Here’s a work in progress.. the song “Wandering Road” from my upcoming concept album.

My new CD is coming along quite well.  It’s 16 tracks deep, and a concept album of sorts.  Lots of great collaborators have played on the CD including many of my usual suspects, but there will be several more before I’m done.  It will be done some time in the fall.

Of course… would be great if a whole boatload of people would hear it.  That… we will see.

Also in the fall is the shows with Watersaw and our work with Lizz Roman and Dancers.  We had our first rehearsal and the space is very cool, very industrial, and it was inspiring to see the choreography.  The shows will be in early September… save the dates.

I’ve also been playing with a great bunch of guys in the jamband Greenhouse.  So far we have close to a full set of originals and many more on the way.  We’re auditioning lead guitar players… so far we have lots of good players but we haven’t quite found the right one.  Two more auditions in the next couple of weeks, hopefully one of them will work out.  Looking forward to playing some shows with Greenhouse.

I will post some of the mixes for the new CD soon, so check back…

I’ve decided I’m not doing the RPM Challenge this year.  My new collection of songs that will make up a new concept album is my first priority.  I’m hoping to take February to make a big dent the CD… the music is really taking shape, really enjoying it so far.

Right now I’m interviewing vocalists and drummers for the project.

We (my band Watersaw) just heard from choreographer Lizz Roman that we have a new upcoming collaboration opportunity.  Lizz will be putting together a show in September 2015 somewhere in Oakland. For those who don’t know, Lizz choreographs site specific shows in various bay area locations.  We won an Izzy award for our last work with Lizz Roman, so very excited to jump in again.

It’s time for a new project.  Over the last year or so I’ve written a lot of songs… it’s been a pretty productive period.  I realized a few days ago that I had a full CD worth of material.  Not only a complete CD, but actually a concept album.  Over the last few days I’ve been creating demos of the new songs to prove the concept and so far it’s looking like an amazing CD from end to end.  I will share more info about the CD as I move forward.

Super excited about this… could be my best work…

I had a fantastic time at a songwriting workshop in Big Sur last week.   Wow… inspired, invigorated, rested… all at the same time.  Amazing people, great songs, and lots of work on new song ideas.  It is difficult to come back into the real world.. though as others have suggested maybe life in the workshop IS the true real world.  I could go deep into detail about this workshop, but… maybe some other time.  The end result is the combination of Big Sur, awesome people, and getting the creative juices flowing adds up to something extremely special.

I’ve worked on a few of the songs since I got back and there is definitely some potential there.

Last night I was in the studio until late working on a new piece, though this one is more electronic in nature.   Not sure how it will turn out as usual…

In other news… I joined a jamband.  I will have more to come on this, but they are a great much of guys and they are good at what they do.  Hopefully we will jell more in the future and play out a bit… I have a bunch of songs I’m introducing to the band, so far they are very receptive.  I have a rehearsal with them tomorrow (Thursday) so more to come there too.

FYI… the photo  on this page was taken by Kirk Mann.   Kirk is a great songwriter as well, he had a great new song he debuted at the workshop that got everyone up and moving.

So things are going well creatively.   I had a trip to Big Sur which is always an incredibly inspirational place for me.  Also, I have a lot more spare time so I’ve been able to spend more time in the studio.

Watersaw has been working on a score for an upcoming modern dance show.  So far the music we have come up with is quite incredible.  I will post some of it as time allows, and I will post information on when you can hear the piece performed.

I have at least a half set of acoustic guitar/vocal originals ready to go, which is a nice improvement.  Some new pieces, come warrenpeece songs, some old Particle Salad music from the archives… good mix.

I also have been playing on and off with a new music concept… I hinted at it before but it involves irregular rhythms while maintaing more traditional song forms.  Not sure exactly how this will turn out but if some things end up working I’ll post them here.

I have been working hard at putting together a full acoustic set.  About half of the music is newer… from the past year.  The rest of it is older stuff rearranged for acoustic guitar.  I’m going to head out to some open mics in September to test it out.  I’m also planning on hosting some songwriting circles around the same time.

I also have a new device that I’m pretty passionate about.  It’s called “Tronical Tune.”   It’s a new set of tuners for my acoustic guitar that allows me to quickly and easily switch tunings.  I have explored open tunings a bit in the past but tuning couldn’t keep up with my creativity… and I’m not one of those people who have a different guitar that I can leave in each tuning.  Anyway, it’s working very well so far since I installed it in my Taylor.  I’ve already developed a few song ideas too.

I just remembered… never closed the loop on my acoustic guitar purchase.

I ended up with a Taylor… model 720.   It had all the elements I wanted… loud enough to keep up in an acoustic jam with my pick-less playing, a different look to it (like the sunburst rather than the natural finish), and an inspiring sound.  It has a very nice low end and a clear high end.  It responds very well to fingerpicking and strumming, and it’s not hard for me to dig in and really get volume out of it.  I can bang on it hard too and it doesn’t distort and doesn’t really compress.

All in all… a GREAT guitar for me.  A long and sometimes fun process to get there as well.  I learned quite a bit more about acoustic guitar sounds than I knew going in.

Next up… I’ve gotta put a pickup in it, as mine came without.  Trying to figure out the best system.  I have a K&K in my Epiphone acoustic, which I really like but I think there might be something new and better out there…