(I have several projects going right now, so I’m going to blog about them here, detailing the process, etc)

The Boggards have started recording their 7th CD. To date, we’ve laid down about 10 scratch tracks, and we’ll finish the rest tomorrow.

Doing things a little differently with this disc.

Firstly, we haven’t tracked one actual part yet and we already have a firmish deadline — we’ll see if we hit it.

Secondly, I’ve recorded  scratch bouzouki andbodhran tracks simultaneously, while still using a click track.  My reasoning is this: everyone in the band is used to playing against Tappy & Casey on bodhran and zouk. Having them play against a click track always causes problems.  Part of that is becasue a click track doesn’t compromise in the collaboration that is music. The other reason is unfamiliarity — whether it’s a simple beep, or a kick/snare midi part, the click always sounds foreign.  It’s not part of our sound.

The Song List

We’re including five completely re-recorded songs from Bawdy Parts and Barley Legal. We determined which songs by asking our friends and fans to rank the songs they would like to see re-recorded once the first two discs go out of print. I also polled everyone in the band on the same.

I took the top ten old songs, along with all of our new material, totaling 20 songs. Then I asked each band member to pick 5 songs to cut.

Once everything was collated, we had our 15 tracks.

Certainly not the most “artistic” way to choose the tracks for an album, but it ensures that the listeners will get what they want, and the band will remain interested in what they’re performing.

We have songs on previous discs that much of the band didn’t care about recording. I won’t say which songs, and I won’t entertain guesses, but I can hear the difference.

Timeline

Yes, we have a “soft” deadline for the disc. There’s plenty of time for tracking and post production to meet the deadline. If you know us, you can probably guess what that deadline is.

If it looks like we’ll hit the deadline, we’ll announce the release date. Otherwise, we won’t.