Sunday Review: Shattered

An album of loud purple sounds. Someone popped their eggnog on a fruitcicle and created a new dessert.

When you go looking for an album of magnificence in groove and the possibility of a meow style, you pick downtown for the bass line and uptown for the tempo.

All the guitars work together like a saddle fits on a horse. Everybody finds their way.

Of course the drums do all the talking when they say n”sp “sp “sp “tat “tat and that bass is walking like it don’t care none except right here.

When people say things about me, I’m the baddest mountain. Like a thunder rolled in and said “hey!” Where all my dancers at?

Track One starts out clean and keeps riding till it’s over, no stops, just a belly up slouching cruise with a clear wind carrying the salty coastal air.

Track Two begins calm, but then finds an off ramp and gets subdued when it seems to find a clearing toward the beach.

Track Three is like a reflection of your grandmother’s memoirs that jot down everything from cookies to coastal swims. Beach days are fun, and everyone gets along just fine.

Track Four is a little more calm except when it tends to escalate for a minute as if to say, “hey, I’m here.”

Track Five continues onward like a boat on an anchor, swaying in the sea. The world can’t help but to bring rain. It’s just life.

Track Six reminds us of our mothers and fathers of the world. Those who lift us up.

Track Seven reads like “a Day in the Life,” and sings like “Bitches Brew.”

Track Eight tells us when to be happy and it’s all the time. “Could you be loved?”

Track Nine has more to say. And it’s that “we want more wine, and whiskey, and a good night’s sleep as much as possible. Someone needs to remind us of this more often, and that’s what this song is all about. Funk layered with harmonies and horns and a laid back approach to life in general. Just finding connection and being willing to embrace it for what it is and to do good wherever possible.

Track Ten someone told me to write them a song and here it is. I’m here for you.

Track Eleven slow grooves and a soft voice with some percussive style, congas and hand drums. Where a groove gets locked in. We are here.

Track Twelve bring rain and birds. In no particular order, someone lights a fire in the sky. With no warning, a siren calls and tempts.

Track Thirteen there is always morning to freshen the mood. The warm sun brings a calm. It feels good to soak it in and feel whole. Cosmic guitars bring a groovy vibe.

Track Fourteen we live in a musical space. Sound is our friend. We know it when we heart it. Soothing, vibey, a tip of the hat. A step in my walk. It’s all the same. Just groove with it.

~ Just Groove With It

All Rights Reserved 2021

Release Date 1/21/21

“Live One” New_Music_Release + New Website

Howdy Friends, Family, Seekers of Truth, and all you Dreamers out there,

“Live One” is live now, just live in the now, love one another, and stay a “Live One.”

Listen on your favorite streaming app, and check out the music video I made from my trip to Iceland.

“Live One,” is a new single from our coming album, “Life on Mars” that was written on a journey through Iceland.

Life on Mars” represents our collective ability to create a better world filled with Love and Empathy, asking the question, “If we were to go to Mars, what would we want to do differently?”

Stay tuned for our Kickstarter launch 3.20.20 (update, links to Preorder on my website) and help support artists promoting a vision of love and empathy through inspired Americana Music and High Quality imagery from a journey through Iceland.

“Within this or that are those that seek nought in the shackles breaking.” Lyrics from “Live One.”

Thank you for reading and please stay in touch!

Riley Hodges – Vocals, Lyrics, Guitar, Hammond B3
Tim Bullock – Bass Guitar
Eric Hirschhorn – Saxophone
Antoine Arvizu – Producer, Drums, Engineer

FULL LYRICS for “Live One”

I’ve been waiting for a sign that I should’ve seen 10 days ago. Staring at a blue sky swirling into red again. Like a vibrational high, I contemplate that I’m not fading. Just purify your mind. We’ll tear apart a magnet, baby. The rolling winds bring life when they whisper bursts of nothingness. I wonder if it’s known that we can be the nothingness. Like a thousand year stone and they call upon the night, “A Live One! A Live One!”

Capture moments that are still and wish we were forever now. The mother of this world uttering divine to men. If One is a gift to the many, God is manifest in contemplating. Within this or that are those that seek naught in the shackles breaking. Stillness in your mind, and it feels just like a loving kiss. Pouring rain in this life will bring returns of genesis. What’s it like to be a stone that’s shot into magma bursting out? I’ve been waiting for a sign and they call upon the night, “A Live One! A Live One!”

In purity of mind does choice bring moral prominence? Does our manifest deserve One and serve the greater good, or is it like the stone blessed by divine metamorphosing? When do we satisfy ourselves and have compassion on doors closing? Are we doomed to befall the consequence of our own bliss? I wonder if it’s known that we can be the nothingness. I’ve been waiting for a sign and the horse brings a gift. “A Live One! A Live One!” Echoes through the night and I am alright. “A Live One! A Live One!” I’ve been waiting for a sign and they call upon the night, “A Live One! A Live One!” © 2020 Riley Hodges

Riley Hodges is a musician from Long Beach, CA, and is the lead singer and songwriter for the Cosmic Cowboys. The music has roots in Americana with each song distinctly all its own.

“Street Walker” is the opening track of “Life on Mars” that recites the exclaims of pedestrian life through bouncy beats, clean guitar riffs and a padded saxophone, while “Maybelline,” a dreamer wanting to sleep among the stars, follows a laid-back funk-rhythm that is supported by uplifting vocals and a Hammond B3.

Riley grew up in his families bar business in Long Beach, CA and credits his parents for introducing him to good music. His mom had the hippest collection of music among his friends, and Riley’s uncle Roland, lead singer and keyboardist from the Elm Street Band, would play backyard parties at their house and events in the neighborhood while Riley was growing up. Riley began piano lessons at a young age, eventually switching to drums for a few years, then as a teenager picked up a guitar and learned to sing. Fast forward to adulthood, Riley operates Shannon’s bars, restaurant, and entertainment venue with his family, and as those businesses have grown, Riley intends to focus more on writing, recording, and playing live music. Over the past several years, Riley has written and recorded 20 original songs with growing commercial success. Listeners describe his music as catchy, upbeat, thoughtful and enjoyable. 

Before the Cosmic Cowboys, Riley met and formed Taste of Red with his friends, John Capito and Tim Bullock, and they were fortunate to play their biggest venue to date at The Observatory in Orange County, CA. Fast forward several years later and John is now the lead guitar player for the Cosmic Cowboys, and their next biggest performance is scheduled for March 14, 2020 where the Cosmic Cowboys are ready to play to a large crowd of festival attendees for St. Pat’s Party on Pine hosted by Shannon’s Corner in Long Beach, CA.

Thanks again for reading! We appreciate your support, and we hope you enjoy the release of “Live One.”

P.s. If you haven’t seen our Kickstarter teaser, check it out here and consider making a pledge when we launch our Kickstarter on 3.20.20 for a cause that stands for Love and Empathy! Our goal is to raise $10,0000 so we can release “Life on Mars” on “vinyllll, vinyllll, vinylll!” in the Fall of 2020. With a little courage you too can experience this inspired vision through a beautifully produced Americana music album by hardworking humans just like you! Together, we can change the world through positive vibrations 🙂

The Road Ahead

The Road Ahead envisions the world as a better place. This better place, like all human constructs, is only as real as you make it.

The song, Long Couple of Days, is about finding your groove. This, and other new songs, will be released as the Cosmic Cowboys.

The Road Ahead is like finding your way home. Coming Home.

See tags

The past is future

Positivity in motion

Cosmic cowboys ?

I can feel it in my teeth. The tingles gives one a feeling of both numbness and pressure. The rolling waves crushed me to the bones, but I was not afraid. From hammer to stone, it is my only feeling.

“Where will we go?” she asked as the canyons echoed.

Just then the phone rang…

Keeping It Honest

When I dubbed this gig “Unplugged” I did not know that I would actually need to be completely “Unplugged.” I should’ve sensed that something was up when my home PA malfunctioned by making a repeating, alarming, sweeping, ascending tonal sound… like what you might hear during an apocalyptic scenario. What the fuck?

I’ve been singing about going High or Low in a yet-to-be-released track, and as I’m writing this paragraph I am laughing out loud at the idea of a malfunctioning low to high ascending tone.

High Low

What the actual fuck? Like I say in C’est La Vie, “Ain’t it funny in hindsight. Shake it off, such is life is life.”

C’est La Vie

Okay, whatever. We all find parallels in daily life if we are willing to look, and pay attention. Mindfulness helps, and even when we’re not paying attention shit tends to slap you in the face when you least expect it. Of course, even though I search for good and pleasant inspirational parallels, I don’t always pay attention, mindfully, because of the nature of 21st Century life and the human condition in general. Technological distractions, malfunctions, ramming, prodding, vying for space. I just glanced at my phone and read another scary, nearly apocalyptic, headline involving a “brain eating amoeba” What the…

Apart from scary headlines, fear-based news in general, and other distractions, what else is up with mindfulness and better ways to delve into creative communication, sort of the point of this blog, Perspective In Sound?

I heard my song “Maybelline” on the radio earlier. Fuck yeah!

Broadcasting Live from Shannon’s Corner on Pine. KLBP 99.1 FM Long Beach, CA!

https://www.rileyhodges.com/new-music

Also, I heard Alyssa Nighswonger, friend and multi-talented artist, on KLBP 99.1 FM Long Beach, CA while writing… She asked, “What’s the point?” which is what drew me to say what the point of this blog was above.

This is how my brain works. Don’t eat me, amoebas! Please preserve my twisting, interconnected, multiple-outcome reality as blood pumps through my trillions of synapses to form growing positive connections!

What else? Well, making sense of all this in 2019 requires a high-speed broadband Internet connection and well-functioning CPU. My 2012 iMac has not been cutting it lately, but it’s not Mac’s fault… It is I, the master of my CPU, that is holding on to too much content. Lately, I’ve been sorting through old content since I started taking pictures of mostly nonsense from about 2000 (y2k, baby!) up until I moved to Barcelona, Spain in 2007 where I got a chance to photograph more creatively. Just before I left for Spain, I bought the re-popularized Holga toy camera made out of cheap components to give the user a flawed photographic experience that over-accentuates the natural beauty of the Universe. Colors, light leaks, overexposure, etc. all adds to what has now been replaced by your Instagram filter, or countless other ways in which you can manipulate the world around you to suit your liking.

When I was much younger, barely a teenager, I made a few time-lapse videos using legos, fire, a Santa Claus doll, whatever I could conveniently get my hands on. Later on, my sisters and I made a film, Killer In the House, Part 1 and Part 2…

The goal is to make it entertaining. For better or for worse, at the moment…

So as I’m cleaning up my Hard Drive, thereby improving my CPU, I am working on how to stay centered, mindful and patient…

Back to the gig on Saturday, the 14th after our Friday the 13th Full Harvest Moon Adventure into the Wasteland. I started noticing the pull of this rare full moon the night beforehand on Thursday the 12th as my PA was malfunctioning… then during our Wasteland Adventure, and up until the gig on Saturday I was still feeling as prickly as a Night Blooming Cactus. Of course, as I got on stage my guitar pickup malfunctioned… so we mic’d my acoustic guitar, Unplugged. It’s weird how the Universe does that to you.

Saturday the 14th @ Dipiazzas

Keeping It Honest is all about the stuff that is out of your control and you shall not fight, it is embracing the chaos around you so much so that you become the chaos, figuratively speaking, just so that you can see things from a different perspective, also known as Empathy. Courage helps…

It’s been a ‘fun’ summer, learning these lessons, and I’m ready for Fall, falling into my next release series, including new music later this month, Live One!

Live One

Update 1 of 2: it turns out that the reason my guitar didn’t work at the gig was because the backup battery I had on hand was indeed also dead like the one in my guitar when I first found out the pickup wasn’t working. So either there are powers conspiring against me (and also for me in terms of the creative potential that it creates through its resistance) OR I did this to myself. Both can be true, but also just one of these options can be true, alternatively. I love alternative music, too.

Update 2 of 2: Live One was eventually released on March 10, 2020, just days before the world shut down due to COVID-19. Again, either there are powers conspiring against me (and also for me in terms of the creative potential that it creates through its resistance) OR I did this to myself (I did in fact have a clairvoyant moment the week before ‘the shutdown’). Both can be true, but also just one of these options can be true, alternatively. I love alternative music, too. But not death metal typically.

C’est La Vie En Sevilla

Arriving in España reminded me of the time I spent here while studying abroad in Barcelona. We visited Sevilla at that time yet I could not really appreciate the city then the way that I do now.

For starters, our Airbnb was a great choice, and it’s exciting to be here for our friend Maria and Alex’s wedding!

Sevilla is beautiful, romantic, and cultured with a rich history of traditions like Flamenco and food like Paella and Iberian Ham. There are also stories of conquest, exploration of the Americas and stunning architectural design.

As we venture out into the city I am finding there are many parallels to explore as I am releasing my new single, C’est La Vie!

Sitting on our balcony with La Giralda in my view reminds me another time and place. Have you been to space?

Life on Mars is about expressing our best self while practicing empathy, courage and love.

Family is so important and I feel blessed to be able to spend time with them on this lovely vacation!

I’m excited to release C’est La Vie next Friday, June 28th! We are playing a release show at the Prospector the night before, Thursday at 10pm. Come say “hola” as I bring the Spanish vibes home with me to share in the LBC.


Playing on a new friend’s guitar at Luis y Luz (pron. “looth” in the Sevillian accent 🙂
My sister, Shannon, and new friend at the pre-wedding Paella and Ribs BBQ at Luis’
Maria’s son and Spanish father, Luis. He hosted the BBQ at his home in Montequinto, and selected a very special wedding venue.
Alex and Maria

Upcoming notes:

it’s amazing you can perceive emotions so subtly on a living face. a face that’s alive, however far away or near you feel to it, can be detected by the viewer and in relation makes them feel alive, however far away or near you feel to it.

//

Rose petals are divine

Ancient 

Eternal

Divine

// 

Flamenco 

Rumba 

//

When the sangria and gazpacho becomes confused, it’s a good thing… 

“Street Walker” New_Music_Release

T-minus 7 days . . . New Single: Street Walker . . . Friday, 4.12.19

I am thinking of a color across the spectrum and through the eyes of a child’s inflection of viewpoint of innocence for minds shut off to the world with happiness and lollipops for all the boys and girls because our streets are paved of gold for bigger interests than the walkers who labor and beg for some business but health in consequence limits their potential whereas our assistance can make or break their survival.

The new single, Street Walker, is from my upcoming album, Life On Mars. I wrote this song after an experience I saw on the streets of Long Beach. A guy walks by and grabs a drink from a bar table that we put in place for guests, not the dirty street-walkers. But this guy grabbed and sipped a Vodka Soda and set off a chain reaction. I intervened to tone down the ensuing battle and a regular named Wild Bill was there just in time to hand the streetwalker a cigarette to keep his moving and grooving on down the line.

I’m listening to the song now with earbuds at home. I just walked over to pet my black cat, Jeep, and as the song was playing I thought it would be cool to shoot a video that has a kind of first person POV of me getting up in the morning, petting Jeep, do a little this and a little that and I’m out the door off to the streets. I guess I’d have to hit the bar for this one.

Will explore further. Until then, I’ll quote the first verse:

Coming up like a shadow in the night. Gotta get high before the dawn. The morning sun don’t care about me. Where’s my next opportunity?

© Riley Hodges 2019

New Music: Life on Mars

Riley Hodges is a musician from Long Beach, CA.

Hi Friends, Family and seekers of truth,

 Life on Mars represents our collective ability to CREATE an ideal world. 

My musical virtues focus on empathy, courage and love.

The album is set for release on vinyl later this year.

Here is a sneak peak:

  • My first release will be the opening track, Street Walker, on Friday, April 12, 2019
  • I will ask fans to reply and comment what Life on Mars means to them
  • I will tag & use fan comments to determine the next single release in May 2019
  • I will include fan comments in a live blog I’ll be writing named Our Story

Thank you for reading!

For more information:

rileyhodges.com

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Bio

Having grown up in the bar business, Riley operates Shannon’s bars, restaurant and entertainment venue with his family.

Over the past few years as the Shannon’s businesses have grown, Riley has endeavored to focus more on creating and playing music. His latest project is Life on Mars.

​​Life on Mars is an alt-rock album with eclectic elements that was inspired by a journey through Iceland in 2016. The song Live One writes about this experience, asking, “What’s it like to be a stone shot into magma bursting out?” From there the album took shape as a metaphor for life on Earth, what we’ve done here, how we’ve grown, our follies… and if we went to Mars, what would we want to bring and do differently?

LIFE ON MARS ALBUM ARTWORK BY ERIC STONER – ERICSTONERMIXEDMEDIA.COM

The album conjures a utopian dream where virtues like Empathy and Courage are held in high regard. The songs chat an earthly tone with the opening track, Street Walker, reciting the exclaims of pedestrian life through bouncy beats, clean guitar riffs and a padded saxophone, while Maybelline, a dreamer for equal rights wanting to sleep among the stars, follows a laid-back funk-rhythm that is supported by uplifting vocals and a Hammond B3.

© Riley Hodges 2019

Perspective In Sound – Making Music with Riley Hodges

RILEY HODGES·THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019

Riley Hodges is a musician from Long Beach, CA. Having grown up in the bar business, Riley operates Shannon’s bars, restaurant and entertainment venue with his family.

Over the past few years as the Shannon’s businesses have grown, Riley has endeavored to focus more on creating and playing music. His latest project is Life on Mars.

Friday, October 13, 2017 at The Compound Studio, Long Beach, CA –
Photo by @hey_andrewg

Life on Mars is an eclectic-rock album that was inspired by a journey through Iceland in 2016. The song Live One writes about this experience, asking, “What’s it like to be a stone shot into magma bursting out?” From there the album took shape as a metaphor for life on Earth, what we’ve done here, how we’ve grown, our follies… and if we went to Mars, what would we want to bring and do differently?

Life on Mars album artwork by Eric Stoner – ericstonermixedmedia.com

The album conjures a utopian dream where virtues like Empathy and Courage are held in high regard. The songs chat an earthly tone with the opening track, Streetwalker, reciting the exclaims of pedestrian life through bouncy beats, clean guitar riffs and a padded saxophone, while Maybelline, a dreamer for equal rights wanting to sleep among the stars, follows a laid-back funk-rhythm that is supported by uplifting vocals and a Hammond B3.

September 2016 photo by RH – “As you drive along Víðidalur, you will come to Kolugil Farm which stands beside the Víðidalsá river. Just below the farm, the waters flow peacefully downwards to plunge into the deep, rugged gorge called Kolugljúfur. Their journey then sends them cascading over many waterfalls which bear the name Kolufossar Falls in honour of the giantess, Kola. It is a breathtaking sight to drive across the bridge and watch the calm waters of the river suddenly leap and tumble onwards over so many impressive falls – a sight which will leave no one unmoved.” – northiceland.is

C’est La Vie reminds us that such is life while drawing the listener into a world of psychedelic and bouncy rhythms whereas Coming Home brings us back to solid ground by expressing the simplicities of passionate love with a pedal-steel, rocking solos and female backing vocals to support words like, “That old house feels just like a smile sittin’ on a summer night, and maybe we’ll smile while we’re rockin’ on a ‘lil baby porch swing.”

September 2016 photo by RH – “Iceland is a country in the North Atlantic Ocean that is aptly known as the “Land of Fire and Ice”. It is an island born out of volcanic eruptions over millions of years. Up until 8000 years ago, the entire island was buried under ice.” – youngzine.org

Next up, Live One takes aim at the god within us all, rooted in the evolving chaos of actual rocks and forms of matter underlying the processes behind life on earth: “If One is a gift to the many, God is manifest in contemplating. Between this and that are those that seek nought in the shackles breaking. Stillness in your mind, it feels just like a loving kiss. I wonder if it’s known that we can be the nothingness…” Expect 2 minutes of soaking and frantic saxophone to convey the messages further sonically as the song finales.

September 2016 photo by RH – “Kirkjufell (Icelandic: Church Mountain) is a 463 m high mountain on the north coast of Iceland’s Snæfellsnes peninsula, near the town of Grundarfjörður. It is claimed to be the most photographed mountain in the country. Kirkjufell was one of the filming locations for Game of Thrones season 6 and 7, featuring as the “arrowhead mountain” that the Hound and the company north of the Wall see when capturing a wight.” – wiki.org

If the first half of the album is dreamlike, the second half shows that reality has finally set in. Let It Go stories the simple wisdoms of attachment as jangly strings quickly turn to screaming guitars, wet vocals and apoplectic lyrics, and Long Couple of Days follows a more balanced path using folk elements and a classic line, “Shoo fly outta my way.”

September 2016 photo by RH – “ancestors of the Icelandic horse were probably taken to Iceland by Viking Age Scandinavians between 860 and 935 AD. The Norse settlers were followed by immigrants from Norse colonies in Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Western Isles of Scotland.” – wiki.org

Finally, High Low culminates in energetic fashion with heavy drums and heavy distortion to make a statement anthemically that given a choice of high or low, “we can go high” and “when you’re ready to come we can light sparks.”

September 2016 photo by RH: SVÖRTULOFT AT SNÆFELLSNES PENINSULA – “Sailing in the Faxaflói bay and the Breiðafjörður bay in the western part of Iceland might be secure and calm, but traveling from one to the other can be quite tricky. The sailing by the tip of Snæfellsnes peninsula, past Svörtuloft is still a serious business. Throughout the centuries there have been drastic incidents and casualties. Ships have stranded, and as anyone can imagine looking at the sharp and black lava cliffs, this is not a good place to strand a ship. Most of them are quickly blown to pieces by the shore. The formation of the cliff is quite spectacular as they are dark and black lava cliffs.” – hiticeland.com

Check out the promotional release of Live One, and full album release in May 2019.

If you like my writing, please check out more where that came from.

Special thanks to Antoine Arvizu at The Compound Studio, and to Eric Stoner for use of the album artwork, APOCALYPTICUS ROMANTICUS.

Sunday, October 15, 2017 at The Compound Studio, Long Beach, CA – Photo by @hey_andrewg
Sunday, October 15, 2017 at The Compound Studio, Long Beach, CA – Photo by @hey_andrewg
Photo by Andrew @ The Compound Studio while recording album, “Life on Mars” with Riley Hodges (left), Tim Bullock on bass (center), Antoine Arvizu on drums (right)

The Christening

I awoke in a daze as usually is the case to the sound of a whine from my little feline today. He would not relent as I hopped out of bed in a fury as I hurried to say no to his request. You cannot go outside because I’m taking a stand for waking me so early and I will not give in. What was I thinking as I surely am mad, but why not let him out so he could squat I should have said. I had it in mind that I would control his mind too, like a clockwork cat that follows my command. Boy, was I wrong, as I went back to sleep for just an hour more and I awoke to Jeep’s pee. Jeep is his name, the name of my cat, what the fuck did he do? He pissed on my brand new expensive leather couch! Ouch, ouch, ouch! Fucking shit! What the fuck happened to my plan that’s gone shit! I rushed to the store to find a proper stain-cleaner, and just as I finished my efforts I noticed more shit! This time, not just pee that I cleaned, but actual shit wrapped in a godforsaken lil blanket for me. Thank god it was all wrapped up, but I wish it were reversed. I’d rather clean bits of shit off this couch than puddles of kitty juice. Fuckkkkkkkkk.

Seriously, this all happened today. It threw off my day, kinda. I was pissed (pun intended). I canceled an appointment I had at 9AM. But it actually propelled me to get some work done earlier than I probably would have today. I spent a few hours preparing for a series of phone interviews I was conducting for hiring a Restaurant Manager for the opening of our new business, The Carvery.

I will be visiting my cousin tomorrow to go over my recently recorded music. I need to make some final decisions on the song mixes. This includes most likely wanting to record new vox for 1 or 2 tracks. My cousin is a full time musician and also has a business that he can help me with releasing my songs. In fact, he suggested I do this alongside the release of his new album. How cool!

Tomorrow night is Friday and I have tentative plans to rehearse with friends. Just like last weekend. If you haven’t read my previous post about this, the last rehearsal went okay. I will be looking to go into this next one with a few adjustments. Namely, I will bring my own amp, microphone, and cables. I will also recommend starting with a couple of cover songs.

The location of the rehearsal is at my friend John’s studio on 2nd Street. It’s not a recording studio, but a music school for teaching lessons. Although, I think John has always wanted to do recordings there, particularly for students, as part of a business plan. In fact, last weekend he had an engineer and new equipment for recording our rehearsal. But it was not ready in time. Maybe tomorrow he’ll have that ready to go.

I spoke to Antoine at The Compound regarding some final adjustments on the tracks I recorded with him. As mentioned above, I most likely will record some new vocals. But I want to make sure I have the vocal parts down and ready to go. This means I need to be in my right frame of mind as I prepare for this. I think the best thing I can do is just play every day. Unfortunately, because of how this day started, I did not make time to do that.

I am also in the process of reorganizing my house with new furniture so I spent most of the day on my newly christened couch that I would have otherwise avoided if it weren’t brand new and awesome for the comfort of my piano bench. Also, my guitars have been moved around and are either packed in cases or are in the next room.

In other news, I thought of a new harmony idea for the song Coming Home. The idea is a background choral harmony. Kinda psychedelic pseudo-gospel paving the way for some soulful vocal runs during the chorus and outdo. Did I mention this in a previous entry? I don’t think so. Anyway, Antoine recommended I test it out with a strings patch on keys, meaning I should play the notes as on a keyboard so it sounds like a orchestral strings, assuming like a cello. So yeah, I will do that. That sounds fun.

Also, I read an article on best times to release an album. I saved it for when I have time to read it thoroughly. Hm. Basically it said not in March (because SXSW) and not in October (because CMA). But this brings me to my next thought, which is that I have been considering recording more songs. I would love to do 10 or 12 songs so that I can release a full length album. But at the moment it’s not looking like that’s the best thing to do. The additional songs will take some time to develop, and I will want to nail them the next time I do a vocal session. I also don’t have a budget for more song material at the moment. So my release at this point is looking like it’s going to be an E.p. Although, as the article suggested, it is best to start promoting 3 months in advance of a release. So it’s possible I could add material during that time. I would like to set a release date in the next couple of weeks. It also said the best day to do release, somewhat officially, is on a Friday!

I could aim for February release, with the consideration that I’ve been promoting for the past month, or in May as that seems like a good time of year just before summertime. It’s also the month of my birthday! Happy birthday to me.

If you’ve read this far, thank you for reading. I’m glad we have survived the inferno that is wrecking Southern California these past few days. Wildfires have made our beautiful region look like hell on earth. I am thankful for what I have. But part of me is like, damn I kinda wanna go make some art. Maybe film the blaze. Another part of me is like, yeah, the world is suffering all the time. We should pay attention more.

I never know how to end these things… Goodbye is probably the best way.

Goodbye.

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