Last week I posted my first entry in a very long time. Actually that's really saying it mildly, it's been well over a year. Well, what can you do. As we all know consistency is a key element to success, although we all need a break once and awhile for various reasons.
Mine were based on a need to shelter myself from most situations as to better reevaluate certain parts of my life after suffering from PTSD.I also discovered things about myself that Doctors had not been able to detect in all the years that I have been alive, (and I did end up writing some new music that will be released as material for a solo project). Nothing major,so don't worry however that was the case with certain things. Something so minor can affect our decisions and lives so greatly its unbelievable.As I learned in my marketing research: if it works don't change it, if it doesn't let it go. Not always easy when emotions are involved and this can go for business matters as well. After all, my unofficial definition of professionalism is to not let personal feelings and opinions effect business decisions. I have bent the rules somewhat and decided to focus on one of my flaws: obsession. It happens to us all, but sometimes it can get out of control(think Capt. Ahab in Mobey Dick) I do find myself at times obsessing over a particular band(don't we all) I think it is good at times. After all, life is limiting and your obsession can lead to plenty of knowledge. You can find yourself being able to know every song from a particular artist,their history,influences and how they shaped the act that you know and love. If you do this several times a year, you'll be a music guru in no time.Just keep your obsession to yourself with the exception of your friends and social media posts. I'm not condoning anyone rooting through anyone else's trash cans because you love their music.
One band I have been focusing on heavily the past few weeks is the Jackson 5, my first concert I saw actually was them performing on a reunion tour. Here's a Throwback Thursday pic me right before I left to go see them at Madison Square Garden.
They actually made a miniseries called, "The Jacksons : an American Dream" that shows how they went from kids from a poor family to superstars,learning the ropes of the music business and their own personal struggles as they went along. An unbelievable feat, especially by today's standards. I can't imagine most kids prying themselves away from a video game for more than an hour or so, let alone rehearsing daily and going on tours.One part of the film that stood out for me, was when they were in the studio recording their hit "I'll be There" and Motown Records founder, "Barry Gordy" suggests Michael add the line "just look over your shoulder honey",nothing major but just a small example of producing which is supposed to add a certain flare to a song that makes it more appealing. They are a prime example of teamwork as well as choreography,vocal arrangement and harmonies.Everyone studies someone else of course to become inspired.They learned by watching James Brown,the Four Tops,the Temptations and the likes.Of course,this is also the group that produced who we now refer to as the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. The youngest of the group and lead singer who was originally overlooked because he was barely old enough to be in grade school at the time of the band's formation. But he showed his Father and Brothers at an early age that he had what it took to perform with them. He even did a few solo albums as child. None of them as successful as his record breaking album "Thriller",which happens to be the best selling album of all time. But perhaps these early albums helped him to be able to create such a sucessfull album as Thriller.Thriller that and the fact that he once again has Quincy Jones producing for him. Which by the way is often used as an example to audio engineering students because of the unique,but highly effect way in which it was mixed. Want to know what I mean? ask any audio engineer to show you(sorry,can't always give away the farm)
I am currently recording a new Imbolg album. We are taking the time to record,edit and figure out which parts fit,or need to be redone,etc. Don't want to bore anyone with details(i'll save that for the behind the scenes video). I feel that in the past I may have rushed through the recording process and allowed many mistakes to be revealed that may have impacted us negatively. So we are taking our time, listening to each others ideas and partnering with our Engineer,"Brett Weatherstone" at Lo-Key Studios in order to create the best album we can.
Like I said earlier, consistency is key and although we don't have our album ready yet,but I have been doing quick update videos to keep people posted about the progress of the album,personal shout outs to fans,friends and family and of course me playing part of a song I just learned recently. Dont expect anything too elaborate , just me playing acoustic guitarvand singing.
I will probably make a few more of these videos as we continue to record. Hopefully the album will be done by the Summer. Please check in with us for more updates on our Facebook Page. And for info on the new songs I spoke about here is a link to the page for My solo project.
Of course I had to include the group I spoke most about in this entry,so you can see for yourself what I meant:
I always include the song that inspired the title of each entry:
Thanks Again for reading, Nate
