...You Hoo, Mischkeeeee! Brotha coulda toad sumbahday the finished ad wiff my vokes innit.

All Inc Ad - TD Mischke & Donna Dahl Vocals

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7 + hours in the studio. Two songs - rhythm guitar, drums, lead vox on each. Yes, I am tired to the

point of having NO GOALS presently.

We recorded again at The Monitors (aka Passive-Argh!ressive Studios) on St. Paul's Eastside.

Was playing rhythm scratch tracks before 10:00am, drums already set up! I know I'll have a lot more to

say (or at least to think) about this session after some down time.

Scott Monitor I think is my new hero...that cat spent the entire time engineering save two short breaks.

He was completely amiable! And Dan Coffeen is right there, too. Particularly with before-the-session

direction and keeping in touch about progress and recording plan. Now I'm getting to the point of

relying on Dan's opinion, esp. of whatever take was done.

Scott and Dan are really good together,

I can't even say why. The patience, support, strength, humor,

truthfulness, of each and together...and they don't BUG you at all. Excellent listeners...wow.

Tom Harkness spent half the day with us, doing lead guitar and b/u vox for "The Barre Chord Song".

This is the tune that, in the studio early this month, I'd wanted heavy metal-ish/funk beat with toms.

And ended up playing woodblock!

We were all on the same page, working from the same scratch tape before the session. Hark came by

twice to play guitars. His schedule this week was crazy! and showed up to the session having played

Wed eve, hosted Thanksgiving whoopla, played night before studio, studio, and imm. to get ready for a

gig after the session. His guitar work is beautiful and grooving. His playing reminds me of slide guitar but

w/out the slide. His playing reminded me a LOT of Michael Allsup on this song. Which is the hugest

compliment, studier-of-TDN as I am.

I think we have: respectable...and hopefully more.

The bassist, Jack Diehl will plug in at some point. And (!!) Dan will play lead on the 2nd song.

A very different session from last one, where it was Discovery time, trying to take that all in as a

brand new experience bringing my stuff to other musicians. Dan had (nicely) ordered me to sit wiff

that guitar and metronome for many days in prep....I wanted another 10, but y'all know me by now.

The last week I had to divvy things up and practice drums - a lot. The Barre Chord Song is the hardest

song I've ever played as a drummer - because of its tempo. Ditto guitar. I wanna shoot so fast and

furious with it, but that wrecks the lead lines, it cannot be sung that fast.

Different this time, everyone was set to focus, dig in and work! I don't know if the piece is ambitious, but it

is very stylistic of me, so I come away w/ a new and yet deepened appreciation of being in the other

musicians' shoes. I love the studio! I love working w/ others, that dance is something else.

Hope to have one song done by Christmas - we'll see.

Today, as never before, I felt the obligation of being so directly involved and head of, a project. The last

2 days of practice, I did every guitar or drum run-through as if it were a take - and I recorded, then

listened to each.

If I ran an errand, bam, when I got in the door I did a take. Regularly, with purposeful time in between,

I did a take. Doing that w/ 2 instruments for 2 songs @ 2 days...the children were gone much, so I ran

with that opportunity of time/space to focus.

As a writer...well, that's really from which the "head" or obligation of these songs stem. The 3 instruments

of voice, guitar, drums I wrote or composed all those parts. So in charge of them! And the musical confrere's

asking "what do you think of this" or "is this what you envision?" What could be known beforehand, I quickly

realized I was obligated to find out. To prepare, that the others would be more secure, more free was the

biggest obligation.

Dan suggested we try for 2 songs this time, I think that was the right way.

For now, I've TONS of work to do. It is just what I need, practicing, rehearsals, High Mass, sitting in, etc;

and each endeavor or group is definitely on a schedule. I've never done this much music, regularly, at this

level. Boot camp.

This morn in prep, I did a pseudo yoga thing for 8 minutes...mind too full w/ "take" practice.

The writing/4-tracking I've done alone has directly prepared me for this. Without it, I would not have been

able to do this, no way, not to sustain some kind of focus for 3 instruments. And the rhythm guitar tracks

may only be a scratch. But I count it as victory high to walk in there and do what was done today.