Well, we gave it a good try, but the finding goal was not reached.

Thank you so much for pledging!  It is appreciated so much.

My plan now is to regroup and try again with a different video and a more modest goal.  I'll keep you posted!

Thank you!

I know I keep saying it, but I am amazed at how quickly this new album is coming along!  I've got eight of the ten songs at least in a roughed out form, and four of them are for the most part "finished".

I put "finished" in quotes because songs are never really finished.  You can always do more, or do it better.  What usually happens is that you work on it continuously until time to let it go public.  Only then do you stop making changes and updates.  This very much applies to mixing a recording.  It has been said, "mixes are never finished, they are abandoned".  I've found this to be very true, because you always feel you can make it better.  Long after people say, "it sounds good to me", I will keep on making subtle changes that "improve" the song.  I think part of it has to do with the fact that I love the whole process, but also because I don't think any creative person is ever truly satisfied with their work.  I always want them to be as good as I can make them.  Only then do I "let them go".

Anyway, its great that things are moving along nicely.  I love it!

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year celebration.  As it turned out, various activities over the New Year's weekend prevented me from getting as much done in the studio as I would have liked.  But, I did continue to make progress fine tuning various song parts.

For me it is a matter of constantly tweaking each part until it sounds "right" to me.  And there is always more to do, so it takes a long time. Still, it is a fun process that I really enjoy. I try to work a little on each song every day.  I think a major part of my enjoyment is the creative aspect, and the discovery process as I add new parts, vocals, instrument, percussion, etc.  I am often surprised to hear new things as the song builds, even though I usually have a good idea of how it will sound from the beginning.  Many times I will hear something new that "needs" to be there, or "just seems to fit".  Its a lot of fun!