Toodles

Oh, last night was long.

It was supposed to be my last night at the studio. The last night I would toodle on the organ, poke the sound board, or freeze my fingers off in the always-frigid booth. The last night Dean and I would sit for hours dissecting words and notes that only mean something to us, and would have no bearing on other human listeners. That was the plan.

But of course, since I was building it up as much as I did, nothing went as planned. We are one song-tweak away from completion. We were just too tired to finish. It's that simple.

So after wining and dining my dear friend this evening, I will wander back down to the studio to try and wrap this thing up. We need to finish a guitar part and find a mandolin line in the piles of saved files. And then studio life is over for me - for now. Saturday we spend all day mastering, and next week I mail it all off to Toronto. I can hardly believe it. I also can hardly believe that I will be dropping an extra $5000 this month on album-related expenses. That number? It makes me want to die a bit. But I've decided to just chill out, spend the money, and then work my butt off all summer paying it off. The good news is that the album will be packaged in delicious matte digipack goodness (those handy paper CD covers with the disc tray inside).

And the other good news is that my CD release tickets have arrived, all fancy and printed, fresh from the NAC. If any of you would like to make me really, uncontrollably happy, you can buy a ticket and spread the word. They are $15, and come with a free CD at the show. I'll be selling them at some independent shops next month too.

With the end of the album in sight, I've started to notice all the things I've been neglecting lately. The Gym, for example. I actually miss it a bit. Mostly I miss the great things it did to my butt. Once the disc is off being manufactured, I will try to get back into my old exercise routine.

I've also been neglecting live music, which is ridiculous and ironic, and something I'd like to remedy. My early bedtime coupled with my strained bank account has made me a bit hostile to the idea of going out. My Better Half and I are making a point to see some more concerts, and hopefully we won't fall asleep somewhere random.

Fingers crossed that we get everything done tonight!