Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

my music

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Breaking news for those of you who actually listen to my squawking and strumming: I’ll be recording a brand new studio EP tentatively titled sweeter to be released on April10th. The current track-listing is as follows: Under My Skin, Punk, Relief, Angel, Crashing, Deadweight, Lost, & Never Say Goodbye. Yes, i realize that a few songs got excluded, but this is just a tentative list. Basically, i’m too darn impatient to wait until i’m ready to play a whole album and i desperately want to record “UMS” and “Crashing” before they get lost amongst newer songs. So, seeing as i know enough about the studio to record basic tracks as well as overdubs and whatnot, now is the time to put it all to the test! Furthermore, i finally was given access to the ProTools system, which means i might actually be able to smuggle out some MP3’s of my progress in the coming weeks. Please, try to control your bodily function! I know the thought of me singing into an actual microphone is pretty exciting, but you’ve got three months yet before you can hear the final product. Ok? Exciting!?! Whoo!

https://crushingkrisis.com/2001/01/1926675/

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Legends of the flesh right here, under my skin. You, in that little black dress, stink of sin. Where am i standing now with this weakest chin? Right next to where we begin. … I said goodbye maybe once or twice when i didn’t really, really mean it. I said “i like you very much,” but i meant something else. I once just lived a solitary existance, resisting advances. But, i’d say it wasn’t the best thing. No, it wasn’t the best thing. … We’re leaving words hanging in our heads: hanging like unstylish clothes and i’ve said just about all that i know how to say with these lips and other things. You can just walk away, ’cause i’ll remember a moment or two we shared, but i think you will remember them too; i think you’ll remember them too. … Legends of this flesh right here, under my skin – where they’ve laid for years. And you in that little black dress stinks of sin and all my other fears. Where am i standing now with this weakest chin? Right next to where we begin, where we’ll begin again – we could begin again. Begin with the sin: and i don’t think i can rearrange this situation, these feelings, we exchange my whole life for just one kiss, and i can’t miss that anymore. Oh no, i can’t miss you anymore ’cause i’m not allowed to, i couldn’t, i shouldn’t, i wouldn’t ever really want to stay away from anything you’ve had to say. And i’ve got you under my skin.

https://crushingkrisis.com/2001/01/1900479/

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In less than an hour i’ll be celebrating the one year anniversary of writing “Under My Skin.” Thinking about it makes me want to… cry? I almost hate when i crystallize a moment in time so perfectly into words and notes that sound good, so that i replay the moment every time i sing the song. Over time i’ve come to accept my slightly idealized account of what happened as the truth, when in reality it was only the truth of my perception. UMS is one of the lucky few songs i’ve written that have been liked both by me and my occasional audiences, and i’m grateful for having the opportunity to call it my own – even if it was a result of heartbreak. Even more important to me is that the song is accepted and adored by the person it’s about, although i still don’t think she truly understands what it (and she) means to me. This weekend i demoed the song in several configurations in the studio, and it will definitely be a prominent track on my next demo recording.

Anyhow, all of my creepy singer-songwriter issues aside, you can still hear my original recording of the song over at AMkitchen, as well as newer versions there and in the Trio archive. After a year it all still feels the same, even though it sounds a little different now.

https://crushingkrisis.com/2001/01/1900376/

Trio: Season 1, #13

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There’s a new Trio on the sidebar. I didn’t really mean to take so much time off from it, as i mentioned last week, but i did. Today i spent a lot of time in the recording studio working on a dubbing project, and after listing to the results i’m starting to think that Trio’s going to have to drastically change it’s tact or just fade away. I absolutely cannot make a satisfactory recording anymore standing here at my computer; my songs are not about planting my feet firmly and strumming anymore. now they feature quiet to loud dynamics and bouts of near-whisper by both my voice and my guitar. Today i picked that all up in stunning digital audio, and it made me feel so powerful. You could hear my attack on the microphone, and the pick scraping against my bottom string, and the bass thump of my fist against the bridge of my guitar. I recorded an impromptu Trio … songs i’ve played already for the webpage but in rompingly fun versions that pulsed and buzzed. I’m going to look into doing digital audio transfers onto disc or wav, because after that day in the studio recording here made me plainly sad. Still, this week’s Trio is something special… the elusively classic “Falling Down,” a new Madonna cover, and the sentimental “never say goodbye” (reportedly an audio homage to Ani DiFranco, but then, isn’t everything i play?). Listen! I promise to work on better audio quality in the meantime.

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I just had my first rehearsal for Good Woman of Setzuan, but it was more of an exercise in movement than a practice. We did a lot of walking… i must have walked for nearly twenty minutes, just examining the way i use my weight and how i can shift it to change the look of my character. During the walking our director Bill actually singled out my character as an example of someone who moves in a specific way (not that i was moving that way), so at once i was psyched and a bit intimidated. After the walking we paired off and moved somewhat interpretively to music. My two favourite motions were: 1 – with a new person where i was sort of courting her and we conducted almost the whole thing with eye contact and the tips of our fingers, 2 – with Laurel, where i was tiptoeing around the stage and she was mimicking me carefully, after which we switched roles. The other interesting tid-bit of information came as we discussed some of the production numbers… i innocently asked if Laurel or Ben would be joining into my song and Bill turned to me and said matter-of-factly “No, it’s a solo,” which shut me up pretty fast. I’m not entirely sure if i want to be playing guitar for it or not… as playing guitar tends to lock me into to certain vocal inflections more than singing without it. Either way, i thought it would be nice to combine my voice with that of Ben and/or Laurel (who are the other two characters in the scene), but apparently i have to go it alone.

https://crushingkrisis.com/2001/01/1851038/