Saturday, August 30, 2008

music making


I promised to tell you of the latest musical happenings in our household,and our attic has been bursting with sound as of late, so here it is. A little while back a good friend and songwriter, Jade asked if I wanted to record some with him. Since then we have slowly but surely been plugging away at reworking some of his songs and covering some other old, nostalgic type songs,and writing some new songs as well. Josh is recording it, which he has never done before, and is figuring it out quickly as we go. It kind of amazes me how my husband is good at most things he tries, all those buttons and wires and switches look so daunting to me. Josh is playing the drums and a little accordion and we are working with a few other friends. Some of you may not even know it yet, but we may come knocking on your door.

It is so nice to finally be able to work on music with Josh, something I have long wanted to do. Working through this whole creative process has been so very good for my soul. A little outlet from my mommy days, to fulfill this inherent need to create, to share, to sing. If you know me, you know I can't stand the spot-light. I've never been one to look for a stage. I don't care about making money or having a "commercially successful" album. I have no illusions of grandeur, there is nothing incredible or unique about my voice.With my feet firmly planted in my thirties I don't care about being hip. Sometimes we laugh at our own quirkiness and that our tastes sometimes might reflect more of our grandparents than our peers on songs like Edel'veis. Now if that hasn't sold you on making sure you get your hands on this album, then I don't know what will.
In all honesty though, it has been so very freeing to create without any pressure or expectation or even a clear picture of what it will take shape into by the end. I want it to be true, to be soulful and so far I think we have been successful at that. It has been an honor to be working with Jade, who in my opinion is a stellar musician. I want it to be something to give to my kids and friends, a gift to us that you might listen.
I just love, love, love to sing. I always have, my mom said I was like a little songbird in the house singing or humming through everything I did. Once when I was around six I serenaded my captive audience family, trapped in the station wagon, with one song the entire way from NJ to Chicago. Just like music was for me as a little girl, it is now, worship, comfort, a voice to things that can't come out any other way. I can in no way parallel myself to this melodic genius except to say I like how she put the need for music in this peculiarly charming interview. She said that language alone is like trying to fit an ocean through a straw... but with music... it doesn't feel like that.

I was going to end this post with a sneak preview of our work in progress but I am not a techie girl and have no idea how to put an MP3 on a blog.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, because I"m dying of suspense, I am going to find out how to help you, right now. I wanna hear that MP3.

Anonymous said...

Here you go, this is blogger's help link for MP3's.
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=80259
Pick a 3rd party site from the list they provide. I hope this somewhat more techie of a girl can help you load that lovely voice of yours online :)

Linda said...

Thanks Katie, I'll mess with it when I get a sec.

Susan said...

Linda,
As one who has had the privilege of hearing a snippet of your creative collaboration - I want to be one of the first in line for one of those CDs. Your voice is lovely, and is so honest and pure - your voice moves the hearts of people who hear you sing. Not everyone can do that. Love you, Mimi

anna j said...

Congratulations, Linda--I know what you mean about the power of creating music, and joy of using one's voice . . . one thing I must contest, however, is your comment about your voice not being "unique": that, my dear, is not true. The first time I got to hear you sing I gazed at you in wonder, overjoyed at getting to listen to one of the few voices that really captivates. I too am anxious to hear your new CD!