Completion

i think i'm ready to roll..

i'm suspect that the advil cold and sinus is taking effect, and the sudden relief i'm experiencing from a cold that has been taking care of me is making me unreasonably optimistic. i'll ride it anyway.

let's start with the excitement.



i dropped off the masters (well, the master, plus a backup copy) of my new record today at indie pool. they gave me an ETA of about 10 days for the discs to come back from the factory. i got the finished copies from sieg last night, so this morning i went in early and had a listening party in post sound 2. here, at the end of all things, i'm happy. this was a severely long-winded project.. or it feels that way. i started with these songs so long ago.. just ideas, you know, and little guitar lines. trying them out every now and then with jimmy, putting thoughts together as lyrics. it was going to be just some songs, and then an EP, and then finally a full blown record. james jumped on board, and has been really great to work with, and now, all of a sudden it's complete.

it really did drive me for a while there. the tracking sessions were done all over the place.. home at mom and dads, our apt. in waterloo, then in Toronto, and also at CTV. everything changed and took shape, and grew exponentially. i borrowed so much gear, and time, from such great friends. boombatty gave me studio time, and his tele, gleason gave me his tornado, and his JCM, and of course, more pedals than i was used to dealing with. chuck threw in his les paul, jimmy, his bassman, amp, and, of course, his ideas about music, production, and what things should sound like, as well as a few listening parties for two. and finally, james hopped on board and lent his hand for all the packaging and the look of the whole thing, which, by the way, is going to be badass.

that's really a pretty great list of people as i look it over. and yet, for all that, it was a remarkably individual project. which is to say... outside of a bit of time in swampsongs studio with boombatty, and mastering at beach road with sieg, this whole thing came together with nobody else around. granted, that may not be the best for the music, but at the same time, i think this really is the closest thing i could possibly create as a representation of who i am and who i've been over the past year. i'll avoid the utter heaviness, cause that's no fun. just, do me a favor, and, when/if you decide to buy a copy (on itunes, or jonbartel.com, or from my trunk, so soon!) take an hour, turn it up, and listen. it was so much fun, and, at times, extremely frustrating, but, in the end, very exciting. can't wait for you to hear it!


other than that, the excitement here is generally wrapped up in waiting for yet another addition to our family! steve and vik are past due now, so it really should be anytime. i can't wait!! it sucks that cyn and war and finnley are away out west, and we're not gonna meet little fin for a few months yet. can't wait for that. but steve and vik are just up the road!! i love it.


i'm reading another great book, too. called 'three cups of tea' at the suggestion of kar. more to come on that, but for now, i'll say that it's got my mind moving again, and my heart, which is good. i need that.

hope you're feeling better than i am.

J