The Recording Process

As I began to lay down guitar tracks in Protools I started to get very excited about the potential of these songs. It was cool to imagine what the song might sound like when it was complete. I had an idea of what I wanted my record to sound like, but no road map to tell me exactly what steps to take to get there. I had never recorded a project by myself before. I knew I wanted the tone color of the whole album to be dirty and a little dark. I didn't want it to be a squeaky clean pop record.
I would love to say that I did take after take after take of each track until I found the perfect one. But most of the time, I did it in one or two takes and was satisfied with a "good enough is good enough" approach. I've always felt that songs have to be just strong enough to overcome their representation; but as time went on and I got further and further into the process of building arrangements and mixes, I started to be a little more careful with how I set up my gain structures and did less reassuring myself that I could "hide that in the mix".
I am super pleased with how it all came together and even more excited with how it has been received.
Over the next several days and weeks I will be posting the lyrics to the songs and where there is a notable back story, I will tell that as well. I guess, to quote Maria from Sound Of Music, I will start at the very beginning.

Loose Cannon

One night, as I was rocking my then six-month-old, Cohen, to sleep, I had an idea for a song. At that moment I heard the whole intro in my head just as you hear it now. Then, as I sat there, I wrote the lyrics to the music I was hearing. I wanted Cohen to go to sleep asap so I could get downstairs and write them down! It was at a time when I was starting to realize my need for support and relationships in my life. I could see how, over the years, I had made decisions haphazardly that hurt me and my family more than they helped. Here are the lyrics:

You're gonna lose, loose cannon, if you're out on your own
I got some news, loose cannon, that you're out of control
If you’re confused, loose cannon, when you light up the fuse
take a shot across the bow of any vessel you don’t care if you lose

Loose Cannon
Loose Cannon

You never roll, loose cannon, when you’re tied to the deck
You’re never tied and nobody ever bothered to check
You make your wars , loose Cannon, and your battles you pick
Always fire at will You’re always fine and you never get sick

Loose cannon
Loose cannon
Loose cannon
Loose cannon