Hello Blog Readers of The Digital Age—

i’m half-slumped on a green sofa, near my recording studio, on a grey wednesday.  the fireplace is glowing brightly alongside me and my laptop is incinerating all future children of mine.  but hey, that’s cool.  i’ve got more where that came from (?)......

anyway, i’m in the final home stretch of the first installation of a long and arduous (and equally fulfilling) recording project that me and the band have undertaken.  I’ve been wanting to wait to announce it but I’ll spill the beans a little because…..what does it matter anyway….. so here goes:

as some of you may know, i write a lot of songs and the band tries out many of them.  some of slam dunkers and some are damn clunkers.  and some are album material and some are good enough but somehow just don’t quite fit the vibe, format, etc….whatever.  what ends up happening with me is that i have all these songs i really like but don’t have an outlet for their expression except to show them to my band and occasionally play them at a show where there isn’t a crowd asking for a select number of songs.

and if you’ve gone to see us live and bought the album, you’ll notice we play about two or three songs from my first official release.  the rest are all new and/or unrecorded.  what ends up happening is you buy an artifact and go home with a relic.  i’m working to give you the moment.

SO…..i’m getting to my point…..i’ve decided to take some of my favorite unrecorded songs (that don’t fit my vision for the next album) and release five of them, online only at iTunes, every month until our next official full-length release.  in addition, each release will follow an undisclosed theme and may also contain some live releases and rough demos.  sounds like a big task, eh?  well, uh…..yeah….it is.  i’m just learning that. 

but i’m always up for a big challenge and so i’ve been hunkered in the studio, like a soldier in a thick trench, dodging phone calls, sunlight, and playtime….....recording, editing, mixing, mastering, etc.  if i haven’t lost my mind yet, i’m on my way.

i’m pleased to say that i think these releases are gonna have a number of really great songs…...“gems” as some say…...and i can’t wait to get them out into the digital world for people looking for new Jason Shannon songs.

all in all, these releases will lead up to a sort of creative breadcrumb trail that leads to a full-length record…...which i’m guessing will begin production early next year.  damn, i hope it does.  i don’t know how many of these releases i can do without suffering some kinda energy crisis.  it should be noted also, that this method of releasing also comes with the intention of streamlining the recording for the the full-length…...narrowing the stylistic focus (but not limiting it) and creating a cohesive piece of work.  i get so many questions from people asking…..“what kind of music is this?”

and my answer is:  damn lady…..it’s just music!

i guess we all stare at the labels next to the painting as long as we do the painting itself, so i’m grouping things together and getting it off the shelf…....

like some guy, once said, “man doesn’t live on bread alone.”  luckily, near my hideout, there’s a vending machine with animal crackers for my body while my heart and soul work in overdrive.  AND i’m pleased to say that this is the first release where my official band is playing on everything.  so i’m very excited about this.  it’s to not be wigging out in the studio trying to play everything…... and these guys sound gooood.

the first release will happen in late november.  and there are more surprises and news to come.  stay tuned.

peace,
jason