Update: new album and Free Range Theatre

Goodness, how the time flies.  The better part of three weeks, and not a peep from me.  Of course, some, most, or all of you might think that's not such a bad thing.  And if so, well...I was trying to think of something clever, and I came up empty.  I suppose you could ask, "Well, gee, Aaron, you're typing this thing and posting it at your own discretion.  Why not take the time to actually come up with something clever?"  The answer is twofold: laziness, and the desire to be as honest as possible.  I'm not going to mislead the (I'm assuming) dozens of people who might be reading this into thinking that I'm a quick-witted master of repartee.  I'm not bad, but I'm not brilliant, and I don't want to come across as otherwise.

Well, that was an odd beginning.  Let's move on, shall we?

Progress on the new album is coming along swimmingly.  I think I can safely say I'm at least 2/3 of the way through the recording process; on my end, at least.  I'm hoping to get the very talented Merideth Kirry to sing on a few tracks -- if that happens, I'm going to be very happy, because her voice is tremendous.  There's also the slight chance I might be getting someone to play a violin solo on one of my songs -- stay tuned on that one!  And once I'm done with that stuff, I'll be passing along several tracks to my brother Adam, to add some bass guitar tracks.

I've said it before, but I am very excited about this album.  It will definitely be bigger than my last album, in that there will be more elements to it, giving it a big, full sound (or so I hope).  It will also be different than my last album, but I don't view that as a bad thing -- I went into this not wanting to make a carbon copy of my old stuff.  I like my old stuff.  I also like my new stuff.  I think they can both live in harmony.

I had my first read-through of my radio show-themed project this past weekend.  Turnout wasn't great, due to conflicting schedules and what-not, so there were only four of us there.  Even so, it was a lot of fun, and something I'm definitely going to pursue.  My brother Nick (one of those in attendance) dubbed this venture Free Range Theatre, which I absolutely love for a title/descriptor.  I'm hoping to get at least one of the skits recorded in the near future and put it up online, see what people think.  I'm not really expecting to make much of an impression with this -- it's just a nice way to get together with people I enjoy and have a lot of fun in the process.

My wife and I are around 18 weeks.  Everything's looking good so far.  Very exciting.

Be well.

Aaron
www.aarongabriel.net

A new video, plus Cactoid Jim

 I figured I'd take a step back from my somewhat political rant last time and focus on more music-related stuff this time around!

 

Work on the new album is still going smoothly.  I'm trying to take my time with it, which brings its own annoyances, mainly because I'm really impatient, and I'm really excited about the new album.  I think it's going to be good.

 

After some (somewhat strange) insistence, I went ahead and made a Youtube video for "You Don't Know My Heart."  It is nothing fancy -- just some various pictures made into a slideshow.  But I guess it helps to get a more "official" video out there.  Take a look:

 

 

I'm not sure if I've mentioned before or not, but I am a huge fan of the Thrilling Adventure Hour, an online program done in the style of old-time radio.  It is really funny, the music is fantastic, and the actors involved are some of my favorites.  I decided to invoke my inner nerd and do my own rendition of the Cactoid Jim theme.  Cactoid Jim, King of the Martian Frontier, is a recurring character voiced by Nathan Fillion.  I sent them my song, and they liked it!  How about that?

 

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want to do after the album is done.  I've mentioned about working on a Christmas album, but what with my wife and I expecting a baby this winter, I'm thinking shutting myself away for hours on end to record would just be kind of unrealistic.  I've got some ideas swirling around for at least two musicals, as well as ideas for my own radio-themed comedy show -- those ideas involve more writing than recording, so it might work out easier to squeeze in while raising a baby.

Who knows?  The future is looking rather exciting.

Cheers,
Aaron
www.aarongabriel.net