Ominous title!! No, it’s not the last year of my life (I hope) but it’s a very interesting idea.

How would you live each day, each hour if it was the last year of your life?

I was listening to my favourite radio show Coast to Coast and the guest was a guy who runs a program called The Last Year of Your Life. Basically it sounds like you convince yourself that it IS the last year of your life and then you act accordingly. I loved the idea and had to write a song for it.

I tried it for a couple of days and it really brings great moments into focus. I started to get all hippy and started to appreciate all the basics. A very nice place to be and a place that I go to often now. In fact after a tough day I’ll pretend that this is the last year and it really helps put things into a different focus.

Hope you enjoy!

It’s amazing how the dots can be connected. It just hit me that idiot sports parents are responsible for the Obama administration. Let’s take a good look at this chain of events. First of all let me define the idiot sport parent. My son plays hockey and lacrosse at competitive levels but not at the level where any of the kids are expected to go on and possibly play professionally. None of the kids take it that seriously. Some parents on the other hand think that little "Willy Score" …

Well I've started on a remix of Rise and Fall. I know I can do a way better mix and I've learned some new techniques to improve the power of the song. First off the drums had to be reprogrammed and engineered. New guitars are next. The old guitar tracks were done with a Pod X3. Great unit, but nothing beats the sound of a guitar through an amp! I'll remix and that 'll be it! It's great to have your own studio!

Carrie's got a song that we'll start on the weekend.We're having problems with the approach and this is the second stab at it. I wonder if people who listen to music realize how much work goes into song production. Carrie's worked up a new arrangement so were ready to go. I'll program some drums, add bass and maybe a little guitar, mix  and we should have it ready by the end of the week.
Busy times at Village Works!

First of all I have no idea what I'm talking about but I'm worried enough to try and offer solutions. We're in trouble people and something has to be done. The current economic system is horribly flawed and a lot of people have paid dear prices because of greed and corruption. Here's my idea, micro economies. Every country is responsible for their own manufacturing. In other word cars driven in Canada, for example, are made in Canada. The wood needed for houses in Germany is harvested in Germany etc. No …

Well it’s done. All the good song ideas have been produced, recorded and mixed. It’s weird getting to the very end of a project. These songs are a snapshot of life at the time of their writing and it’s very strange listening back to them. It’s like a photo album.

I’ve been busy producing Carrie’s latest songs so please go and have a listen at http://www.carriearmitage.com


Luckily there are a lot of ideas swirling around so it’s just a question of trusting the radar and laying them down.
Anyway I’ll start posting regular blogs and you're more than welcome to comment and critique.

Everybody should have my dog. Not a dog like my dog, but an identical dog because ideas fly out of her ass! Production is all about stong ideas to support the songs mood and message. Personally I find these ideas can't be thought up at will so I need help finding creative ideas. Enter my dog Poppy. Whenever I'm stuck I take Poppy out for a walk, but before I do I tell her that I need a good idea for whatever. She looks at me and nods. Poppy's been trained to walk in front of me and not pull on her leash …

I got booted out of my last band and it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Let me explain. Two decades of missing time with my son, driving 2 hours one way in snowstorms so the drunken lads could yell their requests for Old Time Rock And Roll (if I ever have to sing Brown Eyed Girl again, I shall kill ), decades of music business bullshit and living at the poverty line had taken it’s toll. I was past burnt out, I was fucked up! I let my playing and attitude slide. It was …