Hella Stella

Dang! I missed de-lurking day! I seem to miss it every year.... It's like the Polkaroo.

Let's pretend it's actually today, shall we? Lurkers! Regulars! Pop out and say hello. :)

Some more musical things have happened. My old producer came to visit. We plied him with coffee, cinnamon buns and bulldogs. It was the perfect way to start discussing recording.

Dudes, I think I might find myself in the studio in under a month. I'll do some prep recording at home, we'll hash out our ideas in advance, and I'll be studio bound. I can't believe it's really happening. I don't have enough money to do a whole recording yet, but I'll just do what I can and figure it out as I go. Total opposite of how I did things last time. Remember, you can still donate here if you want to help support the new album!

I also did a photo shoot yesterday to get some new pictures for the album / web site. It was insanely cold and we shot everything in a dog park, so basically an open field. I couldn't feel my toes when we were done, but I'm feeling really optimistic about the pictures. I'll get to see them in about a week.

Oh, also? I got new hair. Or rather, I told my stylist to "have fun and shave something." Luckily she chose my head.

Some exciting things are happening.

1. I am booking studio time. It's preemptive, because I still don't know how much recording I'll be able to do at home, but either way I will need the studio for drums, mixing and general finessing. We're looking at March or April. Holy AWESOME. I have missed those long nights at the studio, and trust me when I say I never thought I would. I'll be heading back to my home away from home, Gallery Studios in the Glebe.

2. This weekend, I am doing a photo shoot with a fabulous local photographer who will help me pick the look for my new album / web site.* I still haven't secured a web designer (I honestly can't believe how hard it's been to find someone who can do what I need) but I've got the new site planned out and it's going to be neato. I might even dabble with the Twitter, even though I hate the Twitter. We'll see if I can stand it. What do you think, media-savvy folks? Is it worth it for promotion, or will it go the way of Myspace? Because part of me thinks it's the devil.

3. I have another new song, which means not only is my writers' block gone, I am writing more than I have in about six years. Morty isn't happy about it, because it requires handling instruments, and instruments are SCARY. Poor bulldog.

*"Photo shoot" sounds very posh, I know, but I can assure you this will be anything but posh. We plan to climb onto various roofs in Centretown, wrap me in oversized coats, and snap some shots without dying. It's going to be excellent, providing I don't die.

It's really winter this time.

We had a drastic thaw not long ago, and although I'm not a huge fan of the cold, I found myself missing the snow. Part of that was because I prefer full-on winter over transition weather, but I also don't like how messy my yard gets when it's wet with no snow.

A section of the canal is even opening this weekend! (Not this section, just so we're clear)




Although I've nurtured a lifelong hatred of winter sports, I do plan on buying skates, and I also hope to learn cross-country skiing. We'll see if either of those things happen this winter.

This is a print I bought for Shawna, gave to her, and then bought one for myself because I liked it so much. Now we're art buddies.

I kinda want a spoof version that says "Do WHO you love," but that's just me.

In completely unrelated news, it feels so good not to be gigging right now. I've got something booked for April, but unless I get an irresistible offer, I'm going to stay away from shows for the winter. There's plenty on my plate without gigging - I've got an entire recording program to learn, not to mention a whole lot of songs wanting to be written. Oh, and an album to record.

What was I thinking?

Anyway, it's probably a good way to spend the winter. Maybe I'll spend every winter recording an album. I hibernate when it gets cold, so it might actually be the perfect winter activity.

Huh. I love brainstorming on the blog. Look what I come up with! WINTER RECORDING MANIA.

It hit me this morning like a ton of bricks. I want to get back in the studio. Like, now.

There are a few reasons why I'm not recording at the moment. One, because I have only a few good new songs. Also, I really can't afford it.

I suppose the logical thing to do is apply for those grants and wait to see if I get any money. BUT. Then I have to wait until the deadline passes in January, then wait around for a few more months to get a response, and if I don't get the money, that's a winter wasted.

The alternative, I think, is to save up a little bit of money and chat with my engineer about how much time I can buy. Then I'll go in and lay down some very quick tracks. At least then I'll have something to work on while I figure the rest of the money out.

Anyway. That's the tentative plan.

In other news, other than having bought all the gifts, I have zero else prepared. No wrapping, no decorations, no baking, nada. Damn this crazy month! My lofty plans will have to come down a notch, but that's cool. At least we took the time to stock up on booze.

My Halloween costume is almost done. I've got tights, short shorts, a suitable t-shirt, shoes, and a wresting mask. I'm finalizing a cape. Don't worry... There will be pictures when it's all ready.

I had a rehearsal with my cousin last night. I was so tired and so irritable when I arrived, but Brian has a knack for making me chill right out. He also fed me ice cream, which probably helped me cheer up. I'm lactose intolerant, but last night I didn't seem to care (I cared as soon as I left his house though, because eating ice cream when you can't digest lactose is kinda dumb. My bad.)

We played my new song, Stuck in Lowertown, several times over. It seems destined to be eery sounding no matter how I play it. I think we've settled on banjo, guitar and two vocals. I tried to switch up the tempo and key, but it still sounds haunted and depressing. I quite enjoy haunted and depressing songs, so that all good. We'll probably be recording it this week - if I can figure out how to post music on this here blog, maybe y'all can hear it too!

I mentioned last week that I wanted to slow down the gigging as winter arrives, but of course, that's when the gig offers started pouring in. Now I have to decide what I want to do about it.

Tomorrow night is the gig at the Elmdale Tavern, 9pm sharp. Hope to see some of you bloggy folk there!