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– Roo Forrest Podcast Posted!

Chris Klimecky | July 27, 2011

It’s the end of July already and time to get to know another member of Songwriters in Seattle! This month my guest is Andy “Roo” Forrest – a creative entreprenuer outside of music, who brings both a clever lyrical and harmonic sense to his songs. He has a great blend of pop, folk, jazz, and country that feels familiar yet is wholly original at the same time. To me, it is really indicative of how creativity crosses boundaries, and influences from other parts of our lives can gel in a songwriter’s music to produce something unique to the individual songwriter.

For the podcast, we dive into Roo’s new, self-titled CD out now (“Roo”) and we play a couple cuts from the disc as well as discuss the many great guest musicians he has on the recording. As an independent businessman, we tackle a little bit of music business discussion as well for a different perspective than one might usually get from a musician. As a grand finale, Roo plays a new song live in the studio – a sweet solo acoustic and vocal piece perfect for the summer(!) called “I Like the Snow.” A little Christmas in July for ya!

Blog

– Bill Derry Podcast Posted

Chris Klimecky | March 30, 2011

It’s time for the March Songwriters in Seattle Podcast! This month I spoke with local songwriter Bill Derry, who performs regularly throughout the Pacific Northwest. As he says in the podcast, he just “likes to perform” and has many variations with his band, solo, duo, trio, etc. playing a mix of classic rock, folk, and jazz. To me, he just has a a very laid back and easy to listen to style – no doubt in part due to his smooth, mellow voice.

He has a cd out with his band, entitled “This Old Dog” – which you can get at a live show or on iTunes here:

Bill Derry Band – “This Old Dog” on iTunes

In addition to the song Friday Afternoon that we spin during the podcast, Bill performed 2 new previously unrecorded songs live in the studio. What a treat to be able to broadcast new songs like this!

Blog

– Inspiring Songwriters in Seattle

Chris Klimecky | March 21, 2011

I just got back from the monthly Songwriters in Seattle networking meetup, and I must say “Wow”! The amount of talent in the room was insane – try to imagine a small room with 20 or so musicians packed in, each playing an original song that showed off their personal style. Every one put a smile on my face. It was super-inspiring to look around and think about what a supportive musical community we have.

There were no “hacks” there tonight. Sure people are at different points in their musical journeys – some played their best song, some played a recent song, some played a song to ask the group for feedback, so it’s not necessarily always a “best foot forward” kind of situation. But the variety and energy that came through whether it was live or recorded was phenomenal. If you’re a musician and you can possibly get to one of these events, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Blog

– Lyric Inspiration?

Chris Klimecky | February 17, 2011

Oh boy, it’s that time again – I’ve finished up with my main group of songs in production and it’s time to start new songs from scratch. There’s a longstanding debate whether creativity can be forced or can only be allowed to flow naturally when it’s ready. I guess I subscribe to a creative philosophy somewhere in the middle, in that I can definitely shut it down – turn it off, or maybe distract it, if you will. But when I “allow” myself to be creative and am open to receiving creative inspiration I generally don’t have a problem finding it. I don’t generally find myself with the proverbial “writer’s block” for any substantial period of time. I can get stuck, but can work myself out of it over time without too much struggle.

I should qualify this as applying only to music, however, as lyrics are always a struggle for me. Always have been and likely always will be. I absolutely can’t force lyrics or process my way to poetic ideas. So I generally seek out lyric writing partners to do the heavy lifting. That being said, I think I’m pretty good at editing lyrics and adding the right touches to finalize them – it’s the starting from scratch part that’s really tough for me. On the rare occasion though – maybe once or twice per year – a set of lyrics will come to me, almost all at once. I don’t know how or why, but they fly through my head and I have to write them down before I forget. Of course, I’m usually in the car at the time, so rushing home to get lyrics down on paper can be a challenge. It happened again this morning!

Red Sky on the Water
Blog

– New Song Released: “Water Colors”

Chris Klimecky | February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I hope you are feeling loved ’cause I’m sharing the love today with the release of a new song, “Water Colors”. This is the fourth preview from my upcoming album due in the Fall of 2011, This Journey, and the last you’ll hear from that for a while. Sure, I’ve got other songs in production for other folks that I’ll be releasing in between, but as far as the rock tunes for my own album, there will be a few months break.

So, what’s with “Water Colors”? It’s a slight change of pace, a little longer form, and a little more complex arrangement that I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. A guest vocal on the bridge from the lovely and talented Adena Atkins puts this one in a category of its own: the first rock song I’ve ever recorded with a female voice as part of the arrangement! I’m thrilled she agreed to do it as I believe the tone and quality of her voice fits perfectly as a sort of ethereal distant “siren song”. It serves the lyric/traditional phrase well as a reminder that the seductive beauty of life holds both joy and peril.

Blog

– Two Songs Being Mixed

Chris Klimecky | February 5, 2011

I wanted to give you a heads up on two songs coming down the pipeline. They’re both very close and should be finished and released over the next few weeks. Although it can be an arduous process, mixing and mastering is ultimately so rewarding that it’s worth the pain and fine details work that goes into it. There is nothing better than pushing play on the final test CD that sounds fantastic blasted out of the home stereo system!

Anyway, the two songs are: 1. Water Colors, the latest from my upcoming album, and 2. A re-mix of David Rix’s Carry On with Jessica Lynne sharing vocal duties. Here’s a little more detail on each of these…

Blog

– February Preview

Chris Klimecky | January 28, 2011

Down to the last few days in January, already? Wow, it’s been a productive start to 2011 and I hope you’ve enjoyed some of the fruits of that labor. There have been two major song releases, a podcast, a start at Twitter and YouTube, my regular blog, and then lots of behind the scenes effort to get all of my web presence pages looking consistent, easy to use, and packed with as much content as the various sites will allow!

There’s still lots more to do and tons of content in the pipeline for February. Here’s a glance at my upcoming “to do” list:

– The third major song release for this early group of new recordings, “Water Colors”: It’s another with lyrics passed to me by Cait Rosellini. It’s got a different feel that I am really digging – those who have heard it think it has a David Bowie sound. I’m a bad judge of these things, but perhaps because of the metaphor-style storytelling? Anyway, I’m excited to have you listen and tell me what you think of it yourself.

– Two new recordings with Americana singer Jessica Lynne: I’ve got two recordings coming with her that are cool variations on already released songs. One is a version of “Colored Life” – you can hear a preview of that from the (horrible visual quality!) live video that was taken of us performing the song together. Jessica has a great voice that fits the song perfectly and I’m very happy to have a fully produced version of the song with her. We also got her recorded on a version of David Rix’s “Carry On” which takes the song in an interesting duet direction.

Blog

– Hear Ye, Hear Ye: “The Age Old Story”

Chris Klimecky | January 19, 2011

Have you ever wished upon a star? I’m proud to present to you the first song I wrote with lyrics from Cait Rosellini, “The Age Old Story.” I was inspired by the different thematic material and sense of wonder in the words. This was a fun one as it just came out so smoothly and naturally – I’m very excited about this song. I hope you enjoy it and share the link with friends. Thank you for your support! Here are the full lyrics:

Blog

– “The Age Old Story” Drops This Week

Chris Klimecky | January 17, 2011

Heads up, All! Incoming mid-week I’ll be posting my second new song of 2011, “The Age Old Story.” It’s the first song I wrote with lyrics by Cait Rosellini and I think it’s one of my best EVER. I know, it’s always easy to think the last thing ya did was the best, but I gotta tell you, I think this is a special one. I hope you agree!

It’s also the kind of song that I think really represents my creative identity at this point – strong melody, dynamic flow, buttery harmony vocals, and a kickin’ guitar solo all wrapped up in a tight pop/rock structure.

Blog

– “This Journey” is Now Posted!

Chris Klimecky | January 5, 2011

Starting off 2011 with a bang! New rocker “This Journey” is now available for streaming from any of my music players and you can download it at my store for just 99 cents. Many thanks to Cait Rosellini for the lyric inspiration – you can look forward to a few more coming from Cait and me over the next few months…I hope you agree it’s a winning combo! Full lyrics below:

Blog

– New Song, “This Journey” Coming This Week

Chris Klimecky | January 3, 2011

All right, folks, it’s time to start showing off the new songs!!! I’m very excited to have the first of this group to be posted be “This Journey” which is in fact my newest song at this point. It was only written last month and went through full production exceptionally fast. It shows off a different side of me, not only from a songwriting point of view, but vocally as well. Split into two unique sections, no guitar solos or thick harmonies are employed in this arrangement. I hope you find it to be as refreshing a track from some of my usual productions as I have. It has been a lot of fun to put it together!

A little bit more background on this song. It is my fourth collaboration with lyricist Cait Rosellini, whose name you’ll be hearing a lot more of as these songs get released.

Blog

– Three New Songs Coming Early 2011

Chris Klimecky | December 20, 2010

I’m excited to announce that I’m putting the finishing touches on the production of three new songs of mine, to be released early in 2011. These songs were all co-written with a new lyric writing partner Caitlyn Rosellini, so they all have a fresh sound and a different perspective. Being recorded in with my new home studio setup also gives them an upgraded quality in the production I am thrilled about. So far only Energy and Carry On have been released using this studio configuration, so producing more at that level is something I want to get out as soon as I can.

The three songs, in the order I will likely release them, are called This Journey (just need a final mix & master), Age Old Story (a guitar solo away), and Water Colors. Each has unique qualities and each rocks in its own way – no acoustic numbers in this group. I’ll give more detail as each song is released, so for now have a very Merry Christmas – musical presents from me are coming soon!

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