Category Archives: CD Project

CD Project Update #22 – Recording Done, The Fun Now Begins

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As predicted in my last CD Project Update, I finished recording all of the tracks yesterday.

It was a strange feeling though, like I was saying goodbye to my songs because I had worked so very closely with them over the last 18 months or so and in that time, I had gotten to know the songs inside and out.

Now I have to let them go and be mixed, mastered and packaged into a CD that I’ll be very proud of. No more overdubbing, no more studio experiments… That’s it, finished.

It all seems very final doesn’t it?

I must say though that my songs now (with the knowledge that there’s a CD coming out) take on a whole new perspective when I play them live. It’s like the time that I’ve taken with them in the studio has given me a whole new outlook on how I can present my songs in a live environment.

As a live performer first and foremost, I’m very, very excited by this realisation.

Another reason that I’m excited is that today I started on my CD Marketing Plan. I want to make sure that I can get everything done by April to June of 2012 as this is when I want the CD launch to be held.

Hopefully by that time people have recovered from the madness that is February and March and would be ready to start going out again even though it’s the end of Autumn/beginning of Winter.

I can now see that the recording of the tracks was the easy part. Getting everything to the finished product stage is where the fun truly begins.

As usual I’ll keep you all posted…

Peace,

Corey :)

CD Project Update #21 – A Revised Timeline

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I was in the studio on Wednesday (23rd November) and completed the backing vocals to “Don’t Turn To Me Now”, “Jigsaw” and “Seeing Stars.” I’ve only got the backing vocals for three more songs to go and all the recording for the CD will be done.

Man that is going to be a load off my back but of course that doesn’t mean that the CD is ready to release.

The next step after recording is for the tracks to be mixed down and balanced by Anthony Stewart. After discussions with Anthony about this, we’ve worked out that this next process is looking like being finished by the end of February 2012.

While the mixing of the tracks is taking place I’ll be making sure that the artwork for the CD will be completed by the same time. Once this is done we are then well and truly on the home stretch.

With the mixing and the artwork completed, all that needs to be done is for the tracks to be mastered by Neville Clarke at DiskEdits and then for the physical product to be printed and put together which will be done by Alec Gheude at Pro Advanced Media.

Only after all of that will I then have my own debut CD in my hot little hands. I’m anticipating that this will happen by the end of April 2012 so there’s a little bit more of a wait ahead for me but I tell you what…

It’ll be well worth it.

Peace,

Corey :)

CD Project Update #20 – Not Long To Go Now

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My sincere apologies for the sporadic nature of these CD Project updates. I’ll try to do better from now on :)

In the months since my last CD Project update, the recording process has been a little stop/start with illness or unavailability of either myself or Anthony Stewart getting in the way however, I’m happy to say that all of the instrumental recording were completed a couple of weeks ago.

The Running Sheet

The only thing left to do now are the backing vocals.

Yesterday I had Alex Frost come in and put some vocals on a couple of songs “Seeing Stars” and “A Girl Like You” which turned out really well.

Alex Singing

My goal was to get all recording finished by the end of November and I’m happy to say that this goal is still very achievable.

I’ve now finalised the 12 songs that are going onto the CD. They are (in alphabetical order)

  • A Girl Like You
  • Don’t Turn To Me Now
  • Half Hearted Man
  • Jigsaw
  • Just One Kiss
  • Leave It All Behind
  • Missing You Already
  • Nothing Stands In Your Way
  • Seeing Stars
  • Shadows
  • The Back Of My Mind
  • We Can’t Get Together Anymore

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the tracks that are left over but I’m leaning towards giving some music away as a way of promoting the CD. I’l keep you all posted as to what I decide.

I think now is the time for me to start putting together some ideas for the design and the pre and post launch promotion/marketing of the CD. Maybe a photo session is going to be needed as well.

So much to do, so little time.

Peace,

Corey :)

What Have I Been Doing Lately?

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“Hey Corey, what have  you been doing lately?”

Now I like being busy but I’ve noticed that over the past three months I’ve been getting busier and busier and looking at my diary for the next three months it’s even busier again.

My normal response to being asked that question is “what haven’t I been doing lately” however, since my last full post “Absence Makes The (Blogging) Heart Grow Fonder” on July 29th, it’s safe to say that I’ve been doing a lot of activity.

Activities such as:

  • Working on my CD Project
  • Learning news songs for FIGJAM and my solo shows
  • Writing more songs with Adrian Miller and Jeff Smith
  • Starting up the Open Mic @ The Brunswick Hotel
  • Completing my 2010/2011 APRA Live Performance Return
  • Completing my 2010/2011 Tax paperwork
  • Competing in FOOM 2011
  • Entering in the UK Songwriting Competition (with Adrian Miller)
  • Playing Bass with Joe Man Murphy at the Semaphore Music Festival
  • Auditioning for Australia’s Got Talent

Of course, in between all of this I have been playing loads of gigs (as you can tell with my CS Gigs updates) at night and working through the day at Pro Advanced Media.

“When do you sleep?” I hear you ask… Hmmm, no wonder my blogging has been few and far between of late.

I had a profound realisation recently. I rediscovered the fact that our lives are essentially the sum total of all of the choices that we’ve made and will continue to make until we die.

With that in mind, this would mean that right now, I am the way I am because I’ve made it that way, not through some external influence.

My hectic life is my choice and therefore I can also choose a less hectic life. How I achieve this is another story however, I’m in love with the idea of a more balanced life.

I’ll see what I can do to make it happen.

Peace,

Corey :)

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CD Project Update #19 – It’s Slowly But Surely

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Recording is now back into full swing at Red Brick Music for my CD last Wednesday (May 25th) and we’re now putting electric guitar onto the tracks that feature Stig Lindell’s keyboard tracks.

The two tracks we worked on were Don’t Turn To Me Now and Shadows.

The main challenge that Darren and I were facing on the day was to come up with guitar overdub ideas that successfully weave in-between what the keyboards were doing. This is so we can try and get some sort of balance between the two instruments.

I think we did pretty well on the day.

I even attempted to put down a lead solo in Shadows which was a daunting task with both Darren and our engineer, Anthony Stewart being gun guitarists themselves.

The end result however, is something that I’m really proud of and it was an experience that filled me with a little bit more confidence in my electric guitar playing.

Speaking about electric guitar, here are some more photos of Darren’s rig…

Darren’s Amps

Darren’s Pedals

Darren Jamming

Until the next time…

Peace,

Corey :)

CD Project Update #18 – The Marvels Of Modern Technology

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Yes, I know there’s been a long time between CD Project updates but (as outlined in a previous post) there’s not much I could do if I can’t physically get to the studio.

Anyways, here’s what’s been happening in the last few weeks

The initial eight Stig Lindell keyboard tracks done at Chapel Lane Studios have now been integrated with the tracks recorded at Red Brick Music and the results so far are stunning to say the least.

Thank goodness the tracks were all recorded with a click-track otherwise trying to match the recorded files from two separate studio locations would have been a logistical nightmare.

The rest of the keyboard tracks will be completed by Stig in the not too distant future but this time instead of recording them at Chapel Lane again, he will be recording them in his studio in Sweden.

I have put the rest of the files up onto my server. Stig can then download the files, do what he needs to do to them and then upload the results back up to my server again.

Ahh, the marvels of modern technology…

Speaking about modern technology, my car is now cleared of any defects and is allowed back onto the road which means that recording will start again from next Wednesday.

All that needs to be done now is for Darren to finish off his guitar parts (going for a goal of one track per week) and for the final vocals and other bits and pieces to be recorded and then we’re onto the next phase…

The creation of the physical product, which reminds me, I must organise photos, graphics then the printing, duplication plus, the venue for the CD launch.

Well, I’m off to create yet another list.

Peace,

Corey :)

CD Project Update #17 – It’s On The FlashDrive

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Today I’m going into Chapel Lane Studios to pick up my 8GB flash-drive with Stig Lindell’s keyboard parts on it all mixed and lined up ready to be taken back to Anthony Stewart at Red Brick Music to be integrated into his system.

Today is also the day that Darren Zaza goes back into the studio and overdubs his electric guitar parts to “We Can’t Be Together Anymore.” Last Wednesday he completed his guitar parts to “Jigsaw.”

I can’t wait to hear what he has done with both songs as I haven’t been able to get to the studio due to prior recording commitments.

Lately I’ve had more and more people ask me when the CD is going to be finished.

I’m hoping that by the start of the new financial year (July 1st, 2011) I will have a finished CD in my hands and ready to be launched onto an unsuspecting public but, as with all good goals though, it’s best to not set them in concrete.

I’ll keep you posted as always.

Peace,

Corey :)

CD Project Update #16 – On The Home Stretch

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Last weeks CD recording schedule had achieved much more than I anticipated and for that I’m very, very grateful.

All of the vocal tracks were completed last Wednesday at Red Brick Music and on the Thursday at Chapel Lane Studios, Stig Lindell put down keyboards on 7 of the 15 tracks.

He went back to Sweden on Monday however, he has suggested that I send the remaining tracks over for him to finish off.

I want to publicly say a big THANK YOU to Stig for his time and dedication to my CD Project. The tracks sound absolutely superb and the whole process has inspired me in ways that I can’t adequately express in words.

Here are some pictures I took of the sessions at Chapel Lane Studios last week…

The Control Room

Stig Laying Down A Track

Chord Chart (Seeing Stars)

Gabe (The Engineer) = Lightning Fast!

I can safely say that in regards to the recording part of the CD Project, I’m now on the home stretch.

Darren and I have to finish off the electric guitar tracks plus backing vocals, some percussion and miscellaneous production tweaks need to be completed before the mixdown and mastering of all the tracks take place.

Then the fun starts…

Artwork, printing, CD duplication, promotion, CD launch organisation and everything else in between. I’ve got to start making a list.

Peace,

Corey :)

CD Project Update #15 – Swedish Keyboards

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I’m pleased to report a couple of exciting new developments on the CD recording front for this week.

After a bit of a stop-start beginning to this year I’m going back into the studio tomorrow for the first recording session for 2011. I hope to finish off all of the main vocal parts.

The exciting part though is that the next day (February 10th), I’ll be recording keyboard parts at Chapel Lane Studios using Swedish producer and keyboard player Stig Lindell.

How all this came about was through a fortunate set of events that to me, demonstrates perfectly the power of networking.

Over the last week I’ve been laying down some bass tracks at Chapel Lane for good friend and amazing singer/songwriter Jay Jaxson’s new CD of which Stig is producing. Jay told me that there was some free time (as in availability not cost) in the studio coming up and that Stig was willing and able to do whatever music work was required.

After experiencing first hand Stig’s keyboard playing (he played some guide keys while I was recording) I jumped at the chance of using him. I asked and he said yes.

It’s amazing what happens when you just ask.

I know that getting the keyboard parts out the way will take a huge load off my mind as finding a good keyboard player with time on their hands to do some recording has been a very challenging task indeed.

What’s left are just the Electric Guitar parts of Darren Zaza plus some extra overdubs such as backing vocals and perhaps some percussion to do and that’s it.

It feels so good to get back into recording mode again. It’s been far too long.

Peace,

Corey :)

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CD Project Update #14 – False Alarm

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Head and Neck Overview (from http://training.s...
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Last weeks studio session was a complete disaster because I was fighting yet another head cold and my voice wasn’t up to the challenge of singing the rest of the songs.

We did try one song but I sounded like I was singing while holding my nostrils together and let me tell you, it wasn’t a good start to the day.

This recent experience has really taught me a lesson about how important it is as a performing musician to maintain a healthy mind and body.

It seems really obvious but it is amazing how easily a live performance (or a studio session) can be affected with even the slightest amount of sickness going through the body or negativity going through the mind.

I’ve rescheduled the session for either next Tuesday or Wednesday (22nd or 23rd of December) and I hope that all of the vocals will be done by then which will then free up my time to concentrate on getting guitars, keys and maybe some backing vocals completed in January 2011.

Peace,

Corey :)

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