Hey again! I'm here, breathing, living, loving...
Last left off talking about getting a band back to being a "band." That was last summer, 2009.
I guess most of where I'm at today relates a lot to the last year.
Last summer, I spent a lot of time playing solo acoustic cover shows. Not exactly my first choice of work, but very happy to be working none-the-less. What can I say? I needed the money! Unfortunately, I think I overdid it. By the end of the summer, I was playing 7, even 8 times a week. These aren't 45 minute sets and out. These are 4 hours, 3 sets, singing 40 plus songs by myself. I'm convinced it took a major toll on my voice.
While working all last summer, I moved to New Haven. I wanted to spend my last year in college close to the university so I didn't have to make a commute. It also served as an incentive to keep working (rent money), thus further damaging my voice.
Between fall and winter, I made several attempts to record vocal tracks in the studio. Nothing spectacular really came out of it. Going to school 6 days a week, playing cover jobs, then trying to squeeze in rehearsals, and recording overwhelmed my vocal cords.
Early this past winter, some things changed. I decided to start taking vocal lessons again with my good friend and vocal savior, Suzanne Vick. For a moment, things got better. Then, out of nowhere things got worse.
At the same time, we moved recording operations from Horizon Music Group to White House Productions. Without any bad blood or hurt feelings, we just needed a change of scenery. I was hoping this "renewal" would make me feel better about singing. Unfortunately, my voice was still giving me trouble.
I started getting really frustrated. Here I was hoping to have "Amplify" out in the fall, and it was winter already with Spring around the corner. I figured I could either let myself be consumed by the frustrations of having my instrument taken away from me, or start relaxing, focusing, and re-building. Fortunately, I chose the latter.
For the past 4-5 months, I've made some changes. Mostly, NOT singing. Yes. Even though, I still have to do the obligatory cover shows to earn grocery/rent money, I've been focusing on exercising, doing my best to remain stress free, and letting the vocal cords heal. After some scrutiny in the studio, my vocal teacher, my friend Scott and I came to the conclusion that the cords were probably swollen and I needed to rest them as much as possible. So, that's really what I've been trying to do.
What all this comes down to is this; for most of the Spring up until now, I've completed college (yay!), been resting and working on my voice, doing my best to remain stress free. I think it's working (knock on wood), and I'm feeling much, much vocally stronger as of late.
It's kind of funny... A friend of mine was telling me about a conversation he was having with some of his friends. Apparently, one of his friends said, "Whatever happened to that Seth Adam guy? He was doing a lot, but then just dropped off the earth." Well, if any of the above can explain where I've been, I hope it can. I've been here all along. Unfortunately, most of the time struggling. But I feel like with the accomplishment of graduating college, focusing on what I need to do to keep my voice strong and healthy, combined with a better, stress-free attitude about things, I'm ready to jump back into music again. Actually, more than ready... I'm hungry!
I'm not going to anticipate anymore release times for the new record. All I'm going to do is focus on playing one or two shows a month with the boys (simply to keep the wheels greased) and doing my best to finish recording "Amplify." I want to get this record out badly - I'm so proud of the work we've done so far, and I'm really excited about the songwriting. However, I never want to go back to the feeling of losing my voice again. I want to put my voice first and put out a great record. When we finish it, you'll know about it. Until then, we'll be working... I'll be working.
As for blogging, I've got a lot to say. Time for me to get back into some entertaining blog entries instead of explanations about "where I've been." I've also got several new projects in the works, including a folk trio with Gerry and my friend John Jackson. I'm also putting together a "Tuesday Night Band" for the open mic that I host on Tuesdays. But again, it's all about keeping the voice healthy first.
After 5 years of college, focusing on fine arts and graphic design, I'm happy to be getting back into music.
Rock & roll...
-Seth
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Where I've been - part II
I last left off at end of summer, 2008.
While the band was changing, my personal life was changing too. Essentially, a relationship of 3+ years had come to an end. Now, I know... big deal - just another break up. But not really. Like many, it was a relationship that I put a lot of faith in. We lived together. Because of that, I sold a lot of my things that we didn't need. I'm talking the simplest things - pots, pans, silverware, towels, etc. As someone in the middle of college, and not a whole lot of funds to draw from to start over again, I moved home, back in with my parents.
At first it was a bit strange. I hadn't lived with my folks in over 10 years. And I know it sounds like nothing more than self pity, but I simply started getting down about it. Here I was in my early 30's nearly obsessing that I should have been farther along in life. But re-runs of Family Guy, American Dad, and Mind of Mencia helped me get through it.
But good things can come out of feeling bad, right? Oh the humor! Seriously though, being down gave me a little motivation to start writing again. Quite therapeutic. And the efforts paid off. I put out an acoustic EP early '09. An acoustic EP was something I always wanted to do. An accomplishment... for me anyway.
Spring came around and the band grew to 5 members again. Anthony's brother Gerard starting filling in on bass duties and Fred moved back to keys only. It was a good thing... Gerry, Anthony and Gerard were in a band together for years. I heard the connection immediately as we started to become a 5 piece band again. We did some warm-up shows in the Spring & Summer in New York City at Arlene's Grocery. But it was then that I started to realize that live music wasn't as important to people. The economy was tanking, people (quite rightly) were more concerned with saving money and staying home. Our turnouts suffered, Fred ended up leaving, and I was kind of lost on what to do. It quickly became time to start writing again...
To be continued...
While the band was changing, my personal life was changing too. Essentially, a relationship of 3+ years had come to an end. Now, I know... big deal - just another break up. But not really. Like many, it was a relationship that I put a lot of faith in. We lived together. Because of that, I sold a lot of my things that we didn't need. I'm talking the simplest things - pots, pans, silverware, towels, etc. As someone in the middle of college, and not a whole lot of funds to draw from to start over again, I moved home, back in with my parents.
At first it was a bit strange. I hadn't lived with my folks in over 10 years. And I know it sounds like nothing more than self pity, but I simply started getting down about it. Here I was in my early 30's nearly obsessing that I should have been farther along in life. But re-runs of Family Guy, American Dad, and Mind of Mencia helped me get through it.
But good things can come out of feeling bad, right? Oh the humor! Seriously though, being down gave me a little motivation to start writing again. Quite therapeutic. And the efforts paid off. I put out an acoustic EP early '09. An acoustic EP was something I always wanted to do. An accomplishment... for me anyway.
Spring came around and the band grew to 5 members again. Anthony's brother Gerard starting filling in on bass duties and Fred moved back to keys only. It was a good thing... Gerry, Anthony and Gerard were in a band together for years. I heard the connection immediately as we started to become a 5 piece band again. We did some warm-up shows in the Spring & Summer in New York City at Arlene's Grocery. But it was then that I started to realize that live music wasn't as important to people. The economy was tanking, people (quite rightly) were more concerned with saving money and staying home. Our turnouts suffered, Fred ended up leaving, and I was kind of lost on what to do. It quickly became time to start writing again...
To be continued...
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Where I've been - part I
Hello friends!
I apologize for not posting a blog since July of last year. I used to post something here and at the MySpace page at least every two weeks. I've been doing some work on the website recently, came to the ol' Blogger page and realized: "HOLY SHIT! - I haven't posted anything in six months!" It's time (and I am now able) to rectify that.
Where I've been - a summary... About 2 years ago, we were riding the small, but significant success of a new band with a new record. "Where You Come From" was the culmination of many things: the end of my old band Green Inside, a collection of stories spanning the previous 10 years of my life, and most importantly a new chapter in my musical career. It was essentially released in early 2008 and we (Gerry, Anthony, Lorin, Fred) played many shows throughout the Northeast in support of it. The album also received fair to exceptional reviews from local, regional, and even national press. It was an amazing time.
Behind the scenes, for me, was a different story. A full-time college student trying to juggle school, a relationship, a band, and finding a way to make it all financially work, was taking it's toll on me. Yet, these were all things that I absolutely had to do. I'm not one to throw in the towel on anything. But, I must admit, doing all of this was certainly piling on the stress, and I simply ignored it.
Then in mid '08, there were some changes in the band. Lorin had left. No animosity at all (we've been and continue to be friends for over 10 years). His personal life had more demands on him and he just couldn't make the commitment to the band anymore. I was a bit bummed as he was often the cheerleader and many times the most optimistic. No matter what happened when we were out playing, as long as Lorin was there we'd be smiling.
To fill in bass duties, we employed the talents of Ron Spears (from The Breakfast). Ron is a great bass player and a good guy to know. He shared lots of stories from being out on the road with The Breakfast. He stepped up the the plate as far as bass playing goes, but he too had many outside commitments and could not be a full-time player.
To fill in the bass position, Fred volunteered his left hand. You may be asking yourself - huh? Instead of playing keys with both hands, he played a piano-bass (it's like a small keyboard, but keyed into the bass register) with his left hand, and regular keys with his right. This essentially took away the ability to bring the Hammond organ out. While we lost that part of the instrumentation, we (Gerry, Anthony, Fred & myself) began to grow into a new sounding band, even putting together new material. We continued throughout 2008 supporting "Where You Come From."
Towards the end of the summer in '08, my personal life was rearing it's ugly head again, and essentially changing my life...
...more to come...
-SA
I apologize for not posting a blog since July of last year. I used to post something here and at the MySpace page at least every two weeks. I've been doing some work on the website recently, came to the ol' Blogger page and realized: "HOLY SHIT! - I haven't posted anything in six months!" It's time (and I am now able) to rectify that.
Where I've been - a summary... About 2 years ago, we were riding the small, but significant success of a new band with a new record. "Where You Come From" was the culmination of many things: the end of my old band Green Inside, a collection of stories spanning the previous 10 years of my life, and most importantly a new chapter in my musical career. It was essentially released in early 2008 and we (Gerry, Anthony, Lorin, Fred) played many shows throughout the Northeast in support of it. The album also received fair to exceptional reviews from local, regional, and even national press. It was an amazing time.
Behind the scenes, for me, was a different story. A full-time college student trying to juggle school, a relationship, a band, and finding a way to make it all financially work, was taking it's toll on me. Yet, these were all things that I absolutely had to do. I'm not one to throw in the towel on anything. But, I must admit, doing all of this was certainly piling on the stress, and I simply ignored it.
Then in mid '08, there were some changes in the band. Lorin had left. No animosity at all (we've been and continue to be friends for over 10 years). His personal life had more demands on him and he just couldn't make the commitment to the band anymore. I was a bit bummed as he was often the cheerleader and many times the most optimistic. No matter what happened when we were out playing, as long as Lorin was there we'd be smiling.
To fill in bass duties, we employed the talents of Ron Spears (from The Breakfast). Ron is a great bass player and a good guy to know. He shared lots of stories from being out on the road with The Breakfast. He stepped up the the plate as far as bass playing goes, but he too had many outside commitments and could not be a full-time player.
To fill in the bass position, Fred volunteered his left hand. You may be asking yourself - huh? Instead of playing keys with both hands, he played a piano-bass (it's like a small keyboard, but keyed into the bass register) with his left hand, and regular keys with his right. This essentially took away the ability to bring the Hammond organ out. While we lost that part of the instrumentation, we (Gerry, Anthony, Fred & myself) began to grow into a new sounding band, even putting together new material. We continued throughout 2008 supporting "Where You Come From."
Towards the end of the summer in '08, my personal life was rearing it's ugly head again, and essentially changing my life...
...more to come...
-SA
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