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November 30 Guest blogger: BelindaWhile Simon is away on assignment, I thought it only appropriate to use his space to make my British blogging debut. I suppose I should first go ahead and say hello to Madonna: Hey, Esther! Call me.
I also wonder if I should mention that unfortunate tea-over-the-side-of-the-boat incident…well, perhaps I'll leave that alone…for now…
So, anyway, I wrote with Simon today for the first time. You cannot even imagine how much fun it is to tell my friends that my co-writer for the afternoon flew in from England to write with me.
(As I type this I'm realizing that I'm typing with a British accent. It's very distracting, isn't it?.)
Nevertheless, I just thought we should take this opportunity to clarify a few possible misconceptions you may have.
When Simon tells you he's going to the States to write songs, you should know that we stick him in a tiny little room that barely holds a couch and a chair---and we tell him that we all write in little rooms like that. We tell him songwriting is not that glamorous. The truth is, while Simon is writing his heart out in the stuffy little room, we're actually writing songs in a lavish hidden underground chamber filled with decadent desserts, rare beverages and servants which cater to our every whim. We think this joke on Simon is funny.
When we write with Simon and he says the idea or the line we just suggested is "brilliant," we believe him. It's more fun for us that way.
Simon has been typing rhyming words and phrases into his computer for twelve years. Yes, 12 years. So, if he started this when he was 53, that would make him, what, 65? …hypothetically speaking, of course.
Okay, I have to go let my dog out now. Insert a clever wrap-up here.
 …may the mistakes we make today be new ones.
-belinda
November 29 Daring to suckYesterday I woke up early, about 5.30 again. I thought of writing this blog but decided not to because:
(a) It would be more interesting to write at the end of the day, and
(b) I really should capture an idea I woke up with before it flew away
So I ended up writing the first draft of a complete song before I even got to the writing rooms at Brentwood Benson Music Publishing (BBMP).
Picked up vente latte at the drive thru Starbucks in Cool Springs before arriving to a warm welcome by the family at BBMP. Met up with Holly, Sue, Dave, Barry (it’s so cool to talk tech with him), Brian, Daniel, Ian (later), Tony, and others. Holly played me a demo of my first southern Gospel song that I wrote with Twila Labar last time I was here. Such a fun song. I didn’t realise it was being demo’d. Lovely surprise. There’s a clip up there on the right but if you want to hear the full thing it’s here:
First cowrite was with Sue. It’s always such a pleasure to write with her. She’s so gifted. I actually timed the trip to make sure we had some time together. Before we started we joked about creating a ‘blog-free zone’. Guess I wanted to make sure I could ‘dare to suck’ (thanks Ian) without it appearing in print. So when I saw her blog last night I smiled. Thanks for not writing about my ‘sucky’ moments, Sue. If you want to read her version of events go here:
We wrote a cool song and I did the work tape last night here in my room. I love it.
After lunch with Holly and Sue at Wolfgang Puck (gourmet fast food) I had a cowrite with Brian White. I've known Brian a few years but this was only our second song together. Brian has a great ability to hear the potential of an idea and move it lyrically and musically just where it needs to go. I so respect his work and craft. We’ve the bridge to finish off but the song is looking like a cracker – hooky, contemporary and cool. Looking forward to finishing it off at the end of the week.
One of the nicel things to do at BBMP is to just hang out and take in the vibe. (I would never have used language like that while I was a broker in the City). Last trip I had an afternoon when I just walked around, talked to friends, writing a little, listening to the demo’s being recorded and chatting. Did a little of that before supper.
In the evening I met up with two new friends that Ross introduced me to last time I was here – Joy and Nate. We had a fun time at the Cheesecake Factory in Green Hills. They are wonderful people to be around. We talked about God, life, Christmas, England and the music business (in depth!). We are trying to work out how they can come and stay with us in England. Poppy is one of Joy's biggest fans ever since Ross gave her a CD. The food was incredible (massive) and even though I tried to leave some space for cheesecake at the end (white chocolate with macadamia nuts) I couldn’t finish it. It was a lovely evening.
Today I’ve got another cool day ahead (thank you Holly). This morning we’re tracking the vocal to a song I wrote with Joel Lindsay… it will be fun to be in on that. I’ve the same feeling I have when I go scuba diving… an amazing journey, expensive equipment, experts charting the course.
This afternoon I’m cowriting with Belinda Smith. Our first. So looking forward to that. She’s great fun to be around. Another blog-free zone, I promise. Then, in the evening, I’m writing again with Sue and Daniel. Looking forward to that one as well.
Yours feeling totally pumped about being here,
S.
P.S. Get well soon Ross, we’re missing you! November 27 HELLO NASHVILLE!One day I'll say that on a stage here... it might be at a writers night at some back street coffee house, with a handful of friends as my audience, but when I do I'll record it and make it my ringtone. Reading this back, that sounds a little sad doesn't it. I'm sitting in bed at 5.30 a.m. with a nice cup of tea, thinking how cool it is to be here. Every time I get off the plane at Nashville airport I get a feeling of 'rightness' about being here. I don't get that often when I travel. The travel plans worked like a dream. I'll be doing the Charlotte route again. Maybe with a different taxi firm. Saw 'War of the Worlds' on the plane... my favourite lines are early on in the film: Son: Are they <the Tripods> terrorists? Father: No they're from somewhere else Son: What, from EUROPE?! Nice moment. Then I listened to the complete works of Delirious and Matt Redman on my iPod. Some wonderful moments. A few tracks I had to listen to again and again. I totally get what Sue was saying in her blog about worship songs being ephemeral (had to paste that word)... just listening to Matt's 'Breathing the Breath' it's clear there's some lovely craftwork in his worship music. So I'm now settled in to my hotel in Cool Springs, unpacked, mobile rig set up, groceries bought for the week. The only thing not working is the wireless network but that's up to the engineers to sort out (still using my cell). I'll post some pics when I get to a hotspot. Later today I'll be going to Fellowship Bible Church - always a highlight, returning some calls and emails from friends here (thanks Lyn for the offer to take me to the Bluebird!) before making final preparations for the week ahead. Thank you Holly for arranging such a great week. You deserve a lot of ink and a gold star for this. Oh, it's now 1p.m. at home... time to call Sa - Moo's afternoon sleep is the best time to have a quality chit-chat. Yours looking forward to hearing my girls, S. November 26 Man and beastOn the train
I love that I can book stuff like this on the www without talking to anyone. Last time it worked perfectly. And judging from the human interaction I've has so far this morning it's just as well... The taxi driver told me off for being late (even tho I wasn't) and the train guard told me to get on the wrong train. November 25 An English ThanksgivingIt's 11.39pm on Thanksgiving evening and I'm at the studio. I came back after dinner to finish off a track and got a little carried away. Not the first time.
In England the idea of Thanksgiving has not really taken off (yet). Sure, there’s the obvious historical obstacle. But most of my American friends use this time as an opportunity to thank God for the good things in life. And I really like that. I’m a huge believer in the power of being grateful.
So, we had our own mini Thanksgiving tonight, although I’m not sure that those two words (“mini” and “Thanksgiving”) can credibly live in the same sentence. Having read what my American friends are doing as I write this, I think they will give me some stick about our chicken-for-two when I go over to Nashville on Saturday. If I can cycle 4 cold minutes down the beach to the studio after dinner I think they'd feel I've just not done the occasion justice. Well, I guess I don't either. But then I didn't do the preparatory low-carb diet, pie-making, shopping for the biggest turkey, arranging the family gathering, cooking the traditional recipes and stuff. We save all that for Christmas. But we still had fun celebrating today.
Here’s a conversation Sa had with Poppy late afternoon today:
Poppy: Mummy
Sa: Yes, Darling Poppy (pointing to the oven): What’s in there Mummy? Sa: I’m cooking our Thanksgiving chicken, Darling Poppy: Oh… <Short pause>
Poppy: But it’s not a REAL chicken is it Mummy?
Sa: Er, well yes it is Darling Poppy: Is… is… is it dead Mummy? Sa: Yes, Darling it’s dead – but it had a very happy life a-scratchin’-an’-a-pickin’ its way around the farm yard. Now Mummy and Daddy are going to eat the very happy chicken. Poppy: But why is it dead, Mummy? Sa: Because we all die one day Darling Poppy: Oh yes, I forgot There are so many things about that little conversation that make me feel very grateful this Thanksgiving. But if I tried to write them down it would only be the bit of the iceberg that’s sticks out the water. Sandra and I talked about some of these things over dinner and here's a taster:
And there's so much more. After living in Nigeria it’s not difficult to really, really appreciate the way life is at the moment. But this year, with all the devastation I’ve seen around the world on TV, I’m particularly grateful. I hope there's a lot above and below the water line that makes you happy this Thanksgiving.
Yours thinking I might go and listen to that track with fresh ears now,
S. November 22 Chocolate eggs and rabbits1300 page views in the last 2 weeks... guess someone must be reading this!
Here’s something you techies out there might identify with. A while ago I promised myself a pair of 19 inch computer monitors as soon as the price fell below £150 ($250). The argument goes like this: I TOTALLY NEED 19 INCH MONITORS BECAUSE I JUST DO. There, it makes more sense in capitals. <yeah, right>
Well, on Sunday I saw the price dip to £130 on Amazon so I ordered them. Yesterday I got an email to say they are on their way. Today I’ve spent the whole day watching the ‘tracking page’ on the Royal Mail website trying to figure out where they are. Because, well, really, they ought to be here by now.
Wait a sec… there’s a knock on the door… <honestly>
***
An hour later…
Oh yeah… they arrived, and I’ve got them up and running. How I used to manage with anything smaller I just don’t know. You know what… I just realised… I got two 15 inch monitors spare now… I could convert the desktop pc in the writing room to be a slave pc for Gigastudio… how cool would that be?
***
You have just witnessed a spectacular example of how technology can totally derail a perfectly good writing day…
ANOTHER SONG
Thought it would be cool to post up another song - this one I wrote with Chad Cates (round of applause) in April - it's called 'The Only Place' and it's a worship song. It's sung here by an English artist called Michaela (known in Nashville as 'the girl with the voice'). There's a 180 sec clip up there on the right but if you want to hear the whole thing click play on Windows Media Player here on the left. I'll leave it there for a few days.
Enjoy. Thanks Chad for a cool song. And Happy engagement!
Here's what SongTools had to say about it:
Chad's story: Chad is getting married
My line: Chocolate eggs and rabbits (guess computers can't always deliver the goods) Yours thinking I need to go home for tea soon,
S.
P.S. here’s some pics – the writing room (where I spend most of my waking life) and new monitors in the studio November 20 My afternoon snoozeHow I love to have my afternoon snooze at the weekend. Monday to Friday I seem to get too absorbed to notice my post-lunch energy dip. Sure, I have a bed in the writing room at the studio but that's for 'creative chilling out', not sleeping. Well mostly. But at weekends it just seems totally appropriate to slope off with a book (or a manual) and nod off at the same time as the children. It's almost like we've been given permission. The trouble is, apart from tea, bath and stories, there is little time left in the day to do anything. We might take a walk by the sea just to get some fresh air.
And today was a golden example. After a busy morning we all crashed out. We had trouble waking both Poppy - who'd fallen asleep on our bed - and Moo - who'd fallen asleep on teddy and zebra. By the time we woke them up the winter sun was just going down, the sky had turned to orange and we could hear fishing boats chugging their way home. It was only with the excitement of grandma and grandpa arriving at 4 that the house woke up properly.
Someone said that the happiest days of their life were when they had little children around them. Today I can totally believe it.
Yours feeling guilty not having got through the Sunday papers yet,
S. November 18 Italian graffitiOne week left in the studio before my next trip to Nashville. Can't wait. I fly over on Saturday (wk), have a day to unwind (incl. Fellowship BC with Holly and Guy) then wall to wall cowrites Mon thru Friday. Guess this will be the last trip before Christmas. I so love going over. When I set out on this journey (songwriting) I hadn't thought about the 'soft' issues involved in cowriting. But I find myself really looking forward to just hanging out with these people who have welcomed me so warmly into their lives. When it's time to come home I really miss my Nashville friends.
Yeah, Italian graffiti... something unsettled me in Venice. Although they have graffiti, somehow it wasn’t as visible. So the question I came home with was: why does English graffiti look a lot less cool than Venetian graffiti (pics below)? I have some ideas:
I’d be interested if you have any more ideas.
SongTools came up with this:
Graffiti story: Italian graffiti
Amy Grant: Will somebody tell me Yours thinking I may have ‘man flu’ coming on,
S.
P.S. Yes, I did get some strange looks taking these photos
November 17 Moo and I are just the sameWoke up at 4.30am with an idea I just had to write. So I crept into our spare room, shut the door, plugged my headphones into my laptop so the house wouldn’t hear the ‘Windows power up’ signature tune and switched it on. The screen lit up the dark room and icons appeared in their rightful place, like stars appearing in the night sky. So there I was, totally set up on the bed, a unique chance to write something powerful and moving in the quiet of the night, no one around to disturb me. Only I forgot one thing. Our spare room (Poppy still calls it Ross’s bedroom) is next to Moo’s. <Moo is our 18m old little boy who's really called Montgomery - see below for an explanation>. Within 10 minutes of me getting settled he started… groans, shrieks, cries, thuds of toys being hurled from one end of his cot to the other, laughs, singing, gurgles and other noises I cannot find words to describe. He was having a wild time! I was tempted to go in to try to settle him but I knew I would only make things worse. No wonder Moo has to sleep a lot during the day – he’s partying all night!
I emailed Sue Smith yesterday (or was it the day before?) to confess to her that I think I’m hooked on the discussion board. Then I saw Kiersten’s post on the discussion board and I realised the full extent of my problem... yes, I too am a blogaholic, and a discussionboardaholic I guess. Thanks for making me laugh. Weird how we think the same way sometimes. Like Sue and I both blogged about food on the same day. Maybe we’re all connected? I like that idea.
Moo’s night time antics got me thinking – where does all that imagination go when we grow older? Is there any way I can relive my childhood adventures in my writing? Then I thought, what happens when I closet myself away at the studio? Am I vocal? Am I loud? Do I have to curb my music so Ivy (the old lady next door) doesn’t hear me through the walls? Do I have a wild time with my own imaginary friends? Er, maybe Moo and I have a little more in common than I thought.
SongTools came up with a Sue Smith lyric today!
Moo story: Moo and I are just the same
Avalon: He changed my life when He became… (you know the rest) Yours needing a power nap now,
S. November 15 My favourite cheeseWinter is coming… that’s what they said on breakfast TV this morning. About time too. It’s been getting ‘chilly’ but it’s never really felt like winter arrived. I love the change of seasons. Sandra said she could smell Christmas in the air this morning. I’m not quite there yet, even though they were selling Christmas decorations in Nashville at the end of September. Maybe I tuned myself out of Christmas?
Nice to be back in my creative routine again today. Perhaps it’s a product of doing too many ‘sensible jobs’ but I just can’t live without a productive routine anymore. I’m most creative in the morning, so that’s when I write, normally in my writing room upstairs. I generally start something new and work on something old before lunch. There’s also several cowrites happening over email which are all very exciting. Some very cool ideas. Afternoons I do technical stuff downstairs in the studio or have meetings or local cowrites. The studio can take as much time as I give it – with an endless stream of new plugins, mastering tips, technical updates, reading and things to buy. I’m still doing courses at Berklee Music School so that can take up an afternoon easily. Such fun tho. Last night we had a treat: my favourite cheese called Vacherin Mont-D’Or. It’s is only available in the shops in England for a couple of weeks a year. It’s made on the Swiss side of the Franco-Swiss border and comes in a brie-like box, only it’s about twice the depth. To eat it we wrap it in tin foil, take the lid off, make holes in the top, put in a little garlic and drench it in white wine. After about 25 minutes in the oven we take it out and eat it like a fondue. Just wonderful. http://www.vacherin-montdor.ch/en/recette.htm Now another one of those and I might feel like going out and buying a few Christmas presents! Here's what SongTools came up with on the subject: MercyMe line: (to) the One who calmed the raging seas My line: I thank You for my favourite cheese Yours feeling like I ate a little too much, S. November 13 Filling the wellSaturday was an incredible day (there, I’ve just used up one adjective I will want to use time after time here). After a late breakfast we wove our way through the narrow streets of Venice to one of the city’s biggest art museums, the Gallerie Dell’Accademia. Here we lost count of the amazing old masters we took in – many dating back to the 15th and 16th Centuries - Giovanni, Carpaccio, Bellini among others. My favourite was a simple sketch of flowers by Leonardo da Vinci called ‘Studio di fiori’… I’ve always wanted to see it. I tried to imagine him making each stroke of his pen, wondering what was going through his head. It was beautiful, detailed and somehow reinforced the notion that even a light and brief sketch can sometimes evoke feelings that inspire out of all proportion to the energy put in to the strokes of the pen or, in my case, my tapping on a laptop. We got half way through the guided tour before deciding to skip forward, look for our favourite pieces and give ourselves a shot of energy with a most wonderful espresso.
Next was the Peggy Gugenheim collection, a clean, small gallery but each room has amazing pieces of contemporary art (which I love) and takes a couple of circuits to fully appreciate. Highlights for me were the Picasso, Kandinsky, Duchamp, Dalí and a whole room dedicated to Jackson Pollock. It made me appreciate afresh the artistic value in pushing ideas in art to a new level, challenging the status quo to move art on. I’m blown away by the incredible amount of thought that goes into these works (there, I've used that adjective again already).
After a light lunch at the Gugenheim we made our way back to the Hotel for a sleep. We woke up with a couple of hours to prepare (in a dignified way) for the evening’s event which was the real highlight of the weekend, the Masked Ball. This was such fun – everyone dressed up in different masks, gowns and formal dress, with some fantastically inventive masks. We turned in eventually well after 2.00am, not looking forward to the 9.30 departure to the airport by water taxi.
What a cool way to spend a weekend without children. We are left with a feeling of total gratitude to our hosts for looking after us so well here and to God for the wonder of this world we are able to appreciate in a peaceful, meditative, unhurried way.
SongTools matched with an Amy Grant lyric:
My phrase: Filling the well
Amy Grant lyric: For your spiritual health (that grape grape song!) Yours with droopy eyes,
Simon. November 12 Authentic really is beautifulWow. Every time we come to Venice it blows me away... come away thinking how wonderful it would be to live here for 6 months and just 'be'. The practicalities of negotiating push chairs up steps, keeping children from falling in canals, writing without the rest of my studio around me and now the disruption to Sa's career keep us away. But oh what a glorious place this is. We're staying with 29 other friends of our generous hosts, Neil & Sabina, at the Luna Hotel Baglioni. It's a street away from S. Marco which is where the body of St Mark rests in the Basilica (yes Ross, the dude who wrote one of the Gospels). There are bells echoing from ancient steeples around this beautiful city as I write. I can see I am going to run out of adjectives to describe this place. November 10 Moo wasn't in my spreadsheetI’ve thought of something more tedious than doing my tax return… doing my wife’s. You might think I’m being generous but reality is I should have done it a while ago and I’ve put it off and put it off. Trouble with being a ‘creative’: I’ve spent so long playing with the artistic child in my right brain that the sensible adult in my left brain has gone to bed with a Cubase manual and nice cup of cocoa. So it’s time to wake him up and fire up the spreadsheet because if I don’t get this done today we will all be in big trouble.
But the rest of today has the promise of being very cool. We are leaving Poppy and Monty at Grandma & Grandpa’s before driving to Gatwick to fly to Venice for four days to celebrate our good friend Sabina’s 40th birthday. Lots of gelato (thanks for the technical term, Ross), history, art, gondola’s and maybe the odd glass of champagne. The highlight will be the masked ball just off St Mark’s Square on Saturday evening. I’m all packed (using a list on another spreadsheet), so I just need to get that tax return done and I can enjoy myself.
Over breakfast I realised something: it’s a mistake to think too hard about baby names. Before our son was born Sandra and I agonized over getting his names right. I even created a spreadsheet to give me random combinations of names to fill each of the four slots available. From F# (yes, really) to Rockit, Moon and Mint. He can thank me for none of those getting onto his birth certificate. In the end we christened him ‘Montgomery Fox Alexander Henderson Hawkins’. Of course, we didn’t call him that day-to-day, just ‘Montgomery’. That got shortened to ‘Monty’. One rainy summer afternoon Sandra started calling him ‘Monty Moo’. So did Poppy. Then me. Now he responds better to being called ‘Moo’ than any other name we might try. Needless to say, Moo wasn’t in my spreadsheet.
Here's what SongTools came up with:
Moo story line: Moo wasn't in my spreadsheet
Natalie Grant line: But here within my heartbeat Yours switching brains,
S. November 09 My dog is chewing something wetGlorious morning – cloudless autumn blue sky with a chill in the air – the best. Cycled to the studio while it was still getting light, 4 minutes along the beach path negotiating mountains of pebbles washed up by the immense storms we’ve had over the last few days. Like the coastline was finally allowed to heal.
Something funny happened in the storms – a ship lost a container of Chinese manufactured dog toys out at sea and… you got it… three tons of soggy beaten up foam characters are now spread across 20 miles of English beach. Early Christmas for dog walkers. Or maybe more for their dogs, since they must be pretty wet and horrid to throw on the back seat of a car.
Matt Redman was our imaginary host in assembly this morning. I got to play piano to Face Down in F#. Put the piano in ‘silent mode’ because it was only 7.30. The walls of the studio are thick but I didn’t want to risk waking Ivy, the eccentric old lady from next door.
Went through my creative routine before doing some preparation for my next trip to Nashville. Also did some recording and editing piano and voice for ‘Born Crucified’. A little slow after a very late night cowriting (kind of) with Neil last night. I wanted to do a rough demo since several people requested it from WAJ and it’s not yet been demo’d in Nashville. I’ll listen to it tomorrow with fresh ears and decide what to do next. It could use some loops, drums and bass, but it also feels nice less busy. Any thoughts just put them on an email or in the comments link below.
Looking forward to our first coordinated WAJ chat tonight. 5pm Nashville time, 11pm my time. Don’t want to put the link here in case we get a weirdo! At least Sue and I will be there and I guess some others will drop by. Wonder if we will get a weirdo?
Tomorrow we fly to Venice. Got our masks and outfits. Sandra's excited as well. I'll blog you from the plane to explain what that's all about.
Thanks to all who’ve been so encouraging about this and the music. It’s great to get feedback and to feel connected. Had some lovely emails. Means a lot to me especially from all the way over here.
Finally, SongTools (my Virtual Cowriter) came up with a David Wilcox line that kind of matches a line from my dog toy story:
Dog toy line: My dog is chewing something wet
Wilcox line: It leaves a certain subtle scent Maybe see you later?
Yours soggily,
S. New demo - Born CrucifiedJust in case anyone's out there early - several people asked if a song I sung at the WAJ Alumni Café called 'Born Crucified' had been recorded... well, I just finished a rough demo and it's here:
I've also added a clip which will be around for a while.
Hope you enjoy it!
S. November 08 What a difference an hour makesEating a cheese and pickle sandwich in Starbucks, Chichester... just in case a grande white mocha doesn't fill me up (thanks Ross for introducing me to them at Estes Park). Yeah, we really do have starbucks here in England and they serve the same kind of stuff. Why is that reassuring? I'll post a pic if I can figure out how to get it from my phone to somewhere useful. Came into town to buy black tie suit for our 'masked ball' in Venice on Saturday (more on that another day). My old one has holes in it. Oh, and it's too small. 'A-diet' here I come... er, maybe after my white mocha. *** Back at the Studio now - what a difference an hour makes - we've got a new Hawkins' home timetable for the first three days each week - since Sandra started work (lawyer) we've had a nanny look after Poppy and Monty. The result is... there's a massive incentive to get out of the house when Sandra leaves which means I get to work (well, play actually) for an hour longer. And what a difference it makes. Into the studio by 7.30 means I can get a bunch done before I've even woken up. Cool. So I've instituted 'assembly' each morning. After making a cup of tea me and my (imaginary) chums here at Seaside Cottage sing a song or two and have announcements about what the day will hold. I do the announcing of course. Well, otherwise I would be taking orders from someone in my imagination and that would be crazy wouldn't it?
Walking to the car from Starbucks it suddenly struck me why I'm doing this blog... songwriting outside of Nashville is a solitary existence... perhaps this is more therapy than I thought!
Yours crazily,
S. Too temptingHere's my top three reasons for N-O-T doing this:
1. No one is going to read it
2. It's nearly half past midnight
3. I have spent far too long in front of a screen already today
But, that said, I spent a few hours putting this blog thing together today and I am desperate to try it because... well, I think I've found a way to do it from my cell phone and I just wanna find out if it works! Maybe it's a guy thing? Maybe I'm just sad. Whatever it is I just have to try it.
So welcome to the first entry in my blog. I realise I'm talking to myself cause I'm certain to read this tomorrow. But I sent off a few emails to people who requested some clips of songs so, if you haven't got here already maybe you're reading this!! Welcome Terry, Phil, Tiffany and Guy!!
Today was a tech day. Morning fiddling around finding a way to post songs up without rebuilding my website. Afternoon recording some piano and doing a mastering tutorial from Waves. If there's any tech-heads out there and you've not tried Waves plugins yet then you should. They're incredible. I'd moved to TC Electronic for a while but the tutorial this afternoon made me swing back to Waves again. They add such warmth to a mix it's almost like they are instruments themselves. Can't wait to do the other tutorials.
Can't help thinking this songwriting/producing/engineering learning curve is growing bigger and bigger. That's without spending time 'refilling the well'. Which is also important. Perhaps THE most important part.
So why am I doing a blog? Well, there's a few reasons.... er, therapy, because it's here, guess I've found Sue's Blog inspiring, and I'm doing some travelling over the next few weeks (Venice, Nashville, Charentes) and I thought it might be fun to have a record of that (in case I want to read it when I get home!).
So there we are. I think I'm going to send this before I spend too much time on it just in case this never gets through!!
So nite nite,
S.
P.S. I'M SO IMPRESSED WITH BELINDA FOR POSTING ON THE WAJ DISCUSSION BOARD!!!
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