The other night, my brother John stopped by to lend bass support to the budding musical project that my wife Stef and I have undertaken - Birds Anonymous. We hashed out a couple tunes from “1/2″, namely, “Butterfly Knife” and “Running Through the Woods”. I have to say that, thus far, it has been a breath of fresh air to approach these songs with a new arrangement and perspective. It’s been quite some time since I’ve performed my own material within the context of a trio - or a band at all, for that matter! For the past several years, the performances that I’ve made have been solo vox with guitar. For one who is given to fleshing things out, this has been quite an exercise in anxiety. By that token, I’d just like to send a note of thanks out to John and Stef for helping me to remember that no man is an island - least of all, a musician.
Archive for March, 2007
In this first entry on the new and improved site, let me start by saying that I shall try to keep the contents of this blog rather concise and focused on musical discussion. If you’re interested in any of my ruminations about faith, politics and various other topics, you’re welcom to review the “older” postings, as well as my myspace page (ya gottta have one these days!).
Let’s begin by talking about the new direction I’m hoping to take in the next few months. Having dwelt upon my self-produced recordings, I can say with reasonable conviction that I need to make my arrangements a bit more “portable”; I find myself following the reverse career arc of the Beatles. With that said, the aim of the new project, Birds Anonymous, is to bring not only selections from the past few recordings to new life, but to write new pieces with a greater adherence to clarity and simplicity. At the heart of every good song is a resonant passage that sells it; declares it as something unique and important. I resolve to let these signatures sing out, unencumbered.
Pax Christi,
JMMKP
