back in the studio...

i was in the studio today for the first time in a while. it's just too damn expensive and i, being a musician and student, am not exactly in a position where i make a lot of proverbial "dough."

my first record,"the places you might have gone" i'm satisfied with, that is to say, not happy, but i don't hate it. this is not a case of artistic self-deprecation as can be the case. the album is simply not an accurate representation of what it is i wanted to make at the time (this is due to a yes man producer, in the sense he would just nod his head and say yes, as if he was paying attention to what i suggested/wanted, and then wouldn't do it...), nor is it an accurate representation of what it is that i'm creating/doing now, which i believe is definitely one of the most frustrating things for an artist, or just in life in general: being misrepresented/misunderstood.

whether conscientiously or not, art is an attempt at the sublime. it's meant to transcend language, transcend the normal way that we would interact with other people. it says something when nothing particular is being said, and speaks directly to people to whom it never had a specific intention to do so. when art is done well, it achieves a certain abscence of self/self-perception for the observer, (or listener as is the case in of music), as well as the artist, and achieves an unspoken intersubjectivity (for the layman/non-philosophy student...) that brings people together if even only for a 3 minute period.

this explains, at least in part, the difficulty of finding a person, read:producer and/or bandmate, collaborator, who completely understands your idea for your songs: something that is based on emotion or the aforementioned abstract, unsaid intersubjectivity. perhaps that's why someone who understands your vision is worth their weight in gold, because they know what it is you're trying to express without you needing to articulate it constantly and try to explain it to death. it's these same kind of people who are the ones not trying to squeeze in a scorching, virtuosic solo when all the song needs is a simple bit that adds a layer to enhance the song. it's the guy that's willing to tap the tambourine once every 4 beats of a song, or lay down a shaker, or minimalistically hit the snare or kick drum, who will inherit the musical kingdom of heaven so to speak. the person who, is capable of, but for his ego doesn't need to unpack the mal apropos, superfluous solo. in short, it's difficult to find contentedness in musicians; contentedness with the small things.

finding someone who knows what you're going for and knows how to guide the song to where it needs to get to, is perhaps why radiohead works exclusively with nigel godrich, or up until now at least. in my humble opinion, there is no band today, and perhaps ever, that has successfully mixed such progressivism with mainstream appeal, and with such incredible consistency and longevity. there are many bands that swing for the fences by changing their sound on a follow up of a hit album, but none have been able to do that as well and as often as radiohead ('the bends' and the massive jump to 'ok computer', to the change-up of an album, 'kid a' and 'amnesiac' and then releasing the name-your-price 'in rainbows' unexpectedly). any other well known band working as long as radiohead has not maintained the cutting edge songwriting and avoided the kitsch so successfully. not u2, not the rolling stones, not aerosmith, not anyone. but i digress...

antonio from creation studios heard my show down at the rogue coffee roasters when i first got into town and was kind enough to offer to record a couple songs with me for no cost. well, after my very hectic schedule during my "vacation," we were finally able to make some time to do it today and i laid down the acoustic guitar and vocal tracks for 3 songs previously unrecorded. on top of that, niki, a friend of mine over at point.click.shoot. was kind enough to volunteer to shoot the session as well and i'm looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.

well, off to berlin a couple days so we'll see if i get another chance to write in the next few days. for now, i'm off to watch the ncaa finals