Just a couple of weeks before Christmas in 2000, I called Corey Miller and Jon Lauman to see if they would be interested in recording a song as a Christmas present for friends and family. To my surprise, they were open to the idea, and we started work on “Let the River Roll On (Without Me)” as quickly as we could.
A few things needed worked out before the project could be finished. I didn’t own a quality acoustic guitar then, so I borrowed one from Chris Trueblood. We also didn’t have enough time to create cover art for the CD, so I contacted my sister, Sue, to see if I could use one of her paintings. With the borrowed guitar in hand, and photographs of a great painting taken, we then set about recording the track and mixing it.
Corey took the tasks of engineering, recording, mixing and burning the CDs. Jon and I worked on printing, cutting, folding and assembling the packaging. Finally, we all signed them. All in all, it was a great experience with only minor hiccups, and our friends and family really seemed to enjoy the music.
I’d like to do another one someday. Until that day comes, I hope you enjoy “Let the River Roll On (Without Me)” as much as I enjoyed making it with a couple of my best friends those many years ago!
Chris and I did get time to work on new music this evening. We are continuing our recent method of recording short pieces of music at a matched tempo to assemble and arrange it later. However, this time, we recorded all the pieces using FourTrack on my iPhone. The results were more than acceptable for writing purposes. We are looking forward to recording more music this way as it is a very relaxed way to write and document our work.
Chris and I are planning to get together again tomorrow night to work on music, and I am really looking forward to it. The last time we were together, we started developing an idea that I had sent along to him earlier this month. Hopefully, we can continue to work on this piece, or maybe something new will appear.
Last month, Chris and I talked about starting to learn cover songs to do a few acoustic duet shows this summer, and we should work on this tomorrow as well. We haven’t selected songs yet, but we should decide on at least two or three to learn.
During the summer of 1994, Cinema was doing more playing than it ever had before. We were on a regular rehearsal schedule, and had two or three shows each month during the summer. Usually, Chris would be the first to state that he was hungry during travel or a rehearsal.
If we were out and about we would stop at a convenience store and buy mixed snacks such as kippered beef steaks, Snapple sweet teas, Combos snacks or Moon Pies. I’m not sure why we designated Moon Pies the treat of choice back then, but Chris may have consumed his weight in these things over that summer. I’ve always thought they were good, but not that good!
A couple years later, the treat of choice changed to E. L. Fudge sandwich cookies. However, that is a story for another time. Until then, I’d like to pay tribute to my good friend Chris. I thought of him when I saw these delicious treats on display a couple days ago. I promptly took a picture and sent an email to him when I saw them!
Noah and I visited the Trueblood family this evening because Chris and I intended to have a writing session. However, he was experiencing computer issues, so we worked on that for most of the evening. We did develop the new musical idea from last Thursday a bit, though. So, music is still making its way into the world, slowly.
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