats with alton brown" and a couple producers for adult swim. i guess the latter was no surprise since glenn has a signed picture of space ghost in his studio.

we recorded drums on four songs this afternoon. dom showed up about halfway through and hung out for a while. we went to dinner later with my dad who happened to be in town. i ate too much. pieces of steak kept showing up on my plate. very cool artwork ideas from dom, by the way. too bad i can't show you any of it.

saturday is the yard sale back in charlotte. if you need a lamp or a small gnome statue, please drop in. i cannot wait to be liberated from my possessions. you are not what you own, it seems.

i should have a new song uploaded sometime next week. until then...

MORE DRUMS TOMORROW

hopefully we'll get through 4-5 new songs. dom is driving up from tallahassee to talk about artwork too. nothing much new here over the last few days. just more work on manufacturing and vinyl layout ideas. and i won't bore you with that again. however, i may be uploading a new song or two for you to hear soon. probably next week.

alright then. that's all for now.

YESTERDAY MORNING

we did more keyboard edits. again, not very exciting, but necessary. after lunch i recorded more pads and fx with the omnichord and then did a quick bass part for a short acoustic song. then we moved on to feedback. we ran my robelli through a fender pro deluxe and turned everything up as loud as we could. i think we got some good stuff, but i need to listen to it again. i might bring in a pedal or two for some added strangeness. anyway, overall we accomplished a ton yesterday.

last night beth and michael cooked some cinco de mayo tacos. they have been unbelievably hospitable. and they make very tasty tacos. after dinner michael showed me a place down the street where people sell crack (don't worry - i just say no to crack). then we stayed up late with some alcohol and did some 'philosophizing'. basically, we came to the conclusion that there is no conclusion.

alright then. today is derby and glenn has invited me over for a PARTY.

more insignificant banter next week....

THIS MORNING

we recorded some lap steel with my new friend bret. then we moved on to more keyboard and bass edits in the afternoon. lots of progress there. regardless, once again today i did not pick up an instrument. sessions like this are difficult. just sitting and staring at the computer screen becomes taxing very quickly. tomorrow i'm planning to have a good time recording feedback. nothing quells the boredom of editing quite like making strange loud noises with no sense of melody.

now i have to go program some ideas on my drum machine for tomorrow. then i'll try to get some sleep. haven't been doing much of that lately. at least very well.

that's all for tonight. hope everyone is doing well.

GUITARS, INSIGHT, & FRUSTRATION

this morning we recorded acoustic guitar for three songs, two with words and one instrumental. i used my larrivee, a great sounding guild on loan from glenn's wife cynthia, and a small alvarez high strung to 'nashville' tuning. after that we recorded electric guitar on three songs. we also added a few synth pads with glenn's omnichord. now that is an outstanding piece of technology! all together a productive day. also, i'm sorry about not getting the new clips uploaded. i'll try to get them up soon.

one of my classmates in high school passed away this weekend. he was a nice guy. sometimes i like to tell myself i'm not afraid of death, but those thoughts often fade quickly when i wake up in the middle of the night wondering if there's a man in my house with a large axe. maybe i just fear pain. pain sucks. or is it the unknown? no, it can't be that. i don't know. neither do you. or do you? let me know if you've figured it out. i'm going to bed.

ARTWORK

back in north carolina for the moment. i'll be driving back to atlanta soon, but figured i would come home for a couple days since i haven't been here for three weeks. i walked down to owen's bagelshop this afternoon and worked on some layout options for the artwork. dom should be coming to atlanta soon to show me some rough drafts, so i'll have a better idea of how the artwork will look after that. but if you want to be surprised with the final product, you should probably stop reading here. as far as the manufacturing is concerned, we've decided to go for an altered digipak design for a 'bound book' sort of feel. pulling this off might be difficult, but hopefully we can do it. we're smart guys. at least we like to think we are.

DINNER WITH PHIL

phil skipper is a wonderful person. aside from being a wonderful person, he also introduced me to perhaps the best veggie burger i've ever had.

i played absolutely nothing in the studio today. we edited keyboard tracks for eight hours. we captured some great sounds, but now my eyes hurt. so i figured i would embrace the feeling and type some. tomorrow i'm headed home for a few days. frankly i'm a little tired. i've been home a total of one day over the last three weeks and we're moving to kentucky in a month. lots to do with packing and such. we're also having a yard sale next weekend, so if you need a set of couches and a mint julep, feel free to stop by. alright then. i'm off to get another bad night of sleep. more clips coming soon enough. sorry for the delay.

TODAY WE WORKED ON ACOUSTIC GUITAR, BASS, AND KEYBOARDS

the acoustic tracks went fairly quickly, but i ended up having a rather difficult time finding the right bass line for this one song in 11/8. i got it eventually though. we didn't have time to edit all the keyboard tracks this afternoon, so we'll be sorting through all that tomorrow. we're approaching a stopping point on this initial round of tunes and are now thinking about what songs to attack next. i have also consumed an extraordinary amount of coffee.

MY APOLOGIES EVERYONE

i got stuck in traffic on the way to the studio again today. it appears to be a recurring theme. we worked on more drum and bass edits this afternoon, building from the ground up i suppose. next week we'll be working on acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and keyboard arrangements. then we'll take another short break i guess. these pauses between sessions have been working out nicely. in the past, the projects i've worked on have all been recorded during one long stretch. this new approach is clearly a superior method. time to reflect and all that. oh, in case anyone cares, i'll be posting some new clips this week at some point.

BACK INTO THE STUDIO THIS WEEK.

i've been listening and taking notes to what we've already done. i thought i'd have some more time at orphan this past week, but kenny rogers took my dates.

so in lieu of being able to record, i drove to destin florida for easter with the weihes. aside from the obvious joy of being in a city with only a one-letter difference from my name, i got to immerse myself for a spell in the gulf of mexico. plus this morning i finally paid my taxes. a blast as usual.

sorry. you probably don't care about any of this. who are you anyway? i wish i knew you. here i am delivering segments of my life on this machine, typing these little pieces of plastic and then posting it all on a website with my name on it. i just let out a large sigh. i’ve wondered a lot about how it would feel to keep this journal. i guess now i know. but is there value to this? am i providing insight or confusion? is this even remotely entertaining for you?

well, regardless, perhaps this will interest you for the time being. i was in sixth grade when i went to see my first show at a club in louisville that had been converted out of an old laser tag arena. the following is a site from mister Bryan V about the hardcore punk rock history of louisville. it's fantastic. i grew up listening to most of the bands on this site and wanted to share them with you just in case you wanted some information on some of my earliest and deepest musical influences.

i hope you enjoy.

FIRST DAY OF RECORDING

i woke up around 9:30 and drove to the studio north on 85 and promptly got stuck in traffic. some sort of construction i think. i arrived about 40 minutes late. awesome. by the end of the day, we had drum tracks for five songs, plus we added some loops and overdubs. it felt really great to actually collaborate with someone for a change. i've been listening to these demos for so long that it was exciting to hear some fresh perspectives. i haven't had the opportunity to discuss making music with anyone since the days of filboyd studge. so next week glenn and i will tackle bass and guitar, then we'll move on to keyboard and string arrangements i guess. i say (or type) all this, but i'm figuring this out as i go...

after we finished up for the day, i drove down south to explore atlanta and find a place to eat dinner. i stumbled upon a place called the varsity and quickly learned it was the perfect place for me at that point in time. the coke i ordered even had that special type of crushed pellet ice that makes for excellent crunching. then it was back to the home of beth hudson in brookhaven. she's a friend of my wife that has bestowed the incredibly gracious offer of a spare room. there is a post office, grocery, coffeehouse, package store, sushi restaurant, drug store, and pizza parlor within a mile of here. so i got that going for me, which is nice...

i'm listening to jonathan downing right now as i type. he's a friend of my pal dom guarnaschelli. i met jonathan a few weeks ago in tallahassee when i was in town to discuss the artwork for the album with dom. we played bocce on the lawn for a while and then ate steaks and such by a bonfire behind dom's apartment building. good times. another ensemble i've been enjoying lately is reading. last year they released an album with one of the finest design concepts of all time on debauchery records, a louisville label with several other solid artists including my good friend john whitaker.

by the way, the urban ministry center opens its new building this sunday, a very important occasion for the homeless population of charlotte. estimates are that about 5000 individuals go without shelter each night in charlotte, so the center provides free counseling, showers, laundry, phones, transportation, health care, and lunch everyday except sunday. lawrence cann and i are working on having on open mic night there soon. lawrence is the art director. once a year he organizes an art auction comprised solely of works by the homeless. and he also coaches the center's soccer team and traveled with them to the homeless world cup in edinburgh last year. please consider for a moment how amazing that is. if anyone has any instruments or materials they could donate to the center to assist with the open mic, please contact them through their website above.

so it turns out i haven't really included much here about recording. sorry. i guess it's only been one day. just stick with me everyone. now that everything is underway, i'll be posting more often.