TomFlannery.com

Technology can be a marvel. Not always of course. Most of the time I find it a pain in the ass but I just spent an hour in the same room with my friend and collaborator Kris Kehr, who happens to live over 100 miles away. We did this on Skype. I know it’s been around for a while but still…..it never ceases to amaze me how small one can make the world.

I’m working on a record with Kris. We’re writing songs together, so we figured we should touch base face-to-face every once in a while. I explained the basics of what we’re doing in an earlier post, and promised myself I’d keep up on developments as they came about. Kris is gonna weigh in from time to time as well. Both of us are used to writing alone…so this is turning into quite the adventure.

We’ve knocked demos back and forth to each other. Maybe 5 or 6 so far. We’d like to make a record with a coherent theme running through it…..like a river that cuts through a town. Or maybe rail-road tracks that divide it. We’re both around the same age. We’re both married. I have 2 daughters. Kris has one. We both stare at the ceiling on sleepless nights worrying about the same things.

Kris will write 10 verses and edit them down to five. I will write 10 verses and end up with a dozen. His melodies flow freely. Mine are dragged into the light kicking and screaming. Kris will labor over a lyric. I’ll write a batch during a lunch break. Neither of us likes being labelled. I’ve often said to him that if I was looking for his stuff in a record store, I’d have no idea which section to start in.

We talked tonight about arrangements and musicians….which generally boils down to what friends we know who will play for next to nothing. Or, in other words, for free. He’s got a lot of friends. I can only hope they owe him favors. I’ve got some talented friends too….but I’m not sure any are indebted to me. A shame really….but that won’t stop me from asking. I’ve got no shame because I don’t mind buying the beer. Such largesse wallpapers over a multitude of sins.

And so onward we go. If you know Kris you know this has the potential to be really really special. If you don’t know Kris it behooves you to make his acquaintance. I’m not sure why I’m digging deep into the thesaurus this evening……but let’s just say that I only feel truly alive when I’m being creative. I don’t do downtime very well. I’ve got way too many bad habits.

There are days. Sometimes I feel like the guitar is a life-jacket……something to keep me from drowning if I fall in the water. Other days I feel like it’s a life-boat……something that keeps me from entering the dangerous current in the first place. The difference appears minute only to those who have never cradled a guitar in the first place.

Come along for the ride. It’s gonna be fun.

In a bit…

–tf