Release Me

So I'm trying something a little different with the Paper Arrows record... as of today I'm releasing the song Look Alive! as an email only single... if you want it emailed to you for free as an MP3 file, drop an email to paper_arrows@yahoo.com...

We're having a little release party tonight at my place... some wine, some music... it's small but fun. Things are... okay. And that's pretty good.

XO
j

How the Heart Moves On

Slowly With hesitation Slipping away Trying In silent spaces What can be saved? And while we're sleeping Something is leaving Someone is breathing In and out and in and out Sinking Into the hollow That swallows us here in the dark Fighting With desparation To hold on, hold on to the spark And while we're sleeping Something is leaving Someone is breathing In and out and in and out

jbg

Down Down Down (Redux)

Chewed up the sky, spit out the stars Never told anyone I was scared of the dark All of my love just fades away I lose a piece of myself almost every day I can see your face Hanging 'round this place Hanging like a weight Pulling me down down down I'll run with the river in dreams of gold I'll fly with wings been bought and sold To touch the birds that sing your name In the ruby blue I'll do the same I can see your face Hanging 'round this place Hanging like a weight Pulling me down down down The last night that you were there I watched your eyes and smelled your hair And fixed your arm and dried your tears And touched your hand and counted years I can see your face Hanging 'round this place Hanging like a weight Pulling me down down down Pulling me down down down

jbg

Little Victories

Sometimes, it's easy to get overwhelmed (or even just -whelmed) by grand visions. Frustrated by the slow pace of progress. In knots about failures or perceived failures. Fed up with your inability to execute on your dreams. Paralyzed by the genius of your own ideas.

Okay, that last one never really happens to me. But still...

Most of the time it's better to break the world into small, manageable tasks and take pride in accomplishing them one at a time.

For instance: I fixed the venting system on my dryer this weekend. I know, I know... it's not selling a million copies of a record, or recording an album, fighting famine in Africa, or buying a car... but it did involve the following: 1. Identifying the problem: namely that a bird had built a nest in the old vent/tube, which was causing the dryer to vent into my house, not to the outside... which is not a good situation. 2. Plugging said venting hole to insure that in the absence of the tubing, the bird did not return and take up residence in my actual house. 3. Continuing to identify the problem: namely that once I scared the bird off, I realized the tubing for the vent was irreparably damaged and needed to be replaced. 4. Going to Home Depot and buying the correct part, namely an 8 foot flexible venting tube with clamps. 5. Moving the washer/dryer combo just enough so I could squeeze my not-so-small frame behind it for access to the back of the dryer. 6. Identifying that I need to remove a part (a metal tube) from the old flexible tube and attach it to the new tube, also flipping it around to fit properly. 7. Executing said replacement, fitting the clamps around both the dryer back and the wall vent. 8. Realizing in my maneuvers I had poked a small hole in the tubing, and fixing it with the greatest repair tool known to man... that's right, duct tape. 9. Turning on the dryer and smiling as the tube filled with exhaust and piped said exhaust to the outside. 10. Smiling even broader when I realized that I managed to spend $10 on a new part, rather than $150 on a service call to a Maytag technician.

So there you go... I did not get any notice on Sunday about receiving a gold or platinum record. I did not record or write a song. I did not buy a car. I did not adopt an African orphan (as far as I remember). But I did triumph over a small, inanimate object and bested an animal with a brain roughly the size of a mouse turd.

And some days, that's all you can ask for.

jbg

Wondering

How does a heart move on?

jbg

Last Night, 1:10 a.m.

Have you ever watched somebody try to shoulder your pain? Watched him try to shed your tears for you? Watched him try to bear your cross? Listened to him tell you he'd do anything for you? Felt his shoulders shake as you hug and hold on tight? Looked in his eyes and seen true friendship and true love? Wondered what you did to deserve this love?

Me.

Too.

jbg

Jigsaw

ALMOST GONE Wordsmeannothingtothesea Lovemeansnothingifyouleave Imfallingfastandsinkingslow Imleaninginandlettinggo It's almost gone The life we lived It's almost gone from here From here Climbthestairsandsingtowalls Anddreamoftapeandcottonballs Whileunderwinterpaintedskies Thenoisewaskeepingmealive It's almost gone The life we lived It's almost gone from here From here Maryroseupinthesalt Beneaththehighwayandthechalk Flowerslayaroundherfeet Fromallthepeoplewhobelieved It's almost gone The life we lived It's almost gone from here From here

jbg

Stanza

I climbed the stairs and sang to walls And dreamt of tape and cotton balls (alcohol?) While under winter painted skies The noise was keeping me alive

jbg

Arrows of Paper

So I've posted some of the project I recorded over the winter on My Space for all to hear... Check the Paper Arrows page and (hopefully) enjoy...

Love,

jbg

Briskman and Briskman

Another Sunday... Another Sunday. Yeah... Still recovering a bit from our day in the studio on Thursday... and what a day it was.

We went in with the goal of getting drums done on all 5 songs... we left with that as well as a lot of usable bass and guitar. Our day began at about 10:00 am as Barret and I met Jay at I.V. Studios in Uptown... "I.V." stands for "In Vault" as the studio is in an old bank and the live room and control room are actually down in the old vault. It's pretty damn cool.

Barret began setting his drums up while Jay and I got coffee and breakfast. Once Barret was set up, Jay and our engineer George began putting microphones around the drums and room. Jeff arrived. Jeff and I went for beer. Jay, George and Barret worked through various microphone and drum configurations and by about 2:00, we were ready to actually record.

Jeff sat in the live room with Barret, I was relegated to a vocal isolation booth behind glass sliding doors. We dug in and started with the song Dark Before the Dawn. And Barret and Jeff both nailed it on the second take, with me getting a pretty good guitar take as well. Next came the poppy You Were... which we got it about 3 takes.

Aoife arrived to check in on the proceedings. After changing the drum and guitar configuration, we attacked the first rocker of the day, Bright Dark Times. Although it took us a couple more takes than the first two tunes, we still got a really strong version in fairly quick order. Satisfied with our progress, we took a dinner break and reconvened after pizza to attack Canary, the oldest song of the bunch. 

Again, within 3 runs we had a good take, and suddenly we had just one song to go. The final song was St. Scarlet, another rocker. We nailed a strong take on our first run, btu we decided to do one more just to try a couple of different things... and that second take had some outright magic in it... Barret especially took a couple of chances and the outcome was striking.

At this point, although tired, we decided to make use of some of the incredible equipment that littered the studio, and go after some guitar. Jay and I work incredibly well together, and within an hour we had reimagined St. Scarlet with soaring guitars... almost all my parts were recorded on the first take and a bunch of them we just came up with on the fly... very cool stuff.

So this week, I will attack more guitars with Jay, and then we should be in a position fairly quickly to do violin, vocals, and for Jeff to finish the bass parts. There is something so amazing about working in the studio, and I'm fairly confident that this project is going to quickly turn into something special... it already feels that way.

More soon...

jbg