When My Life Is Done

Stoked once again to announce the release of my new video for the first single from my second album, SO WIRED, When My Life Is Done.

I shot this in VideoSongs format - a technique popularized (and maybe started) by indie heroes Pomplamoose, and more specifically, the male half of that group, Jack Conte. If you haven't checked out Jack's solo work and Pomplamoose's catalog, do so immediately! I blogged about him in my 5 New Albums That Blow Me Away list.

VideoSongs are a way of documenting the recording of a song - sharing an otherwise personal, intense experience with others. It was fun to do, but I have to say that my calling seems to clearly be on the musical, rather than visual, side of things.

Gracias to Canyon Russell for helping me out with the camera.

Of course, YouTube Likes and Comments always appreciated! Subscribe here. Have at it.

What Else Is Politics Good For?

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.