An odd but warm night at the Excelsior. Arrived so early that I took the chance to go outside and practice and by the time I got back inside I became number 15 in an open mike night. Got to hear two songs from each songwriter and some were really very good and well worth the 200 km round trip although I cant do it too often. Quite late before I played the two latest songs I’ve written and which went fine if not relaxed.
Talking to John about the process of writing, which he does often by just picking a subject and going with it. Contrasted mine which is very much ‘as the spirit moves’....generally an average of a few a year. John made the comment that I’d have to wait for cataclysmic events in my life in order for this to work. It’s true ...perhaps it’s more a case of lots of repeating patterns which sort of get chewed, digested and sat upon until some sense gets regurgitated. As I’m a bit slow and have occasional eating habits, it can take a decade or two for events and their reverberations to sink in....and then, perhaps a song. It makes me incredibly grateful to the muse when she does pass by.
This was good preparation for today when I recorded both songs as voice and guitar. Did this at John Stuart’s Sound Heaven studio - very relaxed and professional. As I write this, I’m listening to both songs which I’ve never really done as I don’t own a recorder. The whole process took less than an hour and a half for the two songs...a combination of limited resources - and a few lucky breaks with memory. They’ll both go into the 2BLU FM Music Awards Competition and are useful to demonstrate quite where my playing is right now.
I've put them on the music page as ‘Let’s get it right’ and ‘Been away so long’...saucepanbach accoustic. For some arcane reason they're quiet compared to the band recorded songs but they're there. If you can spare the time, have a listen and let me know what you think.