letting the Depression Monster loose

In the very immediate future, I will start recording the follow-up to my debut solo album Skeleton Coast. I swore this wouldn't happen until I broke even on album one (I still need some sales to hit this mark), but an unexpected opportunity arose...so it's time to start album prep work.

I had a blast recording Skeleton Coast, and I'm fiercely proud of it. This one will, however, be different. For one, I'm collaborating with two people not on my first album. The producer will be Nic, a drummer/musician/instrumentalist. I will also be joined by my high school friend Thom, a bassist/fuzz pedal aficionado. Different band equals different vibe by default. But there will be other, more conscious differences.

First, the actual recording structure will be different, primarily because Thom lives in California. Yes, this is going to be a long distance band! I'm excited to see how this will affect the final result.

This will also be a much more acoustic album for me. The main texture will be of acoustic guitar, with liberal doses of banjo and mandolin thrown in. I'm not saying I won't pick up the electric, because I will...I've got a great sounding new amp that I want you to hear.

Part of the reason I won't be slathering distorted electric on this is that we will be going for completely different textures. The producer really knows his electric toys. Furthermore, the bassist loves his effects almost as much as I love mine, and you don't hear enough distorted bass in this world...so if I can help you hear more, then I must do so.

I also expect there will be much less layering. One Skeleton Coast song (can't remember which) has six guitars and mandolin, plus a few ambient sound tracks...in addition to bass, drums, vocals. I'm really gonna try to not employ the "everything but the kitchen sink" approach this time.

I also hope this goes a bit quicker this time. I'm generally not a huge fan of the recording process...it's too "hurry up and wait" for my tastes. Last time, we were going at it for five months or so, which meant I hurried up to wait an awful lot. This time, I'd like to save my sanity a bit.

What won't change is the lyrical themes. I did try to move in different directions, but the depression monster started to rear its ugly head every time I set pen to paper. Oh well...better to have him running rampant in my words than in my life. This is why I've decided to name the album Depression Monster...give the bastard some credit, you know.

I've also decided to blog the whole process...so watch this space for more details...and start saving your money for your own copy when I finally get to release Depression Monster.

It should be good.