Sweltering Summer ONU Update

Hello DIS Family and other well-wishers and onlookers,

The ambient air temperature sensor on my production computer is registering 97º at 8:45pm. That’s how warm the Cave is this evening. This has been a particularly hot Summer for me, as our home’s central air compressor died a few weeks ago and we can’t afford a new system ($2500-3500). In the kitchen at the facility I work at the temperature and humidity are about the same as our house, so I get no relief going to work or coming home. We’ve put a cheap window AC unit in our bedroom window, so I can sleep, but I am sweating for most of the time I’m awake. That’s hard for me because I am a Wisconsin boy and am far more comfortable in a deep freeze than the dog days of Summer.

I have been having a very difficult time working through the song “Forgive”. Writing and arranging what is really an orchestral score is a lot more complex than a rock song, let me tell you, especially since in an opera recitative you don’t really have verses or choruses–just a long series of non-repeating musical phrases that you hope will work with the dialogue being sung. I am about halfway through the hardest part, and after that the song will break down into a more conventionally arranged rock song.

This song is critically important, as it not only propels the plot along, but does so in a way that really adds depth to the female lead’s character. A great plot point–Jesus does NOT heal her, and they both know why he won’t, or more precisely, why she won’t accept his healing (I’ll give you a hint: it has something to do with the song title).

After this I have half of the “I Will Live” solo by Helena to write (the other half is a reprise of a song I’ve already finished) and a rearrangement of this “Forgive” song I’m working on now. Then I will be finished with all of the solo parts that Becca will, Lord willing, be singing as Helena.

As usual, I am vacillating between depression and elation when it comes to this project. I get frustrated and depressed with the pace of this project and the very restrictive limits of my own talents and gifts. We are nearing the ten year anniversary of Sorrow & Promise, our group’s first major opus (released September 2001). I would have never, ever predicted that our sophomore effort would take a decade to accomplish. I am more than a little embarrassed by that, actually, and I am thankful for everyone involved who still supports this effort.

On the other hand, what material I have finished, albeit in conceptual demo form, is extremely good (or at least I think it is). I think it builds nicely on where we were headed from the S&P project and fits the subject matter of the story very well. No one will mistake it for the work of any other band, and even though our influences will be obvious, we won’t be parroting anyone.

Technologically, I have more computing power and tracking abilities using my MacBook Pro than we did in a formal studio ten years ago. My guitar tone is much, much better, Jonathan’s bass tone will be even more definitive, and the way we’ll be tracking drums will yield a very unique drum tone. I am purchasing the Toontrack Superior Drummer engine with their Custom & Vintage SDX expansion pack, which is a fantastic drum sampler system. Frank will play his parts on an electronic kit in Florida to a series of demo tracks, recording only his MIDI performances. He’ll email them to me and I’ll drop them into the SD program. There, my engineering partners Thomas and Jonathan can help select precisely which snare, kick, toms, and cymbals will work with our mix. This program is radically powerful and the net result is that all the nuances of Frank’s playing are preserved, but we can replace any element of his kit to fit our band sound.

The biggest lift will come when I track Becca and Dan Kunde in the two lead vocal parts. I fired myself as lead singer of this band, and I am very excited as to what Dan will do with this material. His voice is excellent, and, more importantly to the pop/rock world, interesting.

So there I go. I began this post a bit deflated, but writing that last paragraph lifted my spirits a bit. Man, what I could do with about three months off. I’d have this thing completely done. But we cannot afford that, so I’ll be doing my best to write whenever I can. It would be nice to finish this thing by the end of the year.

As always, any prayers are appreciated,
Bart

P.S.: As a perspective check, it took Rush only six years to write, arrange, and record the six strongest albums in their catalog: 2112, A Farewell To Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and Signals. Sigh.

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