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At Amanda's asking, I'll augment this neglected blog. I have 15 minutes to write. It's the only way I'll get anything done: time is my enemy. My inner critic starts to stir at minute 10. By minute 16, he's fully awake and barking commands at my fingers: no not this. That! That! NO! (Stirring noise in the corner) I don't see the point in adding my songs to the polluted landscape of music that saturates the world. Polluted is a good word. It's like an emotional toxic spill (Adulus Huxley said something along these lines about radio when it first emerged). Toxic because when carefully examined, what I hear is non-sense. But don't take my word for it. Listen to Beyonce's "Halo". I considered covering it and when I listened carefully to the lyrics I couldn't find anything to sing- no emotional arc. Technically skilled vocalist, convincing actress on the set of Baywatch. I can see your Halo? Good Christ. So I'm indulgent.
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Oh the Tragedy!

Why don't I write another blog in a timely fashion?!! Because I'm convinced that no one would read this! Yes I'm a cynic at heart. And yes, I have no idea who reads this or what repercussions it may have so I should easily dismiss myself. I'm told that the deepest cynic is the greatest idealist. That about describes me...grasping for great things: big love, big ideas, big dreams...everything I invest myself in has to have some sort of GRAND purpose it seems, or I just become bored with it. And when my GRAND ideas run into the wall of everyday circumstance (ie, pragmatism) I get frustrated, give up, retreat into cynicism. Sound familiar anyone? (I know I'm not alone...) Needless to say, it's these kind of psychological inner workings that impede my progress in making music. Recordings require me to really think hard about what I'm singing, how I'm singing it and getting a good take. I can embed myself in the meticulous craft for a few hours but th
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music and lyrics

at the basis of all my songs is the guitar. it's the instrument i'm most proficient playing. some artists like to write songs by putting melody and words together in their head. others need an accompanying instrument to flesh out the harmonic backdrop. i fall in the second category. i have written a few songs without the guitar ("When I Get Out" from Friendly Fire comes to mind) but these ideas always seem less compelling to me. at the end of the day, the guitar puts me in the "mood" of songwriting and helps spur ideas forward. about songwriting Willie Nelson said something i have taken to be a basic truth, "If you can't play your song from start to finish on the guitar [or piano], you don't have a song." i have added my own corollary to this- "Can you deliver your song ONLY on the guitar?" it seems to me essential for a singer/songwriter to be able to convey--at least in part if not entirety--the meaning of his song wi
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the first

it's 12 past midnight on Saturday, April 4 and i'm up twittering on the audio files i recorded about a month ago in LA. chop, chop. that wasn't me urging myself to go faster, btw. in fact i'm just chopping up audio and moving the bits around to compensate for my inability to play with a metronome. studios take time (and money) out of one's hands. they also hide what goes on when making a recorded work. my purpose in creating this blog is to talk about the process that goes into creating a record; to give my processes some transparency and expose them as they come up; to help and learn from others who aspire and do the same. i'm not sure who will want to read this which is to say i don't know my audience. so for that i apologize but on this matter i'll reference Andrew Bird who wrote a series of articles for the New York Times as he recorded/completed his most recent work. i read one or two of these articles...but i'm a musician. his infl
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