Whew. Three hours to go.

Hi there.

It's almost Nano, and I got nothing. No plot, no outline, nada.

*sigh*

Didn't make it to the kickoff party. That might have helped get me into the spirit a bit more.

I thought to go to the site today. There's no author search (so I can't find my brother, who's also doing Nano this year), and I doubt that my favorite feature (the "find yourself in the total word count list" feature) will be back. The site is also mega slow.

I'm bummed. I'm really not excited about this at all.

Dana wasn't even charged. I thought it might be broken, but then I was reminded by the kind tech support person that I had to charge it by USB. She seems to be right as rain now, so I will start typing something at midnight.

Hm.

Here's to finding my enthusiasm.

j.

God it's been forever...

...since I updated.

Albums do not fly off shelves by themselves, I can promise you that.

I got a general inkling for Nano this year, something completely different for me.

I'm not sure I'll be able to rock the word count like last year, I already have a couple of gigs and a trip home scheduled. But, it's definitely about quality over quantity. I'd like to focus on having something I can show people by month's end.

Hm.

Hope you're doing well.

jul

If You Ever Wanted To Know...

...what 2000 CDs look like stacked against a wall, feast your eyes:



They're here, arrived on the day that Mercury's retrograde lifted, and carried up six flights of stairs by yours truly. I thought I would be a pony out of the gate when the CDs arrived, I am taking the weekend to exhale, and rest up.

They're not perfect. But they're close enough.

There's more to say, but I'm wrapped in a blanket of something that is feeling like exhaustion.

It won't last long. It can't. In the last 48 hours, I've been having really great conversations about the album and all that's to happen to it. I'm searching in the attic and under the floorboards for my strength reserves; I will definitely need them.

More soon.
jul

The Little Boat Goes Out to Sea.

So, it's officially out of my hands now.

I had to go back and forth a little on the artwork with the guys at the duplication house. It's amazing how much picture quality differs, from monitor to monitor, from Mac to PC. We finally got to something that looked okay and printed great. I'm crossing my fingers and setting the little boat out to sea.

The next I hear of this record, there will be 1500 on my doorstep, ready for sale.

I'm - Dare I say it? - a little excited?

I have been diving into the Indie Music Business and the people who preach it, trying to come up with strategies and a business plan to execute that would make me not feel like I'm flailing about aimlessly, music-wise. Notions are starting to form. A plan is beginning to shape itself. Yes, it's a little exciting.

I've been getting validation from some of the most exalted and unexpected places. Hope flutters around my heart, for the record, for music, for all of life, some days.

Off for tea with my friend Jon. I have been dog-tired all day (stayed up until 2:30am working on a guitar track for a new EP I'm working on), but now that it's time for work to release its hold, I'm finding my energy again.

If you get a chance, listen to The Masterson Inheritance on BBC7. It's amazing to hear people making up funny, funny comedy on the fly. At Home With the Snails is also great, but very, very twisted.

All is full of love,
jul

The Record.

So, the record is essentially finished.

I've approved the mastering, the album is what it's going to be.

I am nervous. I am really, really nervous. I did not take the easy road with the tracklisting - the album is a journey of sorts, and it's hard before it gets easy. I've had changes suggested to me, but they all seemed silly and not right. I'm going with my gut on this one.

*phew*. Breathe out.

Getting the artwork right is going to be another hurdle. The artwork is a rich vibrant red, but when it's converted to CMYK, the colors wash out to the hue of stale meat. Yeesh. There are a couple of things that can be done, cross your fingers for me.

The sun is out, doing wonders for my mood. It's a beautiful day. I am writing again, being surprised by my own words and melodies. There's an EP in the works, I'm to pass it to one of my favorite, favorite singer songwriters I happened to meet late last year. I've been dilly-dallying for a long time on this, nervous about my song choice, my production skills, etc. In the past couple of days I've found the will to get on with it.

It feels good.

j.

Family.

I found my brother on facebook today.

I just assumed he was as uncommunicative with the rest of the world as he is with his family, but no. He seems to be a healthy, well-liked individual, even if a religious conservative. His main picture is of himself as a two year old, and it nearly brought tears to my eyes. "My two year old brother is getting married next month," was the thought that crossed my mind. My brother is the first of the four of us to marry.

My sister is having a baby. She slipped and told me it's a boy. She's still thinking about names and all that. Her second child, her second boy. She is the first of the four of us to bring life into this world, and she's about to do it again, and what an awesome, awesome thing that is.

My sister is scheduled to deliver her little bun the week after my brother gets married. Which could be a sitcom. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping the drama will space itself appropriately.

I am so self-absorbed most days it's hard to remember to look up. But today I looked up and remembered my family, and how we're all at these interesting life stages, and how it wouldn't hurt to be in touch with them more often.

They are the ones who know me the best, after all.

jul

Well, It's April.

Hello there, on the first day of April.

I don't quite have the earth - yet.

I am just starting to warm to my album, though. It's an ambitious piece of work. It doesn't always succeed in what it tries to do, but the attempt is there, bold as brass. I'm still making first round mastering edits. Contemplating whom to play it for in this nascent stage.

I spend the days mostly trying not to get overwhelmed with my insane things to do list. In addition to the soundwork on the album, there's still the matter of the artwork to get through. And then the website, which is being redesigned. Pieces swing by my head, trying to get fast enough to catch them all.

Meanwhile, I keep thinking about that little list on the side of this webpage, only some of those things are important. I'm thinking of changing it up, paring it down to the bare, necessary essentials.

There is a mountain of receipts at my feet, just waiting for me to enter them all into my tax spreadsheet. *sigh* I must do this before I can do the things on my things to do list that I actually *want* to do. My brain is all sped up on sugar and caffeine. I'm just going to dive in in a flurry and try to make it take as little time as possible.

hope it's all good
for you,
jul

Earth by April.

I am listening to e. e. cummings sing one of his poems, and that phrase caught my ear. I feel like I’m well on the way to having the earth by April.

The record has gone to the first round of mastering. It’s like a hot potato – I can barely touch it. I can’t get past the things that didn’t come off quite like I wanted. I know I have to distance myself, but it hasn’t happened yet. Hmph.

FAWM is over and yet it’s not; I am starting a new musical project next week that involves the high velocity completion of demos. Seven songs that are basically finished but not quite; I’m hoping to find a little magic in the recording stage.

The piano tuner’s coming over on Friday to get my girl, my Yamaha upright, in shape for the recording of a new piano song.

Life is good. I’ve been flying. Things have taken a beautiful turn in my world.

x,
j.

Mastering.

I am having my record mastered....RIGHT NOW!!!!

We're reaching the finish line of a very long, long race, folks.

More soon,

jul

March.

Whew.

I am still a little dizzy from the last 24 hours, in which I demoed five songs. Only two of which were even partially written before I started playing around in the workshop. Crossed the finish line at about 2am. Not a bad day's work.

I'm sure I should do some kind of recap, I'm just trying to stay awake at this point.

Kudos to my fellow NY FAWM compatriots: Ken, Jodes, Mike.

It was a good, good month.

jul