When the feeling is right....
I wrote this song about playing music - and for some reason this theme is hitting me hard today. I am a person who feels like the music is better when I'm sharing it on stage with other people. I like having a band to share that feeling, that dynamic that happens when you're on stage and feeling it. I think I like feeling like there is someone else in the room who's feeling what I'm feeling, and therefore I feed off that energy. Lately circumstances have prevented me from having that feeling. Band members move on to different projects, life gets busy, it's easier to book for one person and not have to check 4 different schedules. So I do the solo gigs. I've known this all along - that feeling is still there even in the solo situations, but its shared in a different way. It's not the feeling of band mates grooving. It's the feeling of you and I connecting through music. Maybe for you, the song bring backs memories of days gone by, of loved ones, of certain situations.... for me it's knowing that for that moment, for that song, for that lyric or for that guitar riff, we connected -- we were on the same wavelength. It was a shared experience. That IS when the feeling is right.
Four years ago - I released "Sketches" which was supposed to be just an acoustic and vocal release. Obviously as we got into the recording, some things changed. Many of you who will read this have that CD, and you've shared in my growth as an artist, and as a person. Many times I promised a new CD would be coming with new tunes only to have some circumstance sneak up and delay or stop the process. Within the next few months we WILL be releasing a new project. A band project - this recording is really representative of what GRE3NE is live - 4 individuals with varying musical styles, tastes, and influences coming together to create something that is uniquely their own. I'm excited for the project and the release. I sincerely hope that you will listen to and enjoy the music. Brian's jazzy percussion, Dave's bass feel, JP's guitar skills, the way that we put the music together .... I hope you listen and crave for more. I didn't start this blog with the intention of putting links or references to our campaign to finish the project, but my gut tells me I should - some people feel that we are asking you to finance us. Yes you're helping the process and in return you get a CD, or a download, and a t-shirt or a beanie or a hoodie or some other reward. Whether it's a $1 or $50 (or more) you get something back for what you put in. Check out this link here and join us. And that's a lot like the music we play - I feel that for every ounce of sweat I put in, I get something back. A smile, a nice comment, a hand shake. Recording update..
Happy holidays!!
It's 6 days before Christmas, are you all done with your shopping??? Wrapping??? Last minute shopping adventures coming up?? I am done shopping for the season, almost done wrapping and ready for the Christmas day fun. I look forward to seeing everyone's face as they unwrap their gifts - as I've gotten older that has become more of the fun of Christmas for me. In between the hustle and bustle of holiday time, family feasts, and shopping, the band and I have been working on our EP. I just wanted to share with you where we are at in the process. Brian Burke, drums, has been hard at work and after a week of recording has finished the drum parts for the recording. I'm excited, just hearing the drums by themselves I'm excited to hear how the sound expands when the rest of the guys add their mojo to the mix. I will be posting pictures of more of the aspects of recording as we go further in. Stay tuned!!! Lastly... I wanted to share that Christmas is a special time, and for some it's a hard time. Some are dealing with loss of loved ones, and it can be especially hard at this time of year. Thanksgiving and Christmas are huge family holidays and unfortunately for some that drives home the fact that some loved ones are missing. Extend a smile, or a hug, or love to someone you know who's having a rough time. You never know the good that something so simple can have on someone. And on that note, if you're looking for a fun Christmas celebration - join me at one of the following services. Sunday 9am & 11am or Monday 3pm, 5pm or 7pm at Lake City Community Church (6000 N. Ramsey Road, CDA, ID) great stuff!
Well, I survived! Thanksgiving, my daughters birthday, and Black Friday all in one weekend! I hope everyone out there had a great Thanksgiving!! Please feel free to comment and share with me anything fun, cool, exciting that happened to you! (this is after all supposed to be an interactive exercise). What did you score on Black Friday??? What was the best part of your Thanksgiving???
Thanksgiving was really good for me and the family. It was a nice time to chill and relax and eat!!! It's been a busy year for me and taking a day off to do nothing (no music, no recording, no business) and just hang with the family and watch tv (and yes my Cowboys lost), and chill with the family was fun. Perhaps the best part of the weekend for me was doing some shopping and hanging with my son. We hit Guitar Center and then went home and finished some recording on one of his songs. Life tends to catch up to us rather quickly - i can remember playing basketball on the floor with Gabe when he was barely able to walk and now he's got his own apartment, car, job and is experiencing life as an adult. He's a funny and a talented kid. It was cool to be able to check out guitars, talk about instruments we should get for the studio, and just kid around. Made me see him in a different light. Then as we worked in the studio together, sharing idea's on his songs and then working to complete them - it was a joy to see his drive, his thirst for excellence. Nothing warms a fathers heart more than to see his child take interest in something that he has interest in. To share a common ground as adults that not only extends time together but further cultivates bonds that last. Thats what makes me thankful this thanksgiving season. Till next time, RG
Recording time
So I have begun the steps to recording. I have a small home studio - it's not a total pro facility, but it's not a low budget scary place either. So it's good enough to get the job (although I'll probably need to send it out to be mixed and mastered elsewhere). At the moment I have three projects I'm working on.
1. The band project. 2. The solo project. 3. Gabriel Lee's project. I plan on using this blog post to give you sort of a behind the scenes look at what's happening. I'll use the blogger and facebook in conjunction so hopefully you'll get an idea of what it takes to make a cd happen.   Today, I'll start by explaining the process behind picking the tunes for each project. With Greene (the band) it was pretty simple - we voted and the top four (it was supposed to be three, but there was a tie) song got put on the project. For my solo project, basically I took the songs that I wanted to record that the band didn't do. Some of those songs will have a band feel, some will have a singer/songwriter vibe, and yet others will be collaborations that I've been wanting to make. Gabriel Lee's project is him picking tunes he wanted to record (and one that I REALLY wanted to record). So no real science here, just picking tunes we think people will like, and one's we enjoy playing! More to come soon! Peace Fall & Winter - the slow season??
Hello friends,
Once again it's been months since I've updated this. I keep saying I'm going to be more consistent with updating the blog site, but here I am saying... sorry it's been so long! With the summer busy season over, it's fall and winter - time to sit back, look at what's been accomplished and start planning for next year. I've got my internal plans - but one of the external plans is the long talked about next CD. We (the band and I) had a kickstarter campaign that didn't go over like we hoped it would, but it was a lesson learned. So we are doing the independent thing to the hilt... we're going to use our own personal recording equipment and rooms and try to record a 3 - 5 track EP for the masses. No promises on a time table, or even what songs will be on it. Just know we're working on stuff. And actually part of my blogging experience will be with documenting what's happening with the recording process. It'll cause me to actually post items and it'll keep you informed! While I'll be slowing down gig wise in the fall/winter - life itself certainly doesn't slow down. I just got back from a great trip to Indianapolis, seeing family and visiting a few places. Check me out on Facebook to see some of the pics of family and fun! I'm going to close with a video ..... this is my take on Marry Me by Train. I'm singing it for a wedding and decided to post it. Thanks for reading and thanks for listening! RG 
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