MIXING HAS BEGUN!

As the heading states, mixdown for album #8 has begun. I got to hear one song so far this past Friday.

In an interesting way.

Saw Mike at Dingbatz, as we were seeing a friend’s band perform. Mike pulled me outside and said “I want to play something for you.” He pulled up the first song on the album (which might be the first single) and I was blown away by the clarity. And here’s the interesting part: I heard the song on his phone! Yes, a tiny speaker! Every detail, every nuance could be heard. The pick scrapes, the bass fills, the powerful snare sound…you name it. How could this be!?

Mike said “If it sounds good on this phone, it will sound really good everywhere else.” It’s typical of engineers to mix a song and listen back through expensive monitors and top-of-the-line car stereo systems. But nowadays, everyone listens to music on their phones, so if it sounds like a compressed pile of manure on a small speaker, it won’t translate well anywhere else.

At the show, people asked me two things: “When’s the album coming out?” and “Are you playing live again?” First answer: not sure. Second answer: no. It is nice to see interest in the music, but at this point, I really don’t have a release date. And while I enjoy being on stage, I don’t miss the nonsense such as selling tickets, putting together another line-up, promoting and stressing, all for 30 minutes of perceived glory. Sorry but in my mind, it’s not worth it anymore. I will gladly promote the new album on radio stations and in magazines/webzines. Outside of that, live shows are in my rear view mirror.

Besides, Linus likes me hanging home more 🙂