progress

As I write this, Jered (husband & drummer) and my friend Peter (guitarist) are in the studio with my engineer Randor working away on two of my songs, Drifting & This Scar for my album. It has been a while since I blogged about my recording process. That's mostly because there wasn't much to blog about, it's definitely been a little popcorn process, a bit of recording popping up here and there. BUT I am excited to report that we've booked a solid week at the end of February where Jered & Brent are going to take off work (we'll be paying Brent what he usually gets paid at work) to get all the last bits & pieces HOPEFULLY finished.
I even have a lovely dobro player in Nashville working away today on two of my songs, Too Easy & Prairie Belle (the title track of the record). So although at one point it felt like my record would never be finished, I may ACTUALLY be seeing a slight flicker of the light at the end of the tunnel.

It would be really fantastic for this album to come out by the spring (and my 28th birthday). I have been nominated for a 2011 Edmonton Music Award (the first ever!) for "Artist to Watch in 2011". I want to earn that nomination and perhaps that award by actually having something to show this year and release this record!!!

Along with progress on the record,  I have been very inspired lately and have been writing and concocting songs in my head. I always feel so productive when I'm in the midst of a creative process. That is the tricky nature of the beast though, because once the song is finished then I have this weird feeling of being stumped. To have a continuous creative flow would be such a blessing... alas, work & life sometimes get in the way!

Anyways I just had to write and burn off this little excited steam I have today because I can't wait for things to be finished. Wait for it though folks, I'm sure once the album is done I'll be whining and crying for the days when we were in the midst of the project. What can I say, I'm hard to please!

Thanks for reading. xo

grey area

another new song... on a bit of a songwriting roll & it feels good. not saying these songs are masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination, but they're creative flow and that's what's exciting.

grey area

verse
i'm afraid of falling into a grey area
i'm alone for so much of my very own hysteria

prechorus
what if i can't find my way
what if i can't find my way out

verse two
i'm too small, to take in the wonder of it all around me
i'm unsure, of everything from what we were to how we should be

prechorus
what if i can't find my way
what if i can't find my way out

chorus
it can't always be so black or white
what about the pieces in between
the parts i don't know
intimidate me so
i'm not too sure what to believe

what about the grey area
i'm in a grey area

bridge
i'm overwhelmed
i'm in too deep
i'm waiting for the world to crumble from beneath my feet

i'm too far gone
i'm far too weak
i'm waiting for the world to crumble from beneath my feet
i'm waiting for the world to crumble from beneath me

prechorus
what if i can't find my way
what if i can't find my way out

chorus
it can't always be so black or white
what about the pieces in between
the parts i don't know
that intimidate me so
i'm not too sure what to believe

what about the grey area
i'm in a grey area

new song

So as usual there have been chunks of time where we have recording sessions scheduled & work being done on the album, and then there are chunks of time where nothing is being done. We have two sessions scheduled for the next week and I'm hoping to get the guitar tracks done soon! In the meantime I've been fairly productive with writing new songs. Here is one.

chameleon

verse
do you know who you are
do you know who you want to be
sometimes you go a little too far
try a little too hard
bend a little too easy

pre chorus
so stop looking for yourself
in the pieces of everybody else

chorus
you know this ain't no competition
why can't you celebrate what makes you different
you're always changing in & out of your skin
it's almost as if, you're a chameleon

verse two
what's the use holding back
what's the use, hiding at all
when you're so much more than that
between the cracks
so much potential

prechorus
so stop comparing yourself
to the timelines of everybody else

chorus
you know this ain't no competition
why can't you celebrate what makes you different
you're always changing in & out of your skin
it's almost as if, you're a chameleon

bridge
where do you end, where do you begin
it's hard to tell, when you're so busy blending in

chorus
you know this ain't no competition
why can't you celebrate what makes you different
you're always changing in & out of your skin
it's almost as if, you're a chameleon

renewed!

So yesterday my guitar player for this album I've been trying to make, went into the studio for the first time. Unfortunately the scheduled time that worked best was during the day time and I had to be at my day job, but I did get Jered to sit in on the session & I got to sneak away from work for an hour or so to listen & give my wee input.

They were working on my song "Clearer Day" which is a song about picking yourself up when you're feeling completely low, brushing yourself off & telling yourself you're going to be alright, and praying for a better time, a "clearer day" to come. As far as guitar goes I'll fully admit I don't really hear specific ideas for this song. I know Jered, Brent and Randor would have more direction to give Peter (the lovely & amazing guitar player that has agreed to help us out on this record). Peter had some really fantastic ideas, and contributed so many beautiful sounds that really take this song to a whole new level. After months of no work being done on my album, I am fully renewed and excited to see how these songs that have basic structure right now, will develop and grow.

Since I have never recorded any full band songs before I'm so curious for how the concept of the full album will come together. What genre will it be? What will people hear as my influences? How will people feel when they're listening to my songs? It's funny when you're in the studio & you hear this little song you wrote, just you, sitting at your ancient pre-WWII Homer piano, coming alive and becoming WAY bigger than you had ever conceptualized. What a beautiful thing. What a thrilling & slightly scary thing. I have hoped & prayed for this album for so long... can people who are not involved in creating music, but involved in listening to it, ever competely comprehend what an emotional process making an album can be??? My heart longs for this record. To sing the final vocals & harmonies.. to hear it mixed & mastered, to see in a pretty little package. Maybe it's just me, maybe because I've been waiting to make this record for so bloody long, I've become slightly obsessed. But I feel like I'm not only getting to better know myself & my music through this process, but beginning to understand the common bond I will have with other people who have recorded their material and put it out there for people to grasp onto.

Like I said, I am fully renewed by hope, by excitement and by love for this album that is slowly making it's way.

I had a vision...

verse
I had a vision of you
Letting go of the brokenness
Letting go of the bitterness

And I had a vision of you
Giving into forgiveness
Giving into the truth

chorus
So open up your spirit
You don't need to be so afraid of it
So open up your soul
There's so much to let go
There's so much you don't know

verse two
I had a vision of you
Falling to your knees
Crying out for me

And I had a vision of you
Admitting defeat
Finally admitting you believe

chorus
So open up your spirit
You don't need to be so afraid of it
So open up your soul
There's so much to let go
There's so much you don't know

bridge
When I finally begin to see
The light there in your eyes
I'll know I waited faithfully
All this time

chorus
So open up your spirit
You don't need to be so afraid of it
So open up your soul
There's so much you don't know
There's so much to let go

outro
I had a vision of you
Letting go of the bitterness
Letting go of the brokenness

And I had a vision of you
Giving into forgiveness
Giving into the truth

inspired

These days I have been feeling a plethora (love that word) of overwhelming emotions. I've never really been one to over analyze and compare myself to others, but I have to admit I have been catching myself comparing what I am doing with my life, my music and such to what other people are doing and what they're accomplishing. Why am I doing that? STOP IT. There, hopefully I listen.

As far as the record goes, Jered was in the studio a week ago and put down some amazing drum tracks. It completely renewed my excitement and hope for this project. I have a new timeline in mind for when I want the album done (since my last timeline was completely a joke, and laughed itself all the way into May) but I don't really want to put it out there until closer to, so I don't get my hopes up and then not make it. I have been taking in a LOT of live music lately, and it warms my heart. I have been hosting some live music nights at Axis Cafe, and with the Prairie Belles Podcast that Daneel and I have been doing on a weekly basis, I hear about SO MANY fantastic artists playing I can't stay away. Last week I saw Meaghan Smith (a lovely girl from Halifax, Nova Scotia) at the Haven Social Club, and again I was at the Haven last night for Manuela Wuthrich's cd release show.
There were two opening acts, one of which was a girl from Toronto called Jadea Kelly. She has such a beautiful unique voice. She inspired me.

I'm going to try and take the overwhelming emotions and thoughts and dreams I've been dealing with and write about them. I haven't been nearly as diligent about writing as I should be these days. I can't wait to get back down to business.

On another note, I have a show with the lovely Erica Viegas (http://www.ericaviegas.com/) on June 5th @ Axis Cafe. I'm going to sing me a Meaghan Smith cover since I loved her show so much!

Sort of a random scatter brained blog, but there it is folks. Happy May Long. xo

productivity...

Like I mentioned in my last blog, I haven't been writing as much as usual these days. Well, in the last week that has really started to change! Thank heavens! This weekend I went down to Calgary for a night to cowrite with Ashley Rae (country singer/songwriter) and Joni Delaurier (singer/songwriter - winner of a SOCAN songwriter of the year award in fact!!).

Ashley & I wrote two songs together Friday night & Ashley, Joni & I wrote one song together Saturday afternoon. Two weekends ago I got together with my lovely friend Erica Viegas (Edmonton singer/songwriter) and wrote a song with her! So that's four songs in less than 2 weeks, and my heart feels freer than it has in a while.

One of the songs Ashley & I wrote...

Head Above Water
*I got the idea for this song while having a bath and floating with my head barely above the water, just enough so I could breathe.

verse
I'm finding it too hard to breathe
The day to day is overwhelming me
I keep wandering in too deep
And now I'm out of reach

chorus
The tide keeps pulling me in and I'm
Treading water again
My life keeps pushing me under
I'm just trying to keep my head above water
I'm just trying to keep my head above water

verse
I'm caught in your undertow
You won't let me, let you go
I'm drowning in what we used to be
Your waves are always breaking me

chorus
The tide keeps pulling me in and I'm
Treading water again
Your love keeps pushing me under
I'm just trying to keep my head above water
I'm just trying to keep my head above water

bridge
and the sweetest relief
will be the sand beneath my feet

chorus
The tide keeps pulling me in and I'm
Treading water again
My life keeps pushing me under
I'm just trying to keep my head above water
I'm just trying to keep my head above water
 
Copyright 2010 Ashley Rae & Lisa Nicole Grace.