Steve Ball

Sketch Box Packaging Ideas: Page Eight

Now moving from the ludicrous back around the circle to the 'hey that's crazy, but not a bad idea' zone.   This has already been done, most famously by U2 and their red and black iPod.   But, why not also make this an option for others beyond Bono and Edge?  

Could be a small start-up that does the pre-load, resale, and marketing for mid and long tail artists?  Custom pre-loaded players and phones seem inevitable, and perhaps just around the corner?

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Photo of the Day

Hey Dad, how about an orange doughnut instead of CDs?

We are nearing the end of what has been an amazing month with Regina and Sofie.  Every day, there are new expressions, skills, sounds, and understanding between us.  

Next week: beginning a new chapter at work and home. 

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Undertone (Vocal Version)

Evening Work: Undertone - Vocal Version (5.6M MP3)

This song sketch was a challenge in more ways than I can easily and safely articulate this late at night.  I'm mostly just thrilled that the last Song Sketch for the new Song Sketches CD is now completed (pending final mixing and mastering.)  Sixteen songs are now in the can and ready to move into the final stages of production.  With another 32 close behind.  

This song is part of one of the thematic trilogies on the Song Sketches CD that includes "Captain Kumbaya (Vocal Version)" and Reddish (Vocal Version). 

Together, these three songs indiscreetly document a complex process and close a small but significant chapter that brings together characters and events from both my recent and distance past lives.  

Wow, what a lametastic sentence that was.  More succinctly:

undertone

it's time to 'fess up
no need to dress up
ok to mess up
and find my answer was wrong
is it ambitious
in fact fictitious
semi-suspicious
to write an obvious song 

the words come easy
it's semi-sleazy
it makes me queasy
to think outside of this sketch 
as soft as hockey
this role is rocky
and I'm too cocky
to make the audience fetch

here lies a number of guys
who dared to remove their disguise

I've washed the dishes
I've wet my wishes
and pruned my passion
avoiding Fashion and Fame
the bugs have bitten 
the writing's written
and it has scared all
the Scary Monsters away
I need to pay for
the tone I pray for
if I stay focused
and find sound of my heart
I'll move much faster
dodging disaster
and meet the Master
who may chime in when I Start

turn off the telephone
turn on the metronome

get out of your car
plug in a guitar
turn your square to a star
listen for the undertone
get out of your head
stay away from your bed
push into the red
you'll hear the undertone
when choices collide
when in is outside
when it's time to decide
obey the undertone
the voices of god
all sound rather odd
but it's part of your job   
follow the undertone

let go ambition
all superstition 
all repetition
and ask for help from the sky
and if you call it
empty your wallet 
and simply will it
the undertone will arrive
you'll need to pay for
the sound you pray for
so ask the master
and he will know what to say
warm up your singers
and stretch your fingers
get busy writing
the sound will show you the way

lost found
underground
undertone 

Perhaps I'll go deeper into the back-story for these three songs in the liner notes?  As written, I have no idea how transparent or obtuse these lyrics are on their own.  And I'm not sure it really matters anyway.

In discussion with my personal trainer today while she was kicking my arse with a twelve pound stick, we discussed the poetry of Rumi -- specifically how the meaning lies somewhere between and below the surface of the words.   Crude translation: the literal reading is often intentionally designed to bypass the thinking center.  My favorite lyricists do the same.

Another note about my own lyrics: I have no idea where they come from.  I generally begin singing and follow where the syllables that pour out take me.  But make no mistake, every line carries a specific meaning. 

Everything means something to me.   

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Sketch Box Packaging Ideas: Page Seven

Getting out into a few Whacktasktic ideas now... including this uber-retro stupilistic 'Analog Player' -- like an all-wood iPod dock -- from thirty years ago.

Is there value in capturing and rendering these asscredible ideas as they fly by?  Were I a trust fund baby or ex-Microsoft geezerillionaire, perhaps... 

But, for me, there is value in visualizing new music delivery vehicles across multiple domains, considering even the most ludicrous ideas as they bubble up and out.   These things sort of fly by like visual snapshots of what could be, and they act as a sort of bias current that also helps loosen the channel to look out for a non-obvious idea that may actually have value.  

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Sketch Box Packaging Ideas: Page Six

We're now beginning to hit the fringes of the brightest of bright ideas.  This one, perhaps a less obvious package to accompany a Box Set, but it still has some resonance for me as I find value in remembering events of significance -- such as the days a song was born. 

It also raises a potentially interesting idea that mirrors my own listening practice for my favorite albums: what if you were to listen and focus on a single song each week over an entire year?    What might you hear in the bass line, learn from the counterpoint, internalize from the polyrhythm, or finally 'get' between the lines of the lyrics that, upon first listening, did not make sense? 

Q: As a composer and songwriter, what must I arrange into my pieces to help them stand up to repeated listening? 

* * *

One more mock-up of the Book packaging idea:

Each page would be single-sided, but also considering adding some actual sketches on the back side of each song's page.

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Sketch Box Packaging Ideas: Page Five

Packaging idea Number Five, while unusual for a CD package, is also borderline-predictable.  The idea itself is inspired by the 'endless book' artwork that has been accompanying the 'Fly By' series from last year.   

I hope to also bring the Fly By series to completion during 2008, but this is also dependent upon a certain Canadian publisher (and artist) -- unless I take on a new series of paintings for the Songtiles, or ask Duncan to help me render some new images for the instrumental series?

* * *

Mock Up: building on the Page Four 'Sketch Book' Idea...

Vision: a) each page hosts the Songtile image, lyrics, credits, and notes, b) the actual CDs are in sleeves embedded into the back cover, c) each book signed and numbered with a personal note to the buyer, d) the book can be opened to any page without destroying the binding, e) it is printed in a limited edition: 500 copies, gone when they are gone.

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Photos of the Day

 
Sofie ponders the flavor of her first "non-momma delivered" food: Avocado

* * *

Quick observation and question to myself: why don't I do more drawing with pencil or pen since I clearly have an affinity and/or ability? 

A: there is only so much time in the day. 

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Sketch Box Packaging Ideas: Page Four

Packaging idea Number Four keeps us within the realm of the semi-predictable, although this really moves the project into a more expensive (and perhaps collectable/valuable?) domain. 

The vision is to create a book that would contain the lyrics, songtiles, credits, and backstory for each song in a format that is:

• beautiful
• durable
• storable
• worth keeping, even if you already ripped the CDs

Perhaps the book would also be bound in such a way (metal coils -- like some sketch books?) that it could be laid flat if opened to any page.  I've seen many books destroyed by breaking the glued binding via pushing it open enough to read each page.  

* * *

Week Recap

It was a week 'off' from our regular Roadshow rehearsals since Lee is traveling and Paul has a busy week. 

Nice to see our old friends, the California Guitar Trio, in town for a private show on Wednesday evening.   Sofie had a great time meeting Pauly, Bert, and Hidi in their element.  And their repertoire and show continues to evolve with excellence.   

Good progress on the Song Sketches CD with only one more significant effort required to complete the music and sequence.  Then, on to the artwork and Guitar and Piano sequences.

Friday morning, I had a minor 'procedure' that essentially took me offline and knocked me out for the entire day.  The good news: I don't need to do that again now for another five years.

One more week left in this January retreat-at-home.  This has been the best home-vacation on so many levels.

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Picture of the Day

In addition to all else that happens in our Creative Space, Regina and Erika have recently inspired me to play with blobs of paint.   You probably can't tell from the 6" 72 DPI image here that this is actually 60" x 36" and fills the space over the fireplace. 

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Sketch Box Packaging Ideas: Page Three

Back to sharing a number scans of recent ideas for packaging.  This one is still in the realm of the mundane and almost too predictable for a box set. 

The primary vision: deliver a package that has enough value that the music (essentially free since it leaks everywhere anyway) as a container worth acquiring and keeping.

I'm a 'read the lyrics' kind of music listener and my favorite musicians generally also write lyrics that deliver substantial rewards from study and close repeated listening.   I also find music with accompanying visuals to be 10x more engaging and inspiring than that which only enters through the ears. 

Like eating, for me, the eyes play a substantial role in the overall experience of music, both recorded and live. 

Of course, a large format package also prevents easy storage along side the rest of a CD collection -- but it fits right in with the vinyl collections of the one hundred and fourteen people around the globe who still have and listen to vinyl. 

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Reddish (Vocal Version)

Evening Work: completed Reddish (Vocal Version).  (3.8M MP3)

REDDISH

there was a house in those days
a place to study our ways
a house a home or a school
to learn to sit on a stool
I can remember the path
the metal feet on the bath
the subtle creeks in the floor
the sandy sandpaper door
when we would practice for fun
we did not care about money
or the rays of sun burning a hole in our future

a naive pep in our step
we were falling fast awake
every leap or mistake
with no emergency brake

we had no shame and no care
and some of us had some hair
we had no cash for a clue
but we knew just what to do
we'd sit and practice and play
imitate what you say
you gave us something to be
a simple secret to see
one million miles from our home
together all alone
to learn to listen and love
and ask for help from above

can't believe it 
I just can't conceive it
we are not alone
there's more of us in here than I can handle

we threw old tunings away
discovered what not to play
learned how to clean up the poop
and how to play in a group
and just before it got fun
the special project was done
and we were all sent back home
to make the message our own

I can't leave it
I just can't believe it
I am so alone again
there's still more me in here than I can manage  

there was school in the south
in Robert’s Red Lion House
a home a church or a door
to learn to sit on the floor
where we could learn to be free
from all we thought we might be 
and now the bright rays of Reddish  
light the way to the future

* * *

In addition to new energy being put into painting, SBRS rehearsals for upcoming shows, and generally blissing-out with Regina and Sofie, I'm continuing to plug away at fine tuning the final selections for the Sketch Box project.   

The Song Sketches CD sequence and final mixing is nearly complete.  More details on the process to follow as I get closer. 

* * *

Exciting News of the Evening: it sounds like Duncan Weller may be making a trip to Seattle soon!

* * *

Reddish (Vocal Version)

Evening Work: completed Reddish (Vocal Version).  (3.8M MP3)

REDDISH

there was a house in those days
a place to study our ways
a house a home or a school
to learn to sit on a stool
I can remember the path
the metal feet on the bath
the subtle creeks in the floor
the sandy sandpaper door
when we would practice for fun
we did not care about money
or the rays of sun burning a hole in our future

a naive pep in our step
we were falling fast awake
every leap or mistake
with no emergency brake

we had no shame and no care
and some of us had some hair
we had no cash for a clue
but we knew just what to do
we'd sit and practice and play
imitate what you say
you gave us something to be
a simple secret to see
one million miles from our home
together all alone
to learn to listen and love
and ask for help from above

can't believe it 
I just can't conceive it
we are not alone
there's more of us in here than I can handle

we threw old tunings away
discovered what not to play
learned how to clean up the poop
and how to play in a group
and just before it got fun
the special project was done
and we were all sent back home
to make the message our own

I can't leave it
I just can't believe it
I am so alone again
there's still more me in here than I can manage  

there was school in the south
in Cecil's Reddish old house
a home a church or a door
to learn to sit on the floor
where we could learn to be free
from all we thought we might be 
and now the bright rays of Reddish  
light the way to the future

* * *

In addition to new energy being put into painting, SBRS rehearsals for upcoming shows, and generally blissing-out with Regina and Sofie, I'm continuing to plug away at fine tuning the final selections for the Sketch Box project.   

The Song Sketches CD sequence and final mixing is nearly complete.  More details on the process to follow as I get closer. 

* * *

Exciting News of the Evening: it sounds like Duncan Weller may be making a trip to Seattle soon!

* * *

Sketch Box Packaging Ideas: Page Two

Some good comments from Brother Pablo regarding Page One, and on to the even more mundane Page Two:

It is difficult for me to measure where this packaging idea falls within the wide and subjective spectrum of Mundane to Extraordinary.  From one point of view, it is not 'normal' or mundane to do new releases with 42 songs sorted neatly into categories this way.  

And yet, the primary purpose of this project for me has been to continue integrate the ongoing practice of writing and recording into my daily life. In its own way, music production, like practice, is a rather mundane process.  So, perhaps the 'best' packaging for this would also reflect a certain mundane quality.

Or not. 

I agree with Pablo about the size and presentation of vinyl -- a more visceral relationship is possible with large squares than a dinky fold-out CD cover.   While I don't miss changing sides every 20 minutes or so, I do miss the ability to read along in depth with the stories that recorded music paints over time.

* * *

Picture of the Day

Teething

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