Day one thousand Two hundred twelve

It might be something like one thousand two hundred etc. days since 93,000 first came up. I count 39 months so far.

So I guess I've become a guitar player since my troubles began. It certainly isn't big bucks guitar player however.
Sometimes I'm not sure why I do it.

With the CDs I need to specify how I do the song. It takes time establishing a songs structure. Doing CDs is an excellent way to break in new material.
This has been my primary experiance.

I'm working on a few songs to play at a nearby open mic night. I have exactly seven days left. I'm still in developement and plannng. At one point I will declare developement and planing to be over and to begin the implementation phase.
I standardize the songs structure.

What do I think of as the structure of a song?
Well.....The introduction, the ending, bridges, chorus and verse arrangement plus location of any lead work or etc.
When to sing.

You have to be able to play the song.
You need to carry a facsimile of the song on the CD. So you can play specific songs from the CD.

Bring as I appear to be going this way I may as well start preparing for playing to a live audience. It'll help sell CDs. Its an entirely understandable developement.
Sing and play guitar in front of people.

Its amazing how recording oriented I've become. Have completed three CDs since June when I bought the burner. Three CDs in eight months. I guess when I finished "Christmas Wanderings" I had three in six months. Remember, too, that the first one :"Songs from the Pine Motel", I had been working on and preparing for months before I bought the burner. So the truth is three in eight months no matter how you do the arithmetic or deal with the numbers.

Slowly creeping my way back up for number four by June. I want them to have time to mature and for me time to learn exactly how I can appreciate them. My other albums didn't leave enough time for the songs to ripen before they were recorded. I want to do a good job on them ,of course, and think that a longer growth period could be allowed.

Once it's recorded and packaged it becomes something like a resume. you will be associated with the finished product for a pretty long time.

I find that there are two opposing factions on the issue. For me I have found significant growth in following the argument of it being a whole CD is the goal. And that invariably trade offs will be made along the way and skills sharpened. However it being an art some darn player could record the same song over and over for years still trying to get it to sound "right". And accomplishng nothing else.

At one point the decision to move ahead on the cycle and go to production and packaging, or whatever, is made. Ready or not. The result being judged as a unity. Of course it could be better if given more time, but time is indeed the exact consideration.

So I looked at it as a compilation of skills. The unity being the finished CD complete with inserts. Phography resources, design, etc. Writing for an insert can be a big operation all by itself.

Its a mistake to sharpen one skill at the expense of the others. Why not get experiancing designing inserts?
Just do as best you can and have it ready by....some pre decided allotment of studio time allowed.
And have an example of your first effort at producing a CD.

Like I say though, its just the approach I've been forced to use. And it seems to keep things moving.

Its late march of 2002.