sort of but not quite a new year's resolution

So, I don't really do new year's resolutions, but this year I am going to try to commit to a few things. This may be a bit ambitious, so don't flog me if I fail on some account.

1. Release of Sunrise at the Speakeasy in 2012 (finally)

2. Finish studio recordings of the following unreleased songs:

The Ocean & The Easel Part 1 :The Ocean

-Wash Away
-Sally
-Banana Leaves
-The Seaman's Wharf
-Fishes & Birds
-Chicken of the Sea (taste like chicken)
-Mister Octopus (yes, that is the title)
-Portuguese Man of War
-The Bottle
-The Siren
-The Ocean & The Easel

The Ocean & The Easel Part 2: The Easel
-Digitized
-Western Front
-Daddy
-Cherry Falls
-600 Miles
-Pretty Decent Guy
-After the Apocalypse
-God in The Telephone Book
-Single File
-Down So Low
-Big from Down Here/Sirens of Brooklyn (ballad version)
-The Famine & The Flood
-Act Like a Girl

3. Move to Canada.

There you have it.

Lotsa Love

R

Sonic Experimentation

Though it is not a new concept, I have been playing around with recording guitar by playing it through an amplifier and then recording the output from the amp. I'm really liking this sound on the Glitters and Sparkles Demo. I'm not yet finished with the song, but it is moving along. I'm enjoying playing around with this track in my bedroom. I hope to take it in to the studio in the next couple of weeks, assuming it magically finishes writing itself in my sleep. :)

There are some new sounds to this album.
I am being pulled towards rock on a couple of tracks and to some sort of southern dixieland jazz on others.
There is a sort of gospel undertone on a few tracks.
There are lots of body sounds....hand claps, snaps, slapping my stomach as a drum, grunting. Just for you, I am going to the sweatlodge and really working it all out. haha

Some of the tracks I'm focusing on the most right now..

1. Glitters and Sparkles
2. 600 Miles
3. Duct Tape and Superglue
4. Mamma Don't Like No Chocolate
5. Life Was Simple
6. Pretty Decent Guy

There is also "Cherry Falls" which I think I may not put on the album, though I really do want to release it in some form in the next year.

Pretty Decent Guy(excerpt)

Photo By Carrie Thomas

There was a time when I was quite romantic.
Do you still recall the flowers dried and hanging
from a nail you pounded to our wall?

When I see the nail, I smell the flowers
and then every little thing just makes me cry.
If I could close my eyes and turn back all the hours
would I find that I'm a pretty decent guy?

After all is said and done,
the things unsaid are what I fear
regretting letting words get stuck behind my throat where you can't hear.