Weszt

Yes, I actually have blistered my fingers trying to perfect the guitars for the new recording.

I tell you what, this whole DIY, lo-fi, do-or-die recording experience is a roller coaster. Exciting one minute, depressing the next. But all in all, the tracks just keep getting better.

This week has been almost entirely recording bass and guitar. Then recording them again. And yet again.

Performance is everything.

It’s entirely possible that I can copy and paste what I need but that’s crap. That’s sterile and the music will sound that way. I’m already relying on the computer for my drum sounds (nothing programmed, just the sounds) but that musician is tight. There’s no wiggle room with that guy, you’ve got to hit your marks every day time.

When I started this whole process, I’d never really played bass. Took me a while to get any measure of skill and there’s no guarantee I’ll be considered a real bass player when I finish. However it’ll be tight and I’m already proud of the work.

“Great Escape” is likely to be the opening track and I’m more or less working on songs in order of release… so hopefully I give my fingers a short break from tracking soon. Hard to type with all my fingers aching!

If you happened to catch it, I posted a rough demo of “Great Escape” a week or two ago. I also promptly pulled it.

I knew when I posted the demo that there were problems in the bridge. I thought I could live with them for a little while. I thought wrong. Besides I think posting rough demos of the new music was a cheap ploy to find a little encouragement and I need to concentrate and stay true to my vision. Thanks to those who “liked” it.

So I’ve started final production. “Final”, mind you, is a loose term for how I’m doing things because I don’t intend to record a whole bunch of songs and then release them as a collection. I’ll wrap up one or two, launch under the new name, and release more tracks as I finish them. I hope to have a full collection done by December, the first as early as September.

That being said, September is just a few weeks away and I nearly blistered a finger or two trying to nail the bass part on the bridge of “Great Escape” tonight. Two hours and just couldn’t get in the pocket.

I’ll rant and rave more soon.

Last week wasn’t very good for writing. Non-music life overwhelmed me and I was a bit too fried to really focus. However time away can sometimes be good and in that time I made the decision to choose 4-5 songs and push for an EP.

Of maybe I’ll release a full length.

I’m not sure.

I wish I could be more clear, but I’m too in love. These songs are nearly all I’ve got musically at the moment and I’m clinging to them in desperation. Sad and beautiful – like the music I try to write.

Time in the desert is both helping and hurting. I miss the stage, but change still needs to be made. I miss home, but this is my home now and California is where I’d rather be. Few friends here, but Kelley, Zoe, Rupert, and I are making the most of it.

So maybe it’ll be an EP, maybe it won’t.

Maybe I’ll let you pick from the stack.

I guess we’ll know before September since that’s the drop-dead date, but September is coming fast.

Here’s a lyrical taste of “Love Song in Hell” – a verse and chorus – to get my tendency to overshare out of the way:

Soul
windows of the soul
something getting in between
learning the less I see
even less sees me
soul
and parts untold
always something up the sleeve
ignorance is anyone
ignorance is everyone

Despite the world we might
become the first to write
a love song in hell
Pull off the perfect lie
the song of you and I
a love song in hell

Writing for the new release began “officially” in late February. That’s about the time I got a bass and what I needed to start a small home recording studio. No kidding, I was only working my the new software a few hours before I’d written something called “I”. Being able to write and record all the parts and to move around all those parts and the general arrangement on a whim has been very liberating. I should have been writing like this years ago.

Being where I am, mentally and literally, I don’t have much choice but to do all the parts myself. Consider this my musical-walk-through-the-desert-period. I’ve got a few things to figure out.

One thing I did figure out is that I don’t want to write just anything for this new style. In fact, I have a list:

• As little acoustic guitar as possible
• Less epic-ness
• Infectious grooves
• Clever, unexpected ideas
• Low key vocals
• Less Don’t-I-Just-Suck kind of lyrics

Not using 12-string guitar, not pushing my vocals to the edge, and focusing on topics other than how much I’ve screwed up in life would by themselves likely steer the music to something new sounding, at least for me. If the reactions to the Joyrider rough demo are any indication, it’s a good direction.

In retrospect, things had to change for me to keep my musical marriage going strong. I’d hit walls I couldn’t tear down. Though many of us adored “Weszt”, the past was brighter than the future. I’d stopped writing and without me writing, what else could happen? But I’ve ranted about all this before, haven’t I?

My goal is to finish by September, but I’m not sure how realistic that is. I’ve got 9 contenders, but that’s not near enough. I’d like 25+ songs, but considering that I’m not going to press CDs and will be going straight to web, I really don’t have to release much to begin with. Maybe release an EP which can grow to a full collection later? There’s also a chance I might connect a bit with Tony M. for a special release. Much left to decide.

My favorites currently are “Love Song in Hell”, “Did He Really?”, and “Getting Over”. Next week might be different. I kind of hope so. Writing now is saving my sanity as much as it ever has and I’m really starting to get stir crazy. Anything different is good.

Recording this week, focusing on scratch tracks and studio setup. Things are off to a good start. Acoustic guitar sounds gorgeous and bass is coming together after a bit of work. Not too shabby for a few hours of work out of a spare bedroom. Encouraged. This is a new direction, not meant to be Weszt by any means, something different. Danceable, less burden on the vocals. Plenty of time to experiment, so I guess we’ll all find out where this goes.

I’ve got plenty of songs, though I intend to write a lot more as the album shapes up. Might not wait until I’ve got a full albums worth to release since I’ll likely just got straight to digital out the door.

That’s it for now.