We’re All In This Together

I got back from L.A. Sunday afternoon at 4pm ET.  I had been up until 4 am PT, recording Ken Oak’s cello part on one of my new songs(What We Do Not Know…kind of like Innocence Mission meets Simon and Garfunkel) and then singing on Theft’s new EP.  My flight left at 8 am from LAX, but I had to return the rental car at 7 am.  It’s about a half hour drive from where I was staying to LAX. 

I slept for an hour and a half.  I should have just skipped it.  Anything less than three hours is almost pointless. 

My week in L.A. was very productive.  Shows were great.  I am working on a plan to go back as soon as I can.  Hung out with old friends and made some cool new ones.

I saw a comp of the new www.andyzipf.com and it’s killer.  I can’t wait until its up.  Everything is consolidated.  Tour dates, photo gallery, all of my cybernetc haunts, mp3s, this blog and much more to come.  It will be good to have a home base that I can direct people to.  Again…if you have any suggestions about what should be on there, now is the time to let me know.

The Henry Poole is Here song is being mixed now.  Should have something for you to listen to soon.  Its due this week.

Today, I’ve begun to record a song I just wrote.   Lyrics aren’t done, but the music is.  Melody always shows up first.

I saw this add on Myspace a couple days ago about a song competition. I was curious, so I clicked through to see what the deal was.

Turns out, Mark Pellington (The Mothman Prophecies, Arlington Rd.) has a new movie coming out called Henry Poole is Here. He and Myspace have teamed up to offer unsigned bands/artists the opportunity to have an original song in the DVD soundtrack.

Okay. Sounded interesting to me. So, I watched the video of Mr. Pellington talking about the competition and then watched the trailer…

I really liked what I saw. As I learned more about the story and the character I became intrigued. I already like Pellington’s movies (I have driven across the Ohio River on a bridge just like the one in Mothman Prophecies…c r e e e e p y…), the cast includes Luke Wilson and the soundtrack has Bob Dylan, Badly Drawn Boy, The Eels, Ben Harper, Blur and more.

Wow. Decent.

I watched the trailer again. Then, I listened to Mark Pellington talk about the competition again. In addition to being included on the DVD, he’ll direct a video for you. Pretty cool, considering he’s done some great videos like U2’s “One” and Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” for God’s sake. He’s worked with the Boss, Public Enemy and The Foo Fighters too. Basically, the dude likes good music and he’s done some impressive work.

Hmm.

I thought about it for a few minutes and started writing. There are themes in this movie that I feel like I already touch on in my own songs. So, it wasn’t a stretch. I enjoyed putting myself in the character’s position, and I liked the challenge of writing something specifically for him. I finished the lyrics yesterday and recorded most of the guitars, bass and percussion in my apartment. I’m headed to a friend’s studio tonight to lay down the vocals and some other stuff. Maybe piano, maybe organ…I’m not sure yet.

I hope to have it done and mixed by the end of the week. I’ll probably have to do it myself in order to make it happen, but that’s fine by me. I figure I have nothing to lose. I did my best to I write a song that captures the what Henry Poole is about. I think its good. I had fun creating it. It’s a fantastic opportunity and I think I have a shot. Besides, you have to get scrappy these days. My hope is that Mark Pellington hears my song and says, “Yeah, this is the one.” I would love to work with him, not to mention how amazing the exposure would be.

We’ll see what happens. I’ll be sure to let you hear it when I have it done.