I can’t tell you how many pencils I’ve sharpened and (soon
after) broken in the last little while. Despite that (and I don’t know ‘bout
you but the broken pencils are not going to get in the way of my f*n’ dream to
rock) it’s been a great time to be a singer-songwriter.
What exactly has had the
heaviest influence on my music and lyrics though? Is it the weather,
change of season, feelings of certainty (or uncertainty)? So many variables here and there. I think it’s best to just take it all
in and eventually channel it through sounds, words and gestures (vague or clear).
After writing up and composing a plethora of material comes taking the major leap into a
place outside of most songwriters’ safety zones - a new recording studio.
New sights and sounds
So I step into a new room of the ever-growing cosmopolitan city
of Montreal (in Quebec,
Canada)
called EZCoast Studios and say to myself, "this is a find!" It’s essentially one decent-sized main room including:
-> a separate closed (and sound-proof) room meant for recording
vocals, drums and acoustic guitars. I mostly used it to see how long I
could withstand the extreme heat of Montreal’s early Autumn (yeah, you read it right)
-> loads of interesting instruments standing in cobweb-free corners
-> a comfy couch and a few fancy stools (Picture the mindset:
Just hanging out… a cup of green tea please)
-> a sound control board, along with a few nifty Mac computers
-> and a very important feature/resource, water on demand!
I have to mention that I had the opportunity to work with a
genuinely cool guy named Julien, who produced
and mixed my first 2 demo tracks, Short Films and Meet Me Halfway. Now apparently the door’s open for me at the studio, so
I am considering going back to record more songs in the near future.
Winter's coming, hockey's always in!
OK, while music can really be
therapeutic and essential in one’s life, I find that sports can be equally
relieving. I’m now off to play a game of roller-hockey with some friends.
We’ve been organizing games since mid-May of this year. I think it's serious!
Cheers,
Andrew