Influence

So interesting is this place I've arrived at in my artistic evolution - my first two albums were, in some way, cathartic exercises in which I got out my recording fantasies... Got my Queen on... the Beatles were always there... the bigness of Josh Fix or Jellyfish... the quirkiness of XTC or the Beach Boys... blah blah.

But the thing I never really got to, maybe for a few reasons, was the midwestern brand of mid-tempo rock ala the Jayhawks (ca. Sound of Lies), the Band (ca. The Band), the BoDeans (ca. Go Slow Down), Neil Young (ca. Comes a Time), Black Crowes (ca. Southern Harmony), Stones (ca. Exile), Dylan (ca. Desire), I could go on, that, as a songwriter and guitarist, I seem to be best at. Maybe it's in my veins.

So that all came to a head in the past few months, since finishing the tracking and mixing of SO WIRED. In writing its follow-up, which I'm smack-dab in the middle of recording right now, all those meaty Wisconsin and Minnesota influences came pouring out of me. It feels amazing. It feels like I'm settling into my prime - into figuring out exactly who I am as a songwriter.

The new recordings are more stripped down instrumentally - like they're done before I even get to thinking about layering them. In the past, I would've found ways to layer and layer, especially because the studio is my break - my escape for a half hour - with the kids, limited time to work, etc., I almost always don't have enough time to get deep into a vocal or whatever, so I would just add another guitar, etc.

More on this soon. I do want to note that I'll be recording for posterity on this blog the music I'm currently digging, in the form (usually) of an embedded video.