I can see the light...sorta...tis a busy season...wishes for peace within your circle of friends and family this season. Thank you hugs to all who sent emails and cards...great to hear from everyone!
Bobbi & Ed Beckley volunteer for the Salvation Army every year and sent this with a note that they were dancing to my A Christmas to Remember CD while collecting. They win the "most creative way to use my music for the community" award! Thanks Bobbi & Ed for all you do!
With the in-stores, privates parties and masses behind me, I'm working on material for the new CD (release date April/May 2010). We were in Nashville a week before Christmas (who's in charge of scheduling!?) cutting instrumental tracks so I can practice before hitting the studio again Jan 11...so that's what I'm doing...in my "free" time (HA!) & in my sleep! This CD has some beautiful tunes on it and is really taking on a life of it's own.
Many have asked about the recording process - it is VERY different than a "live" performance. Singing to walls that don't give back any energy can be grueling but I have found that with the right attitude and energy of my own it is well worth it. I have been working with my producer, Kenny Royster and most of my studio musicians for 10+ years recording all of my projects with them. We have a 5 piece core band: drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboard and bass. They put tracks down in 3 hours sessions, usually 10-1pm, 2-5pm and 6-9pm depending on how many songs and their complexity. That is done on Monday. Tuesday I usually have my auxilary crew in: acoustic guitar, keyboards and stand-up bass, cello, violin, harmonica, saxophone - not all in the same time frame ie guitar & keyboard, bass 10-12pm, cello & violin 12-2pm again depending on the songs and arrangements. Remember these musicians do this for their living: they read, eat and sleep music so laying down tracks to what sounds like a complicated song can take less than an hour for most songs. When I go back to do vocals, I'm in the studio 10am-10pm, singing, listening, drinking lots of coffee & water! and tweaking, tweaking and tweaking...when I'm done with my vocals I bring in my backup vocalists. On this project, I have my 4 who I've used on past projects: Kim, Vicki, Robert and Kim (Yes 2 Kims NOT including me) and I have my bassist, Dave Francis doing some vocal parts. Dave did some parts on my CD Moonlight (the first project I did with the gang). All of these musicians are AWESOME and I truly value their gifts and friendships. After the vocals are done, the mixing begins and THAT is tedious!! It is usually a week long process & could be longer...my ears are usually fried and I drive back to the beach in silence (13 hour drive from Nashville). It then goes through various manufacturing stages before getting to the customer: mastering, graphics, packaging, shipping. Every artist has their own process depending on financial resources and time, but this works for me. Yes a labor of love...so when people buy the new CD and then come back a month later and ask when the next one will be out I do have to laugh...it's like giving birth: do you really want to do that again in less than a year? Between researching material and the actual project, it really does take about a year or longer from start to finish.
New Years Eve will take me to Williamsburg for their First Night celebration this year...I'm excited to see old friends and meet some new folks! Beyond that I'm still at Bagels to Beef in Southern Shores when I'm in town (check the calendar) and Holy Redeemer and Holy Trinity...Florida the end of Feb where I'll be at The Villages (Church on the Square). I'm looking to book churches in the area so if you're interested please email or call.
Thank you for your emails, calls and notes...I love to sing, but I love singing for you!
Be safe, stay warm...see you in 2010
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