Paws Claws Tales and Scales Radio PSA

I've accomplished a big milestone on the path to finishing my new CD, although it's more of a marketing milestone than a recording one.

I've completed a set of radio PSAs that libraries can use to promote their summer reading programs. There are 30 second and 60 second spots featuring my new song, "Paws, Claws, Scales, and Tales."

The PSAs are free to download for anyone that wants them. Just go to www.ReadingSongs.com and follow the instructions. (You can hear a sample there, too, without downloading anything.)

Along with the PSAs I've also put together a CD Pre-Ordering form. Hopefully the PSAs will draw traffic, and I'll be able to start taking orders. I'm really trying to get word out early, since the CD will come out so close to the summer, which is when librarians would need it to use with the "Paws Claws Scales and Tales" program. Timing is everything, right?

I've also made other progress on the CD, though not a lot. I spent much of last week dealing with more computer problems. I'll spare you the boring details, but suffice it to say this time I think I've got it licked. If the same software flips out on me again I can quickly and easily replace it with a working copy. Why didn't I think of that before?

Anyhow, this morning I started on a new recording, "A Pet Like That." I tracked the acoustic guitar part, which will be the basis for the arrangement, and I got a really good smooth full sound - the best I've managed so far. It was by chance it worked out so well, so I was scrambling for a pencil to write down all the settings!

I also learned a cool lesson about avoiding self-defeat. (Let's hope I learned it!) Due to other distractions, by the time I got around to setting up and recording the guitar part, which was my goal for today, I only had about ten minutes left in my alloted recording time before lunch. My normal response would be to throw up my hands and say, well I can't do much in ten minutes. Instead I decided to set up the gear anyway; maybe after lunch I could sneak in some extra time. Soon I had set up an alternate mic stand (my usual one broke!), tuned the guitar, plugged everything in, set the tempo, set the levels, and played through the song a couple of times. Lisa was not ready with lunch, and it occurred to me that all I had left to do was hit the record button. So I did, and I recorded 5 takes.

The moral to the story is: Eate a late lunch. Or something like that.