A few random thoughts three days removed from my birthday

Hello, my friends.

I just turned 32 the other day -- November 8th, if you want to be specific.  As it turns out, it was also my twin brother's birthday, but since this is my blog, I'm going to talk about me, thank you very much.  Get your own damn blog, Adam!

I kid because I love.  And because it's fun.

My twin brother, Adam Huff, is actually an excellent bass player who will be contributing his considerable talents to my upcoming album.  That's the secret to my success -- I surround myself with extremely talented people, and I exploit them shamelessly.

So...my blog has now reached over 700 views.  I think that is awesome.  I don't know if people are enjoying this blog or not -- I try to be informative, and funny, and, at times, thought-provoking.  That's what I attempt, anyway.  And I really hope that, if you nothing else, you find it entertaining.

But here's the thing -- I've gotten no feedback!  None at all.  But since people still view this thing, I'm going to keep going as I've been going until people tell me otherwise.  I'm assuming that you like this.  Bear in mind, though, that I love getting feedback!  I cannot stress this enough!  If you want to tell me something you like, something you don't like, something you'd like to see done different, whatever...drop me a line!

Just to see if this gets the ball rolling: aaron.gabriel.music@gmail.com  There.  Now you have no excuse.

My website is now in the 1100 visits area.  That is also unbelievably cool.  I apologize for the lack of recent updates -- I've been elbow-deep in editing, re-recording, stuff like that.  It's mind-numbing, time-consuming stuff, but it isn't exactly exciting to talk about.  Believe you me -- when something cool happens, you'll be the first to know.

As it is, I think I'm done with tweaking the various songs for the new album on my end.  I'm waiting to add Merideth Kirry's vocals to a few songs (a very talented singer who also happens to have a crazy busy schedule), ship the songs off to Adam to add bass, and then start mixing and mastering.  All in all, I'm quite pleased with how things are progressing.

My in-laws gave me a hand-made dulcimer for my birthday.  I am very excited about this.

My wife and I are in the third trimester of our pregnancy!  Things are looking good thus far, my lady is still feeling good and still dancing, and some friends helped us get our hanging bassinet set up.  Only a few months to go, and the nervous excitement is really kicking in.

My parents celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary on the 7th.  They are truly inspiring, and a great model to look up to -- my wife and I recently celebrated our 4th year of marriage, and now a baby's on the way.  A lot of stuff is going down.

As I have mentioned time and time again, I am a big fan of the Thrilling Adventure Hour.  Lately they've been taking questions from fans, and this most recent podcast included a question I had submitted!  I felt very honored.  Click on the link and take a listen.  And while you're there, listen to their other podcasts, too -- you will not be disappointed.

As the new album gets closer to being finished, I'll be sure to release a teaser track or two to (hopefully) whet your musical appetite.  And when the album's out, I hope you like it, because I'm rather fond of it...which is saying something, because usually I hate my own material.

Take care, stay safe, and in the words of Kevn Kinney: Life's too cheap for short wine.

Cheers,
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