Yesterday I put the finishing touches on my next album, Reality Jockey. All the songs are totally done, and it’s now time to decide the scope of the project. I could put the thing out tomorrow online (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc) for $60. But I’m going to sit on it for awhile so I can do something bigger. Reality Jockey is the album I’ve always wanted to make. My style has always been a mix of rock, pop, jazz, and electronica- but I think this collection of songs integrate these different styles more naturally than my earlier attempts. (Not to mention, there are two instrumentals based on the math of the Golden Section!) Plus, since I’ve been listening to a lot more contemporary pop songs, there are arrangement techniques in action that bring the songs squarely into 2018. Also? Some killer choruses.
My real goal, as stated before, is to have the album professionally mastered, do a 300 station non-commercial radio campaign, do blog/magazine publicity, make a small run of vinyl, and put a band together to play the songs live. Lately I’ve also been batting about the idea of a 2-week regional tour, to focus on the towns where the songs are receiving airplay.
This costs more than $60. In fact, it costs about $15,000. I have a few generous folks interested in investing in the project, but it’s also possible that I could pay for it myself and release the project in 2019. I have not ruled out the idea of shopping the album to local labels, but I really want to put it out myself (and not give up my publishing).
The songs came along at their own pace- couldn’t have rushed them if I wanted to. I expect that the manufacturing and promotion for the album will follow suit. The album will come out exactly when it’s supposed to.
