Just when winter seems to release its dirty claws from around my already withered neck, February strikes with Cupid’s illusion of hugs and kisses that swallow me up in a... The post Chasing Melodies Through a Fog of Flu & Frostbite appeared first on Autumns Eyes.
Just when winter seems to release its dirty claws from around my already withered neck, February strikes with Cupid’s illusion of hugs and kisses that swallow me up in a vat of viral misery that could send even the most frigid-hearted people into a frost-ridden abyss. So, let’s write some music! Writing the next Autumn’s Eyes album started months ago, with loose ideas being thrown around after soaking up all the influence Fall had to offer. I started recording rough song ideas and saving the files numerically—literally just a folder filled with files named 1, 2, 3, and so on. After a few weeks, I realized there were a couple dozen files, so I went through and listened to them one at a time and kept the ones that struck a chord with me, tossing the ones that left no emotional impact. This sometimes happens as a songwriter—you’ll sit down to record an idea that sounds eternally epic at the time, only to come back to that same idea days later and think to yourself, “What the hell was I thinking?” It happens to me more often than I’d like, thanks to my diverse musical tastes, which allow me to write songs that sound like Pearl Jam one day, and other songs that rival some of the corniest ’80s pop music. A stubborn curse, I suppose? Anyway, moving on!
The numerical songwriting process continues, and I keep narrowing down the list as it builds. A few dozen more ideas have been narrowed down to six solid songs that I am absolutely positive will be the foundation for this next record. My goal is to hit ten, upon which I can finally start assembling these tracks with the dedication and detail they deserve. What’s curious is how I end up finding the identity of the album almost organically rather than forcefully. Despite my best efforts to target a specific theme or emotion, my music tends to live on its own terms and find its own footing—much like myself. If you’re familiar with the album Ending Life Slowly, you’ll know it’s full of songs that feature a straightforward gothic rock vibe, and that seems to be where this one is headed. Perhaps that’s because I subconsciously miss the experience of writing that type of music and require a much-needed palate cleanser after the arduous Grimoire of Oak & Shadow, which took way too long to record. Either way, it seems like the wheel landed on ‘spooky, down-tuned gothic rock’ once again, so I’d better start preparing my lower vocal range and practice my best menacingly depressed gazes into a camera lens. Thankfully, my resting bitch face always defaults to that anyway, so I shouldn’t have much trouble in that department.
As for setbacks, there haven’t been many wrenches thrown into the process, unless you count this past week when our little family here was hit with a wave of sickness that always finds its way around these parts this time of year. It all started after witnessing my son perform his best impression of The Exorcist in his room at around one o’clock in the morning. Nothing screams “rise and shine” like a twelve-by-twelve room filled with so much vomit that it starts to smell like an aquarium after a power outage. So, after a few hours of cleaning and tossing out toys that looked like they’d been braised in pea soup, I noticed a slight tickle in the back of my throat. A welcoming sign that indicated I was in for a week of fun and flu! Yeah, it sucked. It’s the fucking flu, but life goes on. Thankfully, I don’t have the type of personality that lets me wallow in my own misery, cursing the world for what it’s done to me. I save that stuff for my song lyrics.
One of the funniest aspects of this whole endeavor was trying to write a song while under the flu-spell. I went downstairs and dove into the music, and well… it was not good. Apparently, all the mucus my body was producing made its way into my melodies, because this shit was awful. It sounded like I was trying to play guitar with hands made out of glue, and writing drum parts that resembled a bag of rocks being poured down a muddy hill. If anyone here reading that just had a creative spark, by all means, take that idea and roll with it, because I sure as shit couldn’t do anything with it. Thankfully, the days passed almost as quickly as my body healed itself, and the songwriting train is back on track. Aside from my own music, I’m also looking forward to working with other artists as I begin to slowly roll out my production services to the public—a first for me in an official capacity, as it’s always been something I did behind the scenes. So, despite the frigid season’s attempts to slow me down, I still continue to make progress. Here’s to hoping things don’t get too convoluted with unnecessary setbacks, but I am an artist, after all. Setbacks are just part of the game. You just have to know how to manage them, and I’m thinking after years of insurmountable setbacks that plagued almost every project I’ve been involved with, that I’m somewhat well-equipped to handle whatever comes my way.
The post Chasing Melodies Through a Fog of Flu & Frostbite appeared first on Autumns Eyes.
