More photos are up at my Flickr.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
The waiting game
Hi, guys!
I am expecting to have a draft demo mix back from my engineer this week, and I'll be going back in for another mixing session soon before we finish it all up.
I've been concentrating on resting and getting myself back to 100%. No writing has been done in a while, I think that'll start back up this weekend after all the birthday festivities.
Keep checking in.
--K
I am expecting to have a draft demo mix back from my engineer this week, and I'll be going back in for another mixing session soon before we finish it all up.
I've been concentrating on resting and getting myself back to 100%. No writing has been done in a while, I think that'll start back up this weekend after all the birthday festivities.
Keep checking in.
--K
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Holiday exhaustion
I always feel far more tired after a holiday than I did before it.
I am glad to be back in town with a net connection and a piano, but boy do I miss sleeping til noon, relaxing at night with a wine; not having a million things to do.
Music update to come before the weekend hopefully.. I am due back in the studio soon.
I am glad to be back in town with a net connection and a piano, but boy do I miss sleeping til noon, relaxing at night with a wine; not having a million things to do.
Music update to come before the weekend hopefully.. I am due back in the studio soon.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
So close
Last night we hit the studio at 6, and started in on the mixing. Chris and I redid a few vocals. One of the vocals on the first chorus in Hiding was driving me crazy sounding like it was off-key, so I redid it. It's not perfect, but I don't know if I'm going to get it as perfect as my ear demands. I am hoping no one hears it as sharp and turns the CD off.
Chris' BVs sound great. I'm going to get him a shirt that says "Backing Vocals Superstar".
We started mixing a few of the tracks, tidying things up. TK says he'll have a draft mix CD (with errors still on it, just for tightening/notes) with me at some point tomorrow so that I can listen to it over the weekend at Taupo. I might put it on the iPod with my laptop. I am definitely taking the laptop up there. DVDs in bed, baby!
We listened to Break Your Heart in full and I am so so happy with it. I really don't think I could have recorded it any better - my vocals are raw and honest and hopefully they will induce some emotion. I want people to feel something.
The others sound great with the BVs and vocal overdubs we added last night. Tonight I am going to pack for Taupo and I'll leave after work tomorrow, not getting back til Tuesday afternoon.
Have a good weekend, everyone. I will post more news soon.
Chris' BVs sound great. I'm going to get him a shirt that says "Backing Vocals Superstar".
We started mixing a few of the tracks, tidying things up. TK says he'll have a draft mix CD (with errors still on it, just for tightening/notes) with me at some point tomorrow so that I can listen to it over the weekend at Taupo. I might put it on the iPod with my laptop. I am definitely taking the laptop up there. DVDs in bed, baby!
We listened to Break Your Heart in full and I am so so happy with it. I really don't think I could have recorded it any better - my vocals are raw and honest and hopefully they will induce some emotion. I want people to feel something.
The others sound great with the BVs and vocal overdubs we added last night. Tonight I am going to pack for Taupo and I'll leave after work tomorrow, not getting back til Tuesday afternoon.
Have a good weekend, everyone. I will post more news soon.
Monday, April 10, 2006
EP session photos
Click the picture to go through to my Flickr, and scroll through the photos in the set.
Mixing session tonight. Looking forward!
Mixing session tonight. Looking forward!
Are we real musicians now?
Months of planning and thinking and writing and rehearsing all came to a point on Saturday. I woke up at 9.15 feeling tired and sluggish but my throat felt good and my nose was clear. These are two very good signs. I'd had a blocked nose the night before for a little while, and that is never a good thing!
I was due to pick up the boys all just after 10am, but it was 10.05 before I got out of the house, and we arrived at the studio around 11.05.
After some introductions and settling in, we completed the first setup: a fully-mic'ed grand piano and a very very fancy german microphone for my voice. The piano had such a rich, warm sound and I felt like I just couldn't play a wrong note on it. And amazingly, I barely did. I guess I kinda knew the songs, after all.
Break Your Heart was recorded fairly fast with me playing and singing simultaneously, and sounded very rich and clear through the speakers. I'll have to hear it through the cans (headphones) again to completely check it with my over-critical ears, but I think it's good. We were done at 12.30.
We started to set up the room for the band recordings, moving the piano into the other corner and setting up partitions for the bass and guitar. When the drummer Reuben arrived, he was full of energy and enthusiasm and was just such a nice, genuine guy. We set him up in a separate room and closed the door on him, communicating only through the mics and cans.
Jeeves was filming the entire time, and during the drums setup, TK told him to take the camera off him or they were going to "group bash" him. A hilarious moment, and he was totally kidding (but Jeeves turned it off anyway!)
We played through Hiding, and in the chorus, Reuben started playing along with just the best sound. Tons of kick/bass drum and a hell of a lot of energy. Then in the bridge I asked him to mix it up, and he played a military-style riff on the snare, which was so good it made my hair stand on end. It also made the silence so much cooler having the drums involved and he ended the track with some heavy tom which kicked butt. I was so proud of the song and so crazy about how it was sounding. The drums really pulled it all together.
Moving on to Find the Light, I told him that it was a very standard pop song with a bit of cheese, so I'd love him to try and play it a little differently, a little less cliche. He came out with some great ideas, particularly after I told him to change it up a little bit in places - he obliged me with some kick-ass beats.
Both tracks made me want to drum along in the air. If they can produce the same effect on other people, then that's awesome. So I'll have to wait and see.
We packed him up and I walked him down to the cash machine to get his payment. On the way he told me how much he liked the tracks, and was excited about getting his copy. This was awesome, as your friends can tell you how much they like your songs until they're blue in the face, but a complete stranger? who has heard the songs and played them a few hours? very, very neat. Very gratifying.
He also agreed to play at the party if he was free and I bought him beers.
We set up to play Bright, which I played and sang along to, like the first track. Now we had all the basic guides down, we each went in one by one to overdub our parts. TK changed up the guitar and bass styles, and definitely improved the songs with his choices. While Nick was finishing up his parts, Jeeves and I went down to Satay Kingdom and ordered some takeaway dishes for dinner. When we went back up, Nick finished and we settled in the lounge room to have dinner.
Then I went in and overdubbed my piano parts, including an addition on Hiding over the bridge that I am very happy with. Then we were ready for vocals! By this point we were all wilting a little bit, but I was still energised and ready to go. We laid down the vocals for Hiding and Find the Light, including the backing vocals. During the playback for Hiding I bounced and danced around in the vocal booth, almost moshing. I had so much excitement for how it was coming together. :) The vocals on Hiding were full of energy, which I was happy with. My excitement must have been coming through.
The only things left to do are:
- Small addition of backing vocals on the end of Bright, which we forgot to do on Saturday.
- Chris wants to redo some of his BVs as well, so we'll get all those done.
- Mixing.
- Adding a crackle sound effect to start? Only if TK has it and thinks it's a good idea.
So we're going in tonight at 8 to get onto these tasks. I am excited about hearing the songs again, and especially with fresh ears after 2 days. Hopefully I won't pick up too many problems that need fixing, but I am happy to pay more to redo things and be anal. I held back when I recorded my demo 5 years ago, and there are many things I would have changed.
Chris also has a great, enthusiastic account of it here. His photos should be up soon, and they are much better than my few!
I spent yesterday in my pajamas, the majority of it in bed watching DVDs or TV. It was the ultimate lazy day. My legs ached like hell, and still do (calves mainly), I think from pumping the piano pedals and moving around so much all day.
I also stayed up way too late last night playing the CSI game and then with thinking. It was almost as if I was trying to squeeze more into my Sunday after my Saturday went so fast, but I wasn't thinking about it. I was asleep sometime after 1.30. Thank God it's a short week!
I was due to pick up the boys all just after 10am, but it was 10.05 before I got out of the house, and we arrived at the studio around 11.05.
After some introductions and settling in, we completed the first setup: a fully-mic'ed grand piano and a very very fancy german microphone for my voice. The piano had such a rich, warm sound and I felt like I just couldn't play a wrong note on it. And amazingly, I barely did. I guess I kinda knew the songs, after all.
Break Your Heart was recorded fairly fast with me playing and singing simultaneously, and sounded very rich and clear through the speakers. I'll have to hear it through the cans (headphones) again to completely check it with my over-critical ears, but I think it's good. We were done at 12.30.
We started to set up the room for the band recordings, moving the piano into the other corner and setting up partitions for the bass and guitar. When the drummer Reuben arrived, he was full of energy and enthusiasm and was just such a nice, genuine guy. We set him up in a separate room and closed the door on him, communicating only through the mics and cans.
Jeeves was filming the entire time, and during the drums setup, TK told him to take the camera off him or they were going to "group bash" him. A hilarious moment, and he was totally kidding (but Jeeves turned it off anyway!)
We played through Hiding, and in the chorus, Reuben started playing along with just the best sound. Tons of kick/bass drum and a hell of a lot of energy. Then in the bridge I asked him to mix it up, and he played a military-style riff on the snare, which was so good it made my hair stand on end. It also made the silence so much cooler having the drums involved and he ended the track with some heavy tom which kicked butt. I was so proud of the song and so crazy about how it was sounding. The drums really pulled it all together.
Moving on to Find the Light, I told him that it was a very standard pop song with a bit of cheese, so I'd love him to try and play it a little differently, a little less cliche. He came out with some great ideas, particularly after I told him to change it up a little bit in places - he obliged me with some kick-ass beats.
Both tracks made me want to drum along in the air. If they can produce the same effect on other people, then that's awesome. So I'll have to wait and see.
We packed him up and I walked him down to the cash machine to get his payment. On the way he told me how much he liked the tracks, and was excited about getting his copy. This was awesome, as your friends can tell you how much they like your songs until they're blue in the face, but a complete stranger? who has heard the songs and played them a few hours? very, very neat. Very gratifying.
He also agreed to play at the party if he was free and I bought him beers.
We set up to play Bright, which I played and sang along to, like the first track. Now we had all the basic guides down, we each went in one by one to overdub our parts. TK changed up the guitar and bass styles, and definitely improved the songs with his choices. While Nick was finishing up his parts, Jeeves and I went down to Satay Kingdom and ordered some takeaway dishes for dinner. When we went back up, Nick finished and we settled in the lounge room to have dinner.
Then I went in and overdubbed my piano parts, including an addition on Hiding over the bridge that I am very happy with. Then we were ready for vocals! By this point we were all wilting a little bit, but I was still energised and ready to go. We laid down the vocals for Hiding and Find the Light, including the backing vocals. During the playback for Hiding I bounced and danced around in the vocal booth, almost moshing. I had so much excitement for how it was coming together. :) The vocals on Hiding were full of energy, which I was happy with. My excitement must have been coming through.
The only things left to do are:
- Small addition of backing vocals on the end of Bright, which we forgot to do on Saturday.
- Chris wants to redo some of his BVs as well, so we'll get all those done.
- Mixing.
- Adding a crackle sound effect to start? Only if TK has it and thinks it's a good idea.
So we're going in tonight at 8 to get onto these tasks. I am excited about hearing the songs again, and especially with fresh ears after 2 days. Hopefully I won't pick up too many problems that need fixing, but I am happy to pay more to redo things and be anal. I held back when I recorded my demo 5 years ago, and there are many things I would have changed.
Chris also has a great, enthusiastic account of it here. His photos should be up soon, and they are much better than my few!
I spent yesterday in my pajamas, the majority of it in bed watching DVDs or TV. It was the ultimate lazy day. My legs ached like hell, and still do (calves mainly), I think from pumping the piano pedals and moving around so much all day.
I also stayed up way too late last night playing the CSI game and then with thinking. It was almost as if I was trying to squeeze more into my Sunday after my Saturday went so fast, but I wasn't thinking about it. I was asleep sometime after 1.30. Thank God it's a short week!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
A fantastic day.
Well it's all over and I have a lot to report. Unfortunately, my hands/wrists are a bit achey from a lot of percussive piano work yesterday, so I'll have to leave the typing til tomorrow.
Just know that it exceeded my high expectations and was a very special day. Some amazing stuff came out of the hard work we put into the 12 hours.
It will be maybe 2-3 weeks before the EP is available, due to the studio's new gear arriving in a few weeks or so and TK's schedule. I'll post more details soon. We start mixing tomorrow night.
Party details to be announced.
Just know that it exceeded my high expectations and was a very special day. Some amazing stuff came out of the hard work we put into the 12 hours.
It will be maybe 2-3 weeks before the EP is available, due to the studio's new gear arriving in a few weeks or so and TK's schedule. I'll post more details soon. We start mixing tomorrow night.
Party details to be announced.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Last words
I don't know if it's because I've played them so much, or because they're catchy, but my own tunes are forever in my head. Usually backing vocals or one line of a track over and over.
It's probably more the former than the latter, but it makes me feel good about them if I'm humming them most of the day.
Tonight is our final band rehearsal. I have finished writing and tweaking and changing, and tonight it all has to come together. I am going to try and have a relaxing evening tomorrow night, though that may not be possible. I may need a bath and some lavender oil to calm me enough to sleep.
So keep your fingers crossed for tonight and for Saturday, and I'll post a full update on Sunday sometime.
Thanks again for your support.
xx
It's probably more the former than the latter, but it makes me feel good about them if I'm humming them most of the day.
Tonight is our final band rehearsal. I have finished writing and tweaking and changing, and tonight it all has to come together. I am going to try and have a relaxing evening tomorrow night, though that may not be possible. I may need a bath and some lavender oil to calm me enough to sleep.
So keep your fingers crossed for tonight and for Saturday, and I'll post a full update on Sunday sometime.
Thanks again for your support.
xx
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Creative expression
Thursday night I was burned out. I'd spent so much time inside my own head that I just couldn't stand it anymore. I put down the music, put away the MD, left my pencil on the piano.
I took a break.
Sure, it hasn't stopped my brain from whirring or me from stressing. I'm a natural worrier: I put so much pressure on myself sometimes.
Yesterday I spent the day watching Scrubs DVDs and painting. I watched the 2004 Helter Skelter film with Dad, had a nice dinner, went back to bed and watched some more. I finished my painting. I put clothes away. I didn't touch the piano.
We're in the final week. It's crunch time. I will be working every night this week. Let's hope my head doesn't explode. I'll post an update later in the week about the final two rehearsals I have, and then another post on the recording day itself.
I've wanted this so badly, but now I want it to be over. Think of me, folks, and send your well wishes to me until the weekend. I will be a mellow hippie by Sunday.
I took a break.
Sure, it hasn't stopped my brain from whirring or me from stressing. I'm a natural worrier: I put so much pressure on myself sometimes.
Yesterday I spent the day watching Scrubs DVDs and painting. I watched the 2004 Helter Skelter film with Dad, had a nice dinner, went back to bed and watched some more. I finished my painting. I put clothes away. I didn't touch the piano.
We're in the final week. It's crunch time. I will be working every night this week. Let's hope my head doesn't explode. I'll post an update later in the week about the final two rehearsals I have, and then another post on the recording day itself.
I've wanted this so badly, but now I want it to be over. Think of me, folks, and send your well wishes to me until the weekend. I will be a mellow hippie by Sunday.
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