This has been a wild
ride. I am lost for words in trying to describe the ups and downs of
this crazy journey, but I'll start with this: I am SO excited. There's a
lot to explain, and a lot that I've been struggling with, but to sum it
all up briefly: everything is moving, everything is going to be
alright, and There Is A Moon is SO close to being in your hands.
For
those of you who ordered rewards outside of CDs, digital albums,
t-shirts, or concert tickets, your rewards are all on their way to you,
right now!!
As I mentioned in my last update, there have been a lot of changes in
the last couple of months, both in the production of my album and in my
personal life. One of the biggest changes for me was a move to a new
house (would you believe I'm still living out of boxes six weeks
later?). The biggest change for the album, though, was a personnel
change in "the making of" There Is A Moon. I was very lucky to work extensively with Bradley Prakope
through the production and recording of There Is A Moon. However,
Bradley made an unexpected move from Nashville back to Dallas in
mid-August in order to attend a new college, and we decided that it
would be best if I found someone else to finish mixing and mastering my
album.
I am so excited to have ended my search for a mix engineer with the fabulous David Castell.
David is an incredibly well established engineer and producer (and also
a longtime family friend). The list of fantastic artists who he has
produced, mixed, mastered, and engineered for is very long and very
impressive. Some of the most notable names include The Toadies, Blue
October, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, and Deep Blue Something.
You can check out his full discography here.
David Castell in the studio with The Toadies
David is working away on my mixes now, and I could not be more
thrilled at how everything is sounding. It is just such an honor to work
with someone as talented as he is! All of that being said, this was a major
change in the production of the album. I would not have expected that
just the recording, mixing, and mastering of There Is A Moon would
extend past the end of the summer, but it's looking now like the
completed CD's will not be manufactured for a few more weeks.
This
last week, while rushing to finalize my album art (which I decided to
do myself...) work on reward fulfillment, time the CD manufacturing just
right, and figure out how to push the music to various press outlets
with enough time to promote a release concert, I've remembered that I
want this all to be the best that I can make it. I don't want it
to be thrown together at the last minute. I don't want it to be sloppy
and rushed for the sake of meeting a deadline that I was a *little* too
inexperienced to set for myself. I've realized that it is probably a
mistake to book or announce a CD release party until I actually have the
physical CDs in production. Otherwise, I'm dealing with a long list of
unknowns, and am setting myself up for possible failure.
SO. Here is my promise to all of you.
I
will let you guys know as soon as I have the final mastered versions of
these ten songs in my hands. Once that happens, I'll be sending the
songs off to the CD manufacturing company I've chosen here in Nashville.
When the CDs are being manufactured, I will announce the album release
date, as well as the date of the album release concert in Dallas. (I may
also do a digital release of a single off of the album....!!!) I expect
that all of this will be happening around the first week of October,
but a lot of these moving parts are not currently in my control. If I've
learned anything in the last few months, it is that you can only plan
for things you can manage yourself. Everything else is a matter of hope
and trust!
I'm not going to lie, yall, the creation of this
album, this journey, has been stressful, daunting, and so scary. I have a
lot of friends, family, people who I love dearly, who have all put
their trust (and money!) into this project, and who believe that I can
complete this album to the best of my ability and in a timely manner.
Thank you. Thank you a thousand times over. The fear is energizing. The
daunting task is a challenge I welcome with open, excited arms. The
stress of wanting to be my best self and put out my best work is a
feeling that has pushed me to my limits in the best way possible. I've
had a few meltdowns. I've also cried with joy at finally being able to
pursue this passion that has sat dormant for so long. I feel like I'm
coming out of a shell that I didn't even realize I was hiding in. It
will be the greatest joy to finally release this album to you guys, and
it has been the greatest joy to create it and to share the process with
so many fantastic individuals.
Thank you all so much! More news coming soon, I promise!
