Guitar Player!? Where!?
The Secret Jimmy Has Been Hiding All These Years . . . No, Not That One!
It's funny, but if by the end of the week, you feel like I do now - you know you've put in a hard weeks work. Sometimes I look at the past week and think - Damn, that's all I got done!?
It can feel overwhelming, as there is so much to do and it can be so tedious. The technical part can be all consuming. The set up and configuration for some things can take forever and you end up playing very little. What do I mean?
Four days chasing an acoustic sound. A million little adjustments in micro increments. Strange happenings. What worked yesterday is not working today and what wasn't, is. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much you know about recording. I know more about it than most and sometimes it can leave you lost in the details. Then the perfectionism kicks in and you end up locked in the studio for days, mulling over one little part. By the end of the week you're toast.
Slow and steady wins the race. . .
As we've said before, this is definitely the most important record of our lives and careers.
Everything is riding on this. It is vitally essential that we hit it out of the park. We've put a lot of pressure on ourselves and there is a lot of expectation from others.
We're all alone on it. Even our "Team" are left wondering what the hell we're doing half the time. We have a guy in San Diego recording all our drum tracks - Sending files back and forth.
We have the occasional co-writer. Other than that, we have no one else, but Jimmy and I. That is by choice, but true nonetheless. We have not let anyone hear any of it.
I think that only my wife has really heard the whole scope of it. She's heard these songs more times than she would ever care to, I'm sure. She knows that what we got cooking is special, but she has seen the construction of each individual part and idea. She's seen the extreme hard work that goes into it. She's seen the ups and downs. She's not new to this by any means (Twenty years now), but I still don't think she understands it all, fully. After hearing a song a billion times, no matter how great it is, the magic can wear off a little. Even for us. I find myself questioning my favorite songs daily, after hearing them so many times. Some days I like it all. Some days none of it. Some days only certain ones. Some days we're making a masterpiece. Some days, a piece of shit. Oh, to be on the inside looking out. If you only knew. That's normal I guess, isn't it? (Say it is and we'll move along).
It makes me smile to think what she must be thinking, when she sees me obsessing over one little element that she cannot hear the difference on either way. Yet, I can. She sees me go insane over it daily and when I finally nail it - She sees a guy on the highest of highs, if only very briefly.
See ladies? That's what it's really like being married to someone like me. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows - almost hourly. The life with an extremely creative person isn't all you'd think it is when you only see it from the end result. The end result is magic. Hard work made to look easy. The journey to that point is total madness and with me that madness is 24/7 365 days a year.
It's all consuming to me, but in the end - it's worth it (I think). Please, tell me it will all be worth it!!!???
I'm sure she feels like a major part of something that no one else gets the opportunity to be a part of yet, outside it all at the same time.
Could you handle it?
My wife is a special kind of breed. I know one thing in life - I'm loved. I'm a very lucky man . . .
That's the curse of it all though, that only we bare. The thought that if we go that extra mile, it will make a difference to the listener, even if it's only subconsciously. . .
Now, moving on from the verge of my latest mental breakdown, of which by Monday morning I won't even remember. Hell, I probably won't remember it ten minutes from now . . .
I've got to say Jimmy is a fantastic guitarist! Most people know that he can write and sing. Most people have seen him play rhythm guitar, but not many have heard this guy play lead.
Boy are you in for a treat!
Most people know me as a guitarist and a songwriter and a singer, but people have never heard me as a pianist, so there's yet another thing that this record will bring to the fold.
I have usually, always been the sole guitarist in all of my past bands, with the rare exception.
I've always been extremely particular with who I would share those duties with.
When it comes to Jimmy, I have absolutely no reservations, in fact I prefer his playing to mine.
He doesn't know this (Now he does), but I sit there in amazement most of the time and fully inspired as a guitar player. He's not playing the most complex or physically demanding stuff (who cares!?), but he's playing the right stuff - which is what really matters more than anything else.
I like his playing so much that I can't imagine ever playing with anyone else. He's probably gonna end up doing more solo work on the record than I am, for sure. I don't mind, I'm a secure guitar player. He's just got such a great feel for what we're doing. Plus, I've got the official job of Pianist added to my plate now, so it all balances well.
There will still be plenty of my guitar work on the album, but my favorite stuff will be his. I'm more than certain of that. Jimmy is becoming one of my all time favorite guitar players and that's really saying something! People just don't know what they've been missing all these years. I can't wait for you to hear it . . .
Two above average songwriters. Two excellent guitar players. Two great singers. The introduction of a (Hopefully) promising Piano player. The added bonus of Jimmy's great Bass playing on the album. A partridge in a pear tree?
What more could you want!? A classic album too!?
Geez, you want a lot!
We better get some R&R and get back at it on Monday then . . .
-Bret
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