Never And Forever...It's About Time

If you follow my Facebook fan page you may have noticed a while back that I posted the Never And Forever artwork. It is a an image of a clock face that I found while searching the internet for ideas on how to visually represent the concept of "time". I was subsequently able to contact the photographer and receive permission to use the image for my album art. I have not altered the color at all. That is exactly as the original. My wife says it's a bit too much green, but I really like it. And so a special thanks goes out to photographer Katherine Gray, wherever and whoever she may be.

Over the past months, I've recognized a theme running through all of these songs...that being the passage of time...how it changes situations, individuals...for the better or for the worse. How it continues on and we are powerless to stop it, nor can we turn it back. Each of these songs deals with this subject in a different way. The past, regrets, things left undone, things that should have been left undone, things to do differently in the future...all of these ideas are touched upon through various stories and experiences both personal and/or observed in the lives of others.

I have re-designed my bandcamp page and created a page for the new album. There is no audio up just yet, but you can read through the lyrics if you're into that sort of thing. I hope to have the opening title track up in the coming days. It is very nearly finished, as are several other songs. Stay tuned for more info and audio as it becomes available.

Also, if you haven't done so yet, while your on my page, why not go and download the rest of my music in preparation for this new release. They are free if you want them to be, or you can pay what you want. I am completely fine with either amount.

Thanks for listening,

James

To The Last

"Wherever You Go" is the last song awaiting completion. Last night I went over the lyrics that I'd written a very long time ago and took stock of what was there. It turns out there are more lyrics than I can fit into the song, so it's a matter of figuring out what to cut, what to keep, what changes to make, and what order to put it all in. I'm excited to hear how this one turns out. It's kind of an odd song in a way that I can't explain. It has an unusual melody and rhythm in the verse that is carried along by semi-syncopated guitar riff and a echoing electronic beep of sorts. The strings and backing vocals are laden with reverb to give it an ambient feel that I am really enjoying. The chorus is my favorite part. It's quite catchy and keeps the song from being only a sonic experiment.

This is one of those where I'm not sure where it came from or what it is exactly. All I know is, there it is...and I like it.

It's hard to say what other people might think of it. Maybe they'll love it. Maybe they won't. I'm curious to find out.

All That's Left to Do

Here is my short "to do" list of items remaining to be finished.

• Take Our Chances - Worked on it a bit more last night. It's in a good place right now. This mix might even be finished. Need to listen to it a bit more.
• Castles In the Sand - The mix needs major work. This could take a while or could happen very quickly...you never know with these things.
• Drifting Away - Mix needs work. Again, this could be very difficult or very easy and quick.
• Wherever You Go - Instruments are all mixed and sounding great. Lyrics need to be finalized and vocals recorded.
• Comfort Me - I'm not sure what needs to be done here. Maybe nothing. Maybe something.

And once all of that is done...

• Mastering of all tracks - I need to adjust volume and levels and determine track beginnings and endings and any overlaps of the two and basically lay out the structure of the album before burning a master copy.

And finally...

• Artwork - The artwork is mostly finished. The CD booklet will include all lyrics this time around. I haven't been able to finish laying this out yet since I haven't finalized the lyrics for "Wherever You Go". I also would like to get a recent photo of myself to include somewhere in the packaging. As of now there are no photos of myself, which may be a good thing. I may have Desta take some photos and see what we come up with.

Looking at all of those items it is becoming apparent that I won't be able to get that all done in the 6 days I have left until my self-imposed deadline of September 28th. Even still, I am pleased with the progress in the past few days and feel good about getting everything completed at some point. I really just want to finish this and get it out of the way so I can move on to better things. This has been a 5 year project and much of this album does not represent where I am at now as a songwriter. I can't wait to move on to the next stage of my work. If you're reading this, thanks for sticking around. I have great hope for the future...stay tuned.

James