This past week ended up being very productive and enjoyable. The snow on Monday was light enough that I could still teach my Decorah lesson. I am starting to understand why people like to teach because it is very rewarding to help someone learn how to do something they could not do before, especially when you can see the creative spark in their eyes.
Tuesday was relatively uneventful. I had the day off on Wednesday and I spent the morning toiling away on new ideas. I also completed the mixing and mastering of Each & Every Night, a great song from the upcoming Brillant Beast debut album. Joe Dawson came by the studio in the evening and finalized bass tracks on a couple of the songs. The project is really coming together nicely and I am anxious to hear the completed songs once we start on vocals.
Thursday I worked and then had a great Brahman Shaman rehearsal in the evening with Jaran on drums and new addition Joe Dawson on Bass. Something about the three piece feels right and it is really nice having that low end support for the songs. The first show with the three of us will be March 20th at the Root Note in La Crosse, WI with Michelle Lynn & Hyphon.
The new issue of Second Supper came out on Thursday as well, which featured a Nick Shattuck cover story which includes some very kind words about yours truly relating to the recording of his debut album at Ghost in My House Studio. Check it out here. I am excited to see the physical copies of Nick's album this week and looking forward to drumming for him at his first CD release show, Thursday February 25th at Del's Bar in La Crosse.
Friday I headed up to Minneapolis in the morning and successfully sold a guitar, that was not getting enough use, through Craigslist without getting killed. I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with my good friend and Driftless Music founder Adam Wiltgen. The whether was nice enough for a great walk into downtown St. Paul and we also had enough time to jam on some of Adam's songs which are evolving nicely and I am hoping I have the opportunity to record.
Friday evening I headed down to the Acadia Cafe in Minneapolis for the Driftless Music Showcase kickoff event. The show went great and I had the opportunity to play alongside a number of great acts including Kasey McKee, Akai, Talking Tree and The Brillant Beast.
Joe Dawson was back at Ghost in My House Studio on Saturday morning and he put in a solid days work getting the guitar doubling done on most of the tracks as well as a great lead vocal and some really cool background vox on one of the tracks as well. Now that we are getting closer to done and I am hearing the vocals I am getting even more excited about Joe's EP. You should all have the opportunity to hear it in a couple of months or sooner.
Sunday was mostly spent cleaning, getting groceries, home improvement etc.. In the afternoon I had fun teaching a lesson and my student really enjoyed jamming his blues riff while I played the drums. What can I say, playing music is fun!
