The Vertical Alignment Blog
Art out of stasis: After “Signposts”
Onward to “Joseph's Dream” and beyond…
June 14, 2007
2:30 PM
I have just had two *astounding* telephone conversations with two Cherokees. The first was a woman who owns an art gallery that carries Jerome Tiger prints. She has prints of the late Tiger's “Last Journey,” the piercing art piece that I want to use as the basis for the cover of “The Trail of Tears Suite.” Frankie Sue was very talkative and *extremely* helpful in opening doors for me that I have been looking for since before my last visit to Oklahoma. When I outlined the Suite to her she became very interested and wanted to do anything she could to help. She gave me a series of amazing contacts, the first and most important being Peggy Tiger, the late Jerome's wife *and* holder of all his art rights. She then gave me the office number for her son in law, a *full blood* Keetoowah Cherokee who had been Chief of the Keetoowah’s for eight years. His name is John Ross, an incredibly historic Cherokee name. The *most esteemed* of all Cherokee Chiefs was named John Ross. He was Chief before, during, and after the Trail. Frankie Sue said there was some distant relation to the original Ross's wife in her son-in-law's blood.
I then called Peggy Tiger. (Frankie Sue had told me that she was now disabled because she had been in a terrible car accident about a year ago.) :~( Peggy was incredibly helpful. I introduced myself and told her of my musical project. She became noticeably excited over the Suite. I told her that I wanted to use her husband's piece “Last Journey” on the cover and she enthusiastically agreed and added that she wouldn’t charge me anything for such use! I told her that I would send her a package with all the lyrics and a cuppla tunes for her to hear. (If Mike finishes “Land and Sky” this weekend I will def send her that.) She expressed great excitement over receiving my material.
I had told both Frankie Sue and Peggy that I was looking for a male Cherokee voice to speak some parts in the Suite. Frankie Sue had recommended her son-in-law John Ross. When I mentioned the idea to Peggy she said, “Charlie Soap, Wilma Mankiller's husband, has a beautiful speaking voice.” (Wilma Mankiller was former Principal Chief for the Cherokee Nation.) This is where connections started getting a bit amazing. John Ross works for Charlie Soap at the Tribal Center. Is the Lord setting up a whole series of divine connections? It would seem so.
Frankie Sue also told me that people from PBS had been by to see her just a cuppla days ago because they are just beginning work on a new special on the Trail of Tears! She recommended that I get in touch with them and tell them about my music as they may actually be interested in using it. OK kids, this is starting to get deep. Has the Lord held this idea until now for a number of different reasons?
Peggy told me an interesting fact that contradicts pop Internet knowledge about Jerome Tiger: he was a full-blooded Muscogee, not a mix. Peggy said that she was a Cherokee mix.
Speaking with these two esteemed women underscored for me the nobility of the Cherokee people. They were so gracious, so helpful, so willing to take time from their day and not brush me off. Modern Americans should take communication lessons from these ladies.
7:30 PM
I have written the lyrics for the new opener to the Suite, “The Storyteller.” It opens with a short spoken story of the Wolf and the Lamb and then shows the young Storyteller during the Depression. As Monty had pictured, he walks leading his pack mule with his new Story Trunk strapped to its back. It is the final piece of the puzzle and now with it in place, the whole Suite feels like it should be called “The Story Trunk.” We'll hafta ponder that one, Mike and I. :~)
10:30 PM
I have fleshed out Mike Florio’s excellent song “Native Son” with a number of wonderful quotes by Will Rogers. I even dropped in an actual recording of the man I found at the Library of Congress site. Right now Will is opening the song. :~) More steps forward and another good nights work. G’night all!
June 13, 2007
10:30 PM
I've made good progress on “Battle of Pea Ridge” tonight. After trying several tempos, I've settled on 107 BPM, slightly faster than the original. I got good Pete scratch lead vox for Mike to follow and have begun to write a bass part. It is coming along nicely!
For once I am uncertain on harmonies. This song doesn’t lend itself to my usual vocal harm approach and I find myself casting about and not finding the lines. It will come in time, I know.
June 11, 2007
12:00 PM
I had a little time this morning so I worked some on the new down one whole tone “Land and Sky” to prepare for Mike’s recording this coming weekend. I need to have the basic harms in place for him to work around. Also, the very Neal Morse-y vocal counterpoint segment in the bridge needs to be totally redone by Mike. I need to record guide tracks for that. I should have everything ready for my bro in plenty of time. :~)
6:00 PM
I have completed the new backing vocals for LaS and am uploading to Mike's FTP now. I think we're on schedule for this tune. On to more great things!
June 10, 2007
6:00 PM
Monty is moving to Nashville. He will go into a *very* musical environment where he is looking forward to really making use of his massive talents. He was over last night for what could be our last summer feast while he still lives in the Lowcountry. I made citrus grilled Mahi-Mahi on our new stainless steel Tim Taylor grill. ;~) Terri did the fixins’ and it was *awesome.*
Monty had not yet heard any of “The Trail of Tears Suite” as this whole project has been developing apart from him. He read through all the lyrics so far and I played three tunes with Mike Florio singing for him. He was *impressed.* He said, “You better hold onto that fella!” Indeed. :~)
I told Tego that I wanted to add a first song, “The Storyteller,“ that would introduce the Cherokee with the Story Trunk. After grokking the whole storyline Tego had a *fantastic* idea. He suggested that the first song introduce the Storyteller as a young man toting a small trunk on a pack mule; his first Story Trunk. I *loved* it! I thought for awhile and said that it could be during the Depression. Tego said that was exactly what he had in mind. He added that Oklahoma was in the center of the Dust Bowl of that terrible time. Wow… what fantastic storyline dynamics!
So now one more song is on the slate for TToTS; “The Storyteller.” That will make the last powerful statement of “I Wander” the prophetic number eleven. Far out. This is better than advertised. :~D
I am working on some stage two mixes tonight with “Land and Sky” being at the top of the heap. We have elected to go with one whole tone down from my original as it is much more singable. Mike wants to finish that pup because we've decided to submit it to CPR 3. It would be schweet to be on a brand new disk with all our good friends again. :~)
9:00 PM
I've got the instruments all tuned down one whole tone and re-recorded for LaS. I hadta tweak a number of things, especially the bass track. (It went down toooo low.) Now I just need new backing vox and it'll be ready for Mike. A good Sunday night's work so far!
June 8, 2007
6:00 PM
Two months since an entry? Well don't think I haven't been *busy!* I just re-read the last entry and alot has happened since then. “The Trail of Tears Suite” is now fixed at ten songs. Here's the scoop…
After “Golden Years” was completed there was little songwriting action for a spell while Mike and I worked on existing tunes (a job which continues apace.) About a month ago Mike Florio sent me a song tidbit he had which he had never developed. I gave a listen and heard some way kewl progressions cast in a sorta stadium rock slow ballad format. I told Mike I liked it but it sounded like aforementioned. I said I'd like to play with the music because I had a new set of lyrics for the Suite that needed a home; one that made a future connection with “Joseph's Dream.” (I love doing that and I can see that as becoming a hallmark of VA recordings… they're all connected somehow.) Mike told me to save the music from stadium rock land.
A major character in “Joseph's Dream” is the Recreated Eldest dwelling on Arbor known as Feather. In her pre-resurrected life on Old Earth she was a Cherokee princess who died as a child on the Trail of Tears. On Arbor this immortal sees her whole race reborn (but I won't give *that* story away!) I have previously mentioned Feather at length in relation to the song “Five Nations” that I wrote for Joe (which connects directly back to the Trail of Tears and thus the Suite.)
The Lord truly inspired me (in true Sons of Thunder fashion) and I frantically reworked every progression of Mike's into a new tune. I then added a chorus and used his working title as the name and concept for the whole thing: “Live Through the Day.” The song has become both accessible yet very progressive. Mike names it as one of the most sing-able in the Suite.
The story of the song is told by none other that Feather's Chieftain Father while on the Trail of Tears. He tells her of the land that waits beyond the white man's trap, the Eternity with the Lord. He watches her fade and die, then reprises a refrain from “The Trail Where We Cried” but he makes it personal. The song falls right after aforementioned epic in the flow of the Suite. It has turned into a powerful tear-jerker filled with the personal level of tragedy that was the Trail of Tears.
I had another song idea for the Suite; a song called “Native Son” about that most famous Cherokee of all, Will Rogers. I had envisioned something that would use many of his poignant pithy quotes as the lyric substance of the song. I turned that idea over to Mike Florio and he brought forth something unexpected and most wonderful, a very bluesy piece in 11/8. Hey, that makes it prog blues, right? :~) He came up with a catchy refrain that repeats through the song. We're gonna drop in Will Rogers quotes throughout and tie in up in a prog bow. I started to do stuff in that direction and then…
I had the original draft of the lyrics for “Battle of Pea Ridge” for about a month along with only a kewl percussive organ intro. A cuppla weeks ago the Lord dropped the whole song into my spirit and it came forth with slightly expanded lyrics. Here is different future tie-in to the as yet totally unwritten “The Blood Cries Out.” That future concept potential double CD (or whatever medium we're using in a few years) will tell the tale of the American Civil War. The battle at Pea Ridge happened in Arkansas and Cherokees fought on the Confederate side. The song tells that story and this puppy rawks! It ends with the first draft of my envisioned refrain for “The Blood Cries Out,” heard first in this Suite long before anything else is even written. It is the refrain that I heard at the start when I received the whole massive Civil War idea and it has its first life here.
After that I took about a week away from VA stuff to use all spare moments to complete the all new ThunderSongs music download site. With an expanded stable of almost twenty artists it is a far cry from where we started a year ago. We have begun having some traffic since the Grand Opening and the future of the site is most promising.
After that I took a cue from Mike Florio (and an earlier e-mail exchange that we had,) and put together a series of documents that outlined the full range of the spiritual musical vision of Vertical Alignment from its roots in the late eighties into tomorrow. A centerpiece of this is the series of dreams by James Ryle that he entitled “The Sons of Thunder.” I have shared this with Mike and other VA members and am awaiting the next step in the overall vision of the band.
I was so inspired with all this ruminating that I picked up my Guild and wrote one more song for the Suite. With working title of “I Wander,” this song is in old Pete acoustic style like I used to write on my 12 string back in the early eighties. I use a Nashville tuning patch from my VG-8 and it sounds very spooky mandolin-y. Written as a continuous narrative with loaded meaning, it is a short song of deep ponderings that sum up the whole Suite and bring it into today with the final *critical* spiritual message of forgiveness. It also recognizes these things directly as signposts, thus tying into our first album.
“I Wander” will tag onto the absolute prog monster next-to-last tune I've envisioned. The original working concept title of that as yet unwritten song was “Tahlequah 2001” but the Lord has dropped a whole concept into my spirit today of “The Storyteller” or “The Story Trunk.” It will be a narrative by the same aged modern Cherokee as sings “I Wander.” In just one more tie-in, he will be the great-great-great grandson of Feather's father.
10:00 PM
I have just received the massive set of lyrics for “The Story Trunk,” the coming prog epic for the Suite. The tale of the Cherokee storyteller will segue perfectly into “I Wander” and the two together will make the penultimate statements of the Suite. The white man must repent for the sins of his fathers. The Cherokee must forgive. Only then can there be full spiritual peace and a great renewal. This is the spiritual mission of the Suite… reconciliation between white and Cherokee. We can *never* repay for what we have done, but we must go forward together in God.
As I re-read “The Story Trunk” and “I Wander” back to back I marvel at how the second completes the first. I am also struck with the fact that the entire Suite *belongs* to the storyteller! He it is who tells these tragic and wonderful tales. He it is who perhaps should begin the whole adventure even as he concludes it. Uh oh… I already told Mike there were ten songs. What if this will make eleven? :~O
April 8, 2007
12:30 PM
Today is Resurrection Day… Easter 2007. He is Risen! (He is Risen indeed.)
A month since the last entry, hmm? It has been a *busy* time that has included another trip to Oklahoma (see Oklahoma Highway) and the writing of more new music for “The Trail of Tears Suite.” Getting into the midst of the Cherokee Nation again has re-energized that project and Mike Florio continues to be deeply involved. Mike is a true blessing from the Lord as he really shares my vision fully. It is a rare and wonderful thing to find such a friend and partner in the Song.
“Signposts” has continued to sell well with orders both large and small going out. When one invoice that is out is paid in a week or so, *all* of the expenses for pressing the 1000 CD's will be *paid in full!* All that will have happened in less than 3 months since the CD's hit the door here. So, how are we doin'? :~) Praise the Lord!
The centerpiece song for “The Trail of Tears Suite” has gone through several changes. “The Trail Where We Cried” has a new guitar driven bridge that gives a nod to the bridge of the Kansas tune “Icarus II.” It fits much better.
A new song has joined the Suite… “Golden Years” is a short acoustic guitar driven tune about the early years in Oklahoma before the Civil War. It was a wonderful time for the Cherokee, but all too brief.
I am gonna put together a short one today as intro to “The Trail Where We Cried.” Our good friend and cancer survivor Ross Rorie was here yesterday for a few hours. I had him read a condensation of an eyewitness account of the start of the Trail of Tears written by a man who was then a Private in the Army. He was deeply compassionate to the Cherokee and his account is riveting. I am gonna use Ross’s recorded narration over a fitting music bed.
10:00 PM
I followed an idea have come up with a kewl song framework using Garritan Personal Orchestra. The song is very short, only running 1:15 now and is called “Last Goodbye.” I don't see it as any longer than 1:30 when I'm done. This will set the stage for the centerpiece “The Trail Where We Cried.”
March 3, 2007
This morning there was *another* European request for “Signposts,” this one from Fireworks magazine in Wales. They actually publish a paper ’zine with a circulation of 3000. I will be sending them VA music fer sure. :~)
March 2, 2007
Tonight has been a left-brain kinda night. I have resolved several irritating issues on my QuietDAW that *occasionally* caused SONAR to crash. I have also done other needed maintenance so no music tonight kids. I do love it when there are *no* errors or warnings in Event Viewer! :~)
I suspect my new friendship with the distributor in Wales has spawned these new things. I have 3 new European requests for promo copies of “Signposts.” They came from Italy, Scotland, and Greece! Hey, mebbe we *are* getting big in Europe! :~D
February 26, 2007
5:00 PM
In the nooks and crannies of the day I have managed to complete the first scratch vocal tracks FOR “The Trail Where We Cried.” It's rough, but at least the ideas are in SONAR. I must work on it some more before unveiling to Mike Florio.
I changed the opening to a mournful viola over the piano. It sounds poignant. I also upped the tempo globally by 5 bpm. The song was dragging a bit and I think this tempo set tightens it up. This also shortened the song length to around 9:05.
10:00 PM
I was not satisfied with the tempo and pitch of “The Trail Where We Cried” so I went in and fiddled around some more. I globally dropped the pitch by a whole tone and *mostly* raised the tempo by another 10 bpm (with a few exceptions that only got 5 bpm.) I think it is flowing better and is def more sing-able. This means I’ll hafta do all new scratch vox but they will be much more comfy for both me and Mike.
This song has required a lot of tweaking and it's been a trial and error kinda thing. It sounds great when I first do it, then after a few listens it needs something. I will keep pushing ’till it's right. Oh, with the tempo increases it’s now down to 8:15 in length.
I have been contacted by Prog Planet Radio in Denmark and they wanna do an interview. Far out! “Signposts” gets some more European exposure. As I am half Danish, this will be interesting.
I also got an e from Gilles in Montreal who told me he is playing “Signposts” music on his show up there. Pretty cool, eh? ;~)
February 25, 2007
12:00 PM
I have been tweaking the chorus in “The Trail Where We Cried” to bring it more into line with the demanding Mr. Bruford. I'll tell ya, he is a *great* advanced tutor on odd time signatures. 7/8 rawks!
Tego is coming over later bearing new gigs for my new GigaStudio3. I have increased my storage space by putting an extra 200 GB drive I had gathering dust on the shelf into my DAW. That will give me room for whatever Monty brings along. Let's see… that's a new total of 500 GB on the QuietDAW (plus my 200 GB external backup drive.)
9:00 PM
Monty just left after sharing one of Terri's *awesome* roast beast feasts with us. (Terri *rawks* in the kitchen, y’all!) He left me with a few gigabytes of new gigs for my GigaStudio3 including some awesome sounding strings and other good stuff. Have gigs, will play. :~)
Hey, I just got an e from CD Baby… our brand new VA “Signposts” spot has just sold its first CD!
February 24, 2007
11:00 AM
I uploaded “A Different Hue“ to Mike Florio last night and received word from him this morn that he received it fine. I followed his method of separating the tracks and he is a happy camper. I look forward to hearing the results.
I hope to work more on “The Trail Where We Cried“ today. If I can get my voice warmed up perhaps I can hone in on my now rather approximate melody line.
5:00 PM
Jim B. was over for a few hours while we sorted out some computer issues on his DAW which he brought along. I installed a new Tascam audio interface that he had bought and it came with Tascam GigaStudio3. He decided he didn't need that so he gave it to me. After carefully backing everything up I am getting ready to try it on my DAW. It will be a nice step up from the GigaStudio2 that I'm now running.
7:45 PM
Ah! I have GigaStudio3 now running on my main DAW and I have Rewired it into SONAR. I have duplicated my “Trail of Tears” patch set from GigaStudio2 on the new setup and it is running really well. I am playing with a kewl Mellotron flute patch in the intro of “The Trail Where We Cried” now and I think that this is the right sound for this somber piece.
9:30 PM
OK, the downside is that SONOR def gets sluggish when the Rewired GigaStudio3 is up. I’ll hafta see if I can live with it but I will for now. I figure that once I write the Giga tracks to audio and close Giga in the project it will loosen up again. I was able to record the ’Tron flute parts just fine which is a good test.
GigaStudio3 is *so* much more stable than 2 was that I can forgive much. I had version 2 running on its own machine and it would crash regularly. I gave 3 a real workout and it didn’t even burp. Much better. :~)
11:30 PM
I’ve hired a new session drummer for VA demos, non other than Mr. Bill Bruford! (Ha!) Monty turned me onto some fantastic Bruford MIDI drum loops and fills and I have been exploring. The first thing I found was a collection of loops in 7/8. :~D I proceeded to try ’em out in the chorus of “The Trail Where We Cried” which coincidentally happens to be in 7/8. Well lemme tell ya, that Bruford fella can be a pill to work with because he's always right and you know it, yunno? ;~P A thoroughly enjoyable adventure. I look forward to many journeys out close to the edge with my new friend Bill.
February 23, 2007
8:00 PM
I have finished writing and integrating a whole different verse structure for verses one and three of “The Trail Where We Cried.” I use a mellow synth sequence to bring in the powerful lyrics and I think it blends together much more nicely. It also makes the song longer and it now clocks in at around 9:30. I feel it coming together in a better way.
February 19, 2007
12:00 AM
I am completing the third song of “The Trail of Tears Suite” entitled “The Trail Where We Cried.” It is a somber piece that explores the central issue of the story, the *forced* relocation of five Native American tribes to the West. It is a fitting replacement for my old “Trail of Tears” tune which has a much more mainstream sound. This new song is quite proggy, perhaps the proggiest so far in the Suite.
2:30 PM
I have just received the final piece of “The Trail Where We Cried.” The tune is clocking in at around 8:45, def a more Peter J length tune. It is very prog and deeply sad, prolly one of the saddest I’ve written in awhile.
I have worked up a cover for “The Trail of Tears Suite” that uses a composite of two pieces of the late great Creek-Seminole artist Jerome Tiger. His work is deeply compelling and he captures both the dignity and angst of his people and of the Cherokee. I am hoping to be able to use this art on the web but info on the ownership of Tiger art is quite sketchy. If I go out to Oklahoma again on my parent's estate business I just may hafta knock on some doors and make some serious Cherokee and Tiger art connections.
January 29, 2007
“A Different Hue” is the newest song to join “The Trail of Tears Suite.” I received the lyrics all at once on the prior weekend, and then this past weekend the song started taking shape. I do believe my original musical Kansas meets Marillion idea has been eclipsed by something wonderful and fresh and totally unexpected. I think there are still Marillion echoes in there, but this song reaches back to 1992 and touches the old Peter J tune “Angels” more than anything else.
The song clocks in at around 3:45 and I def have no plans to make it any longer. That makes it the shortest tune I've written since the song “Signposts.” (And they say Peter J can't write short tunes.) I took a page from Mike Florio and his tune “Bells For 1827” on this one. In that song, he stacks large numbers of himself at the beginning for a huge choir kinda effect. I stacked a huge number of Pete's in two low parts in the intro. I then added the *singing debut* of Melody Hope Jorgensen… a stack of her singing another low part. Hey, the little kiddo sounds pretty good! She was so eager to try it… makes a Daddy's heart big. :~)
The song is a mournful look at how the Cherokee and other tribes *tried* to adapt to American culture. They built houses and schools, prosperous communities, orderly societies, but the white man would still not have them in their midst. So began, under President Andrew Jackson, the Indian Removal policy. We live with the stain of that travesty today.
I look forward to sharing the tune with Mike Florio. He is now working on “Land and Sky” and this one is slated to segue from that tune (in the manner of Marillion's “That Time of the Night.”) I look forward with great pleasure and anticipation to what my bro from New York will do with the tune.
January 25, 2007
Today the first shipment of “Signposts” CD”s went out to pre-order customers from all over the world! Another milestone is achieved. :~)
January 15, 2007
Shortly after noon today, the UPS man knocked on the door bearing 1,000 copies of the “Signposts” CD! We videoed the arrival for posterity's sake. ;~) I have listened to the disk twice and the final pressing sounds *better* than the master! Praise God, a lifelong dream has been achieved.
Pete, Melody and Rachel receive the “Signposts” shipment at the front door!
January 14, 2007
I have a completed a rough scratch of “Land and Sky.” It's coming into enough shape to get others involved. I am looking forward to hearing Mike Florio singing, particularly after what he sent me today…
Mike sent me the new version of the song “Signposts” with him singing lead. He sounded really good. It was such a paradigm shift for me to hear someone other than Jim singing that I am still adjusting to the sound. It serves as a preview of what the VA live band will sound like!
January 13, 2007
10:00 AM
Besides the one quick New Year's entry, this is the first serious blogging I've done in almost a month. I got sick before Christmas and this developed into a deep and serious bronchitis of which I didn't begin to fully recover until the start of this week. Now I'm back and great stuff is happening!
After the first victory of “Dress Rehearsal,” another song went to the top. “Ballad of the Titanic” was Song of the Day on January 8 and “Dress Rehearsal” picked up a handful of “best” awards for that week. In addition, DR has achieved the highest rating of five stars on GarageBand. Both songs are climbing the all time charts on the site and this is very gratifying. When people I don't know from places I've never heard of like our tunes I feel that our work was not in vain.
After not even turning on the studio for over 3 weeks, I have jumped back in with a vengeance. “Land and Sky” is now a complete construction with new scratch vox by yours truly that are now good enough to send to Mike Florio to lay down his vocal stylings. The song has taken form as a dramatic first movement of what will be the “Trail of Tears Suite” and it is sounding great.
Mike Florio and I have begun working on a *live* iteration of Vertical Alignment with him as lead vocalist. From among my CPR buddies we have tentatively put together what amounts to a C-Prog supergroup. There is much interest and everyone seems committed to the idea. I won't reveal more for now but I will say this… a *live VA* will be ready to take the stage in 2008! We are now accepting booking ideas if anyone wants to contact me. :~)
The “Signposts” CD's will be here on January 15th! (UPS *does* deliver on MLK Day.) What a huge Signpost! I can't wait to see the finished product and begin shipping to all who have pre-ordered and to the members of Team Signposts.
2:22 PM
I've been brushing up some harmonies and finishing the bass line for “Land and Sky” and it is sounding better and better. Now I need to fill out some instrumentation and add a rough MIDI drum track.
10:30 PM
I've been out with the fam all night. We went with Rachel and her hub Chris and our friend Martha to downtown Charleston for dinner. We had a most pleasant time eating at the Crab Shack. I had the crab leg steamer, so did Rach. It was awesome!
I returned home to find a phone message from Mike Florio. He has completed a re-recording of the song “Signposts” with him on lead vox. I am anxious to hear the tone of the tune with Mike at the helm. It will be a foreshadowing of the VA live band that is to come (and that is why we did it!)
I added a good bit of B4 organ parts to “Land and Sky” before we left. The tune is starting to prog, yunno? ;~) Mebbe I can do a few more licks tonight before I'm licked.
January 1, 2007
On this first day of the New Year, Vertical Alignment is out of the gate with a *bang.* The song “Dress Rehearsal” is Song of the Day *today* on GarageBand.com! I believe the Lord has great things in store for VA this year and consider this event on the first day of the year as a Signpost of those things… Happy New Year! :~D
December 20, 2006
“Land and Sky” has come into a final form with 3 verses and a chorus. I also have a spoken intro and an excerpt from the Creek tribe Creation story as told by Victoria Whitewolf. (The Creeks, or more properly the Myskoke tribe, were tempestuous next door neighbors to the Cherokee both before and after the Trail of Tears. Along with the Cherokee, they were of the “five civilized tribes.”) It has become a haunting piece and Mike Florio wants to try the high lead. :~) I am also in touch with a Christian Native American recording label to see if I can find any Native vocal talent.
It's been awhile since I just sat and listened to “Signposts” but I just played “The Towers“ and “Rented Houses” for myself here at the ’pute (on my sub-woofed Altecs) and it still sounds good. Jessica still absolutely slays me when I hear her emote through the tragedy of her own home town. And Carl on RH… mercy! He is just so… perfect… for the tune. His sardonic air underscores the message within a message of those lyrics. (I still dream of the time when I can talk Glass Hammer into doing RH with Carl Groves fronting and Peter J sideman on guit. I can dream, huh? Steve Babb, how 'bout it? I think Fred Schendel can handle the keys *fine* on that tune.)
I'm getting really excited about the *soon* arrival of the final “Signposts” CD's. It has taken years to see through and they are finally almost here. I pray they will be a blessing to many.
December 17, 2006
10:15 AM
I am home this Sunday morning with a sick Melody. Terri is working College of Charleston graduation today and won't be home ’till evening. After making Mellie comfy I fired up the studio. I have not done *anything* in there for over a month, but I was immediately drawn to my Cherokee flute. I did a major restoration of it a cuppla months ago, ordering parts and pieces from the flute maker in western Arkansas. He sent me a beautiful hand crafted eagle whistle block and plenty of deerskin thongs, beads, and feathers. It sounds and looks better!
I quickly came up with a haunting melody on the flute and then added a somber piano bed behind it. It was then I realized that “Trail of Tears” was gonna become a suite and this was the opening movement. I pictured the original Cherokee Nation holding virtually the entire southeast of what we know today as the United States. I began to feel the Cherokee philosophy that no one owned the land. They were trustees of an awesome gift of God that stretched from ocean to mountain and beyond. I believe that even in the pre-Christian Cherokee culture, they pointed to a Creator as the source of their earthly blessings. Perhaps they knew Him better than we.
“We obtained the land from the Living God above. They got their title from the British.” -Major Ridge, nineteenth century Cherokee
In fact, all Native American cultures bear witness to a Creator and His creative power:
“I did not come here; I was put here by the Creator.” -Meninick, Yakima tribe from the state of Washington
“There is a Song in everything.” -Medeas, Tsimshian tribe from British Columbia and south Alaska
In this sudden breathing space between “Signposts” and “Joseph's Dream” I feel the need to put some of the complex feelings I have experienced since my trip to Tulsa into music. Today is a start.
2:00 PM
“Land and Sky” is taking shape as the first movement of the “Trail of Tears Suite.” Through an intro with Cherokee flute and a 7/8 piano part it is unfolding into the first verse.
I have strange and mixed feelings about my Father and Mother's burial grounds in the national cemetery in eastern Oklahoma. Fort Gibson was on land that was supposed to belong to the Cherokee after the Trail of Tears. Not only was it taken from them but a vastly greater amount was taken during World War 2 and added to Fort Gibson. (The injustice didn't end in the nineteenth century.) In one sense, it is a high honor to be buried on tribal land. In another sense, they don't belong there; they belong in Wisconsin or back in Philadelphia. Be that as it may, there they rest. On Resurrection Day they will be in awesome company.
5:00 PM
Two verses have unfolded in this new first movement of “Trail of Tears Suite.” The melody I have been using is very high, a good bit of it falsetto with my voice. I am hearing a male lead vocal on this, however. It would be difficult, a Steve Walsh in his prime part. I wonder if either Mike Florio or the brothers FitzPatrick can hit this one. We shall see… *and* hear.
Many Cherokee came fully to the Lord in the early 1800's. Totally responsive to the call of Moravian, Baptist, and other missionaries, it was like they already knew the truth. It will be interesting to see if more than those who responded to this missionary call will be with us before the Lord…
10:00 PM
There are now three verses and the song has come to that magical point of taking a life of its own that transcends my scribblings and croakings. I have the tune grounded in the true to life GigaPiano and have done scratch vocals and 3 part harms. It is mostly in four with several 7/8 interludes. Most importantly, I feel I have honored the Native Americans to whom this land truly belongs.
How does one repay such a debt? Is repentance for the sins of our fathers *enough?* Maybe, in some small way, this music can bring both glory to God and some tiny degree of comfort to the Cherokees.
Be sure that all of this will bleed over into “Joseph's Dream.” The Cherokee woman Feather was born from my first trip to Tahlequah. My second trip to Oklahoma will most certainly echo into Joe also. Already it has give new depth to the song “Five Nations” that I am still developing for the Musical Event.
December 15, 2006
After some delays due in part to dealing with my late Mom's estate and also the joyous event of Melody's sixth birthday, I have approved the final proofs of the “Signposts” art today. My supplier has now moved into full production and we are expecting the disks to arrive here in the first part of January 2007. Order today!
December 12, 2006
I have finished the new segment in “Joseph's Dream” bringing to novel to about 144,000 words. I am now revising forward to bring everything into line with the new history of Arstod. I believe this is adding breadth to the story. It has flowed together remarkably well.
This has been aided by my *new* laptop computer that my beautiful wife got me as an advance Christmas present. She took pity upon this old man when his old laptop died at 38,000 feet.
What would we do without computers? I have come to depend on not just one, but a whole network of them here at Castle Jorgensen. There are two in the studio and four in the office *plus* the new laptop! This wondrous technology has been such a facilitator… I've been able to produce an album and write a book right here. It boggles the mind.
December 8, 2006
Today is Melody's birthday and she is six years old. :~D We had our private party and gift opening here tonight, tomorrow morning we have the big birthday gig at Ready, Set, Jump! That will be a super party with all her friends and I know Mellie will have a blast. Happy birthday Ensign!
December 7, 2006
After starting pre-orders for the “Signposts” CD last month, I have finalized the order with my supplier today. Gene is shipping them new masters to make the glass master for final pressing. "Signposts" is on the way here and then into *your* CD collection. Order today!
December 5, 2006
Right after Thanksgiving my Mom died. She was ninety years old and rich in the Lord. Full of days, I know she was welcomed home. Her life of service to the Lord is an example for us all.
I flew to Tulsa, OK with my elder daughter Rachel to attend the funeral which was in Tahlequah, OK (the national capital of the Cherokee Nation.) We flew into the Storm of the Century. Tulsa (which gets very little snow) received 10.4” of cold white the day we arrived. A big city with mebbe a half dozen snow plows. The place was paralyzed and we were unable to drive the 75 miles to Tahlequah the morning after we got there as most roads were closed.
I had intended to keep a live blog of the trip but after one entry on our first flight to Chicago, my laptop died. Here's the only one:
travelblog
November 30, 2006
8:50 AMRachel and I are on the way to Oklahoma. Right now we are flying at 38,000 feet in an Airbus A319 on the way to Chicago's famous O'Hare Airport. The Aussie sounding pilot just informed us that it is an even 32 degrees in the Windy City. Good thing I brought that winter coat, huh? We have a cuppla hour wait at O'Hare before our next flight to Tulsa. It's supposed to *snow* in Chicago, in fact the forecast is for about 14" today! I sure hope our plane to Tulsa gets outta there before that happens.
The flight attendant just gave me a La Croix mineral water… classy, huh? Yeah, but it doesn't taste that great. :~/
I travel with a mix of expectation and trepidation. I never relish funerals but I guess dying is a part of living. We who are left behind must pick up the pieces and carry on. I will get to visit my Dad's grave while we're there. I haven't seen it in ten years so that will be another unusual experience. I'm glad now that Rach is traveling with me.
We should be at Chicago in about 45 minutes. Because we're crossing a time zone it will be the same time I started this entry. Holy temporal anomaly Batman!
The blizzard was in full force when we arrived in Tulsa. It was an adventure just driving to the hotel in our rented Grand Prix. The next morning dawned a snow swept 7 degrees. Tulsa was shut down.
By afternoon the funeral was over but we were able to get out and about. We saw a location on the Hertz Tulsa map for the Cherokee Cultural Center and headed in that direction. At that spot we found… the Cherokee Casino! We decided to go in and see what we could find out. I have never been in such an establishment before and it was a smoke filled sea of slot machines. We walked up to the counter and a young Cherokee maid informed us there was no cultural center. She called a security guard over who knew more and he walked up and asked if he could help. I told him about the map and he replied that it was a mistake they had been trying to get removed for over two years. He then told us they had some historical displays on the second floor and he would be happy to give us a tour. He introduced himself as Junior. He showed us some remarkable artifacts and as we were talking I mentioned the Trail of Tears. Junior looked at me and said, “My great great grandmother was on the Trail.” I was stunned! I was speaking to a Cherokee man who had the blood of the Trail in his veins.
Junior spoke in that beautiful soft Native American manner that is so captivating. He told the story of a young Cherokee girl that survived the brutal winter on the thousand mile long trail that ended in Tahlequah. She grew up to become an esteemed healer, a genuine medicine woman. According to his family's records she lived to be 127 years old. Junior said as a boy he remembered to never tell her if he was sick when he went to her house. If he did she invariably would make him drink an evil tasting concoction. It would always make him better but he couldn't stand the taste.
Junior showed us to the gift shop and then said farewell. As I shook his hand I realized I was actually touching the blood of the Trail for the first time in my life.
Rachel helped me find an awesome piece of jewelry for Terri at the gift shop. It was a Cherokee crafted silver cross inset with opals. Truly beautiful. I also found a cute Cherokee doll for Melody and a history of the Cherokee Nation book for myself. It has proved to be fascinating and enlightening reading.
I wasn't able to see Mom off but I was able to touch the Cherokee Nation once again in a totally unexpected way. For both Rachel and I it made the long trip worthwhile. I believe that my music will be profoundly impacted by this trip.
November 5, 2006
I have been toying with the idea of a “Signposts” bonus disk today. This is something I have thought of many times before but never went further than the thinking. Today I began compiling a folder of candidates on my QuietDAW. Of course, “Trail of Tears” would be first in. It was a contender for the original release from the start but got nosed out by others like “Dress Rehearsal.” Perhaps Mike Florio would like to try singing that one. :~)
One that would have to be included is my song to my daughter Rachel that I wrote for her wedding back in May of this year. “You're Getting Married” is a personal Signpost of the highest order. It is a parental graduation of sorts if it comes in the form of Rachel and Chris. Terri and I feel so good about their union and it is the culmination and validation of 25 years of parenting. God bless Chris and Rachel in their beautiful life together.
Another Signpost song would be “Final Flight,” my old tune on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster written back in the year that it happened. That one would require massive ground up work to be viable, however. It could be a very rewarding project, though. I could envision a rewrite with verses that touched on the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster of this century and even the Apollo 1 disaster back in the 60's. Again, Mike Florio could do the lyrics great justice.
I am also looking at some cover tunes. One is Steve Taylor's song “The Finish Line” which I once started on prog rearranging and then set aside. It is a powerful Signpost of a song; a commentary on modern young believers and an exhortation to stay true to their calling. It is easy to make a commitment to Christ but then the pressures of the race become so hard. So many almost fall; so many are picked up by the Grace of God to continue their course to the finish line of this life and the beginning of Eternity. Taylor's song is a powerful affirmation of the *true* power of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Wait a minute, I just came up with *another* project! OK, counting “The Blood Cries Out” that makes five more full projects with potentially two of them as 2 CD projects. Or maybe by then the big projects can all fit on one Blu-Ray DVD. Lord, I think I need some help!
A “Signposts” bonus disk could be a project for a later re-mix and re-release of a deluxe 2 CD version of the album and the bonus cuts. We'll keep that one viable for now but on a back burner behind “Joseph's Dream.”
November 4, 2006
I feel the time for the final CD release of “Signposts” is drawing near. I am going to start preparing for pre-release today so that we can get the ball rolling. The album has to come out before Christmas to be valid for this year, methinks. Lord, show us the way.
I have received more “Signposts” promo requests from Mark of Silent Planet. One of them is from an outfit in Germany. After several good European reviews I think we qualify for one of those shirts that say: “I'm big in Europe.” ;~)
November 3, 2006
I haven't been able to work on the music much for the last week. The family dynamic has changed as Terri has gone back to work at her old job at the College of Charleston. This is great but requires adjustment. She has done so much for the fam in the last six years she has been home. Now the schedule is a little tighter.
I worked on “The Bridge” for awhile tonight. I came up with some new keyboard parts for the second verse and that's all. Perhaps this weekend will open up some creativity.
I *have* been writing in the book. “Joseph's Dream” the novel now clocks in at over 140,000 words. The insertion of new history is really working and I have almost completed that chapter. The next trick will be to update all future historical references to match the insertion. It will be worth the trouble.
The Lord dropped a whole new idea on me this past week. I have just read two books on American Civil War history and they were fascinating. Ever since we moved to this birthplace of the Confederacy I have had a keen interest in the time of that terrible war. Over 600,000 Americans died, one of them being Abraham Lincoln himself. He was shot four days after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox and I consider him one of the final casualties of the war. Living for over twenty years in the Deep South has totally changed my perspective on the War Between the States. There were more issues than slavery and the South's attitude on that abominable practice was far different that I had been taught in Northern schools. (Did you know that Robert E. Lee had no slaves? Every black person he bought, he emancipated. Only Freemen worked on his plantation.) The event that almost destroyed America left the blood of her sons in the ground of the land. “The Blood Cries Out” is the story of that dark chapter in our history. I see that as a prog concept album with the tales of that war.
Now wait a minute. I've already got three concept albums in the queue. Where will I get the time? Well, I will trust that the Lord will so direct things that each collection will come out at just the right time. God is always good and I *do* trust Him.
October 25, 2006
12:00 Midnight
Ah, tonight: musician’s hours (just like Mike Florio.) ;~) It's midnight and I just shut down the studio. I imported the old first verse arrangement into “The Bridge” and the tune is taking a shape both old and new. I also recorded a new piano part in the intro. It complements the DADGAD acoustic very nicely.
I used my GigaPiano from my GigaStudio which runs on a separate computer. Here is another marvel. This is software that can duplicate instruments accurately through huge sample sets that are streamed off the hard drive. The piano is a sampled Yamaha 16 foot concert grand. They recorded all the resonance too. That means that when you hold the sustain pedal, you hear all 88 keys worth of strings resonating just like the real thing. This is a giant step above most software pianos, even the Steinway that is in Garritan Personal Orchestra. The GigaPiano is my main squeeze for final piano sounds.
5:00 PM
I was sent a new review of “Signposts” from Finland today. Anders Olin of Victoryzine.com gave the album 4 out of 5 crosses. Read the whole thing at Anders’ review. This was Anders’ band information for VA:
“Symphonic progressive rock with Pete Jorgensen as the main driving force behind the band, combining strong melodies with well structured songs and thoughtful lyrics. For fans of symphonic rock in general, especially if you're into bands as Glass Hammer, early YES and Kansas.”
Kudos from Scandinavia… kewl!
10:00 PM
I have sketched out a scratch bass part for “The Bridge.” Bit by bit, the song is coming together. It's still a *long* way from the Marillion-on-steroids sound that I have in my head, but I know it will get there… one note at a time. :~)
October 23, 2006
Well, I hadta learn the guitar part all over again for the new 9/8 section of “The Bridge.” Yeah, it flowed when I was just sketching out the parts, but I *did* hafta concentrate on the new timing when trying even a scratch track. 9/8 is a tricky puppy.
It is hard to believe that “The Bridge” is almost eight years old. I wrote the tune before we even had an inkling of the house the Lord was moving us to in a cuppla short years. I remember doing it once on just acoustic with Bryan Selby on drums. We were having a very free fellowship with a number of people and to my amazement, the Spirit really started moving in this song. My Christian writer friend Shannon started dancing along with her kids and it was just a really unexpected and cool moment. I love it when the Lord anoints a song.
As of tonight I have a *way* rough scratch of the whole song with vocals. It's a personal milestone of sorts to finally have that tune committed to the Peter J production cycle. Now I can start fiddling with it some more. Mike F. will hafta wait 'till I get it into better shape.
Now mebbe I’ll get a shower and write some more on the new Joe chapter, “Arstod Rising.” So many stories to tell, so many songs to sing, so little time.
October 22, 2006
Business pressures and family needs have kept me away from “Joseph’s Dream” a good bit in the past month. I have pondered the plot lines a lot in my thinking, however, and have embarked on a substantial sub-plot addition. This has required a historical insertion in older parts of Joe which is slow going. When I get it up to the present Joe it will add great plot depth. I press on.
I have begun recording the songs of “Joseph’s Dream” that have languished in my head, on paper, and even on cassette tape! (Yes, some of the tunes predate my computer recording capabilities.) I have been working on “The Bridge” this weekend. The song is the climactic coming together of young Joseph’s dream and is the central statement of the work. Mike Florio is anxious to get working on some of the tunes and he is prolly the main reason I press forward with the music at this time. Even the basic unadorned acoustic version of “The Bridge” is twelve minutes long. I have begun progging it up by adding a quiet interlude before the intense central part of the tune. The song will prolly hit fifteen minutes before I'm done.
I am moving the central part into 9/8 time. This time sig seems to lend a mysterious drive to the section. I have found writing in this time difficult while recasting a 4/4 part into it is much easier. As I play the part it seems that it was *made* for 9/8!
As I begin to expand “The Bridge” I open again the soft synths that so astound me. So far I have inserted the Native Instruments B4 and the G-Media M-Tron. I am once again amazed at how close they get to a real Hammond B-3 and Mellotron. In years gone by it would be a monster dream to own that $25,000 plus amount of hardware (*and* to have the space to put it!) Now they live in virtual reality where anything is possible. And we are living in such a time as this…
Anyhow, I am coming up with a cool M-Tron flute thing in the quiet interlude. I’m thinking of the kinda flute stuff Pete Gabriel used to weave into quiet moments of Genesis tunes. Aye, that’s the ticket laddie. :~)
Oops… I went and threw in the orchestra. Talk about virtual power! I have an entire symphony orchestra at my call in Garritan Personal Orchestra. OK, the interlude is still quiet, but getting filled out. I added a harp glissando, some strings, and some horns. Getting nice.
October 21, 2006
An old acquaintance popped me an e-mail today… Jamie Woody, formerly of the band Magenta's Turn hails from the Raleigh, NC area. Way back in the Ground Zero days, we played a gig at a Christian club in Cary, NC and Magenta's Turn opened for us. Jamie remembers how his guitar rig was fried and I let him use mine for the show. It was a vintage Sunn 100 watt tube rig. I had reupholstered the head and cab in white padded Naugahyde. (Yeah buddy, just like the dash on yer brother's '62 Chevy.) :~O Well, it *was* an attention getter. I remember I also had a *genuine* original Musitronics Mu-Tron Bi-Phase *huge* chorus pedal. (It's long gone now.) Jamie remembered the sound.
Anyhow, he's still making music. If ya look over in the VA Forum, he posted some links. Hey, good to be in touch again Jamie!
October 17, 2006
Late last week I got a phone call from Mark Blair Glunt of Silent Planet Promotions. He has begun to do some work on behalf of “Signposts” in getting the release out there. He asked if he could put “Ballad of the Titanic” on a sampler CD that he was taking to San Juan, Puerto Rico. He took 100 copies of the sampler with him and gave them out at the Hard Rock Café in San Juan. I wonder if VA will fly on that island!
After his return, he sent me a link to a new review of “Signposts” on an Italian website: “Signposts” review in Italian
Just for grins, I did a BabelFish translation of the review. It makes a most amusing read:
‘Other interesting truth prog in arrival from the States: this Vertical Alignment album “Signposts” proposes us theirs debut. The sonoritŕ of these nine traces are riconducubili to those prog years seventy that, if very written and very played, it always knows to give strong emotions. To level of lyrics we find ourselves of forehead to a band that it wants to narrate to us of several catastrophes succeeded in was modern: we have like examples the Titanic (“Ballad Of The Titanic”) and the destruction of the twin towers (“The Towers”). Personally combo to stars and strisce the Genesis remembers me very, it is musically is for the warmth and expressive voice of Jim Braunreuther: we say that however we do not find ourselves of forehead to the sterile reproposition of canovacci progressive of Peter Gabriel and Phil the Collins, but to a group that tries, leaving from bases tested, to create something of new. The production and the missagio are of good level, and it does not seem sure of being of forehead to a disc autoprodotto: it has been made indeed an optimal job, inasmuch as a kind like the prog rock demands, and said deserves, a technical cure that of it values the sonorous peculiarities. The band it technically turns out unexceptionable, fact of the favorable rest when one attempts to us in the prog rock: without strafare the quintetto it succeeds to convince and to move, without to get lost in useless fine technicalities to if same. Indeed a beautiful discovery this Vertical Alignment, ve them council warmly if you have wants to pass of the time (nearly eighty minuteren!) making you to rock from the dolcezza and maestria of the present songs in “Signposts”: hour you salute and I return to riascoltare the disc, inasmuch as still they are not satisfied from much beauty… An optimal one platter of prog rock settantiano. If you are fans of the sort you must have this disc!’ 16/10/2006
September 20, 2006
I got my hands on an amazing piece of software, Garritan Personal Orchestra. For less than $200.00 one can put an entire orchestra in their computer complete with pipe organ. The strings are sampled 18th century instruments including two Stradivarius violins. I have played with many sampled violins but I have never heard them sound this good! And friends, just the pipe organ is worth the price. Amazing full stops sound that gives one chills.
All these wonderful instruments have breathed new life into an old project from “Joseph's Dream.” The “Fantasia for Pianissa and Claritar” has had one movement written for several years and two more slated to complete the piece. Suddenly with this new creative spark both the second and third movements are begun with the third showing *extreme* promise! As I open that movement with the pipe organ, I will now hafta go back to that part of the story and write a pipe organ into the music hall in Melody. I haven't decided on the Arbor name for this king of instruments yet, but it's gotta be unique.
Another long standing idea has turned into a song. The slow passage in the midst of the first movement of “Fantasia” is so melodic that I had always wanted to reprise it later in the piece. It has finally turned into a song. “Oleana Dawn” is given to Joseph in a dream as he sings of the true destiny of his beloved island. I can hear Mike Florio singing it now. :~)
I have also completed the initial arrangement of “Five Nations” and it has turned into an 8 plus minute prog monster. I need to find the right voice for the song. Feather is singing so a Cherokee would be beyond perfect. I don't know any female Cherokee singers, though. :~(
I have written an intro for Mike Florio’s song “Fugue” and wanna add a bridge also. I got involved in other things (like "Fantasia") and have gone no further for now. It will be there in the proper time.
I am up to 136,000 words in the book now and have converged the two main plot lines in preparation for the final moments of the story. This will easily go past 150,000 words, but I'm not sure how much further. There is def more story to tell, more songs to write. “Joseph's Dream” is a grand adventure!
August 22, 2006
“Joseph's Dream” has been making unparalleled progress. I am now almost at 130,000 words in the novel and have passed one critical plot climax. That scenario spawned another new song, “Five Nations” sung by Feather. I was working on the music tonight getting several new inspirations. I had a minor lock-up and hadta reboot so I thought I'd go check my e-mails on the other ’pute. What to my wondering eyes should appear…
I shared some lyrics with Mike Florio a few weeks ago. The song is “Fugue,” a lament by Joseph for his elder brother Hartmon. Tonight Mike sent me a little four minute masterpiece, “Fugue,” music by Mike Florio, lyrics by yours truly. It is a fantastic piece… memorable melody, great hooks, proggish. Mike works in SONAR too and is sending me a SONAR bundle. This will be fun. :~)
I feel the encouragement of the Lord when these kinda things happen. It makes it feel worthwhile.
On the “Signposts” front, Mark of Silent Planet Promotions is gonna start doing some promo of the album for me. Also, he put me in touch with Lance of Nightmare Records. I've sent him a press kit and we'll see where that goes. Still waiting on the Lord to do the final pressing and release of “Signposts…“
June 17, 2006
The “Signposts” master is done, the web release is out and actually selling a few copies on ThunderSongs, and I have put the project to rest for now. We are awaiting the final phase of CD pressing and sales which will begin shortly. In the meantime, I have taken a break. “Signposts” dominated so much for so long that this was needed.
I have returned to writing “Joseph's Dream” and am filling out many early details in the book. I am working on the time of the separation between Karn and the Eldest and have been chronicling this in ways that surprised even me. The writing has brought forth the first new Joe song since “Once In A Dream.” Though not so prog-ambitious, the new tune “Sea and Sky” definitely brought back the spirit of the whole adventure to me in full measure. As has happened with so much of Joe, I could *feel* the moment in such a way that it truly transported me to Arbor.
The song is written with a kewl VG-8 patch I made that allows me to slide between standard tuning and DADGAD with my expression pedal. It is plain and unadorned now but in my head I am hearing a Marillion arrangement. Lemme work on it. :~)
April 10, 2006
The final piece has come together and *oh* wotta piece! On Sunday night we did a historic session. Once again I hooked up to Staten Island and Eddie J’s studio. On the mic was a *fully* recovered Jessica. We re-did “The Towers.” A *whole octave higher.* It is positively *electrifying.* Jessica hits *and holds* the second G above middle C twice. It is like watching Nancy Kerrigan hit 2 triple axles perfectly. Jessica even hits the A above aforementioned G in passing. And she is doing this in full chest voice. No falsetto. I get choked and teary just thinking about it. I get covered in chicken skin listening to it. I have no words that fitly describe it, you will hafta hear it. I am soberly humbled to have the enormous privilege of working with such undiscovered *world class* talent. I am ecstatic that Jess thought enough of the whole “Signposts” project to give the 150% that I hear zooming through my Alesis monitors.
I am also humbled and ecstatic at the *critical* parts that my good friend Eddie J has played here in the end game. His careful and exacting critiques, his soaring keyboard work, and his precision recording effort have all contributed much more that the sum of their parts to all that is “Signposts.”
To my two great friends on Staten Island: you have put the heart of New York into “Signposts.” You made me feel so at home when I visited there and you feel so at home in “Signposts.” In large part because of this project, I will always have a piece of New York in my spirit. Eddie J and Jessica Cole, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Lemme tell ya, Carl in “Rented Houses” now has a *tough act to follow* coming after Jess!
March 28, 2006
Okay, mebbe not May 5th. I talked with Gene who mentioned he thought traditional release day was Tuesday. Who am I to buck such tradition? Anyhow, the whole release idea is being re-tooled into something way kewl. I will make an announcement soon.
The extra time has allowed me the luxury of one *more* round of mixing! I am now getting ready to preview Signposts CD 11.0! Hey, it *will* get mastered y’all! Right now I feel like it’s a marvelous gem that I am polishing to the highest possible luster. Believe me, the wait will be worth it.
March 23, 2006
Progress moves slowly and the mastering process is no exception. This has turned out as a blessing, however, for it has given me some more space for tweakage. I have totally re-cast Carl's vox in “Rented Houses” and have a much better mix now. I will also correct various timing errors throughout the release.
All this has served to expose the raw fact that I cannot release the CD on April 6. At this time I am planning an announcement that will move the release date to May 5, 2006, a new day of Grace!
March 17, 2006
Aye lads and lassies! A happy St. Patty’s Day to ye!
Truly it has been a Signpost day. I have completed *all* mixes and FTP’d to Gene for mastering. There will prolly be a few loose ends but for my part, “Signposts” is done, son! Hallelujah!
There is a chance of doing one follow up session with Eddie and Jessica. If I get any new material for “The Towers,” it will be easy to update.
Now the songs are in Gene’s capable hands. Lord, guide him and bless him! May “Signposts” be a blessing to many!
March 15, 2006
1:45 AM
I have just had prolly the most *anointed* mixing session that I can remember in all of the many “Signposts” sessions. I got up close and personal with “The Towers” in a way I haven't before. This is the way of it…
I hadta pick up Rachel earlier this evening. I needed a break from hearing *nothing but* “Signposts” so I threw “Somewhere to Elsewhere” by Kansas into the CD deck in the Volvo. I checked out Kerry’s mixing real close and I noted that I needed *less* in “The Towers.” I got home and applied this observation and some most amazing things began to happen. As I zeroed in on Jessica’s solo voice, I heard the minor tweaks that were needed to make it *perfect.* Jessica began to shine like an emerald.
I heard the harmonies that I have lived with for five years in this song, and then I heard them anew. Through purpose and serendipity, I found a new path. I now had not only a roomful of Jessica’s, but also a tasteful blend of Jim’s and Pete’s. The Lord led me to one new harmonic moment in particular that is absolutely stunning.
I also had all those Eddie’s running all over the keys. They are fantabulous! They evoke such emotion that I am overwhelmed. It is a statement of one man's freedom from the weight of a sadness that is still burying many in New York. It is a declaration of joy that obliterates sorrow. It is a moment of prolly the most poignant beauty in all of “Signposts.”
I know that the Lord had Eddie and Jessica appointed for this song. They are home town New Yorkers, singing and playing not about an international news event, but about their neighborhood. They lend an authority to “The Towers” that demands attention and respect. I am both humbled and honored that the Lord has blessed me with such an outstanding brother and sister to represent their home place on “Signposts.”
And now I am even further behind. Somehow, I still feel right on track. Perhaps, (as is often the case,) the Lord's timing is a little different than our rigid timetable. If so, it's OK.
I feel more strongly every day that I have a responsibility to fulfill in “Signposts.” My responsibility is first to the Lord as He has provided the revelation and inspiration for this release. Secondly, it is to the more than 20 individuals that have freely donated their time and awesome talent to this prophetic project. To all of the above I can deliver no less that the very best that I am able as I walk with the Light that He has hidden within me.
Through the faithful deposits of many bros and sisters and most notably Gene Crout and Fred Schendel, I have gained the confidence to present to all of you a world class mix. It is my aim to do exactly this, even if it upsets the timetable that I have invented. The Lord has given me a new slogan for this mixing project based on an old wine commercial seen on TV many years ago:
“We will serve no Sign before it's time.”
March 13, 2006
9:30 PM
So, did Pete finish the mixing? Well, ah, you see, um… :~O
We had a kewl “Signposts” listening party on Saturday night. Monty came over and we grilled some steaks and later kicked back for a serious listen. I had less than a page of notes when done including suggestions by Terri and Tego. (As a point of reference, the first time I did this I think I had five pages of notes.) You see, there was one little thing in “Dress Rehearsal” and, well…
I spent Sunday (off and on) *totally* re-mixing the vocals on “Dress Rehearsal.” This song is such an important tune that I don't want it less than perfect (by my gradually escalating standards of perfection.) The tune is sounding absolutely awesome now!
Most of today was going through the rest of the tunes and carefully tweaking everything. I’m up to “The Towers” now and am taking a break while I mix down a new drum stem mix.
Yes, I know it puts everything behind. So be it. I owe it first to my God and then to all the awesome members of Team Signposts to present nothing less than the very best I am able. If this pushes the release back, then I will live with it. In the meantime, full speed ahead!
11:45 PM
I have spent the last hour chasing a wild bumper. Other than that, I think “The Towers” is sounding great!
March 11, 2006
11:45 AM
“Rented Houses” has just been kicked up a notch with another re-mix. I have added some FX in strategic places and also did some panning where needed. I did some precision EQ on Carl’s vox to help them sit better in the overall mix.
I plan to have all re-mixing done this afternoon. We will have a “Signposts” listening party later to uncover any final minor flaws. These I can touch up on Sunday, then Monday ship the final trax to Gene for mastering. YeHa!
March 10, 2006
10:30 AM
The final parts for “The Towers” are in and I hope to finish everything today so I can ship the whole project off to Gene. We are def behind schedule now but still in the groove for the projected release date, Lord willing.
Eddie J’s keyboard parts are truly masterful. Done in the middle of the night, his creative juices were really flowing. The synth leads are right on the money and easily match Fred Schendel for sheer manual dexterity. Beautiful and emotional, but the piano parts were the real surprise. Eddie wrote to me:
“I've finished off 4 takes of wayward piano meanderings where you asked for them. And after I listened to each track back, I decided to hear what all 4 at once would sound like. A pretty cool effect ensues, especially if you pan one left, one right, the others at 2:00/10:00…
“It has this kind of twinkling effect that evokes ‘Reduced them to debris.’ Many people have described the aftermath’s air as ‘pixie dust,’ air that had an illumination of its own, once the cave-effect had cleared somewhat. The pianos together kind of convey this effect aurally in a way. Very odd, occasionally jarring with the inevitable little dissonances that ensue, yet often containing beauty in parts -- in a couple of spots stunningly so, something I wasn’t expecting.
“Serendipity perhaps or just a lack of sleep and my brain is working on fumes. ;-)”
Eddie, you have worked something *truly* wonderful and portrayed another facet of the tragedy that only a New Yorker would know. My hat’s off to you my bro! Awesome work.
7:30 PM
I’ve been working on a roomful of Jessica’s on “The Towers.” If you think one sounded good, just wait 'till you hear *this!*
(Sigh) All such creative tinkering must end this weekend. “Signposts” must go to Gene pronto!
11:00 PM
After a family movie night tribute to the late Don Knotts with “The Amazing Mr. Limpet,” I returned to the last chorus of “The Towers.” People, what was a stellar ending just turned into a staggering ending with the addition of a roomful of Jessica's. Truly, a chicken skin moment.
11:45 PM
“The Towers” has finally joined the rest of “Signposts” in a *huge* way. Eddie and Jessica have taken it to a whole new level and now it is ready. “Signposts” can become a coherent whole in a day!
March 6, 2006
We had a session with Eddie J and Jessica on Staten Island last night. I had the visual hook-up so I could control Eddie’s SONAR 5 from my DAW but I was not able to get the audio feed working. I hadta listen over a phone earpiece so I did not hear the full scope of what went down. Jessica did 2 full runs through “The Towers” plus a few punch ins. After we quit the session I transferred all the fresh tracks down here to my SC ’puter. By the time I was done it was midnight, so I z’d out fer the night.
This afternoon I flew Jess into my master “The Towers” project and began to tweak her into the tune. Guys, she sounds awesome! She was in a low register for her and it sounds like silky power. I hafta work on it some more, but I think Jim just got upstaged on this puppy. Of course, I will keep all the kewl harms that Jim and I did. They seem to hang pretty well under Jessica.
Now, there is *only one* piece of “Signposts” outstanding. Eddie J’s keyboard for "The Towers" will prolly be done tonight, and then I can bring it on home. Praise God!
Gene has been listening to my final mixes today and he is really excited with “Signposts!” He has complemented me and all of the Team that worked so hard to pull this project together in extraordinary ways. I know when Gene says it’s good, he truly means it. I just thank and praise God for His Grace over all of the steps in this long and wonderful process.
I had about 20 e-mails from Gene today with a bunch of very specific tweaks which I will be performing. I also had 2 e’s from Stephen Lawhead! He has approved of using his pic in my Team Signposts collage. He is also excited about the release and looking forward to hearing it. I will be sending him a copy when I get the finished CD's.
George of RoSFest has added VA to his headlines on the prog4you.com website! The release of “Signposts” is making a buzz people. He has also invited me to set up a merchant's table at this year's festival at the end of April. I am seriously considering this option.
March 3, 2006
I have just re-mixed “Children in the Son” once more and now I have updated final mixes except for “The Towers.” The album is sounding really good. I now plan to have the tracks in Gene’s hands next week for mastering. Hopefully, we will do the vocal sessions with Jessica in a day or two then I can complete the package. Pressing on!
February 28, 2006
A *long* awaited and overdue milestone has been reached tonight. I am now burning a *full* CD of “Signposts” final release candidates. I was sick again over the weekend and got behind, but I made up the last cuppla days. Just an hour ago I finished final tweaks of “Rented Houses Epilogue / Signposts (reprise)” and that is the last cut! I plan to kick back for the next hour and nineteen minutes for a critical listen to the whole thing. :~O
February 21, 2006
We have a super final mix candidate of “Rented Houses.” Steve’s bass is killer as are Mike’s drums.
February 20, 2006
I started getting sick on Friday and I went right to Doc Jennifer who gave me a potent antibiotic. I spent the weekend in bed and I think I'm actually conquering this b4 it gets bad. The way I figure, the Lord gave me the weekend off. I guess I needed it.
We did not make today’s deadline but we are still in the pocket for April release. Gene’s mastering and the actual CD production will not take as long as expected so things are looking good.
Gene has listened to the mixes for the first 6 tunes and he approves. Yee ha! The end is indeed in sight.
Even though I felt ratty, I hooked up with Eddie on Friday night. I had his SONAR 5 up on my screen and we were tweaking when Jessica arrived. She told us she just wasn't ready yet. This is encouraging for me because I know she wants to do “The Towers” right. She’s just not used to a Peter J epic, yunno? ;~) We have a new session scheduled for March 1st.
“Rented Houses” is on the way to a whole new level. I have been fitting the new bass and drums into the old tune and it is beginning to sound better than ever. I may hafta re-do a few of my harms, but that's not much at all. Even with the sickness set back, I still see everything but Jess’s vox done this week.
February 14, 2006
Happy Valentines Day! We had a wonderful family celebration earlier and now Terri and I are listening to a song mix I did on our music ’puter that I called “My Proggy Valentine.” Fire in the fireplace, Camel doing “Lady Fantasy,” does it get more romantic? :~)
I spoke today with Tony Shore of Litho Express in St. Paul, MN. He is the man that pressed and printed the CPR Volume One production and Randino recommends him highly. I have found out that their turnaround time is pretty short, so if I hafta work a little extra on the mixes I’m still inside the envelope. This is *good* news.
I’ve been listening to the new mixes the last cuppla days and they are *much* closer, but I still def have tweaking to do. Getting Mike’s drums really balanced in every song is a real high-wire act. I can get everything else pretty good; it’s the drums that are the hardest.
Earlier I archived a huge amount of old “Signposts” projects… earlier versions that I wanna keep but were cramping my meager 200 GB audio hard drive. Well, I was able to pull off about 45 GB of data that took ten (count ’em, 10) DVD’s! It is astounding how much raw data all those audio takes use up.
February 12, 2006
2:30 PM
Terri is working her way through “Freedom’s Call” as I write. She is now crafting a kewl little bass part for the weird intro to verse 3 and I like what I’m hearing. She’s using a sorta doubler patch from her new FX box and it paints the right tone for that moment.
7:45 PM
I’ve been doing some close editing of Mike’s drums in “The Towers.” I am using Drumagog on his kick drum to pump up the kick sound. (I think this will be a standard for all of his drum tracks… it’s an easy addition.) I added some strategic cymbal hits and the whole thing is more cohesive. Further in and further up…
10:15
I just got off the phone with Eddie J in snowy NYC. We hooked up and I spent some time configuring his SONAR for the coming session with Jessica. I am looking forward to it.
February 11, 2006
5:30 PM
Using my latest newly learned mixing chops I have gone back through the mixes and reset all levels. The first 4 tunes now have most excellent mixes. I hope to get a couple more down shortly.
Terri will record some more bass tomorrow. We will integrate her pretty easily so I am not concerned that the mixes will be upset.
Once I get the current mixes in compliance I will start again on “Rented Houses.” If I can get Mike’s drums dialed in and everything else sitting pretty I can easily fly Steve’s corrected bass track in. After that, the last 2 songs need re-tweaked and I’ll be ready for Gene.
The final parts to be done next week are completing Terri’s bass and doing Eddie and Jessica’s parts for “The Towers.” Because of the latter, I have pushed back my mastering deadline to Feb. 20th. I can see that happening no problemo.
February 10, 2006
11:00 AM
Terri is in the groove this morning! We both found (to our surprise) that we had the morning free, so we decided to lay down more bass parts. Methinks the lady found the pocket. We’re taking a *short* break, then back to it until it’s time to pick up Melody from school.
3:00 PM
I received Mike’s drum tracks for “Rented Houses” yesterday. I also downloaded Steve’s bass parts. I just flew everything into the project and found that there are some gaps in the bass track. I e-mailed the guys and I *know* they’ll fix it and get it back. Believe me; I have plenty to do anyhow! I so appreciate all the fantastic help I’ve received from Hammer Land!
February 8, 2006
1:00 AM
Wow! Terri really liked the new mixes. When I asked her if they held up against Becker and Fagan she declined to comment. OK, I can take that. Wait, it’s One AM? Fred, what have you done to me? :~D
6:00 PM
I had the morning to work on mixes and I got into “Children in the Son.” Oh, did I find some new tweakage, especially on Randy’s guitar. It is really sparkling now! I mildly Frederized ® Wil’s drums and they really pop now.
I got a very informative e from Gene that really turned my head around. It made me realize a mistake I’d made in mixing and I had an epiphany of what I needed to do. I just made another minor mixing paradigm shift that will get me closer to the quality I *need* to present “Signposts” to the world.
Another most exciting development was that Dano has answered some of my final issues with the “Signposts” cover art in an *awesome* manner. He took my suggestion and my photos of New York Harbor taken from the Staten Island Ferry and reworked the backdrop. The cover really *pops* now and has what I wanted, lotsa blue sky. Dano is another of my amazing CPR friends that have contributed heart and soul to this project. I have the new piece on my desktop and will live with it for awhile, but I’m sure this is the final answer to that one nagging piece of the puzzle. Thank You for my Montana brother Dano, Lord!
10:00 PM
Terri is in the studio practicing “Freedom’s Call” and she is sounding good! We’ve put off her bass parts ’till the end but I know they’ll be in the pocket. We’re gonna lay down some tracks *now.*
February 7, 2006
11:30 AM
I had no appointments this morning so I spent more quality time on “Signposts.” First, I finished the upload of “The Towers” to Eddie J, set up the project for his SONAR 5, and left him a note on his desktop right there on Staten Island. Life in the 21st century is pretty amazing, huh?
I then Frederized Mike’s drums on “Dress Rehearsal” and added my EQ tweaks to the acoustic guitar and voila, a *serious* final mix candidate. Doing the Fred on the drums was fast and easy with all the presets I had stored last night. Now I’m gonna Frederize the drums on “Ballad of the Titanic.” Perhaps by day’s end I can have all current mixes Frederized. To the studio, Captain!
5:30 PM
I went out and made some money for a few hours this afternoon. (A *good* thing.) I got back to my office a short while ago to find an e-mail from Steve Babb. He has finished the bass for “Rented Houses.” Yes! Yunno, God’s timing is amazing. I just got word that Mike’s new drums are on the way *and* I am also up to “Rented Houses” in the “Signposts”" final mix marathon. Thank you Steve, and above all, thank You Lord! :~D
11:00 PM
I’m alternating between mixing and listening to good old tunes with Terri. She’s got Spirit “Feedback” on right now… pschy-ca-delic! We were listening to the late great Michael Hedges earlier. In between that I’m Frederizing ® (ha!) "Ballad of the Titanic." Oh, oh, she’s on a Spirit kick… she just spun up “Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus.” What a wild un-definable album that was… def filled with prog moments. (You gotta love Randy California’s untamed guitar!)
I just did a new mixdown of “Ballad of the Titanic” I need to check out. To the bat-studio Robin!
11:30 PM
I’m ripping the new mixes to VBR .mp3’s and was gonna listen in the living room, but, I dunno if Vertical Alignment can upstage Spirit right now. (sigh) Mebbe later! No, wait… she just put on old Steely Dan. “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.” I’m not *even* gonna try and compete with that! Terri in a time warp y’all! *LOL* (Old timey, yes, but *I* like it too!) ;~) "Until my ship comes in, I’ll live night by night…" (It must be the “Pretzel Logic” album.)
11:55 PM
Uh-oh. Terri said we can listen to the mixes after she plays the title cut. I gotta follow Becker and Fagan y’all. Cold sweat and warm tears. *gulp*
February 6, 2006
One Year Anniversary of The Blog Today!
9:30 AM
Good morning world! Today is a real Signpost as it has now been *one year* that this blog has been running. As I look back to February 6th of a year ago I can see we have come far. At that time I was just finishing the writing of "Dress Rehearsal", VA had no drummer, and the new website consisted of a “coming soon” page. Now we have an awesome drummer from the NashVegas area, all tunes are in their final form, and the VA site is pushing 4000 hits. (I hope to see that go through the roof when “Signposts” is released.)
It is also two months until the release date of “Signposts.” My goal is to have everything ready and shipped off to Gene for mastering by February 15th. There are def still things to be done but at this point I think that is a realistic goal. I continue to use every spare minute to bring it on home.
I did a real marathon yesterday to bring “The Towers” into compliance. I spent over 12 hours working on all facets of the mix. The tune had languished until I got Jim’s final vocals. Now I have a final release candidate that I can use to update the SONAR project that Eddie J has up on Staten Island. My hope is that he and Jessica can do their parts in about a week so I can fly them into the completed mix. I know that option is really down to the wire on my production schedule but at this point it is still do-able. I am looking forward to hearing what Jessica can do with the tune so I can make a final mix determination on all lead vocals. I am also *way* looking forward to hearing Eddie’s mighty fingers on the keys in this tune. I know all will be great!
One other last missing piece is Steve Babb’s bass part for “Rented Houses.” He and the guys of Glass Hammer have been *so* busy getting their DVD release finished that it’s hard for him to fit in anything else. (I so look forward to that video! It was shot at the concert in NashVegas that Terri and Rachel saw. I hope they got in a cutaway shot somewhere… that would be too kewl.) Anyhow, I have a backup plan for bass if Steve can’t finish it. We still have ten days before my deadline.
I am burning a final mix candidate “Signposts” CD as I write. Shortly I will hafta go out on HIS Inc. business for several hours and I want to be critically listening while I’m driving. I have used this method a lot to evaluate mixes and it really helps. Later, I want to begin doing high quality VBR .mp3’s of the songs for evaluation by Gene and Team Signposts. The one year blog is open…
1:45 PM
I was able to listen to all the current mixes in the van. I am finally hearing songs that are just about ready for prime time! I wanna tweak several things, give another listen, and then rip to .mp3 for the Team. Onward to Thunder Studio 2006!
4:30 PM
I was tweaking levels in the “Freedom’s Call” mix and got a wild hair. I added a few short lead guitar parts in one of the transitions. Ahh… *much* better now! ;~)
I have also mixed stems for a new compact SONAR project of “The Towers“ for Eddie. I’m gonna try and hook up tonight and get that up the wire to NYC.
I talked to Steve Babb on the phone. He said, “I’ll bet you want that bass part.” Yeah, Steve… pretty please? ;~) Fred wasn’t in but I’m gonna call him shortly to get the skinny on his drum mixing magic.
7:30 PM
Fred Schendel called me right before dinner. He gave me bucu info on setting up Mike’s drum parts. I have three pages of notes that I wrote… specific EQ settings, gate and compressor settings, reverb settings. I’m gonna try Fred’s Formula on “The Towers” and see if I can get those drums to sparkle. Back to the studio… :~)
BTW: Fred said the nicest things about the songs of “Signposts!” I think he really likes it. :~O
10:30 PM
Woof! I have been applying Fredo’s Secret Recipe to the drums on “The Towers.” As I worked through each setting, I have saved them as presets in my different plug-ins so I have a *real* quick starting place for the rest of the tunes. To Fred’s advice I added the awesome Perfect Spaces convolution reverb on the snare *and* a mastering limiter on the overall drum mix. Wow, I think I finally found Mike’s sound! There is nothing like professional advice from a professional professional! :~O
I am hooked up to Eddie’s computer as we speak and shortly will begin transfer of the slim Jim “The Towers.” I so look forward to what he and Jessica cook up for that tune.
February 5, 2006
12 hours on “The Towers!” Whew… ’nuff said. I will write a good one tomorrow because it’s the one year anniversary of the blog! Be there or be square.
February 4, 2006
4:00 PM
Last night I found the EQ sweet spot for the acoustic guitar in “Ballad of the Titanic.” It sits so schweet in the mix now… I also added a cuppla little electric guitar fill leads. The tune is basically there at this point! I also added some harms to the fourth verse of “Freedom’s Call.” That tune is also there.
I’ve *finally* been working on “The Towers” today. Lemme tweak the vox and get a new mix up to Eddie J. The “Signposts” train is rolling…
Mike A. just sent me a mix of the *new* drums for “Rented Houses.” He has out-done his original performance! It sounded great and I told him to ship it to me ASAP.
11:30 PM
Lotsa progress on “The Towers”… I should be able to finish tomorrow. We are pressing in with a purpose. Grr.
February 2, 2006
7:30 PM
I was up until 2:30 AM working on “Ballad of the Titanic” early this morning. (It must be Fred rubbing off!) I tweaked the harms and expanded the Army of Fred in several places while adding my own BGV’s. Eric’s vocals are *so* pristine that I really don’t need to touch them! He did an *awesome* job on the tune. I found some way kewl sound FX on the web that I also used. In the transition after Titanic hits the ’berg, I have a Morse code SOS panning across the stereo space. Also, as Californian is watching the rockets Titanic fired I have a volley of skyrockets fly across the stereo stage. There’s one more FX I wanna find but I’m still looking. The Fred-Shreddy duel is *exactly* right… it really is a highlight of the release.
I am finishing some tweaks on “Freedom’s Call” then the rest of the evening is for “The Towers.” I must tweak all vocal tracks and check for anything else that is needed. The blog is open…
10:00 PM
Well, I kinda got *into* “Freedom’s Call.” These songs have a way of drawing you in, of whispering, “Further in and further up!“ I added a cuppla key little harmonies that are just the right touch and then seasoned to taste. I’m listening to the mix now and it is sounding good. BTW: I’m using Fred’s remix of Mike’s drums and they are good! I think I’ll burn what I’ve got to CD and retire for some quality horizontal listening. :~)
10:50 PM
I lied. I went back and tweaked the guitar delays a bit and re-set some levels. I got a nice shower and *now* I’m burning a CD. Time for horizontal alignment! ;~)
January 29, 2005
9:00 AM
It’s Sunday morning and I’m getting ready for some quality time with the Lord. Later, we’ll have family worship time together. Yunno, I really yearn for a fellowship with real live C-Proggers who are sold out to God. Our e-fellowship is *awesome*, but there’s nothing like a roomful of real people worshipping a real God together, praying and prophesying together, and just loving one another. Perhaps some day the Lord would be gracious and gather us together in reality, not just in virtuality!
The past week has been busy with “Signposts” milestones. As I write, I am doing a real-time transfer of “The Towers” SONAR 5 project from my QuietDAW to Eddie J’s EverArmDAW on Staten Island almost 1000 miles away. I used to *dream* of doing such thing. Now I can take a *huge* 8 GB project and pipeline it to NYC! I know Eddie and Kirsten (and the kids) are prolly already over at Salem Church preparing for their Sunday morning music with Jessica. I pray the Lord’s blessing on all my brothers and sisters up at that wonderful Staten Island church this morning.
I have decided on a different approach for “The Towers,” one that will use *both* Jim and Jessica in lead vocal switch-offs through the song. To that end, I have Jim coming over this afternoon for some new vocal sessions for the song. We plan to nail his vox today.
I have received files from Hammerland this past week. I now have everything in place for “Freedom’s Call” as Fred sent me his remix of Mike’s drums. The song is ready for prime time in version 10.0! Fred’s work on the drums makes Mike sound the way he should. Now I hope to learn from that and transfer that sound into all the rest of Mike’s drums.
Fred also sent me the Eric vocals and the Army of Fred for “Ballad of the Titanic.” Fred’s BGV’s are superior! I flew everything in and lined it up and now “Titanic” has all the pieces in place. Eric did a fantastic job of emoting this tune. Another song is closer to mastering time.
I have been doing new surgery on “Rented Houses” as I await Steve’s bass part. A song I had mixed and put to bed over a year ago now shows how much I’ve learned in that year by what it lacks. And so, the first shall be last. In my re-mixing, I have found that Mike’s drum parts had some recording issues. I have asked him to re-record the drums for the tune to which he has graciously consented. With that and the bass part, I can get this tune sounding as good as “Freedom’s Call.” I really want that because “Rented Houses” is prolly my personal fave of the “Signposts” songs.
5:30 PM
I just finished a 3 hour recording session with Jim. He re-did all melody parts for “The Towers” in a most acceptable fashion. I now have what I need to comp together a killer Jim lead for the song. I look forward to hearing what Jessica does with the song and how I can make the two of them sing together even though a thousand miles apart. It’s been a long “Signposts” day… time for a break. Coming up: Terri’s *awesome* roast beast dinner with all the fixings. Yum!
January 24, 2006
6:00 PM
This past weekend I completed an ergonomic makeover of Thunder Studio. What I thought would be a cuppla hours of project turned into all day. It was worth it, for I have a much better setup for finishing “Signposts” now.
I have also been doing pre-release promotional work. I can’t let everything out of the hat on that one yet, but the Lord has been opening some exciting doors to get the message of “Signposts” out there in a very big way. If it wasn’t for the network of fantastic friendships that I’ve built with my CPR buds and beyond, I wouldn’t have known where to begin this important phase of the release.
I was able to complete vocal tweaking on “Freedom’s Call” in addition to adding some new harms in one verse. Fred has re-mixed the drums and is uploading them to me tonight. (He’s also uploading his BGV’s for “Ballad of the Titanic.”)
I revisited an old friend this afternoon. I brought “Children in the Son” into SONAR 5 and did some mix doctoring. With my Fred assisted mix chops, I think I’ve taken this tune to a new level. Before I visited Eddie in New York I was gonna have Tom Epperson re-mix this number. Now, I may not need to do that. CITS is soundin’ good!
I have started vocal tweaking on Jim’s vox in “The Towers.” I wanna get it to an acceptable place before I turn it over to Eddie J for his keyboard work and for Jessica to try lead vocals. In fact, lemme get back to it now! The blog is open…
11:50 PM
I have a good working mix of “The Towers.” I am hearing things in it that I still wanna touch up, but nothing major. Now that it’s in shape, it’s time for an e-transfer to Eddie J up on Staten Island. May the Lord bless him *and* Jessica as they try their hands at this tune. Two New Yorkers on my tribute to two Towers.
Well, time to listen to the mixes on the living room stereo. With our music computer on the network and wired into the sound system, all I hafta do is transfer the mixes across the LAN and fire ’em up. Ain’t technology kewl? :~)
January 17, 2006
Eric and Fred have come through in spades with stellar new vox for “Ballad if the Titanic.” Fredo sent me a rough mix tonight and both Terri and I were *blown away.* Fred said he got carried away doing BGV for the tune. He called it an Army of Fred. I sent Eric and Fred this little poem in response:
I was sittin’ at my ’puter
"I feel tired," I said
Then what should arrive
but an Army of Fred!
They sang and they danced
and they filled me with glee
I jumped up and down
and slapped my knee
And the Prince of Eric
led them on
as I drifted away
on the wings of a song…
I also worked more on “Freedom’s Call“ BGV tonight. Closer each day…
I have put Gene Crout on alert for mastering “Signposts“ in February. He will review tunes as I send them to give final critiques for any corrections. When done, they’re heading to Colorado!
January 16, 2006
I have rerecorded the BGV for “Freedom’s Call” tonight and they are sounding much better. I have also phattened the FitzPatrick vox for added presence. I am pondering Fredo’s idea of a slightly altered ending and will prolly implement that shortly. The tune is sounding *too* good!
Earlier today I flew Shreddy’s broken out guitar tracks into “Ballad of the Titanic” to do mix tweaking. For the 30 intense seconds he is on the tune, the man did 17 (count ’em, *seventeen*) tracks of overlaid guitar! Each one by itself sounds huge. Together they are beyond huge! I was able to tweak what I needed and the tune is another step closer to home.
January 15, 2006
I have redone all BGV and added some new harmony surprises to “Rented Houses Epilogue / Signposts (reprise).” I also added some closing guitar to the finale which I think gives just the touch I needed. I have mixed down version 4.1 and I am calling this a final mix candidate. The tune is sounding better than ever!
Over the last two years I have learned of the existence of a strange and wonderful parallel universe peopled by very strange and occasionally wonderful beings. I was able to open a transmission wormhole to the Progiverse tonight and I spoke with Lt. Commander Harmony via sub-space communicator. It seems there may be new events brewing on the edge of C’pray Sector. Starship Prog has been stranded there for a year ever since the Middle Earth anomaly was severed. Damage to the ship’s systems was more severe than first thought and Captain Thunder has run low on liquid assets to complete repair work. The good Starship has laid in wait in a bay at Joe’s Space Dock. Chief Engineer Montego has taken a mechanic’s position at Joe’s and Lt. Commander Harmony has taken a job fronting for the Brunabulan Emo Band. The band has taken a long term gig at the lounge on Joe’s, so everyone is still close to home. Thunder and Khatru continue to do what they can to bring systems back online without spending any credits. The news is that there are new signals from C’pray. If the fleet will ever assemble, a trip into the unknown would still be possible. The Lt. Commander passed on to me that there was heard repeated in the C’pray transmission the word, “Signposts.” Curious. I will stay tuned to hear more from the Starship Prog.
January 14, 2006
Lotsa comm traffic with Hammerland the last cuppla days… Fred Schendel has offered to try remixing the drums on “Freedom’s Call” so I have snailed 2 CD’s with all of Mike’s drums plus guide tracks to Chattanooga. Fred maintains (and I concur) that if the drums really pop it’s half the battle. To my humble surprise, Fredo seemed to think I was doing OK on the rest of the mix. (Thank you Master Gene for all the tips!)
Fred informed me that I had his synth parts aligned wrong in “Freedom’s Call” and FTP’d me a ducked synth track with which I was able to align things perfectly. Fred sounds even *better* when he’s in the right place!
Shreddy has snailed me a CD of his guitar parts broken out for “Ballad of the Titanic.” I can now do some precision remixing of his awesome shredding!
Steve is working on the bass for “Rented Houses” as we speak. He requested a mix with hotter drums so I called up the tune and went to work. Yunno, I have learned *much* about mixing since I completed the old “Rented Houses” mix. What I thought was done now sounded woefully incomplete. I will use my newly learned chops to tweak this great tune in preparation for flying in the Hammer bass.
I have worked today on “Rented Houses Epilogue / Signposts (Reprise.)” I did major tweaking of Jim’s vox and also flew in Mike’s drums. The tune has taken on a much more finished sound with the afternoon’s work. I still wanna add more bombast to the finale as this is the final statement of “Signposts,” but the song doesn’t need a lot at this point.
Monty was over here for the evening and we got into some new progressions on which he had been working. One was a brand new counterpoint keyboard thing that has lotsa potential. Another is a *very* Marillion sounding progression that we had played with some before. We developed it some more and then set it back on the shelf for the appointed time. We also played with a progression Monty has had in his pocket since the Ground Zero days. He keeps threatening to write in into a finished tune. Tonight I came up with a kewl B4 (virtual Hammond B3 organ) part. Mebbe we’ll finish one of these ideas someday.
January 10, 2006
I was mixing until 2 AM this morning and I have 2 excellent final mix candidates. “Signposts” and “Dress Rehearsal” are now ready for final tweakage. It is now evening and I have spent the last cuppla hours whipping “Ballad of the Titanic” into that state also. I hope to quickly build on the work in “Freedom’s Call” and have that to the final stage tonight also. Movin’ on!
Untrained dilettante that I am, (ouch, a crushing analysis,) I have developed my own little mixing signposts that I watch for when putting a tune together. These have come from a great deal of reading and online study plus a liberal dose of mix wisdom from Master Gene, the Gatekeeper of CPR. (Gene Crout will take over “Signposts” *very* soon to move it into the mastering stage.) Anyhow, I first watch for what I call Thumbs and Bumpers in a mix. (Huh?) Thumbs are parts that stick out like a sore thumb instead of blending obediently into the mix. Bumpers are parts that are clipping, or going beyond the 0db "red line." The latter is of particular importance when working totally in the digital domain as I do with SONAR 5. You see, back in the days of reel to reel tapes, a little pushing into the red zone made for some pleasing over-saturation. (Ah, been there, done that with an Otari 8 track reel to reel, got the Ground Zero T-Shirt.) Not so with digital. 0db is a *brick wall* and any sound that runs into it goes *splat* in the most sonically UN-pleasing manner possible. So, eliminate all thumbs and bumpers, and then move on into the finer points of the mix. The mix philosophy of Peter J, FWIW. ;~)
January 8, 2006
5:00 PM
I spent the afternoon mixing and have tremendous progress. The end is now in sight, folks. I have flown Fred, Shreddy, and Mike into “Ballad of the Titanic” and it is sounding too good. I have done mix tweaking on “Signposts”, “Dress Rehearsal”, “Freedom’s Call” and above tune and suddenly have some final mix candidates! I am mixing to .wav now, will burn a CD later and go out in the Volvo to give a critical listen. This is getting exciting.
7:45 PM
I have been mixing some on “The Towers.” I have Jim’s vocals and Mike’s drums in place but am considering a paradigm shift. Jessica Cole is the pastor’s wife at Eddie J’s church in Staten Island. Her voice has to be heard to be believed. She is interested in trying vocals on the tune. I hafta ship it up to Eddie anyhow for his final keyboard work, so we may try this too. I could actually oversee the session by remote. I have set up a secure VNC connection with Eddie’s machine for when he needs help or tweaks. I could use that to watch and tweak the session while in progress. *That* would def be a VA first! Peter J co-engineers a session in NYC without leaving his house in SC. Kewl!
10:00 PM
I am just now getting ready to burn the mix CD. (I got into more tweaking of “The Towers.”) I’ll just listen in the living room tonight (don’t wanna go out in the Volvo now.) After that, the day of mixing is over. Praise God, progress!
January 7, 2006
11:00 AM
Well, I got up early and my voice didn’t. :~( I have *scratch* tracks of all the harms I want in “Freedom’s Call” and I can at least hear where the sound is heading. The parts are so high that I almost want a female doing them. Hmm… still time to ponder that one. I’m not married to my parts, yunno? I *did* add a few little sweeteners here and there which will work fine.
12:30
I just flew Fred and Shreddy into “Ballad of the Titanic.” Woof! This could very well be the most monstrous 30 seconds in all of “Signposts!” Two shredders: one keyboard, one guitar, in a duel to the last note. When you hear it, you won’t believe it. I have a few minor issues in David’s part I hafta fix and I think that will do it. Next, I hafta fly Mike’s drums into the tune. We are making *serious progress*.
I promised Melody I’d take her to McDonald’s for lunch so she can get another Narnia kid’s meal. We’re hoping to score a Mr. Tumnus today. Gotta go have lunch with the kiddo… in the words of one certain Governor, “I’ll be back!”
5:00
Well, we scored Edmund and the White Witch (a fitting duo.) We got back and I laid down and read Melody a chapter in our current Narnia book, “Prince Caspian.” After that, a Big Mac and a chapter of C.S. Lewis conspired to knock me out… I fell asleep for a cuppla hours. Hey, I got up early for a Saturday, k?
I woke up to find C-Prog alumnus Stephen Ellis posting a most unusual request for me on the C-Prog mailing list. Stephen loves tattoos… well; he wants to use the “Signposts” logo that Dano crafted as his next tattoo! Is that over-the-top too kewl or what? I (needless to say) enthusiastically said yes and told him I want pix for the website when he’s done. If he gets it rather quickly, a pic could even make the album itself!
Terri and I are gonna go out for dinner and a movie tonight for the first time in prolly two months or more. We’re gonna catch “King Kong.” Terri sez that in typical Peter Jackson style, the flick is over 3 hours long! It will be a wonderful evening but I won’t do much on “Signposts” tonight. Let’s see if I can squeeze in a little right now… :~)
January 6, 2006
I’m doing more mixing on “Freedom’s Call” tonight and it *still* sounds good. I did a little extra with one of Fred’s parts in one place and I look forward to him hearing it. I used it in a little different way and I think he’ll like it. I played a lot with levels in mixing tonight, particularly getting Fred dialed into the mix. I started him out loud until I could hear his place, then I toned him down to match the rest. The mix is sounding better every run through. Tomorrow when I’m fresh I will re-record the necessary harmonies. (BTW: I *carefully* worked out a different harmony that I used before and I think you’ll like it better.)
January 5, 2006
It has been a “Freedom’s Call” night… Fred Schendel (Glass Hammer) has FTP’d me the *long awaited* key solos for above tune. Y’all, Fredo *cooks* on this one. You’ll love it ’cause he kinda drops in and out all through the song. Just when you need a tasty solo, here comes Fred! And people, Mike Adams positively *smokes* on this song. His drumming is over the top. All of a sudden the tune is almost complete! All I can think of is my harmonies in a few spots and it is in da can. Wow! There’s a 16 minute chunk of “Signposts!”
Fred also sent me his parts for “Ballad of the Titanic.” Now I can add Fred and Shreddy into that mix. I still await Eric’s vocals to finish that tune.
“Signposts” is making progress. Keep movin’ on!
January 4, 2006
Well, Terri and I took a trip to the local toy store a.k.a. The Guitar Center and after much testing and playing with different gear, we agreed on a radical new bass solution. We got her a new bass amp *and* a kewl DigiTech FX pedal. The amp is a Galien-Kruger Backline 210. *300 watts* of punchy clean power! (Can you say live gig power?) The pedal gives her the FX she wanted, the GK puts out the clean and powerful sound that VA needed. Awesome solution! BTW: What a great store! They took the POD back no questions asked. It is *so* great to have a pro level music store in the neighborhood. It *really* beats shopping online.
I mixed some on “Signposts” the song tonight. It still sounds good after sitting 24 hours so that is a great signpost. I am pondering the idea of some extra bottom end background synth. That would be the only possible addition to this tune.
I wanna do at least *something* on or towards “Signposts” every day this month. In January 2 years ago me and the rest of VA did that to achieve the finish of “Once In A Dream.” This January will be the same kinda dedicated push for “Signposts.” I hope to keep bloggin’ and keep y’all up to date on the progress.
January 3, 2006
Wowie! I finally had a productive evening. I had re-recorded Jim’s vox on “Signposts” (the song) yesterday. I re-did mine and added the new secret vocal tweak and yow! The tune is ready for prime time. I will re-mix and start getting some final opinions on this puppy.
Next up, final “Dress Rehearsal.” This tune, while not the longest on the album, is certainly the most involved with massive vocal stacks. Jim punched in some missing lines yesterday and now I can take it on home. That will be a *major* part of the battle. Many of the other tunes are either ready or very close to ready.
I neglected to mention one other major development in the 2 months of silence. David “Shreddy” Wallimann of Glass Hammer and Young Earth has joined the “Signposts” roster! He has already tracked a guest appearance on “Ballad of the Titanic.”
I think Terri wants to trade the Bass POD XT Live for a Boss GR-50b. I consider that a step sideways. The Boss box is still excellent although not quite as pro as the POD. Hey, whatever makes the lady happy, k? ;~)
January 2, 2006
A new year has begun with an afternoon of recording. Jim spent some quality time with me behind the mic doing some punch in lines and new harmonies. I think I have *all* the pieces for the tunes featuring his golden pipes. I will spend the evening mixing and hopefully have some nearly finished tracks by the time the night is over.
The last cuppla months have been difficult with many things conspiring to slow “Signposts” to a crawl. From the latter part of November through all of December has been a time of sickness for the whole family. Melody was sick in early November and then got better in time to have surgery removing her enlarged tonsils. Her recovery was rough. In that time both Terri and I got sick with what developed into severe bronchitis which held on throughout December. We *both* got almost better and then relapsed into a second bout. It was bad, but God is good! As the New Year dawns we are both shaking the last dregs of that crud and preparing to move forward in God.
One most excellent piece of progress in this time is that Mike Adams finished the last 3 pieces on “Signposts!” I have all of his drum parts complete. I have also purchased a super plug-in named Drumagog which is helping me do major sound tweaking of Mike’s wondrous stick work. I will try to make him sound like the world class drummer that he is!
The sheer physical stress of the time precluded any blogging. I’m trying to catch up now and I hope you’ll forgive my absence. :~)
I am declaring January the month of “Signposts.” I wanna spend every extra minute in the studio finishing this monster so I can make my own deadline of an April 6 release. I am asking God’s help to make this possible. So, allow me to pop over to Thunder Studio and get mixing!
BTW: Pete’s Christmas gear: 2 new 19" wide screen LCD monitors on which to view my mixing. Extended desktop gets a *new* extension. Schweet! Terri’s Christmas gear: a Line6 Bass POD XT Live! (She’s not sure she likes it. Please tell her how great it is!) ;~)
October 29, 2005
I’ve been to New York and back in the last cuppla weeks. I spent a *way* blessed few days with the Eddie Jerlin family on Staten Island. I will never forget their hospitality and genuine Christian love. I also had the privilege of playing with the Salem Church band and chorus. These guys are like the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir on steroids! One of the *best* worship playing experiences I’ve ever had! It was tough keeping up with the keyboard wizardry of Eddie J, but they say I did OK! :~)
I got to visit Ground Zero with Eddie. I stood at the intersection of my song “The Towers.” I wept by the signposts at Church and Liberty as I gazed a great cavernous hole in the ground; the unmarked grave of so many who were never recovered. It was a deeply moving moment. Eddie and I rode the Path train over to Jersey and back. On the way back, it circles inside the perimeter of Ground Zero and you can gaze out at the site. Words cannot describe, y’all.
Right before I left, SONAR 5 came in the mail! I got to load it up before I left and have just now started playing with it. I am learning the *new* vocal manipulation tool, Roland V-Vocals, which is a part of the software package. With it, I can individually adjust intonation, tremolo, time and formant on a note by note basis. Tonight I have been revisiting “Dress Rehearsal” and micro-tweaking the vocals. The difference this tool makes is astounding! So *now* I’ve gotta go through *all* vox on “Signposts” and tweak. Whew!
I have already resigned myself to the fact that it won’t be out this year. My new target date for release is tentatively April 6, 2006 which is my 55th birthday. An appropriate moment of double grace, don’tcha think?
October 2, 2005
8:30 PM
After a mondo three hour re