Picking up speed...

Tuesday night went far better than I could have even imagined. After receiving a positive feedback from Cam regarding the direction I was hoping to travel musically, I was excited to get started. But after Tuesday night, I'm more pumped then ever to get this show on the road.

Two hours went by far too fast. After tuning our guitars, we set them down and chatted about old times, past experiences, drank a few Red Stripes, (Cam's favorite beverage), and began to hammer out exactly what we're both hoping to get out of this project. Sound wise and style wise we were both pretty much on the same page and then we picked up the ol' music makers and proved it.

Cam's official choice of liquid inspiration

We each had a bunch of tunes we were working on, so we took turns playing show and tell while teaching each other the basic structure.

I don't want to give away everything before these songs are finished, but this blog is, in point of fact, a device to track the progress of this project so here's 2 sound bytes from the jam; one of my songs and one of Cam's.

Cam's untitled song

My untitled ditty

We're going to spend a little time going over the 5 or 6 recordings we came away with on Tuesday and we'll be that much closer to completing some tunes we'll be proud to share with the masses.

Yep, things are certainly picking up speed.... on the long road to rock

The meeting...

It is finally official! Cam Clark and I will be sitting down the week of November 24th to chat about a new project and begin hammering out a sound that, we hope, will please the music listening populous.

This is a huge jump forward on the long road to rock. This meeting / jam will be a catalyst to something that, I hope, will be bigger than ourselves. Cam and I agree on some key points about song writing. The main point being: back to basics. Straight forward songs that can be played both acoustically and electric. Classic tunes you want to hear when your relaxing at the cottage, heading out on a long road trip or just kicking back with a beer after a long day at work.

Those who are familiar with The Urban Street Scandal, a project Cam and I were both involved in, might be asking how this project will be different. For one, it's been almost 4 years since we played together and we've since found ourselves wanting for a very different sound. Whereas TUSS was a collective that regularly showed off their individual talents within songs, this new project would incorporate more of a unity, stepping outside of ourselves and looking at a song as a whole. The Sam Roberts band is a fantastic example of this kind of song writing.

Since TUSS, Cam has recorded his own solo project called: This Dark Season is Reborn. Among other brilliant things, on this disc, Cam has really explored his voice. To me this is paramount to the sound you will hear when this new project bears fruit.

Cam's solo album: This Dark Season is Reborn

The timing is perfect since I just finished up as lead singer for Easy Way Out where I learned to step back and share centre stage. Although EWO was a completely different beast, the thought process behind writing as a vocal duo, rapper or not, is still quite similar.

Sharing the stage with George Reefah as part of Easy Way Out

Needless to say I'm looking forward to working on solid harmonies and backing vocals when we trade off within songs. It may be presumptuous to say the music will be great, but Cam and I are old friends and I believe I can safely assume the experience, itself, will be.

In the mean time, I'm still writing on my own so that I have a tickle trunk full of material to pull out on that first inaugural jam. Here are 2 more gibberish based song ideas, that I will hopefully have completed next week.

Song 1: untitled

Song 2: Untitled

For now everything is coming up clear skies... on the long road to rock.

Off to a show...

So the meeting I was hoping to have with Cam Clark and Al Branton still has yet to become a reality. Everyone is so busy, getting together has proved a difficult task. This makes me a little nervous, as the project itself will require a commitment of time. However, I don't feel comfortable seeking out musicians until I have this meeting with the boys. I know we gel, I know we get along and I know this can be a fruitful experience given the opportunity.

To speed things along, knowing that Al has zero time in his schedule until January, I have asked Cam if he'd like to get together at the Rehearsal Factory once every week or every other week to start hammering out some tunes, which he has agreed to. This is fantastic news however it's still a little tricky since he has a responsibility to the Micronite Filters, for whom he plays guitar.

The Micronite Filters

The MFs released an album this year and it seems they are in full swing to support it with live performances. So not only does Cam have regular rehearsals, but he's got shows. Anyone who's ever been in a band knows that when you run this kind of schedule, adding a second project can burn you out. I'm sure that's a concern of his, but I'm stoked and greatful that he's still willing to begin this journey with me however spuratic the jams may be.

In the mean time, I'm going to check out his band, the Micronite Filters at a cool little spot in Toronto called Mitzi's sister. It'll be awesome to get out and check out the MFs new tunes and to get a chance to have an impromptu chat session with Cam about the project I have in mind. (There's a link in the sidebar to the MFs web page, it's really worth a listen.)

For now, I keep writing tunes. I have this awesome little voice recorder that my wife gave me last christmas. So I carry it wherever I go and record any melodies I have in my head. I then write lyrics to these melodies. (there's a link in the side bar)

Lately, my little 5 month old has really shown an interest in watching me play guitar, so I've been hammering out some tunes with her. I try out a bunch of chords, watch her reactions and sing gibberish vocals over top to generate the melody. Here are 2 of those tunes - one of which I completed writing with lyrics yesterday and I hope to have a rough recording of the full song posted for next week. I thought it might be interesting for you to hear the genesis of the song first:

Song 1:Sweet Torment
"Sweet Torment" Lyrics

Song 2: Maybe Someday
"Maybe, someday" partial Lyrics

Hope you enjoy those even though none of the words make any sense. Just trust that it will all make sense when the songs are properly recorded and posted.

It may be slow going, but I'm still makin' my way... down the long road to rock