The warm weather returned to New England today. I was able to go outside without a jacket on. I haven't been able to do that since I was in Hollywood back in February.

The CD "Beyond the Law" is still at the manufacturer. I approved the final design from the graphics department so they are pressing it now. I still have roughly 17 more things that has to get done from now until May 27th when it is released. Not included in those tasks is producing the music video for "Club Monbijou". I am still trying to pinpoint a location which I am dearly hoping I can get resolved by the end of this week.

I am already coming up with new music to create. I feel like the last song I completed "Babylon Train" was a start of a completely different realm of music I never tried out. I guess it can't hurt to start writing lyrics and music while I am inspired.

I have been singing a lot lately. I think because of the bacterial infection I had it scared me to think that I could have never sung again. So now I am singing all the time everywhere I go. I am not singing it loudly but I am sure if someone walked passed me they probably thought I was nuts.

Yet again I am blogging back from the dentist. I had three more cavities filled and my entire bottom jaw has no feeling. I feel like a zombie ripped my jaw off because it's so numb. I only have one more to do and I am done.

Yesterday I was in the studio for "Babylon Train". I listened to the real drums and the bass added to it. It sounded awesome. The drummer Richard Maddalo from Ultra Plush did a great job on it. I wasn't there for the bass/drum section so I didn't get to thank him personally. It really added the rock part of the song. Cheryl Wanner of Dreamchild was great at the bass. Frank Gerace of Dreamchild did a great job in the production, mix and adding to the many layers of guitars. I can't remember how many guitars are on the track. Maybe 5 or 6? There were perhaps 27 tracks for the song which I think was the most I ever had for one song (previously was 21 for a movie soundtrack piece). I had to redo all the chorus sections for it which scared me. What if it wouldn't sound the same? Fortunately my voice matched the previous sessions and it sounded a lot tighter to match the beat. Sometime this week I will encode it to mp3 and have a sample of it along with the previous versions. I heard it perhaps 50 times or more yesterday. So with the previous sessions for the track (and composing and arranging it before that) I must have heard the song @250 times or so.

I have two movies to recommend.

• A Bucket Of Blood (1959): This black comedy is one of the films that Roger Corman used to make before he got a bigger budget and went on to do adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe stories. A Bucket of Blood stars Dick Millerwho is cast a busboy for a coffee shop during the beatnick era in the 1950's and wants to be an artist. However, Walter lacks talent is looking for an idea when he inadvertently kills his landlady's cat, which he then proceeds to cover in plaster and present as a piece of art. The sculpture becomes an instant hit and Walter becomes famous. One masterpiece isn't enough, however, and Walter must add more to his collection to gain the fame he wants...but where is that next masterpiece going to come from? It's actually pretty good.



• Black Roses (1988): When hard-core heavy metal band Black Roses performs in an idyllic Midwestern town, the group's music unleashes a satanic force that possesses the fans, turning them into bloodthirsty, demon-crazed killers. Nobody is safe from these teen fiends wreaking havoc on parents and teachers. Directed by John Fasano and featuring a pounding soundtrack by rockers Lizzie Borden, this gore fest stars Carmine Appice, Vincent Pastore and Carla Ferrigno. Crazy awful mullets galore! Awful cheesy 90's string synth sounds for the soundtrack! (it's a really bad movie but for this reason it's so good)

So here I am again writing in my journal as the other side of my mouth is numb from the dentist. I think I have one more trip (I hope) to go to the dentist to get 4 more cavities filled. This time as the drill was hitting my teeth I started hearing BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONIE NO. 9 blasting in my head for about 1 minute and then I started layering music on top of it and then it was a different symphony entirely that I made up. I wonder if drilling into teeth might cause some kind of memory restoration? Kind of like getting hit on the head? It was very odd.

I got an email back from Frank that the drum and bass tracks for "Babylon Train" was completed. So now I just have to go back and redo the first verse and probably the end chorus section and it will be completed. I am hoping to have it all done mid-December.

My cousin Leon emailed me and asked about doing the drums for the song. Which already were slated to be done at the studio. So I am going to do one more song for the album and send him the track to do the drums. It will have to be done quickly because I need the album to move to mastering by the end of this year to make the release date on time.

Part 7 in the making of "Babylon Train"



So Saturday I spent most of the day in the studio working on Babylon Train. This song is quickly becoming the most complex recording-wise that I have done. Usually I record everything on one track with all the musicians playing at the sametime (the same way the Beatles used to do it). However, this time I didn't have all the musicians around so we did multi-tracking. First, we recorded the click track which set the time of the song. Then we recorded the temporary bass line from a synth which will be used later for the real bass musician to play over. Then we added 2 more synth layers, then we recorded 6 guitar tracks (from 3 different guitars) then 4 vocal tracks. Then I realized that the synth sections just made the sound of the song too weird. So we erased those tracks and then did a rough mix. So after the day was over we were done with a rough mix. (lyrics here in MS Word format)

So here is the rough-mix of Babylon Train (mp3 format) . Now the bass you hear is a temporary bass which will be replaced by a real one, the drums still have to be added (in November) , some of the guitars will be tightened up, there will be an accoustic guitar at the final chorus section, and the vocals will be changed on verse 1 (the first vocals you hear) and verse 2. Also, the EQ, the reverb hasn't even been placed on. So it's still a very rough mix however it's better than the initial draft (.wav format).

By the end of the day I was exhausted but I realized that recording a temporary click track , as obnoxious as they are, really helps my timing when I sing. I think I will use it again on future recordings.

Part 6

So a few weeks have passed since I finished the song and since I am waiting for the actual recording session I decided to work on more details of the song. This is usually where a producer would step in and arrange the instruments and pieces of the song. Since I am producing it that part goes to me. Producers tend to be radically different how they approach a song. Some producers completely take charge of the song and ever single beat and note is placed into a song. Some producers like to be entirely chaotic and they haven't an idea how the song will be once they are done with it which is entirely chaotic. I tend to lean more towards the chaotic way but having a clear idea how the song will be at the end. Which is very important if you are paying the recording studio bill. Nothing eats a recording budget away more quickly than a band that hasn't practiced or have a clue what they're recording is supposed to sound like.

So I had typed out a Recording Engineer's copy (here it is in MS Word .doc format) for Frank to look at when I am in the studio. Frank has done a lot of production work as well so I value his opinion a lot. Most recording engineers have worked on thousands of songs in their lives and if they think something is a bad idea it usually always is.

The song will start off with just a very basic bass guitar section, then the drums and vocals will start simultaneously on the first chorus, then at the start of the chorus all hell breaks loose. Three guitars will play the main chorus melody and the vocals will have a chorus-effect (sounds like multiple singers are singing) and then there will be a guitar feedback that will sustain for about 4 seconds into the second verse. The vocals in the second verse will then fade over the feedback. So the effect will be quiet, louder, really loud, quiet, loud, really loud.

The song will be the last track on the album and it probably will annoy people because it's completely unlike any of the other songs on the album which is good because I am trying to get a reaction.

The next step the recording sessions (starts on 10/13)

I was practicing some of the vocals for "Babylon Train" . I want to sing it like Geoff Tate but they style of the song it sounds more like ...I don't right now it sounds like David Bowie with his sinuses stuffed up. I might have to cut some of the lyrics just to add some longer passages that I can sustain the melody longer.

I am so happy to be able to encode mp3's decently. Here is an old recording I did of the first passage of the Piano Concerto 3 in D minor, Op. 30 by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Here is a cool site that allows you to make props that are HP Lovecraft Cthulhu related. (you can make your own insanity certificates or your very own toe tag !)

There is a harvest blood red moon this evening!

"Babylon Train's" recording session will be October 13th. From now until then I will be working on making my vocals match the rhythm pattern, lay down a keyboard track, and record sound effects in the wild. I need to find an industrial complex that makes a lot of clanging steel-like sound.

Last night while I was practicing I came up with another song. Which I might record down. It's just a vocal/piano track using a set of lyrics I had written a few months ago.

"The Game Plan" will be in theaters this coming Friday. It's a Disney comedy film which I guess if you have kids you might be seeing it (if not I really doubt you will see it unless you are a fan of "The Rock" ) . If you do see it look for a nightclub scene and there will be @3 paparazzi photographers. One of them will be me. It was almost a year ago when it was filmed. It was a long 13 hour shoot. which ultimately I will probably appear for @3 seconds.

I missed the premiere of a short film I was in called "Fog Off" that was a Boston film festival this past weekend. It's a really short film (3 minutes? ) more of a comedy/fake commercial skit where I play a pirate. I haven't seen it on-line yet but once I do I will link it here. I should be in that for maybe 120 seconds?

So the past two days I don't have anything new to report other than I have been sick. First I was sick from food poisoning and then the next day a wretched sore throat and cold. I haven't been doing much but sleeping, reading, and watching movies (Serenity & Blade Runner).

During my phases of delirium I came up with some crazy ideas how to arrange "Babylon Train" . I want it to start off with a weird operatic vocal (like Bohemian Rhapsody but not exactly)... then the bass line will start and then I want a very wet-reverb drums to start (like Joy Division) and then the guitars which will be this really long phrases. It should be interesting and weird but not too weird that it can't be listenable. Now all I need is a drummer. My cousin Leon hasn't responded to two of my emails (Leon! if you are reading this email me asap) which leaves me no alternative but to find a different drummer.

I just started watching Diamanda Galas performance footages. I am highly impressed by her playing.

This weekend was nice. I went to a Pirate's Faire in Salem that was a lot of fun. I have a bit of a sunburn on my cheeks from it (my face).

I am still working on getting all the musicians lined up to record "Babylon Train". I have to be honest that I loathe dealing with schedules for recordings. To have multiple musicians and recording schedules all lined up at a perfect time for a session is like moving the planets Venus & Mercury to be aligned perfectly. It's never "ok let's record tomorrow" it's usually "well I think we can do this 3 1/2 weeks from now". So by the time you actually get to the studio you have played and practiced the song you are to record so many times that some of the fun of it has trickled off. Not that I am at that point with this song.

I just watched "Starter for Ten" which was a cute movie. Kind of a romance/comedy. It's set in the 80's and I never heard any movie contain so many The Cure songs in the soundtrack. I think they were at least 7-8 of their songs. So if you like 80's movies, comedies, romance, and 80's music you would love this movie.

I have been re-reading "Vampire Lestat" by Anne Rice . It's been a really long time since I read it and it's like reading it for the first time. I got a copy of it made by Easton Press which is this nice hardcover leather-bound and signed edition. It really is a well written piece of late 20th century literature.

Part 4

So the next step after the lyrics is to place the lyrics into the song. Which worked out ok but the problem was the original music had the chorus line way above what my vocal range was (not only that it just didn't musically sound good). So I had to re-record the bass line. Then I was tired of hearing the click track so I placed in a temporary drum beat. Then I realized I didn't have enough lyrics so I had to write more. So here are the revised lyrics along with the chords (MS Word format).

Next I had to place in a scratch vocals and then I have something that slowly is starting to seem like a song. So here is the second draft (in .wav format)

Now realize this is all draft. None of this will go down on the actual recording. It's a scratch pad to know which instruments go where. It also is used for the musicians that will be playing in the recording to learn their parts. I still have to figure what style of vocals I will place on it, what effects (if any) I will add, if there will be backup vocals. I think I need the vocals to be much more forceful and present, the bass guitar will be much more bass (with reverb) the drums will have reverb (similar to Joy Division), guitar will have really quick chord progressions.

next step finding musicians!