It’s come to my attention that I am like the cobbler’s children, shoeless, in spite of their father’s profession. I am a musician, without any recent recorded samples of my work. This is an inconvenient, but not insurmountable problem.
So today, I’m gonna fix it.
Of course, in my own, inimitable, Captain Digital fashion, I can’t resist a little feature creep, allowing the scope to grow past the prime purpose of the mission.
I desperately need samples of my solo guitar/vocal work, to put on my www.bradkozak.com website, for potential clients to hear. I also need an album to sell at live appearances.
Recordings are tricky things. First of all, when you play live, there’s a bunch of notes you play. There are the notes you plan to play, the notes you actually play, the notes you think you’re playing, the notes your audience hears, the notes you remember playing, and the notes your audience remember that you played.
That’s a lot of notes. And a lot of perspectives. Funny thing about “live” music – perception is reality, as the sounds you make decay and the vibrations of the air are stilled almost immediately. All you’re left with are memories – memories that are reshaped and revised by your perceptions. Think a musician is great? Your memory may conveniently overlook a few flubs. Conversely, if the screw-up is obvious enough, that may be all you remember of an otherwise flawless performance.
Recording is different. Every note is the aural equivalent of being preserved in amber, to be examined perpetually, throughout time immemorial. That’s a lot of pressure. I mean, when you play live, you can get away with some string buzz, a muted note here and there, and even a slip of a chord or two. Not playing live. No sir.
So going into the studio (with the associated per-hour charges and the added pressure THAT brings) is a test of nerves – and skill. I’m going to be cutting some covers of familiar songs (that I could probably play in my sleep), as well as some of my original compositions.
The original stuff is tricky, too, because I want to be able to do that with additional instruments, arranging them as a combo or small ensemble. That either means I have to get other musicians involved, or I have to play the other instruments myself – overdubbing the bass, drums, vibes, harmonica, et cetera. Now add “timing” to the list of things I need to watch.
So you see, I have an ambitious agenda. I would do a lot of the work here in my lonely musician’s/writer’s/programmer’s garret, but unfortuantely, my computers are both such steaming piles of crap (thanks, Microsoft!) that recording is no longer practical or possible. So as I await the opporutnity to jump ship to the wonderful world of Macintosh, I’ll have to make do, or improvise other solutions. (Pity, as I have one tune with some serious orchestrations I’m dying to record.)
As I get the tunes finished, I’ll let you know here, and at www.bradkozak.com. You’ll be able to listen for yourself. As always, your comments are welcome. So, quiet please. Take one…and rolling….
Leave a Reply