OFFICIAL CD RELEASE PARTY- PRESS RELEASE!!!

Fancy, right?

Written by the fabulously talented Phil Bond.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Phil Geoffrey Bond

212 695 6909

Beechmantheatre@aol.com

The Laurie Beechman Theatre

is pleased to present

DONNA LYNNE CHAMPLIN

Celebrating the release of her debut CD, Old Friends

www.donnalynnechamplin.com

http://donnalynnechamplinsfirstsolocd.bl

ogspot.com/

NEW YORK - The Laurie Beechman Theatre is very pleased to welcome Broadway’s Donna Lynne Champlin (Billy Elliot, Sweeney Todd, Hollywood Arms, James Joyce’s The Dead, By Jeeves), as she celebrates the release of her debut CD, Old Friends.

Beginning in September of 2009, Donna Lynne set out to record, produce and market her debut CD for under $1,000, chronicling her adventures on her blog. Not only is she the sole singer, but also the arranger, musician, mixer, masterer and PR agent of this remarkable collection of music. Well, the hard work is now done, and it’s time to celebrate!

On Sunday, November 29^th at 9:30pm, be the first to be handed a copy of Old Friends, and hear Donna Lynne perform the tracks live on the stage of the Beechman. There is a “pay-what-you-can” donation to be taken in cash at the door; a donation of $15 gets you a copy of the CD, or there is no donation necessary if you’ve already purchased the disc online. There is a $15 food/beverage minimum, and a full dinner menu is available. The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located within The West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42^nd St. (@ 9^th Avenue). For reservations, which are necessary, please call 212 695 6909.

Obie Award-winner DONNA LYNNE CHAMPLIN made her Broadway debut in James Joyce's The Dead (Mary Jane), and has gone on to appear in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s By Jeeves (Honoria), Carol Burnett and Carrie Hamilton’s Hollywood Arms (Helen), Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd (Pirelli) and is currently appearing in Elton John’s Billy Elliot (Lesley). Her Off-Broadway credits include Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Master Class, Bury the Dead, First Lady Suite, My Life with Albertine, Bloomer Girl (City Center Encores!) and Very Warm for May at Carnegie Hall. For her performances in Flight of the Lawnchair Man and Love Jerry, she was awarded "Outstanding Performance" awards from the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Film and television audiences have seen Donna Lynne in/on My Father's Will, The Audition, The Dark Half, Law and Order, The Tony Awards, Regis and Kelly, The View and A Rosie Christmas. She can also be heard on the original cast recordings of Sweeney Todd, My Life with Albertine, By Jeeves, Our Heart Sings and Carols for a Cure. A Princess Grace Award winner, she holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon and also studied on scholarship at Oxford University.

THE SAD CLOWN SONG

Musically-

this song is another 'straight shot'.

Just vocal and piano.

I've sung it for years.

I know every inch of it so....

recording it's not really that involved or interesting.

Altho- all you music geeks out there....

I've given you a little gift in the last bar of the piano tag.

A big nerd noogie to whomever can identify the last two bars of music in the piano accompaniment.

As far as the body of the song....

That's the real fun part.

I've often felt that my favorite songs were also my personal 'anthems'.

Songs that, at my funeral would be played and everyone would go,

"Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh, how fitting. Yes. Yes, indeed. Very 'her'."

Most of the songs on this album fit into that category...

but none more than this one.

This song by Charlie Chaplin has been a favorite of mine since childhood-

even before I understood the lyrics, really-

which are incredibly true, true, true, true, true.

It is a song in general about emotions-

pretending to be happy when you're sad-

and sad when you're happy...

but since the great comic genius Charlie Chaplin wrote it-

attention must be paid to where the man was actually coming from and what he possibly wanted us to understand about himself.

Btw- are you loving the tone that I have right now-

like Charlie Chaplin and I are best buds and I know every thought that went through his head when he wrote this cause we're 'THISCLOSE'?

God, I know I am.

Comedians are, I think the most underrated actors in all of the profession. 

People are always amazed when they turn in decent dramatic performances and then inexplicably hold it against them at the same time. 

They rarely win awards for their work which is massively more difficult than their dramatic compatriates-

and having done both genres myself equally-

I'm willing to stand by that statement til the cows come home.

It's a horrible misconception that comedy is easier than drama.

Horrible.

Because nothing could be further from the truth.

Comedic actors are merely dramatic actors with a tougher task to achieve and far less appreciation for it.

And not for nothing- but the same goes for musical theatre performers. Performing in a play is a fucking cake walk compared to being in a musical. Case kuh-losed.

And most comics, once you get to know them- are at their core incredibly insightful and observant people. They are, some not all - also, an endless well of despair and sorrow because they are incredibly insightful and observant. And...most likely have suffered incredible pain. Because otherwise, why develop a sense of humor at all? 

side bar-

I had the incredibly great fortune to work one on one with one of the most talented comediennes on the planet- the iconic and absolutely brilliant Ms Carol Burnett... and even I was amazed at the absolutely ridiculous shit that woman has gone through in her life personally and professionally. She is the perfect example of someone developing a sense of humor to first and foremost- survive. And she is at the same time- the rarest example of someone who has managed to rise above all of that pain and still somehow manage to be one of the most loving, generous, sweet-natured people I've ever met.

She is also the originator of the very famous and couldn't-be-more-true quote of  "comedy is tragedy plus time".

and if anyone would know-

it would be her.

And this track is dedicated to her with all the love in my heart.

Now.

I'm not saying you have had to have suffered incredibly pain to be funny-

but I know for a fact, that the funniest people I have ever met indeed have suffered intensely at some point in their lives. Sometimes they suffered the most at their own hands- 

and in that respect they can be a tremendous pain in the ASS...

but....

what can ya do.

And the people I've met with the poorest senses of humor, while lovely-

absolutely lovely to be around-

have led rather...

sheltered lives in comparison.

I'm sure there are exceptions to that rule but....

I'll be damned if I've seen one up close and personal yet.

So the fact that this song-

was written by arguably one of the greatest clowns that ever lived-

it is one of the purest windows into the soul of people who are not only funny-

but have to be  funny for their livelihood even when their worlds are crumbling around them.

There's nothing worse than say, learning of a death in a the family-

and then having to go to jump around like a starking git in a light, frothy British farce.

And, there's nothing better either.

Whereas in a 'regular' job, if you're sitting at your desk-

you might excuse yourself to go to the bathroom if you feel a well of pain come on-

but what do you do when you're singing and dancing center stage for a bunch of people who have no idea what's going on in your life and honestly, did not pay good money to even remotely care.

This, HAVING TO smile when you're sad, and HAVING TO cry when you're happy is the dilemma of the day to day actor that most people don't ever think about- and honestly, why should they. We have a job to do, and that's the gig.

But the real genius of this song....

is that the MUSIC is happy-

and the LYRICS are happy-

and yet...

it's a terribly terribly sad song.

Usually, when a song is 'sad'- 

the music gives it away when the lyrics play against it-

or vice versa-

but this song somehow manages to be BOTH in a major key AND have 'happy' lyrics and still is obviously a very sad song.

And for me-

it encapsulates the life of a comic.

a comedian.

a comedienne.

The clown will always make you laugh-

but you'll never really know whether the clown is actually, truly happy.

And that's the way we like it...

...because we are SICK mother fuckers!!!!!!!

YYEEEAAHHHH!!!!

OOHHHHhhhhhh mom- 

i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry....

it was just getting way too 'pat' and hallmarky.

i love you.

i do.

i love you mom.

even tho i have a filthy mouth which does not reflect on you AT ALL, i promise-

and it's not even remotely how i was raised.

You hear me everybody?

I was NOT raised to think that using profanity was OK.

I picked that shit up later in college.

And from the gays.

Those dirty 

nasty

delicious gays.

ok.

more tomorrow my loves-

off to bed.

xoxo

dl

PR UPDATE

ok dolls-

working on the next 'song' post for ya-

but there's a lot going on PR wise that I feel is necessary to import.

At the moment, the CD is being replicated at Play-It Direct and they called me today to let me know that they will be messengered to me on Thursday November 19th!!! Woot!

In the meantime--

there is a lot of PR groundwork to be laid.

First- we have solidified the details of the CD RELEASE PARTY at The Beechman Theatre on Sunday, November 29th at 9:30pm. It's 'pay what you can' at the door- and anyone who makes a donation of $15 or more gets a CD. But if you're low on cash and just wanna come and have fun? Fine by me.

There is a minimum charge of $15 for food and drink and that goes to the 'house' for hosting us. So you can use a credit card to pay that if you want....

but otherwise....

just come and have fun and celebrate with me.

I'll be singing some songs from the album-

telling some stories-

getting drunk.

same old same old.

The fabulous Phil Bond is working on the Press Release for The Beechman Theatre and I am currently waiting on a press release for the album in general- written by the incredibly generous Peter Filichia.

FOOTLIGHT RECORDS also got in touch with me, had heard about the CD and would like to sell it through their company as well. So...that will be another way to purchase the CD once it officially drops on December 1st, 2009.

Speaking of places to buy the CD-

Play-It Direct has a package that you can buy for $69 where they basically hook you up with a barcode, CDBABY, Amazon.com, Itunes, Gracenote and The Bizmo. I would be lying to you if I said I understood 100% what all of the above means...

but if it's only $69 to have someone who actually knows what the fuck they're doing fill all that shit out? I'm TOTALLY for it.

Speaking of filling shit out.

I have been gamely trying to navigate through CDBABY on my own-

trying to answers questions and fill out the forms and create my 'profile' and all that jazz...

and some of it's harder for me than others.

For example....

it asked me what 'genre' my CD was.

I have no fucking clue.

You'd think i would...but i really don't.

Folk?

Country?

Jazz?

Blues?

And then as if that's not confusing enough for my addled brain-

it has SUB-categories.....

so it's even worse....

"Celtic" folk?

"Blue grass" country?

oh Lord.

I finally decided on Easy Listening since that was the only place i found a sub category with the word 'broadway' in it.

But who knows.

another issue for Play-Ivy Direct to deal with....

again.

$69 very well spent.

They also ask you what three famous singers you sound like.

Again.

Stumped.

I put "Judy Garland, Barbara Cook and Alison Krauss"

I originally had Nancy LaMott in there instead of Barbara Cook but...

i thought maybe....

Not many people knew about Nancy LaMott...

altho they should.

What do you all think?

If you can think of other people that you think I sound more like-

lemme know.

Now---

There's stuff to put together that I've never even heard of such as "Banners" and "Sell Sheets".

Once again, thanks to my brilliant friend Robbie Rozelle-

who is beyond awesome-

I'm learning about all this stuff.

A BANNER is that thing you see at the top of websites?

Like if you go to All That Chat, you see that ad at the top of the page?

That's a banner and it costs $75 a month.

Which seems like a decent deal to me, so we're gonna look into that.

A SELL SHEET is basically 1-2 piece of paper that you include with your promotional CD that you send to critics, press, radio stations, etc that:

has a graphic, usually of the cover of the CD

The title

The name of the artist

The CD release date

The Label

The Catalogue #

The Barcode #

The price of the CD

The category Broadway cast album, easy listening, etc

Then there's the 'product description'- which is a paragraph about the CD itself with maybe a few positive quotes thrown in there.

Track listing

The "Key Selling Points"- this is where you let people know if the artist, or the composer or the show has any sort of ready-made fan base...whether they won any awards...whether there's anything particularly unique about this CD, whether there's *ahem* a blog already online about the making *ahem* of said CD....

Press- this is where you put reviews of preferably the CD. But if you don't have any of those, then you can put reviews of the artist, or good words from famous people, etc.

.........and that's a SELL SHEET kids.

SO.

once i get all THAT shit done....

I need to compile a list of press people that I already know-

or that have already generously contacted me about helping me promote the CD-

and I need to start putting press packets together for them.

I also have been starting to make address labels for all the pre-orders, donations, etc....

and my AWESOME mom brought 300 padded envelopes all the way from Rochester in the car when she came up this weekend as her donation to the cause.

So.

Even tho the CD is 'done'-

there is still TONS TONS TONS to do PR wise.

And...

depending on how exhausted I get by all of it-

it pretty much never ends.

Obviously there's the big push right now-

with the CD release party...

and the CD release date...

and all that good crap.

but.....

I will need to constantly hustle on this thing if I really want it to keep having a life.

Of course-

one always HOPES that people dig it so much that it takes on its own life....

and it will be more about people calling ME about the CD than the other way 'round but....

more often than not....

because there's SO MUCH out there....

you gotta hustle to keep your head above the fray.

Anyhoodles-

not a particularly FUNNY post today--

but i think an educational one for all of you who are considering making your own CD as well.

heads up-

just cause you drop that bastard off to get reproduced....

know that that was just phase one....

phase two is upon me...

and I'm doing my best to juggle as many plates as I can.

Again....

I have developed an appreciation for yet another job that you pay people thousands to do.

PR.

God bless 'em.

Every one.

Ok hons....

more writing to do...

more soon....

xoxo

dl

THE CAR SONG

Sorry I've been a little lax on the promise of 'machine gunning' out some posts here.

My mom was visiting, and I've gone back into BILLY ELLIOT after 5 weeks off with a fractured ankle-- and that's all been more of an adjustment than I realized.

So.

Let's talk about THE CAR SONG.

This is really a very simple story.

Which is fitting as this is an incredibly simple song.

And i mean that as the highest compliment possible.

I was driving around my hometown of Rochester, NY while in town for the holidays during my Sophomore year at Carnegie Mellon. This was the very very used car I'd driven throughout most of my high school years which was in such terrible condition that it rattled enough to earn the nickname "The Tunaville Trolley".

I loved this car.

And I actually loved the parts of this car that were the most busted.

I especially loved the rusted out hole beneath the pedals at my feet that I had covered with a plank of wood. This hole came in most handy when I would lock my keys in the car pretty much every other day. I'd just crawl under the car- pop my hand through the hole, reach up to the ignition and voila. Of course, every time I'd drive over a puddle or snow I'd have to lift my feet up to avoid getting doused, but otherwise- it was a handy byproduct of its own neglect.

The other thing I loved about this car is that it introduced me to country music as its radio was permanently stuck on the one country station in all of Upstate NY.

So I'm driving in a minor blizzard (pretty much par for the course up there) with the lights out and the window down- which anyone from blizzard country knows sometimes is the only way to get home on a snowy night- and I hear these lovely guitar chords come from the radio.

it's hard to hear with the wind blowing...

so i roll up the window to hear the song better....

and it's....

so delicate.

it's so very....sweet.

and innocent.

I start listening to the lyrics....

it's a story.

Oh Lord, I love story songs.

That was actually, another potential title for this CD- "Story Songs".

It's about a woman named Claire.

She's been waiting a long time for love (sing it sistah)...

and finally, she met a simple salesman...

they fell simply in love, and married...

they spent their whole very simple lives together.

And, already I'm hooked....

I don't know why, but I think I've always known- even when I was younger- that true love would elude me in this life. At least until 'later' in life. I've always known that I would watch everyone pass me by here...very Carrie Bradshaw but without the shoes, the rent control or the fashion sense. I don't know, but any story about someone who finds love 'later' in life- I've always been drawn to. Even when I was very ironically, still early in mine. 

Anyway.

The beauty of this song is that...

the music and the lyrics mirror the simpleness of the story.

This isn't...

a great dramatic, epic love like Romeo and Juliet or Anthony and Cleopatra...

it's just two normal, average, simple people who finally finally found each other after so very long....and they didn't complicate anything. They were smart enough- and maybe they were just old enough to know better....to appreciate that fact that they found it at all. I don't even imagine that they even say much to each other. They sit on the porch- or by the fire- and just 'fit' and it's all just so very simple.

They met-

they fell in love-

he asked her to marry him.

Boom.

Done.

Simple.

I'm already so in love with this song my eyeballs are itching.

The song goes on....

they've been together 50 years....

and then...

they end up in the same hospital...

but in separate beds and different floors.

it's the only time they've spent a night apart-

and it's because some dumbass didn't think to put them together.

I'm already plotting the demise of whatever stupid shit-head candy striper fucked up their rooms and the song's not even over yet. If I could just jump into the radio and sort everything out for them...

"different beds on different floors? after 50 years? this is an OUTRAGE...WHERE'S THE HEAD NURSE GODDAMMIT??!!"

Well.

By now, I'm completely fucked.

I am totally blinded by tears and have pulled the car over.

I turn the radio up as much as i can....

the story goes on....

Claire starts to lose her memory...

oh mother of Christ...really?

even though the song doesn't say, i'm already positive it's because she's been separated cruelly from her salesman....

fucking stupid-ass candy stripers.

...and so it goes.

Of course, the lyrics are much more poetic than I'm giving them justice- 

on purpose really-

because it's enough that I'm blowing the story itself....

But obviously, i sat in my car for at least ten minutes sobbing my guts up all over the dashboard and when I finally got myself back on the road and home the first thing i did was call the radio station to find out what this marvelous song was by Kathy Mattea.

But i will warn you.

This song will most likely wreck you.

And not because I'm some brilliant songstress or anything...

I mean, Kermit the Frog could be singing this shit with a sinus infection-

The song itself- even more so the STORY itself- is THAT powerful.

My mom literally yelled at me after she listened to an unmixed version of it last week.

she yelled at me.

because she couldn't stop crying for like an hour afterwards.

But even more pathetic...

I still can't get through this song without crying.

And it's the main reason I've never performed it live.

Because I don't want to come off like a complete and total jack weed.

There are some songs i'm on the 'edge' of emotionally....

depending on what's going on in my life...

but as long as i can go into it with some confidence in my self control...i'm ok.

But honestly, as a performer I think it's really self indulgent and irresponsible to purposely do songs that you know you're not going to make it through. That's just....I dunno. Well, self indulgent and irresponsible, I guess. People pay money for you to make them cry, and not the other way around- usually.

And this one...

I just...

can't make it through without crying.

So recording this...was....really really tough.

In fact I think I tried almost 50 takes of the last chorus just desperately trying to get through it without blubbering like a 5 year old girl.

I mean....it was a sad sad sssaaaaaddddddd scene in my bathroom there for a while.

And I tried everything, man.

Tried going for a walk...

jumping jacks....

thinking about Christmas and kittens and shiny things and shit....

I mean....everything.

nothing worked.

So.

I finally....narrowed the end of it down to two takes.

I got a track that even though i was indeed crying...didn't sound like i was crying.

and then...

a track where yes, i was crying but...it wasn't like...unintelligble crying-

which ya know...

never really goes over well on an album.

Anyhoodles-

you all can buy the CD to find out which one i went with.

ooh that was so sassy of me, just there.

Ok but seriously...

heads up ya'll.

Anyway.

Ever since then.....

I have been obsessed with couples who have died on the same day.

Absolutely obsessed.

btw- in the song there's nothing about them dying at all-

but my mind just had to add that ending on for myself cause for me there's no other way for it to go down? Cause I'm kinda....crazy? A little? Like that?

I have collected numerous articles in newspapers, and I even have an admittedly extremely creepy if you don't know the backstory- picture of two skeletons that fossilized while embracing each other on a table near my bed. Of course, once you hear the song and know the backstory then it's all terribly romantic...

so I tell myself as people politely excuse themselves and back slowly out of my apartment.

And an even weirder epilogue to this song's story in my life is....

when we were Juniors at CMU we were asked to bring in one piece of music that meant the most to us, and then....oh Jesus- i can't even remember what we were supposed to do with it. Knowing theatre school it was something dorky like....

"Bring in your favorite song and turn into a rainbow-riding unicorn!" or some weirdness.

So I guess, since I was obviously a total classical music nerd, everyone was expecting me to bring in like- Danse Macabre or Beethoven's Pathetique or something 'high brow' and a total bore for everyone to have to sit through.

But nope.

I brought this baby in.

And i do remember for some reason we had to explain why the song meant so much to us...

and I simply said,

"This is the one greatest dream for my life and my greatest fear. As I know that there is absolutely nothing within my control or power as to whether I'll ever, ever have it."

Track #8 kids.

Welcome to the seat of my soul.

Tread lightly.

xoxo

dl

ps

musical lesson of this number for me? "straight tone is the arrow- vibrato is the vibration after it hits the board"

CD IS OFFICIALLY DONE!

....and i'm about to puke.

But i dropped it off at Play-It Direct Productions today where they'll reproduce it, package it, and everything.

Ok.

First off, in my humblest of opinions-

for a budget of $1000?

on a $90 mike?

recorded in my bathroom?

and mixed on garage band?

with all that considered.....

THIS CD KICKS SOME SERIOUS MUSICAL BALLS, MAN!

So.

rest assured that all of you who have pre-ordered-

it is definitely worth $15.

No doubt.

Which I am so RELIEVED to say.

So.

Fuckin'-A, on THAT.

Now.

Secondly....

and while I know that this is not even remotely a good idea-

nor is it even remotely my style-

some disclaimers.

Yes-

totally breaking a huge rule right now in marketing-

and auditioning, for that matter-

never ever walk into a room where you're selling something and point out the flaws because that's all anyone will ever see.

it's like going to a show that you loved-

and then the reviews come out and tell you that it's a big steaming pile of poo-

and you go back and you think,

"holy shit! that IS a big steaming pile of poo. WHAT was i thinking?!!"

when really.....it's not.

you've just been told it is so....

that's how you see it but....

screw it.

this blog is really about letting you all know the real deal about trying to put this thing together on your own for a piece of straw and a wet napkin so...

here we go.

I have labored over this thing for weeks-

the artistic part?

genius.

golden.

so much fucking fun I can't even put it into words.

I have not been that happy in years.

I absolutely 100% recommend it.

Even if you're not going to sell it.

If you want to make a solo CD?

Artistically? 

it's the most satisfying thing I've done since college.

Do it do it do it.

Immediately.

however, the mixing....

oh Jesus H's baby blue bathrobe...

the fucking mixing.

While satisfying for the control freak in me-

mixing your own shit causes some artistic damage to your psyche.

I'm not gonna lie.

And while i love love love LOVE all these songs I've chosen-

and chose then because I loved them and never in a million years thought I would ever tire of them?

Ohhhhhhhh, so very tired.

So so so so so, wearily tired.

love them still.

but.

damn.

And I have all the qualities a mixer needs-

I've got a good ear-

i know instruments and arranging-

I have a decent feel for levels...

But besides whatever experience and training professional mixers have- 

which is obviously eons more than I had when i started-

there are plenty of short cuts, bells and whistles, things in garage band that I'm not even aware of and most importantly MUCH better equipment out there than I possess-

which, I'm sure makes the actual job of mixing much more bearable than it was for me

I mean there's shit like, 'compressing', and 'EQs', and 'doubling', and tea bagging, and monkey-poo flinging, i mean....

tons of special mixer secret-decoder ring stuff that I was completely oblivious to.

So heads up-

if you're going to mix and master your own solo CD be warned.

Mixing, which i learned the hard way, is a science.

Yes, you can learn by rote....

experientially, like i learn most things anyway-

but mother PUSS bucket, is the learning curve ENORMOUS.

if you're going to do it yourself-

at least take a class, or find people who know what they're doing to walk you through it.

But most importantly- 

KNOW now-

that by the end of the mixing process where it is absolutely your responsibility and your job to identify every single possible flaw in every moment of every second of every bar of every song on the album-

that you will-

by the end-

be convinced that you are without a doubt, the biggest hack that ever lived.

And if that doesn't happen to you?

You're a freak.

Or a complete douche.

Seriously.

And I'm not writing this so that people will write in and tell me how talented i am.

that's not the point of admitting this to you.

So please don't do that.

I don't need bucking up, per se.

I sure as hell could use an Rx of Xanax right now but....

I am admitting this to you all as fair warning to every fellow artist....

IF POSSIBLE, to maintain some sanity in this process-

if you can find the money in your budget for a mixer-

or someone who will do it for you for free....

ABSOLUTELY take them up on it.

While i am extremely....

EXTREMELY proud of this CD-

and there have been some moments where I have literally wept at the satisfaction of a musical moment- 

or even strutted around my apartment in a totally cheesy victory lap of sorts-

Ok twice.

I did that.

only twice.

But still.

Yeah.

I totally did that.

I'm a dork.

I don't care.

ultimately, this whole process has instilled me the deepest appreciation for the jobs that everyone does that usually makes a solo CD cost a bajillion dollars.

Especially.

The sound engineers.

God bless them.

Every one.

Because there were moments where I would have given every cent in my bank account to have just handed the mixing process over to someone else.

Someone with much more experience, training and talent in this area.

Someone more objective and much less judgemental than myself.

Someone with a setup that didn't have cobwebs and Howdy Doody on it.

As a result-

I have really ONLY one aspect to this album that I am not completely satisfied with.

And that's the volume levels between the actual tracks.

Which is kind of amazing, that there's only one aspect that chapping my ass.

While I truly feel that every track as it's own entity is mixed extremely well...

the overall level of each track to each track does vary volume wise.

Which really bothers the Type-A Perfectionist part of my personality.

I tried everything to rectify that.

I really did.

Ironically, the WORST thing was to use Itunes 'playback' setting where it's supposed to play every track at the same level?

Because I sing so softly and so loudly in the same track...

it can't identify where to find the median so it's just all jacked up crazy over here with the sound.

So i had to abandon that option entirely.

and without that 'playback' option...

which i relied on the idea  of much too much when i was all willy-nilly with the mike levels as i recorded from day to day...

as a result...

i was a tad bit on the fucked side.

So.

while i'm sure it's probably not even going to bother any of you-

and if I hadn't even mentioned it, you wouldn't have really even noticed...

but...

some tracks are louder than others.

and in those moments where you might be reaching for the volume button I already apologize to you and encourage you to look at it as a charming and quaint byproduct of this whole adventure.

I'm not kidding.

Let's practice shall we?

end of track ten at a level 6....

aaannnnndddddd.

BEGINNING OF TRACK ELEVEN AT ABOUT A 9!!!

As you reach for the volume on your remote you think,

"Ohhhh how charming and quaint this whole ghetto set-up CD is. My God, it's amazing this only cost $1000! I think i'll buy another one!"

Excellent.

See you at opening.

Now.

I COULD have had the CDR place 'master' the CD for me.

Mastering is basically just what I needed.

Someone to take all the 'mixed' tracks-

and then 'master' the entire CD to make sure that all the levels aren't completely ass-jacked volume and quality wise.

And they can do this and I can't because they have awesome equipment and knowledge and experience in this arena that I just do not possess. And i really considered it very seriously. I am well aware that people are paying good, hard earned money for this and I am adamant about producing the best product I can.

However.

The cost would have been over $200 just for the mastering... 

and I just didn't think that it was ethical considering, again- 

that part of this whole adventure was to not only create the CD for $1000 to show it can be done- 

but to also offer a very honest and realistic byproduct of what you might end up with if you choose to do this yourself.

And...

I'm pretty sure honestly, none of you are even going to notice this-

but again.

my mindset via post mixing = absolutely bat-shit crazy

so.

Anyway.

With all that said...

As i explained in my earlier post....

I would listen and mix on my computer-

because according to my mixing consultant extraordinaire Chris Nichols of WERQ, Inc,

as we spent a lovely sunday in his new home while he schooled me in the hard knocks of mixing like a bad ass....

"Headphones LIIIIIIEEEEE!"

Apparently, you can't mix with headphones and you MUST mix with speakers because of the length of the sound waves.

They literally need the distance to travel that headphones obviously do not allow for accuracy.

crazy right?

Total 3-2-1 Contact kinda stuff.

another fun exchange from Sunday:

"Chris...is there....anything we can do about the hiss? What IS the hiss? Why is it hissing? Why, with the hiss. Why?"

"well. the hiss. That's. Basically. You recording in your bathroom."

"oh. right. Good point."

"Yeah. That's....why normal, non-crazy people record in studios."

"oooooooooooohhhhhh."

--and scene.

by the way tho?

No hiss anymore.

None.

So.

Don't worry about the hiss.

We kicked the hiss' ASS.

HOLLAH!

So....

i had to mix all this without my headphones which was an unexpected problem for me.

because while i have slamming fancy assed BOSE headphones that cost some hundreds of dollars...

the only speakers i have in my apartment are:

1) my computer speakers

2) some crappy ipod speakers i got as a Christmas gift 4 years ago

3) the relatively decent speakers on my SONY TV that I play my CDs through.

Unfortunately, there was no way to attach my computer to the speakers on my TV so I had to mix by burning individual CDs.

Yes.

That's right.

Repeatedly burning CDs.

I burned through about 26 'takes' on CDs alone.

It goes a little somethin' like this:

Mix.

Burn.

Wait.

Listen.

Take notes.

Mix.

Burn.

Wait.

Listen.

Pray for death.

Mix.

Resist urge to throw computer against the wall.

Burn.

Wait.

Pray again for death.

Listen.

Search apartment for Draino to swallow.

Take notes.

...until i would rather shoot myself in the face than listen to myself singing one more time.

In addition, while i love Garage Band and think it's a kick ass program-

it is limited, obviously compared to the toys that serious sound-grownups play with.

For example, if i want to take an accordion line down 3 ticks in volume in two bars.

It might let me take it down 2.6 ticks or 15.

depending on where it already is, and whether I've bought it dinner, or taken it to the movies, or called it fat....whatever.

So then i have to figure out,

"well if i take it down 2 ticks- i can bring up some other lines and see if it matches...

or, i can bring it down 15 ticks and then bring everything ELSE down as well..."

Obviously, this involves a degree of math which was why I spent most of my music theory classes doodling "Mrs Michael J Fox, Donna Lynne Fox, Mrs Donna J Fox", instead of creating preludes and fugues based purely on numbers and intervals.

HOWEVER--

if you stick with anything long enough-

and love it hard enough-

a trick I've learned over the years with unruly props and hideous wigs-

anything and everything will acqueisce to kindness and respect.

So.

Me and the mixing fairies reached an agreement somewhere out there in Mixieland...

I pushed through it...

and as of a few days ago....

things just started to gel.

Thank.

Christ.

And all the vanilla wafers in the world.

Now, i realize...

i have been lax in posting about the actual tracks and tunes.

And, now that we're in the PR phase, people are asking for the list of song tracks.

But i love the game now of giving each track pseudo-nick names so...

I'm gonna really to machine-gun a post about each track over the next couple days-

why i picked it-

how it was to put it together...

etc.

once i've done that-

we'll release the names of the actual tracks.

Whee!

Yes.

This is fun for me.

waiting to release the actual names of the tracks.

This is....

my idea...

of fun.

yay.

So.

Anyhoodles....

IT'S DONE!

I go back to BILLY ELLIOT on Friday and it's DONE.

And now.

I will sleep the sleep of many sleeps gone by in the magical land of sleeping.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween.

xoxo

dl

MIA MIXING VORTEX

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CD RELEASE PARTY/CONCERT November 29th at 9:30pm!

Heya cats and kittens-

So the OFFICIAL CD RELEASE PARTY/CONCERT is:

Sunday night, November 29th at 9:30pm at the Beechman Theatre 

on 42nd Street near 9th Avenue (across the street from Playwrights Horizons).

I have performed my one-woman show Finishing The Hat there many times (as well as part of the After Party series and other people's shows) so Phil Bond and the entire Beechman staff and crew are like family to me. I can't think of a more perfect place to celebrate the official release of Old Friends cause for me, the place is packed with 'em! I'm so thrilled they've made room for this party in their very busy holiday schedule.

I'm gonna perform some tunes from the CD-

and maybe tell ya some funny stories about this process-

you're gonna come and eat and drink and be merry-

and we're all gonna have a great time!!!

It will be *$20 at the door (but everyone will receive a free CD so...you're really only paying $5.00 to get in). The money from the door will go into the ongoing Old Friends PR Fund so we can keep getting the word out there about CD as best we can in our own "Mom and Pop" way.

There is a minimum of $15 for food and drink, but I have to say the food there is really really great. I've enjoyed many a dinner and show there myself, and have always been quite satisfied. The money from the food/drink goes the The Beechman, who we love and want to support as well.

So mark the date dolls-

the Sunday after Thanksgiving!

I'll see ya'll then., my li'l pumpkins!!!

xo

dl

*Anyone who has (or will have) donated as an "Angel" to the Old Friends PR Budget will be comped the $20 ticket fee.