How the Heck Do I Do It???

Over and over people always ask me how I get so much done. To be honest I've been wondering the same this. So today with deadline looming (25 days to finish 3 last CDs) I have decided to take you with me...all day. Maybe we can both learn something...ready?

5:30 - Alarm goes off (that's 5:30 am for all you musicians out there). Keep hitting snooze over and over and over.

6:00 am (guess I should put the AM and PM in, huh?) - Drink coffee and hang out with my wonderful wife till she has to got to work...what? She can't find her keys???

6:30 am - Record my "Mad Music Marketing Podcast" at the kitchen table on my iPhone using the Spreaker app.

6:45 am - Spontaneously write and record a short silly song of the day about St. Nick on the living room piano and post it up to Shout-)-Matic (again on my iPhone).

7:00 am - Make breakfast for me and my daughter.

7:30 am - Try to drive kids to school while arguing with my "usually very awesome" son about taking stuff into the house first...after a long staring match I finally get them to school, almost on time. I WILL NOT pick them up today, no way.

8:00 am - Ready to record. Ooops, the computer is a little cranky and I don't have the files I need downloaded, OK, lets update the booking calendar and send a email newsletter to my fans while I wait.

9:00 am - Newsletter done, took quick shower (TMI?) ready to record.

9:15 am - Working on a track Oliver Kinnoin sent me, I like his demo so much I am keep much of the music and ALL of his vocals. I am adding drum, keyboards, guitar and my vocals. The song is called "Weightless".

10:45 am - dome recording...wow I guess I do record fast huh? Take another shower (TM, TMI? Sorry I get very hot and sweaty when I record stuff)

11:00 am - write this blog post while uploading the song to SoundCloud.

11:15 am - Here is the first song I recorded today, I plan to do three, but we'll see...


11:30 am - More coffee. I think I'll start another song before lunch. What to do...how about "Peanut Butter and Jellyfish?" I just got this demo from Monty Harper and Dino O'Dell late last night. Yeah, let me get the words and demo up...after I check my email...faceBook...OK, gotta stop that, back to work...

12:07 pm - Get all the guitars, drum loops and bass done and recorded in GarageBand on my little cheap used MacBook (not a Pro...anyone wanna donate?). Now I need to edit and arrange the tracks so I can do my vocals...getting hungry and the phone has been ringing...better check that...

12:49 pm - While recording my vocals Cathi (Mrs. Billy) called during her lunch break. Almost done with the vocals! I think I'll finish and then have lunch!

1:15 pm - After the phone call took a nice little cat nap (why do they call it that?), now to finish the vocals, the song and have lunch!

1:30 pm - DONE! Sounds awesome. Saving and uploading now. Time for lunch. But first, here comes the post...



2:15 pm - OK, I'm back. Had some soup and crackers while I listened to the ESPN Football Today podcast (For some reason football stuff is the only think that totally takes my mind off of music and business stuff...weird). Now I need to decide what I'm gonna do next...another song? Let's see what I have on the to do list...

2:35 pm - While trying to pick the next song (I did) I got a call from a library and book a summer reading concert! Had to update schedule, website and make a contract. Kids are coming home from school in less than an hour, things usually grind to a halt when they get home.

2:51 pm - OK I picked the song I want to do next but I have to play piano on it. Problem is I don't have my midi keyboard hooked up to my MacBook (option 1) or a way to record the piano in our living room (option 2). I tried doing it on the keyboard of the iPad (I do a lot of my keyboard parts on that, but this one is real piano stuff). So, I have to see which option will actually work.

3:00 pm - Off to the kitchen to set up a keyboard and try to record it.

4:05 pm - Getting a bit tired now, should take a real nap before I have to go to parents night at my kids school. Oh, I did have to leave in the middle of recording to pick up my daughter...she got too cold walking home..in shorts...in winter...oy.

I have gotten the piano and some other keyboards done on the song, but I don't think I like it, I wish I had a real piano player play it on a real piano...dreamer that I am. I'm gonna take a stab at the vocal before I call it a day.

5:01 pm - Well I did it. THREE songs done! The piano stuff sounded great as an electric piano with some stings way in the background. VERY HARD TO SING! I am saving it now one now, but I don't think I'll be able to upload or post it tonight, I have to be at my kids school in about 25 minutes.

So, there you have it a day with Mr. Billy in the studio and around town...from 5:30 to about 5:30! Any questions?

Clones are People Two!

OK, CD #9 is in the bag, here comes CD #10...

SENSATIONAL SONGS ABOUT SCIENCE...FICTION?

Note the question mark, the idea is not to do a traditional science CD for kids (something that is all the rage these days), but a near future "what if" romp of wild imagination.

If all goes well there will be songs about robots, aliens, food (the science way), flying cars, weightlessness, space, Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, Roswell and CLONES!

The first song I recorded is a remake of an old classic rock songs called "I Think We're Alone Now" with new words by Weird Al renamed, "I Think I'm a Clone Now". Very funny. Fun to record.

I only have 28 more days. Many of my friends and family are pitching in to help. Dave and Oliver Kinnoin are writing/ co-writing and producing some stuff and my son Wil (AKA POD PERSiN) is producing and writing  3 new tracks!

One called "Vacation in Roswell", another titled "What If?" and another with Dave Kinnoin doing lyrics called "My Robot Army". This is not the first time Wil has written songs of recorded instruments other than drums on one of my CDs, but the first time he's produced the music. I'm a proud dad.

OK, here is the first track from the new CD, I hope you love it...leave a comment. Thanks!