It's been some time since we've spoken on a greater than 140 character-level. Therefore, a rundown of both MY thoughts and OUR future plans is in order. In true MBA form, I'll vow to create at least a quarterly report every three months to keep you all informed of where we're at. Now, to review our first quarter together...
November 6th marked the three-month anniversary of Barometer's release. I consider that date to be the day that I was officially born as an artist. For a few reasons. One, our recording and writing process up to that point had been so sporadic that I really never had the opportunity to find out who I was or what I was going to be as an artist. I'd estimate that the album averaged one writing/recording session every six months over a three-year period. I know the math doesn't jive with the album's 12-song count, but many of the album's songs came about just before the release, which I'll explain more in a bit. Two, August 6th was really the first time that we had done anything to promote Drew William. I mean, sure, we may have mentioned the songs I had recorded to friends in passing, but Barometer finally provided us with a tangible product to bring to the masses. Lastly, that date really, for the first time, marked my unwavering confidence that my brother and I could truly compete with anybody in the professional music industry.
Now, to the album. About 2/3 of it was done at least 9 months prior to release date. The final 4 songs were all done within 2 weeks of releasing. How wild is that? That includes Fading Dreams and Hot Shit being recorded 2 weeks in advance and Runaway and So Gone being just 6 days before album release. What's even crazier, as I alluded to earlier, is that I don't think we truly found our sound until those last 2 weeks of recording. That thought drives me each and every day. When you listen to the first song recorded, She Ride, and then listen to the last two recorded, Runaway and So Gone, there's such an undeniable evolution that occurred somewhere in that interim period. Don't get me wrong, I love She Ride and that song will always have a special place in my heart for being the first song I ever officially recorded and remembering the place I was at in life when I wrote it, but we're in a place now as artist and producer that's sonically unique. One thing I've noticed throughout the process of making Barometer is that the comparisons that I heard from people tapered off. When I first started, people used to tell me "Oh, that's good, you sound like ___." Anything from Fabolous to Fort Minor. Hearing that is always a compliment and a diss to me. It's like, oh, you're good enough to accurately bite them, but you're not unique enough to not sound like you're biting them. That's not our goal. What's funny is, I love both of those artists, but I wouldn't call them influences. Whenever a music site asks you who your influences are, I always just put artists that I like. Maybe those are one and the same, but I could never accurately describe who I'm influenced by in music because I don't strive to be influenced. I just take my experiences as an individual and do shit that I like. Maybe you can pick out where I got something from here or there. I don't know. But my taste in music has always been pretty eclectic since I was young. I mean, I grew up listening to, like, records of the Monkeys and shit with my parents. I'll never forget when I was little and ready for bed, my brother and I would always call into a radio station and request "Downtown" by Petula Clark. My favorite song growing up was "Two Faces" by Lou Christie. The first album I ever bought was Phil Collins "Both Sides of the Story." Then I got into the Def Jam era with Jay-Z, Method Man, Redman, DMX because it just embodied that rebellion that I was looking for as a teen. I always say that I think hip-hop is to my generation what rock-n-roll was to my parents'. That's why I always find it humorous that my parents' generation is baffled at us liking hip-hop. Look, we aren't trying to live out some of these actions that they're talking about, we're looking for a release. Just like you were once upon a time. A form of music that your parents' despise because we love to raise a middle finger to authority and have something that's all ours. I'll forever be indebted to hip-hop music for the way that it's made so many bonds with my friends that much tighter. Now, you know, I listen to Jay-Z, Kanye, Drake, all of that currently. But I'm also, like, enamored with the electro singer, Lights. Mayer Hawthorne's stuff has always put me in a unique place. And I love pop music - Katy Perry, Black Eyed Peas, all that shit. So to say that I'm not influenced by any of that is a blatant lie, but I also think that you can attribute what I say as much to the Monkeys as you can to Jay-Z. Getting back to the point, however...now, even though more people have heard my music than ever before, I haven't gotten any of those comparisons since the last leg of the album was recorded. That's a beautiful thing. That's how I know that we've begun to carve out our niche and create something that's sustainable. With that said, the ideation stage of the second project is underway and I will be sure to post updates as we move along.
In closing, I just want to say that your support for the album has only reinforced my desire to move forward with the music. I think we have some great places yet to go. A huge thank you to my brother, The Therapist, who produced every god damn last track on the album. He makes up AT LEAST half of the team and if I didn't find inspiration in his music, I wouldn't be doing this anymore. Kristen Chase and Rob Chase, who pulled off a phenomenal photo shoot and album design in the 25th hour. Dan Middleton, who recorded and engineered the entire project - big part of our sound and evolution as well. I'll never forget the studio in Fort Wayne where the album was recorded. I won't go any further because the rest of the shout outs I'd like to make go to people who are invaluable and whose roles are undefinable. I hope the words I give to you in person are enough to express my gratitude for your support.
Drew
