Fleas and Fools

I know that sometimes people set unrealistic expectations for themselves and then are constantly upset that they are behind schedule. I am generally one of those people, but let me tell you:
THIS time, it is NOT my fault that there has been a delay. I had anticipated sending advance copies of "We Listen to Fools" to everyone who ordered them this week (before I start grad school on Tuesday). I had also anticipated having time to burn DVDs and sort t-shirts this week. Instead, I arrived home from a relaxing vacation with my fiancee to find that our house was inFESTed with fleas. They were everywhere. It was frightening.

Luckily, the t-shirts and most of our clothing were in the trunk of my car (we took everything on vacation so we could do laundry and get set to mail), so they remained flea-free. Still, taking everything out of our house, getting it sprayed, and putting it all back together took many many hours that could otherwise have been devoted to mailing music out.

I think it's a good excuse.

And, the GREAT news is, if you ordered an advance copy of the album, IT IS ON ITS WAY TO YOU! Check for it in the mail early next week.
Can't wait to hear what you think,
Mara

Progress! Hear some final mixes!

Well hello, blogosphere, how are you today?
I am fine, though getting antsy to have this project finished. You too? I'm sure! Here are some updates for you since my last post:

In mid-June, I went to Gardentone Studios to spend a late late night with Steve Wall. We spent about 6 hours going through each of my songs and fixing some key elements, discussing how I wanted them to sound, and starting to put effects on the bass and drums. When I left that night, things were already starting to sound FANTASTIC, which is a great feeling.
Since then, Steve has been working on his own, and a LOT, and has been sending me updates of the mixed songs. We're down to the final set of tweaks, and then it will be off to Mastering for our fair CD. I thought I'd post a couple of samples for you next to the UNMIXED samples so that you can really hear the difference that Steve is making. If you have headphones, I'd suggest using them to get the full effect.

Here is the most recent sample of What If We Try which I posted a while ago:
What If We Try
HERE is that same sample as mixed by Steve:
What If We Try MIXED

Pretty awesome, huh?
Here's the last sample I posted of Gotta Get Out:
Gotta Get Out
And, here is the MIXED version of that same bit of music:
Gotta Get Out Mixed

I hope these teasers can tide you over just a BIT longer. T-shirts and download cards are all designed and I'm ordering them tomorrow. All that is left is to get the finalized mixes in my hands, then to send them on to mastering and get them uploaded to the digital distribution sites - and to YOU!

Thanks for being patient. I can't wait to share more with you,
Mara

The Dream Is Alive

So.
I'm done recording and editing.
Maybe with a little more feeling this time:
I'm DONE RECORDING AANNNDD EDITING!!)(*#$&*!!!!

This morning I redid a couple of final vocals and edited the bad fades I had heard in my listen-throughs, I erased some superfluous files on my hard drive to make room (since somehow, 2 songs before the end, I filled my 160GB hard drive), I consolidated files, and called the studio to make an appointment for mixing.
THAT is what I did today.

The process is far from over - I'm still finishing T-shirt design, website design, and digital distribution research and I have to start promoting and mixing and mastering (or having those things done). BUT, friends, the end is in sight! Thanks for joining me on the journey - I'll continue posting as mixing goes on. It will be really fun (for me - for you too, I hope) to hear the difference between samples that were NOT mixed and samples that ARE mixed. Yay!

Here's a final UNMIXED sample for you all:

Tired Lonely Fools (The DREAM IS ALIVE)

Thanks!
Mara

Yay! Still not done. But closer.

I'm working through all of the songs alphabetically now, condensing tracks that are edited and making sure all of those edits are clear and precise, fixing little annoyances in vocals and other parts, redoing guitar solos, and generally finalizing things.
Last time I posted, I couldn't decide whether or not to record the vocals for Gotta Get Out late at night after a long day of recording. I did record them then, and they weren't perfect enough. So today, with no warming up (sorry voice teachers and students), I knocked that vocal out in ONE take. Sometimes belting high notes works best for me without a warm-up. I know, I know, it does more damage. I promise it's not an everyday occurrence.
ANYWAY, I'm fully edited and ready for mixing with
Friends and Fools
Gotta Get Out
Happy Song
She Says She Knows
So Long (my love)

The list from my last post was slightly inaccurate because I have since listened and decided to edit a few of those parts. BUT, I think one more day of editing will be all I'll need.

Thank you to EVERYONE who has purchased advance copies of the album - I'm going to be able to afford to mix, master, and release the album with your help!

As a thank you, HERE is a full verse and chorus from Gotta Get Out!
Can't wait to play it for you once it's mixed and mastered!!

Gotta Get Out Sample

CRUNCH week

So.
My girlfriend just finished law school and is out of town for a week. I am waiting to set a date for mixing, but hoping to schedule it for later this month. What does that mean? I have LOTS of work to do! The nice thing is, I'm at a point where each song just has a few finishing touches left. I'm getting VERY excited. I've been working for about 10 hours so far today, and I have finished 5 songs including 2 with LOTS of editing work.
Songs that are now done:
Happy Song
So They Say
Tired Lonely Fools
Wind Will Back
and:

What If We Try (Falling Down?) - need to decide on the title.
For the record, this is the FIRST sample I'm posting that has the final lead vocals on it! Yay! Of course, when I go to the studio for mixing, we'll compress it, add reverb, and make it sound a lot cooler. Still, at least it's in tune now.

I'm trying to take good care of my voice so that I don't overdo the singing, but I think I have one more song in me tonight. Should I go for Gotta Get Out tonight? Maybe something a little more low-key. It's the age-old conundrum: Singing the tough song early so my voice can handle it, or saving it for the end so it doesn't ruin me for other songs. What would Renee Fleming do?

Should have more recording time tomorrow evening. Hope to post another sample then.
Love and back to work!
Mara

Yay for percussion!

Hello again, my friends.
Today was by far my most productive day since I went to the studio months ago. Perhaps the common denominator here is Ashley Baier, the fabulous percussionist who paid me a visit today to add percussion tracks and listen through to my drum edits. After she left, I did a ton of editing work and am getting VERY VERY close to being done recording these songs!

The first song we tackled together is one that I only began recording YESTERDAY. I had been wanting to add another track to the album the whole time, but hadn't gotten time to sit down and finish writing. Once I actually sat down and worked on it, this song came out in about an hour - not bad considering how long I had been thinking about writing it. Here's a sample of the beginning of the song, complete with Ashley's expert tinkering on various percussionary instruments. (DISCLAIMER: When I recorded the vocal for this yesterday, I was very stuffed up. Sorry!):

Happy Song Sample

I haven't yet posted anything from last weekend when Nancy and Liz were here to record backing vocals. We didn't get through all of the tracks I was hoping to have them sing on, but we did get through several songs in our limited time. Today I had time to sort through those tracks and edit them together. Here's a sample of So Long with backing vocals (and perhaps too many guitars). (DISCLAIMER: STILL not the finished lead vocal. Don't mind the squirreliness of my part):

So Long Sample


The major stumbling block now may be that all I have left to do for most of the songs are the LEAD vocals, and obviously I want those to sound good. So I need to be over my current cold, I need my girlfriend to be done with finals for law school, AND I need tiiiime to record. When the stars align, I'll finish the vocals and move on to mixing. From there, it should be a QUICK snowball to completion.

Happy spring,
Mara

Almost done!

Helloooo, world. Once again, I have been working furiously to make incremental progress for weeks now, but after yesterday I had no excuse - I HAD to post my progress. For the last few weeks I've been editing parts, adding little electric guitars here and there, and doing a lot of planning for backing vocals. Yesterday, the Pushovers came to Brooklyn and we spent all day recording backing vocals. Nancy and Liz started out the day with Is This My Life, singing the parts we always sing live. We then moved on to Sing So Loud and Tired Lonely Fools, both of which involved adding new parts to the existing vocals they were familiar with.

In the afternoon, several of our friends and girlfriends were able to join us for two group-vocal sessions. Jessie, Mandy, Zena, and Meredith all joined in for Tired Lonely Fools and Gotta Get Out (a-woah!), both of which sound fantastic now.

After the band left, I got to editing, and then had a very special treat - our two 10-year-old neighbors came down to the studio and added their expert voices to Tired Lonely Fools!

Because I haven't finished editing yet, I'm posting a sample of Is This My Life today. As soon as I have another few minutes, I'll post a sample of Tired Lonely Fools so you can start practicing to sing along with the final version.

IS THIS MY LIFE SAMPLE

In OTHER news, I have gotten some samples of logo designs from MY DESIGNER, and I'm really excited about the direction that's taking.

Love to everyone and happy spring!
Mara