Recording a solo CD

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.