Well it has been a while since our last recording session. Scheduling Brent to come in and record is always a bit of a challenge seeing that he has a day job, a wife, a two year old girl and a five month old baby boy (plus all his other extra curriculars in life - he is a busy guy!). I don't want to take him away from him family life too much, since I know my sister really loves her quality time with her husband and I understand the importance of him being home with his babies. So we had to reschedule a few times, but last night we finally got in the studio for a good couple of hours.
It was definitely a productive evening by the end of it, but it started out a little rougher than our first few sessions. We ended up changing the key of one of the songs because it felt like it should sit higher in my vocal range. We also decided that this song shouldn't be recorded with a metronome/click track because we want it to be more emotionally driven. The song is one I wrote about my journey through life with scoliosis - curvature of the spine. It's about the surgery I eventually had and what the scar that I have now represents to me. I haven't sung this song in particular in a while, so getting back into it last night was again - emotional! Who knew recording a record could be so draining. For the first 3/4 of my life, scoliosis was my biggest hurdle. I was going to the doctor every three months, I was wearing a back brace for seven years, and then I had to have surgery and miss months of school during my graduating year. It was rough but what I feel is a powerful song has come from all of it. The song is going to be one of the simpler songs on the record with just vocals, piano and cello. I want people to feel a certain vulnerability. I want everyone who has a scar(s), or who has had a major surgery or health issue in their life to be able to relate to it and to be empowered.
Over the process of the last few sessions, I have been thinking about all the people before me who have recorded albums. From my fellow local indie artists making honest pure music and being involved in every step of the project, to the mass produced pop artists that rely on other people to write their songs, other people to make the major decisions on who plays on the record, to how the song is arranged, to what harmonies are used, etc. How different making a record would be if I wasn't so emotionally invested in each song I've written. If I wasn't having my family playing the instruments, if I wasn't trusting my friend Randor to engineer it the way I want it. Many moons ago when I started singing, and had initial notions of wanting someone to "discover" me and pay for me to make a record and get it sold in major markets... I had no idea what I was wishing for. Thank heavens for this slow, challenging, emotional and gratifying process.
So after we finished two more piano and guitar tracks I laid down some very rough scratch vocals. Recording vocals and singing live are so far removed from one another it blows my mind. I know that in order to get the quality of vocal I want, I'm going to have to work so incredibly hard. Don't get me wrong I am ready for it, at least I think I am *cue the blog three months down the road where I'm whining about it*. Haha..
Anyways, no pictures this time. If you need a visual, I had a cookie exchange at work yesterday so there was beer, baked goods & the three of us doing our best to make some good music. Jered starts laying down some drums next session so I will keep you posted how that goes.
xo
