Breaking The Musical Barrier...Updates

Hi there!  I hope everyone is doing well where this finds you and not far from a good time.  Perhaps maybe actually catching you while having a good time, while listening to Guitar For Money?  Well, I have to tell you, making an album is fun...or at least it could be and should be.  I'm annoyed as a gig I was hoping to get fell through as the place was sold.  Times are tough for many and music is intangible so it doesn't NEED to be for sale to be heard and enjoyed...but I'd really like to get out and play a full set of original music in front of people as planned...like real humanoid folks but it might have to wait.   This is kind of convenient as we are in the midst of putting together a monster of an album and I've never had more musical ideas to capture.  Lately, I've been practicing every aspect of playing guitars and drums, composing, arranging and recording...There is no end goal to practicing but to improve and there is always room for improvement.  That and I've got the time!  For the past 3 months I've been traveling so much that I'm still getting used to being in one spot.  Haven't been to the studio in a few weeks but that is because I am backed up with all sorts of things to sort out before throwing more paint on the canvas.  I've been recording to the IPad and getting used to practicing for sessions for even better time management.  This comes in handy as I try to make every take count.  Every time I can figure out an arrangement at home, it saves me an hour or 2 of directional confusion once I get what I want down in the studio.  Weaving a song together to have an interesting structure is a real art form and one that I'm trying to explore.  The best results always seem to come out from studio work but to be prepared for that work and simply go in and not think and feel it and knock it out is always what I aim for.  Tony and I have around 5 more songs in production and 5 more after that--I've written one more for it that fills out the story nicely and I was surprised about that as I felt the main set was in stone.  You have to make a concept album on your own to know what that feeling is like, I guess!

Still Lost In Oblivion-New Album Update

Ten down and 6 to go for the most part. That doesn't even give a hint at how much work is left to do on this 16 song record.  The damn thing is going to go over an hour and I'm going to spend endless hours pondering what to add, color/uncolor, arrange, remix, redo you know the deal.  I've taken more risks this time around and probably prepared 3 times as much as the first album.  The drumming has been fun and has come around to making me play the guitar a bit differently.  I have to admit, it makes my triceps and shoulders sore as hell but the muscles in my wrists seem to have beefed up which has helped with all sorts of possibilities with the guitar.  Fitness and exercise play a big part in what I do since I sing, play guitar and am doing all of the drums in the studio on this release.  There would be no way for me to do the things I'm trying to do without being in good condition.  A lot of it comes down to simply breathing correctly--as singing, drumming and playing guitar all require strict attention to this to get the job done.  And it gets done!  But I'll tell ya, at all points I've been enjoying creating the moments on the album that have been in my head and the more tracks that have been laid out, the better.  The writing and composition have been pretty easy this time out but there are definitely areas in my department that need housekeeping.  I expect that to be the case every time out as I try and do things differently, or I intend to, so it's par for the course.  The biggest challenge will be to sit back and look and listen to the whole thing and have that definite feeling that it is finished in a way that I'm 100% satisfied with.  That is the goal.  I've given myself reminders to not overlook plot points or their relevance for inclusion.  This is one of the challenges one faces when doing a concept or story album...Hey, I know from experience!

Hope you are doing well and thanks for joining me for the ride.

Leibowitz

www.reverbnation.com/leibowitzmusic