Post by Greg adkins on Sept 14, 2007 23:15:44 GMT -5
So today pretty much marked the last major hurdle in bringing "Chase the Western Sky" to life. The record has been recorded and mixed and is now in the hands of the mastering engineer who will sweeten the sounds before it goes to press. The last big obstacle was coming up with artwork for the record.
On "Lower than the Angels", I knew pretty much what I wanted. I had a graphic designer friend and I told him where to go shoot angel photos (Old Grey Cemetery here in Knoxville) and what kind of textures I wanted. He did a great job.
This time around, I decided to give an artist a little more room to work so I contacted a friend named Rob LaLiberte who is an amazing graphic designer and gave him the title and told him to go wherever it led him.
This morning we met at Panera bread for coffee and the unveiling of what he created.
oh. my.
amazing, amazing, amazing. I can't show it to you guys until it's finished, but this last creative touch just completely blew me away. I know, it's just the artwork... but when you think about it, in some ways, it's the most important thing! Just because an album has great artwork doesn't make it good, but if an album has bad artwork, you're probably less likely to want to listen to it... am I right?
And so, aside from a few little tweaks with the mastering job and finishing the text on the artwork, this record is finished. Wow. I'm a little depressed saying that... the process of putting it all together is so much fun... now comes the scary part of what to do with it!
The record should be available absolutely no later than November 1st and probably a bit before that. Stay tuned for an exact date and details on how to order.
Also, I haven't forgotten Record #2! That is still on target to release at the same time. That record is going to be called "Thirty-Three". I'm less excited about it just because it's home recordings and the like, but I still think you guys are going to enjoy it. It's got a talking blues, a couple of other funny songs, and lots of other things that just didn't fit on a "regular" album. I have to finish recording that record this week and then try to mix it by early October. I'm going to be doing the artwork for this one myself, similar to what I did with "The Bluegrass Service". I'd love to have them professionally duplicated, but that's about $1200 for 1000 copies (you really can't order any less than that) and I just don't think I'm going to need a thousand of these. (in two years, for the curious, I've sold right at 600 copies of "Lower than the Angels" and in about a year and a half I've sold right at 400 copies of "The Bluegrass Service". That's not amazing, but selling 1000 records isn't something I ever thought I would do so I'm happy with it.)
Okay, it's late! TO THOSE WHO READ THIS FAR... I want you to know how much I appreciate you guys. I know I'm a very, very minor artist on the scene ... I have no delusions of grandeur. I know that fame and fortune are not headed my way, no matter how good this record comes out. The fact that you would choose to walk this road beside me and encourage me on the journey means the world to me. It is humbling that you would spend any of your precious time reading what little I have to say. Thanks for being here with me. You are appreciated.
- Greg
- Greg
On "Lower than the Angels", I knew pretty much what I wanted. I had a graphic designer friend and I told him where to go shoot angel photos (Old Grey Cemetery here in Knoxville) and what kind of textures I wanted. He did a great job.
This time around, I decided to give an artist a little more room to work so I contacted a friend named Rob LaLiberte who is an amazing graphic designer and gave him the title and told him to go wherever it led him.
This morning we met at Panera bread for coffee and the unveiling of what he created.
oh. my.
amazing, amazing, amazing. I can't show it to you guys until it's finished, but this last creative touch just completely blew me away. I know, it's just the artwork... but when you think about it, in some ways, it's the most important thing! Just because an album has great artwork doesn't make it good, but if an album has bad artwork, you're probably less likely to want to listen to it... am I right?
And so, aside from a few little tweaks with the mastering job and finishing the text on the artwork, this record is finished. Wow. I'm a little depressed saying that... the process of putting it all together is so much fun... now comes the scary part of what to do with it!
The record should be available absolutely no later than November 1st and probably a bit before that. Stay tuned for an exact date and details on how to order.
Also, I haven't forgotten Record #2! That is still on target to release at the same time. That record is going to be called "Thirty-Three". I'm less excited about it just because it's home recordings and the like, but I still think you guys are going to enjoy it. It's got a talking blues, a couple of other funny songs, and lots of other things that just didn't fit on a "regular" album. I have to finish recording that record this week and then try to mix it by early October. I'm going to be doing the artwork for this one myself, similar to what I did with "The Bluegrass Service". I'd love to have them professionally duplicated, but that's about $1200 for 1000 copies (you really can't order any less than that) and I just don't think I'm going to need a thousand of these. (in two years, for the curious, I've sold right at 600 copies of "Lower than the Angels" and in about a year and a half I've sold right at 400 copies of "The Bluegrass Service". That's not amazing, but selling 1000 records isn't something I ever thought I would do so I'm happy with it.)
Okay, it's late! TO THOSE WHO READ THIS FAR... I want you to know how much I appreciate you guys. I know I'm a very, very minor artist on the scene ... I have no delusions of grandeur. I know that fame and fortune are not headed my way, no matter how good this record comes out. The fact that you would choose to walk this road beside me and encourage me on the journey means the world to me. It is humbling that you would spend any of your precious time reading what little I have to say. Thanks for being here with me. You are appreciated.
- Greg
- Greg