So, here's what I'm doing next. In 2008, I worked on something called Twenty Aught Eight, during which I posted a new song every week for a year. I had a lot of fun doing it and looking back, I was happier than I had been in a long time. So with that in mind, I've decided to do something similar.
I'm going to post a new recording every *two* weeks for as long as I can. I'm leaving the length of the project open ended because I honestly don't have a specific time frame in mind, and I'm going with every couple of weeks because I want to be able to devote more time to each song than seven days allows. I also want to be able to take a few gigs should the right ones come along, which means I have to give myself sufficient time to rehearse.
There is one other thing about this project that will be different; I'm allowing for the possibility of collaboration once I have met my deadline. Here's what I have in mind.
I've made the switch from recording with a Boss BR-1180CD to using Garage Band on my MacBook. I figure this makes sharing tracks with those who might be willing to contribute pretty easy. So, my current idea is to complete a song with whatever instrumentation I see fit - whether that's just guitar and voice or multiple instruments will depend entirely on the song - post it prior to my deadline, and then make the Garage Band file downloadable for anyone who might want to see what they can do. This could be adding another instrument, adding harmony vocals, replacing the existing parts...whatever works. Of course, I'd want to hear the results. If whoever contributes is willing to share the results with the rest of the world, so much the better. If you'd prefer to keep it between us, well, I suppose that's ok too.
Those of you who don't use software or hardware that is compatible with Garage Band files are free to use mp3 files.
In terms of collaboration and potential income, bear in mind that I will own all of these songs. I will own the Copyright and will use this Creative Commons in conjunction with each song and the project as a whole:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Should something you do with my song somehow create some big financial windfall or the opportunity for one, we can discuss a suitable arrangement. For example, if you should happen to change the lyrics and melody for one of my songs but keep the chord progression and/or the instrumental tracks (or vice versa), we can come to some sort of agreement if the chance for income arises. But, if you just add some instrumental tracks - say a guitar, violin, fiddle, mandolin, or banjo part - I will happily give you credit, but I will own the copyright for the song itself.
Think of it this way. You're a guitar player. Willie Nelson hears your band in a bar somewhere and is so impressed by your chops that he wants you to play on a couple of tracks on his new album. He's Willie Nelson, so he can afford to play you for your time - say, union scale - and you get credit for any contribution you make to the finished product. However, you do not get a share of album sales or any income generated by the songs.
But, during the recording sessions, you hear Willie playing a cool chord progression and humming a neat little melody to go with it. You ask him what it is, and he replies that it's a new song that has yet to be completed. You two start trading ideas, one thing leads to another and the next thing you know, you and Willie have written a song together. You reach an agreement and you get a share of income generated by that particular song.
Or, let's say that you happen to come up with a bridge to an existing song that Willie decides to add in. Or, you wind up talking about the lyrics and melody of a tune, and again, one thing leads to another and Willie winds up changing the song because of your cool ideas. In either case, you should get some of the income made by songs to which you have now co-written.
I'm not comparing myself to Willie Nelson; I'm just trying to make a point. Using the above examples as a guide, I can *not* afford to pay anyone who wants to have some fun adding some accompaniment to my music. However, if we wind up collaborating on new songs, I will happily share income.
First up will be the completion of a collection of songs called The Life & Times of Snuffy Wilson. I was actually hoping to have this done back in April, but it just hasn't happened. There will be a total of 12 songs, 10 of which are new. The remaining 2 were written during Twenty Aught Eight. "Never Got Along" inspired the story about Snuffy and "Big Bad Man" fit right into the plot.
Once those songs have been finished, I'm not entirely certain about what will come next. A few months ago, I had intended to redo some of the songs from 2008, and then move on to revamping most of my instrumental material...so maybe that's what will happen. Or, I might just get started with new stuff. We shall see. Another difference between this project and Twenty Aught Eight is that for the latter, I wrote something new every week; this will just require a new recording.
The deadline will be 11:59 PM every other Monday, with the first song being made available no later than 7/5/10.
As for a name, I'll just call it Ongoing for now. I'm open to change on that.
And...off we go!