Category Archives: original music - Page 9

a light sketch and some instrument building

i am far too lazy to get out the camera, resize the pictures and post them but rest assured that the lute is in fine condition. the fretboard is on and i have stained the sides, back and neck with a dark walnut stain. it’s creating a very striking effect and provides and nice contrast to the light spruce soundboard.

again, i will never work with plastic as part of an instrument after this experience. i ordered up some rosewood binding for my guitar project so that i can scuttle the plastic items entirely. there’s a lot to be said for using contrasting wood colors and grains to create an effect with more depth. exciting stuff.

also, to all of my favorite designers out there: i am looking for something to put on my guitar as a signature/logo. a simple “j.c.w.” would be nice. if you have suggestions, please remember that i have to be able to do it as an inlay on the headstock or 12th fret of a guitar. aaaaaaaand GO!

…and…

a new sketch! two days late and a few dollars short i’m afraid. it’s something. not a lot, but i’m trying to keep myself honest. any feedback is good feedback so if you dig it or don’t, please let me know. the best news i have to date is that my new studio arrangement is fantastic. if you find yourself having trouble getting work done take a step back and really look at where you’re working. a few small changes and i feel like i have a new lease on life as far as my creative activities go. everything is in one nicely organized spot and i can pick up any one of my instruments and start playing with so little effort that coming up with an excuse takes more work than actually doing something. think about it…

sketch-05-jan-2009

Creative Commons License
sketch 05 jan 2009 by j.c. wilson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.othertime.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://othertime.com.

a nice, rough mix

this tune has been giving me fits. it has taken me over a month to get something that i like and here we are…well, at least this is close. take a listen on the music page and drop me a line to let me know what you think.

when i spend a little time and get it all edited down, mixed up and properly tweaked, i think i’ll be quite proud of the result. i have no idea why i’m so taken with this little tune, but i am.

enjoy!

all is not lost

i have been hacking away at the same tune for about a month now. i have no idea why it has taken so long to finalize an arrangement, but it has. the result is pleasant but will require some editing. i hate it, but sometimes that’s the way it has to be.

life is busy. a family takes time if you’re going to do it right. i also want to do my music right. i guess that means that my self-imposed deadline for the release of this album is going to be blown to pieces. i would have to really pull off a miracle to make it happen and i don’t want to rush this one the way i did the last. with “the green man collection” it was almost as important to finish it as it was to do it right. that album was really a process for me and i’m glad that i did it the way i did. that said, i really need to do this one right for the same reasons. it’s another process.

i’m using a pile of new methods to motivate myself. i’m going to see if connecting with old friends and new via several networking sites and one of those narcissistic “look at me” technologies (twitter) will provide some external force. all of the requisite links are over there on the left. it’s harder to slack and not show progress when people are watching.

expect more frequent updates. i am going to put things out in the open and see where it takes me.

back to the beginning

when i took composition in conservatory, my teacher told me that the most difficult part of teaching was finding the germ that made up the inspiration for the work at hand. he felt that it was important to treat each piece as though it were his own and work from the position of helping his student. he was very good at finding that one, tiny grain of idea that got things rolling and steering clear of it regardless of his feelings about it.

i do not have this skill. or it’s so very undeveloped as to be detrimental to my process.

for the last two weeks i have been reworking what was released here as “sketch 6” every night. i tried it the way i did it originally and decided to get fancy. that rolled into adding a mandolin. and then a 12 string. and then a lead line on the 6 string. and then a bass line. when i started pondering digging out the psaltry and moving the entire thing to a new key, i realized that i had gone too far.

it has been hot down here in bayou city and as such i’m not really thinking clearly. last night i left the studio very unfulfilled and with a great deal of anger and disappointment. i sat on the couch and listened to the original sketch. i found that little nugget of inspiration and noted with certainty that i had removed it entirely over the course of the last two weeks.

if there’s a lesson here it’s quite simply this: when things start to feel wrong or get too complicated, return to the source. that almost feels like one of those universal truisms, but i won’t push my luck.

back to the beginning.

in the movies!

so the other day, my good buddy kevlar sends me a quick email asking if he can use some of my music for a short film he’s working on. i think it goes like this: a team has 72 hours to produce a final film from start to finish. it’s a pretty cool idea and i like being associated with pretty cool things.

well, the film is really awesome! my tunes are things i never released here (or at least i don’t recall releasing them). you can hear my stuff in the very beginning and in the section with the credits.

check out the movie here: http://ningin.com/mediastream/item:show/2008/07/01/one-dollar/

it’s really good!