An Album Idea

So I am planning an album. I am currently in conversation with many people about it. I have been a regular at the pub for going-on twenty years. During those years – mostly recently, I have met many musicians, audio engineers, and producers at the Pub, so I thought it was fitting to draw upon talent exclusively from the Pub.

I am have chased down over a dozen musicians already. I will organize, schedule, arrange, engineer, produce, and mix the album. I am going to raise funds to have it professionally mastered and released on all platforms. It is an ambitious project. Maybe I'm naive to think I can get it done, but I'll never know unless I try.

Who Is On The Album

Who's on the album is a who's who of the Pub. All the musicians on the album I met at the Pub. Confirmed parties so far include three bartenders, and several regular patrons: Pascale Brunswig, Jennifer Brunswig, bartender at the Pub, and Mariah Liming, bartender at the Pub, all incredible vocalists, Jacob Liming, mandolin player and violinist, Gabe Szilardi-Tierney, master of the guitar and banjo, singer, songwriter, vocalist, and the newest bartender at the Pub, Zach Mondlick, a jazz-trained drummer who is willing and gracious enough to session on any song on the album, William Espinosa-Setchko guitarist, singer and songwriter, Ethan Everett, guitarist and singer, Burke Treischman, multi-instrumentalist, producer in his own right, Joe Adams, guitarist and vocalist, Thomas Clark, guitarist and Irish folk song enthusiast, and John Gravois, lead guitarist of the bluegrass group, East Bay Serenaders. Oh yeah, and Bill MacBeath, singer, songwriter, guitarist, bassist and local legend. Andrew Murray will be our alternate drummer and percussionist. Dominic Mah and Andy Cal are both planning to contribute original songs. Singer-songwriter and the face of Down Home Records for forty-five years, John McCord is planning to contribute an original as well.

Chris Rogers is an audio engineer and pianist, he has been advising me on my studio space as well as giving me feedback on mixes that I send him. He hasn't confirmed as of yet, but I am hopeful he will play the keys on a track or two and continue to advise me.

I'd like to get a three-part harmony going with Jenny, Pascale and Mariah on at least one of the tracks on the album. I think that would be amazing and beautiful, especially with the upgrades to my humble living room studio that I am planning.

The Upgrades

Suffice it to say that after the upgrades, the only sonic limitations will be my imagination and the physical space I choose record in.

This upgrade will allow me to capture almost any arrangement with a natural, mellow, intimate and very detailed sound. The key is microphone placement and musician placement around that microphone.

I have been in conversation about hardware, software, and acoustics with my friend Chris Rogers an audio engineer and software designer, and my mastering engineer for the album, Jessica Thompson.

Guerilla Acoustics

I don't have the tools to make gobos or acoustic panels, and my partner wouldn't have them in our 700 square-foot rental anyway. Gobo is a portmanteau of go-between, it is a free-standing acoustic panel, usually on wheels. Instead I am planning to prop up a duvet behind the singer, and the longest dimension of the room in front of the singer. I have read that this works to mitigate first reflections.

The Scene

The music scene at the Pub exists, but it is fractured, well, a better way to say it would be segmented. I'd like to bring it together. I think this album will go a long way to accomplishing that goal. One of the people who has been keeping the musical flame alive at the Pub is Burke Treischman. For decades he has frequently played with various arrangements there. That is partly why I am so excited that he is onboard. Indeed, it would be a shame if he wasn't on it.

I Have No Rhythm...

That's why I have chosen to produce music instead of aspiring to play at a higher level. I have no rhythm. Perhaps because I have arrhythmia. My actual heartbeat is off-beat. Maybe that's an alibi for simple laziness. I don't know. I have spent many hours playing to a metronome, and I am still no better off than I was before. I have limited experience playing instruments. I have played the trombone, harmonica, guitar and keys.

...But I Know What Sounds Good

I can't hold down a rhythm, but I can usually play a melody in key if someone else is holding it down for me. I know what sounds good for a given song. I know when to come in and when to see myself out. Musical courtesy is highly-underrated. Sometimes negative sonic space is what is called for a bar or two. A technical term for it would be dynamics. Likewise dissonance can be an incredible tool when used sparingly, perhaps an eighth or quarter-note. Building and breaking tension. Conveying emotion. That's what it's all about in my opinion. Music is a language all it's own.

I will sometimes add harmonica or layers of synthesizers to a song if I think it is appropriate. I only have three diatonic harmonicas, so sometimes I don't even get to do that. I need to purchase a few more keys to play on a broader range of songs.

Anyway, I usually record my own parts afterwards and lay them into the song in what is called a multi-track.

Music Jams At Panama

I canceled this month's jam because I am in the process of painting my parent's house. Future jams at Panama will be called meetings and are reserved for people who are contributing to the album. At least until the album is done, then we will have an album release party. Probably sometime next year.

If You Want To Contribute

If you want to contribute, give me a call or send me a text 510-965-3237. I am through chasing down musicians because I have all the talent I need to make an album. But I'm still open to new musical talent, especially if you have proficiency in an unusual instrument. Tell me how you want to contribute, let's talk.

If you are not musical, you can donate. I'm trying to raise $3,500 for the album to cover things like mastering, distribution, promotion, and incidentals. Oh and anyone who donates is invited to the release party next year! It should be fun.

That's all I got for now. Thanks for reading!