Money and time by Hop On Pop on The Pipeline at IndieMusicPeople

Money and time
My friend Phil's Kickstarter project got me thinking: I've never really had the money or the time (combined with the experience) that I really needed to make a really great record.
I think that those are the only things that I am missing. I mean, I think that I have good songs. And I think that I have good ideas.
I do think that I have shown flashes of what I can do in the studio here and there and have actually been able to do a couple of tunes exactly the way that I wanted them: ("Here, "Come On, Let's Go" and "Ashes On the Water"), but I have never had the sustained schedule flexibility or finances to be able to carry it through for an entire album. Or, when I did have time and money, I had not yet learned to really trust myself. I know now that is what I need to do.
Just thinking out loud here.
It will be a long time before I release another album I think, but when I do, I am going to make damn sure that it is EXACTLY what I want it to be.
I would like to get back and re-record a couple of things, but the song comes first. So, maybe after I catch up on recording the songs that I already have.

EDIT:
A note "The Yummy Song" actually required no money, but it did require time. So, I'm halfway to being able to do something like that again, I guess.

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Steve White

5/2/2013 9:32:06 AM

Hey man how ya been?

Well, I don't have the money but I sure do have the time. My stuff is always a work in progress and I've never tried to sell or push it so I have no idea how it would do but I'm thinking about giving it s shot soon.

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Hop On Pop

5/2/2013 9:52:44 AM ---- Updated 5/2/2013 9:54:39 AM

If you got the time, do it!
You do have the songs, Steve. I would love to hear perfectionist versions.
Get 'em the way you really want 'em!
Are there any that you've already completed that already are exactly what you wanted from the start, like those few tunes of mine that I mentioned up top?

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Steve White

5/3/2013 5:50:40 AM

Hi there

Ha ha! Nothing yet that I would call done. As you and most of you know it's a hard job doing everything from mixing to playing all the instruments.

I'm still working on my sound, grooves and production. Right now I'm working on something that's not mine. It's a mixing contest for Liza Colby and the prizes are pretty nice so I'd like to win something so I can sell it. I'm doing the mix all in Auria for the I pad.

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Richard Scotti

5/3/2013 8:42:01 AM

Todd ~ I know how you feel. I'm sort of at a crossroads myself at the moment.
Money is the key that opens so many doors. I recently finished a CD and sent it to a mastering house and I have enough material for a second CD but after that I may stop writing and recording for a while until I can get some kind of financial backing
to make truly professional master recordings. I try to make the best demos I can afford to make but I would like to make better ones. A real hammond organ with will always sound better than a MIDI keyboard with a simulated Leslie speaker. Better mics mean better sounding vocals etc. etc. When I produce for other people, they have big budgets and can afford to record in great studios that have great gear and great atmosphere. Their demos sound terrific. I can't afford these studios to do my own songs, so I do them mostly at home. I think they sound pretty good considering all the corners I have to cut to make them happen but I'm tired of doing that.

Of course there is always the option of making very simple demos with just vocals and piano but the producer in me could never be happy with that. For me every song I write starts out as a concept rather than just a song. The song and
the production concept are inextricably linked. All the elements work together to create one big picture. I live for the creative process! I've enjoyed building my song
houses with the tools I have but if I had better tools I could build better houses and I would enjoy it more because I could be more creative.

I have the time but I don't have the money to build my musical dream house. But this is a good time for reflection. You have all the right ideas and your blog has really inspired me. Frustration is an exhausting emotion and I'm frustrated that I can't presently record things EXACTLY as I hear them in my head.

Now that I have a couple of CD's in the can, I'm going to spend more quality time relaxing with my family and friends and figuring out what my next move should be. My advisors say my songs are good enough for me to get a publishing deal and they are in the process of trying to make that happen but in the meantime, I'm tired of my present situation. It's a catch-22. With a deal, I could make the songs sound the way they should sound but without the money to make better demos, a deal can be elusive.

In the end I think it will all work out for the best. I'm doing what I love and that makes me happy. But I could be a lot happier building with a better tool - kit.

If things go as planned, I intend to put on a huge concert of various bands doing my songs which will be filmed. This will be in a year or two. After that, who knows?

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Hop On Pop

5/3/2013 9:18:07 AM

If things go as planned, I intend to put on a huge concert of various bands doing my songs which will be filmed. This will be in a year or two. After that, who knows?
That would kick all kinds of ass.
Since it seems like you do have the time and the money is all that you are missing, give the Kickstarter thing a shot like Phil did.
He just raised more than $15K in about 2 weeks! And that pays for a top-shelf producer as well as the musician, engineers and studio time. If you think that you can produce yourself, and the money is all you need... GO FOR IT!
I would contribute something.
I don't have much, but I can part with a few bucks to help you out.

Check out that link that i put up in the other thread to see how he got it done and then do what you can.
You have the contacts here, on Facebook, and in other places too, I'm sure. What do you think that you would need to get something like this done?
$!0K?

Go for it!

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Richard Scotti

5/3/2013 10:14:23 AM

Thanks so much for the encouragement, Todd! I really appreciate it and I will check out that website. It seems more and more people are doing things like this and it's really an amazingly cool concept. I have a friend who recently got a grant to do an art project in a college. All she had to do was write something on why she deserved the grant.

I'm touched by your generosity! I'm going to take this fantasy of mine and look at it as a possible reality. 10K might do the job but perhaps another 5K for having it professionally video taped would be needed. If I call in a few favors, It might even be far less expensive than that.

Thanks again for the kick-start!

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