PROBLEM SOLVING #66

insomnia, album updates, etc.

Dearest,

I blinked and summer was over. June, July, August, all flitted past my eyes in a swift blur.

And now, I have had insomnia for a month. Why? I can’t stop. There’s always something to do, something I’m curious or excited about, something to figure out, and it’s hard to stop. Out of pure exhaustion I will have one night of good sleep, and then it’s back to tossing and turning.

My days are filled with great things… like art classes, design work, studying music, seeing friends, cooking, taking walks, exploration…

But I am exhausted. Luckily I will be in Michigan for a week, in a place where there isn’t much to do… peace is definitely leaving New York City every 2-3 weeks.

ALBUM

Thanks to my good friend Tom, the mixing process is nearly finished. I’m now trying to figure out a half decent release strategy.

Listening back is still a challenge for me. There’s a lot of choices I made (or did not make clearly) that were odd and I feel like I’ve already grown past what I was able to do in June, maybe minimally, but still.

I should’ve made that phrase shorter, wtf was that solo it made no sense, etc. etc. etc.

But I’m still proud of what was done. After all, with a limited a budget of one day (which is actually only 6 hours) and 10 songs, I did the best I could in that moment. And I was so nervous the night before that I woke up at 2am and couldn’t go back to sleep… then I had to get up at 7 am to get to the studio.

We finally took my photos for some artwork material for this record. Directed by me, taken by my boyfriend. Graphics and editing will of course be done by myself. I haven’t made any final decisions on what the cover will be, but I have some ideas.

I just got the film pics back from the photo lab. Here are a few sneak peeks at what’s to come:

I dragged us out to Times Square on a rainy August night at 11pm on a Wednesday… because it had to be done.

I was going for a chaotic look:

I remember a year+ ago taking some Times Square on a misty night film pics, and they ended up being some of my favorites because of the way the light gets diffused with a thicker, more humid atmosphere….

I did edit this image to bump up the light bloom for a bit more of a romantic look, but honestly the lighting was very close already.

I shoot almost always with my 1979 Canon AF35m point and shoot, and Lomography 800 ISO. I need as much light as I can get.

As I must’ve said before, I love a good grassroots effort.

SOUNDS

My favorite version of Honeysuckle Rose. I’d only ever heard Lena Horne sing ballads really, but wow, she can really swing.

I NEED TO IMPROVE MY TIME, AGH.

I made a new playlist called, “Warm Blues”… because this corner of jazz music makes me feel warm.

Andy Bey has been sending me somewhere recently. I love the arrangements. This was one of my favorite Nancy Wilson tunes… I used to try to sing this song all the time but I’m not sure it ever really worked for me.

GIGS

To be honest, I don’t have a whole lot of time to look for gigs. At the moment, I’m trying to balance my 9-6, figure out my next move for that, and after work I’m either practicing, or going to a show or a session. I’m hoping time will be cleared up and finding gigs will be easier after I can just get the album or a few singles out the door…

I’m just trying to keep an eye on the long game and keep on going, day by day.

Yours,

Connie