putting the pen back to paper

It's been quite a while since I've done any collaborative music writing and recording. The last RingsEnd album was recorded in February 2002 and released about a year later. Since then, I've dabbled in some solo work and laid down a few songs for my own benefit, but nothing significant to speak of.

A day or two before I went home for Christmas, I had lunch with my friend Matt, who I've only run into a few times since he and I co-led the youth mission trip to Montana two and a half years ago. We started talking about music, and he mentioned that he'd been writing a lot lately and was looking to put together a collaborative project. This kind of conversation always makes me wary - I usually find that I'm not too crazy about the kind of music that needs a "collaborative effort." It seems as if that phrase is often code for "these songs kinda suck - how can I make them better?"

Not the case here. It turns out that Matt has a real gift for melody, despite the fact that he doesn't play an instrument. And the lyrics he's written are thought provoking and intentional without being cheesy. He sent me an mp3 of him singing one of the tunes he's written - no instruments, just a cappella - and I sent him back an arrangement with guitar chords and harmony vocals. We met earlier this week to record a more fleshed-out version. The best part was that I think some of the other songs may turn out to be better than this one.

Regardless, it's nice to be actively working on music with someone who's interested and capable. We'll see how the other songs go.

In other completely unrelated news...today is my sister's 26th birthday. Happy birthday, Les!! Welcome to the B side of your mid-20's. Hope the celebration is a good one.