Monday, September 27, 2010
I've arrived.
I haven't been particularly diligent in writing and recording any music lately. It's no excuse, I have just been lazy. My wife recorded me playing a song I recently wrote; It's posted on her blog here: http://nicoleandchristopher.blogspot.com/2010/09/loyal.html
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Anniversary Song
Nicole works every other Saturday, so I set up a recording studio a couple weeks back in our bathroom to record her anniversary present: a song about how much I love her. I played it from my phone over the car stereo on the way to Manitou Springs, surprising her with something I kept secret for two whole weeks! I posted the song up to the right under MP3 downloads if you are interested in hearing it ...
(Bathroom studios - notice the wires running in and over the sink)
The other day while driving Nicole started remembering remnants of songs which I never finished which were actually pretty good. We couldn't quite pin down the lyrics, but they are slowly coming back. I left my book with lyrics in a Utah storage shed with half of our belongings which we couldn't fit in the trailer when we moved to Colorado. So needless to say, I've got more recordings to come in the near future. Stay tuned.
(Bathroom studios - notice the wires running in and over the sink)
The other day while driving Nicole started remembering remnants of songs which I never finished which were actually pretty good. We couldn't quite pin down the lyrics, but they are slowly coming back. I left my book with lyrics in a Utah storage shed with half of our belongings which we couldn't fit in the trailer when we moved to Colorado. So needless to say, I've got more recordings to come in the near future. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Creating music
I started creating music in eighth grade with my Squier Strat and Squier micro amp. My cousin Jared taught me to play the guitar on Sunday afternoons on my grandfather’s 1950’s Stella acoustic guitar. I would record loops on my minidisc player/recorder. My friends and I created a band in high school, the PointDexters, which we worked at constantly. We performed at local battle of the bands, school functions, JB’s music shop, and anywhere that would let us play.
My first experience recording music happened when the band decided to record an album. We borrowed a computer from a friend, purchased a 16 track Behringer mixer, purchased cheap microphones (buy 2 get 1 free) and microphone cables, acquired pirated recording software, pinned up blankets in our lead guitarist’s bedroom around the drums and equipment, and started creating our album. None of us had recorded music, so it was a hands-on learning experience for all of us.
The product was a decent sounding, huge compilation of months worth of work. I couldn’t have been prouder of what we accomplished. We used the high school computers and printers to create album covers and CD stickers for our new creation. We tried to sell them at our shows and to friends, but we mostly just gave them away. It was a fantastic feeling to have created an album which sounded decent and came from a group of four dorky high school kids.
The last song on the album “Yes, This is Me” was an acoustic number which I had written and recorded myself while the band was playing Playstation in the other room. My friend Ryan listened to it, added some backup vocals, and we had a nice, mellow acoustic number at the end of the CD. That sparked my interest in recording some of my solo acoustic work.
I put all of it on hold, however, for two years while I served a mission in Romania. I believe I touched a guitar three or four times in those two years. Upon returning, I connected all the gear which I still had from recording our high school album, and began writing and recording my own material. The first song I recorded in its entirety was “If You Go There.” It was my first recording, and it is still my very favorite. I recorded it using those same cheap mics, same mixer, my same cheap Yamaha acoustic guitar, and a mic stand fashioned from a broken camera tripod. I continued to record, gradually buying a decent recording microphone and some other better equipment …
I don’t consider any of my music extraordinary or spectacular. It deals with topics which were important to me at the time, and which occupied my thoughts when I recorded it. Often, an idea for a song would pop into my head, and before I knew it I had written and recorded the song by the end of the afternoon after my college courses. Listening to these songs afterward honestly created a sense of awe. Oftentimes I did not even remember coming up with the words which became the songs. The underlying connections between verses and ideas, and some of the verbiage was utterly foreign to me, yet I had recorded the songs! Music became a way for me to pen my frustrations, musings, longings, and more.
A few years ago, I figured I would give up playing music. It was then that I met Eriq and Marlin Jenkins. Those cousins singlehandedly rejuvenated my creative juices and inspired me to create more music. I feel that everything that came after my sophomore year in college I owe in part to those two musically talented individuals.
I’m embarrassed to say that I can’t entirely read music, other than a few chords which I adore. I drool when I see ‘real guitarists’ go to town on that fretboard. And I find it very difficult to play and sing for my closest acquaintances. My in-laws constantly encourage me to play for them, yet I find it extremely embarrassing! I have always been shy about playing, but somehow found the courage to play for larger audiences who I didn’t have to face after a big show.
I’ve played at USU’s acoustic concert twice. I’ve been the featured artist for Poetry and a Beverage at Utah State. I played many shows at the True Aggie Café, a café which I love and is owned by a friend. House shows, Neil Diamond/Paul Simon/Art Garfunkel Balls, and for the Utah State TV station. I have loved playing music, and hope that if you love music, this blog will inspire you to create.
My first experience recording music happened when the band decided to record an album. We borrowed a computer from a friend, purchased a 16 track Behringer mixer, purchased cheap microphones (buy 2 get 1 free) and microphone cables, acquired pirated recording software, pinned up blankets in our lead guitarist’s bedroom around the drums and equipment, and started creating our album. None of us had recorded music, so it was a hands-on learning experience for all of us.
The product was a decent sounding, huge compilation of months worth of work. I couldn’t have been prouder of what we accomplished. We used the high school computers and printers to create album covers and CD stickers for our new creation. We tried to sell them at our shows and to friends, but we mostly just gave them away. It was a fantastic feeling to have created an album which sounded decent and came from a group of four dorky high school kids.
The last song on the album “Yes, This is Me” was an acoustic number which I had written and recorded myself while the band was playing Playstation in the other room. My friend Ryan listened to it, added some backup vocals, and we had a nice, mellow acoustic number at the end of the CD. That sparked my interest in recording some of my solo acoustic work.
I put all of it on hold, however, for two years while I served a mission in Romania. I believe I touched a guitar three or four times in those two years. Upon returning, I connected all the gear which I still had from recording our high school album, and began writing and recording my own material. The first song I recorded in its entirety was “If You Go There.” It was my first recording, and it is still my very favorite. I recorded it using those same cheap mics, same mixer, my same cheap Yamaha acoustic guitar, and a mic stand fashioned from a broken camera tripod. I continued to record, gradually buying a decent recording microphone and some other better equipment …
I don’t consider any of my music extraordinary or spectacular. It deals with topics which were important to me at the time, and which occupied my thoughts when I recorded it. Often, an idea for a song would pop into my head, and before I knew it I had written and recorded the song by the end of the afternoon after my college courses. Listening to these songs afterward honestly created a sense of awe. Oftentimes I did not even remember coming up with the words which became the songs. The underlying connections between verses and ideas, and some of the verbiage was utterly foreign to me, yet I had recorded the songs! Music became a way for me to pen my frustrations, musings, longings, and more.
A few years ago, I figured I would give up playing music. It was then that I met Eriq and Marlin Jenkins. Those cousins singlehandedly rejuvenated my creative juices and inspired me to create more music. I feel that everything that came after my sophomore year in college I owe in part to those two musically talented individuals.
I’m embarrassed to say that I can’t entirely read music, other than a few chords which I adore. I drool when I see ‘real guitarists’ go to town on that fretboard. And I find it very difficult to play and sing for my closest acquaintances. My in-laws constantly encourage me to play for them, yet I find it extremely embarrassing! I have always been shy about playing, but somehow found the courage to play for larger audiences who I didn’t have to face after a big show.
I’ve played at USU’s acoustic concert twice. I’ve been the featured artist for Poetry and a Beverage at Utah State. I played many shows at the True Aggie Café, a café which I love and is owned by a friend. House shows, Neil Diamond/Paul Simon/Art Garfunkel Balls, and for the Utah State TV station. I have loved playing music, and hope that if you love music, this blog will inspire you to create.
music
I hope to make this a repository for music I have created. I also hope to share the process of creating music, and offer tips and suggestions for creating simple recordings which sound good. To the right is a list of downloadable mp3 files. You can either click them to stream them, or right click and Save As ...
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