Try New Things

 

Today I am going to try some new things.  First, I’m going to try to sing a few songs, which I haven’t been able to do since I left Boston several years ago.  My voice is feeling pretty good today.  I’m hoping that will last into the evening tonight, because my goal in singing the songs is to quickly record a new album in one short sitting, live in my computer room.  I’m aiming for a one-hour recording, with between twelve and fifteen songs.  I’ve asked for requests from people for numbers they know I have sung in the past, and I’m compiling my song list while I work on this blog entry. So far, I’ve decided on the following:  Lady Franklin’s Lament, The Streets of London, And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.  I’m considering Mercy Street, but I don’t know if I’ll be warm enough to sing it.  If it goes well, I may do some more adventurous singing, but right now I’m planning to do mostly quieter folk numbers in my lower voice register because they are a bit easier.  Regardless of whether the session goes well, or ill, I’m going to post it online as a free download.  There will probably be both audio only, and HD video versions, though the video will take a few days to edit. 

If this works, I’ll plan on recording several more one hour albums over the next few months.  It will help me warm back into performing again, give me a good online demo reel, and allow me to talk to friends to get their feedback and assistance. 

I’m going to put up the new website within the next few weeks, and the musical component will be called “The Online Streetsinger”, and voice permitting, I’m going to start trying to put up a few tunes a week in addition to the albums. And I will leave a prominent link for donations! If I can find a way to do it, and if there is an audience for it, I may also start to stream performances. 

The recording setup will be pretty basic – I’m going to use a single desktop mike (the Blue Snowball) and do some minor post production in Garageband, mostly a bit of compression, and perhaps a slight eeque revision.  The recordings are going to be pretty raw, but I hope still enjoyable. 

I’ve already devised a few cover designs in Photoshop – had a bit of fun with them.  Perhaps tomorrow, before I upload the audio, I’ll post a few on facebook and let people vote for the best design.

So – today its fun time. ]

Wish me luck.