And with it comes my fourth year of participation in February Album Writing Month. I’m not going in this year with any particular ideas or concepts in my head, but one thing that I would really like to do is address one of my weaknesses, and write more one-take style songs on guitar that I might potentially perform.

So where are we after Day 3? Nothing solo written yet, except for one little snippet of…something…that picked the inopportune time of 3:00am last night to come knocking. I fought with it for a while and tried to commit it to memory but it wouldn’t leave me alone so I scribbled it down on an envelope before rolling back over and getting back to sleep.

On the collaboration front, things have been happening quickly with Mal and I writing something right off the bat at 12:01am, February 1st, over a beat of G Slade’s. “It’s All About the Dishes” (listen here) now has 54 comments over on the FAWM site and we’re quite flabbergasted. It’s easily smashed our previous comment records. And for those wondering we get along very well domestically and actually enjoy doing dishes together.

Here’s why I’m blogging now – because I need to blow off some steam. Today absolutely slaughtered me vocally, and by extension physically. I spent most of the day recording vocals for two more collabs. If they were regular-fare collabs, I probably would have been able to get through each in an hour or two, though yes, I know, FAWM is supposed to be about writing songs, not recording them.

The first was with a new FAWMer by the name of Psy-T, who had sent a really, really gorgeous ambient track for me to put vocals over. I’ve never done worked with a track quite like it before before. I decided to let it speak for itself, for the most part, so the lyrics I wrote yesterday were really sparse, but emotionally packed and I agnonized over every word because there were so few of them. Nothing would do but razor vocals, in other words, vocals that sound as though the singer is on the edge of insanity and completely falling apart. Vocals that are really, really hard on my vocal cords, and on my body as well, because to get the tension into my voice I tend to tense up my body an end up drowning in whatever I’m singing. Vocal teachers, you’re probably cringing, huh? What was most amazing to me was that I actually got them done in the space of two hours and sent them off to Psy-T to mix. I am so, so eager for everyone to hear this one.

After that I came downstairs and tried to get some work done (getting just one report done – awful) and started getting a feel for the second collab of the day, a rap/hip-hop track with the aforementioned G Slade. Working with G is normally a breeze and he’s more than happy to let me do whatever the heck I want to his tracks. Except…we want to use this track to raise money for Haiti relief, I really wanted to give him exactly what he envisioned vocally. Which was basically “soulful-diva-like-you’re-in-a-church-praisin’-Jesus.” Did I mention that I’ve never sung hip-hop before? I decided that all of that meant that I should sing from the belly, which I did, and sent him some test tracks which didn’t quite cut it. Four hours, more instructions (“okay, forget about singing like you’re black and just pretend you’re singing along at a rock concert”), and G singing on a webcam later, we were both happy with a take (and excited about the song) and I could go sleep. Except that instead of sleeping I’m writing this blog.

And…as tired and as beat up as I am, all I can say about today is that I am actually thankful for the challenge, and grateful to both collaborators for pushing me out of my comfort zone. And happy that I can feel competent out of that zone and work hard until I’ve got something I’m proud of. And I am definitely proud of these songs.

And now I’m going to sleep, hoping the finished tracks will greet me in the morning.

Goodnight!

Edit: The collaboration with Psy-T, “Genesis”, is now uploaded to the FAWM 2010 page. You can check out G’s Haiti Relief song (and buy it too) here!

Comments (1) Feb 04 2010

The lyrics and about half the melody of this one were written on the evening of February 29 in the space of about 45 minutes, as I frantically fought to get to the magic 14 in February. Because of the time constraints, I was freer than usual with the lyrics, so I was really surprised that it needed very little tweaking when I came back to it this weekend. Maybe because I had a break from it, writing the rest of it was really easy, it pretty much told me where it wanted to go and I just followed. In a strange twist, building the harmony was the hardest aspect of writing it.

Catch and Release is the last song I wrote for February Album Writing Month, and I meant it as a FAWM tribute, echoing the sentiment that I felt throughout the process. I’m already envisioning recording it on a grand piano with a decent flute player. Enjoy!

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Catch and Release

Come as you are

Bring what you will
Say what you need to say

Sharpen your pencils
Tune your guitar

Say what you need to say


Take a breath and fill your circles
Cut the strings and send them to the sky
When gravity carries their weight back down

Hands will reach up and help them fly

Whether they’re clear bubbles
or heavy dark balloons

They will never touch the ground 


Some may burn,

Some laugh themselves free

Say what you need to say

You are a wave

Of our musical sea

Say what you need to say

Take a breath and fill your circles
Cut the strings and send them to the sky
When gravity carries their weight back down

Hands will reach up help them fly

Whether they’re clear bubbles
or heavy dark balloons

They will never touch the ground

Take a breath and fill your circles
Cut the strings and send them to the sky
When gravity carries their weight back down

Hands will reach up help them fly

Whether they’re clear bubbles
or heavy dark balloons

They will never touch the ground

Comments (3) Mar 16 2008

Welcome to the strangest song I’ve ever written! The idea behind this one was to only use the words made during one game of scrabble. This game, right here:

Little did I know that it was going to result in the most convoluted board ever, with the weirdest words. While I was trying to fix words (wishing for an L to change “Anima” into “Animal”), my friend Greg was busy laying down words like “Zinky” (an adjective of zinc) and “Lase” (the verb form of Laser). I swear he did it on purpose!

In the end, I’m actually glad I didn’t get the L, because Anima was the basis for this concoction. It means the female part of the male. So what I’m trying to do is to show both the male (battle) and the female (nurturing), and then sort of combine the dual/duel into seeking “Qi” or lifeforce (pronounced “Chi”). Of course, it makes entirely no sense, and there had to be a lot of chanting to get rid of the non-word-words. I also took the liberty of using homonyms (hi-high) and words that sort of sounded like other words (fa is used as far for example). And for some reason I really like random battle sequences in the middle of songs.

Pretty much all of the harmonies and melodies were improvised on the spot, and some of the lyric groupings were too. Some of the lines sound distorted because Garageband was being really stupid with tempo changes, but I think that just adds to the weirdness. Definitely a challenge, and one I’d love to do again with a different board! With thanks to Greg Dillane for the scrabble game!

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Anima

ZA RE SO LA DOT HAO ABA!
ZA RE YO ER LO REM ET GOS ZA!

Anima
Crave ripe neon dew

Anima
Naw epic zinky jute

Cry Om! Cry Om!
Crave Qi!
Cry Om! Cry Om!
Crave Qi!

[Hit Lo! Hit Lo!
Hit Hi!
Lase Lase Lase!
Inn Bin!
Ex Ex Ex! Ex it! Ex it!]

Anima
Epic dual, epic dual

Anima
Epic fame, epic fame

Tell Quite, Cry Lot
So, Hug
Un-hit, un-cry
Good Hug

Anima
Birdies dared, birdies net

Anima
Visit runt, bow in awe

Cry Om!
Cry Om!
Crave Qi!

ZA RE SO LA DOT HAO ABA! (Arise, go fa)
ZA RE YO ER LO REM ET GOS ZA! (Arise, go fa)

Comments (6) Mar 09 2008

March feels so good! For those who are wondering, I actually did manage to write 14 songs during the month of February, becoming one of 280 winners of February Album Writing Month! After managing just six last year, this is a huge accomplishment. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me and gave me random input and inspiration over the month!

I’m really excited at where things go from here, and there are some great collaborations on the horizon. First up though is finishing some of the demos I didn’t have time to do during FAWM, after a bit of a break of course.

Song #9 is called Earth Eyes, it was the fifth song I wrote last month. It’s based on a Native American proverb (the first two lines of the chorus) that I heard several years ago and that stuck with me. Writing and recording this one happened very quickly because I was feeling a bit of a time crunch by that point, having posted just 4 songs.

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Earth Eyes

If I had magic scissors
I tell you what I’d do
I’d climb up the tallest ladder

And cut a sliver of sky for you

If I had a magic jar
I tell you what I’d do
I’d hike up the highest peak
And capture some air you

We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors
We borrow it from our children
And I want you to play outside

If I had a bit of land
I tell you what I’d do
I’d feed a baby panda bear
And keep him well for you

We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors
We borrow it from our children
And I want you to see through different eyes

If I had a secret place
I tell you what I’d do
I’d take a seed from an apple tree
And store it safe for you

We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors
We borrow it from our children
And I want you to love the trees

Comments (8) Mar 03 2008

Today’s song is a little different than anything I’ve posted so far, and it’s also a first for me. It’s my first foreign language song. It truly belongs in French, and it couldn’t exist any other way.

It began musically, while I was mucking about with Week Two’s Modal Challenge (a mode means that you’re using an array of notes that basically using an array of notes that doesn’t fit the traditional major or minor scales). As it turns out, it’s not completely modal, nevertheless out of all the songs I’ve written, it’s probably the closest to my heart and one that I can listen to over and over. I hope it communicates to you.

With thanks to Alina for correcting the lyrics and coaching me on pronunciation, here is Sur Le Vent. The gist, in English, is at the bottom of the page.

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Sur Le Vent

J’ai connu un homme
Quand j’étais au loin
Avec un seul baiser
On s’est en volé
On s’est enlacés
pour nous soutenir
dans le ciel

Mais un vent très fort
Il est arrivé
Il a donné chase
aux nuages brisés
et il m’a lâchée
Et je suis tombée
du ciel

si j’avais dit les mots d’amour
peut-être serais-je encore dans ses bras
peut-être

J’ai fait escale
J’ai trouvée ma voix
Je l’ai appellé
les joues mouillés
Il n’a rien ecouté
Parce qu’il est monté
sur le vent

si j’avais dit les mots d’amour
peut-être serais-je encore dans ses bras
peut-être

si j’avais dit les mots d’amour
peut-être m’aurait-il laissée tomber plus tôt
peut-être

English Translation:

I met a man when I was far away and with a single kiss we rose, entwined to keep ourselves steady in the sky. A strong wind came and I fell, crying for him, but he heard nothing; he was riding the wind.

If only I had told him my true feelings, perhaps I would still be in his arms.

If only I had told him my true feelings, perhaps he might have dropped me sooner.

Comments (11) Feb 25 2008

This week’s song is a collaboration between myself and a friend, D.J. Sylvis, whose weekly writing project, Monkey, Monster, or Spaceman inspired me to do something similar with music.

A few days ago, he was lamenting the fact that he had no ideas for the upcoming week, which his readers had voted was going to be a monster week. I remembered a dare that our mutual friend Chagall had posted on the FAWM boards, challenging someone to write a song based on these ridiculous monsters. I suggested it to Deej, who incidentally happens to be a DnD geek, and he sent me the lyrics the next day.

The Beastmaster’s Cry (A Familiar Refrain) features the heroic vocal stylings of Errol Elumir, also featured in Snow Day. The epic battle sequence comes with vocal help from Judy Chung (+ the Matrix?), Susan Sergeant, and Alina (my mom), with additional editing by Chris Johnson. See if you can pick each of us out! Thanks go to my dad for letting me borrow his flute so I could attempt to revive my mad skills.

D.J.’s original lyrics can be found here, and if you stop by, you can also vote on what he will write about next week!

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Comments (5) Feb 18 2008

The inspiration for this one is definitely a strange flukes. I was getting ready to leave work on Monday night and talking to one of the regulars who had had a particularly tough day, with one eye toward the strange February rain falling down onto the snow. As he was leaving he said “I’m going to take a shower and wash away the day.” I’m always on the prowl for cool words and phrases, especially this month, so instantly I replied with “wow! That’s beautiful! Umm…could I use that?”

As strange as it sounds to listen to your own song, this one’s been getting some play lately as I tackle some darker subjects. Over at FAWM, this was the third song I posted, and although I really enjoy it lyrically (it affirms my new view that it’s better to keep something short than to force lyrics), I was surprised at how many people said it was their favourite of what I’ve posted there so far.

Song #6 is called Lullaby for the Bruised, and it’s an Acapella piece. For those who’re interested, there are 7 different vocal tracks. You’ll have lots of luck picking them out if you listen in stereo. I hope all of you enjoy this one as much as I do!

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Lullaby for the Bruised

(Drip, drip…)
Listen to the rain
Spilling from the skies
Mist upon the grass
Helping life arise

And rain will wash away the day

Feel the brush of tears
Slipping from your eyes
Salt upon your lips
In their kiss goodbye

And tears will wash away the day
And tears will wash away the day

Comments (13) Feb 11 2008