Working Stiff (that may be a double entendre)

Posted by Johnny at 11:06 p.m.

I'm now employed, making money (although my first cheque doesn't arrive until June 10). I think I'm really going to enjoy working for this company, especially if I get to join a client project and get some real, real-world experience.

There are other things I'd like to be doing instead, such as recording with Reid, recording other people, and producing albums, but the last two of those three may be elusive. I'm thinking this Five Star Affair thing was more of a whim than anything, even though I know my ears would be beneficial to their project.

Perhaps I was thinking too ambitiously, though, when this opportunity first came about. If they recorded everything at their own studio, there's no way I'd be able to do quality control on the recording process itself. Sometimes, no matter how much "pixie dust" you put on a trumpet track, it will still sound like ass if it was recorded the wrong way to begin with. Thus, my ideal scenario would be to discover a band, get them into my studio, and release a single - EP/full length to follow if the single is well received.

Now, this could take a while to find another band worthy of recording who doesn't already have studio connections, so in the mean time, I'm going to work on laying down tracks for Child of the Internet. The hardest part of this album is going to be finding the right singer, but we're going to advertise in FFWD, craigslist, etc.... If anyone else has any good ideas of where to advertise for an unpaid singing position, please let me know.

For those who aren't savvy, Child of the Internet is the album that Reid and I are working on. Our process is probably somewhat similar to The Alan Parsons Project, in that we're not actually a full band - we are producers and songwriters who can play some instruments, but we have to outsource many of the roles, such as vocals, bass, and piano. We're also similar in that we're writing an album, not a collection of songs.

Note the difference between these two: an album, much like a photo album, is made up of parts that are somewhat related. A collection of songs is just a bunch of songs. The songs on COTI, for the most part, deal with the effect of the Internet on today's youth. We already have some freaking sweet cover art that Reid made, but it isn't safe for work. Not that I've ever hesitated to post offensive material on this blog... I just don't want people to see it until there's music to go with it.

Our other project, Computer Mics Never Sounded This Good, will be a tribute to our favourite artists, and will include reworked/rearranged versions of existing songs. (This will be a collection of songs, not an album.) Before the idea for COTI came along, this was to be our first album, but the topic of the Internet was too enticing to resist. Mmm, I can't wait to record one of the "intermission" songs that I came up with... I can't reveal anything, but Internet junkies are sure to enjoy it.

Well, I've been blabbing on for a really long time now, so I think it's time to go. Sorry I didn't really rant about anything, but I just wanted to put down in writing my goals for the next couple of months: COTI completed by September.