In thinking about how to record this album-to-be, I feel it would only be fair to track the album as it was written. The same way the year passes: one month at a time.

This has some drawbacks. It's potentially more expensive - it costs more to pay an engineer to set up drum mics twelve times, rather than once to capture twelve drum tracks. Also, the songs may not have any overarching sonic quality that binds them together as an album.

It also some big advantages. First of all, it allows me to fufill my goal of not spending any money to produce Blood Year. By recording one song at a time, I can raise money by playing shows or selling music. This might mean it will take years to create the final recorded product, but I can wait.

More importantly, recording one song at a time allows me to consider exactly how best to record each track. That began with "New Year's Day".

This is a pedal steel song. I could hear the pedal steel rising behind the acoustic guitar every time I played the song. This meant I'd need to record the song with Bryan Daste. Bryan is a pedal steel player, owner of Magic Closet Studios in Portland, a member of my once-and-future band The Last Minute, and a good friend.

What you hear above is the product of 16 hours in Magic Closet Studios over April 9 and 10 of 2010. Bryan engineered and mixed this semi-final version of the track. He also plays the pedal steel and sings backing vocals. Last Minute members Adam Mack and Matt Johnson play drums and bass. Mont Christopher Hubbard performs the piano and mellotron.

I'm very pleased with this first step towards documenting the songs being amassed here this year. I hope you enjoy it.

Not so long ago, but a very long time ago, I made a new beginning in March. At the time it felt rather tragic. It has also led to most of the best parts of my life.

This song isn't about March, the month. It's not an abstraction. It's about my March, in 2007. And I wanted the song to reflect both the sense of loss, and the feeling of promise.

Back at the end of December, after I finished writing "New Years Day," I wrote a list. It looks like this:

1. It's cold
2. It's short
3. My birthday
4. Groundhogs Day
5. Presidents

Not exacly a basis for a stunning song. With March already in the bag, and January coming out naturally, it appeared February was going to be the first song I'd have to force.

Forcing a song is a dangerous game. The best songs write themselves, three of my favorites agree. Paul McCartney heard "Yesterday" in a dream, woke up and wrote it down. Samuel Taylor Colerige wrote "Kubla Kahn" the same way. Neil Young says, "Stop trying... If you don't have an idea and you don't hear anything going over and over in your head, don't sit down and try to write a song. You know, go and mow the lawn."

Blood Year flies in the face of this. By committing to a song a month, I'm forcing myself to work in a new, less organic way. The song for February would be the first test of this.

When I began, I wanted to make it a short, sweet song. I had "Her Majesty" in mind as a model. Short in honor of the month. Sweet because the January song is ponderous, and the March song is outright depressing.

I ended up with this. At five minutes, it isn't short, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. The song went through a lot of iterations, starting as a shuffle and morphing to piano pop and then a ballad. Unable to pick between the pop and the ballad, I mashed the two together.

Neil Young wouldn't have approved of the process (and possibly not the end result), but it comes as a relief to know that I can start empty handed and end up with a song. Making something out of nothing doesn't feel natural. But it would be a long year if it wasn't possible.

Bryn

"New Years Day"
by Bryn Loosley

Order up your last round
They're closing down the bar
And the streets outside are slick with rain
And we could drain another down
Or we could turn this train around
We've got 12 good months to change
And though we've spoken solemn vows
We will break them all somehow
The year is new, the mistakes are all the same
But promise

I will not hide from love
I will not cower at the seams of the powerful beams
Of its searchlight-bright flood
I will dance in the blinding light of its rays
Somebody kiss me, it's New Years Day

And could old acquaintance be forgot
And never be brought to mind
Then maybe I'd be freed of these jealousies
That have been keeping me since auld lang syne
And I could start over again
There's time to make amends
Time to get things right this time
This time

I will not hide from love
I will not cower at the seams of the powerful beams
Of its searchlight-bright flood
I will dance in the blinding light of its rays
Somebody kiss me, it's New Years Day

Hi friends,

So, I decided. I'm going to begin work on an album. It's going to be called "Blood Year" and I'm going to write it over the course of 2010. Why? I don't know. But here are the basic principles of what I'm intending to do and what I need your help for:

This is an album about the calendar year
I will write 12 songs, one for each month of the year. Each song will not necessarily be ABOUT the month, but it will try and reflect the spirit of the month. Some will be more direct than others. They will all be meaningful to the month for me.

I will publish as much of the process as is reasonable
For each song, I'll record a demo of a draft of the song, some video of early rehearsals with the band, a video with the band performing the song, a decent quality demo of the song with some instrumentation, and eventually a final recorded version (probably).

This will be a non-profit album
I'm going to try not to spend a dime or make a dime on this album. Soon, I'm going to start giving away The Wrecker for donations to see if I can stir up a few dollars to begin with. If I sell any more hard copies of The Wrecker I will put the money into this. I might have a yardsale. I'll sell final version of the songs on iTunes. The preliminary versions will be available for download with an option to donate. Any money from sales of songs or donations will go into making better recordings or paying people who helped. If I sell a few songs, I'll spend that money full-scale recordings. If I sell a bunch, I'll print a hard copy. If not, not.

I will ask for help
If you can help by giving feedback, or making graphics, or adding a track at home, or telling people, I would appreciate it.

That's it! The January song is almost finished. February and April have ideas I'm working on. March is done.

Let me know what you think,
Bryn