Hello again.. Happy Friday and welcome back to the Friday Progress Report. Right off the bat.. the photo.. I take no credit but I want to be there. This is Whislter. A ski resort town located about an hour and a half or so north of Vancouver, B.C., Canada. To me, being in the mountains is like being cradled by the Mother Earth. I realize there are things about this kind of location that does not appeal to some.. and okay.. nice photo but, cold. Yeah..you’re right. I happen to be one who likes cold and Whistler is a setting I can get along with. Prior to leaving the northwest and moving to Texas, I got my “cold quota” in every year and then I moved to Austin…. Texas…. In the middle of August…. and there we stayed, my children and I, for just about 25 years. Which.. now that I’m back home in the northwest, my extended visit to Texas doesn’t feel like it was that long. I certainly missed home while I was there though. Sometimes while driving, I would pretend that a far off Texas cloud banks were snow capped mountain tops off in the far distance. There were times in the sweltering Texas heat that I thought I actually felt some of the cold from those imaginary snow capped mountain tops.. definitely made me homesick.
Well.. onward and forward.. In my last episode I pointed out that I was finishing up mixes and things and, shared some light on what generated inspirations the first two songs. Let me continue with the list songs on the album again and pick up where I left off with song number 3.. Tomy.. yes I realize there’s only one “m” in Tomy. The name I went by as a child was Tommy.. my oldest son.. Tomy.. was named after me… Thomas C. Tarpley, III.. I’m Jr. To distinguish his name from mine… Tomy.
>1. move me
>2. what have we done now
>3. Tomy
>4. my kind of day
>5. from this point forward
>6. you and me
>7. groove instinct
>8. the beauty
>9. sahara frolic
>10. tree tops
>3. Tomy My son Tomy is the inspiration for the number 3 song. Long story short.. At two weeks old, a healthy young baby boy contracted Meningitis as an infection in his spinal fluid. As a result, this severely hindered both physical and mental growth. Tomy was non verbal and quadriplegic with a spirit stronger than any I’ve witnessed before or after Tomy’s stay here. Although he outlived the expectations of his doctors, he passed at the age of 12. I could speak for the next twenty episodes sharing what I learned, what he gave to us and everyone who knew him. The main thing I learned but at times found it hard to practice was Love… and the power of Love… Without uttering a single word, Tomy tough me this on a daily basis. I learned that communication exists in other forms beyond what I can actually convey here. I do not understand the mechanics but, I do know the presence. A while after Tomy passed, this song came at me almost too fast to catch.. but.. I did and it is one of my favorites. >4. my kind of day The photo of Whistler at the top of this piece… my kind of day. I started writing this one in San Marcos, Texas and finished it in the house we bought in Elgin, Texas. Snow to me is a kind of cleanser as well as an excellent damper. Quiet happens.. people find a place and spend a lot of times in a more confined area. During snow time, one of the only reminders of automation in the neighborhood is the sound of the snowplow shovel scraping the top of the streets. With me I find a lot of peace in that quiet..you know. Coffee and Cognac as antifreeze and it’s a done deal. While putting the music together, a memory walked in on me of a time I visited a friend of a friend that in a high rise apartment. The view out the large picture window was of countryside… Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon-Great Gig in the Sky was being played on a very expensive stereo and that whole moment was perfect. My kind of day” is of that same spirit. The tempo reflects calm, slow and easy… take it all in kind of groove. That’s me and where the song took me… you could imagine something totally different. Maybe along the lines of weasel’s rip my flesh kind of thing… and that’s all good. One of the wonders of music. The very same song shows itself in a thousand different ways to a thousand different people.. a personal journey.. together… you and the song.
Here’s where I’m at now in the process. All of the songs have been bounced down. What is that??? A song, consisting of several individual instruments on individual tracks… say 24 tracks… is then bounced or condensed down to 2 tracks, in stereo-2 tracks and mastered (polished up and optimized sonically) and is then ready for human musical consumption. But first I have to do some referencing.. (listen to the songs on different mediums.. okay stereo, sucky stereo, phones, pads, kick-ass stereo ( my wife’s car stereo)…and if it sounds good across the board… it’s ready. So I’m bouncing now and I’ll do some referencing and get back to you next time around with another progress report.
My genuine thanks to you for stopping by and checking in. Remember… you can respond, request, chime in, halla.. or interact in your own special way.. interact, tell your friends, your mom, your brother and your distant cousins to stop by also…. music is near. Take good care all.
humanmusique productions 