Starting to Finish (or Finishing Starting)
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been carving out time — sometimes in fits and starts, sometimes in longer bursts — to move a bunch of songs forward. Not just starting new ones (something I’m very good at once the brain kicks into songwriting mode — which I apparently fed caffeine to in February), but actually working toward finishing them. Recording happens at the home studio (affectionately named Elliot Linden Studios) whenever I can make myself haul out the cables and mics, re-set the levels, and — a first for me — actually keep a recording diary so I remember just what the hell I did.
It’s been messy. It’s been fun. And it’s been a learning curve in a lot of ways.
Looking back at the aforementioned diary, it’s clear just how much ground has been covered already. On March 23, I kicked things off by laying down basic drums for Everything is OK, throwing a compressed Telecaster guide track on top. (I do not play drums — something my neighbours are probably grateful for — so I have to piece everything together from loops.) A couple of weeks later, I was onto This is the Bad One, wrestling with structure and patching fixes into the back half of the verses. (Some songs like to behave; some need a little tougher love.)
April kept the momentum going. Have a Good Day got its drum foundation and some guide guitars (on the black 335). Have You Read the News saw me experimenting a little — tracking my cheap but very rich Yamaha acoustic, layering a Strat for clean and heavy textures, and at one point asking myself mid-session “shall I pretend to be an 80’s blues guy here?”.
One of the more interesting turns came while working on Fall in the Right Direction. Inspired by a bit of a Queens of the Stone Age vibe — but staying true to my own tone — I tried sneaking in a synth bass line. I ran an old Casio midi controller through Studio One’s Mojito synth, dialing up a sawtooth “fullead” patch. It’s a small thing, but a whole new colour for me — and it reminds me why pushing yourself outside your comfort zone is almost always a good thing. (Time will tell whether that synth bass stays… or whether it shows up in even more places.)
Not everything has been smooth. YEG needed structural surgery after an early attempt to add distorted 12-string accents exposed bigger flaws. But fixing it made it stronger — and reminded me that sometimes starting over is part of finishing too.
And speaking of breaking and fixing: let’s not yet talk about the bassline for This is the Bad One — because at present, it is… um, not good. But directions are suggesting themselves. Conversely, the bassline for Fall in the Right Direction is pretty freaking kickin’ (and yes, it even sneaks in a bit of a bass solo).
Also, clearly, I’ll need to buy a new bass.
Because of course I will.
If there’s a theme running through all this, it’s about moving from the habit of starting to the harder (and ultimately more satisfying) work of finishing. It’s easy to chase every new idea; it’s harder to stay with something long enough to really bring it home. But finishing doesn’t close the door on creativity — it clears space for new things to show up.
I’m looking forward to seeing where these songs end up. Some are getting close to needing vocals; others still have gaps to fill. But for the first time in a long time, it feels like the pieces are starting to connect — and that feels really good.
Speaking of connecting, the live schedule is starting to take shape too! Made it out to Ward 4 last Wednesday for the first time in an age, and made the commitment to keep getting back out there. Porchfests and other shows are piling up — so the next post will be full of calendar entries, I promise.
In the meantime: chin up, elbows up, and let’s keep keeping on.
Go finish something — and then start another thing.
-Chris