The following is a previously unpublished blog entry from July 1, 2009:

I’m very, very excited about todays. song. First off, today marks one week… a whole week of songwriting behind me. 25% down… 1 of 4 chapters written… a quarter of the journey in my rearview mirror!
When I got off work, I took a sigh of relief thinking that for the next two days I don’t have to think about working AND rushing home to write and record.
The sun was blazing as I drove up to Bellingham. I wanted to buy a melodica ( and maybe a glockenspiel if they had one) at the music store, but alas, they didn’t have either. I fiddled around with a ukulele for a few minutes and decided to try using it for today’s song. I headed down to Boulevard Park as the sun was thinking about setting. With coffee in hand, I was looking up ukulele chords on my iPhone while I was jotting down lyrics. My friend Hailey was at the park and we talked for a while. When I finished the song, I thought it’d be perfect to have her sing along, but she had already left the park (Her unison vocals would have been perrrfect). There were a couple of gals sitting on a nearby park bench when I recorded the track. They snapped a few photos in the middle of recording, so I’ll post those when I get my hands on’m.
All in all, a very satisfying day. It hit me as I was sitting on the edge of the water plunking awkward chords that I was returning to my roots. My earliest memory of music consist of listening to Alvin & the Chipmunk records at my aunt & uncle’s house and playing songs on their ukulele. I was only 4 or 5 years old, so though I remember sounding awesome, I probably wasn’t. Anyway, here’s to coming full circle.

“He’s On A Mission” July 1st, 2009, Maggie Williams

After a lovely dinner with my friend Dorothy this evening, we took a walk along the shore at Bellingham Bay and grabbed a bench to watch the sunset, and an amazing sunset it was.

The best part was about 45 minutes after the sun had gone down with its brilliant oranges and reds reflecting in the water.  As we sat there, we had the pleasure of being serenaded by a young fellow sitting down by the rocks, looking out toward the sea, playing a ukulele and singing a song I didn’t recognize.  He was several feet away and so we could only just hear  him but what we did hear was quite nice and catchy, we noticed our feet tapping away.

He got up and moved up higher on the grass a little closer to us and he turned around and sat back down, positioning himself with his back to the sunset.  He told us he was trying to get this song done before the sunset was over.  Well, I didn’t quite know what he meant by that and I wondered why he facing away from the sunset then.  OK, I’ll bite.  We got to talking with him as he set up his MacBook in front of him; he said he was on a mission to write and record 30 songs in 30 days.  Wow, that’s ambitious we thought.  After querying him about the ukulele, he said he had just learned how to play it since this morning.  “Oh c’mon man” said I, that’s a pretty tall tale; he’s either very talented or a big fat fibber.

Well, he’s not big or fat and after hearing what he did next I’m thinking he might just be that talented.  He used the webcam on his PC to record himself singing the song with the sunset in the background.  He said it would probably take about three takes, and sure enough, it took three takes.  Dorothy and I just sat there, completely at peace with the world, in the cool evening breeze, with the fire in the sky in front of us and young Corbin just to our left singing this beautiful song.  What an awesome way to spend an evening, what a treat.

Corbin finished his recording and packed up, we exchanged contact information and he headed off to the coffee shop to post the recording.  I just got home a few minutes ago and checked his web site and he got his done before me, but that’s OK.  The song on the site has a little background noise and it’s probably as good as it can be, recording into his computer in the open with wind and all.  I can tell you though; the quality in person was awesome.  Corbin has a nice resonant and controlled voice and I (and Dorothy) have the honor of being the first to hear his newest song.  Please go to his website, http://corbinw.com, and have a listen to Day 7 –Monsters, Above & Beneath, by Corbin Watson.  And while you’re there, check out his other songs too.

From his site you can get to his Facebook and Myspace pages and to his album, The Space/Time Continuum on iTunes.  http://www.geocities.com/corbinwatkins/index2.html# will take you to his other site with news and info about shows and his store, check it out too.

Corbin, it was a pleasure meeting you tonight, I really enjoyed your music and thanks so much for making it such a great evening for me.  All the best to you.

Cheers,
Maggie

The following previously unpublished blog post from June 26, 2009:

Today would have been much easier if I had started writing earlier in the day. First there was work, then I loaded up the car to drive out and play a show in Anacortes, then back to Burlington to see John VanDeusen play a solo show (and catching a spectacular song and a half of Noah Gundersen as well), then back to my house (at about 10pm?) to get crackin on the song.

Tonight is when I run into the first of unforeseen challenges: getting a good live take on a new song finished within the last hour or two. I’ve chosen to do a simple set up for recording: using the built in mic and camera in my macbook. I have pro tools set up, but you can’t run video and record audio separately. What I’ve done in the past is capture video with an external camera, and a higher quality mic, then sync them up later…  but in the efforts of keeping things simple and not wanting to create a bottle neck in the process, I’m just using the video capture in iMovie.

This is all well and good if I can get a good take. I think it took a few hours after the song was done to get a take I could live with.

Stress Level: 7… After starting late in the day, it took a few hours to get a good single take. (On the final take, it’s a bit obvious I was trying not to wake the roommates).  Audio/Video: just used the video capture in iMovie.

The following is a previously unpublished blog entry from June 25, 2009, the day one of the 30 Day project:

Day one! Here we go! Today was a spectacular birthday. I woke up n’ drove to Bellingham to have brunch with friends, then went golfing with Grant, my brother and my dad. When we were on hole 6, I found out that Michael Jackson died. Sad! After golfing, I went back to Grant’s house, and set up the laptop in Garrett’s old bedroom. With the window and the hardwood floors, it made for a great space. After 5 or 6 takes, I had something I could live with. Ok, so here’s the kind of songwriter I am… The difference between the words “tell” and “say” is immense. On verse two, “tell” is a flub that changes the whole lyric. Dang. Oh well, no time to have my inner editor seize the cogs of creativity. I’ve got too much writing ahead of me to get tripped up on the details… 

Stress level: 1… this song fell out of the guitar. Video set up: just sat in front of the computer.

Listen to Bon Voyage at www.corbinw.com

The following is a previously unpublished blog entry from June 24, 2009, the day before I began the 30 Day project:

“Make Voyages! Attempt them! There is nothing else.” -Tennessee Williams

To celebrate my birthday tomorrow, I’ve decided to write 30 songs in 30 days. I know what you’re thinking, because I’m thinking it too. This is and incredibly stupid undertaking destined to end in total mediocrity or horrific embarrassment. Well, to that I say, “Bring it on!”

The method I’ve chosen for the journey is to write a fictional story from start to finish. A concept album, if you will. And the rule will be, no old material allowed. I’ll only used what comes to me this month, so that means I’ll be leaning heavily into the winds of inspiration (hoping they keep blowing through the month).

Because I’ve chosen to basically write a musical novel, I’ve been drawing from the spectacular advise of my friend Chris Baty, author of No Plot? No Problem! He is the founder of Write A Novel In A Month (and only my friend, cause I’ve read his book over and over). The book (and subsequent novel writing toolkit) have some of the best advice for writing that I’ve found. I’ve drawn from and adapted things in his book to help in my songwriting before, but this month I’ll be referencing it extensively to keep the momentum going. 

So here’s to voyages, adventures, journeys, victories, expeditions, triumphs & conquests!