So I messed this blog up good. I tried installing a 3rd wordpress platform on the same server and managed to replace some important files and everything stopped working so well.

…and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men (and women) couldn’t put this blog back together again.

…and then I couldn’t get to sleep last night at 230am…

…and then I woke up this morning at 545am…

…and after a quick breakfast at the neighbourhood’s best greasy spoon, I realized my folly, replaced some letters with an underscore, and voilà: this house is once again a home.

In other news, Jon Chandler writes great songs, Kris Ward is sharing his new record with you, I haven’t heard enough from Trevor James, and can’t stop listening to the new Patrick Watson record.

My record is available, June 28th.

It’s done. The record is off to press and should be ready mid-June. Still figuring out release details.

In the mean time, please check out the brilliant photographers who provided some really great artwork, which will be included with the record, and which I think really takes the experience to another level:

(in no particular order)
Pawel Dwulit
Blair Gable
Chris Warunki
Jamie Kronick

Thanks for the great work.

In the mean time, how does this thing work…

The record is finally done. Whence it returns from mastering early next week, all that will be left is to send it off with some imagery files to a magical warehouse in the mountains where it will spend many intense days and nights duplicating itself, dressing in fancy packaging, and being shrink-wrapped, for your pleasure.

There are a couple pieces of that puzzle still left to be sorted out, oriented, and put in place. And that brings us to my latest idea.

There are 5 songs on this record:

Hope
Hiding the Stars
Canyon & Skye
By Southwest
Altitude in Motion

Each of them loves their place in this universe and are happily anticipating exciting the cells of your vestibular membranes; however, we’ve agreed that it would be wonderful to pair a photo with each, to be included in the album artwork.

Since I am no photographer, but feel like I know a fair deal of talented camera-wielders, I’m putting it out there. If you’re interested in collaborating, please get in touch.

I like this more than approaching just one person for a number of reasons, but the bottom line is community. The more the merrier. Let us express.

I’ll admit, this didn’t really go as planned. The blog, I mean.

Last Sunday I began a recording session that has since consumed my life in its entirety, every moment of every day, for the last 10 days. I had originally intended to post photos, journals, even video of things as they went down; writing, producing, engineering and performing on your own record however, doesn’t leave much time for contemplative reflection it seems, let alone uploading pictures or video or any blah.

So here I sit, day 10. Collectively I’ve spent over 160 hours in this environment, setting up, mic’ing, checking, tracking live off the floor with some great players, tearing down, tracking strings!, guitars, editing, editing, editing and finally mixing. It’s been a really great experience so far and the songs are sounding awesome.

It’s been interesting doing a record without vocals. There’s such a space … for drums! … and other things of course It’s been an experiment in building grooves, creating atmospheres and manifesting some bonkers visions in music. I think it’s turned out quite right.

Tomorrow, engineer extraordinaire Brandon Cherrington and I will be doing some final revisions and printing the finished tracks to be sent for mastering in New York, at Sterling.

It’s been great having a hand in every aspect of this project, except playing most of the instruments I guess, which I wouldn’t dare do… I’m excited to hear the finished master and get this thing off to press. Which brings me to the next point…

Names. I’ve never really been one for band names. Or at least that’s to say, I’ve got some in mind, but they don’t seem to be jiving with the locals… maybe I’ll just go with what came first.*

That’s all for now. Gotta get back to mixing. In the mean time, anyone out there interested in putting some creative video to music?

M

Today I’m heading into a studio in Vancouver to record my first record. I’ve played on a dozen in the past, but never before have I been the composer, producer and drummer. It’s been three months since I decided to jump in with both feet and commit to this project; every day since I’ve spent a little or a lot of time writing, demoing, practicing, finding the right musicians, finding the right studio, the right engineer, mastering studio, etc.

Finally, it’s time to set up a bunch of expensive microphones and make some noise in a room entirely unlike the imagined environment this record intends to create for those listening.

DCM Studios is a great little facility hiding away in the Deep Cove neighbourhood, just outside of Vancouver. Though it hasn’t aged quite long enough to develop the sort of character that you might find at some of the country’s great studios, like the Warehouse, and the Factory out west, or my favourite Sound of One Hand in Ontario, DCM Studios has all the right gear, conditioning and experience to create an organic, technologic, warm and tight production.

The schedule for the coming week is pretty intense. Starting today, Sunday, with a 4 hour setup and soundcheck, we’ll then dive into six straight days of 12-hour sessions: Two days of tracking, two days of editing and two days of mixing.
If all goes according to plan, next Monday we’ll send the mix off to be mastered by a good friend in Miami and with that in transit, I’ll take a couple days to finalize the album artwork and prepare everything for manufacturing.

I’ll be posting as many pictures, videos and blogs as I can over the course of the sessions. Anyone interested can check it out and comment at will

In the mean time, if you’ve any fingers free, now would be the time to cross them.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Album of the Month is now Album of the Week

Waiting, waiting, waiting and still it’s not time for next month’s album.

ii. There are just too many good albums coming out every month to constrain this space to just one addition every 30 days.

c) I’m looking to procrastinate so it’s time to add a new album.

.·. Behold, April 27th’s album of the week:

Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
Amazon.com | iTunes

Full of great arrangements and nifty production.
Strings, marimba, great drummer, wild west slide guitar, whip snaps, pots and pans… This guy knows how to write a song.

You may recognize Watson’s voice from the Cinematic Orchestra song (from their album Ma Fleur), called That Home, which was used first at the climax of the season premiere of Greys Anatomy, last year, and then subsequently on a million other evening dramas… Also a great tune and amazing record.

Wooden Arms is definitely a quirky, however beautiful album. Needs either headphones or a quiet space for listening though. Nickelback could take a lesson in subtlety from this piece of work.

If you’re excited for Where the Wild Things Are, coming to theaters October 16th, Watson’s (presumably) written a track for the movie, which appears on this record.

Check it out!

Dear Mr.President,

Patriotic retirement:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force; pay them $1 million apiece severance with stipulations:

1) They leave their jobs. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.

2) They buy NEW American cars. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.

3) They either buy a house or pay off their mortgage- Housing Crisis fixed.

All this and it’s still cheaper than the “bailout”.”

This is not my thoughts… but interesting, hey?

Kanye has lost his edge
He’s lost his edge
Kanye has lost his edge
He’s lost his edge

Kanye has lost his edge
He’s lost his edge
Kanye has lost his edge
He’s lost his edge

Kanye has lost his edge
He’s lost his edge.

The room is still

A heart beats
Lungs inflate
Hair stands up
Pupils dilate

The room is still

Lights flash
Sounds clash
A sweet symphony for the numb

The room beats

The heart is still

What exactly is intelligence? It seems there is no agreed upon definition of what it means to be intelligent. In this the concept shares much with another notoriously intangible one, that of love.

The French philosopher Michel Onfray alludes to this problem in his maxim: “There is no such thing as love, there are only the proofs of love.”

Many scientists consider that the concept of intelligence exists meaningfully only in its concrete expression, such as that supposedly measured by IQ tests. Others are not so sure. As with love, attempts to reduce intelligence to a particular explanation or set of criteria have failed time and time again. In fact, there’s good chance that the inverse of Onfray’s famous dictum is nearer to the mark:

there is no such thing as proofs of intelligence, only intelligence.

[Paraphrased from Daniel Tammet’s Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind]

Wow. Sirius Satellite Radio: Listen to what you want, when you want, wherever you are.

Over 130 channels, including 100% Commercial-Free Music from every genre, plus Sports, News, Talk and Comedy — all with crystal-clear, coast-to-coast coverage, all in one place and all at your fingertips.

…and with all this, you’re listening to that!?

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story (apparently). Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?