Focus

Alright Brian, I'll try to focus my points.

Today's theme! Music.

So I finally put Save For Rachel in production and managed to start selling it. Or finish selling it. See, we made forty copies, and I sold them for five dollars a piece.

They're all pretty much gone now. I'm sold out! What with this and the money from gifts for confirmation, I have more money right now than I ever have had on hand. I plan on using the money for musical equipment. Maybe a mic.

The equipment would come in handy, because I'm finally getting my own band together. No ideas for the name yet, but we've got most of our members solidly in place. By now we've had a couple of practices.

On top of that, as you may have gathered, the original cover concert concept for the band did not go through - EDG3 took it's place this year. Now that's it's summer, I've decided to start working on the production, making it into a full-fledged show with acting, stage presence, you name it. It'll be great.

EDG3! is tomorrow. Boy, am I excited.

My brother is begging to take the place of my current bass player and I'm considering it these days.

I played at mass a couple of weeks ago. Damn, that was fun.

Oh! And I believe that I'm going to have an audition with Del Parkinson at some point this summer. He's apparently the biggest name in piano in Boise. If I studied under him, it would be a huge boon to my musical knowledge. I hope it works out.

And I may have found a new album. I'll mention it later, don't worry...

What To Say...

Brian, help me out. What do you do when your life's so chaotic that you don't know what to blog about? It's hard to funnel these events in my life to produce some sort of moral or cohesive story at al. I just feel lost in my own life's happenings. It's all too much.

Well I'm having trouble filter it out, so I'll try to say it all.

School - My schoolwork's taking a hit because of my disorganization, and my absolute loathing of Algebra II. I'm going to have to pull out some serious studying for finals if I want to salvage myself. My interactions with my friends and acquaintances are changing rapidly, and I'm not sure how to react. Old friends suddenly start to look like trash, and bare acquaintances show an incredible person. Through it all, I find myself much more understanding than anybody in the school. I hear sharp, harsh 'shut ups' thrown around all the time to outsiders, and I hate it. I can't even remember the last time I said that and meant it seriously.

Music - The new piano lessons are going great. Did I mention? I may not have. I have a new teacher. Really cool dude. In contrast, the band is attempting a concert, but we are botching it terribly, and at this point, I dread that the thing will fail entirely - it won't happen, or won't be very good. Apart from that, I'm getting gigs weekly now, and it has had a profound affect on my life. Suddenly I work part-time (sort of). My income for a month has doubled. But on the other end of that, I'm spending a lot more on music as well - Save For Rachel is in final production stages, but with all the money by now that I've spent on CDs and cases and production in general, I'll have to sell at least ten albums to make up for my losses. Let me just say, I had better sell more than ten albums. If you're interested in receiving one, I will be selling them next week at school, and extras at any of my gigs (5 dollars a pop). If you're just a blog reader and interested, leave a comment and I'll try to figure something out. I'm still trying to get a band together...

Confirmation - I'm getting confirmed this coming Monday. I'm not sure what to think - my morality right now is still tossed about. I feel like I'm making progress, but I am so, so unsure of everything in life right now. Maybe this will help me find my way again. But I'm not sure it will.

I'm sure there's more to say, but there's too much too say to bother saying it. And if anybody knows how to upload mp3's to a blog, please, please leave a comment.

Save For Rachel

I may not have mentioned that I've done a lot of composing music lately, but I have been. In fact, with all of my old music (some of it having been remastered recently) and the new music I've managed to do, I've compiled a rough draft of my first album, called Save for Rachel.

The name of the album comes from an inside reference and I girl I'm falling for. The original name was Save for Wilson, and it was inspired by the first day of band. When we got to school, there were several boxes with 'Save for Wilson' written on them. Mr. Haskell pointed out that it'd be a good band name (or as he mentioned, at least better than 'Death Cab for Cutie'). At any rate, since that point I've been determined to start a band or do something involving that phrase. This is a compromise, and a step towards actualizing the full goal.

As for Rachel, she's a girl. And I like her. Enough to dedicate an album to her and give the prototype to her with a bonus track.

I've got other plans for the album, though. I think I'll keep the name, but I plan to add some more songs, fine-tune everything, and sell it at school for next to nothing. I can also use this to my advantage. You see, I'm running for Junior Class President. So, normally, I'll charge two dollars per album (still really cheap), but if it's a sophomore and they pledge a vote, it's a dollar. Say what you want about selling votes, but it's my material, and it's a fair discount.

I'd post some of the music up, but I don't know how. If anybody knows how to post up MP3s to a blog, please leave a comment, trying to explain, or just linking to something that will. Much appreciated.

In Other News

I've been working on an album lately. I've got about ten songs so far, and a few of them are decent. The others... well, some of them are decent. I've also been working on my book. I haven't and won't be posting on my Monday Musings blog anymore, or at least, I won't be posting that story. I hope to get it published at some point. That would be fun.

The Christmas Concert is tonight. I've arranged Wizards in Winter for it, a rock christmas song. The band is somewhat unprepared, but we'll pull it off. We'll be fine. Make it if you can (event details on the sidebar).

I have relatives and friends in town this weekend, including Grandpa Don, my Mom's best friend Beth, and her daughter Alyssa. It's actually Alyssa's birthday today. (Happy birthday Alyssa) They are staying at the house, which unfortunately means that I get to sleep downstairs on the couch. It wouldn't have been so bad if Mom hadn't given me a single blanket that doesn't even cover my feet...

I haven't started studying yet, but I plan to spend most of my weekend preparing for the finals. Except for Sunday. I may or may not have a racquetball tournament with some friends at the Y that day. A lot of guys I hung out with from swim team still want to get a chance to beat me at racquetball. I won't let them get that chance, though.

Micheal's coming on back Christmas Eve. Can't wait to see him.

That's all for today... I hope you've had a good day, and from all of us here at Alcatraz014, have a good night.