October 18th, 2017
As you can probably imagine, the prep work that goes into a record is almost endless. First, I recorded “roughs”. This is where you just sit and play through the songs so that the band can assess the song-form, key, meter, and how much corralling of the lead guy (me) they will need to do. The roughs were, well…rough….very rough. We then created charts (thank you Kit),changed keys, threw out a couple of songs altogether and changed meter on a couple of others.
We had the first actual rehearsal last week, it went exceptionally well. Chris Daniels (producer) was incredibly helpful and patient. This part is a humbling process. There were a couple of those “Well Thom…how about we rethink this a bit…” moments. But, that goes with the territory. Great musicians really are fun to work with. In moments, you can completely change direction, just by throwing in a different transitional chord, change of meter, maybe a key change in the bridge….or throwing out the whole damn song in a couple of cases.
In the final analysis, find experts to help, listen to them, be flexible, check your damn ego at the door (note to self) and have fun! Good players are good for a reason.
More to come next week!
September 30, 2017
There has been a lot of progress since I last updated you. Chris Daniels, of “Chris Daniels and The Kings” has signed on to produce the record! I’m so appreciative that Chris would take time out of his schedule to do this project for us. Chris has several records out, all of them are just fantastic. He did an amazing record several years ago called “Louis, Louis”. This is a collection of songs by Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima. This record swings, it’s just incredible! So, I called Chris and told him what we were planning, he offered to produce.
So, here’s the roster:
Producer – Chris Daniels (Chris Daniels and The Kings)
Lead Guitar - Kit Simon (Olde Town Swing Band)
Stand-up Bass – Greg Garrison (Leftover Salmon)
Fiddle – Jay Genender ()
Mandolin and Dobro – Ernie Martinez (every other acoustic band in Colorado)
I am so lucky to have guys as talented as these guys to work with; they just don’t come any better.
We’ll have a couple of guest performances as well, but I’ll fill you in on those