LCD: Day 10

Refrain is done. Tomorrow the solo.

Amidst Gray Skies

The leaves fell off the trees again.

And where was I?

Introverting. Lending perspectives to extroverts.

I hope it comes across.

LCD: Day 8

Slow start this week. I grow tired of recording really fast. But it's amazing what a day away from Acid does for clarity the following day.

Day 7 I finished Verse 3, today I'm plugging away on the refrain. So far the drums have been laid. Next up: vocals, some guitar recording and guitar looping, and maybe some tambourine added in for good measure.

The original plan had "LCD" finished on Sunday. I don't think that will happen.

Week 1 Recap

Recap of Week 1 of the ".01" session:

"LCD". I have the first two verses, a little solo, and half of verse 3 recorded and effected (I keep wanting to say "affected", is that right in this context?). I had hoped to be past the refrain and main solo by today, but I was sidetracked by copying files over to different music editing programs Wednesday through Friday. I figured (after the fact) that it was a waste of time, so I'll just be working with ACID from now on, transferring files over to Sonar after everything is set in stone. That will take two days' worth of work, but it beats having to share the recording load between two programs. That was stressful.

I think week 2 will be a little easier.

LCD: Day 6

Short little recording jaunt planned for tonight. Vocals.

BOTH programs (Acid and Sonar) are coming up short. Usually I would've given up at this point. Yet I'm still feeling positive.

It's a sign!

Or it's the caffeine . . . my "happy drug".

LCD: Day 5

Already in the red, meaning I'm behind, or desperately trying to balance the edge.

I've had to convert to another program. ACID to Sonar, using both as I record. It's frustrating and doesn't make the process that much fun. I'm still trying to work out the bugs. Will I meet my "finish" date? It's doubtful. But still possible. At least I'm working on it.

LCD: Day 2

Met my goal for the day, but my computer can't take the amount of effects I'm currently implementing -- well, Acid Pro can't. I don't know why I use that program. Old habits. Will have to figure out a way to switch the tracks successfully over to Sonar, Schuyler's pride and joy.

Still in the black.

LCD: Day 1

The session has started. It should be nonstop until New Years.

Revisions

Preliminary revisions -- outlines, lyrics, tabs and sound designs. Whatever happens before actual recording is the focus for this weekend. There will be more of a spotlight on a Karmath song, "LCD", as I've found that the recording process for this one has been a little more easy going and fun. Mainly this is due to a guitar track based on acoustic guitars turned into a distorted blend. This makes it so that I don't have to go through more hassles with electric tones and amateur nuances. Acoustic tinkering makes for a fuller sound, a more organic oomph. The end result sounds vastly different than the raw recording, but I haven't found too many instances where the "raw" sound is the end sound in Patch, unless "Raw" is more of a descriptive idea pertaining to the sound design. Then, "LCD" is raw in every sense of the metaphorical implications -- at least that's what I wanted for the sound. Here the term on my notes was "Western Sludge".

Thinking on it, I have a big feeling I won't be able to create different soundscapes for each of the songs I'm planning to record. They will have a certain sound (the "recorded in a small bedroom yet trying not to sound like it" sound), and for all intents and purposes, these demos will sound different than the recordings I make for the actual releases (as they should). This is a Patch session, and it will span two and a half months worth of recording. It will be the first glimpse into future projects and storylines. Surface skimming. I haven't made my mind up on what to record first once I get the band in place, but when that time comes, each record will have its own distinct aura and feel. At least I hope. I cherish that quality in artists' catalogues -- you can totally differentiate albums and EP's from one another, and not in a chronological way (80's recording sounds vs. 90's and 2000's, for example). It's all in sound design and visual frameworks. For instance, I SOURCE/HUE is a black/white dichotomy, SOUND. OF. STATIC. is a yellowish urban tint, CELLULOID CLOUD is an orangish urban tint, KARMATH is geometric and basic in design, but blueish in tone.

Too many ideas . . . it's time to start working on the surface palette.

Goal Sprinting

And thus begins the race to meet my 2008 New Years Resolution: Have a Patch demo disc in hand. It need only be in its most primitive stage, non-mastered and pre-"producer mixdown", and sans artwork. Just five songs in their early stages, ready for Schuyler to work his magic on. Five songs spanning the four projects I've written in 2008. It should amount to about a half hour in length.

Two months left. One song is done, four more to go.