4/30/09
4/29/09
4/24/09
Crazy Ball Of Stress 04.23.09
I had my song 'Luke Burbank And The Never Ending Stress' played on Seattle radio the other night. It was awesome.
4/21/09
4/20/09
Luke Burbank And The Never Ending Freeze 04.20.09
I'm starting to get up in the morning and run. I used to do this more often, but the winter months have discouraged me. I also needed a change in scenery from my morning routine of coming downstairs to my studio and trying to write a hit song every single day of my life(frustration implied).
Well, last week as I was putting my running shoes on I decided that I did not want to listen to music. I love listening to music, but I needed a complete distraction from my daily dose of 'everything music'. Plus, I sometimes feel like I'm cheating on music if I'm not constantly listening or checking out a new record. The fact is- I don't want to be a one dimensional person. I enjoy baseball and great non-fiction books and art and refreshingly unimportant talk radio. The realization that I desperately need something else in my life to enjoy occurs every afternoon when I listen to the day's song and decide that its not very good. Its been a while since I felt really good about the daily song. Actually, I feel more capable of the writing process now more than ever, but the ideas for the songs are slim pickins'.
So I decided to turn to the wide world of podcasts. It was a great decision. Of the 4 I now listen to on a daily basis, none of them have to do with music. I've been checking out some ESPN podcasts, a Cubscast (Chicago Cubs Baseball Podcast), and a great radio talk show out of Seattle called To Beautiful To Live with Luke Burbank.
Luke's show is a smorgasbord of random conversations he has with his producer Jen Andrews. The topics range from anything to absolutely anything-- but never heavy or super important. Thats why I've come to really enjoy the show! There's no talk of the financial crisis or market breakdowns or political agenda's or bailout money or who's right and wrong about religious views or the war on terror or anything like that.
As I'm listening one morning, Jen and Luke start talking about funeral music. Which songs do/don't you want played at your funeral? This is a great conversation that leads to Jen saying that she'd want to leave the decision up to her family because the funeral is really for the family. Luke responded by saying that when he passes, he wants the earth to stop rotating on its axis and fall into a never ending winter killing most of the population. He hopes to still control the lives of all the people who loved him and hopes that they live with eternal grief, constantly saying things like "Luke was awesome, Luke was awesome".
Ok, ok I know what you're saying... but Luke is obviously joking around. Anyway, Jen says that the song for his funeral would have to be a super specific song if those were all of the things he wanted. So I wrote that song on Sunday and sent them an mp3 of the tune. I felt good about it too...
4/19/09
4/15/09
4/13/09
Intrinsic Blessing 04.13.09
Lyrics to this song:
Drink the water and the fire and ice
I know its coming down on me
Where have you been little girl its over
Seasons pass as the water flows down the creek
Into the open blue
Timeless abandon across the forest floor
The sun shines down on you
Horses appear in the fields as the sky turns to gray
The mountains come alive
Wind picking up as I see you riding for me
Along the gravel drive
Empowered by land left alone in the natural state
I can hardly stay away
Freedom from all other sources bright with history
Beyond all remains...
4/8/09
4/7/09
4/5/09
4/3/09
4/1/09
I'm Cool 03.31.09
I hit the 100 song mark a few days ago! And still not even 1/3 done.
I discovered the arpeggiator and beat preset on my organ for this song. I'll definitely use the organ again soon...
3/30/09
Apparently Not 03.28.09
I'd like to send out a disclaimer to all of my students. Allen Sleeman and I wrote this song as a humorous release of frustration. I love all of you equally! This tune is not to be taken that seriously and was not written for anyone specific. Have a great day and keep practicing...
3/27/09
Listening To Music... I Mean Really.
I'm listening to a 1989 recording of Chick Corea's Akoustic Band with Dave Weckl on drums and John Patitucci on upright bass. Its awesome. I think Chick, in fact I think all three of those guys just bring the fire every time they pick up their axe. I happen to have this recording on vinyl. I also have an amazing vinyl record player that I got for christmas a few years ago. There is a company called Crosley that still manufactures vintage style record players reminiscent of the 1940's. Mine can stack 6 records, play cds, and has an old analog dial for the am/fm tuner.
Vinyl is great. It sounds great. It looks cool and, oh yeah, it sounds great! You lose almost no sound quality in the conversion from studio to home speakers. But there is another reason that vinyl records are superior to their technologically advanced children. They actually support the idea of listening to the music! Follow me here. You have to physically pick up this large disc, place it on the turntable, pick up the needle, and gently set it down into a specific groove. After only half of the album is finished, you then turn the record over to finish listening. Of course you can do other things like cleaning or homework or whatever. But you can't make a mix(well, you need some software and the right equipment) or listen to the music in your car or do too many other things before the record player needs your attention again. Think about it. When was the last time you actually listened to music? Most people including myself would probably say they listened to something within the last 24 hours. But even while I write this, I'm not actually listening to Chick Corea. I'm still taking a sound bath, trying to figure out what my next sentence will be in this blog.
It's so easy to turn on the tv, or do other things instead of sitting down and listening to music. We've become so much of a visual/fast paced society that it's difficult to just sit down and listen. I hope I don't sound preachy-- I'm writing this article as much for me as anyone else. So last week I told myself that every night before I go to bed and before I turn on the tv I would listen to 1 album of my choice on vinyl and with headphones. No cleaning, no blogging, no email, no internet, no family or friends(unless they wanted to join in on this mini project), no writing, no distractions. Just uninterrupted listening to music. This turned out to be an amazing idea which I'm sure lots of my musician friends and hopefully other friends might already do. Sure I've actually, really listened to music before. I'm a musician. But usually I was trying to learn how to play something. I was probably transcribing a passage of a great pianist or learning the chords or lyrics to particular song. But just simply listening?
I felt relaxed but still engaged with what was happening as the notes filled my ears. I became more aware of each instrument as well as the 'sound' of the recording. The panning, the mixing, the space, the arrangement, the performance, the quality all became so evident to me. Since last week I've really listened to Rubber Soul(Beatles), Cosmic Slop(Funkadelic), You Must Believe In Spring(Bill Evans), Guero(Beck), The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan(I can't remember who recorded this), and disc 1 of The Well Tempered Clavier performed by Glenn Gould. What have you listened to lately?
3/26/09
No More 03.26.09
Sad song today. I did play the guitar for the first time though.
I'd like to share an article that my friend Kevin Heraldo(check out his blog 'Broken Jokes' --on the left side of my blog for a link to his site) sent me. Its an article by Brian Eno about the benefit of singing. Amazing article... Here's the link
3/25/09
Southside Of The World 03.25.09
I basically 'free wrote' this song. I just sat down and recorded whatever came out of my mind. I adjusted a few minor things, but for the most part this song was a spontaneous idea. I got the concept(not that its super secret or hard to think of) from Adam Larrabee who told me about Daniel Clarke's experience up in New York with Ryan Adams. Daniel (great pianist and Richmonder who has been on tour with Mandy Moore and KD Lang... respectively) is working on Ryan Adam's new record. Apparently, Ryan 'free writes' some of his stuff. He'll just do a couple takes and whatever comes to mind is what they'll keep. That's pretty amazing considering Adam's artistic nature and songwriting chops. Anyway, maybe I'll try to write some songs like that... just to see what happens...
By the way, I love Flickr. I don't know whether the photographers of these awesome pictures would appreciate me posting their stuff, but I really enjoy some of these photos...
3/24/09
Black Swan 03.24.09
There is something nice about 'performing' in the studio. This is something I've come to realize over the last 90 days. Really getting a good, natural, energetic take is very difficult to do and further emphasizes the need for practice. Unfortunately, I don't have to time to rehearse these songs over and over before I record them. I am however, trying to reduce the editing, the takes, and the plug-ins to get a good track. I'm really trying to learn how to perform on the microphone in the studio as opposed to the stage. I guess the biggest difference is the audience. There's usually nobody, or very few people in the studio.
I have also been trying to get the best overall sound with my recordings during this project. But, you know, there is something great about lo-fi recordings. I don't know what it is, but there can be so much vibe to lo-fi stuff. Part of that has to do with the actual music, of course, but still... I recently read an article by my good friend Evan Setzer about the great sound of a band called Katamine. Apparently, there sound is very lo-fi and very awesome! Check out Evan's blog on the left side of my site. There's a link you can go to.
I recorded this song using only 1 mic. My Rode K2 Tube Condenser was set to omni and positioned just to my right-- between me and the piano. There was no editing or anything like that. Just one take straight down... I used 1 eq plug in to take out some of the low end on the piano. I also used a compressor to bring the overall volume up to my other songs... I hope you like it...
3/23/09
Save Me From Myself 03.23.09
I found this picture online and I thought I'd share it with everyone who checks out my blog...
3/22/09
When Will This End 03.22.09
I wrote and recorded this in an hour. Not really all that impressive, but I'm trying to challenge myself to write some tunes in a really short amount of time. Writing constantly for 5-7 hours everyday is very draining. Anyway, hope you like it as usual...
Jeans And T-Shirt Type Of Guy 03.21.09
Yeah, this one was the shortest writing time of the entire project thus far. 45 minutes from start to finish...
Humble Prayer 03.19.09
I had fun with this one. I love these type of tracks where everything in my studio is turned on and I'm loving the process of putting the music together...
3/17/09
3/15/09
3/13/09
3/12/09
Not As Beautiful 03.11.09
I made it through without any editing on the drums again... Aren't you proud of me?
3/10/09
3/8/09
3/6/09
3/5/09
Groove Song For People 03.04.09
Trying to experiment with different writing and recording techniques.
3/3/09
3/2/09
Computer Club 03.02.09
Written by the world famous duo of Chris "Rockin" Richmond and Bryce "Long John" McCormick.
3/1/09
I Can Read 03.01.09
Written by myself and Chris Richmond... I should also point out that Last Time was written by myself and Allen Sleeman...
2/28/09
2/27/09
2/25/09
2/24/09
The Ghosts Of Brunswick 02.24.09
Written about the amazing hotel I stayed in over the past few days!! Apparently, the Brunswick Hotel is one of the more haunted places in the U.S. I had no idea...
City of Sin 02.23.09
This one is a video that was recorded in the beautiful Hotel Brunswick in Kingman, Arizona!!!
2/23/09
Arizona-- Today's Song...02.23.09
Ok... I'm in Arizona right now waiting on a delicious fruit smoothie with antioxidants and ginseng. I'm not going to be able to post my new song for today(Monday) until I get back tomorrow(Tuesday). I am going to write and record one though. I refuse to let a little traveling get in my way!! I have my camcorder with me and a piano at the hotel. I'm about to go down and write today's song right now...
Tonight, I'll actually be playing a show in the bar of the Brunswick Hotel in beautiful Kingman, Arizona. My father is learning to be a pilot out here and has made some friends who have shown some interest in this project(probably because he takes his computer everywhere and forces everyone he meets to listen to this stuff.... Ha!-- Love you Dad). He flew me out here to play some music from the Write Before Right catalogue. I'll also be videotaping that... So tuesday night I'll have a few things for everyone in the form of video that will go on the blog.
Tonight, I'll actually be playing a show in the bar of the Brunswick Hotel in beautiful Kingman, Arizona. My father is learning to be a pilot out here and has made some friends who have shown some interest in this project(probably because he takes his computer everywhere and forces everyone he meets to listen to this stuff.... Ha!-- Love you Dad). He flew me out here to play some music from the Write Before Right catalogue. I'll also be videotaping that... So tuesday night I'll have a few things for everyone in the form of video that will go on the blog.
2/22/09
Sweet Morning 02.22.09
I fly out to Arizona today to do my first out of state show. I'll have some more video's for you all when I get back...
2/21/09
2/20/09
2/19/09
2/18/09
Desolation (Full Length)
Here's the link to the free download and full-preview to Desolation. The link takes you to my last.fm site which, by the way, is the worst site ever designed for artists. The scripts on the Music Manager pages suck and you have to upload your music 2 or 3 times before it shows up. Anyway, check out the full length of this song....
2/17/09
Desolation
Desolation is the newest tune in the Write Before Right catalogue. "Short Version" means that I actually did an 8:30 minute song but I had to shorten it due to the flash player requirements. I'll put the full version on Last.fm within 24 hours so everyone can hear the full length version if you want. I had fun in the studio today-- no editing on the drums. First time ever!!
2/16/09
2/15/09
2/9/09
Wow
Since my last post about Amy Winehouse, I have been trying to mix it up a little bit with lots of different kinds of songs. Here are some of the ideas/styles I've put down:
AutoTuned spiritual with layered vocals(Story In The Sky Pt.2), wishing I had lots of money(Bill Gates), my recollection of living in Chicago(Chicago), a humorous song about how bad the movie 'Taken' was(Taken), 2 different songs for some very close friends who recently lost loved ones (Better Place and For Your Tears), and the first time I took a suggestion from somebody else and turned it into a song--- Toxic City-- This idea was given to me by Jonathan Greenburg... and also Little White Bird--Nelson I don't know your last name but thanks for the idea.
I have no qualms about using AutoTune. In fact, I recently heard Bon Iver's new EP and was surprised to hear that he had used an all autotuned song on his recently released 'Blood Bank'. I think it is a simple tool to sometimes use in the studio for a specific effect. I use it rarely on regular vocal takes, but like to use it in the manner in which I did on the song Story In The Sky Pt.2.
I'm stoked about the song Taken as well. This is the first real 'joke' song I've ever done. Its in the style of Andy Sandberg from SNL and my friends and I have already had a blast with this tune.
Toxic City is not about Richmond, and those events did not actually happen to me, but the idea was a great story... so I wrote the tune. Another friend of mine, Nelson(who is a killer bass player) gave me the idea for the song Little White Bird. There was a flying V of birds and all the birds were black except the one in the back. This little guy was white, and was struggling to keep up with the rest of the crew.
Keep posting ideas for new songs... I'm developing a list of all the suggestions. Thanks and keep listening...
2/3/09
Any Ideas For Songs?
If you have any ideas for songs, that would be great!! I'm getting more comfortable with finishing a song. Starting the song is the issue now. Finding things to write about is more difficult than the writing. Post a comment, tell me what you think!! Could be a story, an idea, a title... anything!!
1/26/09
Amy Winehouse
My latest song is about the tragedy that is Amy Winehouse. She happens to be one of the most vocally talented people that I've seen in a long time. I hope she gets it together... And I hope that you like the song Falling Star...
1/25/09
Who's Listening?
Hey everyone!! Hope you all are enjoying my project thus far. I'm just over a month into the writing and I'm really having a great time with this. My ReverbNation player and my Feedburner site are giving me some great stats for my sites... such as how many plays I'm getting, how many widget hits I've had, how many fans I have and so on... So...
I encourage any and everyone to post a comment, check out the tunes, download a song or two if you like em', check out the videos, join the mailing list or become a fan... I'd also like to thank everyone who's been listening!! I've had a lot of positive feedback.
Well, the last few days I've been writing about close friends, family members, relationships/dating, opinions I have on other artists, and paying homage to a very dear friend of us musicians... See if you can tell which ones are which.
I'll tell a little story about one of the tunes... I was recently reading a magazine that I frequently check out called... well, I guess I shouldn't say the name... but, its a great mag relating to all that is an indie artist. The writing is good, the articles are insightful, and I'm able to check out a lot of cool artists that I've never heard before. This particular issue however, had a few artists that said some pretty stupid and irritating things.
One of the reviews had a girl talking about how she really never listened to music that much because that detracted from her artistic direction... Wow. I can't imagine not listening to music, ever. Its never been a chore or a negative experience at all. I love checking out old stuff that I haven't listened to in a while and discovering new and intricate details that somehow got by me the first 100 times. I love coming across the next beautiful artist or songwriter like Justin Vernon of Bon Iver or this group I like called Yo La Tengo.
Another article had this guy who said he kind of played 7 instruments. You kinda play 7 instruments? What does that even mean? Is that to say that you don't really play one very well? So... you want me to check out your music knowing that you're proud of the fact that your playing or singing is average at best?
Finally, in yet another article about this really interesting little musical collaboration (sarcasm intended), I read about a girl who never really considered herself a musician until about 6 months ago. Come on, really? 6 months ago? What happened in that time frame? Oh... wait, I know... you're rock-star boyfriend convinced his record label to give you guys a deal!! Now you're a musician. Way to go. I don't know if these people were just saying this stuff because its cool and 'indie' to act nonchalant-- or because they really meant what they were saying. Either way I didn't want anything to do with they're movement.
Basically, these articles did the opposite of what they're supposed to do. After reading them, I did not want to go out and listen to their music. I didn't want to read another word. I did not want to check them out the next time they might be playing a show. I take immense pride in my strengths and weaknesses as a musician. I have a lot to learn about a lot of things but I also have conviction about what a musician is and what he/she isn't. I'll be a student of music until I the day I die. I do play one instrument well, I love listening to music all the time, and I've considered myself a musician for a long time...
And that is the story of my new song entitled "I'd Never Buy Your Record Now". Hope you like it!!
1/20/09
2 New Ones...
Here are the latest songs... Do You Cry? and Dream Of How It Ends. Hope you like the tunes. I think I might take "Do you Cry" and develop the song a little further. It has a nice overall meaning to the song.
I like "Dream of how it Ends" as well. No chorus, no bridge, just a long verse. I dig songs like that. This song was actually about a picture that I keep seeing in my head. I don't know what it means but... well... anyway...
Looking forward to the inauguration tomorrow! Also looking forward to getting my computer back. I had to rebuild it after it broke down again. New chip, new motherboard, new ram... should be killer though. We'll see...
1/18/09
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