steve,
thanks for the great questions.
When it comes to writing and working in the studio it really depends on the project as to how I work and write.
For "Mystery to Me" I wrote most of the stuff down on paper and didn't really make extensive demos at all. I would record a few ideas here and there, using pro tools or logic or something. To be able to send them to Elliot Mason or Tim Miller for a little feedback. But I don't think I ever sent them an entire mock up of a song that I had tracked at home. I did do pre production on the backing vocals for the only vocal tune of the record. I record about 24 tracks of vocals with Gretchen Parlato at home a couple of weeks before the session, and then played that song to a click track so the vocals would line up with the live band. That was one of the few things I didn't plan out, as I only remember I had to do that on the day of the session. I sat in the studio with my laptop and synced up the vocals and put them in the session shortly before we ran it. And the whole record was done in one take so it was a little nerve racking on that tune. I also chose that song as one of the only two bass solos on the record so I kind of put myself under the gun with that one.
Everything else was hand written, rehearsed the day before the date, and then recorded in one take with very little preparation at all.
I'm working on two different projects right now of my own and they are not only different from the mystery to me project, but different from each other too.
One is a vocal project which will be an album of songs that I and a few guest artists will sing. It's in a modern singer/songwriter style and I guess I would liken it most to Damien Rice, Duncan Sheik, Nick Drake, Jose Gonzalez, Jeff Buckly etc..... if you don't know these singers, GO OUT AND BUY THEIR RECORDS!!!!!!
In the end of the last year I went to Austin, Texas to record 13 demos for this project with a live band. We spent two days in the studio and tracked all 13 songs with rough vocals as demos. I've worked with various writers and producers since tweaking different things, and have now got a small deal with an indie label in NYC to go to the studio and make the album for real. I'm looking asking Patty Griffin, Jamie Cullum, Jem, Dave Matthews, and Richard Bona to be guest vocalists on the album. I'll post news of the release dates as soon as it's done.
The other project I'm working on is a string/orchestral one. So as I'm on tour right now I'm sitting with my score pad every day and writing new ideas and melodies for symphony orchestra. Occasionally I find myself at a piano (like this afteroon! very excited!) where I can take a slightly different approach to the writing, but it's mainly just melodies coming to me here and there, and then orchestrating them on paper.
I recently had the amazing opportunity to meet and talk extensively with the great Jeremy Lubbock. For anyone that doesn't know who this is, you should a) go out and buy his album "awakening" recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, it will change your life. b) check out all the records he's written strings for (michael jackson to joni mitchell, Pat Metheny to Tom Jones, the list is endless). You can find him at
http://jeremylubbock.com/ and at
http://www.myspace.com/jeremylubbock
listening to this mans music and in particular his melodic writing was just so inspiring that I'm embarking on an orchestral project of my own. Who knows how long it will take me, or when I might be able to get it recorded, but it's in the making at least.
I guess we got a little bit off the topic, but I think it all goes towards the same thing which is process.
Process is a varied thing with me, but the common threads I take with me through it all are melody, melody, and melody. as long as I can retain that no matter what medium I'm working with then the finished prodcut will always be as true to me as it possibly can.
Easy,
Janek
