Busy

I feel quite busy now between school and work. So I can definitely foresee Miner's Canary being thrown on the back burner for a while. But I am always going to be diligent in thinking of new ideas. Also I still have to finish my album art. The album art will be out soon for sure. Then I can finally lay this demo to rest and move on.

Working On Things

Working on promotion / adding friends / album art

Miner's Canary

So perhaps if you are reading this you have listened to my music, and wanted to find out more. Basically for the past four months I've been writing, practicing, learning, recording, and mixing Miner's Canary. The first day of recording I started this blog to chronicle it. If you care to know the process and progress. Take a look back into the past. Thank you for listening.

Uploading

Well I'm putting it all out there. Months of near secret work exposed and judged in ten insignificant minutes. Is it worth it? Hell yeah!

*edit*

myspace is a pain.

Listening

It's 11:30 and I am now listening to the demo as a single piece. I must keep remembering why I did this. It is great to see months of work finally come together. A neat little collection of three songs.
I will listen to it around three times then put it on myspace.

The Battle Continues

So I missed out on my first set upon due date which was before my friend Joanna moved. But I am soldiering on, now with more excitement than ever! Steven's vocals are recorded and sound really great. I will continue mixing!

I am just looking for an exit

What an inspiring event that Turn Thieves (my friend's amazing band) should release their new songs last night. I am pushing for a release late tonight, tomorrow, or at very very latest Sunday. Unless something unforeseen should happen.

I am 90% sure that the name of the project is Miner's Canary.

Status Report:

Design for myspace: 50%

A Opening Parenthesis: 100% (Probably no chances of making major changes)

Everything Between: 98% (just a few more run throughs and volume tweaks)

A Closing Parenthesis: 90% (one more vox track, and master eq needed)

My ace in the hole for A Closing Parenthesis is my vocal accompaniment from my dear friend Steven Gray (Turn Thieves' Vocalist and guitarist), and my dear girlfriend Kim Hovencamp. One of my philosophies of doing these three songs was to go it solo, which I did for the most part. But I really couldn't of done it without these two people. To listen to my songs in progress, and give me some advice and encouragement.
Kim really helped me out with my singing. Steven was a huge encouragement and exactly what I needed to pull through. I decided to reveal their involvement because I figure that no one will read this without first listening. So Hopefully its still a surprise.

I need to eat and mix! Fortunately I was given the day off!

Post Production Update

An Opening Parenthesis - 99.9% (Probably just going to give it a few more run throughs and eq tweaks.

Everything Between - 80% (Very Close to done, probably going to change the name)

A Closing Parenthesis - 90% (Lots of editing done already. One more part to add in.)

Unfortunately I'll need some sleep tonight so Idk how much editing I'll get done.

Song 3 Finished recording

Im done recording all three songs. Now I pretty much just have to master them, and put on the finishing touches. Oh yeah, and think of a name!

Tropical Storm Day

Today we have Tropical Storm Fay cruising over my normally sunny state of Florida. So I have some time to myself today, because my classes are canceled and I'm off work. So its a blustery, and rainy lazy day. I've mainly been web surfing on this web browser by Mozilla coincidentally named Flock. If you are reading this by now, I'm certain you've heard my music, and my name is something other than Flock, but as a reminder this is what my name was going to be.

Today I have also been reading Watchmen, and I'm coming closer and closer to the end. It's probably time to take a break from that and start constructively using my time to try and finish my final song.

With my unveiling of my music so close. My friends leaving soon. The summer ending. I am feeling nostalgic.

Being so close to the end making my first demo I want to recap.

• Flock (or my music project) has been in the back of my mind for most of last year, and vaguely even before that. It is undated but the first time I actually sat down and wrote out ideas for the sound I wanted were in my small notebook.
  
• In my notebook I detailed that Dynamics were going to be one of the most important aspects of the songs. I listed Manchester Orchestra, Radiohead's Exit Music for a Film, Feist, and The Mars Volta among others as influences. This has obviously changed looking back on things.
  
• I believe shortly after that I made an incomplete song. This was unrecorded.
• Project ideas remained mental for some time after that.
• Once again undated but sometime after Christmas of last year I wrote in an Idea Log I received from Steven as a gift that I wanted to do a music project. I listed inspiration from Dntel, Iron & Wine, Bright Eyes, and Radiohead's In Rainbows.
  
• Once again Ideas simmered for a while.
• My blog has been in production along side the recording of my music for a little less than four months.
• It dates my earliest serious recording as May 31st. This recording was titled "Hopefully This is okay with you" and It was abandoned later and evolved into An Opening Parenthesis.
  
• First real song recorded circa June 9th or 10th. Then called Still, Quiet, Certain now called An Open Parenthesis.
  
• From the end of July to the middle of August I work on recording A Closing Parenthesis. Note: I am still perfecting and adding to this song.
• August 13th I begin recording the final song for the demo which will be track 2.

Present: I am finishing recording  "Everything Between". I am putting the finishing touches on "A Closing Parenthesis".

Starting on song 3

I've begun recording song 3, and so far it's going quite well. Probably going to be the easiest one to record. Hopefully I can get it mostly done before monday.

Unfortunate

Well it seems that there is every variation of the name FLOCK on myspace already. I have to think of a different name all together. Or one with FLOCK in it. I'm discouraged, but not going to give up.

The Latest

Song number 2 A Closing Parenthesis is recorded, and being perfected. I want to be completely satisfied. I'm trying to work out everything in my mind. My classes start next week. So I have about 2 weeks left before it will get much harder to work on my stuff. I will keep with it though. I revised my third song, and I'm almost prepared to record it. I hopefully will be done soon. I have a secret ace in the hole for song number 2.

Ragged Sail

I am quite satisfied now that I've overcome this snag in the writing of my new song. Not only can I sing it while playing a part I didn't think I could sing to, but I've eliminated all the lines in the song I was dissatisfied with. Its about 3 minutes and 30 seconds long.

I am thinking about changing the name which would change the name of the demo.
It might be The Ocean and I or Everything In Between the Ocean and I.

So the demo would be (The Ocean and I).

I hope this is the last song I write about sailing. There is just too many of them out there. But hey my goal is not being original, just to write songs. Originality hardly exists in music anyway.

I still haven't finished my recording of A Closing Parenthesis. Hopefully soon though. I guess in the mean time I could start recording the new one.

Closer Now

So I've completed lyrics, music and singing on my second song. And have played it for a few people. And gotten pretty good responses. I'm currently working on recording it. I'm almost done with that. I've got a third song in the works currently and I am about three quarters of the way done with it. So it looks like things are moving quite fast. I'm debating if after getting three songs recorded I should make my myspace. Most likely this will be the case.

A current idea I have is to make different volumes of my demos that come out periodically. I will either call it Home Still Demos or The Nest Demos and this would be Vol. 1

Probably going to have a sub title like The Nest Demos: Vol.1 (Everything In Between)
So far in my mind the final titles for the tracks, and their order will go:

1. An Open Parenthesis
2. Everything In Between
3. A Closing Parenthesis

Track 1 is my first song I made, track 2 is the one I'm writing now, track 3 is the one I'm recording now.

If I decide to put any other tracks in there, they will probably be short. Also they will obviously be in between tracks 1 and 3.

Yeah this is a bunch of mumbo jumbo but It's good to get it out of my head.
Hopefully you will be hearing my music soon.

First Song Done

Saturday I did my final recording of the guitar track, and then added on all the extras of my first song (including lead). Finally finished it off with vocals, and have been messing with the mixing since yesterday. I think I finally have the finished version though. If I decide to change something I will come back to it.  The working title is currently Still, Quiet, Certain but I will change that most likely.

I'm now working on my second song. I have most of the guitar parts worked out, and I spent most of my time before work today experimenting with different guitar effects in garage band.

Hopefully this second longer song will come through quickly, and I can keep up a good momentum. 

First Song Almost Done

I've reworked my first demo, and a couple days ago figured out the lyrics. Now I'm just perfecting singing it, and playing it acoustic, before I record the final demo version. I'm going back and forth in my mind how much extra I should put in an acoustic song demo. Since it is a demo. I'll just do what I can I suppose. I'm also throwing around the idea of doing a cover. There are a few I can think of. 

My first song is a short one. Here's the lyrics (if I change them i'll update)

Your heart to full to love,

And make love

With any other.

Not even the earth

Can have your body now.

First: I've got a secret.

This is my blog about my progress and or failures in making a music project. No one knows about this blog, or that I have started recording today. No one will know until I make some more headway. So if FLOCK (as I am calling the project) is a complete failure it will be like it never existed at all. But if it flourishes then I have an accurate complete account of its progress for anyone interested to read. 

Today I recorded the guitar part of my first demo, and for right now its called "Hopefully this is okay with you." Which is just something my mother said when I was about to name it. And for right now my demos are called the "Still Home Demos". 

I have to write lyrics now.