I've been recording some tunes with Jacob Utting Audio Engineering for the past couple weekends, and yesterday was an especially uplifting occasion. It astounds me some times how the right arrangement or little riff or lick or accent can make such a big difference in the size and energy of a track. Helping us out with this was the amazing Chris Murphy, who dropped in for some seriously inventive and spot-on guitar playing. This whole music thing is beginning to get almost, dare I say, exciting.
As far as other life things going on since last time I ranted at you, I started working today at a thrift store, my first delving into the retail business. There's certainly some intense cognitive dissonance going on, but mostly there's just sore feet.
Tonight I saw Jill and Kate perform at Rocketown.
Firstly, the opening act, Reva Williams of Gretel, completely took that space and focused it, wrapping us in a warm embrace like the space between the wire and the feet of a tight-rope walker. The air tingled electric as longing became tangible through sound...and...well, she performed a fantastic set is what I'm trying to get across here.
Then! Oh Then! JILLANDKATE came onstage and, with the news of the release of their new album, with wit and welcome and wonder, with rhythmic acoustic guitar that filled up that room like a symphony, with chillingly perfect and unobtrusively interesting harmonies, they did it. I'm quite sure what it was...hypnotized the audience? stole our hearts for the space of maybe 45 minutes then gave it back in more mature, more awe-struck pieces? proved that no matter who came or didn't or why, they deserved to be up there on that stage, true artists in their own right? displayed a distinctly empathetic, honest, and darn catchy sensibility for songwriting? rocked the house with two voices and an acoustic guitar?
Yes, yes, and yes to all of the above.
I met with someone the other day (i'm meeting a lot of someones lately; what am I in Nashville or something), and he told me that one of the lessons he learned early on in his songwriting career is to, as he said, not "compare apples to apples." His turn of that old phrase was to convey that he learned he couldn't try to compare the songs he wrote with those in some other town or situation who was trying to do something different. He had to write at the level of those on whose level he wanted to be.
Another old phrase is "dress for the job you want." Of course, if I did that you'd never see me.
'Cause I'd be a ninja.
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