Our American Roots EP is currently in process… as I practice 🙂 But it’s been helpful to record as I practice, so I thought I would share a listen into what recording and learning has been like… as Girl and Guitar is going for simplicity and being raw and authentic. Indeed, against better advice, I’ve chosen to record just with a single track for each song while I sing and play the guitar at the same time. I thought that seemed like the height of simplicity and I love capturing the energy of raw music (Indeed, live albums are some of my favorite!), and I also like how it mimics how some of the older American Roots artist were recorded.
But… yeah. It’s raw. No effects. And I certainly could use autotune, as I keep going weirdly flat. And well, I’m gonna share one of the messiest of our recording sessions… because I really mean it when I say I don’t think music needs to be perfect to be shared. And if that were the case, I would probably never have any music to share.
Anyhow, when I asked my dad if I should share this, he said, “Well, the people who are into it, will get it and like what you are doing… and other people won’t like it.” And that’s actually just what I’m looking for: if you get it, you get it. And if you don’t, that’s okay. We all have different tastes, so no hard feelings. But I definitely want to attract people to this project who appreciate what it’s actually about and the way we approach music. Girl and Guitar are interested in finding people who resonate with us… not in being liked for other than what we are.
Anyhow, here’s a sample if you want to listen. Though for all my talk on rawness and authenticity, I will admit that I am still self-conscious about being imperfect even in process. I know I could enunciate better and my voice is nasally and I keep going flat and my guitar is stumbling and all those things… but again, I’m sharing this because it’s not perfect … it’s me messing up and yet enjoying the music on so many levels. But I want to share it to emphasize that music doesn’t need to be perfect to share. Though the finished EP will likely be complete songs with no major mistakes so that the music and not my imperfections can be the focus. But I hope you enjoy this raw funness too and that it encourages you with your own music and I hope you stick around for my improvements too! But especially for the music 🙂
Without further ado, I give you my clumsy take on the American Roots classic, Columbus Stockade Blues:
Next, we have a little more practice… but I’m still going weirdly flat and starting to understand why my dad strongly suggested not recording all on one track! I think I nearly pass out by the end. Hehehe. But am I still having fun? You bet 🙂 I hope you enjoy the music too!
