Yesterday was filled with my mix revision notes first, all "...Fish!" related, and then a little bit of the editing that I had been putting off. I also made a list of parts that I wanted to record which is what I worked on today. The remainder and majority of yesterday, though, was dedicated to once again opening up the "Mirror Land" EP and starting that whole process again.
My mix changes for that EP were once again huge, partly because I've recently tried and learned a few more new items, and I figured they might help me with the mess that I've been working with. My changes for the title track were numerous but unfortunately I took quite a few of them too far so I'll be making more changes. I spent a ton of time, though, on "Optimism" and tried working with the 12 string Rick tracks every which way I could. I finally ended up trying the direct signal, normally a bit of a last resort, and played around with making that sound more like what I was hoping for. A bit to my shock, it more or less worked, and I also managed to get the bass sitting a bit better, something else I had been struggling with for many iterations. "Only With You" has also been a thorn in my side but I started over where I felt I needed to and the results were at least pleasing. No, these mixes still aren't done but I think they're on the right road at long last and my ear has really gotten better at figuring out what's exactly wrong in the mixes.
Today was spent solely on recording bits for the "...Fish!" album. It's amazing how long it takes to record even the simplest parts. I started the day with 12 string acoustic tracks, since that approach seemed to work well on some of the other songs, and so I decided to finally lay down more 12 string on three additional songs. I had a bit of a delay and mild meltdown, though, since the neighbors decided to start revving and riding their motorcycle around the cul de sac. Its hard because everyone has a right to make some noise, myself being no exception (yes, I'm noisy and I know it), but it gets frustrating when you're trying to knock something out and you have to keep stopping in the middle of recording a part. I waited it out, trying to occupy my time with other things, and eventually got back to it, leaving memories of the motorcycle noise behind me.
I then shifted to harmonies on three songs and a short tambourine part. I thought that the latter would be easy but the tempo ended up being super fast for me, especially since I don't pick up the tambourine very often. I managed to figure it out, though, and through the magic of editing more or less made it work. My harmonies went pretty well today also but unfortunately I ran out of time before I could manage to work on the few electric guitar parts that I wanted to do. After these last few parts, I think everything is done as far as recording goes for the "...Fish!" album and completing the mixing process shouldn't be too far behind.
I'm giving myself a rough deadline of the end of February to get "...Fish!", "Mirror Land", and "Effects..." completely wrapped up from a mix perspective. March 1st is dedicated already to getting back to Defrost Nixon, and Memorial Day onward is ear marked for Wrecking Ball, Speak Softy Her Majesty, and the new Jazz Loop Machine album. If possible, I'm going to attempt to get back to the remix of "Lost Weekend" in there as well. Yeah, a very full year.
By the way, it is now official - the "band" name is now the Jazz Loop Machine. Putting it on Bandcamp made it real in my eyes and I've toyed around with the new name enough that I finally was able to decide on it. Of course, I've got a couple hundred CD's lying around with just "Jazz Machine" on the cover but oh well. The new album, though, will be properly branded. At this time, it's still called "Sorry, I Forgot to Mention This."
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