The Linear Canvas

I originally wrote a lot of Bridge To Cross many years ago. I always thought it was too big for any of the tragedies I had known up till that point in my life. I had only recorded a rough guitar and vocal and that was as much work as I ever did on it.

A month after I broke my ankle in 2010, my mother had a stroke. I was lucky enough to spend a lot of the next year with her. As I sat in the nursing home with her one day, I realized I had been writing this song about her for some time and didn’t know it. I knew how this song ended and I hoped it wasn’t true.

Bridge To Cross

After mom’s death, I finished the words and tightened up the pauses some. Basically I used what I had recorded some time ago, with the latest digital retrofit. It sounded OK, but I thought I could do better.

I re-recorded the song in its entirety. I did it all in the last week and tried to do as fresh of an arrangement as I could. Regardless of how many times I had heard it the same way before.

I actually see images of the lyrics in my head as they happened in real life. I suppose that should make me sad. But I still feel lucky that I was able to spend so much time with her at the end. I call it my blessing.

I recorded Bridge To Cross using my Takamine acoustic guitar, Fender Stratocaster, Rickenbacker 4001 bass, Carl’s Roland Octapad, Roland MIDI slave keyboard, Line 6 POD 2.0, on Cakewalk Sonar v8.5 and Sony Sound Forge v9 using my PreSonus Firebox interface. Jill added the groovy vibes. Did I leave anything out?

I wrote Wipe Away the Tears back in 1994. My mother-in-law, Martha Fuller, had just passed away and I realized some lyrics I had written a few years before would be perfect for what I was getting ready to create. If I could find the original lyric sheet, it would have tear stains on it, I know.

A man from Germany e-mailed me a few years ago and told me Wipe Away the Tears was the greatest song he had ever heard. It may or may not be great, but I know it’s pretty special to me.

Wipe Away The Tears

I decided to remix the digital tracks I had recorded a few years ago as I am planning a new album release including this song and felt the previous mix was just not good enough. I’m not even sure this mix is the one, but it’s getting better.

I wrote the music and lyrics. I performed all the musical and vocal parts.  I played my Fender Stratocaster electric guitar and a Takamine acoustic guitar on the recording. I played bass guitar on my Rickenbacker 4001. The drums are my Ludwig’s. I played the tambourine as well.

I recorded this song on my Fostex VF16 digital multi-track a few years back. I mixed and mastered this song more recently on my desktop computer using Cakewalk Sonar v8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge v9 software.

 

The Old Prisoner isn’t really a new recording or even a remix. It is just one of my favorite songs that I’ve written. I decided to re-post it because I think it kicks butt. It’s a little bit outlaw southern rock, folk rock and hard rock. That kind of sums me up as a musician really.

I wrote it thinking about my uncle, Hurshel Kelly and his life growing up in eastern Kentucky. It’s about needing to escape from a reality that can become a confinement to some, but liberation for many others. The prisons that I refer to are more a metaphor for the chains and shackles that we constrain ourselves and others with. Sometimes the same prisons become very comfortable and we long to return to them, regardless of the reasons we are driven from them originally.

The Old Prisoner

I wrote and recorded Why Do I Have To Leave This Place back in November of 2009. I had gotten laid off from my job as a cable TV construction supervisor and was rehired a month later as a field tech. This song was completed in between those two events. At the time I felt like the world was caving in on me, and was wondering what I was going to possibly do next? I was glad to get a good song out of the experience and also to not lose my job after all. It was the same pay, so what could possibly go wrong?

Fast Forward nearly two years and three surgeries later…

Why Do I Have To Leave This Place

When I recorded this song I was still using my old recording system. I really hadn’t quite figured it out yet, although most of it was in place by then.

I was listening to the previous mix of this song and I realized it needed a remix. I removed some effects, I found audio that could be deleted and I also tried to spread the stereo image out a little more. But the major problem with Why Do I Have To Leave This Place was several of the original recordings were digitally saturated, i.e. distorted. I don’t know why, but for some reason I had the recorder’s inputs set too high and the result were snaps and pops in the original tracks. Using computer software I was able to eliminate many of the problems. I can still hear a few pops here and there, but considering what it sounded like before, it is a major improvement.

I am going to re-release the best of my last two CD’s on the internet. I am working with an online service called ReverbNation to market my music to radio and internet music stations. I assume that means iTunes  too, but I won’t hold my breath until I see it with my own eyes. I will have to start working on new cover art. I have a possible new title already and I have an idea for the cover too. All the rest of the songs had been mixed with my more up to date techniques. Now this one has been too. I think it sounds better. It always rocked. It just rocks without the crackles and pops now.

I wrote and performed Why Do I Have To Leave This Place. I used my Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, a Rickenbacker 4001 bass, and my Ludwig drums. It was originally recorded on my Fostex VF-16 digital multi-track. It was most recently processed using Cakewalk Sonar v8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge 9.

 

I was looking at my web site and I realized I had never posted my most recent music video. I posted it everywhere else except my own site. How’d I forget that?

I used Sony Vegas Movie Producer to create the video. It is shot entirely with my digital 8mm Sony camcorder using green screen technology.

I actually wrote most of Bridge To Cross years ago. I knew it was about losing someone, I just didn’t know who. When I was sitting by my mother’s bed in the nursing home last year after her first major stroke, I realized it was about her. I guess I hoped I wouldn’t have to finish it. Especially so soon. My mother, Conney JoAnn (Kelly) Fisher,  passed away June 2, leaving a large void in my life. I know time will help to ease my pain, but I will never be the same without her.

Bridge To Cross

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Bridge to Cross 20110611_1220mcd.mp3]

I played acoustic guitar using my Takamine G-series jumbo. I played electric guitar on my Fender Stratocaster. The bass was my Rickenbacker 4001. I recorded the keyboard part using a Roland MIDI slave keyboard and the TruePianos plug-in. I also played tambourine on this track.

The guitar parts are slightly flat in pitch compared to the keyboards, but not by much. I tried to fix it, but I really couldn’t find an acceptable way to do it without re-recording the whole song. I may re-record this song someday, but I was really surprised at how well it turned out. The analog tracks were originally recorded on my Yamaha MT-100 II 4 track cassette recorder using  dbx noise reduction. The newer digital tracks were recorded using Cakewalk Sonar and my PreSonus Firebox interface.

I wrote the song and sang all the vocals. I processed it with Cakewalk Sonar 8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge 9.

I had a couple of inspirations for The Speed of Life. One was a song by another artist that I liked a lot and the other was the death of an acquaintance in an auto accident.

I only hesitate to call Tom a friend because I didn’t know him that well. I rather enjoyed talking to him as I felt we were usually on the same page. He was a no bull kind of guy. I liked that about him. He was killed in the accident along with three members of his family recently.

Immediately it made me think about a lot of things. But specifically it made me think about how most people take their time and life for granted and don’t appreciate every moment they have. Always wishing their lives away. Never content in the moment and always in a rush to get somewhere.

I hope when I’m older that I feel I appreciated each moment I had in my life, as best I could.

Making the right decisions and being deliberate in your actions helps to assure yourself and others safety. Being in a hurry or not paying attention can get someone hurt.

“The Speed of Life”

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/The Speed of Life 20110514_1648mcd.mp3]

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I recorded this song in 24 bit at 96 kHz resolution. That was a just a bit of overkill and the next recording I will go back to 24 bit / 48 kHz. The file size alone is a good reason. It is about 5 times bigger than a 16 bit CD quality file.

I wrote the music and lyrics. I performed all the musical and vocal parts.  I used a Shure SM-58 microphone to record all the vocals. I played my Fender Stratocaster electric guitar on the recording using my Line 6 Pod 2.0 as a direct box. I played bass guitar on my Rickenbacker 4001. The drums are MIDI patches with fills and accents played on a Roland Octapad using Session Drummer 3. I also played keyboards with a Roland MIDI slave using True Piano and Dimension Pro. I played the tambourine as well.

I recorded, mixed, and mastered this song on my desktop computer using a PreSonus Firebox audio interface, with Cakewalk Sonar v8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge v9 software.

I have played around with this guitar lick for quite a while. I think I had the music to this long before I had the lyrics. My wife Jill was writing some poetry one night and I pretty much stole borrowed the whole first verse from her. I also say the F word in the end of the song, so cover your ears.

The song is about the addictions that we all have from legal things like coffee and cigarettes to anything else imaginable. It is also about confronting what you need to do when you unburden yourself from the hassles of that habit. It’s all a realization that habits are hard to break and people will change their lifestyles in the end to accommodate their addictions and never seek help.

It also gave me reason to play really loud for over six and a half minutes.

 Addicted To Something

I originally recorded this song in analog on my Yamaha 4 track. It was one of the last songs I recorded on it and was also one of the first I recorded after I got a real set of drums.
I used all of the original analog tracks, but also added some new guitar parts and all new vocals. At first I wasn’t going to use the analog drum track, but after applying a little EQ it was good enough. The lead guitar in the left channel is the original analog recording. It was recorded before I installed a Seymour Duncan humbucking pickup in my Stratocaster, so it is definitely my original  single coil setup on that track.

The lyrics were written by my wife Jill Fisher and me. I wrote the music. I performed all the musical and vocal parts.  I used a Shure SM-58 microphone to record all the vocals. I played my Fender Stratocaster electric guitar on the recording using my Line 6 Pod 2.0 as a direct box. I played bass guitar on my Rickenbacker 4001. The drums are my Ludwig’s.

I recorded, mixed, and mastered this song on my desktop computer using a PreSonus Firebox audio interface, with Cakewalk Sonar v8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge v9 software. The master is recorded in 24 bit at 44.1 kHz resolution. On the original analog tracks I used my Yamaha MT-100II 4 track recorder at 3.75 inches per second using dbx noise reduction.

I had been playing a lot of keyboards on my recordings lately. A piano is a great instrument to ferret out a pretty melody in a new song. But I was ready for a change back to loud.

Last year, my cousin, Matt Henderson, from East Lansing, Michigan had asked me to help out on a recording he was doing. He sent me a demo of “You Don’t Have To Be”. I was immediately struck by the beauty of the song, especially with Matt’s excellent vocal and piano tracks. Unfortunately I had just broken my ankle and no matter how much I wanted to help, I just couldn’t get it together.

Recently, I decided that I wanted to record my arrangement of “You Don’t Have To Be”.  From the beginning I heard the song with a full electric sound chugging along in the background with screaming leads over the top. Matt’s arrangement was very beautiful, but I needed over-driven guitars, thumping bass, and crashing cymbals. I recorded it nearly the way I heard it in my head all along.

“You Don’t Have To Be”

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/You dont have to be 20110413_1856_24bit_441mcd.mp3]

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Matt finished his version of the song and uploaded it to Facebook. You can hear it at Matt Henderson’s Facebook music page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Matt-Henderson/357286361522

After hearing Matt’s completed recording of “You Don’t Have To Be”, it inspired me to write and record “The Wavelength”, one of my favorite songs that I’ve written.

Hear “The Wavelength” at:
http://www.linearcanvas.com/?p=1148

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The song was written by Matt Henderson. I am responsible for the arrangement. I performed all the musical and vocal parts.  I used a Shure SM-58 microphone to record all the vocals. I played my Fender Stratocaster electric guitar on the recording using my Line 6 Pod 2.0 as a direct box. I played bass guitar on my Rickenbacker 4001. The drums are a combination of MIDI patches and a Roland Octapad drum pad using Session Drummer 3.

I recorded, mixed, and mastered this song on my desktop computer using a PreSonus Firebox audio interface, with Cakewalk Sonar v8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge v9 software. The master is recorded at 24 bit at 44.1 kHz resolution.

I wrote “Birthday Song” last week for my wife Jill’s Birthday. I met Jill on a blind date. We were married twenty-five years ago.

I originally wrote the piano part about two years ago and was just waiting for the inspiration to finish it.

I also want to thank the unwitting birthday well wishers leaving messages for Jill on our answering machine. Also the crew of Apollo 11.

I love you Jill.

Happy Birthday.

“Birthday Song”

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Birthday Song 20110408_1700mcd.mp3]

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I wrote the song and sang all the vocal parts.  I used a Shure SM-58 microphone to record all the vocals and the tambourine. I played my Fender Stratocaster electric guitar on the recording. I played Bass on my Rickenbacker 4001. All of the other instruments were played using a Roland MIDI keyboard and Roland Octapad drum pads.   I used TruePiano for all the piano sounds. The drums are from Session Drummer 3. Everything is played live, one track at a time.

I recorded this song on my desktop computer using Cakewalk Sonar v8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge v9. The master is recorded at 24 bit 44.1 kHz resolution. Some of the original tracks were recorded on my Foster VF-16 using 16bit/44.1 kHz digital audio resolution.