I Made a Record
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In case you missed the announcement last week on FB and Twitter - I made a record called Caroline. I hereby invite you to listen to and purchase it (Click on Caroline . Hooray!!
Recording Update
We spent the day, yesterday, tracking vocals for The Caroline EP. The first song we recorded - which is actually the last song on the record - took about 2 hours to track. The remaining five songs only took a total of about 2.5 hours. We ended the day by having a girl who is a music student at Belmont in Nashville come in and sing backup. I would love to tell you just exactly what we put together, but it would ruin the surprise. All in all, I think that everything turned out absolutely great.
Now, all that's left are keyboards and electric guitar. I hate it that we've had to push things back multiple times, but now we're going to be able to get the guitar player that we originally wanted and not have to cut corners. So, in the end, it will all have been worth it.
The Caroline EP – More to the Story
So, you probably know by now that I'm making a record, The Caroline EP. It's coming along and even though it might take a few weeks longer than hoped for, it will be done by Christmas.
In thinking about it, I realized that I've probably offered precious little description of what the record will be, so, for the first time, here it is...
Music: The Caroline EP is 6 original songs, written by me, and performed by me (acoustic guitar, vocals) and some other musicians that have generously lent their amazing skill. It wouldn't be what it is without the influence of master producer, Wes. Musically, you can expect to hear the major influence of Augustana and The Fray, there are also traces of early-Caedmon's-era derek webb and early Dashboard Confessional.
Story: This is a "concept album" that tells the story of a young girl who makes a bad decision and the journey that decision takes her on. It deals with issues of self-doubt/self-worth ("Caroline"), fear and devastation ("Lights Over London"), condemnation ("S.A.M."), anger and self-deception ("Missing You"), and the possibility of hope and redemption ("She Deserves")
The Project: I've been writing music for 13 years. For the last 10 of those years, I've been aiming at something, but I never quite knew what it was. The songs on the record span 6 years, but it wasn't until I wrote "Caroline" and "Lights" that it all sort of fell into place.
As I'm sure you're aware, there's always one key ingredient that helps get things done: $. I've been trying to scrape together a few dollars to finish the project and pay a couple of people for their contributions. In order to do this, I've been offering special edition packages of the album in exchange for donations. Call it a reservation of sorts.
So far, several kind and generous folks have gotten in on the action, but in order for any of their contributions to go through, we have to fully reach or exceed our goal. (As I write this, we're at 62% with 12 days remaining). So, if you're now intrigued by what is to come, please consider making a small donation (or a large donation would be cool too). Click the box below for more info and THANKS!!
New Music Tuesday
It's Tuesday... that means, new music.
5 Miles Inland: The Caroline EP
If you haven't already reserved your copy of The Caroline EP, you should. And do it now while you can still get all the bonus content.
Derek Webb: FEEDBACK
Derek's new, instrumental project based on the Lord's Prayer. The clips I've heard sound interesting. Great pricing structure for several different options. He's playing in Dallas this weekend, but it's hard to say if he'll be playing anything from this album.
Neil Diamond: Dreams
I previewed most of this on iTunes and all I could say was "Wow". All cover songs. Incredible. "Midnight Train to Georgia", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Yesterday", and his own "I'm a Believer". Hearing is believing.
While you're at it, Support Neil for the 2011 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
The Caroline EP
The time has come. It's your chance to reserve your copy of The Caroline EP by 5 Miles Inland. We're raising a few dollars on Kickstarter to get the album finished. We are offering some awesome gifts as a "thank you" for your donation. So, go there, check it out, and reserve your copy today.
Shout it Out: My Experience
So, 10 days ago, I asked ya'll to help out my band by voting for us in the Shout it Out with Hanson contest. The final results:
#27 out of 140
So here's the full story...
About 6 weeks ago, I first became aware of this contest. My friend, Kevin, and I had been joking around for a while about starting a band and playing 80s cover songs at coffee shops and stuff. I figured that this contest was perfect motivation for getting started. But we didn't really have an original song to submit.
About 4 weeks ago, my friend Wes says to me, "Hey, can you help out with this project for school where I have to fully record and produce an original song." I said, "sure" and faked my way through a rough chord progression that became our song "Caroline." I didn't really realize how big it was going to get until Wes told me that he needed me to finish writing it because he already had the drummer and bass player booked for the recording studio. I went on vacation - the tracked drums, bass, guitar, and piano while I was in KS. When I got back, I finished the lyrics and tracked vocals and guitar just in time for Wes to turn it in and get 100% on his project.
So, for a band and song that didn't exist before a month ago, finishing the contest at #27 out of 140 is not something to be upset about.
Hear the song here.
The Contest...
I really wanted to win and I don't want to play the pity card, but there was really no way for us to win. I think that the voting method was as fair as it could be - and a bit laborious. But, at the end of the day, popularity did matter and there's no way that a non-existent band could challenge the number of voters that an established band could provide - even with my 3 computers lined up next to each other for voting.
I can say that with some certainty because the shifts that happened in the Top 20 over the last 30 minutes of the contest can be explained by nothing other than a bunch of fans and perhaps some rigging of the voting by those more technically minded than I. That is, the #1 dropped to #12. #18 jumped to #2. We moved up one space then fell down three.
Still, we beat people who make their living (or at least try to) by making music. That's fairly impressive.
The Outcome...
1) I'm glad for the contest because it broke a 2 year songwriting dry spell.
2) It made me more confident in my own abilities.
3) I'm always grateful and surprised by the commitment of my friends to help out when I ask.
4) If anyone from Hanson reads this and wants us to come to the show anyway, all you have to do is ask.
5) I'm hoping to go ahead and play some shows sometime in the near future. Hopefully Kevin will be on board.
The Update
So, what's been happening the last 4 months?
- Celebrated Lincoln's 1st birthday back in March.
- Got to play in an amazing worship set on Easter Sunday. Wish we were rolling tape so that I could show it to you.
- I started working out at 24 Hour Fitness. I'm keeping up pretty well except when I accidentally oversleep or get sick.
- We passed a pretty nasty illness around our house one week.
- I've adopted a new character for some videos we're doing here at the church - Bill Bartowsky, host of the remodeling show "My First Place" (hopefully I can post a video link soon).
- Writing and recording music.
- Read The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and wondered how a man can get away with writing the same book 3 times over. Saw the killer twist coming a mile away and was completely let down by the final resolution to the mystery.
- Started up a little Tumblr site (Music of the Day) where you can stop by and see what I'm listening to at any given time.
- Got to take a little week-long vacation.
- Fought my lawn sprinkler for 3 weeks before giving in and calling in a professional - if you're having troubles, I've got the number for a great guy to get you fixed up.
Shout it Out Update
Thanks for all your voting yesterday, we made it as high as #21. Right now we're sitting at #23. Keep up the good work.
A Call to Arms
Hey! So, the site is back online after a 4 month hiatus. I'd love to take the time to tell you what I've been up to, but that will have to wait til tomorrow because right now, I need to call you to action.
About this time last year, I asked my readers to help me raise money to go to the ECHO Conference and you came through in unexpected ways. This summer's request won't cost you any money, but will take a bit of an effort. Here's the story.
My friend, Kevin, and I have started a band called 5 Miles Inland (go to the myspace page and listen). We've entered our song, Caroline, into a contest where the winner will get to open for one of my favorite bands on one of the stops on their summer North American tour. As I'm writing this, we're sitting at #33 out of 129 (not bad at all). We have to crack the top 20 in fan voting to go into the final round of professional voting. UPDATE: Now Ranked #29!!
I'd love to tell you it's as easy as just going to a website and voting for us. It's not. But I'm going to try to make it as easy as possible.
Step ONE: go here and click on "Judge as a Fan". You may have to do something to register, but for me, it was as easy as linking to my Facebook profile.
Step TWO: You'll eventually come to this page. Be sure to scroll to the bottom right side and choose the Tulsa contest. This is the only one we are eligible for.
Step THREE: You'll eventually end up at the page where the voting takes place. Here's what has to happen. You have to listen to at least 15 seconds of each of 4 songs, then pull them over to the side and rank them best-worst and click "Submit Vote". That will load up 4 more songs and the process repeats itself. I don't quite care how you rate everyone else, so long as when we come up (Caroline by 5 Miles Inland) please place us in the #1 Best spot.
The Catch: You have to vote at least 25 times for your votes to count. (Quick Math: 4 songs x 15 seconds each = 60 seconds x 25 times = 25 minutes of your life). You don't have to do this all at once, you could vote two or three times and come back later.
Step FOUR: Click on the ARTISTS tab and make us your favorite. We're numerical and alphabetized to the top, so we're impossible to miss.
Step FIVE: Help us crack the Top 20 by next Thursday, June 24.
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!
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