One part of the recording process that I hadn't ever really thought of was CDs. Where do CDs come from? Where do they live? Don't they just magically appear on artists tables? I discovered the truth yesterday. 



They live in our house. And this is literally only a fraction of what we'll have before the year's out. This is 3000 CDs. They're going to be joined by another 2500 when we reproduce "Walk Through The Pages". And those 2500 will be joined by another 2500 when we reproduce "Blood Kin". 

In Miles' words... "So when you come to the house, just pull up a box and sit down!"

 We're (we meaning Unc (James Pike), Umma (Kim Pike), me, Miles, and Tommy & Anna Smith) ... we're sittin' here in our living room after dinner, listening one more time to the music that has occupied our time, thoughts and prayers for not just the past week, but ... Well, for me, it's been ever since I married Miles. For Miles, I'm sure it's been longer than that.

This time, though, we're listening with Miles' radio guy, Tommy Smith, and his wife Anna. Listening this time, not trying to decide whether or not a particular song should go on the album, or what key a particular song should be sung in, or exactly what wording a particular song should have -- all that has been decided. We're listening this time, trying to decide which of the 12 songs should be released to radio. "Walk Through The Pages", an easy listening song with a potent message written by Miles' dad, James Pike, or maybe "Pigs Flew", a song that makes you smile just to hear the title, or "Ragged Edge", one of my personal favorites (which... I only have 12 favorites in this album), or any of the other songs.

We've heard this music all day, every day, for the past week. Gotta admit, at times for me, it got a wee bit old hearing the same line for the tenth time... fifteenth time... twentieth time, and sometimes even more times than that. But sitting here, listening once again, I am struck all over again by the message of the album. It makes me want to worship, hearing about God's redemptive plan even as Adam and Eve chose sin over their Redeemer... hearing about God's purpose that was displayed in the lives of Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul... hearing about God's faithfulness in Daniel's life as well as in our own when we 'take it and leave it at an altar of prayer'... and I could go on. God's grace in using Jonah despite his disobedience, God's great love displayed in giving a fallen world His only Son... well, you'll just have to listen to the album. (That or read the book)... I'm giving it all away!

So much work goes into the making of one album. For my part, trying to keep on top of booking, and picture taking, and recording videos, and uploading videos and pictures, and staying awake, and being in a strange place, and trying to be a good wife on top of it all, I kinda forgot a little bit just what we were doing. Sitting here listening to the almost finished product of all the work, it comes back to me. We did it, and we are doing it, for our God. His love for us staggers us, and we want to sing these songs about Him back to him and to other people so that they will see and feel and hear a bit better Who He is and how He loves them. That's why we did it. That's why we'll keep on doing it.

For those who are curious, looks like we're going to be releasing "Teach Me To Love Like That", another one of my personal favorites ;). I'm convicted every time I hear this song. Which, now that Miles has recorded it, is going to equal a lot of conviction in the coming years. 

The recording stage of "Walk Through The Pages" is officially done. We're heading on back to Texas in the morning. It's 11pm now, and we're going to be hitting I-40 in about 5 hours. We'll be listening to the rough tracks of what got done this week all the way home, I imagine.

Miles asked me if I'd learned anything from my two stints in Nashville. I told him that I had. First, and most important, I learned that grapefruit and cold pizza are a bad combination. The jury's still out on whether grapefruit and hot pizza are likewise disagreeable. Second, that donkeys' main form of communication is the tritone, which by the by is the foundation for diminished seventh chords. 

Created with flickr slideshow.

We're heading back to Texas tomorrow and boy are we glad. Last night Miles and I had been fast asleep for a couple hours when ... Soft! What noise from yonder yapper's mouth doth have its genesis? It is the sound of doom for our lovely lovely sleep and the start of wrath in my heart against said yapper, which must needs make mine husband's hand alight on the phone and forthwith phone the front desk in terrible and wrathful declarations of the injustice of a dog having murdered our peaceful slumber.

Shakespeare would cry. Translation: Miles had to literally hold me back from going out into the hall to take care of a dog that was yapping, or die trying. So the dog yapped. And yapped. And kept on yapping for what seemed like... way way way too long. :) So we watched a Bogart movie, and by the time it was done, the yapper had either been put to sleep, or fallen asleep.

 

Below is the video of recording the track for "In The Cool Of The Day" in Omnisound Studio.

 Why the second time, you may ask? Well, cuz it was the AM when we left last night, and it's STILL the AM this morning, back at the round wooden table in Tommy Cooper's kitchen. The coffee pot has already brewed two pots of coffee that I know of. Miles and Tommy are in Tommy's office/main room adjacent to the kitchen, listening to "October Harvest", the song that we'll be working on first this morning. Beautiful song, written by Mark Bishop, a lyric that tells the story of Miles' (and my) Aunt Sheila Paris and her husband, Alton Paris. I've not met him yet, but I will someday 'over yonder'. Aunt Sheila and Miles' Mom, Kim Pike, will be singing background vocals on this song before it's all said and done. 

It's ten(pm) and we're starting our *counting back* um.. well, I forget which number song this is. Not two. Third? Fourth? Something. I figured a post with really big pictures for really caffeinated eyes and really slow brain was in order. When my ability to put words together in an orderly fashion fails (see? I had to sit and think about that sentence for a while before I could figure out how to say it)... my ability to press a button on my camera stays intact. So. Really big pictures. Coming up. Sit back and enjoy. 



This is Brett, Reggie and Ladye's son (below). Last time, from what Miles says, Brett was quite the kid. Something about fartville and hanging by his legs around Miles' neck. That kid doesn't seem quite kin to this one though. Bless his heart, he's been here since he got out of school (it's 10 now, case I didn't quite clear that up...), and there's not been a word of complaint.



Brainstorming...



Cooper's the silent support group for said brainstorming (below).



This was Ladye's second day of wearing contacts, and we had a minor medical emergency involving a contact, a damaged fingernail, a singer turned MD, a producer turned medical technician, and a camera to capture it all. Emergency averted/taken care of, we carried on steadfastly.

That's right... snow! Just itty bitty snowflakes, but still! We went out for lunch with Reggie, Ladye, and Tommy, and by the time we'd come back out, the temperature had descended waaaay down. Oh yeah, and speaking of lunch...

Check OUT the size of that burger!!! Miles and I together only knocked out half of it -- it's gonna make a killer leftover dinner. The burger alone is five POUNDS of meat. 

 We're getting on the road tomorrow! I'm excited for sure, but I'm pretty sure our car is even more excited. Tommy glanced out the kitchen window while he was making coffee a minute ago, and commented on how low it was riding. The trunk is full of Miles' sound equipment, product, clothes, and stuff we didn't have room to take with us when Miles took me away to Texas last December. The back seat is full of our luggage, more Christmas gifts, books, sewing maching (thanks Mom!), and all the odds and ends that just kinda got thrown in there randomly. Needless to say, Miles and I both wince when we ride over bumps in the road, wondering if THIS bump is the one that's gonna disembowel our Mazda.

Meanwhile, back at the farm, Miles and Tommy are running over the very last bit of "Pigs Flew" -- trying to get that last note juuuuuuuust right. 

 "Pigs Flew" is essentially done. At the end, Miles has some really low bass notes -- Tommy said it was the lowest note on the piano -- A. Nice, huh? That's my man. But we took a break from the bass sangin' and started in on "In The Cool Of The Day". Amazing how different this song feels from the McKamey version. I love it. Just like alllllll the rest of the songs on these albums, when I'm thinking about this song alone, I feel like it's gotta be my favorite song of the lot. Then we talk about/cut tracks for/record another song, and THAT seems like it's gotta be my favorite song. I love it that Miles goes on and on about these songs, and exactly why he loves them, and how he's going to get them across to audiences, and what segues he's going to use where... I love it that we've spent so much time praying and seeking wisdom for these projects; I love it that Miles wants God to look good in his music. I love it.

 "Teach Me To Love Like That" was wearing Miles out, so we took a break from the tenor singin' and brought out a bass song - "Pigs Flew". We all sat back listening to the new track for a bit before Miles even stepped into the recording room. Really, a super super track. Kelly Back just eats up that guitar. Beautiful. Since this isn't a song that Miles has been bringing into his concerts to get him used to it - cuz we didn't have the track - Tommy's fine-tuning how Miles sings the melody. 

 "I Am" went by a lot faster than the first song of the day, "Gonna Take It And Leave It". Ironically, "Gonna Take It" isn't even finished you, just the bass and lead vocals have been recorded. Miles and Tommy wanted it cause Miles is comfortably with it and it's easier for Miles to sing bass in the morning. It turned out not quite as easy as they thought. Tommy's words were something like "I think this was the *hardest* song we could have chosen to start with". Now, "I Am" is one of my favorite songs that Miles sings. I just sat back and enjoyed -- kinda wish it had taken a bit longer ;). 

... Tommy's computer just crashed. That happened twice in the studio yesterday -- glad there was a backup hard drive then like we have now. Miles is glad too -- hopefully it saved his last vocal before it crashed cuz this song is hammering away at his voice. Annnnnnd... the word is that it saved most of his last take. Sveetness.

They're still working on "Gonna Take It And Leave It". Miles always jokes in concert that he gets in the studio and sings all four parts "'cuz I work cheap for myself", but that sho' nuff don't mean it's easy! It's kinda like recording four songs all at once -- in other songs he only has to sing the lead, but in quartet songs he sings lead, then bass, then tenor, then baritone, and has to sing it in such a manner that all four sound like they're being sung together. Izzy is doing her best to soothe his deep despair.