Just to be Free Video

Lyrics, song download and more coming soon. In the meantime, tell me what you think!

Out of the Kiln

Hey look up! You can buy this song if you want to! Yay!

I think I can do even better, but I am really pleased with my first new song and video. This was shot and recorded simultaneously in my new studio (aka spare bedroom). I really like the style of this video. I am going to challenge myself to do a similar style for the next song. I also am really pleased with the quality of the recording. Especially considering that I shot this all live, and didn't retouch or re-record anything. Oh, and the tapping you hear, is me tapping the wood on the guitar in between strums.

Out of the Kiln

Verse
Your hands are Gods;
Your eyes are like knives.
The hope in our deaths,
Is a means to our lives.

Pillars of stone
To hold up these walls.
The keystone removed,
And in the absence we fall.

Chorus
Cold as the clay that we're made from it's true.
Pulled from the fire, and laid next to you.
We cool as we bake in the waning of time.
If your heart is yours, it can never be mine.

Verse
The back of your neck:
The hair stands on end.
The castle's a wreck,
But still we defend.

Chorus
Cold as the clay that we're made from it's true.
Pulled from the fire, and laid next to you.
We cool as we bake in the waning of time.
If your heart is yours, it can never be mine.

Outro (not recorded here)
The mold you were made from is the same one as me.
Our roads both begin and they end where we meet.
The mold you were made from is the same one as me.
Our roads both begin and they end where we meet.

My... I have been a busy boy.

I have two new blogs/sites I am now maintaining.

Red Fish Blue Design is a freelance venture I manage with my good friend Clinton George.

Out-of-Plumb.com is a monthly cartoon published for the surveying community. I'm the creator and illustrator behind this as well.

These sites of mine are gaining popularity, so I moved them into a blog format so I can more easily update, integrate, etc. Plus, it allows comments and creates more interactivity between me and my visitors. Check them out when you get the chance. It took a lot of work.

New song coming very soon, its been too long. I'm sorry. I'm still editing the video, and trying to make it so you can actually purchase this one if you like it. So hang in there. Its coming this week!

Easter came and went.

I had my family over to my house for a little Easter get together... three days before Easter. We all have crazy schedules, but it was nice to get everybody together. I made sandwiches (fifteen too many apparently) and bought cupcakes. We hid eggs and the kids played. Good times.


The show on Saturday night went very well. For any that came out, or couldn't but still wished me well, thank you very much. Whew, it was a long time to play though. I am lucky I could still talk, much less sing by the time it was over. I played about 40 songs or so, of course some of those were repeats. I will have some video for you later this week.

Blogging has been harder here lately. I have a feeling it has met its match with micro-blogging... ie twitter and facebook. What are we headed towards in terms of communication as a whole? Texting, twittering, communicating with each other instaneously in 140 characters or less. Is this a step in a good direction, or a bad one? I myself don't know yet. I see the pros and the cons.

I just signed on to do about 35 illustrations for a historical fiction novel. So, I will have to shift a lot of my creative focus from my music to my art. I picture my creativity as a giant light in a tower. It takes a lot of work to move from one part of the sky to the other. Usually once I move it, it has to stay at one spot for a while. The beam is not bright enough to illuminate all of the sky all at once. If I try moving it all over the place, from writing, to music, to design, to illustrating, it kind of hurts... literally.

Progress

Last week I blogged about the steps I am taking for my music and website. I can report back that I have made some progress on my mini-studio. Nathan and I were able to install my green screen. And we even did a quick test, with me shrinking him from 6 ft 5 to a lil under 4 ft tall.



I have another show coming up this weekend for any locals following. I will be playing at the Courthouse Cafe from 8 to 12pm this Saturday night. I am going to try to grab some video from the show to share on my site. I have engineered a very interesting drum set; it allows me to play standing up. How fun.

My Engagement pictures

Step 1:
Find a picture on google images by searching: engagement pic.

Step 2:
Snap a picture of myself in order to place myself in the picture.

Step 3:
Do a little Photoshop magic: convert image to black and white so that it is easier to match skin tone, put my head in place of the other guy's, take out original logo and add in my friend Stephanie Simpson's logo. Viola!

Step 4:
Email my friend Stephanie and tell her about my diabolical plan; send the picture as an attachment. She does a blog post about it on her wedding and engagement photo blog.

Step 5:
Update my myspace and facebook so that appears that I have recently been engaged.

Step 6:
April Fools!

Blog Agenda

I've got a new plan for my blog, I'm getting closer to my original vision. Some of you may be aware of Jonathan Coulton. Shortly after I started my blog a friend of mine told me about what he had started. He would write and record a song each week of the year. I believe he called it 'The Thing of the Week.' Instead of a live video version, he presents his in mp3 version. He does a good job at recording and mixing it all himself. You can check him out at www.jonathancoulton.com.

Inspired by this, I have tried writing a new song each week. So far I have missed a few weeks here and there, but overall I am not as intimidated about producing a song each week. I am slowly training myself to be able to write on command. That is something at one point I thought was impossible, it use to seem to me that I had to be inspired in order to write.

While all that is good for me, I really want to give something to my potential fans. Additionally I would like to present myself and my songs in a more professional manner. So... here is the plan:

1. Going to convert my music room into both a small studio for film and audio. I have everything I need already (even including the green screen backdrop) I just have to put all the pieces together.
2. Going to do a better job with the visuals: better backdrop image, better lighting, etc.
3. Going to have a higher quality audio by recording my instruments onto recording software, as opposed to just getting the audio from the video camera.
4. From time to time I will have Jimmy (aka the singing baptist) and his cello play live with me, and other musicians.
5. The end result will be a much better looking and sounding video. Additionally, I will offer up the audio from the live songs as downloadable mp3's. Some of them will be free, and some you will have to pay for.

I really like this concept a lot, and it is where I would like to be professionally in this industry. I can continue to bring fans new online live shows each month, and I would constantly have new songs coming up. It would play into my strengths based on my lifestyle and talents. What do you guys think about this plan?