Thursday, September 16, 2010

Collaboration, insecurity and gifts from the heavens...

Collaboration. It is a mysterious, sometimes joyous, sometimes gut-wrenching process. I have collaborated with various musicians over the years on songs with mixed emotions, (and mixed results!) but now I seem to be entering a phase where the joint creative process is more stimulating and more satisfying over all. I'm likin' it. So first of all, working on a new song with The Red Apples. This song is one of my "I went for a long walk and went into kind of a trance and was gifted with this song by the Universe" songs. It's kinda mystical and came more or less of a piece and immediately was recorded onto my little digital friend I carry around with me for just such moments. Then I took it home and nursed it and was thrilled and happy...a new birth! I fixed the wording, I polished up the bridge, I added the third verse I knew it needed...But then, in true Wendy fashion, I kinda ignored it for a long time. I let it languish ohhhh so sadly. I kept telling Ron I wanted to work on it with him, but I was afraid it might be too quirky and not "rootsy" enough for our band...Everyone would complain, the chick singer has another of her girlie songs. Ok this was all in my head I admit. I ADMIT IT!
Finally I played it for Ron, and he said yeah, let's bring it to the band. OK! It has been sooo much fun. The band has been really bringing their best to this song...Dave fleshed out the chords in a really perfect way, and came up with a cool guitar lick for the intro, Kenji has brought rhythmic bass lines and interesting vocal backup ideas, and Ron, as always, brought a sense of the overall feel of the song, the arrangement, and the instrumentation. I feel very grateful to have these creative and accomplished musicians working to bring my song to fruition! Wow, what did I do right?
And I ain't done yet! More about this to come....