Somewhere in the depths of my psyche I can sense the movement of massive machinery and heavy pieces falling into place. I’ve spent most of my musical life planning for the day that I would be able to bring my crazy ideas to life and record great albums with great musicians. During the last couple of weeks it’s begun to occur to me that the time for that is fast approaching.
At first I saw the unexpected departure of Catdaddy Pirates’ guitarist as a set back. I’d left a working band (in which the other members were friends) to get CP off the ground, and didn’t think much of the idea of starting over with someone else. Rather than do that, I switched over to an existing idea of doing an acoustic duo with Victoria. We decided to call that project Windhaven, and determined to run with it.
Doug, the drummer from Catdaddy Pirates, decided to join up with us. We’ve been working up songs in the last couple of weeks and are beginning to see the potential of a great acoustic trio. I’m playing guitar, which is a nice challenge for me. There’s a lot of territory to explore. I believe this is really going to be something. I’ve never done an acoustic show before, and I’ve never been in a band that’s all about harmonies. It’s exciting to be a part of such an original project. I’ve already written one song for the band. We’re planning to start recording next week and hope to be ready to gig in a couple of weeks. Within a few months, at the most, I fully intend for us to have a CD for sale.
Doug and I haven’t forgotten about Catdaddy Pirates, though. We may not have a functioning band with CP at the moment, but we’ve decided to keep the banner flying by recording some original material, with me filling in the guitar slot. I have a lot of good, Bluesy Rock songs that will fit real well under the name Catdaddy Pirates. And there again, we hope to have a CD available in a couple of months.
Doug has also volunteered to help me record the Crewe album, Blood & Chartreuse. That’ll give me an outlet to explore my darker, more experimental side. Not to mention, it’s going to give me a damned fine companion to the novel. Doug will never know how excited I am about getting this rolling. Everything he, Victoria and I are doing is exciting, but this one project is the culmination of a life-long dream. It means all limitations are gone and I now have the opportunity to create an original work of art that will stand on its own as a general statement of identity.
Bringing up the rear, but far from the low goal on the totem pole, is a new project that Doug and I are doing with our friend, Rich Caggia. We asked Rich to help us with some Catdaddy Pirates gigs that had fallen into our laps after our guitarist left, and had to make some adjustments to make it work. What we wound up with was something that Doug and I were uncomfortable calling Catdaddy Pirates (especially considering the type of music we’re planning to record soon). Rich agreed to keep rolling and jamming with us, and we all decided to call the new project Bad Hat Harry. We figure this will be a great way to fulfill some of Catdaddy Pirates’ remaining obligations. And if we’re going to do that, we might as well keep the ball rolling. It’s going to be a lot of fun jamming with Rich on a semi-permanent basis.
All in all, the future looks bright. I’m excited about these projects. Honestly, it’s been a long time coming. It seems strange to have all of it fall into my lap at the same time. In keeping with my recent resolution to have a more positive outlook on things, I’m going to try really hard not to screw any of this up.
Not only am I excited to be a part of all of these projects, but I’m honored that I’m felt worthy of the tasks at hand. Just as much as I’m into the 3 separate genres of music we’ll be working on, I myself am extremely happy to be able to express my own inner artistic being, while working on the sound tracks for Wicasta’s novel. I’ll be able to once again explore my darker side for a positive cause. – I feel the need to thank God for the ability and opportunity to explore so many avenues of my life’s long love ~ “Music”.
Much Love to All
Brother Wolf