I give lots of credit to anyone that's a songwriter or composer, especially those who have kept at it long enough to see their work evolve. Most people who write with ambition are not crazy about the idea of being typecast as a writer of this or that. The artist is still the same person with a desire to see what is next as much as the people that will appreciate the work. In making 3 albums in 5 years, really not committing to a style, I've got so many things written...incomplete songs...lyrics without sound. It's more fun to cherry pick at these for lyrics on newly realized material, than to force a melody onto them. The fridge is never empty. It's funny though. Before making any kind of collection of songs, I had a melody bank full of ideas that I wanted to record. These things turned up mainly on Guitar For Money, the first LP. Once those ideas were set and planted to a song, room opened up in my brain where those thoughts were occupied. I wanted to create music that I had never thought about, so I did a complete left turn and did that with the 2nd release, The Beginning Of The Endless Search For Oblivion. During the course of making a "record", the songs run through my head non stop until they are finished. It's beyond annoying. What once was magic in a bottle to create and listen to, is now grinding the hell out of my ears, by the time of final edits and mixes. When I eventually got around to doing this 3rd LP, The Cry Of A Bird, I only had rough sketches of what I wanted the songs to sound like...if I had any sketch at all. There were 3 songs for this one that had been played live for the past couple of years that I produced and the rest were mainly made as being "the product of my environment". Now that people have access to this music and it is getting a good buzz, it makes me feel confident in knowing whatever musical project I put together, will be rewarding. It will probably still sound like an old hippy making 60s or 70s music, like the rest of it, but hell, ya never know :o)
Digital download
Leibowitz-The Cry Of A Bird
As usual, I'm looking for reviewers and DJs that are interested in this music to let me know. Now back to practicing the new songs for live performance and dreaming up my next creation. Thanks to all of the great DJs who have been playing my music since the beginning and continue to play it. As a result, people have been warming up to it and buying the releases. To the people who are paying for it, I am eternally grateful and hope that you enjoy it.
Cheers,
Josh Leibowitz
Josh@STEMarketingSolutions.com
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
The Cry Of A Bird Because I Can't Lay Eggs
I started work on The Fire Project, which was the working title of The Cry Of A Bird LP a few months after completing my 2nd album, The Beginning Of The Endless Search For Oblivon, in late 2012. Things were changing. After recording my version of the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, as well as a track called "Perfect" in my home studio, my life came to a grinding halt. A planned trip to London to record with some friends and continue the project was cancelled. Luckily, the guys in The Fierce And The Dead, who had booked the studio on my behalf, were luckily able to use the time for their own recording sessions. I felt awful about the whole thing, but relieved that they didn't hate me. Meanwhile, I was getting sick and my elderly dog, Jada was dying. I was in a dark place. It was discovered later that year, that my house was completely infested with mold, so it was no wonder I was ill. My dog, ended up passing away and I had to tear down the studio, pack all of my stuff and live elsewhere until the situation was sorted. During that time, I moved quite a bit with my other dog, my gear and some clothes. I wrote a lot of music and played a decent amount of shows. There was nothing else to do to make me happy, really. Fast forward 10 months later. My house was fixed, I was playing more shows than ever and I was in a good place. I had made lots of growth as a performer and was just about ready to pick up and make this 3rd album. I was dating again, which was nice, after being divorced 2 years prior. It all felt good. At some point in November 2013, while seeking out gigs, I ended up meeting a new friend and my next engineer. This was the guy. His name was Ric Pattison and the dude had a spark. He was English, a perfectionist, had a studio and a wicked sense of humor. It turned out we had a lot in common. We decided to start the record properly in early January. At that time, Ric was really absorbed into the Northern Soul music revival that was taking place in England at the time. As a kid, he was a part of that original scene and it captured my imagination. I loved this music and since the vibe was so heavy, that I decided to cut a track inspired by it. Even though it ended up sounding nothing like that music, it had a spirit all its own. Later on in the process, I got a better crack at that on a different tune. We continued month after month, track after track, recording ballads, soul tunes, rock songs, progressive pieces...It was working well and even though we had different approaches to making music, it clicked. The plan was to work throughout 2014 on making "Bird," playing all of the instruments myself. It wasn't easy, but I learned a lot, even doing sessions for a friend's album on bass..an instrument I had just picked up. I kept playing shows...lots of them, sometimes with different bands, playing different instruments on any given night. This was in stark contrast to what I was doing during the production of Guitar For Money (2011), as well as "Oblivion", which was mainly getting an audience based on online promotion. During those days, my music was played on internet radio and podcasts. I was getting interviewed, favorably reviewed and people bought the work. They liked it and I was beginning to get known, if only by a small, but appreciative audience within the progressive and indie rock community. It felt comfortable, but my exposure was limited. I was spreading myself to thin. Things had to change and they did, but during the lapse between albums, I became disconnected from the people that has supported and played my music often. Most of my time, I spend and spent running my marketing company, so something had to give to get all of the work done. It might have appeared to many people that I didn't care, but that wasn't the case. I remain thankful to everyone who has ever spun my music and helped me along the way. Hopefully we can reconnect and get back to the new music, which I feel is as exciting as ever. With only 1 track left to do and production coming to a close in early December, my 3rd baby is about to hatch and I'm ready for it. It's been hard work! Anyway, I hope that when it is released, that the people who buy it will get as much of a charge out of listening to it, as I did making it. It's a fairly dark and intense bunch of tunes, that has just enough sunlight and hope to let it shine. In my mind it is a nice bookend to the trilogy of LPs that I've done. I'm not certain at this point that further albums are the way forward, but I absolutely cannot stop recording. I love it too much and it's great therapy. I think digital "singles" is what I'll do. LPs are largely a marketing tool anyway. Thank you to all who have appreciated and supported my music throughout the last few years. I hope that I haven't been too forgotten, but I'm kind of hard to ignore, so get hip to what's happening now...or else.
Musically,
Leibowitz
Monday, July 29, 2013
The Cry Of A Bird
Hello My Friend,
It's been a long time since the last one of these. Major changes have taken place. More live shows, less recording. Studio torn down, studio reconstructed.
The 2 main changes are really that due to life and my favorite engineer and amazing musician, Tony Livadas has moved to LA. He was cool enough to get me started with helping me set up my studio a year ago and managed to contribute his engineering and playing skills to some of what is in store for the next album. It will be my 3rd, called The Cry Of A Bird.
The other major change is the passage of time and all that it does to help me redefine what I want to get across in terms of the songs, instrumentation and production of the record. The ball got kicked off properly with my interpretation of the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, which took quite some time to get the way I liked it and will likely get a bit more work before the release. Then it was making a studio version of the song "Perfect" which is now a staple in my live shows.
I've played around 8 full shows this year so far which is sadly a record. Along the way, I've made a lot of friends, like Anthony Ilczuk, who decided to give a go at trying to full on produce something of mine in the studio. Given we only had 2 hours, the short, sad ballad "Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye" was cut. Anthony and I both liked it and the only reason we had to cut the session short was that I had a gig that night in Naples, where we were recording and Ant was running sound for that. He did a great job on that and is really a master of music and like Tony, it is an honor to work with someone like him. Along the way, through hearing my cousin's new material that I liked a lot (Thanks cuz Marky D, you rock!), I was introduced to Mike Pignataro, who is an outstanding musician and engineering, mixing and production wizard as well. In terms of bands, I've made great friends with band members of Kurv and Lowlight Empire, both bands in Naples, Florida that I've had the good fortune to hook up with and open for. I was also lucky to meet the guys from 3MG and have them open one of my shows recently.
One good thing is I've managed to find the 5 or so acts in South Florida that cherish new, original music as much as I do. Speaking of original music, that's just what I'm making now, using every bit of angst, love and imagination that I have. At this point, there has already been more personnel involved than on the 1st 2 albums, which I think is great. I started calling my inner circle the "Sound Panel". We don't have custom T Shirts but I'll whip some up. I only need to make 10 or so. In addition to sparking up around 15+ new songs for TCOAB, I've been back into the project I've been working on with keyboardist extraordinaire Ollie Eastwood, from over in England. Lots of Moog, Piano, Hammond, Pipe Organs, Mellotron...the works. The music that he has been working on is something I am really excited about being a part of, despite the production being pushed back a bit. It isn't often a musician gets a chance to be a part of such a unique project that they 100% want to do.
Anyway, I'm lucky to have listeners still, all who like the music to some degree or another. Even if they didn't I'd still be trying to make my tracks as good as possible. This set will not cater to the taste of listeners and if it does, it's a happy accident. In today's musical climate, there is no reason to be anything other than yourself "on stage or on record" as Rob Base once said. The only person who has skin in the game at the level I'm at is myself. There are no plans or hope for big profits from doing what I do...Or the illusion that if I got the right opportunity, through one way or another, I'd reach a mass audience. I'm just not willing to kiss that much ass as that really isn't an artist's job. Well, there will be no rush in getting the next Leibowitz album done or the Eastwood project. Despite the lack of any pressing need to get this done by the cry of fans, there is a fire in my soul that keeps my fingers on strings, my hands on the sticks and my mind toward making the best music I can. No compromises.
Your Friend,
Josh (Leibowitz)
It's been a long time since the last one of these. Major changes have taken place. More live shows, less recording. Studio torn down, studio reconstructed.
The 2 main changes are really that due to life and my favorite engineer and amazing musician, Tony Livadas has moved to LA. He was cool enough to get me started with helping me set up my studio a year ago and managed to contribute his engineering and playing skills to some of what is in store for the next album. It will be my 3rd, called The Cry Of A Bird.
The other major change is the passage of time and all that it does to help me redefine what I want to get across in terms of the songs, instrumentation and production of the record. The ball got kicked off properly with my interpretation of the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, which took quite some time to get the way I liked it and will likely get a bit more work before the release. Then it was making a studio version of the song "Perfect" which is now a staple in my live shows.
I've played around 8 full shows this year so far which is sadly a record. Along the way, I've made a lot of friends, like Anthony Ilczuk, who decided to give a go at trying to full on produce something of mine in the studio. Given we only had 2 hours, the short, sad ballad "Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye" was cut. Anthony and I both liked it and the only reason we had to cut the session short was that I had a gig that night in Naples, where we were recording and Ant was running sound for that. He did a great job on that and is really a master of music and like Tony, it is an honor to work with someone like him. Along the way, through hearing my cousin's new material that I liked a lot (Thanks cuz Marky D, you rock!), I was introduced to Mike Pignataro, who is an outstanding musician and engineering, mixing and production wizard as well. In terms of bands, I've made great friends with band members of Kurv and Lowlight Empire, both bands in Naples, Florida that I've had the good fortune to hook up with and open for. I was also lucky to meet the guys from 3MG and have them open one of my shows recently.
One good thing is I've managed to find the 5 or so acts in South Florida that cherish new, original music as much as I do. Speaking of original music, that's just what I'm making now, using every bit of angst, love and imagination that I have. At this point, there has already been more personnel involved than on the 1st 2 albums, which I think is great. I started calling my inner circle the "Sound Panel". We don't have custom T Shirts but I'll whip some up. I only need to make 10 or so. In addition to sparking up around 15+ new songs for TCOAB, I've been back into the project I've been working on with keyboardist extraordinaire Ollie Eastwood, from over in England. Lots of Moog, Piano, Hammond, Pipe Organs, Mellotron...the works. The music that he has been working on is something I am really excited about being a part of, despite the production being pushed back a bit. It isn't often a musician gets a chance to be a part of such a unique project that they 100% want to do.
Anyway, I'm lucky to have listeners still, all who like the music to some degree or another. Even if they didn't I'd still be trying to make my tracks as good as possible. This set will not cater to the taste of listeners and if it does, it's a happy accident. In today's musical climate, there is no reason to be anything other than yourself "on stage or on record" as Rob Base once said. The only person who has skin in the game at the level I'm at is myself. There are no plans or hope for big profits from doing what I do...Or the illusion that if I got the right opportunity, through one way or another, I'd reach a mass audience. I'm just not willing to kiss that much ass as that really isn't an artist's job. Well, there will be no rush in getting the next Leibowitz album done or the Eastwood project. Despite the lack of any pressing need to get this done by the cry of fans, there is a fire in my soul that keeps my fingers on strings, my hands on the sticks and my mind toward making the best music I can. No compromises.
Your Friend,
Josh (Leibowitz)
Thursday, January 10, 2013
So You Want To Make Money Making Music (Or At Least Not Take A Loss)?
So You Want To Make Money Making Music (Or At Least Not Take A Loss)?
By +Joshua Leibowitz
With the +ReverbNation social media event coming up on the 16th, I've taken a closer look at my own experiences as well as some of what I've seen with other artists, to come up with my take on how independent musicians are making money these days.
I didn't get into making music for the money, but anyone who makes music on any level will tell you that it costs money to make music, even if it is buying a tape recorder, playing the spoons and selling it on the street on cassette tapes. There are production costs that need to be considered. Now that example might be extreme but if you are making your own music in your own studio or a reasonably priced one outfitted with an in house engineer, it's going to cost you some money. Then there's mastering if you choose to go higher fidelity as well as artwork which helps in both online promotion and physical packaging of your work. The nice thing is you can make all of it back over time as music and art never dies in the digital age and neither does marketing and the desire of music lovers to own your work, that's if they like it.
Aside from being prepared for music sessions, writing music that you yourself would love to play as much as possible live and recording it there is more that needs to be done for this to happen. Once you've gotten some ink on the paper or sounds on the hard drive it is good to know that you are ready to start building your "beyond telling your friends in person audience". You go and find sites like ReverbNation and SoundCloud to house your music, giving would be listeners or fans a way to see if they like what you are up to. When the album, EP or single is ready, there is BandCamp as well. A great way to directly drive your audience to your music catalog is through Facebook, Twitter, Myspace (yes THAT Myspace) and +Google+. If you already have gigs (concerts), using blank CDs and making an email list is a great way to engage people who have already heard you play. Having the CD and any additional merchandise prepared for purchase and on hand is even better but in either case, you should provide info on how people can learn more about your music and where you are going with it. Music in hand leaving the venue with listeners leaves people curious to spin the music perhaps on their way home or later, especially if they liked the show. They'll probably leave it in the car...or chuck it!
This audience is one you will need to continue to engage on a friendly and musical level. You will try and get reviews so there are 3rd party opinions with links attached so you don't have to be too much of your own promoter, as that could come across as bragging and some people just might not like it. Some reviewers will insist on going over hard copies only as opposed to what is on your sites. Be prepared to spend some cash shipping them. Music is very personal and people like to approach getting into an act different ways. At least I do. As time goes on and you continue to release your music and see the song listens you have accumulated as well as fan counts and sales, you must continue to make more music and keep the outlets that you like most to promote your music and spread the word about it current, so you don't end up being forgotten or lost in the mix of new artists that are popping up everyday. There are millions of acts trying to be heard and a number of factors plays into whether or not you will be one of them. They want to know that you are passionate about what you do and that they have the chance to either buy your music, obtain your music otherwise and see you live--That's if you're lucky and skilled enough to pull this off. I've seen my favorite bands over 10 times and have bought some of their albums twice when one copy has gotten lost or scratched...or when the work has been remastered. That's what rabid music fans do. They are proud of the music and musicians they support and they don't want you to let them down by not caring about the work as much as they do. That would be a real disappointment I'd imagine. You need to believe in what you are making 200% and if you are serious about getting to the stage and never give up. You're a musician, you couldn't quit if you tried anyway.
The money part. OK, you've got 50,000 fans...Let's say 10% have picked up your album one way or the other and paid for it with an average price of $10 (downloads are cheaper than buying hard copies or should be), You've made $50,000 before subtracting your production costs. This is good if you are a solo artist but split that 4 ways and...well, it's still good but below the poverty level. This means you need to get out and play more shows or start playing shows if you aren't already, sell many more albums and stay on the road to sell as much as possible to keep what you are doing possible...maybe even boot out one of the lazy guys in the band. Gas is not free. Neither is food or hotel rooms. Hey, at least you covered the costs of making the album and put some nice scratch in your pocket, but you still need more or less a full time job if you want to live with some degree of safety and comfort. As long as you keep things in perspective and know what you want to get out of the experience, you really can't lose...Otherwise...
(listen)
Guitar For Money
www.facebook.com/leibowitzmusic
www.reverbnation.com/leibowitzmusic
www.leibowitz.bandcamp.com
By +Joshua Leibowitz
With the +ReverbNation social media event coming up on the 16th, I've taken a closer look at my own experiences as well as some of what I've seen with other artists, to come up with my take on how independent musicians are making money these days.
I didn't get into making music for the money, but anyone who makes music on any level will tell you that it costs money to make music, even if it is buying a tape recorder, playing the spoons and selling it on the street on cassette tapes. There are production costs that need to be considered. Now that example might be extreme but if you are making your own music in your own studio or a reasonably priced one outfitted with an in house engineer, it's going to cost you some money. Then there's mastering if you choose to go higher fidelity as well as artwork which helps in both online promotion and physical packaging of your work. The nice thing is you can make all of it back over time as music and art never dies in the digital age and neither does marketing and the desire of music lovers to own your work, that's if they like it.
Aside from being prepared for music sessions, writing music that you yourself would love to play as much as possible live and recording it there is more that needs to be done for this to happen. Once you've gotten some ink on the paper or sounds on the hard drive it is good to know that you are ready to start building your "beyond telling your friends in person audience". You go and find sites like ReverbNation and SoundCloud to house your music, giving would be listeners or fans a way to see if they like what you are up to. When the album, EP or single is ready, there is BandCamp as well. A great way to directly drive your audience to your music catalog is through Facebook, Twitter, Myspace (yes THAT Myspace) and +Google+. If you already have gigs (concerts), using blank CDs and making an email list is a great way to engage people who have already heard you play. Having the CD and any additional merchandise prepared for purchase and on hand is even better but in either case, you should provide info on how people can learn more about your music and where you are going with it. Music in hand leaving the venue with listeners leaves people curious to spin the music perhaps on their way home or later, especially if they liked the show. They'll probably leave it in the car...or chuck it!
This audience is one you will need to continue to engage on a friendly and musical level. You will try and get reviews so there are 3rd party opinions with links attached so you don't have to be too much of your own promoter, as that could come across as bragging and some people just might not like it. Some reviewers will insist on going over hard copies only as opposed to what is on your sites. Be prepared to spend some cash shipping them. Music is very personal and people like to approach getting into an act different ways. At least I do. As time goes on and you continue to release your music and see the song listens you have accumulated as well as fan counts and sales, you must continue to make more music and keep the outlets that you like most to promote your music and spread the word about it current, so you don't end up being forgotten or lost in the mix of new artists that are popping up everyday. There are millions of acts trying to be heard and a number of factors plays into whether or not you will be one of them. They want to know that you are passionate about what you do and that they have the chance to either buy your music, obtain your music otherwise and see you live--That's if you're lucky and skilled enough to pull this off. I've seen my favorite bands over 10 times and have bought some of their albums twice when one copy has gotten lost or scratched...or when the work has been remastered. That's what rabid music fans do. They are proud of the music and musicians they support and they don't want you to let them down by not caring about the work as much as they do. That would be a real disappointment I'd imagine. You need to believe in what you are making 200% and if you are serious about getting to the stage and never give up. You're a musician, you couldn't quit if you tried anyway.
The money part. OK, you've got 50,000 fans...Let's say 10% have picked up your album one way or the other and paid for it with an average price of $10 (downloads are cheaper than buying hard copies or should be), You've made $50,000 before subtracting your production costs. This is good if you are a solo artist but split that 4 ways and...well, it's still good but below the poverty level. This means you need to get out and play more shows or start playing shows if you aren't already, sell many more albums and stay on the road to sell as much as possible to keep what you are doing possible...maybe even boot out one of the lazy guys in the band. Gas is not free. Neither is food or hotel rooms. Hey, at least you covered the costs of making the album and put some nice scratch in your pocket, but you still need more or less a full time job if you want to live with some degree of safety and comfort. As long as you keep things in perspective and know what you want to get out of the experience, you really can't lose...Otherwise...
(listen)
Guitar For Money
www.facebook.com/leibowitzmusic
www.reverbnation.com/leibowitzmusic
www.leibowitz.bandcamp.com
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The FIRE burns on!
Howdy Folks,
It's been almost a month to the day since my last update and I hope everyone in the US had a great Thanksgiving and those from around the world are in excellent health and spirits! The name of the game has been time management around here but we managed to record our 2nd cut since I opened this studio and resumed work for the next album. So far we have 2 pieces for consideration, '1812' and 'Perfect', both of which are solid contenders. We'll be heading back to the studio in a couple of weeks to do another song and I'm really looking forward to it. With this album not being a concept album, like the last one was, it lets every song fight for itself. I expect it all to sound different from track to track. The feedback has been very positive, which is a tremendous boost. I make the music to my own satisfaction but to know that there are people enjoying it makes it really special. I'm grateful for it. You could say THANKFUL for it. I'm thankful that Nick Katona at There is Hope Records included '1812' in the Sandy storm relief compilation as it's nice to do something useful with my music any time I get the chance. I'm also thankful to Tony Romero at Aiir Radio for letting me co-host his radio show with him. We had an excellent turnout and we'll do it again periodically. There really were some hysterical moments and excellent music as always, but it felt good to do something positive, as we dedicated the show to Gregg and Allison Olson..Gregg, just having had a stroke and recovering from partial paralyzation. Man, I hope you get better soon. Anyway, it's back to work for me with the next track always nagging in my mind for a couple of weeks down the road.
Until then. Peace.
Leibowitz
Listen to Albums
Listen to the Latest
Sandy Relief Album
11/24 Radio Show Replay
It's been almost a month to the day since my last update and I hope everyone in the US had a great Thanksgiving and those from around the world are in excellent health and spirits! The name of the game has been time management around here but we managed to record our 2nd cut since I opened this studio and resumed work for the next album. So far we have 2 pieces for consideration, '1812' and 'Perfect', both of which are solid contenders. We'll be heading back to the studio in a couple of weeks to do another song and I'm really looking forward to it. With this album not being a concept album, like the last one was, it lets every song fight for itself. I expect it all to sound different from track to track. The feedback has been very positive, which is a tremendous boost. I make the music to my own satisfaction but to know that there are people enjoying it makes it really special. I'm grateful for it. You could say THANKFUL for it. I'm thankful that Nick Katona at There is Hope Records included '1812' in the Sandy storm relief compilation as it's nice to do something useful with my music any time I get the chance. I'm also thankful to Tony Romero at Aiir Radio for letting me co-host his radio show with him. We had an excellent turnout and we'll do it again periodically. There really were some hysterical moments and excellent music as always, but it felt good to do something positive, as we dedicated the show to Gregg and Allison Olson..Gregg, just having had a stroke and recovering from partial paralyzation. Man, I hope you get better soon. Anyway, it's back to work for me with the next track always nagging in my mind for a couple of weeks down the road.
Until then. Peace.
Leibowitz
Listen to Albums
Listen to the Latest
Sandy Relief Album
11/24 Radio Show Replay
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
No music?
Not a chance! Been practicing more than ever though in order to play better on the next set of songs. My hunch is it will pay off as I'm always noticing ways to improve. The more I learn, figure out and write between recordings the more evolved the compositions will be. It's pretty funny actually...all these years from when I started, I'm still trying to get my left hand to be quicker on the drums. I'm having a lot of fun with guitars as well...but the real important thing is finding a key that is comfortable to sing in and I think I've nailed that...It would be cool to get a band together but I kind of don't care all that much with no gigs lined up, which I don't care that much about either. To make this music now and hammer away at the project is the most important thing. So, I imagine within the next few months you will hear a few new cuts off the forthcoming album. Getting that 1812 bit out of the way was a step in the right direction! Mailing out more albums and posters this week, like last week and the week before that, which is a beautiful thing!
Thank you for listening!
Josh
Albums on Bandcamp
ReverbNation
Thank you for listening!
Josh
Albums on Bandcamp
ReverbNation
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Oblivion Revisited..Or Visited?
Howdy Folks!
Well I'm in a good mood. With so much going on in the new music department, due to being underway on my 3rd album in a new and fully operational studio all my own, I almost forgot that the 6 panel digipacks and posters are on their way over here and hit my doorstep come Monday....so with all that I shall now be presenting the official roll out of all things related to the release of....................................................................................................................................................................................
THE BEGINNING OF THE ENDLESS SEARCH FOR OBLIVION
*If you want one, please email Josh@STEMarketingSolutions.com and place your order, including your shipping address. Posters $10+shipping. CD $12+shipping. Combo $20+ shipping (DO IT!)*
I have to tell you, it was a fun album to make and the story was a trip to come up with. It really was an EXTREMELY gross take on people and events in reality, twisted all around into a crazy nautical odyssey. The music stuck obnoxiously close to the intended storyline as well as the artwork and making the former happen effectively was a big time challenge!
Naturally, a big part of why this album was fun was that I got to work with engineer, bassist, saxophonist, keyboard player Tony Livadas again as well as with Martin Kornick doing the visuals as was the case with Guitar For Money. All of us have risen a bit since the last project in such a short amount of time. It is apparent in how busy we are! By working with talented individuals on this level it really brought out the best in me and I was locked on on what I felt was a solid idea. Speaking of talented people, I also had the amazing good fortune of meeting and recording with my friends Kev Feazey and Matt Stevens in London. Matt had made that arrangement and I came to town and we came up with the Fist. Kev and I had been working at a breakneck pace for hours and we weren't sure if Matt would be able to make it, but he did and played some incredibly clever parts. What these guys probably didn't know is that I had 5 backup plans should any number of situations occur....a surprise guest, extra time, any no show, etc....I was exhausted, stressed and running on fumes that week by the time we did the session but it came out just right I'd say and it is something I'll never forget.
With such a developed story that envelops The Beginning Of The Endless Search For Oblivion, I plan to not wait to be interviewed to let in on bits and pieces and will be writing segments about the characters, the plot line and some of the inspiration behind the story..the real faces and places in Florida....I'll post pictures and videos as well. People who like this will want to dig their teeth into it and I say by all means...
I think at some point down the line I'll revisit these characters. It would be fun and let more aspects of the "personalities" show. For now, I'm working on less conceptual but equally demanding music that will be different, as what would be the point of doing it all the same?
-Leibowitz
Well I'm in a good mood. With so much going on in the new music department, due to being underway on my 3rd album in a new and fully operational studio all my own, I almost forgot that the 6 panel digipacks and posters are on their way over here and hit my doorstep come Monday....so with all that I shall now be presenting the official roll out of all things related to the release of....................................................................................................................................................................................
THE BEGINNING OF THE ENDLESS SEARCH FOR OBLIVION
*If you want one, please email Josh@STEMarketingSolutions.com and place your order, including your shipping address. Posters $10+shipping. CD $12+shipping. Combo $20+ shipping (DO IT!)*
I have to tell you, it was a fun album to make and the story was a trip to come up with. It really was an EXTREMELY gross take on people and events in reality, twisted all around into a crazy nautical odyssey. The music stuck obnoxiously close to the intended storyline as well as the artwork and making the former happen effectively was a big time challenge!
Naturally, a big part of why this album was fun was that I got to work with engineer, bassist, saxophonist, keyboard player Tony Livadas again as well as with Martin Kornick doing the visuals as was the case with Guitar For Money. All of us have risen a bit since the last project in such a short amount of time. It is apparent in how busy we are! By working with talented individuals on this level it really brought out the best in me and I was locked on on what I felt was a solid idea. Speaking of talented people, I also had the amazing good fortune of meeting and recording with my friends Kev Feazey and Matt Stevens in London. Matt had made that arrangement and I came to town and we came up with the Fist. Kev and I had been working at a breakneck pace for hours and we weren't sure if Matt would be able to make it, but he did and played some incredibly clever parts. What these guys probably didn't know is that I had 5 backup plans should any number of situations occur....a surprise guest, extra time, any no show, etc....I was exhausted, stressed and running on fumes that week by the time we did the session but it came out just right I'd say and it is something I'll never forget.
With such a developed story that envelops The Beginning Of The Endless Search For Oblivion, I plan to not wait to be interviewed to let in on bits and pieces and will be writing segments about the characters, the plot line and some of the inspiration behind the story..the real faces and places in Florida....I'll post pictures and videos as well. People who like this will want to dig their teeth into it and I say by all means...
I think at some point down the line I'll revisit these characters. It would be fun and let more aspects of the "personalities" show. For now, I'm working on less conceptual but equally demanding music that will be different, as what would be the point of doing it all the same?
-Leibowitz
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