jimcolbertmusic: Blog

I'm guessing if recording is an ongoing project, it might be better served as blog entries rather than news. Went over to Frigo Recording last night and worked on the Clemente acapella song. Had a bit of a rasp to my voice; overall though I thought it went pretty well, given that, gender aside, I am never going to be Siobhan Quinn or Christine Collister in the vocal department. I'm really liking working with Marc. He's patient, accommodating and knows what he's doing, which is making for a pleasant experience out of something I've been very intimidated of doing.

A few years back I got to the point in live performing where, hmm, how do I say this? It wasn't that I stopped caring about what other people thought when i played, because I want people to enjoy and be moved by my songs and performance. It was just that I decided I was much more interested in how I felt about the performance, if that makes sense. I used to get very frustrated by going out and doing a show to pretty much the best of my ability, and having some well-meaning soul point out every mistake I made, and "what you ought to do is..." (which invariably leads into them wanting my music to be the music they like, whether it's more funny songs, no talking between songs, learn hammer dulcimer, do all covers, play more "jazzy stuff" - hey, I'm not making this up!)

I found I was overreacting and getting really down by reactions from people who really weren't paying much attention to what my music really is -- relatively simple, lyric-driven folk. i've been much happier since getting past that point. Doesn't mean I'm not receptive to thoughts, comments, requests, just that, to quote that immortal sage Popeye, "I yam what i yam."

But i tell you that to tell you this.

That is just about the point I'm starting at with recording. I don't have many pre-conceived notions about how this whole project will turn out, but I know that it will end up being MY vision, not someone else's. It's definitely a learning experience, and while it's going to be challenging -- it's challenging in a good way. I guess the biggest issue will be working through my limited level of technical proficiency to get a good starting point before I bring in my talented side-folks... but I'm more in the mindset that I'll do the best I can, and I'm not going to get upset over a few rough edges. My music isn't slick and glossy - and I don't mean to use that as an excuse to do something primitive sounding, I just mean, I also want ths project to represent the feel of what I do.

Of course, that all being said, I hope you like the final product!