I figure it's time to make a new public post about my "friends-only" policy for this LiveJournal. The first one was rather angry, in response to the ongoing problems I've experienced with stalkers and prying enemies, but I don't really need to be so angry in my statement of How Things Are Around Here.

Thus, this new post. As you can see, my journal is mostly friends only. I intend to leave a post open, here and there, a post with no real information about my private life, so that potential new friends may have something to go on while considering whether or not to try me out as a friend. The calendar at right only shows my public posts. If you are on my friends list, you'll be able to see that I post every single day--sometimes more than once, in a day! I write constantly, so keep that in mind when you consider me for your friends list! (~-^)

My rules concerning new friends still stand:

1. If you are the friend of an existing LJ friend, and your name appears on their mutual friends list, simply add me to your own friends list and I'll add you back, no questions asked. (Unless you are one of the three people who will never be added to my friends list, even if you somehow make it onto the friends page of one of my good friends--and you three know who you are. Don't even try it.)

2. If you are a friend of mine who has previously not had a LJ account and now have one, just add me and let me know via email or AIM that you've added me and what your username is. Unless it's obvious to me who you are (your username is the same as your real name, for instance), I might not be able to figure it out, just from small clues. I know a lot of people, some of whom have similar hobbies or interests or ways of saying certain things. Please to be helping me out by giving me your identity. ;P

3. If you are a fan of my comics or writing or music, and we have not previously exchanged words (i.e., I don't know who you are), just send me an email at kaisatake at gmail dot com and introduce yourself and let me know your LJ username. (Or, just send a message through LJ, when you add me as a friend. Lots easier that way!) Even if we have spoken, before, it would be a good idea to remind me how I know you, because I'm prone to forgetting the names of those I don't speak to on a regular basis. You don't have to tell me your life story or claim excessive adoration of me or my work or anything other than who you are and what led you to my LJ, which should explain why you want to read it.

4. Friends who don't have LJ accounts and don't want them can read my friends-only posts through a special account I have set up just for them. I've already given most of you the info you need for it, but if you've lost it or didn't get it before and want it now, just let me know and I'll email the username and password to you.

5. If you are a friend from another site (RPM Challenge, alonetone, NaNoWriMo, etc), just add me to your f-list and I'll add you right back. If your LJ username isn't the same as the one you use on the other site, please PM me and let me know who you are, so I don't sit here and scratch my head like a monkey, wondering, "Do I know this person?!" :P

Again, I'm not trying to be exclusive and shut anyone out--other than those three stalking people who know who they are. I'm only trying to protect my privacy and my heart and stop nasty people from being able to use me for their perverted amusements and hateful vindictiveness. New friends are welcome; old enemies are not.

I want to share the instructions for the delicious bowl full o' yum that was my breakfast, today. Boiled summer squash with 4-blend cheese and bacon! Sadly, I ate it all up, before I remembered that I was supposed to take a picture of it. (O.o) The squash came right out of our garden, and I almost put in some sweet Vidalia onion from the garden, as well, but changed my mind, at the last moment. Next time, onion goes in, too!

Here's a pic I found of mashed butternut squash, which looks almost exactly like what I made with plain old yellow summer squash, except that mine was more yellow and less orange in color.



And here's the recipe!

Kai's Breakfast Squash

Ingredients:

2-3 large summer squash (as many as you think you can eat! I used 3 for this, which served two, as a main course--it made about 2 cups of mashed squash)

1/2 cup of shredded cheese (I used 4-cheese Mexican blend, but anything you like would do well. You can use more or less cheese, to your taste.)

3 tablespoons butter or margarine (or suit your taste--I like mine RICH!)

Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions:

In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil. Toss in a dash of salt, if you like. While water is boiling, wash, peel and cube the squash. Put squash cubes into the boiling water and let boil until squash can be easily smashed with a fork or spoon. Drain well and mash the squash until it has the consistency of mashed potatoes. I like mine slightly chunky, so I don't mash it all down. Drain off excess water. Stir in butter or margarine and cheese. Taste, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crisp fried bacon, either on the side or crumbled on top of the squash. Apple slices go well on the side, too!

I've only seen recipes for this that use butternut squash, but any kind will do. I think it would probably be great with a touch of cinnamon or nutmeg, too. My dad made it at his old ranch, and I paid attention to how he did it, so I could make it for myself! I love the stuff. It's apparently a uniquely Southern dish. This shall be one of our staple dishes, here at Grapevine Manor. (^-^)

By the way, what do you think of the logo I made for the house? My avatar for this post is it. (^o^)

OH!!! I almost forgot! I got my proof copy for Rustler's Roundup, on Saturday! And it looks great, other than the spots on the cover that are out of place because I misplaced them in the design. :P Mainly, that was just the border around the front-cover painting, which was too far out from the bottom edge of the art, and let the leather-look background show through. I made sure everything else was centered, too, as the new art box threw it all off, again.

I've already corrected the issues and re-uploaded the cover file, but I'm taking this opportunity to soften the interior image, and do a little more editing of the manuscript, itself. I figure I should have the bookblock ready to upload, sometime this week, and a second proof in hand, about a week later. Then, if it all looks good, I can go ahead and release it for sale! I'm so thrilled! (^o^)

Even though the covers are different on the two Desperado books, I've kept the spines black, and have used the same font and placement of the logo for them both, so that they'll obviously be part of a set, when placed together on a bookshelf. It looks nice that way!

Here's a quick scan of the front cover, with carsonfire's painting of Joshua Love in the box:



Even the fake leatherwork looks good! All in all, I'm very happy with the look of the book. It turned out even better than I'd hoped it would. Nice, when that happens!

So, I have chosen a name for my house: Grapevine Manor. The house seems to like it! I picked out a few to choose from, including Honeysuckle Hall, Wisteria Place and Acanthus House, and of these, she seemed to smile upon Grapevine Manor. This pleases us, too, as the name just feels "right."

The grapevine theme means I can keep the green/red/white exterior paint scheme, and change only the hues, as I had intended to do, anyway. It also means I can use the classical design of the grape bunch as another unifying element in the interior! I do like the grape motif, and the colors that work with it are those I already had in mind to use, for most of the house: Greens, reds, golds, dark blues, purples.

I'll also now get to plant some grapevines and have them drape beautifully over that wrought iron fence, in front! Won't that be lovely? Here's the house exterior, again.



I went hunting for stuff online, again, too. I found this wallpaper set that I want for the dining room!



It's from Bradbury & Bradbury, a California company that base their period-correct designs on actual wallpaper designs of the past. They're expensive, but worth it, in my opinion. I don't want cheap junk on my walls, after I've gone to the trouble of filling the room with expensive Victorian antiques.

This is the Neo-Classical set, and you can see all the different design choices on this page: Neo-Classical Roomset. I like the layout they have in the photo, with the Pompeiian color scheme, though my ceiling would, of course, have a different pattern, due to the shape of the inset.

Reds, golds and greens excite me, in a dining room. They make the lighting warm and happy, and seem to make the food taste richer. I also adore the intricate ceiling patterns in a purely Victorian room, as this photo shows. Our dining room ceiling has an inset in the center, which is a rectangle shape with the corners cut out, and is about 2 inches higher than the rest of the ceiling. So there is a built-in pattern to follow, with all these wallpaper pieces, and what I can't fit in with paper, I can hand stencil. The parlor adjoining this room has the same inset in the ceiling, but that room is to be the Old West parlor, and will be dark greens, leather browns, burnished golds and deep, hearty reds. I plan to have some kind of blue element in each room, too, even if it's only in a vase or painting or something, because blue is my favorite color. I would like a splash of it, throughout the house, in various hues! There are tiny bits of blue in some of the accents in the Pompeiian color set for this wallpaper, which makes me happy.

Oh, and I found this gorgeous 6-arm 1860 Rococco gasolier, today. It's been converted to electric power, and the globes are period. I want it for the dining room! I have no idea how much it costs, but I have seen a similarly ornate one for $14,000 (though the other one has crystal prisms under the globes). I'm bracing to hear a five-digit price quote, in which case, I will either be crazily imperial and get it or be sensibly plebeian and get a reproduction. :P I thought, at first, that it might be a touch too ornate for the Neo-Classical paper, but hey. It's a Victorian room, and I like very ornate stuff, just like most Victorians did. The chandelier they have pictured in the wallpaper roomset photo doesn't suit my taste, as it feels too dainty and feminine. I like big, heavy stuff. Plus, it needs to be strong enough to hold its own with that wallpaper and the monster dining room suite I will put under it. My house should reflect my personality, and my personality is eclectic, a mix of wildly different styles.



I have also decided I'm not going to completely strip and refinish the woodwork. Instead, I'm going to deep clean it with an ammonia-based cleaner, and then touch up the stain to revitalize it, while keeping its beautiful old patina. I may do the same for the floors that don't need sanding, and keep my hard work and sander dust to a minimum. Though, I do love doing this kind of work. It's difficult and time consuming and requires a great deal of attention to details, but it's so very satisfying to see the end result.

My Dear Reader, I am about to expose my snobby, Victorian sensibilities, and harrumph about something that my stepfather does (and lots of other men do), which I find to be vulgar and "low-classed." That something is this: Sitting at the dining table, for a meal, without a shirt.

While I don't think there is anything wrong with naked bodies, or about being comfortable with one's naked body, I find it vulgar and trashy to sit with others at the dining table without being properly dressed. Even pajamas would be acceptable, if only one's close family were present, but if friends–and certainly new acquaintances–are seated there with you, you had better have your "going-out-the-front-door" clothes on. (Of course, this opens up another can of harrumphable worms for me, since I know several people who think it perfectly acceptable to go to the mall or the supermarket while wearing pajamas and house slippers! It appears to be mostly women of all ages doing this, though I have, on occasion, seen some mindless young man doing it. This never ceases to offend me.)

I would like to ask my fellow men to please remain dressed at the table, in the living room when guests are present, and in the yard, too. Some of us do not wish to see your unclothed manboobs and beer bellies; likewise, we do not wish to see your bare granite pecs and six-pack abs. We do not wish to see your tattoos; we do not wish to see your piercings in silly places; we do not wish to see your "love handles"; we do not wish to see your scrawny ribs; we do not wish to see any percentage of your butt grins. If you are not at a swimming pool or a natural body of water; if you are not in a group of other men, doing hard labor in the heat of summer; if you are not poised to step into the bath or shower or bed; if you are not in a bodybuilding competition; if you are not in a porno filming or photo shoot; if you are not in a private, amorous situation; if you do not live at a nudist colony, then please keep your shirt in place, even if it is nothing but a sleeveless undershirt. You do not need to be shirtless in March, baring your disgustingly vestigial nipples, while riding your lawnmower over your shaded yard. Seriously. Please be considerate toward those who have to see you in that shameful condition, and do not wish to.

And now, Dear Reader, it should be totally apparent why I belong in a Victorian house. :P

Heee! I have picked out the pool company for our Victorian house! I've decided to go with Blue Haven Pools in Dallas, once I am ready to have the pool installed. Blue Haven have been around since 1954, and I remember having seen pools in their 1970s ads, which I loved, even back then. They do just the kind of custom work that I'm interested in: free-form pools with waterfalls and hot tubs! They do other shapes, as well (geometric, Greco-Roman, etc), but the free-form designs are my favorites, as they have a more natural look to them, especially when the landscaping supports them.

Here's a pic of a design I'm very fond of, and one which I might want them to use as a basis for the design of MY pool:



They offer lots of interesting options for their gunite pools, too. Special surfacing that eliminates the usual prickly plaster in lots of other pools; automatic in-floor cleaning systems; "salt-water" purification that results in a much softer and clearer (and less bleachy-smelling) water than regular chlorine; ozonation, as is used in many high-class hotel spas and pools; colored and clear lighting packages; in-ground and solar heating options, and much more! They even have one waterfall design that has a rock slide on it, but I wouldn't want that, cool as it is. I'd never get all the family and neighborhood kids out of my pool, if I had a rock slide. :P

Here is the backyard, looking out from the patio. As you can see, I have LOTS of room to play with, in pool design, garden design, general landscaping and other fun stuff!



And another of the back of the house, from near the back fence:



The fence needs replacing, and I have a semi-private fence with lattice on top in mind for that. The concrete on the patio floor will be replaced with flagstone, and will have either a pergola covering or a gazebo structure, to house my outdoor bbq kitchen. I'm kind of leaning toward a large pergola, painted to match the trim on the house, with some kind of climbing plant growing over it, for shade. Flagstone steps will lead to the garage, the pool, and the gardens. In addition to the veggie/fruit garden, I want a flower/green garden, with a small koi pond in it, for meditation.

I think it's going to be one hell of a cool backyard, when it's all done. (^-^)

Heh... The fact that I have decided to avoid posting details of nasty things that happened to me, today, leaves me with a very boring Saturday to post about! But that's all right. I don't feel like wailing and moaning.

Having watched that Huckleberry Finn movie, just so recently, made me want to read the book, again. So I did, today. Almost all in one sitting, except for stopping for lunch and bathroom breaks. I always get a kick out of Twain's stories, and a large part of it is the dialect. I adore dialect, when it's done right, and not OVERdone. A sprinkling of it, throughout, is great. It's only annoying when it gets so thick that you can't make head nor tail of any of it. I know how tempting it is to make every word written out as the character would pronounce it, but that's too much. (Twain's use of it is probably a bit heavy handed for most modern readers, but not for me!) For today's readers, it's better to use just a few words that give the flavor, and let the characters' grammar do the rest. Though, a big chunk of full-on dialect for select characters can also be satisfying, especially if it's a dialect you have heard, and can thus truly "hear" in your mind, as you read it. Just so long as it isn't every character speaking in heavy tongues, all the time. :P

I have a lot of dialects in my head, so it's always fun for me to read them in books. I'm constantly on the lookout for more, too, as I don't think any writer should exclude any manner of speaking, even if he finds it distasteful. In today's world, for example, the "n" word that is sprinkled so liberally throughout Huckleberry Finn is a bit hard to take, but the reader must keep in mind that the characters are not of our time and culture, and that such language was perfectly right and natural for them. They did not think as we think, today, and it is wrong to apply modern morals to previous cultures and judge those characters as if they live in our time, just to make the unpleasant issues more comfortable to think about.

I also think it is wrong to write such characters, who live in times that are not our own, and apply modern values and ways to them. My own old-time characters do not have modern ways of thinking about things; they have ways of thinking that are appropriate for their time and place–with normal variances resulting from religion, personality and life experience taken into account. There were those in the 19th century who used the "n" word, constantly, and with malice; there were those who used it, but without malice; and there were those who never used it, at all. There were slaveholders who treated their slaves well, those who were indifferent to them and their needs, and those who abused them at every opportunity. There were abolitionists who believed all slaves should be freed, and at the same time, were not willing to even think that those freed slaves were equal with Whites. There were those who wanted to give freedmen all the benefits that White citizens had, and there were those who didn't really care about it, one way or another. There were those who held the same kinds of thoughts about women, and about liquor, and about Indians, and about everything else. All types could be found in one area, in differing degrees of privacy about their attitudes.

But it is doing the reader an injustice for the author to take a wholly modern personality, complete with ideals about political correctness and equality of all stripes, with entitled attitudes and with social mores that would have shocked even some of the most liberal of the previous times, and dump all those parts into a single fictional person. While one or even several modern ideals might have existed in certain people in those times, all of those ideals in one lump did not. Even where one of those ideals existed, they were often accompanied by a sense of guilt over them. Huck Finn is a good example of this. On the one hand, he agonizes over the idea that he is possibly a "dirty Abolitionist," for helping the slave, Jim, to escape. On the other hand, he agonizes over the idea that, if he turned Jim in to the authorities, he'd be betraying this kind and gentle man he has come to see as a friend. He's only a child of thirteen or so, but these thoughts conflict in his mind, all through the book, until he finally decides it's less trouble to be "bad" and remain faithful to Jim. But still, because of the environment in which he was raised, he can't see his own actions to help Jim to freedom as anything but bad.

I have to wonder how that book would have been written, in the hands of an author from our own time. Would Huck even think that he was in any way doing wrong, by helping Jim run away, or would he have a "mission" from the start, that defies all his upbringing and cuts him completely out of his time and plants him in ours? (The 1960 movie did some of this, which, in my opinion, kept a good movie from being a great movie.) I'd like to think it would be the former, but I'm not altogether sure. I certainly would enjoy the book less, if it were the latter. The conflict in Huck's mind is one thing that firmly roots him in his time, and makes me believe I am there, with him, living his story right alongside him, instead of reading about some modern boy who is tucked into an historical setting, for convenience.

I've tried to keep my own characters' views rooted in their own time. Though some of them may have certain views that come close to those of modern times, they are balanced out by other views that fit perfectly for the previous times. Joshua, for example, was raised in virtual isolation on the west Texas frontier. He was born in 1853, and his first story is set in late 1869, well after the end of the Civil War. His father didn't own slaves or talk about them; he was too busy with his dusty ranch, and with whoring and drinking, to think about such matters. Neither his father nor his older brother went to war, and neither of them cared about the Cause that they felt didn't concern them; in fact, it didn't concern them. They were poor people living a hard life out on the wild frontier, who had no money for servants and no need for them. They had no care about the Union of the States; they were practically living in Mexico and the Territories, anyway. What care did they have for the established States and their problems and quarrels? Josh and his siblings didn't go to school or to church, and only got into town when his father felt like allowing one or more of them to come along to buy supplies and whiskey. Thus, Joshua has limited experience with people of different skin colors from his own, and he feels more curiosity about them than anything else. He hadn't socialized with females, outside of his sister and mother, before he left home at 15, so he tends to treat all women as if they were his older sister or his mother. Girls his age are to be fought with, and to pull pranks on and to approach with caution (until he kisses one and discovers what else they are good for!). He has no feelings towards Blacks or Mexicans or Asians, good or bad, but he does have bad feelings toward Indians, because he lived in a place where Indian attacks were constant threats. He holds those views until 1876, by which time he has met a number of non-scalping Indians and decides to hold his bad feelings only toward the scalping variety. He also has a bit of bad feeling toward Irishmen, which he picked up from his father. That one has no basis in experience, but is perfectly fitting for his era, when the Irish were often thought of as being somewhat less than human.

He has a good-sized dose of his hillbilly father's reclusiveness and distrust of other people, but he also has a good-sized dose of his father's stubbornly independent mettle, as well as his alcoholism. He has a work ethic that would shame most 21st-century boys his age, and a cold-hearted ruthlessness that is perfectly suited to his time and situation. He also has a large dose of soft-hearted compassion, presumably from his mother's side, and a set of violent emotions–weakness, in his own estimation, as they are at odds with his outward machismo. The conflicts in his mind are so many and so strong that they play a great part in driving him mad.

I've found it to be both challenging and satisfying to write the Old West characters and keep them true to themselves as well as to their times. It's very tempting to apply my own values to them, especially to the characters I feel closest to, but that would ruin them, as realistic people. I have to let them hold some thoughts and feelings that I find unpleasant or distasteful or even hateful, or run the risk of destroying the illusion of reality. I don't want to cheat my readers, like that.

Heh heh! I have been playing with the colors in the turret! This is not the right color blue. I couldn't get anything in Photoshop that looked like what I had in mind, but this is good enough to show the general ideas.

Anyway, the first one I did shows the blue getting lighter as it rises toward the ceiling:



And the second shows the blue getting lighter as it descends toward the floor:



It took me a while to decide which one I liked better, but I do think I prefer the dark color at the top. It feels more dramatic! So all I'd have left to do is make sure the darkest blue color is one I like. This blue is too saturated and too purple, and it should be more subtle. It's the best I could do in a few minutes, though.

I also might want to paint the trim white, to brighten up the room. I'm not generally fond of white trim, but in this room, it would probably work well. I think it would make the windows look twice as big! The inside of the door should be matched to the gradient on the walls, too. That would be nifty!

Just thought I'd share a few more pics of the inside of my Victorian house, because it's so wonderful!

But first off, here's the exterior pic, again, just in case anyone has forgotten which house is mine, out of all these lovely architectural pics I have been posting, lately. :P



( And the other five pics are under the cut! )

In addition to the tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, etc, that are in our kitchen garden, I am going to plant some blueberry shrubs, so we can have blueberry cobbler, blueberry muffins, and blueberry pancakes, at some point. Shame I can't plant a dark chocolate chip tree. That would make it all perfect! :P

It's a big, beautiful brick house, perched on a hilltop lot that spills its backyard into a large, lovely lake. The well-kept lot, nearly half an acre in size, is lined with plump, colorful trees and hedges. Sweetly singing birds are in abundance, here. The many cars parked in front are new and shiny and in good condition. Upon looking at this house, one would imagine a quiet, serene kind of life. A comfortable life. A nice life.

And then you come inside, where the illusion fades with the suddenness of a summer storm. Inside, the physical beauty continues, but the aura is charged with hate and ugliness. Inside, there is fighting, screaming, insulting, abusiveness, humiliating, aggression, fear, discomfort, resentful vengeance, racism, bigotry, manipulation, lying, alcoholism, people intentionally hurting those who are claimed to be loved. Inside, there is anything but the serene, beautiful life that the setting suggests.

How many other beautiful, outwardly tranquil homes are gutted inside, charred to the foundation with this kind of hatred? People like to think that such things only exist among the meanest and lowest of society's members, in the projects and slums and ramshackle homes of the lower classes. But I have personally seen far more of this ugliness in expensive, clean, "perfect" homes that belong to those of substance, those with wealth and power. This is not to say that it doesn't exist among the lower classes, because it does. The difference is that people of higher classes hide it better, behind the expensive homes, new toys and opulent lifestyles. My parents are among those expert hiders of hatefulness. No people in the world are better at putting on a sweet, benevolent public face than the Japanese; no matter how horrible or insane or violent they may be in private, their public face is polite and angelic. Those not in their closest circle think they are the nicest people who ever lived. Wouldn't they be shocked to see a hidden camera's exploitation of what really goes on, what is said about everyone else, once the front door closes?

I cannot pass by a beautiful home without wondering what kind of hurt its occupants are bestowing upon one another, every day. It makes me extremely sad, because those who have everything should be the ones most eager to make their personal lives and relationships match their financial assets. I certainly would, if I had that kind of money. I try to do that, now, even with as little as I have. When I don't have to live with or interact with hateful, nasty people, my life is serene. I am an extremely quiet person. My housemates and friends do not get shredded, the way my family shred each other (my enemies do, but that's another matter :P). We make an effort to control ourselves and avoid abusing each other, and look out for the times when we might be prone to causing unintentional hurt. I can't understand why so many others don't make that same effort to live a good life, rather than just a wealthy one. What's the point of having a lot of money, if you are miserable in your heart?

I've been feeling somewhat better, today. Had some Coke to drink (which always helps), fixed my Mom's computer problem, and wrote another chapter for Justice Rides In Leather. Poor Garrett is getting some karma slappage, for his "emotional infidelity" to Miss Julia! But, oh well. He's tough. He'll live. And he'll be all the more ferocious, for it! (^o^)

I'm still not sure I like the first five chapters I have written for Rollin' Thunder, but I'm not fully out of the depression yet, either. I'm trying to keep myself from reading them, until I am sure I feel reasonably good, again. I'd hate to toss them, while I'm goofy in the head, and then later realize, "Hey, those were GOOD!" :P

Anyway, I think I shall have to sneak into the kitchen and steal a piece of chocolate cake. That and another small glass of Coke ought to really help me along. I have to say, too, that Miss Kimi has been like a soothing salve to my burning soul. I know she doesn't like for me to write dozens of posts about how wonderful she is, but dammit, she IS wonderful and I have to say it "out loud," sometimes! I'm sorry, Kimi darling, but you are worthy of all the praise I can give you and ever so much more! But I will try to control myself and my lovestruck exuberance, as you have asked me to do.

*quietly dances around, mouthing "Kimi is the bestest, bestest, bestest EVER!* :P

Oh, and I made a new icon with a cool pic I found, because the horse looks like Joshua's Diablo. Plus, he's got a cowboy riding him. Here it is:

I got a USB stick drive full of RPM Challenge tunes from a friend, today, and thought I'd return the favor of getting my own album reviewed. Cville Ramblings (who reviewed my album) had already had a review, and so I chose someone at random from the stick drive. I got Pzychotropic (Mac McIntyre), and was very impressed with his work. He lives in Bath, in the UK.

Here's the review that I posted in the RPM Challenge forums:



Here's his band page link (with a player containing all these songs): Pzychotropic on RPM

The album is "Obscurity Is My Security."

First of all, before I wrote any of the following review, I listened to the whole thing, all the way through. First impression is that this album has no bad songs and no fast-forward spots. Second listening confirmed the first impression. (^-^)

1. Shadows

I don't know what it is exactly, ...but something in this song is whispering "late Bowie" in my ear bones. Love the guitar, here. Confident playing that grabs you the second it starts. It's about a minute before we hit the vocals, but anyone who listens to my songs knows that's not something that irritates me. :P Mac has a great voice, and this vocal is well done. My only wish is that it was more "up front" in the mix. The guitars kind of bury it. So much so that I can't make out all the lyrics. I like the construction of the song a lot. Abrupt ending, but for this one, it works.

2. Life As A Soundtrack

Ambient track with a nice, spacey kind of feel to it. I'm usually not much into ambient music. A lot of it seems to be like 10 minutes of noodling on a 2 minute piece, and I get bored. I need variation and/or vocals to keep hold of my short attention span. This, however, has enough variation that I'm not bored. In fact, it's a little insidious, as it seeped into my head and flowed along and was over long before I wanted it to be. The 4:13 didn't seem like that length of time had passed. I had to play it, again, and it still didn't feel like 4 minutes.

3. Waterfall

Oh my God...the intro and outro made me need to pee. :P But this is a great tune, too. I like the way the guitars in the beginning are kind of at odds with each other. It was almost distracting, at first, and then I started to really dig it. Nice vocal, though the verses are a bit buried. The chorus stands out more, and I enjoyed that part more than the other parts, where the vocal was a bit more lost in the mix. The guitars are the point of interest, here, though. A whole lot going on in this tune to keep my brain busy!

4. The Square Root of Gong

One of the coolest titles, ever. Starts off with some nice chirping birds and an almost ominous beat, then moves into a synth line that moves all around in my head like little psychedelic snakes wriggling in wet sand. Progresses nicely into an interesting instrumental I would love to get high to, if I still got high! Again, for me, the guitar is the high point, though it's a little muffled in the mix. Would have liked to hear that more in my face, so to speak. It's a great riff. It's got a lot of variation, which holds my flakey interest, well. Is that a sitar I hear in there? Cooooooool!

5. All Is Grey

I think this is my fave track, on this album. Something in the vocal delivery reminds me of Talking Heads, and it pleases me, greatly. Same thing on this one as the other songs with vocals, though. I keep wanting to turn it up so I can get the vocal up front! I really dig Mac's voice. Guitar parts are very cool, with that old retro kind of 70s distortion. Delicious bass line. Yes, I love this song. LOVE, man. <3 Didn't like the abrupt ending, though. Didn't work as well here as it did for "Shadows." I'd have liked something a little more, oh, structured, I guess is what I'm trying to say. A final chord sequence, rather than just a hard end to the track.

6. High Above The Atmosphere

Little bit o' spooky, in the intro, which quickly moves into a groovy beat and guitar riff, which maybe could have been a teeny touch louder before the rhythm guitar moves in to dominate. Nice, airy feel to the rhythm guitar part. This tune makes me feel good, and like Mac's other instrumentals, it's got enough variation to hold my attention. There is no point at which I wonder when it will be finished. I will give this the highest compliment I can give to an instrumental, which is I would love to play this as background music, while I'm writing fiction.

7. Come To Me

Birds, again! Another great vocal, but just a touch too quiet for my ears. Still, more out front than the others, which is good. Very good guitar playing, and omg wah. Love it. I see he has this one marked as his preferred track on his band page. I really like it, but think I still like "All Is Grey" better. Lot of string noise in this one, too, and I may be a freak, but I really love that sound of fingers moving around on the strings.

8. I've Jammed My End!

I think this dude lives in an aviary. More birds! XD But what fun, playing around and talking to himself. Then the song starts, for real. And it's just good rock 'n roll, with fine guitar playing. What I love best about this one, though, is the bass line. I love a fancy bass line! The drums are good, here, too. Nice, full sound, to have come from a machine. The guitar riffs are very satisfying. None of that going nowhere, leaving me BORED, noodle-oodle fannying-about business. A solid jam. Totally SOLID.

So, to sum up, a great album, from start to finish. Nothing out of place; nothing boring; nothing half-assed. I can easily imagine a commercial alt rock station playing some of these songs. Would still love to hear these tunes with the vocals way out front, but I'm a vocal kinda guy and a lyricist, and thus I might be a tad biased on such things. Mac's voice is too good to play second fiddle to guitars, though, no matter how good the guitars are. And they are good.

I've finally started working on a page for the lyrics that go with the Desperado soundtrack album. It's still very sparse, but it has all the lyrics on it, already, as well as the leather background from the other parts of my site. I'll go back later, when I have time, and set it up to have the same layout as the rest of the Outlaw Starr site.

The lyrics page is here, if anyone wants to see it:

Desperado lyrics page

I went back to the RPM forums and answered Kevin's questions, too, which I had failed to realize I needed to do. I was too excited about getting a review, I guess. :P

Got a nice review on the Desperado album, on the RPM Challenge forums! Kevin Emmrich of Cville Ramblings did this for me. His own album falls under the Country genre, so he wanted to review my attempt at old-style Country/Western. I agree with pretty much everything he says, as far as what needs work. I knew it needed work, which is why I didn't ask anyone there to review it, but I'm grateful for Kevin's input, all the same.

Here's the review in full, with my descriptions from the music page on my website leading off each of his song critiques. This is just the way he posted it in the forum. But I've linked the song titles to the MP3 files, here, if you feel curious and want to hear one of the songs or part of one.

OK, I reviewed Kai Starr's Desperado album. I realize Kai is on dial-up and might not be able to review any one, but that's the way it goes. I'll probably try and grab onother CD to review this weekend. It's fun really trying to dig into one CD.

Album: Desperado
RPM Challenge 2009 album. It's a soundtrack for my Desperado series of western novels. Got some instrumentals, some country-folksy-Western style songs, and some mushy ballads. Lots of fun stuff!

First I did about a 30-second listen to all the tunes just to see how the disc flowed and check volume levels, pacing and stuff like that (though I realize the songs aren’t mastered). Quick thoughts are that the songs seem very strong in consistency of genre. Since this is based on a western novel, you would expect that and Kai holds true throughout. Song 1 sounded a little louder than the others, but I could be incorrect. There doesn’t seem to be much “up-tempo” stuff here, except for the opener and maybe song #5. I would have expected some songs to be more up-tempo and exciting than others based on events that might happen in the books. I realize there could be a lot of other songs in this series, but it seems that Kai has stuck to the slower more introspective ones.

Of course Desperado is the title of the Eagles’ famous concept LP, so you are evoking quite a tough comparison.

Gunslinger
Soundtrack, 2009. Instrumental theme for my Desperado series of western novels. Very fast, incidental music with guitars, congas, clavs, bass and more!

This one is a little cross genre in its construction, I really like that fast strumming acoustic guitar sound you’ve gotten. (I think I am going to switch to headphones for the rest of the review). Nice mix of instrumentation and it always hard to go wrong with congas! I am not a big fan of sound effects in music, so I am ambivalent about the gunshot effect. Very nice start to the CD with this tune.


Tennessee In My Dreams
Soundtrack, 2009. Another song "written" by outlaw Joshua Love. This one is country/rock/folksy. Just guitars, drums and vocal!

While the first tune was more like an overture or intro, this tune seems to start the real story. This is a straight story song with verses and a repeating bridge (or chorus, I can’t really tell what the format is without the lyrics). The delivery is straight forward and the high tenor sounds quite good. It would be nice to add some harmonies in there during the bridge part. Something sounds a little out of tune during the lead break, though. Might be something to look at as you polish this up. Overall, a dang good first story song of the CD. Oops -- the ending was a little abrupt, might want to let it ring out and fade out naturally.


When Jenny Holds Me Tight
Soundtrack, 2009. The song Joshua Love writes for Jenny Sue Carter, in Rustler's Roundup. He finished the lyrics just for me, so I figured I'd better sing it for him. Has kind of an old Hank Williams, Sr. feel to it.

A slow, ballady tune about “western love”. It does have that classic Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus feel of the old country/western classics of the old days. It didn’t seem like the singer locked into the tune until the “There ain’t no star ....” line. Might want to see if you can lock in that opening lead line just a trifle more. It sounds right, just the last few notes waver a little bit (don’t mean to be picky, but when you do sparse stuff, it really needs to be solid). I like the chorus, it’s real fine. You may want to add different instrumentation to better separate the sound of the chorus from the verse, but it is also good as is. Anyone who likes traditional country will like this one, too.


Molly Be My Bride
Soundtrack, 2009. Another song "written" by outlaw Joshua Love. Goes with the storyline in Desperado Dawn, and is a slow ballad with a gospel feel! Piano and organ.

You’ve backed one slow song with another and that can be OK, but probably not a good idea. You also took 50+ seconds to get to the vocals. While this might be OK in a movie scene -- on a slow song with a simple intro, it is just too long to me. It’s a very cool song and the singing is smooth and well done. I’m missing the lyrics as I type, so I’ll have to restart it. If you had the lyrics posted, I would have included them in my review. I did look around for the lyrics. I am enjoying this one even more on the second/third listen. Hey, this is about Molly, what happened to Jenny? Oh – I see we get back to her later.


Sweet, Sweet, Kiss
Soundtrack, 2009. Another song "written" by outlaw Joshua Love. Upbeat, hoe-down style country-folksy song, which appears in the serialized novel, Desperado Dawn. Guitars, drums, and fun!

Still chasing Molly. Little bit more upbeat, it does have a feel of a hoedown type song. The melody/singing rhythm sounds very familiar – and that’s always a good thing. Are you going to be able to add more instrumentation into these tunes now that RPM is over. This is one where you want a full band complement pounding it out. If you won’t then it is just fine, but more would be merrier here. If nothing else, add more singing.


I'll Follow You (Jenny's Song)
Soundtrack, 2009. A haunting waltz, sung by my wife Kimi, doing Jenny's little-girl voice. This is pretty much Jenny's theme.

OK, let’s see where Jenny fits back into the story. Another slower ballad and you’ve gotta have a waltz in an old western album. I like the opening guitar melody playing a lot here. OK, the intro here is probably too long, but I am not complaining about it (LOL!) . So Jenny’s been left behind and Joshua is out doing his wild things. Now she’s chasing him down. That’s a good story. Good singing by Kimi and the sparse instrumentation works well. We need some fiddles in all this music.


San Antonio Nights
Soundtrack, 2009. A sultry, Latin instrumental. Part of the score for the upcoming novel, Rollin' Thunder. Piano, bass, orchestral strings, and more!

Has Jenny caught up with Joshua on a hot Spanish night in Ol’ San Antone’ (or have we moved on to Elena Maria)? – this is like a dang soap opera and you got me wanting to tune in tomorrow. This is cool from beginning to end. All the playing seems to fit just fine and there is nice variation in the sound. Could have made this one a little longer and nailed a little more flamenco guitar in there or maybe horns (trumpet) would have been a good addition. You’ve got midi capabilities – trumpet is required!


Elena Maria
Soundtrack, 2009. A soft, Spanish ballad. Belongs with the upcoming novel, Rollin' Thunder. Just guitar and vocals on this one.

Lots of mic “hiss” on this one (hiss is worse at RPM vs. your .com site, but I can hear it in both places). All of your other tunes sound pretty clean. Pretty mellow, soft tune where you might need to belt it out a little more on the vocals. The words are getting a little lost with the more “airy” vocal delivery. It is a fine song and comes across as a solid ballad. OK, maybe my ears are getting adjusted, because now I think this might be your best vocal performance (sorry if I am contradicting myself, but I type as I listen, then back the song up, play it again, etc....). Might be a little long, though at 5:44.


Joshua Love, Outlaw On The Run
Soundtrack, 2009. A nice, 3/4 time ballad, in which Joshua Love sings about himself. He wrote it in the novel, Three Ways From Sunday.

Another cool waltz and interesting tune. Nice lead break. Since this is a concept album, I gotta say that the lyrics for this one are a little bit of a shock (especially where he shot his own Dad). Why, you ask? I didn’t hear anything before here that might tell me why Joshua turned into an outlaw. I accepted that he was an outlaw, by the title. But I thought maybe he was mostly a “good” outlaw, but he’s killing, robbing things and such. Makes him a little bit less of a sympathetic figure. This tune might have been better served as faster 4/4 bluegrass tune. The bouncy waltz theme is a little at odds with the story line. It works, but faster 4/4 might work better.


Eliza
Soundtrack, 2009. Another song "written" by outlaw Joshua Love. Upbeat, country-folksy song, which appears in the print novel, Three Ways From Sunday. Just guitars and drums!

Man, Jenny is old news. Standard tempo song that seems to float along quite nicely. I’m suffering a little bit from the overall slowness of the songs on the CD, but I am pushing through, since the individual songs are all well crafted. Song is reminiscent of all the older “classics” that we equate with early country and western, so you’re hitting your mark here. Did Eliza shoot Jenny?


The Pig Is Dead
Soundtrack, 2009. Very short a capella song. Villain Cal Evans sings this in the novel, Desperado Dawn, after he has killed his former gang partner, Henry Owens.

I listened to this one before reading about it and I can see a farmer dancing around while the pig is going into the pot of hot water to help shave the hair off – but it is a guy singing after he kills a guy (LOL!). Oh well, cool little ditty anyway.


The Ballad of the Beam (Bonus Track)
Western swing. Written for my crazy teenage outlaw, Joshua Love, from the Desperado series of Western novels. I like to say Josh wrote it. This is a boot-scootin' song. One of my best, and also a funny little story song.

Since it is a bonus track, I am assuming that it is recorded outside of the RPM challenge time frame. So I’ll just say that that it is a super cool tune, more evocative of the Harlem era versus an old western bar show. But it’s a good one and I am enjoying it.


Desperado (Bonus Track)
Instrumental theme for my Desperado series of western novels. It's got a 60's-ish spaghetti western kinda vibe to it. It's also a little addictive, so listen at your own risk!

Nice theme music, good playing throughout. Great harp and dobro sound. You needed some of this instrumentation up in the earlier tunes. Makes a great bookend with Gunslinger at the beginning. Cool song!!

*************************************
Overall, an ambitious and great undertaking. I would have like to seen more story development on Joshua before we got to the “Joshua Love, Outlaw On The Run” song, so his story wouldn't be such a surprise. I do think the pacing of the album is on the slow side, where you should spice up the order with a couple of faster tunes.

Just a great job and I hope I helped with my comments. I hope I didn’t come off as too negative. Sometimes I just concentrate on the problems so they can be addressed.

Kevin
Cville Ramblings
03-13-2009

And here is the link to the review on the RPM Challenge website: Desperado Review by Kevin Emmrich

Ha... I'm getting really annoyed at all these dudes on Twitter who keep sending me direct messages or emails because they think I'm a hot chick. It's annoying, and I can imagine if I was a woman, and men were writing to me and agreeing with me "because ur hot," as one of these just did, I would be equally annoyed. I dunno. Those among my friends who are of the female persuasion, how do you feel when some strange man does this or something like it to you? Is it not patronizing to be agreed with, just because you're "hot?" Or worse, just because you're a woman, and maybe they think they're going to get something out of you? I have been annoyed when women have sucked up to me, because they thought I was good looking. How does it feel from the other side?

Oddly enough, if the guy knows I'm a guy and still thinks I'm "hot," I'm okay with that. Flattered, still not interested, but not annoyed. When he thinks I'm hot because he thinks I'm a woman, that's annoying, insulting, and occasionally it makes me very very angry. Most of the time, I'm just mildly amused with a hint of annoyed, but sometimes, the person doing it gives off a sleazy vibe that puts me into Very Pissed Off mode. How lucky for them that they are interacting with me on the internet, and not in person. I am small, but I am crazy when angry, and I fight very dirty. Small men have to. Bantam cock syndrome, and all that. My uncle does not call me "Rooster" for nothing. :P

Anyway, I don't know what to do about this ongoing nonsense. I can't make myself bigger. I can't change my face. I refuse to cut my hair so that some other idiot is not confused about my gender. I guess all that's left is to start ignoring and/or blocking any nitwit who sends me that kind of message. I'm tired of explaining to them, over and over, that they're fucking idiots, without actually calling them a fucking idiot. If I have to do much more of this, the "f-i" combination is bound to come out. (O.o)

It was a nice, quiet day, around the house, today! I am soooooo very grateful for that! It was also nice and warm, though overcast and windy. However, this is said to be the last such day, for a bit. It's supposed to start raining tonight and cool off for the next few days. How much, I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention, as I was too busy enjoying the peace and quiet and trying to get another chapter done for tomorrow's update of Justice Rides In Leather.

I got the chapter done, and am quite happy with it. It's even a bit longer than usual, for this book, so maybe readers will enjoy it. I hope so. I rather like my Yankee Colonel Steadman. He's one of the few characters with any sense, even among his own company. I'm glad he showed up, early on. He's been fun to write for. All of them have, really. I shall have to draw his pic, at some point. So far, I have only drawn Garrett, from that book (though I have drawn Molly at an older age, as she appeared in Rustler's Roundup and Desperado Dawn), and even Garrett's pic is just a sketch, rather than a full drawing.

I based Colonel Steadman's looks partly on this fellow, only without the wild sweep of hair:



The Colonel has dark auburn hair and his beard is greying; his eyes are grey-green and piercing, like this fellow's. That type of beard seems to have been common among both the Northern and Southern officers during the Civil War. The man in this photo is John Coffee "Jack" Hays, who was a Texas Ranger, a military officer of the Republic of Texas and of the United States armies. Quite an interesting person!

I'm finally starting to really get better! I was WRITING, today! A whole 1,500-something words for Rollin' Thunder. It wasn't much, but it was a good start. I still need to get cracking, again, on Justice Rides In Leather, as my sickies put me waaaay behind on that one. I was already behind, because of trying to keep up with RPM Challenge and also trying to keep calm and in a place where nobody would yell at me all day and night. I can't write, when people are harrassing me.

Anyway, I'm relieved to find myself slowly getting back on track. My stomach is still a little weird and I'm still kinda tired, but all in all, I'm considering myself over the infection/virus/whatever it was that I had. I hope that's the end of it, and I do not see the likes of it, again!

Oh, and I think this bodes well for my new book: My 13 year old niece, who does not like to read, was reading over my shoulder as I worked on Rollin' Thunder, today. She was reading it out loud, and while I found that very strange (I normally don't like anyone even near me when I'm writing), I enjoyed it, as she finished and said, "You know, Kai, I don't like reading and I don't really know, like, what I just read, but it was good!" I think I shall call that a compliment, which is one of the very very few I have ever received from a family member on anything. (^-^)

Heh... She also thinks Josh is "cute, 'cuz he's like, so hyper, but not!" I think I know what she means, but I'm not sure she does. :P She thinks he's cuter at age 16 than at 19, which is probably because she's 13, herself. Still, I didn't let her read anything other than the funny bit between Josh and Colton, as the story isn't for readers her age. It's for adults, in spite of the fact that my protagonists are teenagers.

Whew! I am more or less over the uck, enough that I was able to clean up the entire kitchen, do two loads of laundry, make up my bed, eat twice and even take a nice long shower! I held down the lunch of mac 'n cheese and one Vienna sausage very well, but the cheeseburger and chips and pickles didn't sit too well, after dinner. In fact, it brought back a bit of the nasty I had had, before!

However, I didn't feel bad during or after it, so my guts are probably just still trying to adjust to solid food, again. I took some antacids and got more water to drink, just in case my belly feels like acting up. My guts are also making nine billion kinds of strange noises, and it's kind of amusing me. Yes, sometimes I really AM nine years old. :P

In other good news, one of my 2009 RPM Challenge songs, "Tennessee In My Dreams," got nominated for the Country/Folk disc in the compilation set the guys make each year. I had a song on the 2007 set, on the Blues/Jazz disc, and the two nominations that "Tennessee" has gotten already will probably mean it has a secure place on this year's disc, as well. I'm excited about it! I kind of bowed out of the running for it, last year, as I was feeling all weird in the head about it. But I'm not feeling weird about it, now, so if it makes it all the way to the master, I'll be cool with it.

Here's a link to the song, if anyone would like to hear it:

Tennessee In My Dreams

Also, because my connection is so slow here, a friend at RPM helped me out by snagging all my songs off my website and uploading them to the RPM Jukebox for me! Most of my other songs at Last.fm were uploaded for me by Bikerider, and had R.T. of Winterstar not offered to upload the songs to RPM, this year, I'd probably have bugged Bike to do it for me. He would have, as he's cool like that. All my friends are cool, which is why I loves ya all, so much! *group hugs*

Thank goodness I am already finished with all my singing and guitar stuff, because last night, I started getting a cold. It's not a bad one, but it's an irritating one, nonetheless, and one that's making me feel very tired.

Anyway, the RPM Challenge CD is finished. I'm ready to put it away for a while, now. I need to get back to serious writing, as I let that slide a bit, in the last week. Too many things to worry about, not least of which was the music.

I did get a nice new bit of pimping on my music, from Gary Fox on the RPM Challenge site. He had this to say about it:

Kai Starr is a freakin genius!

Dang Kai! Desperado kept me from going to bed. I love that piece!

Do yourself a favor and listen to Kai, now.

It's always nice to hear such things, though I always doubt their veracity. My head is just tuned that way, I guess. :P

I think I am done with my RPM Challenge album. With the recording, anyway. GarageBand went wonky on "Elena Maria," last night, and it wouldn't let me finish. I haven't got enough RAM on my computer to handle that long-ass song. GB kept stalling out during the accent guitar tracks, so I finally just said "Screw it," and called it done, for now. I'll come back to it, later, when I can either get more RAM or...ooh, better yet, a NEW COMPUTER!! (^o^)

I'm really not happy with the song, but it will do, for now. I just have too many things working against me with recording. I got the basics down, at least, sad as they might be. :P I also very stupidly managed to delete part of a track without realizing I had deleted it, and then I couldn't re-record it due to the stalling out issue! That song was just not meant to be completed this month, I guess.

So all that's left is deciding on song order, adjusting that on the CD jacket art, printing and assembling said jacket, burning the disc and putting on the label, and dropping it into the mail, Saturday night. I won't even have the cardstock for the jacket until sometime tomorrow, so I'm trying reeeeeeal hard to chill and not be fretting over what day it is.

Oh yeah, I also completed a 33-second song, called "The Pig Is Dead." It's a song one of the goofy villains sings in "Desperado Dawn." Just vocals; no music. I had wanted to add some ambient noise, like a horse walking on dirt or leaves, creaking saddle leather, horse snort, night-time forest sounds, but I couldn't find any to use for all that. It would have been cool, though, as then it would have sounded like an audio clip from the movie version of my book. :P If you've read "Desperado Dawn," you'll probably recognize Cal Evans' dumb song about having killed Henry Owens. If you haven't read it, I hope you still get a giggle out of the ditty. (^-^)

Here are links to the new songs:

Elena Maria

The Pig Is Dead

Well, whaddaya know. Joshua finished those lyrics I wanted! I had to poke him a few times, but he finally did it. He started writing them in Rustler's Roundup, got interrupted, and then broke up with this girl and didn't want to finish her song. He's only 16 years old, when he sings this to Jenny, and she is his first girlfriend.

In order to add to his teenage sappiness, I sang it with a Hank Williams Sr. kind of moan to it. I think it works. It's also probably the slowest song I ever recorded, at 60 bpm. :P

However, Josh is mad at me, now, because he did not want to remember how he had once felt about this horrible girl. He'll get over it, though, as soon as another woman walks by. Almost all of his songs are for some woman or other. Only one is about Tennessee, and another is about himself–which I wanted to record tonight, but got interrupted by non-music crap. Tomorrow, for sure! Then when my classical strings arrive, I'll do "Elena Maria," which will be very pretty, if I can play it, properly.

Here's a link to the new song:

When Jenny Holds Me Tight

I'm glad he finally relented, and gave me more lyrics, even though he's mad. He never stays mad a long time. :P

No new music, today, but I've now got my album art done. The song list may change, by the time I'm finished recording, but the art will more or less look like this:



I'm pretty happy with it, so far. Guess it's fitting for a novel series soundtrack! (^-^)

Sunday has been a bust. No new writing; no new music; no new art; nothin'. I didn't even eat any chocolate cake! I think the problem is that the date has altogether too many 2's in it. I don't cotton much to 2's. I'm partial to 1's, 3's, 7's and 9's. At least, of the single digits. I only like 2's when they appear elsewhere, as in 20 and 27, which are favorite numbers of mine. In fact, 20 is the perfect number, in my mind, for some unfathomable reason. :P

I need to do more music, and soon. Only have about 6 days left to finish the RPM Challenge album, and I have 3 songs and/or 12 minutes of music left to do. I have one song lyric which belongs to Joshua that needs finishing, but he is reluctant to finish it. It's one he was writing for Jenny (in Rustler's Roundup), and didn't get done with, before some things happened to throw him off track. Then he left her, and now he doesn't want to do the song. But I need it! And it's a good song. I have to figure out how to get him to finish the lyrics for me, without upsetting him to the point of making him shut up for months. If anyone has any ideas for how to prod him into finishing the song he was writing for an ex-girlfriend, please let me know. :P

Another two songs finished, today! One is a bouncy, hoe-down kind of song, called "Sweet, Sweet Kiss," and the other is a sultry Latin instrumental, made entirely of Apple loops. I called it "San Antonio Nights." I also re-mixed a song I finished, yesterday. "Eliza" was too loud, too edgy and just irritating to my ears. It's better, today. It's amazing, what a little tweaking can do!

"Sweet, Sweet Kiss" comes from the novel, "Desperado Dawn." The other one, "San Antonio Nights," comes from the novel, "Rollin' Thunder."

All the songs are right here:

Eliza

Sweet, Sweet Kiss

San Antonio Nights

As always, back up to the /music directory, if you'd like to let my Flash player play the songs.

So far, these are the songs I have finished:

1. Gunslinger (instrumental)
2. Tennessee In My Dreams
3. Molly Be My Bride
4. Eliza
5. Sweet, Sweet Kiss
6. San Antonio Nights (instrumental)

These 6 songs add up to about 21 minutes, so I need 4 more songs and/or roughly 15 more minutes. I'd like to hit the 35 minutes, regardless of the number of songs. One of the songs I have in mind will be at or near 6 minutes, so I could probably do 10 songs and 35 minutes, with no trouble.

New song finished!! "Tennessee In My Dreams," from the "Desperado" soundtrack. My fingers are blistered and ouchie, though. And hoo, boy, am I out of practice on guitar!!! Took me half the day just to begin getting warmed up. But, it's been about 5 months, since I last played, so it's to be expected. I guess I did all right, considering how long it's been. Also considering that I've never played or sang this song, before today. I'm kind of getting into the habit of one or two takes for these songs, now! My voice is also a little weak and scratchy, but I don't care. It could be worse, and at least, I don't have a house full of someone else's nasty cigarette smoke, this year! Yay!

Anyway, the song is right here:

Tennessee In My Dreams

Or, just back up to the /music directory and play it through my flash player, if you prefer!

I need to get my characters to write songs for me more often. Joshua Love, in particular, writes good ones! (^o^)