I know what I want

Staying focused, that’s the key. This stage of working on the record is where darkness and self-doubt start to slyly creep in on me. It’s easy to get lost. We’ve completed a LOT of guitar work and it all sounds undeniably great. But I start to wonder, is it the ‘right kind of great’? This album has been alive in my head for a such long while now and there is some difficulty for me in it actually become animated. It means that I will have to let go of it. That can be a tough thing for me to realize and to accept. In my mind’s eye these songs are awash in greatness, no questions asked. Once I spit them out, that greatness is open to debate. Landy and I have been dealing with this by re-cutting some questionable guitar parts with a different purpose in mind. Approaching a few songs from alternate perspectives to see if there‘s a better fit. A different guitar, a different amp, a different vibe. Sometimes the results are fantastic. Other times it’s hard to tell. Add in the prospect of all of these new options and we’ve created some cold work to sift through. Since Mike (Mike Landolt is the producer and I sometimes call him Mike, sometimes Landy. But I’m talking about the same person.) is a bit newer to these songs he is not as attached to ‘the way they were’ as I am and it’s sometimes easier for him to hear if a new part is working or not. Often I might not be sold on it right away just because it is different from what I’m used to. But I want these songs to break away from what they were and bloom into something new. I know what I want this album to be. It’s how it has to happen.

On the song ‘Next Christmas’, I’ve added in some guitars and a solo that I’ve never played live or even considered for this song before. They’re still settling in. I do like the new solo though, it reminds me of the Cure...just a little bit. You won’t hear any of these new guitar parts on this acoustic demo. Too bad. You’ll just have to wait for the record to be finished like the rest of us (us?!). Regardless, I hope you’ll enjoy this new MP3 of ‘Next Christmas’. Leave a comment and let me know what you think of the new songs. I don’t know how many people actually read this blog, but if it’s 2 or 2000, thanks for listening. Yes, I mean you.

http://www.lizardfamily.com/mp3s/NextChristmas_MCHacoustic
To download the MP3 go to File -> Save as and store the file on yr desktop