Niiiiiine times.

WHAT UP RECORD TIMERS!

Dan here. I thought I’d get this blog going a bit. Last year’s blog was great – 80-something posts and almost 5000 views. Sorry this one’s so ugly – I’ve used most of the decent templates already. If anyone wants to take a whack at a better design, just let me know.

Anyways, this will be our NINTH time making albums in a week, which is totally nuts. I wish you guys could hear the two albums from Record Time I. I suppose you can, but you won’t. Record Time is a weird thing. You hear a lot of musicians say they don’t really write music, they just sort of discover it. That’s something I tend to agree with, especially during Record Time. To me it feels like “mining”...or something. You head out for a week with your pickaxe, and you know the gold is out there – lots of it - but you don’t know where it is or how you’ll get to it. To me, starting with a theme or goal is just narrowing your search to a different part of the mine. How far can I take this mining analogy? Let’s say your annoying girlfriend/boyfriend is the canary, chirping away about who-knows-what, until they stop chirping and you know it’s time to get out of the mine, but you’re just a few swings away from that sweet, sweet gold. That’s basically what Record Time feels like. I’m sorry if I offended any canaries – at least you guys HAVE a canary.

It seems like each Record Time I focus on a different feature of the music. On my experimental children’s album “Tinkle” it was structure. On “Grenadine” it was lyrics. On “Piece of Wood” it was texture. This time around, I’m going back to my one true love: melody.  I’m absolutely obsessed with vocal melody. I still do melodic dictation to myself in the gym on Top 40 songs. I’m fascinated by how single notes can completely change the vibe of a song, and it’s the only area in which I am extremely detail-oriented. That’s not to say I don’t write bad melodies, because I do all the time, but when I do, I can tell you EXACTLY how and where I failed.

For this album I’m going way stripped-down and putting on my “songwriter” hat. I’ve been listening to a ton of Regina Spektor, Carole King, Randy Newman, and James Taylor. It’s probably going to be 90% piano and vocals, with maybe a few extra instruments for extra flair if needed. I also start imagining the “colors” of my albums really early on – this one is purple and white. Very girly. I can’t be sure of course, but I think this album will be a little more serious and personal than my last few RTs. As a Midwesterner, Fall is the season for romance.

That’s really it as far as plans go. This might sound ridiculous, but I also might try things like lighting candles in the room to compose – I always hear various “studio tales” like that and I wonder if it makes a difference. Don’t know if I’m motivated/secure enough to go buy candles in the next 10 days, however.

I guess I always like ending this first post with some advice for any noobs (more because I like to feel wise and/or important). If it’s your first Record Time, I’d really encourage you NOT to play it safe. I know I mentioned you can do just an EP or one song, but going for 30 minutes is how you’ll really get the most out of it. Above all, Record Time is just about DOING, not thinking. It’s that whole Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours thing. It’s basically musical weight training. Actually, it’s sort of like a mine, where I am the guy that runs the mine, and the blog is the light on your hat, and the Facebook group is the giant elevator, and…nevermind.

Record Time is my favorite thing in the world. I hope you guys are excited.