froze our asses off last night at Nathan Phillips... the Kings had an outdoor gig and no amount of onstage heaters will help when snow is blowing in your face as you play and your fingers are going numb. i don't know how Marc did it! today he's outdoors again with Jon Levine on the same stage... out comes the long underwear again!

k

i've started a topic on the messageboard regarding suggestions for a new kk.com... we're slowly getting around to a bit of a redesign, and now's the time for your feedback... :)

k

ps: this brings back memories!

it's cold these days. a good day to spend indoors.... so today i will be spending more time writing strings, after a few days off. i originally thought i would write everything for string quartet, but now that i'm getting into the thick of it and getting some feedback from other arrangers, it's coming clearer that what i need is a larger string section... at least 8 pieces, or more. (i know people with hookups to large orchestras in eastern europe, so i'm keeping an open mind at this point). For now, before i tackle any more songs, i'm basically writing a few different treatments for the same song, to try out different textures. then i can then sit back and compare!

k

yay, my voice is coming back! it's so nice to be able to basically talk again after this stupid cold. i finished the string part for More Than A Sign today and printed out the score to run it past a friend tomorrow morning for a little critique over good coffee.

other excitement...since i'm spending so much time off the road for the next little bit, and after years of abstaining, i finally gave in and ordered cable tv. i'm tired of watching crappy tv on the 5 channels my cable internet splitter managed to bring in... this is a whole new world of tv for me. for one thing, last time i subscribed to cable, it wasn't digital. now i spend half a show just looking to see what else might be on... what might i be missing??!!

this will NOT stop me from reading some of the highly intellectual books i totally intend to read. definitely not....

k

well the last couple of days have been almost a write-off... my slight cold turned into laryngitis so i spent all yesterday in bed playing lego star wars and watching season one of The Sopranos. Today i couldn't stand it tho, so i've got the laptop in bed and have been working on lyrics and songs off and on. i've also been reading the U2 by U2 autobiography and it's very inspiring. usually this is my body's way of telling me to take a break...so i'm trying to go with it and not feel too frustrated.

my brother applied for college today... he wants to come out to Toronto to study drums... that would be so cool! :)

k

got a bit of a cold today but i spent the afternoon writing a string part for More Than A Sign. FUN!! :) I had originally thought that i would get someone else to orchestrate strings for all the songs on the record, but after a couple very knowledgeable string-writing people suggested we try it ourselves, we decided to give it a try. First we were both set up with our respective midi keyboards in the living room throwing ideas around, then we realized it was kinda a one- person job so marc rested his ears while i drafted a part... so far i think it's sounding excellent and i don't know what else any other orchestrator would really do differently that I could possibly like better. I mean, this isn't Rachmaninoff.

k

well first post of the year! i know it's been too long when even my dad starts getting on my case to update.

i'm on a break from rehearsing at the moment... was actually rehearsing vocals for a song that i wrote recently... i don't know that it belongs on the record, i think it might actually be it's own thing. part of me wants to release stuff like this on myspace like i see other people doing... but then i think maybe i need to save it in case it actually gets considered for the record and i don't want to give away any secrets!

later today i will be starting work on a string arrangement... basically for me this means taking the string stuff i put on my demos and actually working it into a playable string quartet version... (cuz i tend to get carried away on my demos and end up with too many voices). i love it cuz i get to draw upon some of my old classical theory roots in a way, and it's kinda fun. i also love working with live string players... they are so pro and quick to understand what i need them to play and exactly how... it's neat seeing it come alive.

other notes... a couple months ago i bought a mini-dv cam so that we can document the recording process and so that i might be able to do some video journal thingys to keep in touch over the next little while... but it broke ALREADY. we took it in and hopefully it will be back from the shop in a week or two. fingers crossed.

i'll be better about writing... i promise.

karen