There are always moments in the studio when the musicians and producers talk about music, production, performances, creativity, courage, and issues of the music business. I wish I recorded some of our conversations. Especially when Ben Wittman was in the studio. Ben, Ben, and I had some cool talks.

I know there are lots of artists following BeMyRecordLabel - and it’s these kinds of talks that artists love to listen in on. (I know because I’m one of them!)

Anyway, this is a clip of when I actually did turn the camera on. This discussion started with the topic of fans complaining about overproduction of CD’s.

I asked Ben Wisch (and Ben Wittman, who passed the question to the other Ben) how you walk the line between producing and overproducing a CD project. How do you know you’re doing it right?

This is his answer.

Ben also addresses an earlier discussion topic which was about BeMyRecordLabel — how much does the listener of a CD actually need to know about this behind-the-scenes stuff?

(Or would that be The Imaginary Pressure of the Self-Imposed Deadline?)

Last week I was back in the studio for just three days.  I flew into New York after a weekend performing and teaching in Augusta, GA. And I flew out at 5am on Thursday to do a Creativity Training and performance in Washington D.C. (I had one of those nights where I didn’t sleep at all because I kept jumping up thinking it was time to leave. Do you ever have those nights before early flights?)

My schedule is so busy right now that I was only able to fit this one small session in.

It’s interesting to do it this way.  A little unusual for sure.  (Many artists make a CD in one condensed block of time.) But this is working. The time off in between sessions seems to be giving Ben and I some space to live with our choices in the last session.  It creates a healthy detachment for each of us. We’re both relaxed and completely trusting of each others’ choices. Kinda sweet actually.

At one point in mid-September I got panicky about the deadline for getting the CD done.  Pressure started building up in my head. But after one of my nail-bitey days, my husband reminded me that there is no deadline.  BeMyRecordLabel is, after all, a very relaxed setting. (You are the only ones who even know I’m making a CD!)  When I let that sink in, I felt instant relief.

The worst thing some indie musicians do is that they begin recording, and then they book all of their CD release parties and performances in advance because they’re so excited about having a new CD.  When the recording takes longer than expected (surprise surprise), they ruin the last month of the process by rushing to get the CD done, rather than rescheduling the CD release shows!  (Yes, I’ve been one of those very indie musicians!)

So, this week I’ll give you a few peeks in the studio with Ben Wittman and Duke Levine.  By the end of the week, I should have a few new mixes for you to hear. (The new versions of the songs take a little longer because Ben has to take more time with all the new tracks - now that they’re blending with the earlier stuff that we did.)

Stay tuned!

I write this after a long day in the studio with Ben Wittman, drummer extraordinaire. The list of people he has toured with and recorded with is quite long and impressive: Paul Simon, Laurie Anderson, Jonatha Brooke, Paula Cole, Erasure and others.

Most of our time was spent finding the non-predictable percussion and drum parts for the songs while leaving enough space so that the song didn’t get lost. (He loves the drum loops on these songs, by the way! )

Here’s a brief Christine-stalks-the-studio-with-her-crappy-camera video just to show you a brief moment of Ben Wisch at the computer recording onto ProTools — and Ben Wittman doing his first pass at “Wide Awake.”

Hi Record Executives of the New Millenium –

Here’s a total of the Pre-Orders sold so far on my new CD since the July 21 launch of Be My Record Label. (Exactly six weeks ago.)

But first –

The Big Ticket Items

People want to know about the two big ticket items on the Pre-Order packages. (”The Executive Producer” and the “Private Concert” options.)

So far, no one has purchased the big ticket items.

With the exception of two purchases of the #4 packages — all of our sales so far have been purchases of the 1, 2 or 3 packages. Musicians, artists, and marketers are always curious about those big ticket items - and they write to ask me if anyone has bought them. So, with that out of the way…

Current Pre-Order Total:

$9625.00

Now — $10,000 is my first big milestone for this CD. (That’s a good budget for many indie songwriters.) The last time I posted the numbers just short of a big goal - Beth jumped in first thing in the morning and pushed the total up to $6000. (Then Anna and a few others jumped in as well! Thank you all ever so much!)

So for the Beth’s and Anna’s of the world — here’s a quick deadline reminder:

The big drawing for the chance to have a song written for you, about you, around you — or for, about, around someone you love — is going to happen NEXT WEEK. The drawing happens on September 8. I’m going to put each person’s name on a piece of paper and put those names into a hat. (If you entered twice - then your name will be in the hat twice.) A few more people getting into the drawing will push this number up to the $10,000 milestone.

Just know this…

If I post your song after writing it — you might have all kinds of people writing in about how lame your drum loops and Wurlitzer are!

Again, thanks for your continued participation in this strange little experiment!

Be My Record Label was launched three weeks ago today.

I’ve flown to NYC twice, and I’m still there on the second visit.

We’ve spent 8 days in the studio.

And the total amount we’ve created for our budget?

$5915.00

(Yes, we’ve already spent that!)

I was TOTALLY hoping to report an even $6000 today as a great new victory… so if you know anyone who is on the fence and wants to push the total up, you know where to send them! (Hint: Click on the button that says “Order Now.”)

Thank you for all of this, of course. And thanks for all of the comments on each post. I’ve slapped Ben around a bit, telling him that no one wants to cut the second chorus on “I am the Moon.” (Beth - I mentioned your comment about being interested in hearing what it would sound like to have just one chorus at the end. This made his day and he said, “Give me her email. She’s my girl!”)

Lastly –

You might visit here towards the end of the week to find that the site has a different look.

Just a little heads up, and an acknowledgment that I’m listening to your suggestions!

As Record Executives, you’ll all want to know how our budget is coming along. So, here’s the break down so far.

I launched this site exactly one week ago.

And we’ve created a budget of $4425.00!

For the dubious marketers who are lurking in the background wondering how/if this site is going to make anything happen, here’s how it breaks down:

As of Monday night at 11pm, we’ve had 74 orders in all.

41 people pre-ordered #1 - CD Style

11 people pre-ordered #1 - Digital Style

10 people pre-ordered #2 - The “Read Grow and Listen” Package

11 people pre-ordered #3 - The “Write Me a Song, Girlfriend” Package (Sorry David and Emily - you’ve got competition!)

1 person pre-ordered “The Great Big Dreams” Package

To view the Pre-Order Packages, click here.

As an artist on your record label, I feel compelled to let you know that I spent $75 on a pedicure and manicure upon arriving in New York City on Friday night and feeling a little lonely. The woman kept offering me various foot and hand massages and waxes for additional charges, and I just kept saying yes. So it turned out to be quite the extravagant evening. In my defense - at least I didn’t trash any hotel rooms.

When I return from NYC, I’ll write a post about what it costs to make a record. Many of you have written with that question. It’s a good one.

For now, I’m very tired. We spent the day yesterday working on final vocals and guitar on “Wide Awake.” The chorus of that song goes, “As the world goes by all I know is I wanna be wide awake.” Well, after singing that line over and over and over yesterday, I was up til 2am completely wide awake. (To make matters worse, I kept hearing that stupid genie in “The Secret” saying, “Your wish is my command.”)

Today we worked on “I am the Moon.” Finished the vocals and guitar.

Most of our time has been spent arranging the songs. Trying to figure out chord progressions into the bridge and into the instrumental sections. We have had many moments of being uncomfortable about our aforementioned being “comfortable with uncertainty.” And of course, we’re laughing about it a lot. Like “What were we thinking? We can’t stand uncertainty!”

Oh, and an update on my aforementioned Kombucha sponsorship: GT’s Kombucha emailed me. They’re sending me a t-shirt. Hey - it’s progress!

Thank you thank you thank you for pre-ordering this CD and my eBook and all the other stuff!

So, what do you do on your first day in the recording studio?

I honestly don’t know what other people do.

But Ben Wisch and I are both intensity junkies. So, we spent hours talking. We talked about ego, perfectionism, and our growth since we saw each other seven years ago. He asked me about my vision for this CD and what I wanted it to be. We talked about the internet and how much it has changed music and art. We talked about envy and relationships and insecurity. He told me I was a little “tough” to work with when we did Rain & Mud & Wild Green. (ME????)

So, after four hours and lunch, we came to these conclusions:

- That we’re going to allow this recording to flow in what ever way it needs to.

- That we aren’t going to line up the musicians yet.

- That we’re going to be comfortable with not knowing anything about what should happen.

One would think that it wouldn’t take four hours to reach these simple conclusions. But starting in the studio is a vulnerable thing. So, it was good for both of us to say to each other, “We have permission to not know and to let this unfold as we go.”

One thing that trips up a lot of songwriters in the studio is trying to sound like someone else. For instance, right now, there are probably tons of people wanting their music to sound like Jack Johnson’s. Or whomever. I’ve done that. And Ben and I talked about the futility of trying to be anyone but yourself, and offering anything but what you can offer. (Though I did admit to being a bit of a pop slut and secretly loving Hannah Montana and Kelly Clarkson.)

Finally, we worked on a song called “Wide Awake.” It’s my least favorite song of all of them. And it’s Ben’s favorite. (I sent him a rough demo a few weeks back.) When we worked on Rain & Mud & Wild & Green, “The Customers” was my least favorite song as we began. I was going to dump it from the CD. But it was Ben’s favorite, and he won. (I wrote about it in this blog post.) So, he won again today!

We did some work on the arrangement of “Wide Awake.” And I played the guitar to the click track - except on the first part of the song, which has a slow floaty intro part that I sing with no real timing. So we recorded that separately, and Ben patched the click track up to the non-click track part - and made it all seemless. Tomorrow (Sunday) we begin at noon.

Why G.T.’s Kombucha should sponsor this CD

Since I arrived in NYC, I haven’t been able to find G.T.’s Kombucha anywhere in the city.

Now, let me just be clear about G.T.’s. I have no idea why I love it so much. It’s my addiction. I’ve studied the label on this stuff wondering if I might find, say, heroin as one of the ingredients. But I see nothing but healthy raw organic ingredients. Go figure.

So I looked at my shiny coated fold out NYC map and thought, “Well, that doesn’t look all that far.”

(A pause for knowing laughter from anyone who has held a fold-out map of Manhattan and thought the same thing.)

Seven hundred miles, eighty blisters and giant low back pain later, I arrived at Whole Foods and got several bottles of Kombucha. Whole Foods only uses paper bags now. And a few blocks from the store as I was hailing a cab, my bag broke.

I know. I know. It’s not such a big deal. It’s the city. These things happen.

But that, my friends, is customer loyalty.