Update

Been working and traveling pretty much nonstop. And the album is finally finished. I'm listening to the final mixes right now.

I spent some time last month setting up a wordpress version of the site but I can't seem to get it to replace this blogger version. So that's a big reason why I haven't written in a while.

About to head out on tour with my other band The Ross Sea Party. This summer should finally see the first Lost on Purpose shows in LA. World tour to follow.

There's a lot of PR work ahead before the official album release. But I can't wait to get started on all that, it's a relief having the album finished.

Next up is a possible side project of casio songs, followed by another Lost on Purpose album that I hope (I really, really hope) to release on my birthday this Fall.

Upgrade Coming Soon

I'm switching my ghetto self-made html blog to wordpress very soon. Probably tonight. The site might be down for a little while.

Los Angeles Artist of the Month!

Just got back from SXSW to discover we've been nominated for the LA AotM poll at The Deli! Now, I hate 'vote for me!' emails and face-messages as much as the next guy, but this is kind of huge and I can't pass up the opportunity. Plus I'm a one man band up against bands with 5 or 6 members and they're all pushing their friends to vote. So what I'm saying is - I need help!

It's all for fun, so if you like Lost on Purpose please go follow this link and give me a vote. It's the red section just to the right of the blog content. You'll see it. Thank You!

http://la.thedelimagazine.com/

Back From Philly

Work on the new album continues, I got that mackie a/d input thing and it's great. Just need a new laptop. Got a new song recorded and it sounds exactly how I want it to, that's a good feeling. Got a lot of work to do including figuring out a good way to get some album previews out. It's going to be a digital download at first. Now I'm wanting a new microphone too... I may have to start using my shure 57 just to get some different tones. I wish my day job was mixing.

I ate two cheesestakes and it was great.

Good News

Out of the blue we found out we were featured on four different websites in the past two weeks! I don't have time for a proper post but here's the rundown.


This one is exciting. All Things Go put us on a compilation featuring Beach House, Bon Iver and The Antlers! The whole thing is really good, my favorite song might be the one by Damien Jurado. Check it out - http://allthingsgomusic.com/all-things-go-north-woods-mixtape-2

Then Princeton blog Malleus&Incus found us and wrote this great piece:
http://malleusincus.com/pop/a-knight-at-the-crossroads

Then we got a sweet writeup at indie blog Music Between Friends:
http://musicbetweenfriends.com/2011/02/02/ive-sold-my-soul/

And finally Ohio blog (yes!) Middle Class White Noise joined the fray:
http://middleclasswhitenoise.com/2011/02/07/lost-on-purpose-a-knight-on-the-crossroads/

It's been a good couple weeks. New songs (and hopefully videos) on the way soon...

New Era

I don't think this title is too dramatic, do you?

I haven't been this musically productive in years. I'm recording and mixing at an alarming rate. And I think I've finally reached the limits of my recording setup - I know what I want, and I think I know how to get the sounds, but it's just not possible with my equipment. Thus I will forever be an indie darling.

But I do have this bad boy on the way.


What a doucher. I'm going to take a picture just like this when I get the thing.

It's a Mackie Blackjack. It's not alliterative and it doesn't rhyme, but it's close to both. I don't know if there's a word for that.

It's an analog/digital input device. It's no big deal but considering that my current input device is circa 2000 this should be a big leap for my sound.

Next on the list is a new laptop and a new mic.

It Worked! Again!

A week ago I said I was going into the studio to make up for lost time. It was the best thing I ever did.

I spent the whole night there (minus an hour eating a delicious carnitas burrito at poquito mas) with the explicit plan to write terrible, lame songs... as long as I wrote a lot of them. Using only my casio. And that's what I did. Seven fully fleshed out ideas and I like most of them a lot, surprisingly (or not so surprisingly). That kicked off a creative surge that is still ongoing - I've written a couple other songs and have spent a couple more nights at the studio recording and writing. I'll be there tonight for a few hours too.

And one of the songs I wrote is the greatest song I've ever written.

Jacquie may be succeeding in convincing me to split up the forthcoming EP into two separate albums. ASHES and Something to be Named Later. I just wrote out a possible tracklist for ASHES and it's 11 songs long. They ain't all making it.

Alright, here's one of those casio demos I did. Everything is recorded with an sm-58 picking up the sound from a PA. That's casio, vocals, everything through a PA. The whole thing was done in like 30 minutes. But I like it.

HUNTING BOW

Tonight I Make Up For Lost Time

It Worked!

Two old/new songs are nearing completion. The stuff I talked about in the last post worked. Finally.

Also I'm working on a compilation album with NYC/Finland artist (and labelmate) The Redwoods and NYC's Arms and Lanes. Due out March-ish.

Next Steps

I'm back from Asia, back from Ohio and done with all the holiday hooplah. There's a good word.

I have been thinking about music and how to get stuff done. I have dozens and dozens of songs that I liked at one point but never found the time to finish. Or even work on beyond the initial recording session that brought them about.

Some of them are probably too flawed to release, but some are not. So today I wrote down ways for me to get them into a state of completion.

1. Stop caring about perfection.

Perfection is paralyzing. After I wrote this down I walked to Border's and bought this book.


I first read it like six years ago. I forgot about it, then was somehow recently reminded and checked it out from the library over the summer. Now I finally own it. If you are an artist it will be the greatest book you have ever read. It solves everything. You just have to remember it.

2. Spend time.

This is always the hardest part for me. I work a day job. It sucks. Boom - there goes eight hours a day.

But #1 and #3 will help me make the limited time I have more effective.

3. Establish rules to limit freedom aka indecision.

I love this quote:

"The hardest thing in the world is to decide what to do when someone says, 'You can do anything."
-Damien Di Fede

I don't remember who Damien Di Fede is but I wrote down his quote for a reason. It's true. If I grab an old song that was never going to be released anyhow and decide 'I will only use my casio and a floor tom on this one' then the odds of me actually finishing the song go up 80%. If I allow myself to use anything then I never know where to begin because something must be perfect, and I fail if I can't figure it out. But Art Is Error, and imperfection is essential.

What usually happens is I decide to work on music but never know where to start. Too many options. I have a limited about of time to work on it so I procrastinate and run out of time. When I do sit down to work it takes an hour to get into the proper mindset. I fly through songs, listening to one after another until I find one that I can attach a clear idea to, then I run out of time. It takes so long to find a clear idea because I have so many options. It's paralyzing. So we'll see how this goes. I want to pull up a couple old ones, establish some rules and FINISH THE DAMN THINGS.