MILESTONES AND TURNER CLASSICS

This week is a milestone for me. I finished the actual recording part of my album. 2 years of work just about finished. A couple of minor mix tweaks, mastering and some visual elements to suss out and that's it. Guess I'm a little nostalgic today looking back.

I had a close friend pass way in his sleep a few weeks ago. As much as I try to live my life without regrets, and I like to think of myself as immune to certain cliches, death does have a way of making us look at life. The first thing I wanted to do when I got over the shock was get on a plane and go back to Europe. That surprised me. I would've expected my reaction to call someone I love or something like that. But there's too much I haven't seen. I've been really focused since then.

In singing my final vocal last weekend, I was amazed at how easy it went. The incredible people I have to work with now. How easily I was able to get a performance compared to the studio nightmares I was having when I began this. Singing the Superfine stuff was easier in a way. These songs are much more expressive. I've worked hard to learn about creating the energy that comes so easily to me live in a studio environment.

These songs have taught me a lot. This process has taught me a lot. My whole life is different now from when I started. I'm different. Everything I had to learn in order to make this thing.

I found myself up at 2am a few nights ago watching Turner Movie Classics. One of the few channels that filters into my building for free. They replayed an interview with Katharine Hepburn on the Dick Cavitt show from the 70's. I suppose I'm late on this train, but she was amazing. Somehow in America, and maybe it's like this all over, but we get this idea that these iconic people magically just wind up that way. But the more I pay attention and the more I listen to the things they actually say, the more I realize why. They can say the smallest thing, but if I'm listening, it's a clue. We look up to them for a reason. And maybe that's why we try to pull them down too.

I'm grateful to be learning from the people that have gone before me and I'm celebrating today. I've accomplished something I couldn't have conceived of 3 years ago.