hello. i hope you are having a nice december. i like the cold air. it is always brisk, never stuffy.

i am going to LA next week after finals to work with producer/mixer Andy Ellis (Gavin Rossdale, Black Lab, Jessie McCartney) on a new July For Kings song. this has been a productive period of writing for me. i have a few brand new songs that are solid, some of my best probably in a couple years, maybe some of my best pop songs ever. i have definitely re-entered a period of accessible pop songwriting and it feels great. i just love it. there is nothing in the world that makes me happier than stumbling across that perfectly melodic over the top sing-along chorus after months and months of writing. truly, it is pure elation. unlike drawing or painting or anything else creative, when you achieve a level of proficiency with songwriting the results are still vastly inconsistent from song to song. even people like radiohead and springsteen have to write and write and write to get 12 good ones. it is like walking through a deep dark forest for a year and a half then one day discovering a pot of gold.

i sent this one particular song to a friend in LA who passed it along to Andy and within a few days they magically had a plane ticket booked and a place for me to stay. sometimes my life is pretty okay. Andy is really excited about the song and i am really excited to work with him and learn from him. he is super talented and from our phone conversations seems like a super nice guy too.

i have had a long couple weeks of school finishing up art projects. being back in school has made me realize how important music is to me. i think for a while i took it for granted, because i had plenty of time to write and play. now i am in class and doing homework and doing websites for people when the only thing i really want to do is sit in my studio and write and record. some days i get home and there is a giant magnet sucking me into the basement to write songs. a lot of the time lately, i will let my work slide and write instead to keep myself sane.

dan and i have been recording more and more in the basement. we are getting close to a set-up that enables us to do master-quality recordings of drums. when we get that ironed out, we will be making masters in my own basement. that means we may be able to just keep releasing songs online at myspace and itunes periodically as we finish them. i think the days of the album are dying anyway as attention spans are getting shorter and technology takes over. it may be a better idea to keep giving you guys songs, and then compile them as a record as soon as we have 11 or 12. just a thought.

we are doing a holiday buy one get one free special on curvature. if you don’t have a copy, or if you know somebody who would want one now is the time to order. you know you want to. it’s a savings of twelve bucks! i also still have artwork for sale and tee-shirts. click the art link and the store link.

if i don’t write again i will write you from LA and let you know how much ass we are kicking in the studio.
have a great week