that’s when i decided that this next release was going to be different. i wasn’t going to leave anything on the table with this one. that meant spending massive amounts of time writing. this record will have seven songs on it, that is from a pool of 16 songs i wrote just for this release. i also decided that recording this at home wasn’t going to cut it either. yeah i can record stuff that is good enough for a demo, but since day one of this project i heard it in my head and i knew right up front that i could not get that on my own. so, in february of this year i entered dirty water sound and started recording this. it hasn’t been easy. it’s been filled with poorly executed drums, 3 different passes of guitar parts for almost every song, re-did bass parts, not to mention the anxiety involved with making sure that each time a guitar part is re-tracked for re-amping that everything is in tune, and fits within the song and dealing with the absolute vulnerability of letting other people into this intensely personal creative experience.

so, finally after spending a few hours this past sunday evening in the studio re-amping some re-did guitar parts i started to feel more comfortable with things and started having that “light at the end of the tunnel and it may not be a train” sort of feeling. so i think just one more session, to re-amp one more song and then we go through the list of bugs with the mix and well, that’s pretty much it.

a year spent on this project. i’ve been asking myself all along if any of the time and effort will be worth it. but ultimately i don’t think that question needs to be answered or if it’s even a valid question. the issue is that it will be a project i will have finished. and i’ll know that i gave it everything i had.

so, for all 4 of the readers out there, you are probably aware the record is finally getting to a point where it can be considered done. i’ll be heading back into the studio to do some minor re-tracking of a few elements and then sitting with the mixing engineer to iron out the rest of the mix over the next couple weeks.

this kickstarter project is to help get the vinyl version of this record released. it is really very expensive to get vinyl pressed, especially do it the right way (packaging, heavy vinyl etc.) i fully understand how ambitious this project is, and seeing as though sky flying by is, well, you can’t even consider it unknown or unheard of, it simply just doesn’t exist on 99.99999% of the music listening public (and i’m counting those that actually listen to this kind of music.)

but hell, i know it’s impossible, but i’m trying anyway.

there were, however issues. two songs need to have drums re-done. the performance just wasn’t there. i don’t want to have any regrets with this record, so i really want to re-do them for these two songs. there is also a song where i wanted to, and completed a few days ago, re-tracked the guitar parts. basically the things that need changing are specific guitar effects, like delays, reverbs, things of that nature. i spent some time in putting together demos of the specifics i found.

man this is a lot of work. the question of will all of this be worth it is still very much in the air.

anyway, i digress, the mastering will be done by new alliance east (they did the caspian records) and i’m really quite thrilled that they’ll be helping me out with this project (and also nervous.)

i’ve started working on the cd packaging (it’ll be simple) and a new web site is also being developed, and will hopefully be launched when the record is released.

the vinyl for this record will come out. figuring out how to finance it. been kicking around the idea of using kickstarter, and there are some other options which are too premature to discuss right now, but needless to say it’ll get worked out.

lastly, will be releasing the bonus track “nothing has divided” as a free download just prior to the record being released.

once i get all that done, i have to finish putting together the seventh song, which actually is an all-electronic song[1]. i think i’ve got most of it figured out, but i haven’t touched it in a few weeks. the problem is that i’ve been trying to work on this record while the semester is in full swing (grad school) and balancing that with a very busy, very high profile day job.

i grossly underestimated the effort this record was going to take. absolutely underestimated, like by a factor of 10.

meh, just the way it is.

[1] i’ve decided long ago that every release will have one all electronic song.

but now i have full demos, complete with overdubs and even ambient elements as well. i even have a (very simple) piano part for the last song, which is pretty cool because the studio has an absolutely beautiful instrument that i have no business playing, but it should sound interesting.

well, i have to say, looking at this next record, it’ll definitely be my most significant effort to date. if anything comes of it is really just an after thought i think. it still bothers me that i can’t “support” it properly but the point has always been to just make this music, record it and just put it out there. the work of doing so is its own reward.

yes, each of the songs i will be recording are completed, i just need to be prepared so that i can make the best use and maximize the time. i’m not sure if i’ll be able to get all of the tracking done in those two days, and if not, that’s ok, just have to schedule more time, on another weekend. i don’t expect that at the end of sunday the 21st i’m going to have all six songs “in the bag” but hopefully i’ll have enough so that i can start mixing a few of the songs. heh yeah i’m also not convinced i’m the one to do that particular job either. lets face it, i’m not very good at that.

i’ll keep the blog updated as this project unfolds.

i’ve got to get it tracked then because grad school is going to be kicking into full steam shortly after that (the semester starts in a couple weeks and the first few weeks are always highly manageable) and i need to get things rolling by then.

so that means i need to get everything tracked (drums, guitar, and what little bass guitar there is) in february, and then depending on what my work and school load is like, work on mixing it in march.

because i haven’t done a darn thing to promote sfb or shop for any potential labels, this release will most likely be self-released. yeah, and i’ll struggle endlessly about it not feeling legitimate… and start feeling like a total hack, again. but doing nothing would make me even more crazy. so the idea is, make less crazy.

so that’s that. an update. as i get firm dates set for tracking, i’ll drop another update here.