As the producer and engineer of the new recording project, he’s been wildly successful at keeping my primitively circular mind in check. What was supposed to be a two week project has stretched on, though happily so.

The rough mixes are in, but it’s already clear that it wouldn’t be what it is without his talents.

Check out his studio, Busted Barn, for more info.

The good news is that the producer has been helping out and contributing a bit of electric guitar. Leslie’s bass line didn’t end up on the last cuts but her vocals did.

The good news is that the acoustic guitars down were a cinch. Just hard to know when to stop adding. Noises. Bass. Harmonies.

I don’t fear the end. I just need some more time.

I didn’t really know my songs until I had to pick them apart sonically. It was frustrating at first–especially when it came to timing–to be forced to listen for things that I had never stopped to notice.

I started to hear things that weren’t there and make up progressions that were clearly misplaced. I had imagined that the guitars would take two days to get down. I was wrong. Very wrong. In one case, I had to protest and insist on a live recording. Pete wasn’t happy with the idea.

Next week brings singing and hopefully others like Josh Madore who stop by and play along too.

Here is the latest on the upcoming CD:

• Recording starts on Aug 12th at Busted Barn in Portland, Maine. It will feature 10 or 11 new songs.
• Cover art is by the wonderful French photographer, Christophe Garnier.
• The disc will be available sometime in 2011 on iTunes and retail CD. No plans for vinyl yet…though I have been asked. Indie stores will have it available as a special order item. Not sure about other online music outlets.
• The songs were all written but the recording with feature collaborations with several other artists to be named. It’s very impromptu and the roughness of the first disc will be carried over.
• There will be two new videos out for the first singles. The dates for these aren’t finalized yet.
• Two release shows are scheduled. Looking at possibly Boston and NYc. Other dates and cities may be pending (sorry, this is not as useful info as I’d hoped). There are plans for a European tour last 2011.
• The title of the CD is still up in the air. Again with the vagueness. Oh well…

Thanks for listening. I’ll have some practical info soon.

There were too many people and too many instruments to consider. On top of this, the mastering guru Mark seems to have vanished inside a film project. I can hear him but the sound is rather faint.

So where am I going to record this disc? I have no idea but I hope to have it lined up for next month.

That’s my goal. Maybe August. I’m hunting for studio space at the moment. The details are draped in fog, but there will be ten tracks or so and guest appearances by people that we trust and love. Other than a few shows in September, I no useful live information yet.

This will not be a happy CD. I’m sorry to those who wished for a breath of lovely air after the first trip to Floor 6. More soon and thanks to everyone for listening.

This one is a bit different from the current disc. We’re going to do a number of guest appearances with some Portland artists. Some pianos, some percussion, some banjo.

We’ll see what happens. The live format won’t change. We’re sticking with the same, impromptu ethos.

The first CD is still in promotion by Clip Records with a slow roll-out through summer. It takes time for indie labels to get things done.

We’ll have more news soon. If you want to say hi, I’m on Twitter.

I’m going to be setting a new recording space this month…slowly.

In the meantime, there are other tracks to post. Newer ones. Older ones.

Thanks to all of those radio stations out there playing the CD.

I played a thirty minute solo set. It was a pleasant way to end 2009′s performance calendar…doubling tempos and turning slow songs into downright angry ones.

Maybe somebody had spiked my chocolate milk.

That’s it for 2009.

Check out the host, Joshua Madore and his music.