Thursday, July 31, 2008

I'm so excited! I'm going to meet with Willie Norwood Brandy's dad yup thats right. I've known him for a couple of months and he agreed to fly out here and be there for my final recordings for my album. Hes such an amazing guy! Not only is he a vocal coach but hes also a producer. I wrote all of the songs but hes helping me make them great! We are going to review all of my songs and figure out how the songs can be better.

Tomorrow I'm heading into a nice studio in San Francisco to wrap out the final vocals for my album. I've been doing pre production for two months. You could say basically creating a road map for my songs. I'm so glad that i've done this because I've had time to really sit down and come up with some great songs. I wrote many others that I didn't decide to put a lot of time into because I was seeing that they didn't have as much potential as the others. I've been working with a producer in Oakland thats basically over seen this whole album and has done an amazing job. It is not easy to find producers that have an open mind when combining jazz, neo-soul and old school r&b. But i've been lucky to come into contact with some great people in the biz. I have a fire and determination like no other hhaa. I no longer wonder what my calling is in life. Theres no doubt about what I'm supposed to do. Inspiration has been flying faster than I can write!

Anyways I'm hoping that I can have enough strength to record hard core for the next four days and come out with a great product. If it takes longer then it takes longer i'm not going to rush it. I want this project to be dope!

Anyways just wanted to share my excitement and news with everyone!


Amy Serrata

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

I spent about six hours reviewing all of the songs that i've done and have decided on the final twelve songs that i'm going to use for my album. Its a long process. We had to brush up some songs and finish them off or add a few snippets here and there. I've been working for two months doing all of the pre production work so that I can know exactly what i"ll be doing in the studio for my final recordings. Not only is this a smart way to go but its also smart because it saves you money in the process too. That way i'm not going into an expensive studio and i'm not sure what the lay out of the song is. I kinda had to see that I needed to do this on my own and boy am I glad that I did it.

I'm going back up to Oakland to work for a while on one last song and then I'll be done! Then this Friday i'll be ready to lay down the final recordings for all twelve songs. Wow what a journey this has been I can't believe I've done it in two months. It takes most people a year or more to do an album. But I guess that makes sense when you have a full band and multiple scheudeles to take into consideration. Especially if your touring etc etc.

I copy righted all of my material last night and so after my final recordings are done I'll be having someone mix the songs and master them, set up a website, photography, packaging, posting my music on i-tunes, cdbaby, and other social network sites. I've been reading a great entertainment law book thats been really great to learn more about the industry. If your new to the biz it can be scary because there aren't a lot of people that will tell you what you need to do and the whole process of making an album. It can be a little like walking a plank of a ship or running blind folded. But I think after doing everything on your own theres a sense of accomplishment and confidence that comes. Wow I did this all by myself. Well of course I didn't do the instrumentals by myself I had some talented producers that did that. But I had to sign up with Ascap as a publisher and a writer, I had to learn how to copy right my material, I had to learn how to set up a myspace page, I had to learn how to compose songs and write them, and on and on! I live in an area where there aren't many musicians so I really am not a norm where I live. It only makes me work harder to acheive my dreams.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Finishing my album

I wanted to start this blog because I wanted others to see what goes into making an album. I've been singing ever since I can remember and writing poetry since I was a little girl. The two came together for me about four months ago and i've been writing songs non stop. I listened to Ray Charles and Ella Fritzgerald as a little girl. I loved how raw and honest their music was. Its amazing to have lyrics and tunes come to me while I'm biking or in the shower or driving. And then to hear them finally recorded and for it to come to life is amazing.

I'm so excited to have others listen to my music and for them to really identify with it. Song writing is really story telling in a lot of ways. I do it because I love to share stories, feelings and experiences and have others identify with them or see a completely different side to the story that they never even thought of. Its about opening up peoples eyes.

The other day I was driving and was thinking of all the blessings I have in my life and thanking God for giving me the gift of song writing. I almost started to cry in fact. It literally is a way that I can express emotions and feelings that is so healing. Its funny because I love to listen to my music and remind myself of certain experiences of lessons that I've learned.

I'm finishing up sixteen songs and am doing the final recordings in a nice studio in San Francisco this weekend! I'm so excited. Its been a long road for me. My gut is telling me that everything will work out I just need to keep pressing forward and having faith. Isn't that so like life? Sometimes we never know if we will get that job we want etc etc but if we just do our best and keep going I really think that things turn out for the best.

The whole theme for this album is about being grounded in life and my journey in finding that balance. haha. Theres no fluff here...just real experiences and stories. I'm so excited to share my world with you! In fact I'll be posting a couple of singles up in the next couple of weeks after my album is mixed and mastered! Hopefully if all goes well my whole album will be complete by the end of August and I will release it on myspace, cdbaby, i-tunes and on and on.

Have a great night guys i'm going to go read a book and go to beddy bye.