Record Club Update #5: Post-Holiday-Blackout Bulletin

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The Set-Up. Pretty Much.

With the exception of a show on the 23rd, I allowed the final days of 2011 to slip along in holiday / relaxation mode, not getting terribly much done for the Record Club.  Most folks lay low for this period of time, so I didn’t feel too bad about it.  However, I did start to worry that I’d never reach the funding goal.  On the way to Christmas Eve celebrations in Cincinnati, I was around $450 short, and for the whole week-long trip, the pledge level stayed frozen there.

And then seemingly all at once, between Amy and I returning on the 30th and New Year’s morning, the final few backers stepped up and put the Record Club into the black, officially.  So first and foremost, I want to give a sincere and humongous THANK YOU to all of you for throwing in for this hare-brained scheme!  In 2012, I promise to make all the products and prizes as special as I can.

Starting, of course, with the first record, due in February.  I’m firm on the tracklisting now:

Side A:
Come for the People, Stay for the Buildings
Lisa Pruett Will Have Her Revenge on Coventry

Side B:
Get on With It
Exterior, House
Come for the Buildings, Stay for the People

I’ve made solid starter mixes, and listened to them through my big ol’ office stereo.  I have some bass concerns there, but I have yet to take notes and chip away at them in earnest.  Ditto a couple of strange clicks I heard when listening via iPod.  Some idiosyncrasies I love, the “imperfections” of the recording bulging out like the browned edges of home-made cookies.  But some of them are straight-up glitches; I know the difference.  Spare the former, smooth out the latter, and make the whole thing sound as full as possible.  Such is mixing.

So today, my last vacation day before going back to work, I plan on getting those glitches fixed and then start listening with spiral-bound in hand on as many devices as possible — kitchen CD player, living room Tivoli, car stereo, cruddy basement computer speakers, etc.  The goal is to have the audio and artwork ready to mail for pressing on my next payday — the 16th of January.

Why is my payday important?  Well, for one, after the 5th, it’ll take Kickstarter a couple of weeks to funnel the pledges into my bank account.  But secondly, as you may have read in the FAQ section, I purposely set my funding goal somewhat  shy of the actual budget for this project.  After Kickstarter and Amazon Payments take their cut of the $3200, I should have somewhere around $2900 to use.  But the project, in full, will end up costing closer to $3500.  I knew this going in, and I can absolutely cover the spread — otherwise I wouldn’t have set it up.

Naturally though, it would be nice not to have to do so.  The project closes at midnight on Thursday.  If you haven’t joined up yet, please consider doing so.  I genuinely think $30 for four records mailed to your door is a straight-up deal, and the CD levels — regular for $10, regular-n-outtakes for $20 — are also reasonable for an independently produced physical product, if I do say so myself.

And if you’ve already joined, sometime between now and Thursday, if you would consider joining me for one last link-blizzard — via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or even a good old fashioned email — I’d really appreciate it.  Here ’tis:

http://kck.st/rrXpFN

Stay tuned for a peek at the actual artwork and updates on the mixing process, plus the exciting world of 45 RPM vs. 33 1/3rd…   HAPPY NEW YEAR!

p.s.  It feels really silly to even say this, but…  If by some miracle I end up grossing more than $3500 in the next three days, I promise all funds will go to the project — an extra page in the CD booklet, a thicker paper for one of the seven-inch sleeves, a new sticker design, what-have you.  In other words:  No candy, no microbrews, no Kiss records on import for yours truly.  I swear.  Peace.

Post-Game: Chicago Calling 8, Schuba’s, 12/23/2011

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Real Sweatshirt

Thanks to a typically wine-fueled Turntable.fm session with my brother Scott the night before, I got to Schuba’s Friday (a.k.a. Christmas Eve-Eve) with considerably less energy than I would have liked. I was set to open up for All Mods Conned (a.k.a. Who’s This Mary? in Jam-tribute mode) and London Calling (a Clash tribute) as part of Chicago Calling, a years-long tradition, and a benefit for the American Cancer Society.  After a brief sound-check with the amiable soundperson Joey, I wandered up the street to see if there wasn’t something that might revive me.

First, I made a mental note that a nearby corporate-chain coffee shop was open until 9:00.  Then I walked further up Southport…and I didn’t know I wanted sushi until I saw the sign for Sushi Mura, but I did.  In many ways, sushi is the perfect pre-show meal: tasty yet light, and maybe those omega-3′s do something, I’m not sure.  Anyway, the Cubs roll and a bowl of miso soup went a long way towards getting my energy back.

I picked up that corporate coffee on the way back to the club and slammed it in the Schuba’s green room, which I’d never seen before.  I’m sure all the other bands were being social, but I just needed to caffeinate down there, looking at all the Frisbie show posters and predictable Sharpie-rendered genitalia.  I looked for the poster for the first show I went to when I moved to Chicago in 1999 (it was the farewell performance of The Moviegoers), but no such luck.

When I went back upstairs, my friends John and Jenn were there, and we chatted for a bit…but my start time was 9:15, not 9:45 like I’d initially thought.  So I got up there, house about half full, and did it like this:

The Milkman of Human Kindness (Bragg) / Dirty Old Town (Pogues / Ted Leo) / Jeanne (Smiths / Bragg) / The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff) / Which Side Are You On? (Bragg) / Goodbye Girl (Squeeze) / Accident Waiting to Happen (Bragg) / (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding (Lowe / Costello)

No Funny Business

On the last one, Nick from All Mods Conned was kind enough to jump up and do harmonies on the refrains, and I think I did a decent job of listening closely and keeping the tempo where it needed to be for both of us — playing well with others, in other words.  Maybe I’m getting better at that…  Anyway, he sounded great, and it was an okay set, though it required considerably more concentration than I would have liked.  I mean, I’d spent a lot of time rehearsing for this show, getting the old fingers and wrist up to the task of some fairly speedy (for me) material.  And without beating myself up too much, I failed to honor that effort by partying so much the night before, essentially handicapping myself.  Not that it was a disaster, or even noticeably lacking to anyone who was there.  But it was less fun for ME than I was anticipating, and that’s important, right?  SO!   New rule: no drinking the night before a show.  SORTED!

John and Jenn and  I refreshed our drinks and were up front for All Mods Conned, who were superbly energetic and totally amazing.  I made a note to pick up some damn Jam records already.  We saw their whole set and sampled some of the equally excellent London Calling, though by the time the Clash started, the room was super-packed, and we wanted to do a little catching up.  So we sat in the front room and enjoyed some Rowan’s Creek and had some laughs, which was a warm and wonderful way to start the holiday season.  Plus , they were kind enough to drive me to the Blue Line all the way downtown!  Thanks, guys…

I barely slept, as I had to catch the 7:00 Megabus to Cincinnati.  It was terribly rock and roll.  Thanks to Jeff Krich for sharing his pics with me and to Kevin and Nick and all the guys in both bands for letting me do my little British Folk Revival bit before they systematically tore the roof off!  It was an awesome time.

 

Record Club Update #4: First Five + Artwork Preview

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What're You Reading?

I dipped into the hard drive this morning to pick out songs for the February record.  I could tell right away that two of them needed something extra: Bass on one, echo-y guitar on another.  Halfway through cutting the bass part, the ol’ 2004 iBook froze up and spit a ridiculously loud fax-like noise into my headphones.  So it would seem that the era of iBook recording is over.  After moving a more sturdy table from the attic down to the basement, I set up my iMac and got back into it.

I really should have done that months ago.  Not only was the screen way more comfortable, the incessant buzz I used to get from directly recorded instruments was gone.  And no revolving beach balls popping up on the screen with every other click.  So yeah.  After the technical difficulties, I had a good afternoon of recording.

As for the artwork, I’ll be recycling an image from a year-old gig poster.  I don’t plan on doing that every time, but for this first one I wanted to take it easy on myself.  And in truth, there’s something about a white wall of books that strikes me as both wintery AND appropriate for an E.P. called (something like) “People vs. Buildings.”  I’m going with (something like) that title because the five songs will be bookended by two linked pieces called “Come for the People, Stay for the Buildings” and “Come for the Buildings, Stay for the People.”  I don’t know about you, but I eat that kinda stuff up…

Tomorrow I have to start mixing the songs and making sure they string together as well as I’m imagining.  Wish me luck!

Record Club Update #3: Workingman’s Holiday

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Let's Do This.

I’d initially taken the penultimate week of the year off in order to put up molding and paint in the living room.  But then Amy reminded me that we’d have a tree and decorations up, and would I really want to do that?  She had a point.  Besides, I have plenty of Record Club work to do now.

The other night, I mapped out possible records using the songs I’ve already finished.  I technically have enough songs to put together all four records right now, but I want to place as much of the “good stuff” (according to me, I guess) into the first two 7″s (February and May), leaving the second two (August, November) more open for future recordings.  Knowing me, I will probably come up with plenty of stuff between now and summertime; songs are bound to show up which I’ll be anxious to share.

I gotta say, that’s one of the coolest things about this project.  All you backers aren’t just paying for a record; it’s more like you’re funding a one-man record LABEL, letting me plan out a full-on RELEASE SCHEDULE.  It’s a dream come true, and a lot of fun.  But also, when I picture all these packages going out into the mail next year — once or twice, or four or six times, depending on your format — the responsibility of it truly dawns on me.  At the risk of sounding like some sweaty, over-eager dude at a job interview, this opportunity is a huge vote of confidence on your part, and I want to honor it with the best music I can make.  F’reals.

So, once I solidify the first record (and maybe the second, I’m not sure), over the next few days I plan to sit down and properly mix whichever songs I’ve picked.  I won’t be doing any mastering for this project, and that does make me a tad nervous.  But I found that on my last CD (Heads Together), if I just took extra time mixing (listening in the car and in the kitchen and on the cruddy computer speakers hooked up in the basement), I can keep the (unintentionally) unruly elements well under control.

Aside from thoroughness, the other trick to mixing this time is the fact that these songs are going to be on vinyl, something I’ve never had to mix for.  I’ll listen closely to the CD and vinyl versions of some of the albums in my collection, to get a sense of whether either format is biased towards certain frequencies.  I’ll scribble down what I’ve learned and dive into the process as ready as I’ll ever be.

On the less-daunting side, with these solo-type recordings, having just a few elements per-song is its own advantage.  It’s easier to “place” each instrument in a mix with just a few tracks, to get them to stand out from each other.  Man, I can’t wait to get my hands (and ears) on ‘em…

My next update should include a sneak preview of the cover image for the first record, so stay tuned!  And thanks.

Record Club Update #2: That Whole Cleveland Thing

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It Has a Skyline

After a few years in Florida, my mom moved back to the west side of Cleveland in the mid-2000′s. I’m glad she’s closer to me, of course, but I’m also grateful to have an excuse to visit my home town every now and then, to see how things have changed. Like this past weekend, when I went back for Thanksgiving, visiting the old stomping grounds and stirring up a familiar cross between warm nostalgia and sharp vertigo…

I’ve been surprised, over the last couple years, by how many songs I’ve written about where I come from. There’s “From Cleveland to Eternity” from my last CD, and for the Record Club there’s “Lisa Pruett Will Have Her Revenge on Coventry” and one I’m either going to call call “Hi in the Middle” or (gulp) “Another Song About my Home Town.” There’s also an unfinished number called “The Shape of Ohio,” and I’m contemplating something about an area songwriter (which will probably not be recognizable as such by the time it’s done). I think anyone who moves away from their home state ends up wondering what might have been if they’d stayed. But in the case of Ohio, and Cleveland in particular, there’s an especially stark contrast between what it seemed to be when I was growing up, and what it’s become to me in the last decade or so.
When I was younger, I actively hated Cleveland. First as a kid absorbing mistake-on-the-lake jokes, then later as a musician, working my way into a scene that felt supportive, yet somehow stifling. I remember in particular having a conversation with the manager of the Babylon A-Go-Go, a club in the Ohio City neighborhood that was closing down. I’ll never forget him exclaiming that “if you’re the best band in Cleveland, that’s all you get. You get to be the best band in Cleveland, PERIOD.”

But I don’t want to give the impression that Rotary Ten was deep into the Cleveland music scene or anything. Truth is, we all grew up in the sleepy suburb of Fairview Park, and only started venturing into town for gigs once we were seniors in high school. To me, Cleveland was just a dark, gritty landscape dotted with the occasional club. It was as unimaginable a place to live as any big city, and my feelings didn’t really change through college, or during time spent living in Ithaca or Raleigh. It was only when I settled in another hulking Great Lake town (Chicago) that I started to pick out similarities, to slowly begin to recognize Cleveland as a place I could have ended up eventually.

But happily? This is the question I can’t help pondering whenever I go back and drive those streets. I spent so much time generically hating on Cleveland in my younger days that I never gave it much of a chance. Now, whenever I see Facebook posts from high school friends who stayed there, they all seem to enjoy it immensely. And during visits over the years, they (along with my Collinwood friends Mike and Danielle) have introduced me to cool bars and restaurants, to the Beachland Ballroom and the Happy Dog — sturdy music venues whose owners, I’d imagine, are proud to host Cleveland bands every night, regardless of whether or not they they “break out” or whatever. And did I mention the West Side Market? And my beloved Great Lakes Brewing Company? There’s no doubt that Cleveland is, in reality, a happening town.

But oh my, it can be awfully quiet. Still, in the streets between the hubs of nightlife, and especially on the west side. And even the most positive booster would admit that Cleveland has its ugly parts. My friend John, who lived in Ohio City for a few years, once claimed Cleveland as “the ugliest city I’ve ever loved.” I think this ability to embrace both the immediately charming and the endearingly homely aspects of your surroundings is a uniquely Cleveland trait. It’s certainly a piece of That Whole Cleveland Thing I carry around with me to this day And that apparently won’t let me not write songs about it.