It's out!

Well the album is out and I am glad to have the production part of that behind me.  I enjoyed the making of a video teaser to post on Youtube for the album release.  I think it came out good enough.  iMovie is enough for this level of production.

    I hope somebody gets to listen to the new song releases and get a smile from it.  Now, I am moving on.

    I started production on the next album, "The Instrumentals".  This is a collection of recordings from the early years as I was learning to play and create.  I think that there are some really interesting musical ideas there and even a few really decent recordings, but for the most part these are rough recordings of structured improvisations on themes that I had been working with.  These are "caught" pieces.  A few of the pieces are multi track.  Early on I couldn't play the complex guitar lines at once, so I broke them up into parts.  Some have percussion tracks as well, but it's all me, my playing.

    

"The Instrumental"
Out this March, for the Spring Equinox!

 Set to be released on Saturday, "Garden of Love", is finally complete.  I actually did a little teaser video on Youtube to announce it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvc8NX2l1tM

It feels pretty good to have this done, finally.  It's been in the works for about 4 years now.

I am pretty happy about the finished product.  As is appropriate for the BSMS, the production values are DIY and LoFi, and stripped bare.  I still am inspired by the recordings of John Cragie, his solo live shows, Blazer Foley, what little there is available of him caught in the act, and all the solo acoustic performances from various artists that catch the essence of the songs, usually just a single instrument and a vocalist singing a song that he or she wrote.  It is the most intimate and honest a singer songwriter can be experienced, in my humble opinion.  Anyway, it's the way I judge artists work, to each their own.

Before I had finished this release, which was just moments ago, I decided that I would publish another album, or EP, at the Spring equinox.  It will be all intrumentals, just guitar.  I want to publish the early pieces I composed, pieces that though often simple, still had character and identity.  Some of them I have lost, as in, I didn't notate them and I don't remember how to play them.  I think I will try and relearn them as a gesture to the release of them.  

    I think that they are interesting because they were mostly not in standard tuning.  Because of this I found it easier to compose with out the limitations of knowing anything about basic chords shapes and structures from standard tuning.  Most of the songs are in DADGAD tuning but at least one is in some alternative tuning.

    I didn't have any information on chord structure in DADGAD so I just played what sounded good to me.  The result was some of my favorite instrumental pieces.  The recordings I have are not perfect, or more accurately are full of flaws, but they were all caught in the moment, mostly during structured improve sessions to one microphone.

    I suppose some might be reluctant to publish something like this but I think the musical ideas that can be found in those pieces are really solid, and who knows, somebody who can really play might be able to do something worthwhile with those ideas.

    I already have the album art, a photo I took a while back, and that is just what I needed to set the spark.  I also have a playlist that I will start editing down til I pick the final album track list.

Happy Valentines' Day, enjoy "Garden of Love", weeds and all.

Peace

 Love Songs?

"Garden of Love"
new album this February 2023

It's February and I think I will put out an album.

    I intend to publish "Garden of Love" at the end of this next week, just in time for Valentine's Day. (wah, wah, wah).  Yes it is a collection of "love songs" but not really the romantic kind and definitely not all the feel good kind.  Love, in my experience, to my understanding, doesn't always feel good, and love stories don't all have happy endings, or endings at all, some can go on and on, unhappily.

    Not all love stories are romantic.  There's familial love, amie (the love of or for a friend), and love of life.  I'd say that most of my songs are about love of life, but on this album there are some of all kinds.

    Some of these songs have been kicking around for five years or so.  I have been intending to put out this collection for years.  Thinking about this being Valentines day season I thought it a good excuse to commit and get 'ere done.

    The album will have nine songs on it, about a half hours worth of music.   As is the way of the 'Boat Shop', the focus will be on the songs, lo fi, intimate.

    I have two more album projects that are yet to get organized and published and I hope that finally getting this one out will inspire me to finish up and release these others.

Peace