Finished up the "Underwater" vocal. This one's going to be tough to "hear" until it's totally mixed. We got a great vocal, great parts...now to have them all come in and out at the right times (the "mix", as the pros call it.) It's all up to the mix.

Next: vocals for "Strawberry". We got a lot of energy in the room, and I think we got a really fun vocal track. The rhythm section is just killin' on this one, and it is SO easy to sing over players who are playing with conviction. This was really fun, and surprisingly easy. Fish in a barrel, totally. Neal's organ track is such a great flavor for the song. Blake and I were basically laughing the entire time. That's always a good sign. When I'm writing, if I'm not laughing - even if it's a sad song - I know I'm doing something wrong. Trying too hard, or something.

It's hard to explain. But laughing is good.

2 vocals left to go...

and the Holiday Show tomorrow.

titles, titles...hm. shit.

Monday Morning
Game On
Free
Pt. 2: the Blessing and the Curse. Just kidding.
HEY! "Just Kidding"! No. That sucks. Totally sucks. Nevermind.
HEY! Never... oh, yeah. That one's taken.

Got my friend Kelly Stuart on the cover photo art...I want the art to be more than just a collection of lyrics and credits, though. Or do I? I'm not sure, yet.

It'll come. Just keep mulling it around. It'll come.

couple days off...i just want to nail it. everyone around me is sick, sniffling, hoarse, hungover... I'm blowing out of parties early, or not even going. It's annoying. 3 vocals to go, and the holiday show. In a week it'll be done. Then I'll collapse.

Came back in, and as usual, listened down to yesterday's work. "Be Your Man" is awesome. Adam Sandler problem is totally solved - whew. As the recording played, I was interested in what was going to happen next, as if I hadn't heard it before. And hell, I've played it 100 times, by now. I mean, I wrote the damn thing.

We did just a couple of background vocals - didn't want to muck it up or make it sound like Queen. That would suck. I mean, Queen is great, but vocal choir type stuff was their thing. I would sound weird doing that.

Next up: lead on "Underwater". We just pick kinda randomly. We got practically all of it done, but there was another goofy vocal moment: I became obsessed again that, on the lines "Meet me by the river," the words "meet me" sounded a lot like Roadrunner making his signature horn sound before tearing down those cartoon desert highways, on his way to...what? Where the hell was Roadrunner off to in such a ridiculous hurry? He just ripped around the damn cartoon desert. Just blowing up the place. Maybe I would understand if I had his kind of speed and cornering capability. But I do understand the instinct, I suppose.

Anyway, this conversation was worthless while trying to get a great version of "Underwater": "MEEP MEEP by the river". It became hilarious, then distracting, then completely, completely annoying, then we fixed a couple things, and bingo. I got it. Weird. Listening this closely, unexplainable things happen, like channeling Adam Sandler and Roadrunner.

Thankfully, NONE of this is on the recording. We suddenly went into a crazy trance, and the whole thing started flowing in a wild, magical way. The arrangement is going to be so cool. Like "Tonight I Drink You All" and absolutely NOTHING like it. I can't wait for people to be high and put this one on. Blake's comment was great: "This reminds me of when I was a kid, and listening to something and thinking, 'God, one day, I really want the chance to be able to make something like that..." We're just living a dream, recording this. Both of us are, I think.

"Be Your Man" vocal - done. We had a slight problem, because every time I said the "Nature's Candy..." line in verse 2, I became obsessed that the word "candy" sounded like I was Adam Sandler, doing his stupid Halloween skit from SNL: "Hey, I'm crazy protractor head...now gimme some CANDY." I had to say that line about 12 times to get a 'candy' that didn't crack me and Blake up. Weird how stuff like that happens.

Every day we knock one full vocal out. The disc is half mix-ready.

If I'm not singing, I'm sleeping, and vice versa. Not a bad life, right now. These songs are coming into focus incredibly, and Blake is allowing every single detail I'm not sure about to be completely explored. Sometimes nothing's wrong with spots I want to hear again. But a good percentage of times, the songs nudge up just a fraction higher. So cool.

"Free" is done. Amazing what the vocal did to deepen the song. New levels of meaning arrived to fuel the lyric and the band. It's like the song has broken off and become a world unto itself. There is nothing more I can ask for.

"Monday Morning" - we hit the vocal again. We had tried to start this when I was still sick, and it sounded tired. No more. Now it's just a great, emotional read of an emotional song. Jen (the subject of said song) finally admitted that this version is better than the demo I gave her. That says a hell of a lot.