rock'n'rill

Ruminations on a new record

Hi guys,

I know starting to make plans on a new album a little over half a year after the last one’s been released sounds a little premature.
However, there’s some good reasons for us to go into the studio soon. As of now, we don’t know if we’ll record the entire album or maybe have another session later. And a release date is not in sight. But here’s our reasons for laying down some tracks this January.

The number one reason is that the band is on a roll. I’m having so much fun playing with the boys and we’ve grown into a tight-knit unit - so I want to get it while it’s hot. You never know what things will look like in six months or so. Right now we’re in the pocket and we’ve learned some of the new songs and they’re sounding great so there’s no reason to wait any longer.

Also, “Wild Blue & True” may have been released in March of 2011 but basic tracks were recorded in February of 2010. In other words, it’s been almost two years since then. I’ve accumulated a number of songs in the meantime. Used to be I wrote about twelve to fourteen songs a year and not all of them, ultimately, were keepers.
Seems to me I’ve been on a real songwriting roll lately. Some of you may know that my day job keeps me away from my family during the week. My wife has been hearing a new song a week or every other week now for months – it’s gotten to where she’s almost expecting me to show up with a new idea every Friday.
Some of this has to do with co-writing. I’ve now written three songs with a new partner in my hometown and it seems to be going real well. I’m real excited about these new co-writes.

So, truth be told, I could go in tomorrow and cut 16 or 18 new songs that I feel real good about.

I’m always drawn to the idea of making a real low-key, all-acoustic album, just me and one other guy. That could be real cool. And I never want for songs that lend themselves naturally to a very sparse arrangement.

But … it feels so great to play with the Troublemakers these days that I feel like it would be a sin not to make a band record. And it’s not like a band record needs to be all-rock all the time. We can be subtle, too, and I think “Wild Blue & True” provides ample proof of that.

So we’re going into the studio in January in a low-pressure situation and see what we’re gonna come up with. Some rockers, some mellow stuff.

Any thoughts from you guys? How do you feel about the acoustic record vs. band record decision?

Thanks for tuning in,
Markus

26 October 2011 ·