Fixin' To Be Fixin'

Canvas

"As soon as you externalize an idea you see facets of it that weren’t clear when it was just floating around in your head." - Brian Eno


I am getting ready to get ready to record. I am almost ready to get ready. In the country vernacular, I am fixin' to be fixin'. 
I know that what I'm doing is going to be demo-grade, but the pieces are going to be put in place. Order, tempo, time, progression, general gist are all things I want to get together now as I sketch out this piece of audio sculpture. I know the challenges I will have. When I start laying down the tracks, I will be making it harder and harder to change the build. If you lay your foundation properly, you shouldn't have to knock down to many bricks to modify the wall.

"The more time you spend on an old idea, the more energy you invest in it, the more solid it becomes, and the more it will exclude new ideas." - Brian Eno

I guess that's the trade-off for anything of permanence. Once it's out there, there it is. 

On one hand you strive for perfection. 

• No mistakes. 
• No botched notes. 
• No bad timing.
• No distractions from the message.

On the other, you strive for imperfection.

• Does it sound human?
• Does it have an organic appeal?
• Does it hold artistic energy?

You can see that one side demands, and the other inquires.

"As a maker you tend to put in twice as much as you need as a listener. It’s a symptom of contemporary production. Old records don’t have that problem." - Brian Eno

In my mind, I have some slow developing music that I want to help paint the picture. What good is a portrait without the appropriate background and props? The prog-rockers learned that long ago. So did the movie soundtrack composers.

Also, how many times have I said to a fellow musician:

• Less is more
• Play for the song
• Play for the story

So with all this musing within me, I am getting ready to get ready. Stay tuned. 

And... Thanks Brian.

Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream 

For the last ten years or so I have been kicking around the premise of a Christian-based concept album based on a story that came to me in a dream.

I remember the whole thing playing out in my mind, and when I woke up around 3 a.m., I got up, grabbed a pen and paper and started scribbling down the story. It made a lot of sense then, and as I revisit the late-night scratchings, it still makes sense.

• It has intertwining plots
• It has heroes
• It has a villain
• It has a tumultuous event
• It has redemption
• It has a great ending

It sits in two places. It sits in a black and white composition book stuffed in with the other paper "art" that exists in the microcosm of my studio. It also sits in my mind, another microcosm of sorts.

I am feeling very creative towards this concept (not an opera, rock opera, or musical per se). I am working on the first song which is a re-hash of another song I wrote in the 90's. It's coming out well. I think that this will be my next recording project.

Nuf Sed
BK

Hello World

I know, I know, the title is a bit trite, hackneyed, cliche, blah blah blah.

If you know me, I rarely stand on the stump (or crap-pile) of  social media and spout, spew or sputter my opinions, let alone what is really on my mind. I'm just not that kind of guy, or I wasn't, or maybe it's just that I don't think I can effectively communicate much by recycling someone else's twisted meme.

It ain't me.

I am the kind of person who thrives on positivism, and in the social media world I am branded as a "liker." You can tell who I follow by who I "like." Hearts, thumbs, smileys, they are my footprints into the lives of those with which I am intrigued.

I am a pray-er.

I will stop and pray when someone requests it. It may only be a one liner, but I can tell you, God favors the intentions of the heart. I believe it's one of my callings.

I am a creator.

My world largely exists between the asymmetrical cartilaged tools attached to the sides of my head. Orchestras dive and dip, timpani bellow and guitars scream in there. Love is spoken, hate is substantiated, and whatever touches the human heart gets identified and turned into prose. It's a loud meat-grinder sometimes in that fool head.

Here I am.

I am taking the first step to tell you, oh Ethereal Vacuum (VAC-you-um) who I is, what I be like. Let's hope I can get to the next page.

Peace,

Bob