I’m toying around the idea of putting together another album. It’s in it’s very infantile stages of course, I have been writing a lot recently, or rather never stopped, but it’s a lot that I would deem “trash.” A lot of it I don’t think I want to put down. My primary problem nowadays in songwriting, is most of my ideas and lyrics are written to a melodic idea while I’m at work, usually listening to other music. I’m usually good at writing “-esque” at the top of the lyrics/date, prefacing that with the song and artist. But sometimes I don’t and sometimes I get a guitar in my hand later and it doesn’t fit or work.
The other, is I don’t currently have a piano, or anywhere to play drums. I go through phases on what I write music on, guitar, piano etc,. It revolves. That spiderwebs off of each instrument’s iterations. Acoustic, 12-string, electric and so on. I only have access to an acoustic and electric setup now. But I’ve gotten into a rut with it, I haven’t been able to evolve at all with it. I tend to have ideas in my head, but when I get behind the guitar, I just end up playing the same old thing, the same ol’ progressions, so it’s quickly discouraging.
I’m not sure why I’m writing this or deciding it, for all I know, tomorrow I could forget the whole thing. I never technically put one out in 2019. The first year since my first record in 2016. Before that, I was regularly putting out records in various bands. 2015 I put one out, and was part of touring a record that I was not on, but was in the band when it was released in 2014. 2013 I was in a band that was working on a record when we broke up (so I could join the next band with the record being released) and before that I was noodling in my own solo stuff online here and there, and in between some high school bands.
It’s intensely frustrating to not have a group to be in with drums, or play drums in. Even worse, no space to practice in. Just to fumble around in. I haven’t played drums at all for 98% of 2019. Perhaps one or two days getting together with a friend. I’ve since acquired my drums from there in anticipation of a space, but it’s yet to happen yet. There’s a place downtown to rent if there’s space, but I've heard it’s 300/mo cost and it’s very noisy.
I suppose my first hurdle in the near future is the fact that I didn’t have an interface for quite a while now. I haven’t needed it technically as my last two records were primarily recorded on a standalone, portable recorder with mics on it. It’s been brutal not having a live playback/overdub option which makes it infinitely easier to make a decent sounding record with a bit more production other than myself on an acoustic with no accompaniment. That solution should be arriving in the mail today actually. Unfortunately it doesn’t have a MIDI input, one of my major requirements although I wasn’t thinking about it at the time, which is okay, an interface for that is easier to come by. I also don’t have a proper digital piano at the moment, so that’s my excuse for not caring as much.
I suppose in addition to getting the bug again, is I’ve written enough new music to bother. It’s not much, but some I’d probably release. Although I don’t know if I feel comfortable enough going into a studio by myself to get it done yet, which I feel is my next evolutionary step. Getting a solid drum sound in there. Hell, any drum sound on it. I can do 80% of the rest myself and get it sounding pretty good, but with no space for drums, I can’t work on my drum production value. It’s too daunting to me to go into a studio to figure out what i want to do on the fly. When i had a space, it was very quite most nights and I could experiment to my heart’s desire.
But hey, here’s to that goal for 2020. I’ll try thinking of more. I was told recently not having goals for the year was detrimental to my mental health, so I’ll see what I can do.