Tuesday, October 07, 2003

Well, well.

I have spent considerable time in the past few weeks becoming an honorary Cuban while working with Eileen Faxas on her latest set of tunes. Eileen has really written some great songs this time, including one in English, "Butterfly". One of the cool things about working with Eileen is that I really love her personality. She, her husband Jorge, and their dog Callie, and I, all seem to get along well together. Jorge is a master chef (hint, hint), so vocal pre production at their home is always GREAT, (did I say 'hint hint',.....Jorge?). Last night we went over to the home of our super talented arranger, Rainel Pino. Rainel is a Cuban pianist, and (this is no sh*t), 'Professor of Percussion'. Rainel is doing a fantastico job on Eileen's songs! Go Rainel! Now, I know some of you aren't going to be able to relate to this at all, but here goes; WE EVEN HAD EILEEN'S MOM WITH US AT THE SESSION! While it is not my custom to invite family members to the studio, much less arranging sessions, Eileen's mom is super cool, and was visiting from Miami. She was very well behaved and was a positive contribution to the vibe of the session. You might wonder what it is like for my gringo self to be in a situation where, ostensibly, I'm in charge, but I am the only one who doesn't speak the language de jour,..... well, it will keep you humble, and super focused on what is going on musically. In fact, I can report that I was not distracted in the least by all of that talk that I didn't understand. I am honored to be working with Eileen again, Rainel is the greatest, and I am 'browning down' like a champ.

On the Goddess front, yep, it looks like the band has hired me to do two songs. Brittany Driscoll was super cool to invite me into this band's world, and I am grateful for the chance to do rock and roll fronted by cool women.

Tonight I am headed to Galveston Tx. to attend a rehearsal of a band called 'Dreadneck' (I think it's spelled as one word, if not, I'll get it right after tonight.) I'm pumped, because they are sort of a 'world beat' band, and I seem to be in the mood for international projects. (I wonder if they have any Cuban influences,....hmmmm).

Finally, no update would be complete without mentioning Sarah Sharp's project. Kevin Ryan just got back from a week in LA spent amongst the stars, the high and the mighty. He's all focused up to finish out Sarah's arrangements, and I can hardly wait to get my hands on his work.

more will be revealed

Dan

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