Really, that's about all I can say about this whole recording process. I have a lot of people to thank - John Rice, without whom this would never have happened. He offered me a trade of recording time for music classes for his daughter. My "Healing Through Memoir" group run by Debra Burger. Without that, the memoirs would never have been a part of this project. All of the wonderful musicians who played on the CD, John Rice, Ryan Dunham, Brenda Fisher, Kevin Smith, Dick Kavanaugh and Mike Nass. Carol Coogan for the beautiful artwork, and last, but certainly not least, Joel Patterson who encouraged me to record my reading of the memoirs, recorded them and two of the songs and helped produce the entire thing. He also put the fundraising video together and has helped and encouraged me in too many ways to name.
The memoirs were very hard to write and even harder to read. But, I like to get down to business and just finish it up so, the basic tracks for the first nine songs were recorded in a day, the bass and back-up vocals were done in an evening, the last two songs (recorded live with vocals, guitars, bass, and drums) were done another evening, and all eleven memoirs were recorded last Saturday. Whew! I felt like I needed a vacation after that marathon. Although they probably thought I was nuts, everyone was wonderfully supportive throughout. Of course, now I've had to listen to it all over and over and over again. Hearing my own voice telling my stories is still very powerful for me. Some of them even made me cry the first time I heard them. I guess if I still like it, it's done. Now that the recording and mixing is done and the mastering close to being done, the hardest part for me is ahead. Now, I need to raise the money to print it and do the promotion. Please help me out by spreading the word far and wide. The GoFundMe video has a tiny clip of the title track ("Highway in Your Eyes") at the end and, one of the tunes ("Maggie's Waltz") plays in the background while I'm talking. I've gotten some pre-orders already for both the music CD and the double set of music and memoirs. And ... so far, everything is right on schedule. The CD release party will be at Caffè Lena on Sunday November 16th at 7 pm, and I'll be joined by some of the great musicians who play on the CD. I'm very excited about the whole thing. I hope you all can come and join in the fun!
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Well, the CD is coming along nicely. Most of the memoirs are written, the cover art is conceptualized, musicians are lined up for adding tracks and the next recording date is set. All in all, things are coming together nicely. The "memoir for each song" concept is evolving into a very exciting project. I have to admit, I love writing my stories. What I did not expect is the flood of details coming up as I write, causing me to remember more and more. And, the more I write, the more ideas I get about stories and the more I write. It's keeping me very busy. Just when I feel stuck for a memoir to go along with one of the songs, something inspires me and, before I know it, it's done. The biggest problem I've run up against is not having enough time. However, I've been spending time with a friend at his house in Petersburgh. It's quiet and peaceful on a dead end road, out in the country. We can each work on our own projects and not get in each other's way.
Now for a few news items. "New Age Guy" is posted on my Deb Cavanaugh Facebook band page. You can listen to it there for a little preview. It's just the raw tracks and is only me. There will be more tracks added for the CD. I'm continuing to play lots of music, jamming with friends, going to Open Mikes and practice, practice, practice. There are a few gigs coming up in June, so be sure to check the calendar as well. I will be going to Oregon to visit old friends I knew from my days out there and going to the Oregon Country Fair with my long-time friend. This is our way of celebrating the 40th anniversary of our friendship. I am ever grateful to the many friends who have helped me get through an incredibly difficult few years and helped me jump, with both feet, into my new life. So far, it is pretty spectacular. So, stay tuned for more of this wild ride. What a huge difference there has been for me in living by myself. I have no one else to worry about and no children to care for. I can eat when I want, sleep when I want, do whatever and go wherever I want whenever I want to go. I have a great housemate, but he's not my partner, so I feel free and easy. I have actively raised children for 38 years and have had two twenty-year relationships. I sometimes find myself at loose ends, wondering what to do. But when in doubt, I grab an instrument or my journal. I have a wonderful new friend who is supportive and encouraging and lots of old friends who have been there for me through thick and thin. I am truly blessed in this life and very grateful.
As a result, I'm finding myself more productive than I thought possible. And yet, I still manage to have fun, going out to shows, jamming, visiting with friends, enjoying all the good things in life. I'll be jamming/practicing tomorrow and Wednesday, getting ready for some upcoming gigs. Check the calendar, and don't miss the first one on June 13th. Then, this weekend will be packed full of events. I'll be at the Gotta Get Gone festival on Saturday, then music parties both Sunday and Monday. To top it all off, I sing and dance with children and their grownups five days a week. I don't think life could get much better than this. I'll keep you posted... I'm writing this during a snowstorm, enjoying my snow day and reflecting on my recording project. I worked with John Rice from Hilltown Studio. He set up his equipment in the beautiful Carey Conference Center in Rensselaerville. It was another snowy day, and we almost didn't make it up Pond Hill Road but managed it somehow. It was well worth the effort as the acoustics are wonderful in that room. I worked hard and got the skeleton of all nine songs done in that one day. A young friend, Diana (Diana Rosa Fotography), who is in art school in Boston, came for the day to shoot photos for her school project, and Dick Kavanaugh came to do a little back-up guitar. It was fun and productive. Now the real work begins, finishing the recording and the memoirs, designing the CD cover and waiting for the finished product. That is the hardest part. The recording was nothing but fun. As I slog my way through the rest of this winter, I'll be looking forward to having it all done and hope to see you at a show soon. Below is a photo taken during our break. See, don't I look relaxed and happy?
It's obviously been way too long since I last wrote a post here. Life is crazy and hard and wonderful and exciting all wrapped into one neat package, well maybe not so neat. I had three weeks off from work and thought I would catch up on projects that I had laid aside. I spent most of that three weeks just vacating. Not vacationing, but being vacant and taking a much needed rest. The last few years have been a whirlwind of changes, both good and bad, and I really needed to regroup emotionally. Now I'm embarking on a new adventure as a solo artist.
After years of songwriting, I'm finally ready to put out a solo CD of my original songs and tunes. Preparing for recording set a whole string of events in motion. Surprisingly, although I mostly play mandolin and dulcimer, the CD will be mostly guitar and vocals. This made me realize how few of my songs I've been playing, and realizing that made me decide that it's definitely time to perform more of my originals. So, I will be booking more solo shows, starting with February 1st in a benefit for Grand Street Community Arts Center. It's also started me jamming with a wider variety of musicians in hopes of starting another band. Whew! It already makes my head spin. Tomorrow is the day I go into the studio. Hopefully, the impending snow storm won't hold me back. I have all my instruments restrung and songs polished. I even had my best dulcimer tweaked to get rid of the occasional buzz. I will have a little accompaniment on a couple of the pieces, but it will mostly be me. It's a little hard to wrap my brain around since I have always played with others, often taking a backseat. Well, maybe it's my time to shine. Many thanks to Diana Morales Manley for the beautiful photos she took of me recently and to Richard Kavanaugh for so much, including the loan of his guitars, the back-up guitar and repair of my dulcimer. This weekend I am going to Fiddlin' Bear Old Time music festival at Lake Genero in Pennsylvania. I'm looking forward to a whole weekend of music with only myself to think about. After 38 years of raising children, I am finally on my own. I wondered if it would take a while to get used to this freedom, but it hasn't. Free at last; Free at last; Thanks God almighty, I'm free at last!
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