Wow, it’s been forever since I’ve updated on 43, and I’m thrilled to finally return with productive news! When last we typed, it was October 2007 – and now here we are in July ‘08. Here’s what’s happened since the previous update:

*ch-ch-ch-changes – for starters, the producer friend who had recorded the demos in my (now old) apartment has sorta disappeared. I hope he’s doing okay. Had the impression he was going to go back to teaching more and maybe stop producing/recording, kind of a bummer but I do hope things are working out well for him, he was a really good guy and I think that studio he was at really didn’t appreciate all that he did. Speaking of lack of appreciation, for a number of reasons not worth getting into now (and some of you may already know in one way or another), we left that music magazine and are still trying to get them to pay overdue balances on work I did lonnnnnng ago. Please send good collection vibes if ya got ‘em. ;-)

What’s been even cooler than the incredible improvement in my state of energy/stress/interaction with people since departing is that I really have been able to focus almost exclusively on music (and a few things that directly serve it in true synergistic fashion). I’m working with a new studio now that is absolutely fantastic on all levels: state-of-the-art gear, super professional, connected with film and other licensing opportunities, helping to make pro recording affordable for artists, has an incredible vibe, and perhaps most importantly of all, the people are so wonderful and it’s high integrity. Hurrah! And, we moved into the coolest apartment in a Victorian house near downtown. Goodbye, suburban sprawl, hello cuteness and connectedness! People actually “just stop by” now. Very nice.

• practice practice practice – well, I did finally work with the metronome and am indeed improving my time and using “out of time” Joni Mitchell-esque songs to better effect by having a better sense of the timing I’m deliberately ignoring. This has made the other musicians and the studio engineers very happy. It’s making me happy too, because I feel that I have a better handle on the music now, and I look forward to performing with other musicians live and “syncing up” with them. Even though in that situation, all but drums and bass would be following me, playing together can be more like the effect of pendulums near each other, determining a balance between their movements that supersedes the timing of any one of them. Cool.

• song selection – well, I am pleased to announce that I will not be strangled (this comment makes sense if you’ve read the previous entry from October), as we have already recorded the most requested song “Fall This Hard” and if this is one that you were waiting for, you can hear it on my myspace player. A newer song called “Transition (No More Fairytales)” was recorded during the same weekend and is up on there too, as well as older tracks.

I decided to enlist my mom in the song selection process, largely because she is a really good gauge as she doesn’t automatically love everything I create but also because she herself is quite the by-ear musician when she plays piano and sings, and her father played a ton of instruments and led a band, so it’s in her blood. She listened through every rough demo (and some were very rough), all the previous recordings, and a live radio performance and interview with like six more songs. Then she came up with a priority order for the songs to be recorded in, and we’ve pretty much been working on that schedule to much success. One of the earlier songs is being kept for the album because it tends to be the favorite of many, and we’ll re-record the first song I ever recorded at this new studio as it’s been people’s second favorite but definitely needs some tinkering (the old ones were on an EP).

One thing that’s been really interesting is how my voice has evolved over the past few years (and it’s a good case for why I’m actually happy things took the meandering path that they did, because this really makes a difference in the sound and feel of the music we’re capturing now). A lot of the concerns I had about my vocals really started to just melt away after 1. moving here from Florida and adjusting to the altitude and lack of humidity (both things have been great for not only my voice but also clearing my head/congestion, etc.) and b. focus. I don’t want to go back and dwell on the negativity of my previous work situation, but suffice it to say that the phrase “WELL, DUH!” has been prevalent in my mind as I looked back and realized it was no wonder that I was not getting the expression I wanted out when what was going on inside wasn’t anything I wanted either. It’s amazing how connected singing is to your state of well-being … now that I’ve spent a good deal of time getting into a much happier, focused state, what comes out creatively and even interpersonally has really transformed (and feels transforming).

If you’re starting to wonder if this whole project has become a bit of a spiritual journey, I guess the answer is yes. Religion or any kind of belief system completely aside, I see now that my relationship with music – and through it, my relationship with life – is incredibly spiritual in nature. By that, what I think I mean is simply that this whole process is really about growth.

• discuss plan of attack with producer friends – oddly enough, we’ve been working really well with me self-producing with the assistance of a violinist/composer friend who recently completed his own self-produced album that turned out amazing, as well as my husband (also a musician), who’s been very helpful with arrangements, tempo, and such.

• enlist musician colleagues – the violinist has already recorded some breathtaking work on two tracks, and as we move on with the rest of the album, he’ll continue to be involved. the sax player and a percussion colleague of his are both excited to be involved as well, and indeed my dear one may be playing tuba on a track … this aspect is coming together nicely.

• survey people – I actually did ask a few people when/if/how/under what circumstances they would want to support my work by buying a CD and/or downloading individual songs, and the answers were pretty interesting. For this first record, we’re definitely pressing some physical CDs, albeit in more environmentally-friendly packaging, and there will also be download options available. Still fleshing this out, but for now the focus is on the recording itself.

That said, I’m putting together a pre-release EP with 5 of the new songs. We’re back in the studio on Monday night to get the last one recorded, and then it’s off to the presses! The full album will be out at the end of the year. Gotta run, more to come … Thanks for reading, erm, listening. ;-)