I'm at the point in my life where everything seems to be coming to an end at once.
My dad won't be around much longer, for one thing. I'm not as close to him as a lot of people are to their parents, but still, it's a big change.
From what his vet tells me Atari won't be around much longer, either. That tumor in his belly will probably rupture any time now and he'll bleed out internally. Every day when I get home from work I hold my breath until I see that he's still alive and kicking. I do take some solace in the fact that his condition shouldn't cause him any pain--when he does go he should do so without pain, though if he's awake when it happens he'll probably be aware that something is going on. When that happens I really don't know what I'll do. I'm really not sure that I'll be able to handle it. He's a huge part of my life and I love him so much it scares me.
On top of all that, the fact that sometime in the next year I'll have to move to Douglasville if I want to keep my job. That's something I'm dreading. I don't want to live within spitting distance of Atlanta. I hate Atlanta. I avoid that place as much as I possibly can. So, of course, I'm going to have to live there. Dammit.
I am happy that my goddaughter's commercial is airing regularly. I'm seeing it at least a couple times a day now. Very cool. Saw it this morning, actually.
And now I feel like I'm getting sick. You know that feeling you always get when you're coming down with something? I've had that since last night. Terrific. And of course I'm out of everything I could take for it.
Oh, well. I was planning to work on my next project a while, today, and I still might, if I have the strength. Need to work on the plot a little more, sort of work it into shape. That'll be fun. So I keep telling myself.
I'll get by. Maybe something new will arise to replace some of the things that are dropping out of my life. Let's hope!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
OK, this is officially not funny
I mentioned my next musical project was going to be called Seer. It was going to be a collection of tunes that could be the soundtrack to a film that doesn't exist.
Naturally I had a basic idea for this nonexistant film. I just needed to rough out an outline, get a basic plot, and then start working on the music. It really wasn't necessary to get down into the details, the nuts-and-bolts, since I wasn't planning to actually write the screenplay for the movie itself.
So, while I'm sort of mulling it over, I come up with an opening act that I like a lot. Then, I came up with an ending that I like a lot. That in and of itself is the hardest part, for me--coming up with an ending. There are no words for how much easier it is to write this thing, now that I know before I even sit down to start on it where we're going.
Dammit. I was about to get cooking on this novel, Vampire Blues, too. Now that doesn't interest me as much, though I'm sure it will, again, one day.
I'm still going to do the music for it, even though if this thing manages to get made I doubt it would actually get used on the soundtrack--I just need to have a musical project in the hopper, for some reason. In the mean time, got some more development to do, plot to flesh out, characters to develop, that sort of thing, then it's a matter of sitting down and writing writing writing . . .
Anyways, I'm getting more and more excited about it. Hell, it'll keep me busy and out of trouble, anyway!
Naturally I had a basic idea for this nonexistant film. I just needed to rough out an outline, get a basic plot, and then start working on the music. It really wasn't necessary to get down into the details, the nuts-and-bolts, since I wasn't planning to actually write the screenplay for the movie itself.
So, while I'm sort of mulling it over, I come up with an opening act that I like a lot. Then, I came up with an ending that I like a lot. That in and of itself is the hardest part, for me--coming up with an ending. There are no words for how much easier it is to write this thing, now that I know before I even sit down to start on it where we're going.
Dammit. I was about to get cooking on this novel, Vampire Blues, too. Now that doesn't interest me as much, though I'm sure it will, again, one day.
I'm still going to do the music for it, even though if this thing manages to get made I doubt it would actually get used on the soundtrack--I just need to have a musical project in the hopper, for some reason. In the mean time, got some more development to do, plot to flesh out, characters to develop, that sort of thing, then it's a matter of sitting down and writing writing writing . . .
Anyways, I'm getting more and more excited about it. Hell, it'll keep me busy and out of trouble, anyway!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Let's all chant!
My new tune "I Summon Thee . . ." is available. You can click here to listen to it and download it, too, if you dig it.
It's a summoning spell but if you don't perform a sacrifice or set out and light the candles you should be fine. If, however, you decide to complete the ritual I make no guarantees as to your safety.
I haven't done anything like this before, but I'm pretty happy with it. I hope you like it. As always, I'd love to hear your opinion on it.
It's a summoning spell but if you don't perform a sacrifice or set out and light the candles you should be fine. If, however, you decide to complete the ritual I make no guarantees as to your safety.
I haven't done anything like this before, but I'm pretty happy with it. I hope you like it. As always, I'd love to hear your opinion on it.
Weekends were made for . . . what?
I've actually already accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish this weekend. I gave Atari his bath this morning.
That's all I've got planned. I've got some stuff I want to do--I want to work some more on the new tune, "I Summon Thee . . ." and make some notes for this novel idea I've been thinking about. Beyond that I plan to sleep quite a bit, and maybe start planning a little on my next musical project, Seer.
It's kind of sad, I know, that I"m not out partying or something. No real reason for me not to. But I've been there, done that. It's boring to me, getting drunk and striking out with women I meet in bars. I can stay home, not spend the money, and watch whatever I feel like watching on TV.
I've been meditating a bit about being alone, too, lately. Recent events--namely my surgery--sort of underscored the disadvantages of not having someone there I can trust to help me out. But, still, I'd rather continue to be alone than settle for the companionship of someone I'm not happy with. Been there, done that, too--I'd rather be alone than be involved with someone I'm really not all that interested in. Yes, it'd be nice to have someone, but not someone who will make me miserable and who I will in turn make miserable.
Are there any women out there who meet my impossibly high standards? Yes, actually. I know a couple. But it hasn't worked out, and probably won't. Still, I'm okay with that.
Wow. Guess that was more on my mind than I thought! Anyways, I'm planning on chilling and creating all weekend. To me, in my old age, that is fun!
So, how about you? What are you doing this weekend?
That's all I've got planned. I've got some stuff I want to do--I want to work some more on the new tune, "I Summon Thee . . ." and make some notes for this novel idea I've been thinking about. Beyond that I plan to sleep quite a bit, and maybe start planning a little on my next musical project, Seer.
It's kind of sad, I know, that I"m not out partying or something. No real reason for me not to. But I've been there, done that. It's boring to me, getting drunk and striking out with women I meet in bars. I can stay home, not spend the money, and watch whatever I feel like watching on TV.
I've been meditating a bit about being alone, too, lately. Recent events--namely my surgery--sort of underscored the disadvantages of not having someone there I can trust to help me out. But, still, I'd rather continue to be alone than settle for the companionship of someone I'm not happy with. Been there, done that, too--I'd rather be alone than be involved with someone I'm really not all that interested in. Yes, it'd be nice to have someone, but not someone who will make me miserable and who I will in turn make miserable.
Are there any women out there who meet my impossibly high standards? Yes, actually. I know a couple. But it hasn't worked out, and probably won't. Still, I'm okay with that.
Wow. Guess that was more on my mind than I thought! Anyways, I'm planning on chilling and creating all weekend. To me, in my old age, that is fun!
So, how about you? What are you doing this weekend?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Early Thursday evening randomocity
Just tracked the vocals for "I Summon Thee . . ." It's more of a chant, really. Interesting stuff. I've never done anything like that before. Neat little interplay between the lower-register vocals with the higher-register ones. I'll have to play with that some more.
I'll be adding some more tracks--synths, guitars, other stuff--over the next few days. After that . . . I don't know for sure. I'll for sure upload it for your listening pleasure. But what will my next project be?
I've had this idea for years for a vampire thing and it's starting to get kind of interesting to me again, as a novel this time. I've been making some notes, putting some thoughts together. I know, vampires are suddenly everywhere, but most of those I don't consider very frightening. Hopefully my vampires will be scary. We'll see. They ain't nice guys, that's for sure. There's a relationship at the center that's going to be hard to do--it'll be extremely complicated.
When I'm done with it, about a hundred years from now, I'll see if I can make it available as an eBook. That's a lot less of a hassle than trying to get it published in a traditional format.
Of course, that's assuming when I'm done with my note-taking I look over what I have and decide it'll be worth writing. I'm not really all that wild about supernatural stuff, since I don't believe in any of that and as I get older I find it more difficult to suspend my disbelief. Still, there's some stuff in it that interests me and hopefully will interest a few other people, too.
I saw my goddaughter in her TV commercial last night--immediately chatted her mom to let her know. I was so excited! Hopefully I'll be seeing that commercial a lot more often. She gets residuals from it, so the more it airs, the more money she makes.
I still want to do Seer, my modern symphony. Still looking for a female vocalist. I'd dearly love to find someone who is like a female Cory Taylor. Listen to Slipknot and Stone Sour to hear what I'd love to have to work with. A woman who has that kind of power, range, and flexibility would be a treat to write music for.
My Cold Iron tunes are available, just in case you didn't know. Click the widget to the right, listen to the first eight tunes to hear all of the songs in that song cycle. You can keep going if you want, listen to the other stuff, too. Don't be shy about giving me a holler about them.
As usual, I don't have any sort of underlying theme here, to I don't have a big finish. What's up with you?
I'll be adding some more tracks--synths, guitars, other stuff--over the next few days. After that . . . I don't know for sure. I'll for sure upload it for your listening pleasure. But what will my next project be?
I've had this idea for years for a vampire thing and it's starting to get kind of interesting to me again, as a novel this time. I've been making some notes, putting some thoughts together. I know, vampires are suddenly everywhere, but most of those I don't consider very frightening. Hopefully my vampires will be scary. We'll see. They ain't nice guys, that's for sure. There's a relationship at the center that's going to be hard to do--it'll be extremely complicated.
When I'm done with it, about a hundred years from now, I'll see if I can make it available as an eBook. That's a lot less of a hassle than trying to get it published in a traditional format.
Of course, that's assuming when I'm done with my note-taking I look over what I have and decide it'll be worth writing. I'm not really all that wild about supernatural stuff, since I don't believe in any of that and as I get older I find it more difficult to suspend my disbelief. Still, there's some stuff in it that interests me and hopefully will interest a few other people, too.
I saw my goddaughter in her TV commercial last night--immediately chatted her mom to let her know. I was so excited! Hopefully I'll be seeing that commercial a lot more often. She gets residuals from it, so the more it airs, the more money she makes.
I still want to do Seer, my modern symphony. Still looking for a female vocalist. I'd dearly love to find someone who is like a female Cory Taylor. Listen to Slipknot and Stone Sour to hear what I'd love to have to work with. A woman who has that kind of power, range, and flexibility would be a treat to write music for.
My Cold Iron tunes are available, just in case you didn't know. Click the widget to the right, listen to the first eight tunes to hear all of the songs in that song cycle. You can keep going if you want, listen to the other stuff, too. Don't be shy about giving me a holler about them.
As usual, I don't have any sort of underlying theme here, to I don't have a big finish. What's up with you?
Sunday, February 13, 2011
I Summon Thee
By the candle by the book and
by the blade and by the hook
by the bell and by the tree
by my blood I summon thee
By the life and by the death and
by my sight and by my breath
by the Goddess hear my plea
in her name I summon thee
words and music by J Franklin Evans
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Saturday afternoon randomocity
My Muse is capricious and unpredictible. But I still love her. Even though she's made this one tune sort of the soundtrack for my entire life right now--it keeps going through my head. I'll have to record it just to get rid of it. Fortunately it's the sort of thing I like so it's not too bad. I just wasn't wanting a new project right now.
Unfortunately (or maybe not), it doesn't really fit in with anything else I'm planning, so it'll be a stand-alone. A really long stand-alone, methinks, but a stand-alone nonetheless.
Doesn't really matter since nobody will listen to it but me anyways. Getting people to listen to your stuff--especially your friends--is nigh on impossible. Even friends who are artists themselves and ask you to take a look at their stuff and you do so, religiously. Reciprocity is non-existant these days, I'm discovering.
Just watched the film Let Me In, the American remake of the Swedish film Let The Right One In. I thought it compared favorably to the original film. Have no idea how it compares to the novel as I haven't read it. If I ever resume reading fiction it's on my list. In the mean time, though, I can recommend both films to you. Sweetness mixed with horror. The best kind of horror film.
I may go see The Eagle sometime soon. As I may have mentioned I have no luck with theater audiences. Plus, the film is set in 140 AD with is a little later in history than the time period that generally interests me. When we're talking Rome I start losing interest somewhere during the reign of Tiberius. Utterly fascinating until then, not so much afterwards, to me.
Speaking of films, keep your eyes open for a short film called Hearts on the Knee. It was written and produced by a friend of mine--she's the same one responsible for Witchy Ways, which you will see a widget for to your right. It's quite wonderful. My friend is a talented writer--I can say that because she manages to avoid the other things most other writers do that make me crazy. It's stuff most normal people won't even notice, but which to me screams lazy! Hack! Anyways, my friend avoids that stuff and presents a nice, involving, moving story that is sentimental but not saccharine. You get a chance you watch it.
And check out my Cold Iron song cycle-you can go to my ReverbNation page or my Myspace page to give it a listen. The songs are on my profile in order--start with The Passing and end at The Passing Reprise. You can go on and hear the other stuff, too, if you want. Let me know what you think!
It's really the least you can do.
Unfortunately (or maybe not), it doesn't really fit in with anything else I'm planning, so it'll be a stand-alone. A really long stand-alone, methinks, but a stand-alone nonetheless.
Doesn't really matter since nobody will listen to it but me anyways. Getting people to listen to your stuff--especially your friends--is nigh on impossible. Even friends who are artists themselves and ask you to take a look at their stuff and you do so, religiously. Reciprocity is non-existant these days, I'm discovering.
Just watched the film Let Me In, the American remake of the Swedish film Let The Right One In. I thought it compared favorably to the original film. Have no idea how it compares to the novel as I haven't read it. If I ever resume reading fiction it's on my list. In the mean time, though, I can recommend both films to you. Sweetness mixed with horror. The best kind of horror film.
I may go see The Eagle sometime soon. As I may have mentioned I have no luck with theater audiences. Plus, the film is set in 140 AD with is a little later in history than the time period that generally interests me. When we're talking Rome I start losing interest somewhere during the reign of Tiberius. Utterly fascinating until then, not so much afterwards, to me.
Speaking of films, keep your eyes open for a short film called Hearts on the Knee. It was written and produced by a friend of mine--she's the same one responsible for Witchy Ways, which you will see a widget for to your right. It's quite wonderful. My friend is a talented writer--I can say that because she manages to avoid the other things most other writers do that make me crazy. It's stuff most normal people won't even notice, but which to me screams lazy! Hack! Anyways, my friend avoids that stuff and presents a nice, involving, moving story that is sentimental but not saccharine. You get a chance you watch it.
And check out my Cold Iron song cycle-you can go to my ReverbNation page or my Myspace page to give it a listen. The songs are on my profile in order--start with The Passing and end at The Passing Reprise. You can go on and hear the other stuff, too, if you want. Let me know what you think!
It's really the least you can do.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Cold Iron now available
Cold Iron is now available on my Myspace profile, my Facebook page, and, now, on Reverb Nation. Also, note the new widget to your right where you can click to hear my stuff.
I've been fighting with iLike all day to post my tunes there but it just ain't happening. Their server just stops responding. So, I'll continue to try it, but in the mean time you can hear all the songs by visiting the above links or clicking the widget to the right. I'd love to hear what you think!
I've been fighting with iLike all day to post my tunes there but it just ain't happening. Their server just stops responding. So, I'll continue to try it, but in the mean time you can hear all the songs by visiting the above links or clicking the widget to the right. I'd love to hear what you think!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Cold Iron - this Wednesday!
Cold Iron is in the can!
All eight songs will be available for your listening pleasure on my Myspace and Facebook pages this Wednesday, February 9--see above for the links. I'll post a reminder here, too, with the links, just to make it even easier for you to click on over and listen to the whole thing.
I hope you can check in and give them a listen! Mark your calendar!
All eight songs will be available for your listening pleasure on my Myspace and Facebook pages this Wednesday, February 9--see above for the links. I'll post a reminder here, too, with the links, just to make it even easier for you to click on over and listen to the whole thing.
I hope you can check in and give them a listen! Mark your calendar!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Cold Iron news and final track list . . .
I've decided to cut a couple of titles from the list of tracks for the Cold Iron song cycle that I posted a while back. "Aeon's End Remix" actually wouldn't fit in with the other tunes, I think. And "Child Of The Moon" didn't make it because I already have one song with "Moon" in the title and I think two would be a little much.
So, if you're interested, here's the final lineup:
So, watch this space. It won't be much longer!
So, if you're interested, here's the final lineup:
- The Passing
- The Devil That I Know
- It Hurts
- Cold Iron
- The Crawl
- West of the Moon
- Someone to Love
- The Passing Reprise
So, watch this space. It won't be much longer!
Friday, February 4, 2011
An epic quest for ribs . . .
I had a taste for some barbeque spare ribs today.
This, I knew, was a Bad Thing. Why? Because the more I want something the harder it is to get. I mean, if I just kinda casually decided, "Gee, some ribs would be nice," that would've been easy. I'd just go and get some. But since I had one of those Cravings Which Will Not Be Denied, I knew it was going to become The Lord of the Rings.
So, I call this place nearby that I won't name--I'll call it Crapplebee's. Normally I have no problem with them, and they are right around the corner, so I thought I could just run by there, get my ribs, and be back in a few minutes. I called and placed my order, waited around a few minutes, then went to get my ribs.
I sat in the truck for a few minutes and eventually one of the servers came out to tell me--guess what? They don't have any ribs. They will have some--in 70 minutes.
So, I decide to go by Ruby Tuesday's.
The down side is I know while I sit at the bar and wait for my order I'll have to endure the waves of desperate loneliness radiating from Vodka Tonic granny, who is waiting when they open every morning to go sit at the bar and hammer down a few glasses of her favorite drink and depress the other customers. The up side, though--I'll get some of their potato salad from the salad bar.
I get to the place, and guess what? Granny is there. Potato salad is not.
So, I did eventually get my ribs, and they were tasty, but now I have this unsatisfied hankering for potato salad that I'm just going to allow to remain unsatisfied.
Sort of reminds me of the time this girl I was desperately trying to bed sent me on a quest for a strawberry milk shake. You'd think that would be simple, but I went to every frakkin' restaurant on this side of town and everybody's shake machine was broken. Never got the shake, or laid.
Story of my life. Oh, well. At least I got a blog posting out of this.
This, I knew, was a Bad Thing. Why? Because the more I want something the harder it is to get. I mean, if I just kinda casually decided, "Gee, some ribs would be nice," that would've been easy. I'd just go and get some. But since I had one of those Cravings Which Will Not Be Denied, I knew it was going to become The Lord of the Rings.
So, I call this place nearby that I won't name--I'll call it Crapplebee's. Normally I have no problem with them, and they are right around the corner, so I thought I could just run by there, get my ribs, and be back in a few minutes. I called and placed my order, waited around a few minutes, then went to get my ribs.
I sat in the truck for a few minutes and eventually one of the servers came out to tell me--guess what? They don't have any ribs. They will have some--in 70 minutes.
So, I decide to go by Ruby Tuesday's.
The down side is I know while I sit at the bar and wait for my order I'll have to endure the waves of desperate loneliness radiating from Vodka Tonic granny, who is waiting when they open every morning to go sit at the bar and hammer down a few glasses of her favorite drink and depress the other customers. The up side, though--I'll get some of their potato salad from the salad bar.
I get to the place, and guess what? Granny is there. Potato salad is not.
So, I did eventually get my ribs, and they were tasty, but now I have this unsatisfied hankering for potato salad that I'm just going to allow to remain unsatisfied.
Sort of reminds me of the time this girl I was desperately trying to bed sent me on a quest for a strawberry milk shake. You'd think that would be simple, but I went to every frakkin' restaurant on this side of town and everybody's shake machine was broken. Never got the shake, or laid.
Story of my life. Oh, well. At least I got a blog posting out of this.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Looking for a special lady
I've been giving some thought to my next project and tonight made some decisions.
It's going to sort of like a symphony--a long song divided up into five shorter songs. Each song will be a movement. The whole thing is a story I'm calling "Seer," about a woman who can see other people's deaths before they happen. The story is about four of the people she encountered and tried to help--she can't change anything about what she sees but she can change the context--maybe make a meaningless death meaningful.
However, to do this I'm gonna need a little help.
While the only actual "song" will be the last one, each movement will involve some narration and some singing by the central character. Which means I need a female vocalist who can also act a little bit. Not much, just a little.
Most of the vocals for the other four movements will be minimal, but the last one will be more traditional. More like something you'd hear on the radio.
I know several women who can sing but I don't think any of them would be a good fit for this project. I need someone with some versatility and someone who would be willing to come to me to do something like this just for fun. Someone who can sing like Evanescence's Amy Lee would be ideal, but for someone who doesn't fit in that category but has a really special voice I can adjust.
It's gonna be a couple months, at least, before I start on this. And it's going to take some time--I've never tried anything like this before so I need to get all my shit together first. The vocals will be the last thing done so that's even more time.
Anyways if you're interested drop me a line--you can comment on this if you want to let me know that you want to give it a shot. I don't normally work with other people so it'll take some getting used to, but it could be fun!
So, what do you say? Want to sing for me?
It's going to sort of like a symphony--a long song divided up into five shorter songs. Each song will be a movement. The whole thing is a story I'm calling "Seer," about a woman who can see other people's deaths before they happen. The story is about four of the people she encountered and tried to help--she can't change anything about what she sees but she can change the context--maybe make a meaningless death meaningful.
However, to do this I'm gonna need a little help.
While the only actual "song" will be the last one, each movement will involve some narration and some singing by the central character. Which means I need a female vocalist who can also act a little bit. Not much, just a little.
Most of the vocals for the other four movements will be minimal, but the last one will be more traditional. More like something you'd hear on the radio.
I know several women who can sing but I don't think any of them would be a good fit for this project. I need someone with some versatility and someone who would be willing to come to me to do something like this just for fun. Someone who can sing like Evanescence's Amy Lee would be ideal, but for someone who doesn't fit in that category but has a really special voice I can adjust.
It's gonna be a couple months, at least, before I start on this. And it's going to take some time--I've never tried anything like this before so I need to get all my shit together first. The vocals will be the last thing done so that's even more time.
Anyways if you're interested drop me a line--you can comment on this if you want to let me know that you want to give it a shot. I don't normally work with other people so it'll take some getting used to, but it could be fun!
So, what do you say? Want to sing for me?
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