Kevin Carlson: Blog

After a year traveling back and forth to Europe, I'm back in the US full-time and have been in the studio recently trying to finish up the second CD.  It seems like it's been an eternity since Museum was released and despite my best efforts over the past year, I had a difficult time getting in the zone for recording (25 round trips to Munich and London in a year take a lot out of a guy).
It is really good to be back in the studio.  After meeting with some early frustration with my studio setup, I decided to replace a few things, primarily software, and what a difference it has made.  In case anyone is interested, I switched to an M-Audio interface and Sonar X1 Producer.  The ease with which Sonar works has made recording so much easier.  I was able to record tracks for Firefly in a matter of a few hours and am well on my way to have a few other songs completed.  I'm taking a bit of a departure from the production technique on the first CD and am adding more [...]

A lot of folks have asked me where my inspiration comes from for my songs.  Well, it usually comes from somewhere least expected.   Recently, I started writing a song, still untitled, that draws from a recent experience while traveling.  You may have read my previous blog post about being stranded in Munich due to the volcano.  Well, this is where the story of this song began...

Well, after getting temporarily stranded in Munich due to the volcanic ash cloud, and finally being able to spend some time getting back to work on the next CD over the past weekend, I decided it was time to start updating folks again after being silent the last few months....

Well, the latest gig at Java Monkey was a bit of a challenge, to say the least. First having to set up outside in 37 degree weather was a bit unexpected. I mistakenly expected that they would have relocated the music inside, but that didn't happen. The folks at Java Monkey were really helpful and very nice and helped set up the house PA. It was so cold that I was unable to remove my jacket so I must have looked a little like the Arctic Balladeer!

I took the stage, and began to play my first song of the evening to a small crowd that had gathered outside to hear some music when the PA started making rattling and buzzing noises. I didn't even get through the first line of the song and had to stop and try to figure out the problem. After a few minutes, one of the guys that worked there determined that the PA was having issues. So I unplugged my guitar, pushed the mic to the side pulled up close to the front of the stage and played an hour of music for the few who had decided that music [...]

The next few weeks I'll be finishing up the songs for my second CD. I've been playing some of the songs live. You know, it's funny how a live performance will sometimes force me back into the studio to re-record a certain part of a song based on audience reaction to performing it one way or another.

Some of the songs I've been playing that will be on the next CD are Bittersweet, Firefly, Time With Her, Carolina Skies, Did Alright and Isabel to name a few. I'm currently working on the last verse to Northern Lights. Maybe I'll get a chance to play that in February at one of my gigs. I still haven't completely decided on the name for the next CD. I'm hoping if I focus on the music that by the time I'm done recording the name will seem obvious. I can always hope for that anyway ;-)