This afternoon, I dropped by Sputnik Studio to hear Andy Osenga record another day of electric guitar overdubs on Eric Peters’ new record, with Ben Shive producing. I was a fly on the wall back in November for the first day of electric guitar overdubs, and it was great to hear these songs a little closer to their finished state. I think this album is Eric’s best, with strong lyrics, great melodies, and inventive chord progressions, and since I’m a big fan of Ben’s production work and the melodic ways he builds his tracks, I can’t wait to get a hold of the final project.
Eric has been blogging about the progress on the new record here, and this guest post from Ben about his role in the process is a great read if you want to know more about what goes into making a record. If everything goes as planned, the record should be out late March or sometime in April.
As you may remember, Eric decided to try something new with this record: to give people the opportunity to contribute on the front end to help make this record, instead of just supporting his art by buying copies after it is finished. I wrote about this over on the Square Peg Alliance blog about six months ago when Eric first introduced his plan, and because there is still room for more supporters, I thought I’d feature that post here (see below).
I’m a firm believer in the notion that art matters. At the close of a chapter in his book Through a Screen Darkly, a friend of mine, Jeffrey Overstreet, writes, “God heals us through creation and art.” There has been more than one night when I’ve been lost and at a loss for words, and listening to Eric sing his song Tomorrow does just that, heals me, or at least points me towards home, towards a better truth.
wake me up when today is over
for I cannot bear the noise
put me to sleep in silent whispers
inside of God’s own voice
is this the feeling of redemption
or the shoulders of despair?
and since I fear tomorrow
please come and meet me there
angel of tomorrow
say a prayer tonight
when I find myself alone
afraid of being known
and holding on for life
(Listen to Tomorrow at the Rabbit Room)
Eric has begun working on a new album, and he just posted this message on his website, letting those of us who are thankful for his work know how we can play a small part in this next project:
As you may already know I have started recording a new album with friend and fellow Spike Jones appreciator, Ben Shive, at the production helm. Progress will be slow the next month or so as I will be out of town, but the work, at least, has officially begun. I wanted to try something a little different this time around by inviting folks to get involved early on in the process, rather than later. Briefly alluding to this in an earlier post, I figure now is as good a time as any to get the ball rolling on the experiment, this patronage of the arts if I may be so bold. Fundraising, on a larger scale like this, is something I have never done, but now with a bona fide family of three to support this time through the indie record-making gamut, I have been encouraged to put the call out and to let the people of earth help, invest and contribute what they may. Here’s my proposal:
The Goal: $15,000
300 people x $50/each
Click here to read the rest of Eric’s proposal and to make your contribution.