Shoestring Century

3:12 a.m.

With due apologies to those I have neglected or abandoned over the years, I am glad to have waked in a state of perfect concentration at 2:45 a.m. without any distractions, pleasures, or obligations to hold me in bed.  I packed my cables, got in the car, and, with the exception of a stop at the Empty Mirror rehearsal space to pick up a mic stand and pen this update, headed straight for my vacationing parents’ house — home of a dark-toned Baldwin.  This is the childhood home where I wrote XX XXXXX XX XXXX.

I will begin this morning with “I Just Want a Summer of Love,” a piece that became far shorter over recent revisions.  One verse, one chorus, and it’s gone.  The “Choir,” a character on the album that sometimes speaks for the main vocals’ subconscious, now features at the end of the song, intoning, “survive for love.”

4:58 a.m.

One photo before I depart on this recording project.  Microphones are in place.  “Where Do I Begin” is playing in my head.  Fatigue is not an option.