More later, but for now, the soup owns me.
This weekend was our second big OVFF rehearsal, and the first one to include more than just Paul and me, as we had Amy, Vixy, and Tony all there to join in the herculean efforts to actually make there be music. Setting my songs isn't the easiest thing in the world, largely because they all start as strictly vocal pieces, and half the time, I wind up needing to learn an entirely new key, just so they can be performed without breaking the guitar player's wrist. Paul has been a golden god throughout this process, and I bow down to him forever and for always.
Our plans for the weekend basically included running the current concert set, adjusting some of the arrangements (as needed), and seeing where we could fit Vixy and Amy into things (vocal backup and fiddle and wow). In addition to that, we were planning to take some time for Vixy, Tony, and I to take a crack at 'Sycamore Tree', which we're planning to publically debut at OVFF (note the ongoing lack of posted lyrics).
Now, the thing about 'Sycamore Tree' is that it's quite possibly the single most complicated thing I've ever written, in terms of lyrical composition. It ends with what I call the 'vocal spaghetti' -- a lengthy section where one person begins a phrase, a second person finishes it, and a third person sets up the next one, and so on, until you reach the ending. The timing there has to be precise, because otherwise, it all just sort of falls apart.
Vixy actually blanched when she really looked at the spaghetti for the first time.
We hammered out the chords and started running the song. The first time was a trainwreck. The next four were just car accidents, with varying numbers of fatalities, one of which necessitated closing the rehearsal while a road crew (aka, 'dinner') came through and repaired things. We kept running it over and over, until it was one in the morning, we recorded a scratch to work from later, and broke for the night.
Yesterday morning, Tony and Vixy came by my place, we had lunch, and then proceeded to start running 'Sycamore Tree' again. The first time, it was rough but manageable. The second time, it was something a lot closer to music -- close enough that we actually took a few minutes to squabble over who was stepping on who during the spaghetti.
And then it was music.
Seriously. Suddenly, and without warning...music. I batted an eye and it was a song, and the notes fell just right, and the spaghetti sounded layered and amazing, and...wow. I mean, just wow. This is the most complex thing I've ever done, and now it exists outside my head. And it's gorgeous (which isn't bragging, I blame Tony and Vixy). Amy asked, 'Is it soup yet?', and I said yes, yes, it was soup, and did not quite pick Vixy up and swing her in a big circle, but I wanted to.
It's soup. It's real soup.
Wow.
Our plans for the weekend basically included running the current concert set, adjusting some of the arrangements (as needed), and seeing where we could fit Vixy and Amy into things (vocal backup and fiddle and wow). In addition to that, we were planning to take some time for Vixy, Tony, and I to take a crack at 'Sycamore Tree', which we're planning to publically debut at OVFF (note the ongoing lack of posted lyrics).
Now, the thing about 'Sycamore Tree' is that it's quite possibly the single most complicated thing I've ever written, in terms of lyrical composition. It ends with what I call the 'vocal spaghetti' -- a lengthy section where one person begins a phrase, a second person finishes it, and a third person sets up the next one, and so on, until you reach the ending. The timing there has to be precise, because otherwise, it all just sort of falls apart.
Vixy actually blanched when she really looked at the spaghetti for the first time.
We hammered out the chords and started running the song. The first time was a trainwreck. The next four were just car accidents, with varying numbers of fatalities, one of which necessitated closing the rehearsal while a road crew (aka, 'dinner') came through and repaired things. We kept running it over and over, until it was one in the morning, we recorded a scratch to work from later, and broke for the night.
Yesterday morning, Tony and Vixy came by my place, we had lunch, and then proceeded to start running 'Sycamore Tree' again. The first time, it was rough but manageable. The second time, it was something a lot closer to music -- close enough that we actually took a few minutes to squabble over who was stepping on who during the spaghetti.
And then it was music.
Seriously. Suddenly, and without warning...music. I batted an eye and it was a song, and the notes fell just right, and the spaghetti sounded layered and amazing, and...wow. I mean, just wow. This is the most complex thing I've ever done, and now it exists outside my head. And it's gorgeous (which isn't bragging, I blame Tony and Vixy). Amy asked, 'Is it soup yet?', and I said yes, yes, it was soup, and did not quite pick Vixy up and swing her in a big circle, but I wanted to.
It's soup. It's real soup.
Wow.