Let's Go Play In The Toy Box!

Guess who is the WORST blogger in the world and has two thumbs.....this girl! I mean, how many times does Dillon have to tell me to update my blog before I actually do it? A thousand times apparently. But here its is, here I am, blogging before work. Huzzah!


Alright. My life. Hmmm....


Oh yeah! I recorded my EP a couple weekends ago, and it was really fun. It was at a place in Fremont called The Toy Box. It was crazy awesome. I should have taken pictures for blogging purposes but I was so focused on the task at hand that I forgot to. This was the first real recording studio I have been in and the place made me feel like I should be wearing velvet bell-bottom pants. Yeah, that kind of place. Complete with crushed velvet covered sound panels hanging from the ceiling, and a giant poster of the one and only Bowie over the leather couch, it was a 70's tribute in there. If only there had been a lava lamp or two.


I spent most of the day just kind of waiting for things to finish so we could get to the vocals. I did dome instrumentation but Wes Sp8 and Gareth (those are my guys!) were doing most of the work. Walking back and forth from the sound booth to the room over and over again. Fixing levels and going from drums to guitar to organ, it was all a blur. I have never heard my own voice so much in one day. The scratch tracks we recorded at Gareth's apartment played through the whole day so we had something to follow while recording different instrumental parts. I have to say by the end of the morning I was cringing at my own voice, I had to take my guitar into a different room for awhile to take a break from my own damn voice. I was driving myself a little bit crazy!


The good part about all that craziness was that I got to practice the Joni Mitchell song I have been working on. If you do a Joni song, you have to do it right! 


By the time all the instrumentation was finished it was time to lay down vocals, and I had to get into the right head space for each song. I asked Wes to leave "The Wind and the Wall" for last because I felt that one was going to be hardest to get right. And it really was. I'm still not sure if the track we ended up going with was the right one. I guess that gives people something to look forward to for a live show, maybe I will get it right on stage.


So we ran through "Right In Front Of You", "Hollow", and "Try Again" in that order (I think) and those were pretty easy for me to get right. Iv'e been singing these songs for so long that it was not about getting the melodies right or the lyrics correct, it's the emotional depth that each song requires. Trying to get into the head space I was in when I wrote the damn thing. It's not always easy, but anger is easier for me to access than sadness so I did "Right In Front Of You" and "Try Again" pretty quickly. I think they were close to what I intended them to sound like. 


When it came time to record the vocals for "The Wind and the Wall" I did this crazy walking-pacing thing trying to figure out how to make myself feel that sad despite the fact that half of my dreams were coming true that day. You try to be sad while your'e recording your EP in a real studio with these cool people! It was  difficult to wrap my brain around. 


I ended up sitting alone listening to "Ode To Divorce", "The Flowers", and "Somedays" by Regina Spektor. She really helped me get close to what I needed to feel to get the song right. God, I fucking love her. We did a couple takes in the vocal booth and then we were done. All headed off our separate ways. 


And that was the day I recorded my EP!


I'm looking forward to seeing those guys again, Wes and I are going to do a song together, so yay :D .


Misc.
Listening To: "A Case Of You" Joni Mitchell
Drinking: A Cuppa...again.
Loving: Stripes


-H

Doom Tree Records

Doom Tree is one of the best Hip-Hop labels active right now. I think there is something to be said for the artists that are not so "current" or Top 40. Let's be honest, music on the radio is terrible 90% of the time. It tends to be more shallow and focused on targeting an audience or creating an image that will boost record sales. I live music, and I love music, and I love this label. All of the artist have different styles, and they all speak to me in their own way. From Mike Mictlan(above)to Dessa, it's all good. 




Mictlan is a hard hitter from the start. With songs like Prizefight and "Drumsticks" that he features in, it's an insane power he spits. It brings passion and fire back into rap, which it has been so lacking. Thank God for L.A.




I was very drawn to Dessa from the first moment I heard her. The depth and range of her voice sucks you in, and holds you close. It's like shes singing about you, through you, just for you. She started off singing in a women's trio and that kind of classical melodic based sound translates into her Hip-Hop work quite well. Her video has cult classic themes and heightens the dark lyrics and feel. I can't think of anyone who pulls it off better than she does. It's a calm kind of cool that she approaches her music with. A kind of attitude that only a weathered performer can produce. 

Also, check out this collaboration with Dessa and Matthew Santos. It's on her "Broken Code" album, and really is just....so good. It's been over a year and I'm still in love with this. 

Misc.
Listening To: "Beg Steal or Borrow" Ray LaMontagne
Drinking: A Cuppa 
Loving: Getting a job. Kinda rocks.
-H

Summer Blog Swap 2011

Amy sent me a package for Summer Blog Swap and it's taken me awhile to blog about it. But! I was super excited to get it, and there was some pretty cool stuff in there. So I'm sending hers off tomorrow morning, hope she gets it soon.

   

The pinkish sticks are strawberry scented incense. They really smell like strawberries! Super awesome. The pencils are 'Where The Wild Things Are' which is perfect. I grew up with that book, and had some stuffed animals too. I also played Max in a play inspired by the book in elementary school. So what if my tail fell off in the middle of the second act, I was the best Max ever!


So read Amy's blog in a week or so to find out what I got her.Your'e gonna want to check it out!

Misc:
Listening To: South park rip on High School Musical
Smelling: Nag Champa incense
Loving: 'Where The Wild Things Are'


-H

Falling In Love Pie

Waitress is one of my favorite movies. I watch it on nights like this when the summer air is just warm enough to keep you from sleep until the earlier morning hours. I don't mind though, I get some good thinking done. Plus, the house finally calms down. 

Keri Russel's character has inspired me. I want to make 'Falling In Love Pie' and get to it. Falling in love that is. Wouldn't it be wonderful to make magic pies filled with chocolate, strawberries and hope? Sounds pretty good to me. Not to mention all of the song material I could get out of a relationship like that. A REAL one for once. 

In the meantime, I am going to learn how to make a decent pie, and give it to someone. Maybe a friend or something. Probably should practice making pies before I give them away. Get good enough that they are pretty and taste not so charred. I don't think you can make magic pie when it's always burnt on the edges of the crust, can you? 

Spent the day downtown with Dillon and friends at The Bite Of Seattle. So much food and so little time! I think my favorite thing was sitting on a damp lawn, eating Pad Thai, watching mediocre country music performers. Oh and a juggler who kept dropping his orange balls. Maybe it doesn't sound like much, but it was really nice. It is one of the few times in the past month when I have not wanted to run back to Portland. It was like reclaiming the feeling that I had in P-Town. The right mix of calm and freedom. Untouched by my family or worry of the future. I think the simplicity really added to it. I want to hold onto that feeling, since these moments have been few and far between for me. 

I mean, I love my family, don't misunderstand. Yet, I feel more myself when I am not around them all the time.

I need a job so that I can save and get out of here. Get back to what I was working towards. Get back to music, and art, and sanity. Just get back. 

And, Iv'e got to buy some of that Tahini sauce on my way out of town, cause that shit was good. 

Misc.

Listening To: The Bird and The Bee

Eating: Phish Food ice cream 

Loving: Waterfall braids

-H

A Frenchman, A Wink, and A Chance

I told Dillon that I would blog this weekend, so here I am keeping my promise. So why don't yo take your own advice huh D? It would seem that I am not good at keeping up with blogging, so my bad on that one. Soooooooo...yikes.

I went to Chicago last week for 6 days, and met some pretty cool people. One of whom turned out to be good friends with Wiz Khalifa's agent. When I heard that I almost dropped my guitar I was so surprised. Oriana McGee is the woman who told me this. Between her long legs, facial tick, and oh so cool sunglasses, I didn't know what to say. She is from California and really did look it. It was a wonderful surprise that she was down to earth and pretty cool. So she took my info and sent me an eamil. These things never turn out the way you plan, so I'm not banking on the fact that this will work out. But it would be a nice surprise right?

I also met a Frenchman currently living in GA, but he's only been in the States for a year. He hid his accent quite well so it was interesting which people asked if he was French and who did not notice at all. He was a bit cliche in a good way. When I met him he was wearing black, expensive looking (and slightly shiny) jeans that matched his chinstrap beard all too well. Very Euro-Chic. Then he played piano like a freaking god or something. Which meant that we spent lots of time talking, but none of it was in French (despite 5 years of study) and I was too intimidated to touch the piano. I'm such a sissy. 

During the weekend I also got to play music with my good friend Ben Waumette which was a real treat because I haven't seen him since I move out of P-town. We spent the better part of an evening in the warm Illinois air passing a geetar back and forth. Our permanent audience: the local smokers and hotel staff on their short breaks. We banged out cover after cover, song after song. Just too much fun!

 Guess who left their capo in Illinois and has two thumbs? This girl!

So Chicago ruled. Filled with music, old friends and new ones. Hopefully this a sign that the rest of the summer will hold good things for me.

Misc:
Listening To: 'Parachute' Ingrid Michealson
Drinking: Water
Loving: The song Dillon and I wrote last night 

-H