The missing note

I thought one of the tracks on The Rocket Swing could do with some harmonica. I had it all figured out in my head, picked the harmonica in the appropriate key and started practicing. It sounded real good except for one note that was missing on that particular blues harp. I tried others and some did have that specific note but missed most of the others. How frustrating! I know I should be able to “bend a note” like real harmonica players can, but I could not get it right.
Somewhat disappointed I then tried harmonica on another song and this time it really worked well, so I recorded that and sent the recording to Canada. It will probably make it to the album.
To deal with future harmonica problems, I ordered one of those chromatic ones with a slide. That should have all the notes I want to play. Maybe the postman will bring it tomorrow.

Banjo Hey! Faster Banjo

I came across this excellent illustration of John Atkinson. It made me wonder about my own songs. What kind are there on the Rocket Swing CD? The opening track is about escaping to the country. It is an ode to a Volkswagen van, the equivalent of the famous truck in country music. Then there is a rock song about a tattoo, which is kind of alt.country. The title song is a lament. The album also has a folk song about the origin of the blues, a country waltz protest song, a finger-picking love song, a rocking murder ballad and a folky rant against the Grim Reaper. Then there is one track that is part acoustic finger-picking and part heavy rock and the album ends with a drinking song in country-rock tradition. All embedded in the Beatlelesque/West Coast sound of producer/guitarist Dale Murray. Can you still follow me? I guess you will just have to listen.

PS: Go to http://wronghands1.wordpress.com/ and look at the other work of John Atkinson

Mixed up

A Rocket Swing mix arrives in the mail. The first few listens are pure joy, of course. You hear the album as it is going to sound and that is really cool. But... you have to make sure that you listen to every tiny detail. You have listened to a track twice to hear exactly what the acoustic guitar played and if the EQ of that part is as you would like it. Then you realize that you have not paid attention to the hi-hat at all. So, you play it again. The album contains ten tracks, with assorted guitars, banjo, bass, drums, organ, piano, vocals and heaven knows what else. After many hours of listening you are so fed up with that music, you are happy to wash the dishes or mow the lawn. Then you listen to it once again, just to make sure you have got it right. And you think: ‘Wow!’

Heart of the matter

I cannot remember ever recording a song about a bad situation that became worse before the song was released, but it is happening right now. For The Rocket Swing album, I wrote one about the long lasting troubles in Israel/Palestine, the region where once a man brought a message of peace. I am not much of a believer, but I take that message seriously. Like the person in a demonstration against the war in Iraq who carried a sign that read: “Which word in thou shalt not kill did you not understand?” I am appalled how many people in high places with blood on their hands claim to be Christians.
I know this is supposed to be a happy blog about the making of an album, but I just had to write this. The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. And it is not and it is never too late to start.

Artwork

The time has come to think about artwork for The Rocket Swing. Once, with a photographer, I discussed a picture of me on a poster. I think it looks great but he did not agree, because I wasn’t looking into the camera. And should there be a photograph of me on the cover? Some say this will increase the sales of the album. I believe that might work for some artists, but it will not work for me. Not that I cannot be photoshopped into something pretty. I just think it is a boring idea.
Of all my favorite albums, hardly any have a picture of the artist(s) on the cover, let alone that they look into the camera. What to do? We came up with an exciting compromise. Believe it or not, The Rocket Swing will have a picture of me on the cover. And I will look into the camera. But it won’t be what you think.

My time will come

Right now I am in a situation that is new for me. I am at home working on promotion plans for my music while, back in Canada, Dale Murray and Christina Martin are working on The Rocket Swing. On the one hand I feel incredibly privileged. Talented people are working on my music. On the other hand, I wish I was still in Nova Scotia to witness the Rocket Swing grow up. All this excitement is bottled up in me, I want to shout it out, but I have to be patient in this soccer-crazed country.
I feel like a child in a classroom. Many children have their fingers in the air like me and I have to wait for my turn. However, I notice that a lot of you are reading this blog and that sure keeps me going. And one day in the near future, you will be able to listen to what this is all about. My time will come, my time will come.

Home is where the heart aches

Says the opening sentence of the last song on the Rocket Swing album. I am back home, doing homely things. Arriving in Canada, I was relieved that it was so easy to take my guitar with me on the plane. But you cannot get lucky every time. The plane was full on the way back. I paid CAD 98 and I checked in my guitar with a red label that said “priority” at a desk for special luggage. At Frankfurt airport I didn’t have to wait long. My guitar came rolling out of one of those mysterious portals. I had a sudden hunch to open the case and check the guitar. There it was: a 9 cm crack in the top and, when I had a better look, the case was wrenched. If I hadn’t bought one of the strongest cases in the world, the guitar would have been a goner. Fortunately, the crack can be repaired and you know what? I have hardly been depressed because how important is a crack in a guitar when you just had the lead role in a Canadian dream?