Recording Vocals, Writing Lyrics

Post date: 10-Apr-2013 02:54:26

Now that I have more or less finished recording all the guitars, bass lines, and finished programming drums (I know, and I probably hate it more than you do), it's time for me to sit down and seriously start pounding out some lyrics for A More Perfect Union. I have already finished the lyrics and most of the vocal recording for Dead Kids and Dollar Signs, The Lie (which you can already listen to here or on youtube), 349, Home, and Silverfish. I'm planning on redoing the vocals for Home because it was the first song I sang, and to be honest it didn't turn out great. I have partial lyrics written for Violence, Track 9 (as yet untitled), and All Things Renewed. That leaves 5 sets of lyrics to write, 3 to finish up, and 8 songs to record. It's a pretty exciting time for me!

Some of you may remember that I once had a real band with four living, breathing members from February 2006 to January 2007. We only played about 13 shows during that time, but we practiced quite a bit and had a lot of fun for the most part. Also during that time, I was singing pretty frequently and my voice was in pretty good shape. I could yell and scream for up to about 2 hours before straining my voice, which I daresay is pretty good considering I usually had no idea what I was doing. However, after the band broke up, I didn't sing very frequently for the next six years. Taking a six-year break from yelling, screaming, and growling is definitely long enough for the old cords to get fat and lazy. Last week, I discovered exactly how fat and lazy my cords really were.

Sunday, March 31st, I finally had a great opportunity to record without worrying about causing a ruckus in my household. So, I booted up my DAW (digital-audio workstation) and promptly started laying vocals down for 349. Big mistake. I got through the first verse, and my throat hurt like hell. I couldn't believe how out of shape my voice was. So, I quit for the day to recover and spent some time researching ways to protect my voice. Well, it wasn't until Wednesday before my voice came back full force, so I knew I had to be especially careful so I didn't destroy my voice again. Turns out, drinking room-temperature water and taking little shots of honey between takes really helps prevent vocal damage. I also concentrated on using safer singing techniques like warming up and breathing properly. What happened next? I blew through the rest of the song, no problems. My voice wasn't even hoarse the next day, which surprised me quite a bit. Needless to say, I will be treating my voice better from now on!

Just as a heads-up on this lyric writing thing. Most of these songs will be hyper-critical of the United States government and mainstream media. This is a protest album, basically. If you are ultra-patriotic, easily offended, or unwilling to consider that the U.S. government is full of shit, then this record is not for you and you might as well skip it. I love my country, but I hate more of its leaders than I like. I feel like we live in an age where everyone is willing to complain on a forum or sign some digital petition, but fewer and fewer people are willing to make or do much of anything. Well, since I'm not in a position for much doing, I can sure as hell make something that might have some kind of impact, no matter how small. That's what this album is about. Truth to power.

Peace.