The CD is finished!
The new CD, Off Kilter, is finished and back from the duplicator. The official release will be at the Metamora Old Time Music Festival, where I will be playing at 5:00 PM on the Wagon Stage on Saturday, September, 4. Of course, if someone wants to buy one before then, I’ll be very happy to see that you get it.
This Celtic-themed CD has thirteen songs, including one self-penned song called “Going Back to Avalon”. I am very pleased with the final product and have already received some nice comments.
My daughter, AKA The Daughter Who Wishes to Remain Nameless, did the cover photography and literally put blood, sweat, and tears into the project. We live just a few hundred yards away from a picturesque gorge formed during the last major ice age. I thought it would be a good place for the cover shoot, so I put on my kilt and off we went. We went into a small woods and that’s when the bugs decided it was lunch time.
She had just begun taking the photos and the feast began. She was wearing shorts and was bitten so badly that her legs were bleeding. Sadly, I was so intent on getting the photos that I didn’t pay attention to her plight. By the time we left, The Daughter Who Wishes to Remain Nameless was more than a little upset, and rightly so. The bites were so bad that we eventually had to call the doctor for treatment. Strangely, I wasn’t bitten once.
Fortunately, the bites are now healing and she’s talking to me again. I haven’t figured out a way to ask her about doing the next photo shoot though. Maybe I should wait until the scars are gone.
Starting Over
Most of the CD’s I’ve acquired in the last few years have been purchased directly from the artists after seeing them perform. More often than not in the concerts I attend these days, both the headliner and the opening act are solo singer-songwriters. Often, these shows are the first time I’ve been exposed to the opening act’s music, and if I liked the music, I’ll pick up the CD. It makes me feel good to support up-and-coming musicians, and in these days when illegal downloads have become the norm rather than the exception, I like to do what I can to make sure the artist can continue to pursue his or her art.
The problem is that more often than not, when I get the CD home and listen to it, I find myself disappointed. The CD is almost always slick and overproduced, lacking the warmth and intimacy of the live performance. The human element seems to have disappeared and been replaced by all of the bells and whistles the modern recording studio can offer.
I have been hard at work recording a new CD, and I find myself guilty of the same crime. Well, rather than guilty, I plead temporary insanity. In the excitement of discovering what my equipment is capable of, I started putting together an elaborate production for the sake of showing off my so-called studio prowess. That would be great if I was Jim Steinman in the studio with Meatloaf working on the next epic rock opera, but I’m a folk singer. My best performances have been with just a guitar while sitting around a campfire with good friends. That is the feeling I want my CD to have.
With that in mind, I have deleted everything I have recorded so far. I’m starting over. This time, the music is basically being recorded live in the studio with me singing while playing acoustic guitar. I am adding a little bass and bodhran to fill out the songs, but the ultimate goal is to make it sound real. That is what good folk music should sound like.
The recording process should go much quicker and easier, which is good because my deadline is approaching quickly. I want to have this finished and back from the duplicator by Labor Day weekend. It would be nice to have the CD for sale at the Metamora Old Time Music Festival. (See how I couldn’t resist plugging the event?)
New CD in Progress
Work has begun on my first CD. This will be a collection of traditional Celtic music with one or two original songs. I had also considered recording a couple of cover songs, but after giving it some thought, I decided that if I was going to pay royalties, I’d prefer to pay them to someone I have a connection to. With that in mind, I put the word out to the Dayton/Cincinnati Songwriters Workshop and the Just Plain Folks forums that I am looking for new, original Celtic-style music.
This has given me an entirely new perspective on the music industry. On some of the on-line forums, it’s common to hear songwriters complain that their material is as good or better than what is being cut by the major artists. I used to think this was just sour grapes, but that may not be the case. I have had to turn down some very well written songs.
Not all of the songs submitted were great. Some were quite bad. Others were good, but weren’t really Celtic. So far, I have placed three “on hold”. (Do I sound like an industry big wig now?) These I will record and see how they turn out and how they fit with the rest of the album.
The real surprise has been how many excellent songs I have had to turn down. Some were rejected because they were too similar to other songs I have already chosen or they just don’t fit with the theme of the album. A couple were turned down because I don’t think I could do them justice. I have more of a rough, folksy kind of voice, and I think those songs would work better with a smoother, more polished sound.
I’ve only had a dozen or so songs submitted and it has already been somewhat daunting. I can’t imagine what a major artist has to go through, wading through hundreds or thousands of songs, with hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars on the line. The pressure must be overwhelming.
Fortunately for me, my project is on a much smaller scale, and no one’s career is on the line. My goal is simply to make something available that will put a smile on the face of whoever listens. I think I can pull that off!
I Need New Songs
I have been attending the N.S.A.I. (Nashville Songwriters Association International) workshop in Dayton, Ohio for about nine years. There are some incredibly talented writers there. In fact, I rarely attend when I don’t hear at least one or two songs that are far better than anything I hear on the radio. It’s a great community and everyone is very supportive of each other.
Sadly, during that period I have gone for extremely long periods without writing anything. It has been stressed that a songwriter should set a regular time for writing. I’ve tried it and the results have always seemed, well, mechanical and uninspired. I normally don’t let that bother me because I have always thought of myself as more of a folk singer and re interpreter of traditional Celtic music. However, at this time I am starting to feel a little frustrated. You see, I am getting ready to record a CD. I’ve thought about this for some time, and I always figured my first CD would be a collection of traditional songs. That was fine until last week when I dusted off an old song of mine, “Going Back to Avalon”, to use as my song of the week.
My daughter Caitlin one time asked me what was my favorite of all the songs I’ve written. I put on a serious face and said, “Asking a songwriter to pick the favorite of his songs is like asking a father to pick the favorite of his children…which of course would be your brother, Chris.” Of course, I really don’t have a favorite kid, but “Avalon” is my favorite song I’ve written so far.
Anyway, I’ve decided to include “Going Back to Avalon” on the CD, probably as the title cut. Having made that decision, I would like to include more original music as well as some new arrangements of the traditional stuff. Unfortunately, none of my other attempts at writing in that genre are close to being good enough. Therefore, I really have to make the time to sit down and write. I don’t hate to write. In fact, I love to write, but I do hate having to write.
I greatly admire songwriter Andy M. Stewart, who penned such songs as “Queen of Argyle” and “The Fisherman’s Lament”. Stewart was the singer for the Scots folk band Silly Wizard, and he possesses a rare talent. He can write a new song that sounds like it is hundreds of years old. When I make the attempt to write an “old” song, the result can best be described as “cheesy”. My plan for now is to take some time, inundate myself with some great old Celtic music, and see what I can come up with.
-Kevin
