A year in a home studio 8/9/10
Yes, a bulk round-up, I’m afraid.
Managed to get a decent amount done on the latest Collective task during Week 8, but then a flu virus (or at least the tail-end of one; I certainly didn’t get the full-on version) put paid to any serious work during Week 9.
Finally, for the past week I just haven’t had time to play guitar in any sort of recreational capacity… we’re planning some new products for bluesjamtracks and a couple of Guitarist deadlines have landed earlier than normal, so things have been a bit hectic round here.
But anyway, as I mentioned the Collective… this month’s task is to record a cover of the Santo & Johnny classic “Sleepwalk” in any style you like. I love arranging covers in totally different styles from the originals, but I always find there’s a slight initial struggle to break free of any preconceptions of how the song “should” sound. For example, the main Sleepwalk chord progression (C-Am-Fm-G) is a slightly modified version of the old I-vi-IV-V progression that underpins *so* many cheesy 50s teen ballads. That chord sequence comes with a clear set of cultural baggage, so I find there’s an initial effort in forcing my ears away from the obvious expectations. Once you break through that barrier, though, crazy things can happen…