The Joys of Being an Indie Artist, Shrink Wrap Included

I have a "To Do" list that stays the same length, no matter how many things I cross off. I guess that's part of being an Indie Artist. I get one thing done and in the process find another thing to put on the list.

I've been trying to replenish my stock of CDs. The CDs are labeled and have data, the inserts are printed and in the jewel cases. Last step? Shrink wrap!

Done.

Next, check and update all my social networking sites. This got way easier when I started using Hootsuite. I highly recommend it! I can even schedule a few posts to go up when I'm away from the computer.

Done.

Read books. I researched and bought a slew of new and used books on entertainment law, music publishing, rights management, artist management, contracts, music business, social networking, and anything else having to do with music production. Read from The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business by Loren Weisman, one of the many for an hour today.

Done. Learned more techniques for easy gigging, more functional practices and maximized recording sessions. Sweet!

Mixing. My brother and I are mixing our next CD Jazzy Christmas To You II! Getting back into the mixing groove after school started was a bit rough, but now we're really moving!

Done. Will do more mixing tomorrow.

Set up practices and recording times with band members. Thanks to technology, this is pretty easy.

Done.

All through that process, I found out I need to get more inserts printed, need to keep up with my social networking, need to read more books, need to research some new music sites, need to check on subscriptions, need to mix more songs, and get all the charts ready for practicing and recording.

Not Done. But that's okay. I love being an Indie Artist!

Recording and Mixing the Next Single

Today Erik and I finished mixing the newest single. I'm still holding back on the name...it's a good one! 

I already revealed I co-wrote it with Justin Jensen, my new songwriting partner, and that Justin plays piano and sings with me on the track in this original duet.

The recording was a story in itself and it's a miracle it even came about!

Several months ago on the Monday before Justin had an early morning wake-up call for a trip to Africa, he made time to record! We originally were supposed to record the Saturday before, but a family member was in the emergency room. It is completely acceptable (and advisable) to cancel recording sessions when this happens! But fortunately, he made it to record on the following Monday! 

At times it seemed as if it just wasn't going to come off then as if knowing we only had a few more minutes, it came together.  

After Justin and his wife got back from Africa, we touched base to figure out how to collaborate from a distance.  Stay tuned for more songs written with Justin...there is one on the upcoming Christmas album, sweet stuff!

The mixing came together very quickly, which was a nice surprise! Unfortunately, a tube in our Pro VLA II compressor went bad, so we had to use just our UREI LA-12 compressor instead of both. So we had to adjust, but it all worked out in the end!

More tomorrow!

"My World" on iTunes!!! (FREE download on Facebook)

Today, my first single is...RELEASED! "My World" is definitely an invitation into, well, my world! (That pun was TOTALLY intended!)

Get the FREE "My World" (Radio Edit) on my Facebook band page. Hurry, it will only be around for a limited time!

Fortunately, though, a blog is forever!

Yesterday, I blogged about how the lyrics of "My World" came to be. And, as promised, today is all about the mixing!

After fixing timing issues (we wanted it to be perfect for slow dancing), we set about creating the sound of the song. Not just the sound of each track, but really how we wanted to whole song to blend together.

We experimented with Antares Harmony efx on the lead vocal to add back-up vocals, but the sound wasn't quite right for this song. Though we did like the effect itself and plan to use it on future releases.

Next we tried chorusing within Pro Tools. We knew we wanted that effect, but the plug-in was giving a metallic sound to the vocal so we looked further. Little did we know we had a wealth of chorusing effects within our Kurzweil KSP8 outboard effects processor. After some experimenting with different kinds of chorusing, we settled on one that added just the right amount of depth. Then Erik programmed the delay to correspond with the tempo and triplet feel. We were making headway!

We applied a similar chorusing effect on the instruments, but something was still missing. We thought it was in the synth, so we searched for the right synth patch and found it in Synergy. Unfortunately, there was still something missing.

Erik then had a brilliant idea...I should play a harp part! I was a little bit wary of his idea, but decided I should give it a try. This isn't an ordinary harp you hear.  It is electric.

So Erik got my Camac Big Blue all plugged in and we literally composed an additional track.  Yes, Erik would sing what he wanted while I played what I heard him sing!  Frankly, it was hilarious! I play harp on the choruses and bridge. The upper registers on the harp add just the right scintillating touch to the song!  Harp will be included in upcoming releases!

And that's our mix down of the process we used to bring you "My World."

Until next time!