October 2001 Getting Your Album Finished...or, Why Did I Run the Boston Marathon? by Danielle Egnew

"Finishing an album can sometimes be like a trickle on a leaking faucet. Or more appropriately, what seemed as though it was going to be a two block jog to the store for milk becomes the Boston Marathon of pulmonary doom."
- Danielle Egnew

This is on my mind during this fine, fine month of October, because, well--you'll see.

Finishing the album seems like such a rudimentary task. The culmination of all these stupendous songs you have been writing, all pressed into a George Jetson looking thing-a-me called a CD. It's the king jewel of all your creative effort. It's your baay-beee! And you want it more than anything, except getting an actual copy in your hand.

You've thought it out meticulously. Afterall, you are not going ot put your child on a school bus whose destination is a gray area. You schedule the studio time at SuperDuper Studios. You schedule the all-singing-all-dancing mastering artist who has bionic ears, for only $5,000 an hour. Your band is more rehearsed than David Letterman's. Your album cover has been designed by some inner-circle LA artist who doesn't actually have a first name, only a tribal grunt...and a squiggly thing when he signs his grunty name. You have sent teaser ads out to radio stations, with an Orson Wells impersonator the Actor's Guild let you have for practically nothing because he's got one foot in the grave, heralding the coming of your brilliant new release. You have a date at The Hard Rock Cafe, Billings, Montana, to put on the blow-out CD release of the century. You are going to make Michael Jackson's comeback look like a junior high talent show. The media has been invited. You have conferred with the editor of Rolling Stone to get your indie release reviewed after months of talking to the guy online about how to fix his Kharmann Ghia...everything is ready for the birth of your child...

...Except your album isn't going to be finished on time. Uh-o, Spaghetti-O's.

Finishing an album can sometimes be like a trickle on a leaking faucet. Or more appropriately, what seemed as though it was going to be a two block jog to the store for milk becomes the Boston Marathon of pulmonary doom. You feel the clock ticking at your back. You feel the media contacts completely forgetting what your name was, with each passing second. And worse, you are now bending beneath the weight of your own self-imposed feeling of being a failure. Your fans are even writing in saying, "Did you guys break up? What about the new album??" But you just can't get the album finished ontime. (Insert Spaghetti-O's exclamation here again.)

See, the bionic mastering engineer had a fight with his girlfriend, who is now demanding full custody of their one year old child, Otto-Gerard. So Mr. Bionic ears suddenly has bigger fish to fry, and you get bumped for a month. SuperDuper Studios just cancelled your last two vocal sessions to get in Paul Simon's Cousin's Nephew's high school thrash band, Drippy Band-Aid...so they can say they worked with "Paul Simon's People" and raise their rates $50 an hour. The graphic artist, who is unreachable and whose name is unpronounceable and unreadable (but who everyone wants because someone in LA wearing a mock black turtle neck decided that this guy was the bomb and OH, the connections and prestige...) has now decided that this month the moon is not sitting in the sky correctly and is pulling too much iron in his blood behind his left earlobe--thus he is experiencing debilitating earlobe cramps. (He tries to stick you with his holistic doctor bill, but takes back his request when you inadvertently spit in the corner of his eye while laughing so hard.)

Sometimes you or your band get into the studio, with your immaculately rehearsed hoopla that is going to go to tape, and the music genuis gods smile down upon you. Brilliant brand new parts are born, which take up recording time, but does the song leap after the news parts are added! Sometimes you will finish a song completely, but once you hear it in playback, the recorded version just doesn't do it justice the same way it shines when performed live. It must be arranged differently . So you arrange and record said song again, only to realize that it's magic is in the live intimacy of performance, and you need to replace it altogether because it sounds like Mary-had-A-Little-Lamb next to every other stellar composition on the album.

Or perhaps you run out of money at the last minute. I know bands that have sold home-burns of their CD for a little less price tag than a professional run-off, equipped with terrific album art printed off of high-end inkjet printers, while waiting for the album to come back from the pressers. Their fans had the same mastered album in hand, with just a little different packaging and a different CD label. When it comes down to it, as much as your fans do love the artwork and the lyrics in the CD jacket, they are buying your album for your music. Supporters understand that Indie bands are not chocked full of cash, and sometimes, intermediary steps must be taken in the retail production of their music. And often, many of those fans will re-purchase your professionally pressed CD, because they'd like to have the lyrics inside, etc. If your choice is waiting indefinitely until your band can afford professionally printed CD's, or going another route such as some slick-looking home-burns, then by all means, go the home-burn route until your can get the other into play. After all, this is about your music, not about your packaging.

For those who are worried about sending a demo to a record company that is not on a professionally printed CD, don't worry. Many artists who have pro pressed CD's send labels a three-sing home burn demo anyway, as three songs is the standard demo length.

(Sidenote: If you send a label your completed CD, make SURE you designate which songs are your strongest demo tracks, on a clearly visible label right up front on the cover. If you are shopping with the full length CD, it would be preferable if your three strongest songs start out your album, and then you can simply designate listening to songs 1-3, instead of making the label person who is inundated and slightly bitter about the fact that they have no time and have such huge demands from their label, sift from tracks 3,7 to 9. What happens if they accidentally tumble across one of your weaker songs because owner Fionna at MegaRecords is pressing that A&R person to find the next hit band by Tuesday and the frazzled A&R guy (who hasn't slept in four days) mistakes track "6" for track "9"...and instead of getting your next big single, they call up that funny joke song you wrote for your Uncle Herbert's post-mortem 40th wedding anniversary. You see my point.)

Currently, Pope Jane is six weeks behind releasing our new album, and there are a host of different reasons for this that we would never have seen coming. Our last three albums have been finished without a hitch...but this one has just been the album from hell. Sometimes, crap just happens.

Do not fret, or beat yourself with a wet noodle, if you are behind schedule. Remain calm. Do not wait--upon the first signs of your being behind, IMMEDIATELY contact your media and club contacts to let them know that you will be moving your release date. You do not need to give a reason for this. Just have another date picked out, and give yourself an extra two weeks onto that date, to make sure you are allowing time for things like the CD's being back from the pressers in atimelyy fashion, to come ot fruition.

The key to managing a product that has run behind in production is being HONEST about the fact that it is running behind. Don't gamble that maybe you'll get the thing done faster than you thought, or maybe you'll make up that extra week in the studio by really cracking out the other songs that still need to be recorded. In terms of a timeline, a few weeks is not going to make or break your release, but slapping together songs on your album to make up for the time it took to create one brilliant song will do nothing but make the rest of your album weak--you know, like those albums in the '80's you used to buy that had the ONE strong radio single, and eleven other really dumb songs on it that made you embarrassed you bought the album.

Just stay on top of your timeline. All media/club people really want form you, in terms of album release coordination, is open communication. If it comes down to you missing your release date and having to re-schedule with the club, but you'll have to wait another six weeks, guess what? Better to have a basement full of your CD's, while you are waiting for your club date to come back up, than you having a CD release party with no CD's. Not good.

Yeah, I know, pride is a big one--you want to honor your word, and you're VERY excited about getting your product out. I can relate with that. Pope Jane has had three albums produced in a timely manner, with CD releases going off without a hitch...and this fourth one has just been a weird comedy or freakishoccurencess. 3 out of 4 ain't bad, I suppose. So delayed releases happen to the best of us.

Current events can also effect the timing of your release. With the detestable and horrible events that occurred on September 11th, I am sure that everyone is stunned and dazed, as we have been. It's hard, if not near impossible, to get right back in the saddle after such a humongous and frightening tragedyy. So by all means, take the appropriate time necessary to emotionally process such an impactual undertaking. The album will be there when you're done. Working through your emotional scape must happen on its own timeline.

Just keep a cool head, and don't panic because you feel behind on your project. Continue forward, one step a time. Be where your hands are, not where they are supposed to be, and do your work accordingly, a little every day. In no time, your baby will be hitting the streets and finding new homes... and no more Spaghetti-O's.

ABOUT DANIELLE EGNEW mailbox@popejanemusic.com Danielle is a producer, writer, and musician. She also happens to be lead vocalist / guitarist for the all female pop/rock trio, Pope Jane. Danielle's discography includes eight albums--three independently with Pope Jane, three on Northwest label Whatever Wreckards, a country album, and an Indie solo album. Danielle has also produced, written, and arranged for a very wide array of artists in the genres of Pop, Rock, AAA / AC, Punk, Blues, R&B, Folk, New Age, Electronica, Industrial, Trance, Country, and Christian Contemporary. She is well known for the power of her live performance, and her riveting vocal abilities. Danielle likes Wilcoxin's Moosetracks Ice Cream, and Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek Voyager.