As you can tell, the studio work has been paramount in my blog recently. As we get the concepts and ideas the band has created recorded and ready for release, I like to take time and reflect on what went into each song. The writing process, recording process, refining, expanding, correcting, changing, adapting…all aspects inspire me on different levels and I enjoy sharing that with you here.

The one endeavor I enjoy which has been shelved for the past few months is writing books, not songs. Fortunately, tonight is the perfect storm for writing/editing. I have inspiration, no pressing tasks (for the next 18 hours), a computer and ideas. It’s time to dust Catwalk Book Four (tentatively titled “Obedient”) off and stir the ingredients a bit.

I hope that, wherever you are, you’re celebrating a spark of inspiration and enjoying the opportunity to be creative.

One love,
nK

Greets, all! Sorry I’ve been away for so long. I caught a bad case of “day job” and have been up and down the highway like a nymphomaniac’s zipper! I got a few minutes now to stop in and chat with all of you willing to take the time to listen to me ramble.

Still in the recording studio with Division, and things are progressing nicely. “Gemini” (See previous post) was wrapped up, including backing vocals; some established, some new. Mike (Blevins - guitar, backing vocals, engineer, producer, man from another planet) has really done a great job with everything he’s been asked to do on this CD. The guy has to perform his own parts and direct everyone else with theirs.

I’ve found myself really enjoying the give and take with Mike during these sessions. Commentary tracks on DVD’s routinely have an actor discussing the experience with the film director and I can completely relate to that. Fortunately, Mike and I have a familiarity with the material going back as far as a few years on some songs, and we have a great personal relationship. A few times, the facial expression from either of us was enough to signify approval (or usually disapproval) of a certain take. The best and worst thing about this CD is that it’s very dynamic. The material isn’t one speed at all, and there are lots of subtleties in performance and engineering that really bring out the emotional roller coaster we want listeners to ride.

“Soulmate” was tonight’s project. Born from real-life experiences (mine and a friend’s), this is the stalker song of the Control Issues CD. The song is sung from the stalker’s perspective, bouncing from vulnerable to enraged. I think we’ve managed to find a great balance with tonight’s session, and that doesn’t include the HUGE vocals in the chorus. This is one of the songs people will sing along to the first time they hear it. The catch is that they won’t all sing the same thing since the song features a ton of moving parts.

Mike, Noodlez and I played a gig last night in a smoky bar, which fed into the raspy-ness (not sure that’s a word) needed for the parts tonight. I figured things would go a bit rough, but after about 15 minutes tonight, we settled right in to a groove and really drilled the song. We’re looking to wrap this one up later this week in the next session. That oughta put us just about halfway through the disc, so you guys and gals out there don’t have too much longer to wait before gettin’ a sneak peek (or listen) at some of the material.

We will take a break from recording next month, when Division performs LIVE at Jaxx Nightclub with ZO2 on Friday, July 17th! Tix are just $10 and you get the first Division gig in For-EVAH! Need tix? Email, Message or leave a comment. Thanks for listenin’!

One Love,
nK

Good evening, everyone! Many of you know that we’re recording the fourth Division CD, “Control Issues” and have reached the part of our program where it’s time to record vocals. Tonight, I had the chance to go in and work on a fairly violent and very tense piece called “Gemini.”

“Gemini” was one of the first songs written for the CD and was even demo’ed a while back. Much like “Bloodletting” and “Soulmate”, “Gemini” has undergone several composition and vocal changes since that time. In fact, it’s probably the case study for the difference between how I sang a few years ago and how I sing now. It was also one of the keys that helped me shape the lyrical theme for Control Issues.

This song is about two brothers; one who has lived a near-perfect life with his parents. The other is a bastard child who was the product of an affair of their mutual father. When brother two comes calling, it wrecks everything brother one has ever valued. In the end, the two sides of the coin wind up on the furious path to mutual destruction.

“Gemini” was crafted from a story a friend of mine and I were writing a number of years ago, unbeknownst to many of the audience. We were great friends but wanted everyone to believe we hated one another, and so the characters were born.

To prep for the storytelling nature of this song (and others), I listened to a number of old radio programs, like Suspense, Inner Sanctum and The Whistler. The horror and irony behind these shows really created theater of the mind in the days before TV, and I wanted to tap into that same creativity. I also listened to great storytelling bands, probably none more closely than Iron Maiden.

Ok, I’m rambling, so I’ll head out now and keep everyone posted on the next sesions. Be well and love music!

One Love,
nK

I should say a few home stretches all at once. Let me explain…

As of today, I’m 31 weeks from completing my Bachelor’s degree. This last year and a half has been a lot of work, with stress at times, fascination at others and the chance to meet and work with some really fun folks. Final team project due Friday and then it’s six more classes (at five weeks each = 30 weeks).

The Division CD, “Control Issues” is also in the home stretch. Despite being useless this past Sunday, vocals are still coming along steadily and the guys are putting down some amazing solos at the same time. That means this thing will see the light of day this year, at the current pace. Division is busy, busy, busy, with a show lined up May 27th with Evergrey at Jaxx and Midwest Metal Anthem on August 21-22nd in Illinois. (Info on those shows, click HERE.)

The completion of my degree buys me back time for two really important things. First, Sybir and I will have more research completed and credibility built to begin our child safety nonprofit business. Second, I can get back to writing…serious, series novel editing, slicing parts, rebuilding scenes, focusing on character and plot direction and really putting Cat through hell again. The last few times I’ve tried to focus, I haven’t put a steady stream of energy into it and the work was not to my standards, which means those scenes will never seen the light of day.

That brings me back to editing, of course. I’ve noted some interesting parallels in the recording studio and the editing phase of writing a book. Parts get chopped or re-worded. Words get expressed differently, either through different techniques or inflection.

The greatest contrast, however, is that the scalpel comes out a lot more often in print writing. I think that’s due to how differently one voice can express the same words. With writing, the approach is much more literal and there’s maybe even more room for interpretation than in lyric writing. Hmmm….open for debate. Your thoughts?

One love,
nK

I have the privilege of welcoming series author J.A. Konrath, author of the Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels cop novels, to join us and entertain the masses.  Today’s topic:  Joe’s alter ego, Jack Kilborn, whose first novel, “Afraid” comes out at the end of this month, gives the perspective on how music influences writing.

Check out Joe and Jack’s mutual musical interests below….

_____________

My name is Joe Konrath. I write funny thrillers under the name JA Konrath, and horror novels under the name Jack Kilborn.

The new Konrath book, Cherry Bomb, comes out July 7. The new Kilborn book, Afraid, comes out March 31. You can read about both of my personas at www.JAKonrath.com, where you can also get a bunch of free stuff.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s, listening to cassettes. The mix tape reigned supreme for almost two decades.

Then CDs took over, and the mix CD never really caught on. Probably because it was so easy to just copy the whole album. Why fool around with changing fifteen CDs just to make a mix?

So those of my generation, with the gift to make mix tapes, became somewhat obsolete, like VHS players, and the Republican Party.

Then iTunes arrived on the scene.

Lots of celebrities began to post their mix tapes on iTunes, except they called them “playlists” and charged you 99 cents a song if you want to listen to the same music as, say, TV chef Alton Brown.

Hell yeah you do. Alton Brown rocks.

These playlists can often tell you a lot about an artist, and a person, because music is intensely personal. So if you want to know what inspired JA Konrath when he was trying to get published, or want to hear what classic metal tunes Jack Kilborn has queued up on his iPod when he’s writing some horrible murder scene, here are their selections:

The “Struggling to Become a Writer” Playlist of JA Konrath

No Rain - Blind Melon
Beautiful World - Devo
Long Gone Long - Rainmakers
You May Be Right - Billy Joel
Boys of Summer- Don Henley
Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel
I’ll Stand By You - The Pretenders
Paperback Writer - The Beatles
This Frog - Kermit the Frog
But I Was Cool - Oscar Brown Jr.
American Music - Violent Femmes
One Thing - Finger Eleven
Rockstar - Nickleback
Hell Yeah - Neil Diamond

The “Evil Thoughts and Evil Deeds Classic Metal” Playlist of Jack Kilborn

Brutal Planet - Alice Cooper
Angel of Death - Slayer
Whiplash - Metallica
Thunderstruck - AC/DC
Dragula - Rob Zombie
Freewheel Burning - Judas Priest
Hell Patrol - Raven
Captain Howdy - Twisted Sister
Run Like Hell - Tank
Twist of Cain - Danzig
Free For All - Ted Nugent
Burning - Accept
Overkill – Motorhead

Division - Hunt
The Torture Never Stops - WASP

So there you have it. Two playlists that represent two sides of me. While I can’t guarantee listening to these playlists will make you a successful thriller writer, they worked out pretty well for me.

Now it’s your turn. Share your fourteen song playlist. What songs best exemplify you, or a specific mood you’re in, or state of mind you occupy? What playlist would you give to that special someone? What playlist do you put on when your depressed, or angry, or thrilled to be alive?

And remember–the order counts just as much as the songs. Any good mix taper knows that…

Joe

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Division band meeting last night which meant a lot of administrative stuff, some jockeying for action items, reviewing schedules, etc. The interesting part was the philosophy discussion on marketing a band’s release schedule in the modern, digital age. There are two conflicting views. Let me explain both.

First, the traditional album (or CD or cassette) model; go into the studio, record 10-12 songs and release them as an entire album with flow, potential an underlying theme and maybe even a story that weaves all the songs together.

Second, release songs as they’re completed, one at a time or in smaller groups, so that they become more easily accessible and the band stays on the charts or in the minds of fans more consistently.

The problem with the first model is that fans who want to buy the song that they love must buy the disc. The proponents of digital distribution call this the “two good songs cost you $17 at Best Buy” model. The issue with the latter model is that the band becomes a singles band. The album flow is gone (and Noodles argued that it has been dying since CD’s were released and people could skip songs without effort). The band may release three songs at a time, but (as Mike pointed out), going back and listening, the band repeatedly writes the same three or very similar songs.

There is a happy medium between the two models and that’s where Division is at the moment. We’ll be researching and experimenting with different distribution models until we have our happy hybrid approach. We’ll also be playing live @ JAXX Nightclub with Evergrey on May 27th. That’s going to be a lot of fun.

So, from all that discussion, here’s today’s question. Did you ever buy an album or a cassette and listen to it for a specific song? I’m guessing you have. If you listened to a few songs to get up to the one you were hoping to hear, did any of those other songs become your favorite later on?

If the answer is yes, I’d love to hear specifics (and so would the proponents of the album model). Stay tuned this week for a guest you won’t want to miss.

One love,
nK

Lords and Ladies of the Court,

The following is a list of words which I could go decades without hearing. Please adhere to these rules and refrain from usage of these terms until this decree has been lifted:
“economic downturn”, “financial crisis”, “bailout”, “stimulus package”*, “layoffs”**,”foreign dependency” and “recession”.

*(including all emails about male enhancement and discount adult DVDs)
**(unless in the context of the Good Times theme song….R.I.P. Esther Rolle)

I’ve heard them all, and I’ve heard them enough. Including these terms in every conversation does nothing to promote positive thinking, and keeps everyone miserable. So, that’s it. They’re gone from my vocabulary until I’m talking to my grandkids about the horrors of the early 21st Century.

I like bleak. I like dark. I like ominous. (I also like spicy tuna rolls, but I digress). I was fortunate enough to receive a pre-release copy of Jack Kilborn’s novel, “Afraid”. It is all these things in abundance. I’ll get my horror and suspense from great writing and great music. That’s enough for me. Besides, the characters in “Afraid” are much more likeable than talking heads like Wolf “Show me the burning bodies” Blitzer.

Horror has played a large influence on my writing, both as a novelist and as a lyricist. As we continue the vocal sessions on the upcoming Division CD, “Control Issues”, I’m delighted to dig into the macabre and sadistic. This CD is largely a compilation of stories, each of which has its origins in something dark and frightening. Some folks use music to help them write (myself included). In this case, I’ve used books and movies to help me write the music that inspires books and movies. Art comes full circle, and in this case, that circle has burning candles and chants to evil spirits involved.

I hope to have some great new tidbits of information to you this month about music, writing, writers and some special announcements. “Control Issues” is still being created. If you’d like to hear some of the songs performed live, check out the Division site for show details.

In the meantime, stay so black that people may ask “how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black. ” as Nigel would say.

One love,
nK

Just arriving home after another solid recording session for the upcoming Division CD, “Control Issues”. Mike (Blevins) and I had three uninterrupted hours to bang through material and, other than the threat of snow and making one another laugh, we managed to stick to the schedule.

Maybe it’s coincidence, or maybe not, but the last two songs that I’ve gone in to record are both songs about a slow and steady descent in which the person singing the song crosses over from normal to psychopath. Mike, who is engineering the disc, was really helpful with some ideas on how to deliver melody lines, how many harmonies lines to have and how hard to hit them. I think his guidance has helped to deliver more of the ’slow burn’ journey instead of me just delivering each line as hard as possible. He really understands dynamics, and probably missed his calling. He could be a great director in Hollywood…in the demented, Kubrick, “no you can’t go to the bathroom” kinda way.

Today’s song was “.45 Intent”, about a young man who gets the girl of his dreams only to find out she’s not what he wanted at all. It’s sort of like “Blind Date” meets “The Tell Tale Heart”. The entire song came from a line that crept into my head while I was at a goth bar in Louisville: “In this bar surrounded by the ghosts of Bettie Page”. The pin-up queen has since left this life and I’m not sure if that’s profound or I just sort of want it to be as an artist.

The song also features optimal placement of the F word. Shocker.

Division is performing in two short weeks at The Broad Axe in Hagerstown, MD. March 14th will be our first trip to the place and we welcome anyone who wants to come down, check out the new tunes and have a drink. Till then, back to work, slackers! Be careful in the snow!

One love,
nK

Ok, this story doesn’t really feature Billy Blanks doing ANYTHING, but he is involved…that evil mastermind!

Sybir and I were workin’ out at our favorite gym, Powerhouse Gym (UN-official gym of Just Wanna Play) and I noticed that the wave master they usually have on the ground floor was gone. (A wave master is like a heavy bag used for punching and kicking, but it has a base typically filled with water (or sand) to weigh it down.) How did I notice it was gone? It was pretty easy. This particular wave master is BRIGHT yellow, with the Tae Bo logo and silhouette of Billy himself on the side.

The investigation ended quickly when I saw said wave master out by the dumpster, which I found curious. While the pad is pretty beat up, the base and core of the thing were in good shape. I asked Kelly about it and he said a new one was coming in and there wasn’t any room. Eureka! I instantly thought of bringing it over to The House, Inc. and adding it to the exercise equipment available to the kids there.

Here’s where it all goes awry. See, I was under the assumption that moving it out to the dumpster had involved removing some of the water from the base to cut down on the weight. Wrong, Cat. Very, very wrong. So, let’s just say the first two attempts at getting it into the truck were not only unsuccessful, they were downright comical.

Anyway, after dumping out a bunch of the water, Sybir and I got the thing into the truck, delivered it to the kids at The House, and called it a night. I learned the important lesson about picking up heavy, wet objects after doing chest and abs, and anyone watching got a good laugh.

In other news, Sybir and I continue to grow our nutritional supplement business at a good clip and welcome anyone with health concerns to contact us or to take a look at the Wolfpack site. If we can help you get well, we’re happy to take the time to assist. JWP is not playing on February 21st, so stay tuned for a make-up date. Division is recording and will next play live on March 14th. More to follow.

Okay, off to write.

One love!
nK