I am fairly sure that I told you all that I have really narrowed down the songs. I have every song picked out and it is just going to take perfecting the production to finish the record. I hope to have everything finished and mastered by the end of August. This will give reverbnation time to deliver the album for its actual release date; October 13, 2012.
I am also fairly sure that I mentioned my "Speaking In Cursive" album. I said I planned to release it around this time next year, but there has been a change of plans. Here's what I mean: I just realized that I have plenty of old, mostly finished material that will NOT fit on "Speaking In Cursive."Basically, these songs are of a completely different vibe and belong on a different release.
Actually, I have so many songs; that I can, and now plan to, make two whole LPs for early next year. I guess one could call this a syphoning off on all my pre-recording artist material. I've been a songwriter for a number of years, but had not really delved far into recording because I felt that I NEEDED a legitimate studio and producer to make a good record. I had little faith in my own abilities in that regard, mostly because I lacked a tremendous amount of experience, however much I listened and--hopefully--learned from my favorite artists. I have since shed that timidness, as is made obvious by the fact that I am independently producing and releasing my first album this year.
That said, most of the songs on these two new EPs are B-sides to "The Green Line" in many ways. A majority of these songs were considered for "The Green Line," but are getting left off the record because they either did not flow with the rest of the songs or simply were not far enough along in their production to be viable options. There are also a great many of these songs that had no chance from the beginning because I had no idea how to approach those songs or felt they weren't close enough to even consider producing for the first album.
Lest we make some false assumptions, I must note that my B-sides are songs I think could all have been A-sides. They definitely can and will be able to stand on their own. These are not throw away songs, just songs that weren't ready at the time of my recording "The Green Line" in my Cove Studio.
In the spirit of these songs being worthy of being A-side songs, I decided on making two new LPs that will be released ahead of "Speaking In Cursive" and hopefully will both be released by this time next year. The first of these is called "Once Upon A Time In Waco" and are clearly songs I wrote just before or during my time at Baylor University. This, of course, means that they just were not able to fit in the first 5 songs of "The Green Line."
The second LP is called "A Long Night in Denton." This is, obviously, a group of songs that I wrote during my post-Baylor years in Denton, Texas until now; thus, they were songs that couldn't make the second half of "The Green Line."
I am finding out that I have steadily become a better songwriter and producer as time has gone on. So, I desire to showcase that. Listeners will hopefully be able to note a difference between earlier songs and later ones, though not one that would make the first album weak. The songs are still quite strong, but I was in a different place when I wrote that material. I was just entering a long period of depression and dealing with the effects of my rather rough upbringing. The tone of most of the songs will reflect this, lost love, fear, and the like are constant motifs. Surprisingly enough, there are also a lot of songs that are hopeful or about hoping. This reflects the fact that I still, despite everything, viewed people and the world in a brighter light, whatever my depressions would make me say. Death was also alluded to fairly often.
In the "Denton" record, I hope people notice that these were more hopeful times for me. The songs that will end the album will reflect the changes I've gone through the past year, while the earlier tracks will more than likely be on the darker side of life. At least, that is how things seem to be shaping up.
In closing, I am really excited about my music career and want you all to be on the lookout for more music from me. I am feeling like this is going to be a period much like the great Stevie Wonder had in the early 70s. I will have released 3 records within a year and will likely be releasing a 4th within the same time period. These are exciting times!
Peace & Love,
ZK
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