I Heard You Say
Posted on June 27, 2004
I guess I have had a real serious case of writers block kicking now for WAY too long, huh? I have to admit though. Now that it’s over, I feel freaking GREAT!
Let me be the first to tell you all that I just finished a new song. Finished as in finished writing it, and man - I am thrilled about it. It’s tentatively titled, “I Heard You Say.” It’s about a relationship between two people where they’ve been together, had it good, had it bad, and broke it off and then one day they start talking again. I’m sure we’ve all been there, but this actually sprung from two places. 1 - a conversation I had with a dear friend of mine today about open relationships and 2 - a recording I found of myself on my little mini digital recorder singing a line (”I heard you say…”). So, I had been banging around on this little electropiano I bought from a guy on Craigslist on lots of older songs I used to do in my sets in Chicago and other places before then, and then I broke out the recorder, started going through it and the next thing you know I am totally into this song. Then 2 hours later I’ve written it. COMPLETE WITH A BRIDGE! Which never happens.
I heard a guy on NPR the other day, this guy who I think was a famous Cuban songwriter, saying how when he finished a song, he immediately put it “into the cookie jar.” He said that all songwriters feel like when they finish a song, that it’s the best song in the world - the best they’ve ever written - until they have had a chance to walk away from it for a while, come back later, and revisit it…Take it out of the “jar.” I think I will do that with this song. Hopefully not for too long though, because I think it’s good. And I want to play it for you all soon.
I was reading about how Jeff Tweedy jonesed for his guitar while he was in rehab and how he tried to write and perform everyday and I just thought to myself - wow - I need to get my shit in gear! So, I guess today was a real pivotal day for me. You wouldn’t think that it would all come on a day that I spent most of it glued in front of the TV at Marney’s playing Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow but it did, and I am glad.
I went through a lot of old cassettes tonight, looking for some original master tapes from some sessions I did back in ‘97. I found them. Thank God! But I need a Vestax 6-Track to mix them. Or I guess any 6-Track Cassette deck will do really. But I want to remix/master them and put them up. Just to show you my old skool skillz. LOL! Not really. But to show you the progression I have made, or I think I have made as a writer and singer. Roberto the Listener said that he thought my voice sounded a lot higher on the stuff he heard tonight. I agree. Damn smoking. Glad I gave it up when I did.
Also, on Friday night I went to the ALABAMA concert with Marney and Scott. That was a blast. Of course, the band are THE biggest names in country music and they are from my little hometown of Fort Payne, AL and I went to school with their kids. Alison, Randy’s daughter, was suppose to meet me there, but she didn’t show up. I hope all is well with her. But I did get to see my high school principal, Charles Shipp, and his daughter, Amy, who I graduated with. Charles is now the head of the band’s fan club and tours with them to promote the fan club. Amy lives here with her husband Eric and works for the local CASA organization.
Afterwards it was Kerbey Lane for some Latenight Breakfast (no reference to my former band intended) and then home for some hanging out with my buddy John Medina who was up from Corpus to play a show for me at Graffiti’s. We jammed on some tunes together and then I broke out for the rest of the night jammin’ solo until like 5AM. And what do you know?? It’s almost that time now! Go figure.
Well, I am glad that the silence has been broken. I sure hope you are.
All my love from Austin-
~Kia
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