The White album

2003-11-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

The work

Had a good weekend -
'everyone smiles' - firming up the string arrangement ideas, putting in demo vocals. Happy with how it's sounding - just needs a bit more tidying up.

'thanks to the house' - set a tempo and put down guide guitar and vocals. Will check the tempo tonight or tomorrow to see if it still feels ok.

The process

Much more relaxed and positive about it all...working on it when i feel positive...the deadline looms even closer (mid-April) but i feel more positive about making this baby and not so 'driven/desperate' - all those things that happen when one loses sense of enjoying something...

C the dub is back (at least today!!)

2003-10-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

Had Weds Nite Club last night - so no work on the album - but woke up this morning at 7am and decided to GET UP! spent the next couple of hours re-demoing a guide guitar and vocal for 'everyone smiles' at 145 bpms...i think this is going to be a better tempo but will listen when i get home.

2003-10-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

The work

just a small job - transfer 'everyone smiles' onto disc to take 'round to Steve so that he can add drums.

I'll just have a quick listen....

sounds toooo slow....oh no - not the tempo dilemma again...

spent 2 hours listening to the song at 142 vs 145 bpms (beats per minute) - still couldn't decide but had an inkling that will need to speed up...will listen tonight...if so - will re-record rough guitar and vocals

The process

not as fraught as one would imagine given the last 3 weeks for me...

it's all about finding that happy place - where this album isn't the be-all-and-end-all of my existence/worth....which means taking time out to enjoy life and coming to it in a way that will enable me to have a quality time...

sorry for the boring blog...just have to call it as i see it - have a head cold and cramming this in after work...moan moan - roll on Summer!!

2003-10-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hi ya - yes - it's me - i'm alive...fell off the treadmill a bit...burnout...exhaustion...burning the candle at both ends...too friggin consumed with making an album...ticking it off my to-do list....and making a GREAT album...that i forgot to chill and enjoy the ride...

so - a week and a half off - kind-a - behind schedule but, hey - there's gotta be a better way to do things in life than to screw your insides up in the process...

so what now? hmmmm take it a bit easier - think of another plan of attack - enjoy life on the way (something i'm not always good at doing...) - one of the hurdles to get over...

yeah yeah chris - you make it all sound damn hard...well - after months like this in my head i could swear it is...but i'm sure i can crawl my way outta this again...

have worked on new version of 'everyone smiles' - will get the bare bones of that to Steve to put drums to...if i can convince him to play like a 70's cat with lots of fills...

2003-10-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

The work

there was none to speak of - i realised today i have hit the wall - well, maybe not THE wall, but a small wall!

You realise these things when....

a) more than one person in the space of a day tells you that you look tired
b) the first thing you say when you arrive at work is "i need a break from my life"
c) you're eating copious amounts of comfort and/or junk food even when you feel full
d) you check your account to find you've spent way more than you thought you had
e) everything looks the same - the view, the surroundings.....
f) all you really want to say is blah de blah....

so - having made this diagnosis today - i now have the task of getting me back. Suffice to say there has been no recording work happening this week - obviously i just didn't want to...i am sposed to be meeting with Dyl tonight and will stick with that commitment. Also need to work out better hours for the Weds Nite Club (my other songwriting venture as it finishes way too late for a school nite!!).

Other than that - reconnect with the things i love and that love me...

...here's hoping for a quick recovery!

2003-09-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Reinspired!

Well - spent the evening at a presentation by a Marine Scientist who took a group of people to Antarctica to research the largest known iceberg, B-15.

This rekindled my love of ice and glaciers and stuff!!! It gave me a renewed enthusiasm for the songs i have written and am recording and had awesome pictures of icebergs and now i'm looking at satellite pictures like the one above!

one site to check out is The ATSR Project...

love the pics that show progress of the calving iceberg...it's even got a pic on the birthday of my ex, don't worry i'm slowly coming to terms with this 'break-up' event in my life - just couldn't help but notice the serendity...after all - some of the songs were born through this and it all fits snug with the ice imagery...breaking up....coldness...rah de rah - it is all beautiful really...

i love the name of one particular iceberg - B15B (could be a song or album title eh?) not that it's Breakup No 15 or anything!

so - reenergised, reenthused and ready to go on more album stuff - although tonight i have weds nite club...

yay to the funny little things that turn us on!!

2003-09-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

The Weekend

The work

spent time on Manitoba - played with guitar textual ideas and also with a blowing instrument with minature keyboard keys on it. Don't know what it is called - called it a melodian for now. The sound it gives reminds me of a kd lang song (remake of Cole Porter's "So In Love") - it gives a sort of a Greek layabout feel (don't know if that's right for the song - might need to smooth the sound up a bit!). Had a bit of trouble getting into the work coz everytime i blew the darn thing, my cat (Maverick) would get all smoochy and chatty and come over for cuddles!! Funny, he hasn't been doing that with the guitar feedback sounds!

So - i took a wee break and waited for him to go to sleep on the bed and then was able to get into it.

The process

Like some of the ideas i came up with but on listening back - they weren't necessarily played up to standard - so i had to convince myself basically that i needed to start again on every track and go through again - replaying bits that weren't tight - one thing about being your own quality-controller...there are times when you want to say - she'll be right...

2003-09-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

The Work

Dyl came over and played in his bass ideas for Busload. We talked about reviewing and he went away with a cd copy. Now I need to cut and paste what he did.

The Process

Am finding this slow-going...but am also feeling a bit of a lull generally in what i'm doing...need a fresh view or fresh ideas or something - fresh energy! need to keep changing my approach - but to at least keep on 'turning up to the page' as i am doing...

whatever you all are doing...keep at it!

2003-09-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

Testing for Comments

so is this comments thing going to work with every post? i should be home doing the album - bah-humbug!

2003-09-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

The Work

Spent last night noodling around on second (and third...maybe even 4th) guitar part ideas for Manitoba.

Had a good listen to Neil Finn's song 'The Climber' - beautiful song and one which predominantly uses guitar texturing (although on the headphones version I did catch some bell-like percussion way off in the distance!)

I used this as the base prototype for building Manitoba.

First, had a play with some feedback...got some instances of a drone (preferred this to a squeal) and managed to get a particularly strong drone going through the bridge which then just clipped off at precisely the right place! Unfortunately the levels are way too high but this may not matter with the type of effect i'm after...

Then, got the acoustic out and had a jam through the song - capoed up high on the 7th fret and played around with single notes - but then got into playing harmonies to the vocal - which could be the great compromise i'm looking for in my Backing Vocals or no Backing Vocals question - this way i would get the beautiful harmonic ideas and maintain the sense of a solitary voice...yeah!! so noodled away and did some slap-dash editing - keeping what i liked...

The Process

I thought i might have a problem with being so blatant about what i'm referencing my work to...seeing as i used to have a thing about being intensely ORIGINAL...but...i'm ok about doing this - and even admitting to it!
i figure - i am a unique person - so whatever i do WILL be original at the end of the day...I'm also basically in an arranging/production type role and so need all the help i can get!! i actually really enjoy this part of the process and it confirms my desire to write and arrange! and besides, i LOVE getting inside the recording of other material - what makes it tick/work etc - so this just gives me another excuse to do just that!

want to set up a comments section in case there is anybody out there listening - but, even if there isn't - i'm happy in my own company...

2003-09-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

The Weekend

The work

Started on 'Manitoba'. Figured that i need a bit of change of tact - a bit of a break from Satellite and Busload - i have approached them quite similarly - almost to the point where they have the same format of development. ie. I had the idea of inserting a 'big' sounding drum track in the bridge only (kinda John Bonham approach) - but this idea has made it's way to BOTH tracks so far!! hmmmm - if i had to choose - i'd go with Satellite - maybe it's ok to have 2 tracks doing similar things - especially on a 10-12 track album - and let's face it - they're both 'production number' type songs!

So my approach for Manitoba thus far is completely acoustic/live - at this stage i'll be referring to the wonderful Neil Finn's 'One Nil' album...and his use of multiple guitar tracks to create a textural feel. I'd like to achieve this with Manitoba. Still undecided about using backing vocals as the theme of the song is about solitude and healing in solitude. Kiri came up with some really nice vocal parts that we have used live...when she first sung on the song i remembered feeling that it was a bit odd because of the solitary, private journey aspect of the song.

Since then, I have grown to like the ideas she came up with and sing them myself at the moment along to the recording - they are beautiful.

But....maintaining the tone of the song is paramount and...maybe simple is best in this instance - at least that's what i seem to be convincing myself of here!

Spent the weekend largely trying to find a nice acoustic guitar sound and performance. Used a microphone and line and so far have mixed the sounds a bit. Have also used a pic/no-pic approach (prefer the no pic) and a capo/no-capo approach (would prolly mix these 2).

Oh yes - the other thing - i've taken the key up a semi-tone from normal...could hear Steve's voice rattling 'round in my head (it's too low for your voice)...don't want to go any higher as it takes the earthiness out of the song as my voice goes higher.

The process

Talking about changing the key has made me realise that i'm loosening up slowly with regards to changing songs and being flexible with them (how anal were you before! you might ask)
I never used to fluctuate on anything - this is the song - that was how it was written now wrack off! but i'm seeing that recording is a whole new medium of expressing the song and, that, in music, as much as in life, it doesn't always help to stick to imagined hard and fast rules.

so yes - learning to play and try new things...goodness knows i swore i'd never own a capo - so there you have it!

Capo = Device for placing over guitar strings which creates the effect of making the guitar sound higher - basically - hang - how do you explain a capo!!

2003-09-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

spent last night predominantly staring at the computer - what i affectionately call 'an impasse' - this usually seems to follow a productive time...so now need to change tack a bit to get some fresh ideas happening...which is what i hope to do this weekend.

2003-09-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

Played last night - so no album work achieved. Just got to remember how breathless one can become when one isn't playing on a regular basis. Great to see my friends there.

2003-09-15T15:31:00.000-07:00

The work

Cut and paste. Cut and paste.

Edit. Edit.

The process

Thought for the day: The merits of having more than one favourite colour....

*Chris getting ready in the morning* "Where is my black bra?
Maybe it's on my black bedspread...or maybe on my black computer chair....maybe my black kitten took off with it....or is it on my black shoes....oh...There it is...................on my black bag!

2003-09-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

The Weekend Session

The work
- picked up guitar and amp from the 'doctor's'. Set them up at home only to find that amp is still buzzing crazily. Will take it back - it may not be an amp prob but rather leads or some sort of earthing thing i guess.
- nonetheless - with noisy amp, played around with telecaster through delay pedal - just whacking the strings and then changing the delay speed which created kind of a 'frequency-radio-tuning' sound - which is just what i want for Satellite Love Dish. So recorded 5 mins worth of sounds and spent the next 2 days cutting and looping the bits i liked. Ended up with about 5 tracks worth of loops. FUN FUN!!
- also gave bass player Richard a track of the song Satellite Love Dish including a bass-ideas version i had come up with (i'm sure he'll love it from a non-bass player!)

The Process
Well - I had intended to record guitar parts for the song and leave 'incidental' sounds 'til last - but playing around with this was what fired me up and i didn't have to be so concentrated about what i was actually playing - so i opted to go with what seemed to have the most immediate fun factor and would appeal - and - it prolly will lead me to doing the other concentrated stuff more easily. A good approach don't you think???
Life lesson #1: it's always good to do what you WANT to do rather than what you SHOULD do...
Watched 2 movies - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (what it's like to invent your life and persevere with ideas!) and Adaptation (the joys of writer's block!! and the pitfalls of falling in love with your imagination! or something like that - too tired to analyse it too much)...

night night!!

2003-09-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

still getting into the rhythm of this journalling so, as you can see, am a few days behind. Here is Tuesday's entry...

Tuesday 9 September

Satellite Love Dish

Went in and had a listen – the drum beats I had done freaked me out!! Had totally forgotten what I had done – it sounded pretty fresh and fat.
So went to work on it – but by the end of the night – feeling a little dejected – the beats are out of time, too busy – do I even want to use them at all??
Added guide vox and guide gat – hard to get it all in perspective – maybe the snare in the loop beat is a little too harsh.
Need to get simple gat parts happening – the guide gat is too busy and all over the place…boy…so far away from the beauty of ‘OK Computer’ that I listened to today…keep the faith – with consistency and turning up and trying new things – it will come…

Remember

Space

Simplicity

Impact

Go back to Blur’s Tender and have a listen…I always create long vocal lines – so if the song is sped up – it just becomes vocal intensive and frantic.
Create space for the vocal and the vibe…

You can do it Chris

Believe – it iwill come – just turn up and do the work and play and reframe…

Remember – even Radiohead made crap and had bad days!

Wednesday 10 September

The work:

Have taken my electric guitar (Telecaster) and Amp into the guitar doctor's for fixing...bad intonation and buzzy amp with broken input sockets.
Also went and saw Steve (producer) with the first demo cut from my work at home...remember i'm learning how to be an engineer as well. First thing I've still got to learn is how to convert Wav. files to a disc so Steve can load on his system - all i managed to do in this instance was create an audio recording (Doh!!).
Steve also gave a few tips on applying Compression and recording the click track (so that he has at least SOMETHING that is in time! - of course he said this in the nicest possible way!!)
Also went and saw my friend aj.bell (Brilliant songwriter) who reassured me that scabbing gear off friends is all part of the process - and proceeded to lend me some of his effects pedals (tremolo, delay...)
Good catch up with him! I want to get a wee collection of sound possibilities happening so let the scabbing begin...

Thursday 12 September

The work:
Last night I worked on Satellite Love Dish again and played around with bass part ideas and the rhythm tracks...while waiting for the life of the song to come through and find it's own sound, I am currently modelling the rhythm arrangement on Blur's 'Tender'...now i'm giving away all my cheat tactics but hey! you gotta start somewhere.

The process:
Once again, a case of freeing myself up to play,play and to be willing to go through that messy stage where nothing makes sense and seems to all be sounding like crap - until it all breaks into something beautiful that makes sense (such is the way life works as well eh?).
I tend to overcomplicate the arrangements often (as in life) and then have to peel things back - although i'm of the opinion that, often, what people mistake for simplicity is often densely layered and contains a lot more thought than is obvious (as in life!)

I rest my case...

2003-09-08T22:39:00.000-07:00

Well - this is it - the journal/progress to date of the new Christine White album...here i get to record the highs/lows/discoveries and you get to watch it all unfold. You might even want to hear the album at the end of it all :)

The album is a 6-month project and i'm currently working on it most weeknights and weekends - so the updates should be aplenty. You can kick my butt if they're not.

So here's to making an aural baby....thank you for listening!!