Time to get writing again

I’ve been missing playing music lately, in a really big way. Being in a “gigging band” is a thing of the past, I fear, with law school, kids, responsibilities, and the fact that all of us have really gotten older. I know I’ve ranted about this sort of thing before, so I’ll skip this mopey section and get on with the conversation.

At the first annual Jabbergathering, there was a several man acoustic jam that yielded some fun recordings. Feel free to check out the masterpieces

Farmhouse
and
Ryan is a D**k

I warn you, this is pure alcohol-driven tomfoolery with a dash of smooth saxophone.

Jamming with my friends inspired me to start writing some real music again. I haven’t yet, though, because…well, because I’m lazy.

Kerry went over to a friend’s house the other night, and they watched the movie “Once”. She was inspired by it, so she purchased it used from Blockbuster and brought it home to me. What a sweetheart. I really enjoyed the movie. It’s about this guitarist/singer with a bunch of songs who meets this girl that plays piano. They record some music. The portrayal of pouring emotions into songs and going through the process of recording it really inspired me to (you guessed it) write some more music.

The thing about it is that the music that I want to write doesn’t really have a place in a band. It’s more personal than that. SO we’ll see if I can actually get something down. I’ve already got songs and lyrics written that I had originally intended for Jabberwocky but withheld for whatever reason. Some, I guess, would fall into the genre of “love song” (a category that I try my damndest to avoid with Jabberwocky), others were just rejected because they wouldn’t work with a crowd of drunks at 12:00 am at the Fineline on a Tuesday – there are several reasons. Don't get me wrong, I love playing to a crowd of drunks at 12:00 am on Tuesday night. I think of it this way, though: Some music is like a scrapbook, displayed for the world. Other music is more like a diary, written for yourself and shared very occasionally. This stuff will be the latter.

So here’s the plan: I’m going to record at least three songs over the course of…let’s say three weeks. I think I can meet that goal. It might be as simple as just a bare-bones recording of myself with an acoustic guitar. From there, I’ll go to a friend’s house with more recording capabilities than the attached pinhole microphone on my laptop. I’ll get a good recording of some stuff.

Then I’ll listen to it. I’ll nod my head in satisfaction, and be on my merry way.