Album Update

I took July 18th off and went to Detroit to record more music for the album project I am working on with my friend S.  This time, they took me straight to the studio from the airport, where I recorded 4 songs in about 4 hours on bass (who da man?!).  That night we saw The Hold Steady in concert .  The next day, we spent all day in the studio.  I recorded one more song on bass and then recorded backing vocals in 3-4 songs.  M (the lead singer) had to record some harmonies with me, and S and T recorded some guitar. 

Saturday was touch and go because when I lifted my voice to sing, I realized I was still sick.  Phlegm was stuck in my throat -- and that's not an optimal situation for singing.  I took five and did some singing on my own, then decided I had to gamble dehydration by applying a pharmaceutical remedy to the situation.  I had M drive me to a nearby gas station to pick up some Tylenol Allergy.  This cleared up the problem in an hour, and we recorded my backing vocals for a couple of hours.  Both S and (new/uber-talented guitarist) T recorded some guitar tracks.  By the time the day was done, M and I had recorded some decently lavish harmonies that add a great deal to the songs we recorded.  In order for some of them to work, M had to throw down a few lead vocals in certain spots. 

On Sunday we spent almost the entire day working on the album's most sprawling, unique track.  We had drums, bass, backing vocals and some guitar recorded, but the drums had to be slowed down...which meant all that other stuff had to be re-recorded.  I think it worked out all right. 

Now for the bad news: the lead singer, who is a professional singer performing in a capella groups during what essentially equates to the school year, will only be available for one weekend every other month to record.  The bulk of the remaining work left on the album is his.  Since he has only completed 3 of the album's 11 songs, that pace will mean the album will not come out this year.  Saulius will have been working on the project for over a year, and for me it will be pretty close to that.  It's a real bummer, because I'm very excited for it to come out and this long, drawn-out recording schedule saps a lot of the natural enthusiasm away.  But I'm hoping the increased timeframe will give us a better-quality product in the end. 

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