Canadia Beats

Here’s the third song written for NaSoAlMo, a moody jam in open G tuning with a capo on the third fret. With the first two songs I’d written I started out by ‘researching’ the lyrics, writing pages and pages of material on what each song was going to be about before stripping it back to just the lyrics, and massaging them into some newly minted music. This song, however, began when I started playing around with the open tuning. I came up with the main hook, then had to go back to the page and work out which song this would be, and then work out some lyrics.

I always find it quite frustrating trying to fit a lyric idea to music, especially music I only just made up. Add to that the fact that I’d just had minor surgery on a cyst on my eyelid the morning I wrote this, and when I recorded it on the 6th my eye was all goopy, and I couldn’t stay focused on the screen. It was monstrously annoying, and probably part of the reason that I wouldn’t do any more work on the album until today, the 12th.

‘Building a fire’ [Bandcamp]

My first recorded song of the month, the second one I wrote. I actually got this one recorded on the 4th, but recorded it really late at night and couldn’t be bothered getting this blog together before I slept. It was written on ukulele because I was trying to write it late at night having finished work at 8pm on Tuesday 3rd. I figured a uke jam would be a more sensible things to try when cramming late at night.

It was recorded late in the evening on the 4th, having finished work at 8pm that night as well. Because of the way the month fell this year I actually worked the first four days of this month, but they were remarkably productive. It was the few days after where things got a little spannery.

‘Not enough fingers (I was so sure)’ [Bandcamp]

Last November I took on the challenge of NaNoWriMo and wrote a 50,000 word novel. It’s not complete, it’s not necessarily good, and it’s actually never even been read. But I did it. I should put up my certificate to celebrate, for reals.

Of course, I’m not much of a novelist, what with being more of a songwriter and all, so this time I thought I’d try NaSoAlMo instead. That means I have to write and record at least 29:09 or new music (one cover allowed) between November 1-30. Hooray for challenges!

I’m keeping them simple and just focusing on getting it done. That means very little in the way of overdubbing and arranging. It’ll mostly be voice and instrument, a listen to what all songs go through before they’re done. I hope you like it, and I hope maybe you learn something about my songwriting. I’d like to learn something, too.

The album is going to be called Kind of an Endless Sky, which I thought something was called once, only it wasn’t. So I got to keep it all for myself. Lucky me. The album is to have twelve songs in total, which means I’ll probably get more that 29:09 worth of music in the end. Each of the twelve songs is about a year in my life or something from that year. That way I never sit down and go “oh, I have nothing to write about!” Instead I’ll say “but I don’t want to write about that!” Then I’ll write it anyway.

I’ll post anything I get recorded here at Kul Wahad, and I’ll keep track of percentages completed over on my NaSoAlMo profile. Come join me on my magical voyage of songwritery. Hoorah.

Announcing the choice poster for the gig on November 18:

For the complete radcore experience you should confirm your attendance over on Facebook.

Be rad to each other.

Last night I went on my first poster mission in what must be about two years, rocking up and down K Road with Caitrin and Ryan from Stirrers sticking up Canadia EP release party posters, and flyers for the free Stirrers gig tonight at Whammy. If you see one of these bad boys on your travels give it a high five, will ya?

Courtesy of missdenoma

Courtesy of missdenoma.

Just finished the tracking for Beg Steal and Burrow and not a moment too soon. I feel like I’ve been working on this EP forever, and it’s finally all wrapped up. All that remains is editing, tweaking, mixing, sequencing, mastering, artwork, pressing, etc, et al., and on into the future. I’m hitting my stride on some self-imposed deadlines, so everyone please pat someone on the back.

The EP as it will be has six songs: ‘Other Side,’ ‘We’re Leaving,’ ‘I Often Follow,’ ‘Let Me Know,’ ‘Augustine’ and ‘Let’s Pretend.’ ‘Let’s Pretend’ is brand new (a few days old). ‘Augustine’ has gone the instrumental route, and ‘Other Side’ has turned into a duet with a guest vocalist. The point is BAM! it’s wrapped up. Nothing else goes to (metaphorical) tape.

Rehearsals have started for the release party, too, with Blair McPhee on guitar, Rachael Botur on bass, and new blood Will Wood of Skyscraper and The Electric Nomad on the drums. The gig should be somewhat of a buffet assortment of Canadia treats from the new EP, from One Dog Clapping, and probably even a few not yet record songs, so prepare yourselves.

The artwork is coming together as well. Hannah JV took a sack full of cameras out and about this weekend and shot a buttload of film and flash card. The film goes in to get developed tomorrow, and when the prints come back we’ll start piecing this thing together.

So that’s my news, you guys. It’s 12:39am and I should sleep so I can face things like getting up early on a Monday morning, the first of daylight Savings, and acting like I know what I’m doing at work.

Not too far from where I live, and real close to my nearest bus stop, is am Indian restaurant (Indian cuisine and pizzeria!). They’re not the best Indian restaurant in town, in fact they’re not even very good, but they are perfectly placed for grabbing a quick curry after work on a Wednesday night. That and the fact that it’s only $11 for a curry (excl. seafood), rice, naan bread and papadom at dinner time.

We all know to expect a bit of a wait when ordering takeaway food, and with a supermarket nearby this is often a great time to grab some TP and toothpaste, or a bottle of wine if I’m feeling saucy.

But sometimes it’s nice to phone ahead and have it waiting for you. I thought of that tonight after I’d already started walking. Did you know there are no phone books in any of the phone booths up Queen Street, along K Road, and Great North Road? I know that now. I put out a call to Twitter for anyone to text me the number so I could phone ahead, but that didn’t work. Hell, even if people tried this place isn’t easy to Google unless you already know its name, and I didn’t. It doesn’t really exist if it ain’t online.

So let me tell you all about the Copper Chimney, 572 Great North Road, Grey Lynn, Auckland. Telephone (0 9) 376 1600. Lunch 11am-2:30pm (lunch combo $8. Same as dinner plus a can of coke). Dinner 5pm-10:30pm. Open seven days. Halal.

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If only that had been available to me earlier tonight. Don’t worry, I got my curry.

Life, eh? You’d have a assume I’ve been busy with all kinds of things that aren’t your typical Canadia like making movies, looking at comic books and drinking. And this is all true. But despite the fact that I always seem to answer “what have you been up to lately?” with “um, working and… not working,” I have in fact been making an EP.

If you follow my Twitter at all you’ll see I’ve been mumbling about recording for the last month, but then I’m always mumbling about recording. But it goes like this: by the end of June I will have tracked the follow up to One Dog Clapping. There will be a new Canadia EP.

Wait, hold on, it’s July already. So make that some time in July. The plan I wrote on my wall says June, but I used pen and can’t rub it out.

The EP has no name yet, is mostly acoustic in nature, and will have six tracks. There are three brand new songs, and three that have been kicking around in the live set for a while. Although I changed them, so let’s act like they’re new and not get all “I liked your old stuff.” If you liked my old stuff I would have more wine. That is science.

Progress so far: two songs completely tracked, one song almost completely tracked, and three songs totally started. I’m joined on the recordings by new white MacBook Maggie Williams, who is the most helpful member of Canadia since Eunice Brance Branca. She’s basically doing all the work.

My children need wine.