August 4th, 2010 3:57 pm
Things can look great on the outside but if there isn’t quality underneath, what’s the point? A few years ago, I was in a house fire—we awoke at about 3 in the morning to confusion…smoke so thick you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. It was complete mayhem as we rushed out of the house with what we could carry, waited for the fire trucks to arrive in the cool Autumn east coast night and watched most everything else be either charred or saturated beyond recognition. The next day we learned that it was because of the thick, old fashioned beams that this attic fire had not collapsed the ceiling on us while we slept. Good internal construction saved our lives.
Quality ingredients, carefully prepared equals better end result. This is just something I believe to be inherently true in life…and in music.
So lately I have not been as active with shows on the performance calendar but I have been working hard at my music and have been taking part in some recording projects including a Christmas album for Jeff Johnson which I cannot wait for you to hear, and a jazz album by sultry vocalist Tasha Miller which is still in production.
I’ve been honing my jazz vocals—combing material for what feels true and works with my voice, and thinking about what it is I’d like to play as a jazz violinist who is more enamored with beautiful lines and tone production than churning out slick hooks.
I’ve also been crossing my T’s and dotting my I’s in regard to my albums licensing, my status as a songwriter and my presence on the web. It’s not always as much fun as playing and singing for a live audience, but I think it’s very very important to make sure that I’m going about things in the proper way. It frustrates me immensely that so many artists record and distribute cover songs without getting permission. While one can argue that it’s the “big record companies” and all that nonsense about the little struggling artist, one can make the same case for stealing stuff from a large department store or not paying taxes. Okay…maybe some of the same people do that too! At any rate, I am trying as best I can to make sure that I do things right. I’m thankful that the people who built the cottage I slept in on that October night a few years back chose to properly construct the beams or I might not be here to be blogging today about my musical journey!
Tags: Ark Music, effesenden music, Jazz Violin, Jeff Johnson, portland violin, song licensing, tasha miller, Wendy Goodwin