Judgment Day

Another year over. Hard to believe. We have so much to be grateful for this year. I enjoyed doing the project. I'm so glad to have had Bluesman Jay, Mama Kate, Uncle Anthony and the kids for helping me out. I said I wanted to keep going not because of my "streak", but because I wanted to keep music part of our life even as life became more demanding. The Calendar Project has kept music in our house for the last four years.
This months song is an old song of mine. Maybe one of the oldest songs I've written that I still play regularly. I love this tune. I think of this as a true folk song. It's been around so long I don't remember writing it. My wife however, does.
I knew that the basis of the song had to be a live performance. I tried recording a complete run through of the song what seemed like a hundred times. I exhausted myself and had to walk away from it. The next day I left work to come home for lunch. I gave a quick try at recording it and got this take. I'm finding you can't force this thing.
I have thought of using this song several times before for the Calendar Project but it never felt quite right. I'm glad it found it's home in December.
Thanks for listening this year. I have high hopes for next year and I'm looking forward to getting started. Happy New Year!

Judgment Day

I Don't Want To Change

I've been kicking this song around since the beginning of the month. I like playing it. I like singing it. I felt good about it so it became a November. My son told me I should write a song about how I do want to change. The funny thing is, I thought I had.
The subject matter was inspired by my brother. I've always said that he is my mothers best work. He is just the sweetest person but he's always been pretty guarded. I always felt like he was keeping us all at an arms length away. He has recently become more open with the family. He's sharing with us his thoughts and feelings. Watching the sweetest person become more open is like watching hot fudge get added to ice-creme. Your seeing a good thing get better.
As I watch my younger brother make these changes I wonder if I'm past the point of no return. I've become very set in my ways. I don't like leaving home. I don't like altering my routine. I don't like "new." This is a trait that has always bothered me in older people. I am 29 years old. It's a little early for that.
I've said before the November song is for thankfulness. My wife said, "I thought this month is supposed to be your God song?" I think it is. In a backhanded way I'm thanking God that I have the ability to change before I'm dead.
Seasons, faces, music, recipes, nature, underpants, styles, every thing changes. Whether we like it or not we do too.
My Uncle Anthony helped me record this song. He got to my house at about 4:30 and he didn't leave until almost 11:00. He was a real trooper. Take after take, he hung in there. He's half of everything you hear in this song. I'm thrilled to finally get him on the Calendar Project. It was a new experience recording with a musician I've long admired. It just goes to show you, change is good.
I Don't Want To Change

P.S. Special Thanks to Bluesman Jay who I woke out of bed so he could help me post this last minute despite technical problems. Your the man Jay. Thanks sooo much.

Angels and Demons

It's kind of a funny month "Calendar" wise. The atmosphere in our lives here at home is optimistic. I am ready to capitalize on the power of thought. I have been vigilant in my thinking. I want to be sure that my thoughts are advancing me and I feel they are.
I needed chairs for the barber shop. The waiting chairs I had where beyond ugly and they where hard on the seat. I put my thoughts to work on how great the new chairs where going to be. I was grateful in my thinking because I was positive they where in my future. Something small and trivial like chairs, but they were the focus of my thoughts. Driving home from the barber shop- four doors away from our house-exactly as I imagined them- was 6 FREE waiting chairs. My thoughts had been heard, and I was grateful.
Something small and trivial like chairs.
The universe doesn't care if our thoughts are big or small. We can wish for big things.
That's what makes it a funny month "Calendar" wise. The vibe of this song is very pessimistic. I don't feel like this song represents my mind right now at all. I don't feel torn between good and evil. It's just something I made up. So I decided to go trick or treating as a pessimist. I enjoyed half empty bottles of beer all night.
Angels and Demons

Lemonade (for Ginny)

Here's how it happened. I was sitting on the porch with my guitar and harmonica holster. I was strumming though Craigy's greatest hits when Virginia came on scene. She proceeded to talk my ear off as two year-old's do. She then became upset that I had stopped playing. She began demanding another song. "Hurry hurry, song, hurry play a song." I quickly began playing. I dropped my pick into the guitar because she always grabs my hands when I'm playing and that worked it's way into the lyrics. A minute and forty seconds later my little ditty must have satisfied her because she didn't require anymore music from me. She went off to wreak havoc elsewhere as I smuggly basked in having just finished my first ever song made to order.
The rest of the month I didn't work on the Calendar Project because I knew I had this little song in the bank and it would take no time to record. Of course with only one day left before the end of the month I realized I needed to get to work. When I recorded it I wasn't exactly satisfied. At a minute and forty seconds I felt like maybe I was phoning it in. Although I liked the song, and I've posted short songs before, I didn't want to fall in the trap of just coming up with song snippets and calling it a month. I decided to push myself and come up with another movement for September.
I was brainstorming ideas for a song but I wasn't coming up with anything. Ginny kept saying "juice, juice." I was getting frustrated. "Stop saying juice, I'm trying to think of a song." The little bell went off in my head. Juice, moose, goose, loose, obtuse this song writes itself. I wanted to use the word caboose because it's a funny word but I couldn't squeeze it in organicly. I chuckled as I was writing it so I knew I was on to something good. I said the word "fiddle" in the tune and Bluesman Jay wouln't allow me to say fiddle in a song without adding one. With only hours to go before the deadline I sent him the track and he added the spice the song needed. Virginia provided the inspiration for this song so this one is hers. I love you kiddo. Hope you like your song.
Lemonade (for Ginny)

Fantasy Football

This is my fifth year doing fantasy football. I've won before but believe it or not there is still skeptics. Two of my best friends have had disagreements about FANTASY football and now they no longer play together. As a result I am now in two leagues. I spent most of the off season saying I wasn't going to play but I settled on a better idea. I'm going to win both leagues' top prize this year. That's right. This isn't your usual calendar song. This is a declaration. I'm gonna kick ass in both arenas to teach you all a little lesson.

Lesson 1: I'm a fantasy football legend. Don't forget I went worst to first. The only person I'm competing with is myself. The only way to top myself is to take both leagues.

Lesson 2: It's more fun to win than to lose. I said I was coming back this year to have fun. FUN=WIN.

Lesson 3: You might not ask me back next year. When you see how effortlessly I spank your teams you might want to "scale it back next year to allow more even competition."

Class is now in session. Enjoy the football season and have my trophies ready. I want Rolling Rock as my victory drink. Go Patriots!

Fantasy Football

Seasons Of Love

It's been a long stretch since my last posting. I found it difficult to find inspiration. Life has given me plenty to draw from. With the new home came many big changes. I am so happy here but have found the process of getting here all consuming. I had to force myself to sit down and work on music. That is not how inspiration works. You can't just dial it up. So what happens when you have a dead line but your muse is on summer vacation? That's where the craft comes in. By sitting down and pulling music out of yourself your opening the door for when inspiration returns. Sort of like priming the cosmic pump.

Like last month I used this drought of creative juices as an oppurtinity to take an older song that never fully completed the writing stage and gave it the treatment it deserves. I was so content with the guitar when I wrote it I never bothered to write words. I sang it so many times making up words as I went that certain lines became permenent. I just filled in the gaps around those lines gave it a spit shine and I was on my way to posting in July.

The space to work on the Calendar Project here in the new house is very comfortable. A great place to make music. Now that I have the PC set up and all my guitars and wires and various recording junk easily excessable it's just a matter of time before another little folk song will be born in my cozy corner of the house. I'm eager to get to work on August and keep the creative energy flowing. The pump is primed. Insperation come on in.

Seasons Of Love

Junebug

Transition. That's where I'm coming from this month. Our apartment is in boxes. The pictures are off the wall. These are physical examples of what we as a family are going through. Change brings allot of feelings and responsibility with it. We are so excited to have a yard, so scared to have a mortgage, so stressed from moving, so proud of progress. Responsibility comes in the forms of taking care of the house, leaving the apartment in great shape, changing our address. The larger effects of transition reach far beyond where you hang your hat. It's the changes in your character that each transition brings that matter most. I know the house will bring character changes within me. I hope to feel more secure. More inviting. More driven. Children experience transition masterfully. My kids have been wholly committed to change since the notion of moving was first introduced. It's nice having them to teach me things throughout this experience. I keep my mind open for them because I know how hard it is to raise good parents.

"Junebug" is about transition. The transition into the after life, the journey into your own future. These are inevitable transitions. I wonder if I'd know myself if I was able to look ahead. Would that journey's effects on my character make me unrecognizable to myself now? I just hope Future Craig is anything close to what I'm aiming for. I'm aiming to be somebody who handles transition well.

I recorded the song in an empty apartment. The tracks I sent Bluesman Jay to work with sounded like an empty apartment. When he sent it back with his contributions it sounded like a house I'd like to call home.

Junebug

LOST Theories Revisited

In March of 2009 with the help of Bluesman Jay I posted some of my theories as to what was happening on LOST up to that point. I ended that blog posting with questions. Who is Jacob? What is the Monster? Why is Locke back from the dead? We now know the answers to those questions. Jacob is the guardian of the source which is the heart of the island. It's not what is the monster but who. It is Jacobs brother who became the smoke monster when Jacob through him into the source. John Locke isn't resurrected as we once believed. It's the Man in Black who has taken Locke's form as part of his plan to kill Jacob and destroy the island. In light of all that has taken place since "LOST Theories" was posted Jay and I felt that we should revisit the song and take a look at what those theories turned out to be. Once again Jay did the backing vocals and added the sound effects from the show. This time he also laid down drums. It was an awesome television experience and I doubt we'll ever see anything like it again. If you missed it or just want to take the journey again check it out on DVD or Blue-Ray. You can also watch full episodes with limited commercial interruption on abc.com

Tonight is the last episode so we wanted to have it posted today. Making the song with Jay is part of the fun of watching the show for me. Maybe the'll make a movie and I'll get to write a song about it. Namaste!

LOST Theories Revisited

Happy Birthday Riley!
5!!!!!

The Nicest Guy In The World

I'm not sure what the universe is up to. Life has been so busy unfolding lately I'm not sure if I'm living it or just witnessing it. It's every facet of life to boot. The barbershop has been experiencing some growing pains. My daughter seems to have turned into a young lady. Our goals of a home are inching closer. Our dog is crippled with arthritis. Route 9 has decided to take a break. Most importantly my Grandmother passed away.
These aren't all bad things of course but life, good and bad, can be exhausting. It's no mystery to me why I've hit some writers' block. After loosing Jaime last month I posted a song early in the month. With all the living I've been doing since then it feels like an eternity since I've posted a new tune. With that said I did manage to come up with this little ditty.
With the end of the month approaching I started laboring on adding layers to the song. This grossly over complicated it. I decided to start over with another live take. As I was recording Lennon came into the room and started singing with me. She brought to the song what I couldn't, an honest optimism. I decided to post that version with one small overdub because I felt that moment was very candid. She sang because she felt compelled too. The finished track is charming. When we got Lennon's school picture I was surprised by the beautiful young lady I saw in that photograph. What happened to my baby? That's the same way I see this recording. A snap shop of a young girl coming into her own.
That's the magic of watching life unfold. In the same month I lost one of the most influential, amazingly loving women I'll ever know, I see my daughter start to become one.

~This month's song is dedicated to Janet Bowden 1931-2010
I love you more than tongue can tell.

The Nicest Guy in the World

I So Love You

Got some terrible news yesterday. Don't know what to say. Words couldn't touch it. I send my love and prayers but that doesn't scratch the surface.

In Loving Memory
Jamie A. Pavao

I So Love You

Craig 2.0

I worked all month on an instrumental. It is in an alternate tuning so my guitars are all in open D. I am getting more accustomed to that tuning just because every time I go to play that's the way I'm already tuned. I was still tweaking the instrumental when it came time to record it. The end of February has a way of sneaking up on ya. I was doing allot of playing as preparation for the recording. It was already the 25th and I didn't want to do a rushed recording of a song it took so long to perfect. I was messing around with this finger picking riff and decided to make it a song. Twenty-four hours later the February song was written, recorded and awaiting post production and posting.

I double tracked the guitar. Punching in would have been tough with a song like this so that meant I had to play it beginning to end perfectly, twice. I was about 81% through the song the first time when I mouse ran across the floor right in front of me. I fought the urge of screaming and jumping on my chair and instead kept playing and captured the right take. I got 81% through the second track when the damn thing ran back the other way. I again held my composure and captured the take the song needed.

There is a sweet line in there for my wife. She puts up with allot when I begin to feel the pressure of the deadline. She liked the "Craig 2.0" idea. I always know if the song I'm working on is any good by her reaction. My goal every month is to surprise her with what I'm working on. Better get to work on March.

Craig 2.0

Contact

As I embark on another year I feel energized and excited. This month took me the entire month to write. I'm not handing my homework in at the last second because I've been slacking. The song started as a concept. I thought about the notion that if the end is nigh this would be the most exciting time to do your existing. The signs of our times made a strong argument that we might be. With Katrina, modern politics, alleged alien visits, technology, 9/11, the recession, wars on multiple fronts and the recent tragedy in Haiti our generation has already seen more than our great-grandparents could have imagined.

I then began work on the instrumental aspect of the song. I didn't begin working on the lyrics until the song worked beginning to end as a solo guitar piece. This is a departure from my normal approach. I usually allow words and melodies to change the guitar part and the arrangement. It wasn't a conscious decision to do that at first. After I had it worked out musically I then decided it was to strong to get changed by the lyrics.

I recorded the song's guitar and then used the recording to write my words. I recorded the vocals as I finished writing each section. I had a decent version to build on from that and began working on some overdubs. I then started playing the song live to get more comfortable with it. It began to flow better the more I played it. Kate commented that what I played in the living room sounded better than the recording. On the last day of the month I decided to scratch the recording I had and try to capture the song the way it had progressed. The re-recording went very quickly and I got my overdubs in, a clean recording and some help from Kate. 2010. Sounds like the future.

Contact

The Calendar Project 2010

This project has been one of the most fulfilling artistic experiences of my life. I love doing it and I love looking back. It's been a journal documenting my place in life as it has continually changed. I can listen as my perspective, children and musicianship grow. It started as a new years resolution to write more songs but has grown into a conviction to keep writing even as life has become more demanding. Many people put their guitars down when kids, work, bills and all of the responsibilities of adult hood take over. I don't want that to happen to me.

I feared last year that I was keeping the project going only because I didn't want to "end my streak." This is not a good enough reason to write a song. I want to feel inspired. I need to feel compelled to pick up my instrument and hammer out ideas until the song is born. I have to feel restless until the song is finished. You can tell what months are phoned in for the sake of keeping it going. I won't do that this year. I've decided to keep the project going, but not because of a streak. I am doing it this year because I made a promise to myself to not get to busy for music. I'm going to make time every month to pick up the guitar and express myself. It's a renewed resolution to write more songs. As I get older I have more to say but less time to say it.

I want to make this years Calendar Project a commitment to myself to be a better song writer, a better singer, a better guitar player and hopefully a better dad through the process. This has been a great release for me and I'm excited to see where this year will take me. Thanks to all those who listen. I hope you enjoy the journey.