Weekend Recording Sessions

Grayson and I had two recording sessions this weekend.  We laid down acoustic guitar tracks to three songs and laid down "scratch" vocals for those three songs.  We also used the weekend to brainstorm the song selection for the EP and the general direction of the album.  We also used our time to discuss vocal/instrumental arrangements for the songs on the EP.

I have ten songs that are pretty much ready to go.  Some of them need a little bit of work and there is one that I am currently re-writing.  We have settled on five songs for the EP.  Here is the track list for the EP:

1.  California Sunset
2.  Live in Now and Today
3.  I'll See You
4.  Love as a Desert
5.  Come Tomorrow

I am not 100% sure of the order, but this will work for now.  I might consider putting up some of the lyrics to these songs, but I haven't decided on that yet.

After deciding which songs we wanted to focus on, Grayson and I began working on the actual sound of the songs.  Currently the album has an overall mellow vibe, similar in style to Jack Johnson and early Coldplay material.  The first two tracks fit this description.  However, I cannot escape my rock n' roll roots and it comes across in the third track from the EP.  "I'll See You" is a song about the "working man" living in an impossible economic depression and its sound is heavily influenced by Bruce Springsteen and the Foo Fighters.  "Love as a Desert" is a slow, bluesy tune that is very nearly a ballad.  I wrote this song about two weeks ago and I feel that it will bring a nice contrast to the album. 

"Come Tomorrow" is an interesting song.  Out of all of the songs that I have written in the past year, this is the one that I have spent the most time on.  It has been through several re-writes, but this song has been a labor of love.  This song is about a journey and about taking hold of the future.  It starts soft, but builds into a fully orchestrated rock tune until finally coming back down again for the end.  I really wanted this song to showcase my love for music of the 60's (especially the Beatles).

I hope that has given you guys an idea of what is to come.  Initially, I wanted to put a deadline on the release of the EP.  I would love for it to be out in early October, but I have decided to detach myself from a specific date.  The EP will be done when it is done.  I really want to put some time and effort into it, so that it is worthwhile.

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support.  I hope to have some solid scratch recordings available (either on Facebook, Myspace, or another website) in the near future.

I am really looking forward to this and I hope that you are too.  Please stay tuned for more updates.

God Bless