I finally have a couple of songs near completion, which will be released simultaneously. It’s a big of an experiment with two different styles, and the first song was actually originally written by my best friend Billy McDaniel many years ago. He never released it, as it’s a very dark themed song essentially about being in at the rock bottom and wanting to end it all, told in 1st person. Still, I thought the song ROCKED and set out to put my own spin on it. I ran it by Billy and, with his permission, will be releasing it in the next few weeks or so.

Due to the very dark nature of the first song, and not wishing for my friends and family to think that I’M at the end of MY rope, I set out to write another song with the intention of it being more of a hopeful counterpoint to the first. This one is presented from the viewpoint of a friend or support person, trying to make the first person realize that things are what they are and you’ve got to just accept them and roll with it.

Of course, that’s just MY take on the songs as I put them together. You’re highly encouraged to think about them however you’d like and enjoy them just the same. Hopefully can appreciate them in any case, maybe even LIKE them!

Look for an update here as I get ready to release these in the coming weeks. Until then!

It only took me a few MONTHS to wrap up my newest song, but I’m happy to report that it not only exists, but is written, recorded, and now in the talented hands of Brian Stratman over at Capricorn Studios where he is polishing up the sound and putting the final touches on the track! In fact, I’ve already heard a great sounding version back from the studio and it really sounds awesome!

Not too many people realize that working with a studio in general is a very give and take interaction. I’m also working with them in a bit of a different way than others I would imagine, in that I’m doing all of the recording and tracking myself, then bouncing the individual tracks over to them, along with a mp3 demo with my best mixing attempt to give them some idea as to what kind of sound I’m looking for. With that information, the studio engineer (in this case, Brian), attacks the song full force, twisting and shaping it, trying to get the best sound he can. When he’s got a final mix he’s happy with, he kicks the mp3 over to the artist (or the recording schlub, which would be me) to review. After some careful listening I determine if it sounds great enough to go with or if there are additional specific changes that, in my artistic opinion and along with my “vision” for the song, I would like to see happen before we call it “DONE”.

At this point, that first review has happened. I’m incredibly happy with the sound, but have provided some changes for the studio to make in hopes that it will sound even better, and align a little bit closer to my ultimate “vision”. I don’t expect that to take too long to complete, and I plan on releasing the song shortly thereafter. If you want to know the moment it’s released, make sure you’re following @nickmclaren on Twitter!

Writing songs is hard work, but I’m proud of the work I have done and I can’t WAIT to share the results with you! Soon…

“But Nick, why is it taking so damn LONG?!”

Because I wasn’t 100% happy with my mix of the song, and decided to work with Bryan Stratman (of Crash Encore) over at Capricorn Studios to see what could be done to get it to the level I’ve been hearing in my head. Thankfully, he delivered and then some! I only gave the mix a few listens this evening, but what I’m hearing is exponential improvement over previous iterations of the song!

“..so, how come you can’t just release it NOW?”

I love the enthusiasm.. I do! Truly! But, I’m simply not officially releasing the song it’s been put through it’s paces and I think it is ready to be heard on a large-scale. With any luck, this won’t be as far off as it might seem.. A little back and forth, some final mastering.. and I’ll start the official final countdown.. with a firm date/time and everything!

On a side note…but no less important..

I just want to give a HUGE “THANK YOU” to Missi over at Rock 105.3 for being so damn cool about giving my music airplay on her Loud and Local show! She truly goes above and beyond for local bands/musicians, and I just don’t think she gets enough of the recognition and respect that she truly deserves. So, next time you hear her on the radio, give her a call to just thank her for being an awesome supporter of local music and/or send her an email expressing my/your/our appreciation! THANK YOU MISSI! YOU ROCK 120%!

UPDATE: Not sure if it will be this week, but it will be SOON in any case!