Alexander's Feast

So, it's Friday, and we worked last night and into this morning and finished about 1 a.m. We had a very productive session with finishing details on Louisiana, Time and Ghostly Writer. This now brings the total of the finished songs (minus vocals) to six. We have finishing touches to still do on Wouldn't Change A Thing, The Hill, Hey Babe and Weightless. We hope to get Ben Manuel in for a session to do some electric guitar and mandolin work, then we just have vocals left. We will hopefully get really close to wrapping up tracking on the project next week.

One of the most intriguing songs on this project actually came to life right at the beginning of this production. Casey, my producer, told me that some of the best songs that he has seen artists write are often written during the production of an album. Maybe it is the inspiration of being in the studio and hearing your music come to life. I don't know, but Ghostly Writer was written right at the beginning of this whole production. I liked it so much, that I ditched other songs for it and it made the cut for Weightless. I had 17 songs written and ready to record but I only intended to use 10. Today, it no longer serves a purpose for an artist to jam 15 songs on a cd because people are buying songs one at a time on digital distribution sites like Itunes, Rhapsody and such. So, I settled with ten and Ghostly Writer slipped in right at the end. I liked including it on the project because I believe that it shows my range as a songwriter and it provides a stark contrast to many of the songs on Weightless.

Last night, as I was adding parts to Ghostly Writer and listening to Jivka's violin trio in my ear, I was suddenly brought back on stage to the Ralph Pottle Music Auditorium at SLU Music School where I was singing a solo in Handel's Alexander's Feast while the legendary, Bob Weatherly conducted the pit orchestra. Isn't it funny how our influences and experiences end up surfacing down the road in our writings and creativity. The string movements in this song really bring a Baroque feel to this dry, dark, folk song. Of course, when I sat down with my Taylor to write this song, I never had any intentions of making it Baroquish, but that is the beauty of production in music.

One of the things that make me so fond of Ghostly Writer is that I wrote it in an hour. A lot of my songs are written sometimes over days or weeks as I progress through ideas. Ghostly Writer came quickly and I went with my first instincts and stuck with it. The lyrics are hard hitting, raw and in your face.

Verse 1 - There's No Love, When You're In The Darkness,
Just a Side of Fries and a Long Slim Jim
There's No Morning, And No Tomorrow,
Just The Circus That I'm Living In

When people ask me about the deep meaning in the lyrics, I will probably laugh (inside) and make up some philosophical reason all the while knowing that I just went with my instincts on what the words should be and I stuck with them. Directions featured no songs like this but this is where my musical taste and style in writing has changed and I can't wait to share it.

Have a great day!!!
Gregory