Album Update: The Heat And Fog.

The west is definitely taking a solid beating from the sun. As I left San Rafael for Count’s studio yesterday afternoon, it was dry, bright and hot to the point of discomfort - which is unusual for these parts. As I entered the tunnel to the Golden Gate, traffic was just stopped completely. The fog was just pouring in through the bay like someone was blowing up a balloon and it made it quite hard to see other drivers on the road. The air in San Francisco was nice and cool - the kind of weather that makes it compulsory to spend time out of doors. That’s why it felt a little weird spending hours in the studio…

So last night, we went through the songs again, this time listening to some additions Count made and going through his notes and suggestions. These conversations are at least as constructive as actual figuring out new ‘parts’ for the songs as they guide the overall ’sound’. In the past we’ve disagreed greatly (’Honeythief’ for example: he and Rebecca could hear what it would ultimately become - I dismissed it almost immediately after I finished writing the music. I was wrong in this case and I really like it now), we’ve challenged ourselves to finish tracks we knew would work somehow (’Everything Is OK’ took months, literally, as we tried the song in several different styles before it eventually worked), and we’ve abandoned songs completely.

The new tracks we’re working with are demos that I’ve purposely arranged so that I wouldn’t be tied to any arrangement or instrumentation. This way, when we get into the studio, we can be open-minded about what’s working instead of being loyal to the sounds that exist in the demo.

The biggest surprise of the evening for me was count reviving a couple of my older songs and shaping them into something that we’ll be able to work with. It’s always strange and enjoyable to sort of hear my songs for the first time…

I continue to be very optimistic and energetic about what we’re doing now. The direction we’re going feels right because it’s so new in so many ways.

RYAN