I’m happy to report my first gig since landing in Los Angeles, this Friday, January 15th at Pehrspace. 8pm (ish). It will be a lot of fun, and gives a chance to air some stuff out. I’ve been wrapped up in cords, connecting drum machines and effects, working on the set. And that’s about all I’ve been up to, so, life is good.
http://www.midnightdoor.com/word/media/truenorth.mp3
OK so I’ve been talking about this for a while but now the album is getting mastered this Friday!
I’d really like to have any and all of your voices on the backup vocals for the chorus (just the chorus… easy!) of my song ‘True North’
The lyrics are simple and maybe cheesy, but whatevs. They are:
“Start a great fire
start a great fire
start a great fire
in your hearth
turn a blind eye
turn a blind eye
turn a blind eye
to the lie”
The way I envision you being able to do this is to simply open up any audio recording program on your computer (garageband on mac, audacity on PC), put headphones on in another program (say, itunes) press play on “true north”, press record on your audio program and sing along during the chorus into the computer’s mic. Yup, that mic is fine. It’s ok if it sounds treble-y, it will create a roomy ambience, it is the easiest option, and I will fit it in the mix however it goes. I don’t care if you sing it amazingly or not. I want the sound of many voices. If you have a better mic that is fine too.
Then you press stop on the audio program. Save the file as pretty much any audio format, and email it to me. No, I won’t hear the rest of the song because you had your headphones on, but don’t clip it down to just the chorus or anything like that so that it is easier to line up with the recording.
If you have time that is more than great. If you don’t, I understand. But please just take 5 minutes to do it if you want/can! You will be immortalized forever and most likely a radio signal will send your voice into space. Most likely. You will get credit on the album. You will be irrevocably awesome.
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!
Let me know if you think you will. I need it by thurs at the absolute latest (Sorry for the late notice… )
The mp3 is noted here. If it doesn’t show up in this facebook post, go to http://midnightdoor.com/word/?p=467
Thanks Guys!
So I have gone ahead and done my 1500th revision of my website. Someday I will leave it be. Someday. It seems like since the beginning I have needed to “improve” the site, make it easier to frequently update. Like this. And this.
But now I’ve found it maybe!
I want it to be such that new visitors will be able to quickly hear the music and get the feel for what I do. And I want it to be such that returning visitors like yourself get to this page, and that perhaps I’m a little bit more free with my commentary and posts on the blog. Bookmark this page!
Let me know what you think of the new design… MidnightDoor.com/LukeJanela
I’m super excited to report that I’m gonna get to play a show with someone I’ve admired musically for a long time!
Chuck Ragan is a member of the hugely influential band Hot Water Music. He has released two solo albums recently, which are excellent. A couple months ago we recorded; I played cello on a few tracks on his upcoming album, he sang on a track on my upcoming album.
The show is this Friday, July 10, 2009 at 9pm at the Blue Lamp in Sacramento, CA. Tickets are $12 at the door.
Just got back from the most epic and amazing trip I’ve ever taken. The Azores are incredible, and my month spent there was truly inspiring and beyond words and pictures.
I had the great privilege of seeing some traditional Azorian music, and am happy to say I think I’ve found some influential roots… more to come on that front.
For now, some pictures:
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
I’ve been working with Aaron Ross & Cody Feiler for the past 9 months, first recording an album, then playing lots of shows from Portland to the Bay Area.
Last night Dana from Station To Station put the final touches mastering the album we began recording last labor day weekend.
I’m happy to say it sounds great, and we’re looking forward to getting it out into the world. We’ll have some copies available at our CD Release/Benefit for St. Joe’s on April 24th.
The Heirs Of Mystery, our band with Aaron Ross, will be heading down the mountain to play in Davis tonight.
This coming Sunday we are trekking up to Portland to play at Alela Diane’s CD Release, at Holocene.
So I have been hell of out of the loop, removed from reality in so many ways, both living out in the woods and absolutely inundated with work. I’ve been thinking of the big posting I would put here, announcing the fantastic things going on, but just haven’t had the seconds.
The house I was staying in was outside Nevada City in Northern California, totally beautiful views of stars and wooded hillsides… it was a perfect place to get to work on the album that I’ve been wanting to do for a long long time. I call it my “old Luke” album. It’s basically like, no electronics, no avant attempts. Just simple songs, like the ones I used to rock over the hills and dales of Ukiah and Santa Cruz. And the open mics of Portland.
No concept per se, but I intend to have at most on each track the same instrumentation: cello, acoustic guitar, and vocals. I have an inkling to put drums on a couple of tracks, like the one I’m posting here, but if I do, they will be straightforward rock drums, etc.
It for me is a return to my roots: a certain Northern California sound. Not hippie, not punk, not folk, not really in between. Just who we were and are in that wooded corner of the world.
The album is tentatively titled “Redwood Summer” and is set for release April 14, 2009.
This track is called ‘Fever Saved Me’
Thanks for stopping by!
Alela’s beautiful new album ‘To Be Still’ is due to be released February 17, 2009. I’m planning on playing with Aaron Ross at her cd release party in Portland, Feb 15th…
She’s been getting a lot of well deserved attention lately. Here’s a pitchfork post of her new video… I play a little cello on this track…
I’ve been working like mad lately and in my late night hours I’ve been burning through my music list. One of the tracks from my old band “The Key” came up and I decided I’m really proud of this whole album, especially in retrospect. Especially in retrospect because I wrote this song about the approach of the US warplanes at the beginning of the Iraq war from the point of view of an innocent kid. Maybe my age, maybe in Baghdad… I still think it fits. The sounds at the end are from a giant (80,000 plus people) anti-war rally on the eve of the war. Before that scumbag W. pulled the trigger. Listen and enjoy…
In other news, I’m super busy in life and otherwise.
This Thursday I’m playing a show in Sacramento with Aaron Ross & The Heirs Of Mystery at a new club. Go to his myspace page for more details…
After that I’m driving down to Los Angeles to do some cello recording with Huff This! They’re putting together their album and I’m super glad to be able to contribute perhaps.
In the meantime, good progress is made on the solo cello album, the new cello/beats/vocals album. Those two will probably be released at the same time, in early spring.
Yes. That is what is. Hope you’re doing well…
