Feist - The Reminder (smart arrangements, great songs and vocals that remind you you’re alive)
Lily Allen - Alright Still (obnoxious british pop music. i love it.)
Innocence Mission - We Walk In Song (one of Kierstin’s fav bands and a great new record)
Yo-Yo Ma - J.S. Bach // 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites (this is a must listen)
Steven Delopoulos - Straightjacket (absolutely incredible album)
Patty Griffin - Children Running Through (my favorite is “Railroad Wings)
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (still getting used to this one…its very slow to me. maybe i’m moving too fast?)
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Here’s a shot from Cason’s wedding this past weekend. Eli and I getting down on the dance floor.
It was a day awash in truth and beauty…seeing all my friends and their wives (and Cason’s new wife!) and everybody’s children who are growing so fast….pretty glorious if you ask me.
A lot of us have known each other for almost ten years now. What a gift this community is. Thank you Lord.
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I finished a song last week called “Hand of God” which I’ve decided to include on the record even though I wrote it at sort of the last minute. We put a string quartet on it along with my vocal and a solitary piano. Definitely one of my favorites from this batch of songs.
Hand of God.
She’s not the kind of girl
Who lies and tells you nothing’s wrong
She’ll open up her hand
And heal you with her holy song
She’s a long forgotten secret seldom told
She’s the fire in your blood that’s burning
Aching while you’re growing old
She’s the truth wrapped up in tears
She’s the beauty for all your fear
And she sings
Nobody holds you like the hand of God
Like the hand of God
Like the hand of God
Where are you?
Where are you?
Where are you now?
©2007 by Jeremy Casella // Saint & Pilgrim (ascap)
The song (and most of the major themes on my new record) are based on this message.
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Yesterday was incredible and it flew by like a bolt of lightening.
We got all the parts recorded on eight songs in two sessions which is moving pretty fast through each tune but like I said in an earlier post…the players are super-professional, one or two takes and they’re good to go. But it truly sounds beautiful.
There are some transcendent moments which I’m learning that both as a songwriter and artist are no small miracle in themselves. You can’t get greedy with transcendence. None of this belongs to me anyway. Keep an open hand…let it all pass through and don’t possess. Carve it on your heart.
I’ve learned a lot in this whole process and continue to pick up all sorts of valuable lessons in how to work with other musicians. Particularly classical-type players. For instance, they work in bars on pro-tools while reading through the chart instead of referring to everything as chorus or verse. They also move the mics slightly between takes to get a different sonic picture as they stack their parts. Oh and they use this tiny piece of rubber called a “mute” to change the tone of their instrument in order to give each take it’s own character.
They also are very punctual and take exactly an hour for lunch. I felt like a freshman in high-school when I arrived almost 30 minutes late to the afternoon session. Honestly, it was a combination of my brain being 5 places at the same time (thinking through everything we had done already and everything we were about to do) and being stuck behind a big-semi as I drove back. But they were very gracious. I still felt like a kid. I guess I am. Lesson learned. I’ll never be late again. Serious.
Today we’ll sort through what we recorded yesterday with the quartet and prep the tracks for brass overdubs. Lots of french horns, trumpet and trombone. We’re still looking for a euphonium player for one song.
What a cool word….euphonium.
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Life doesn’t get any sweeter than this.
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Hey everyone. I’ve been hard at work finishing production on the new record which is still on schedule for release on May 8th. Between the new music and the new addition to our family, Eli Henry…Kierstin and I have both been busier than ever.
There’s so much to say, I don’t know where to start…so I’ll just dive in.
First of all, tomorrow is a huge day. After nearly nine months of planning and dreaming, (I’ve been saying that a lot lately) we’re going to be recording the strings with some of the absolute best string players in Nashville. They call themselves The Love Sponge Quartet and they are comprised of David Davidson, David Angel, Kris Wilkinson and John Catchings. Two violins, viola and cello….and one very excited Jeremy sitting in the control room listening to them (and PRODUCING!) while they add their beauty to these songs I’ve written and arranged.
Monroe introduced me to them four years ago when we recorded “The Innocence Fires” and sitting there in the room with them while they added parts to my record back then was truly life-changing for me. I know that sounds a bit exaggerated but that was the precise moment where I realized that I could explore that classical world of instruments and textures while mining for truth and beauty in my music. It was really the tone…the string quartet pulsing through my chest with all its gorgeous certainty set something off inside of me that has fueled me creatively ever since…so all that to say I am thrilled to be working with them tomorrow.
Another thing I am excited about (which is related to tomorrow) is the simple fact that all of the string parts I’ve written have been scored on paper for the players at the session.
No big deal, right? Musicians write down their music on paper all the time, right? Well….no.
Not me anyway….and I have to tell you….seeing all of it written out on paper and separated into lines for violin 1, violin 2, viola and cello…it just feels like a big accomplishment because my background has always been in the singer/songwriter category and this is my first attempt at arranging. I can’t wait to hear it all happen tomorrow for real!
Ok, so that’s the string news. Moving on…
Brannon McAllister of Portland Studios fame is coming to Nashville tomorrow to work with me on filming a mini-documentary/promotional video for the album. He’ll get some footage from the sessions this week and also some interviews with some of the folks who worked on the record. It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this and I think it will give people who check out the music have a better idea of where it comes from and why it was made. As my friend Matthew Smith reminded me recently…”God has called us to action.”
I created this music so that people could hear it and that’s what I intend to happen. Sounds easy enough but these days it can be a tall order. More on that later.
This is a long entry so I’ll stop here. But there’s a lot more in the hopper…new website coming, tour date announcements, etc etc….also we’ll start taking pre-orders soon.
Thank you for your support!!
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“Your beliefs will be the light by which you see, but they will not be what you see and they will not be a substitute for seeing….I have found from reading my own writing, that my subject in fiction is the action of grace in territory held by the devil.”
-Flannery O’Connor
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