Day Five & Six | All Good Things Must Come To An End

Where do I even begin? I’m currently sitting in our hotel room for our last night in Longview. I have a glass of wine next to me in a plastic cup. I’m listening to the songs that we created over the past few days. Over and over again, one after another and then repeating again. I listen to every little detail, every little inflection in my voice, every note played. I want to remember all of this for the rest of my life. I can…it’s been captured in a soundscape of notes and voices. I can hear every emotion in my voice, laced throughout the lyrics that span from the past decade of my life. So many pleas of a life that I have seemingly lost and then found again in places I never thought that I would. 

There is a longing in these songs. There is hope found in these songs. There’s an ache found in these songs. There are two lives represented, my past and my present. My feast and my famine, the things that my heart aches for. I have a hunger for both. 

I am proud of what we have made. I couldn’t have done it without the amazing individuals around me, coaching me, creating with me, embracing a project that is so close to my heart that it almost hurts. 

We awoke on day six to an overcast, rainy day. For those that know me, they know that this is the weather I can’t get enough of. It could rain everyday and I would be happy for the rest of my life. It’s like the weather knew I was here and granted me just a little bit of reprieve. Weather like that just makes me want to drink far too much coffee and make music. It’s the perfect combination. It’s where my heart lived for a number of years in this very town. I will always love the rain. It feels like it will always be a part of me, a part of my story. 

Day six was the day where we had to bite the bullet and get to work. Day six was the day I was avoiding in my heart and mind because I knew it would bring with it the end of our time with Zach being at the studio. I didn’t want that time to come, I wanted to fight against it as much as I could. I tried to hold on to it for as long as I could. 

Day six brought about the most challenging song that we had. I had to come to terms with myself as a musician and things that I don't necessarily believe I am capable of. It was stretching. I wasn’t even the one to save the day but that song turned out to be my very favorite so far as I’ve been listening to it. We had to fight for it, make it ours. This was a song that we thought would be a breeze but in the end gave us a struggle. Those are usually the very best kind. 

I spent a good chunk of this day just laying on the floor of the control room attempting to soak it all in and stop time for even just a little while. I let each sound and note fall around me. These are the moments you want to remember in your life, the times of struggle and sheer artistic triumph. These are the good times. These are the times that will keep me keeping on. 

Day seven was spent re-tracking vocals on what now is my favorite song, writing background vocals for it, and adding some keyboard flair to whatever I felt was necessary. That is really where I sit the most comfortable, keys are where I feel most at home. 

Now I sit in our hotel room, staying up far too late and not wanting to face the morning when we pack up our van and make the journey back home. But, I miss our kids. I somewhat miss reality but I’d like to avoid it for just a bit longer. 

Now, I will just listen to these songs we created. Over and over again. One after another and then repeating again. Sometimes good things must come to an end, but that doesn't mean we can't hold on to them with everything that we have. 

Day 5 & 6. 

Day Four & Five | In-Between

Throughout this process of recording a new record, I have actually gotten surprisingly a lot more sleep than I expected. Most of our nights ended fairly early in the grand scheme of things. I still haven’t been able to sleep past seven most mornings though because my mom brain is still fully in motion. My body aches from recording, from stressing over things out of my control, from trying to soak it all in before it slips right back through my fingers once more. 

Day four began with finishing up tracking the vocals for the last two remaining songs. I stuffed myself back in the vocal closet and sweated my way through each track. I am really proud of the backing vocals that I wrote for this project. I have always had a fairly difficult time writing harmonies that I sing with myself. I’m so used to backing up male voices that this territory is fairly new to me. Ryan also added some percussion and flavor to the songs. 

Day four brought with it my dear friend, Zach. I have spent the last few months of my life waiting for the day when we would be in the same room as one another and not 1200 miles apart trying to send each other voice memos via our phones of tracking ideas. If there’s anyone in this world that understands how I tick musically, it’s this man. Our friendship spans over a decade and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have play guitar and bass on a project. He came in and added so much goodness that caused me to get out of my comfort zone and shaped the songs in a way I know I never could. He is the missing piece to these songs that are so close to my heart. I never wanted the days to end because I knew that got us that much closer to being so far away once more. I will miss him very much, until our paths cross again once more. 

Playing and creating music with people as good as this causes my heart to just ache. I realize how lucky I am to be able to come up and here and do this project. I realize how much I want these people to be in my life for a very, very long time. When you create together, you are more attached to each other. I think that’s why Ryan drumming on this project is so great. Being married, it’s like we have this second sense about songs, even when tracking live and not being able to see one another at all. Music really does bring people together and I am so very thankful for that and it will be something I treasure forever. 

Day five brought some more recording time, mostly guitars and bass. I also got to track some organ on an old pump organ. That's a lot harder than it looks. I kept having to remember that I need to keep pumping my feet so that sound actually continued to come from the organ. 

We didn’t get a ton of tracking done on this day but it did give us the opportunity to head to Portland. I love that city so much. Every time I get to go back there, no matter how long or short of a trip, I also try to soak it in. We went to Powell’s, bought too many books and then had dinner at Killer Burger. Beer was had. I ate a burger with peanut butter on it and that’s truly a heavenly experience. More beer was had after we got back into town. I soaked in every moment that I could. 

Day 4 & 5. 

Lifeboat Etiquette: Record Release

This past weekend, a wonderful evening came and went. On December 3rd, we released Lifeboat Etiquette's new album at Everyday Joe's. We got to see many people we haven't had the pleasure of seeing in a very long time. We were able to play music that is dear to our hearts and share it with our little town. We were also able to sell an album that we have had our hearts tied to for a very long time. It was a very chilly night but we were very glad to share it with all of you wonderful people. 

Sam Hughes opened up the evening. He even let me sing with him.

Lifeboat Etiquette 

Beard Brothers 

 If you are interested, we do have the album available for purchase here. 

Lifeboat Etiquette: Sneak Peak!

Over the summer, my husband and I, along with many of our wonderfully talented friends, embarked upon recording a new music project. These songs have dwelled within my husband for many years before this time and I couldn't be more proud of him. I'm one proud wifey. We will be releasing the full album on Dec 3rd (details on the release show to come!) 

Please take a moment and listen. Share your thoughts. 

Take a listen. 

We love you all. 

Studio Journal: Who Knows What Day This Was

We still are inching through the process of recording this album. Ryan and I are back today to record vocals. Everything is coming together better than we could have ever imagined. This whole process has been nothing but encouraging. 

These photos are from our last session. I finally recorded keys. Ryan tracked guitars. Matt tracked more guitars. There was much coffee consumed. 

More to come. 

Studio Journal: Day Two & Three

Creativity is a process. Art is a journey. Recording isn’t always easy. I think at times we can dream up a recording process as something that is simple; a bunch of musicians coming together to play some music and to create something out of nothing. It’s hard. It takes a lot of work, dedication, sweat, and tears. That’s why I love the process. Of course the end goal is that of a finished, mastered album, but the journey to get to that point is nonetheless as important and intense as having the final product in your hands, ready to go to the masses. 

Being here makes me think of being merely eighteen, bright eyed and bushy tailed, moving out to Washington to record my first project. The fear, the nerves, the lack of much knowledge in that of recording sciences. I’d like to think I’ve come a long way since then. 3 records of my own under my belt and helping with numerous other projects has helped me craft, well, my craft. The vibe must be right. You must learn to play to a click track. Singing in a recording microphone should literally be considered a sport. You are forced to learn as you go, making many mistakes along the way and gaining only few triumphs; ones you have fought long and hard for. 

Yet, there is nothing quite like handing a stranger your finished product and knowing that your blood, sweat, and tears will somehow present themselves in every note, word, and arrangement. That is the destination of the journey of recording. 

Currently we sit on Day 3 of the process. It has been slow going. We’ve hit a few snags along the way and time has been passing at sloth speed. But, we endure nonetheless. Currently, Ryan is tracking the final acoustic guitar tracks. Drums and bass are mostly done. Matt and I wait patiently for the time when we actually get to track keys and guitar lines. 

This record excites me. To see my husband finally experiencing this lifestyle, this art form. This journey. There’s nothing quite like it and I hope to be in this environment for a long time, in whatever capacity. I hope someday for our kids to discover our old albums in an attic somewhere and think that their parents were actually cool when we were their age. Music will always be a part of us and I dearly hope to pass that on to our children in the future. 

So, today, we carry on. We get the job done, or as close as we can. We discover more about ourselves, our boundaries, the things we must learn, and the bond that bands us together.