Writing a Song PART IV

… and just in case you want to listen to the actual mix of the song I produced during this 4th part of the documentary I present it in its full glory here:

why can’t I touch it?

I’ve created a Facebook page for The Eleventh Hour. “Why have you created a Facebook page for The Eleventh Hour?” I imagine I hear you ask. Well… I must admit it is not something that is at the top of the band’s agenda. Put simply, we are here to make the best music known to man. We are about half way through the album and all is going well. We feel the songs are hitting whatever marks we want them to hit. In fact we are painting the marks. The great thing about not being on any bandwagon or being part of any ‘scene’ is that we can therefore decide on the terms of engagement. The rules so to speak. We are drip feeding you The Eleventh Hour songs – not to irritate you… but to allow you, the select few, to hear a work in progress. This ‘drip feed’ also has the benefit of allowing Bill and I to ‘live’ with the material – to get a feel for which order the songs should be placed in. We realise the era of the ‘album’ is likely over – but it doesn’t mean thought shouldn’t be put into the ‘whole’. The ‘whole’ is the flow of the songs. Sure – you’re all gonna re-order it on your i-pod, or… select shuffle /shudder. But that shouldn’t be on our agenda. We are here to give you a performance. An album is a performance. Perhaps a dying art… but still an art nonetheless.

So… back to the topic at hand. Facebook. Why Facebook? Well, The Eleventh Hour is still a private deal. A deal between us and you. The Facebook page gives you an opportunity to easily share our music with your friends. It also gives you the chance to comment on the songs. Perhaps it will help us determine the final track listing that will be made public. I suppose the Facebook thing is just a little step towards opening up The Eleventh Hour music to the world. The songs are not downloadable and cannot as yet be bought… but that is still not the point right now. The point is that we want to keep our music in the public domain – and Facebook is just one way amongst many to expand that domain. The Facebook way of doing things has obvious flaws. To outsiders the perceived importance of a band’s Facebook page is assessed purely on how many people ‘like’ it. Well, although we would obviously hope you would all be ‘liking’ the page anyway… at this stage, the number of ‘likes’ is not important. The page is just another sentence in the conversation we are having with you. When the album is finalised and we open it up completely to the world then maybe ‘like’s will sit more heavily on our backs. Until then, we will just continue on our quest to capture more songs. They’re out there… roaming. We have nearly finished another one. In fact I have just added shakers and tambourines to it (insert repetitive hand motion gag here). It is a pretty song. A song for the summer. Next summer’s anthem? Stay tuned… it will be posted soon!

*** You’ll find the Facebook link in The Eleventh Hour drop down menu at the top of the screen! ***

Ready, Set… EXPLODE!

The Eleventh Hour. 6 songs now complete. I’m sitting here in my studio listening through to what is effectively half of the future album. I’ve got to say that it is a really great listen – just a cool collection of songs that push things forward. The latest addition is called Ready, Set… Explode! It rocks hard, although that shouldn’t be a surprise to any of you any more! It’s another song to be played with the top rolled down driving through the countryside in the summer. So, all I need now is a convertible and the time to go driving in the countryside. And some sun! This collection of songs is certainly shaping up to be THE album for next summer! (which also gives us time to actually finish it!)

I’ve made a start on the next one already. I told you that I’d be busy for a while! I’m going with the flow of the ‘summer anthem’ vibe and getting down and dirty with some meaty guitar riffs. The only trouble at the moment is it gets uncomfortable wearing the top hat in the studio. The sheer heat. Sweat dripping in my eyes. The real worry is the spandex I’m gonna have to wear when I’m recording the drums! I’m really enjoying this song-writing spell though. The mojo is with me. Ha ha. I will update you further with the progress of the new one when I have got my rocks off… honey.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy Ready, Set… Explode! It is another fabulous The Eleventh Hour song. Great biting lyrics from Bill and a performance worthy of alternative rock gold. Class.

the office

I’ve had a day in the studio working on the latest The Eleventh Hour song.  It is a beautiful little gem.  A sweet song that plays on my ears like a breeze on a hillside.  Seriously… it is a song that can conjure images in the mind.  It is certainly very easy to be pretentious in this business, but I think Bill and I are a breath of fresh air.  A song doesn’t have to be mindless to succeed.   A song doesn’t have to be soulless to sell.  The deeper I dive into the ocean of  what it takes to be part of The Eleventh Hour the more I realise just what we can achieve.  We are currently nearing the halfway point in the recording of our album – and I can honestly say that, so far, the whole process has been refreshing.  Two pretty much like-minded individuals with a goal of creating an album that will push things forward and stand the test of time.  I doff my cap to my learned American friend and wish him the best of merriment!