tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:/blogs/painting-the-silence?p=2Painting the Silence Diary2017-11-12T14:22:45-05:00Mike Grutka falsetag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/49295792017-11-12T14:22:45-05:002017-11-12T14:22:45-05:00Track 10: See the Light<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/0221e2b240c0a4f54feaa605304bd324c85954fd/original/dsc-0048.jpg?1510514206" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I love R.E.M. One of my favorite songs by them ends the Automatic for the People album. 'Find the River'. Yeah I like pretty songs. I always wanted to have a closer like that. The perfect kind of ending to all the songs that came before it. Now when I wrote this I wasn't thinking of that song and this sounds nothing like that. It never occurred to me to compare. Then when I was getting the artwork done for the record my buddy <a contents="Todd Moreland" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.sapitot.com" target="_blank">Todd Moreland</a> told me that he really really loved this song. I always give him the songs, sometimes before they're even finished, so he can get an idea of the mood etc to make his awesome designs. So after he had them for awhile he told me this song really grew on him. Then he said-- "It's like Find the River by R.E.M. it has that same feel"</p>
<p>Needless to say that made me pretty happy. </p>
<p>A lot of the music I love the most isn't necessarily the 'hits' that everyone knows. Usually it's an album track that never gets released and takes a few listens to really 'get'. The songs need to kind of sink into your mind and you get repaid by repeated listens. Hell I think everyone should listen to music like that. Sure it's great to hear a song and it's super catchy and makes you sing along. Those songs are awesome as well. If you pay attention though I think you'll find that sometimes your favorite song on a record is the one you 'discovered' by yourself. The one that means a lot to YOU. That's where I think the payoff comes when you're a music fan.</p>
<p>The music industry has changed so much in the last few years. Most people don't buy albums. CD's. Records. They buy the one or two songs they like and move on. They stream stuff on shuffle. This is all great. You should. But what are you missing out on? How many songs might you have fallen in love with if you listened past the one or two you know from the radio? Give it a try. You might surprise yourself.</p>
<p>I like this song a lot. It's all about hope. </p>
<p>I hope you like it too. Listen and let me know what you think--> <a contents="See the Light" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335883/see-the-light" target="_blank">See the Light</a></p>
<p>This is the last song on the album. We're done with the song stories!!! YAY! Or, boo if you've enjoyed them. I hope they helped you learn a little about each song or how I make music or made you think about them in a different way. It's been fun sharing with you.</p>
<p>So if you haven't yet, <a contents="get your copy now" data-link-label="Music & Stuff" data-link-type="page" href="/music-stuff" target="_blank">get your copy now</a>! </p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/49274822017-11-10T13:42:19-05:002017-11-10T13:42:19-05:00Track 9: Painting the Silence<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/605f43d08eb196443417281cd49fe3b17de5dbb7/original/mike-grutka-pts-cover-web.jpg?1505778282" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><a contents="Painting the Silence." data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335882/painting-the-silence" target="_blank">Painting the Silence.</a> Title track. </p>
<p>I've only done this once before. I think it's kinda boring to name your album after a song that's on it. Most of the time. It's just a thing I have.</p>
<p>Anyway. This album title came from a quote "A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."</p>
<p>I loved that. So that was the title of the record long before it was even formed. This song however had no title and no words until this autumn. And I LOVE THIS SONG.</p>
<p>I mean I like all my songs. Mostly. There are only a handful that I absolutely love and can step away from and pretend I didn't write it and listen like everyone else does. Like it's just a song. Not MY song. Just a song. This is like that for me.</p>
<p>It was a long long journey for this to be finished. The whole thing started about 6 years ago. I had a bunch of people over for a cookout and they all brought guitars and we sat on the deck playing late into the night. After everyone left I just started strumming some chords and a 2 part melody came out. No words. Not even good mumbles like usual. And no real good transition from one part of the melody to the other. And I also didn't even try to record it at all. </p>
<p>Over the next few months I would keep coming back to it and sing the melodies. I especially liked going into the high part (that only shows up at the end of the song)</p>
<p>I liked it. It was fun. Something about it stuck with me. I don't really know why since it's only 2 chords. </p>
<p>The next summer my brother had a job near Bar Harbor Maine. I went up to see him for a week as he closed up the house. Early September is gorgeous there if you ever get a chance to go. One day we sat on the dock overlooking the harbor and just....talked. For hours. About life. Family. Jobs. Time. It was awesome. It was sunny when we started and as we sat there we watched a bank of fog roll in off the ocean. When we were done talking we couldn't see more than 25 feet. The end of the dock disappeared.</p>
<p>For some reason as we walked back up to the house this song popped into my head and the first verse came to me. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Daylight shining on the water</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">all our memories collide</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">in this life how'd we lose our way i don't know</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">listen to the wind an softly sigh</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Then I was stuck again. For a long time. The fog rolling in made it into there but the song really wasn't about talking to my brother. It's about life. Finding your place. Listening to your heart. Searching for....something. </p>
<p>It's a 'big' song. It starts small and builds up and it's pretty and dreamlike and strong and I just love the way it came out. </p>
<p>The piano is supposed to sound like waves by the shore. I think it works.</p>
<p>One of the challenges since it is only a 2 chord song was making it interesting. The layers of the instruments. When things come in or drop out. It was fun.</p>
<p>I also got to play my mandolin on it which made me happy.</p>
<p>I hope you like it. It's my favorite one on the whole album.</p>
<p><a contents="Listen here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335882/painting-the-silence" target="_blank">Listen here</a></p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/9aed64b3a75819bf51dfa8cc3cae6df067cbe872/original/15390884-10154251528452476-65180332949446184-n.jpg?1505778528" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/49248992017-11-08T18:19:17-05:002022-02-17T00:02:22-05:00Track 8: Dream of You<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/7b9d0b5ca1b6b532a7a2b32388e97b8ac9818da4/original/img-1728.jpg?1510183146" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Ah so. This is probably one of the only 'direct' lyrics I've ever written. I usually write more in 'scenes' or incomplete thoughts that make a whole picture. But this one just kinda had to be this way.</p>
<p>Everyone wants love. Right? And we hear all the time about love at first sight. Looking at someone and just knowing.</p>
<p>There ya go. That's it. Ha. </p>
<p>Brian Kaplan again played lead guitar and I love what he did here. Floaty. Soaring. He really nailed the feeling of finding the love of your life.</p>
<p>Oh and just BTW. Will Railton has played drums on the last 4 albums and this is him again. Actually he played on every song except for 'Fallen'. I remember when we recorded this he was trying to get a different kind of feel for the song. At first I thought he left too much space in the playing but after the arrangement came together it really really works.</p>
<p>Speaking of the arrangement, this one came together easily and not easily. Ha. What I mean is nearly everything played or sung was done just once. So I had a finished song for years. I just had the mix wrong and nearly left it off the CD. Whatever I was doing made it feel unfinished and I kept listening back trying to figure out what it was. Nothing. It was all there the whole time I just fucked up the mix. Once I turned a few things up and moved them around I realized that it was already perfect. </p>
<p>I like this one. </p>
<p><a contents="Check it out." data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335881/dream-of-you" target="_blank">Check it out.</a></p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/49233162017-11-07T18:17:47-05:002017-11-07T18:17:47-05:00Track 7: I Know You Know<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/75f4c25ddaca96ccf1ab196677a6e7889a086a70/original/img-0461.jpg?1505782510" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>This is one of the oldest songs that made the album. I had just moved and it was a warm day in March. I took my guitar out onto my deck and started messing around. Came up with a cool melody so I recorded into my phone. This is one of those lucky moments when it just--clicked. If I played you the phone recording you'd see that nearly all the lyrics came out at once. </p>
<p>When this happens I'm always baffled. I didn't sit down to write a song. I had no idea in my head. It just came out. Maybe I'm just a genius. haha</p>
<p>Anyway, as often happens I then got stuck. It's a very simple 3 chord country song. I had almost all the words. But the arrangement was killing me. After some time went by I came up with some vocal harmonies which helped but it still wasn't right. So there it sat with my music and lyrics, bad harmony singing and nothing else. For years. </p>
<p>This past spring I thought I'd add some instruments but again nearly everything I tried wasn't right. It's like I couldn't think past what was already there. It kinda sucked. I started to hate this song haha. Then one day I put the electric guitar on there. I liked it! But something was still off. I kept telling myself I just needed to re-sing everything and it would be fine. Which I never got around to. </p>
<p>Over the summer I was invited to play live on air for <a contents="WEXT's 10th birthday celebration. " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.exit977.org" target="_blank">WEXT's 10th birthday celebration. </a>They've always been super supportive of my music (they play songs from the last 4 CD's) and I was excited to go. There were a bunch of other musicians and fans of the station there. So I asked<a contents="Bryan Thomas" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://bryanthomas.com/" target="_blank">Bryan Thomas</a> to sing with me. He had never heard the song before and it was live ha. Lots of room for error. But he nailed it. He came up with this high harmony on the choruses. Luckily I got a hold of a video of the session and that's the part you hear now on the song. I even tried to get him to record it for me but we couldn't work out a time to do it. </p>
<p>Magically, that made the song! So about 2 months ago I re-sang all the vocal part with his harmony on there. That's the version you hear. So THANKS Bryan!</p>
<p>Oh and my Dad loves this song. So there's that. </p>
<p>If you've been following along you'll know that one reason it took me so long to release anything is that I had it stuck in my head to do an 'acoustic' album. This is a great sample of what that would've sounded like all the way through. The other songs in this vein will have to wait for Vol 2</p>
<p><a contents="Listen Here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335880/i-know-you-know" target="_blank">Listen Here</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p> </p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/49136542017-10-31T15:41:40-04:002017-11-01T13:23:13-04:00Welcome to side 2. Track 6: Winter Song<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/4f11522d84fcd3b3b93e97a66f71920d4ffd4902/original/img-1781.jpg?1509478885" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>So yeah, Side 2!!</p>
<p>I LOVE records. I've always had a bunch and the last few years I've gotten back into collecting them. Not just old stuff either. I have almost all the Radiohead albums on Vinyl....it's pretty cool. You should try it! For this album I'm selling real honest to goodness records. Mainly cause I wanted one for me haha. Seriously! How fucking cool is it going to be to hold a 12x12 album of MY music in my own little hands? Or yours! You should get one. Cause like I said they're waaaaayyy cool.</p>
<p>So this is the first song of the second side. Thus Welcome to Side 2!!!</p>
<p><a contents="Winter Song" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335879/winter-song" target="_blank">Winter Song</a> Kind of a misleading title. It wasn't when I started it. This was actually supposed to be on 'Ria' but I didn't have finished lyrics and I thought it was similar to 'Sleep of Dreams (Angels)' sonically. I wrote the music one afternoon in--you guessed it--winter. The sound of the music was supposed to feel like watching a snowy day. You know the kind: everything is covered in white undisturbed snow, the fluffy soft kind, big flakes slowly drifting to the ground from a sky you can't see through the snow, everything is really quiet and peaceful. That kind of day.</p>
<p>So I always called it Winter Song. This is the 3rd song of the second 'Theme' of the album. 'Hey Hey' & 'Eyes to the Sky' share the theme with this one. Finding happiness. This song turned into a sort of pep talk for someone. The first lyric--'Deep inside you want it all. But you've been afraid to find" I can seriously relate to that. So many times in my life. I've stopped myself from fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of change. Fear of getting my heart broken. Maybe you have been there too? The song starts there and then lays out 'advice' (not really. I just can't think of a better word) that you would want to tell someone, a friend. Lover. Hell--maybe yourself. There's also the part of the lyric which let's someone know 'I'll be here for you'. I had the idea that the person the song is talking to finally made the decision to change or jump or try, and that someone would be there waiting for them. That turned into a scene of them waiting on the side of the road to be taken to the new adventure. "on the side of the road, I'm coming now'. I like that idea. We will all be ok.l</p>
<p>There's a line in the last verse-- "let the child that's in your soul come and play"... I LOVE that. I think sometimes we create too many problems for ourselves by getting stuck in the way we think. The way we act. Doing what we're 'supposed' to do. Living up to others expectations and stuffing our own needs and wants down somewhere where we can't find them. Like the kid in us. What's wrong with being child like? Curious? Adventurous? Seeking. Learning. Exploring. </p>
<p>We lose that. It's a shame. I think anyway. </p>
<p>I like this one a lot. I hope you do too.</p>
<p><a contents="You can download the album now and/or Pre-Order CD/Vinyl" data-link-label="Music & Stuff" data-link-type="page" href="/music-stuff" target="_blank">You can download the album now and/or Pre-Order CD/Vinyl</a></p>
<p><a contents="iTunes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/painting-the-silence-vol-1/id1300964452" target="_blank">iTunes</a></p>
<p><a contents="Listen and share it if you enjoy it!" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335879/winter-song" target="_blank">Listen and share it if you enjoy it!</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/49080142017-10-26T20:27:57-04:002021-09-27T09:37:40-04:00Track 5: Eyes to the Sky<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/4c4c7d1ae20d01514469a1a60d416d9ba3344723/original/img-1734.jpg?1509064062" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Funny how time changes your point of view. "Time can heal all wounds", or something like that is the saying right?</p>
<p>My last 3 records were not exactly depressing. Not at all. There were many joyous happy uplifting moments with the sad. Looking back all 3 were me dealing with my mothers death. Could've been a lot darker I guess. Lyrically they were me working shit out. Music has always been that for me. That's why I love it. It can transport you into another world. Make you remember moments. Make you feel 5 years old again. Make you see and feel where you were when you first heard <em>that</em> song. <em>That </em>album.</p>
<p>So I used my own songs to deal with a life altering event. </p>
<p>If you've been following my blogs here you'll remember me saying that this one is pretty hopeful and full of joy. This song really is. Musically and lyrically.</p>
<p>I take a ton of rides in my Jeep. Sometimes just to get away. Sometimes cause the dogs will kill me if I don't haha. I just. Drive. And play songs. And look around the world. It's soothing. There really is nothing better than a sunny day, taking ride and hearing your favorite song. Cranking it up. And getting lost in that world for a few minutes. If you're like me you'll play that song again and again. You <em>feel </em>it.</p>
<p>That's the kick off to this song. "I took a wrong turn, when they told me go right. I kept going on. Cause it felt so nice. I heard my favorite song. So I drove a little bit more."</p>
<p>Yeah. THAT.</p>
<p>This song bounces. It's bouncy. I love it. This is my 'Beatles' song. I am in no way implying that it sounds like them or is even as good as their worst song. But there's something about it. The sound. The instruments. The melody. It has always made me think of the Beatles. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe you can listen and help me out. Or tell me I'm nuts. But --<em>something</em>. I don't know. It's just always felt like a Beatles type song.</p>
<p>This is one of the only songs that I have a different version for. Basically it's the same but there are added backing vocals doing la la's and ooo's. I liked that version a lot too. <a contents="Join the e-mail list" data-link-label="Contact" data-link-type="page" href="/contact" target="_blank">Join the e-mail list</a>. They get cool stuff like that. (plus discounts on albums, free songs, un released videos--seriously. it's worth it!!)</p>
<p>The lyrics to this song too. I just love them. They're a complete thought which I don't do very often. I'm a little more abstract at times but this one is about what it sounds like it's about. Finding what makes you happy.</p>
<p>Oh which brings me back to the album 'story'. So far the first 3 songs all go together. Being lied to. Deceived. Let down. Abandoned. Feeling alone.</p>
<p>Starting with 'Hey Hey' (being stupid happy with someone) then this song---leaving your fears behind and just feeling the way you do when you blast your favorite song as the wind blows through your hair-- and going into the next song, 'Winter Song' is part 2 of the story. How to become happy. How to find yourself. Letting yourself enjoy your life. </p>
<p>Cool right? Plus it's a nice transition from the darkness of especially the first 2 songs.</p>
<p>Brian Kaplan again plays lead guitar on this one. Hey! That's it! His guitar solo especially. That section of the song. I can just see some dumb cheesy 1960's psychedelic dance routine going on. Maybe that's why the Beatles...hmmmm. Just occurred to me. </p>
<p>So I hope you like it! <a contents="Listen enjoy and let me know what you think" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335877/eyes-to-the-sky" target="_blank">Listen enjoy and let me know what you think</a></p>
<p>And a friendly reminder that if you're liking what you're hearing the album can be downloaded now and CD's and Vinyl bundles are up for pre-order </p>
<p><a contents="Download/Pre-Order" data-link-label="Music & Stuff" data-link-type="page" href="/music-stuff" target="_blank">Download/Pre-Order</a></p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/49032662017-10-23T16:58:03-04:002017-10-23T16:58:03-04:00Track Four: Hey Hey<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/84922eade09c14f6db040e125f11a81c13dead6c/original/img-1541.jpg?1508792269" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><a contents="HEY! HEY!" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335876/hey-hey" target="_blank">HEY! HEY!</a></p>
<p>Now we're having FUN!</p>
<p>I have such a multiple personality problem with music. I write a lot of pretty songs. Slow songs. Long slow burn epic songs. And straight ahead rock. I don't know. It doesn't bother me at all except everyone always asks you 'who do you sound like?' Fuck if I know. Me! </p>
<p>And that wouldn't ever bother me except everytime you submit your music somewhere they want to know your genre and who do you sound like.... I'm not sure I have a genre. Singer songwriter? Sure. Rock? Ok. Alternative? Sometimes. Country? A little. Folk? well, lots of acoustic based stuff. Experimental? Check out 'Fallen'. </p>
<p>What would YOU call it? Seriously. I'm taking suggestions.</p>
<p>Anyway--- A couple years ago I got a new Jeep. It came with free SiriusXM radio. I locked in right away on 'Little Steven's Underground Garage' as my favorite channel. I LOVE it. So these past couple of years I have listened to a ton of stuff on there. A lot of it I knew. But man--they dig deep! And the station name of 'Underground Garage' is perfect. It's mainly 3 minute or less guitar driven pop rock. PLUS!!! The BEST part of the station is how big of music fans the on air personalities are. If you listen you'll not only hear great great stuff, you'll learn music history. They nearly always tell stories of the songs, the bands, the producers, the albums, where it was recorded etc. All stuff that is sorely missing in todays streaming and download world where you might get the album cover. But you'll never learn who wrote the song. Who recorded it. Who played what. The list goes on. Anyway--check it out if you haven't. It's awesome.</p>
<p>So this is my three chord rock-n-roll bash it out have a party drive with the windows down fun song. I have no idea what I played on the piano. That was one take. I played a lot of notes and it was fast and sounded like I know what I'm doing. So there. I know what I'm doing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song is about just feeling good when you're with someone. Tried to match the lyric to the music.</p>
<p><a contents="Listen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335876/hey-hey" target="_blank">Listen</a> </p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/49003482017-10-20T15:18:21-04:002017-10-20T19:48:32-04:00Track Three: Running Away<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/121f06bb976aecc568e61afb475b0c50eb20b6a0/original/img-1704.jpg?1508526982" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><a contents="This is my roots rock song.&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335875/running-away" target="_blank">This is my roots rock song. </a></p>
<p>Tom Petty just passed away. I was so sad. I remember having his album 'Full Moon Fever' on near constant play one summer. And what musician wouldn't KILL for a 'Freefallin'? I don't know any. I would.</p>
<p>Tom Petty and John Mellencamp are two of my favorites. There's just something so honest and accessible in their music. Later the first Counting Crows album hit me the same way although a little more down in the mouth there was still 'Mr. Jones' and 'Rain King'. My band used to play 'Rain King' a lot. This song I always thought was my Petty-Mellencamp-Crows song. I don't think it's my 'Freefallin' or 'Mr. Jones' but if you want to prove me wrong and buy the crap out of it I'll take it!!</p>
<p>I was sitting on the couch watching the world series. One of the ones with the Giants in it. (October again. Man maybe I should just take the rest of the year off...) I had my guitar as I often do while watching TV. I started strumming this jagged little riff on the off beats. It stuck in my head. I'd come back to it again and again mostly because it was fun to play. I could hear what I wanted to do with it, but didn't.</p>
<p>A couple years later I randomly started playing it again and hummed out a melody. 'She starts running away' came out of my mouth. I liked it. Now I just needed to figure out what it was about haha. As usual lyrics were the sticking point.</p>
<p>I had booked studio time to record drums for the record. None of the songs were finished but I had a lot of the music done. This one made the cut then and with the drum part it sounded pretty near finished. Still no words. I came home with the new tracks and was inspired to write. I finished the lyrics but something was still missing. I tried playing a lead guitar with not much success. Tried an organ part. Nothing felt right.</p>
<p>My buddy Brian Kaplan had played with me for a CD release show and I gave him a call and asked if he'd come over and play some parts. We did 4 songs that day in about 2 hours. He's pretty good.</p>
<p>That's his lead guitar you hear and one of the only things I didn't play on the record. It was driving and melodic and had a bite to it. Perfect.</p>
<p>I think this one's pretty catchy but I'm always wrong about what everyone likes so. <a contents="Listen " data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335875/running-away" target="_blank">Listen </a>and let me know haha.</p>
<p>Actually, this had been OFF the album for about 2 years. I don't know why. I think the fact that I kept trying to force myself to write a more acoustic stripped down record made me think this one was too 'rock' for the other songs. Which really makes no sense at all when you consider that the first two songs were never out of the running. I wrote in another post about bringing back and older song and dropping a few that I was struggling with. Well, this is that song. And it's just funny to me. Once I put this back in and took the other 4 out, it all suddenly made sense to me. The album flowed and was finished. And I had finished this song about 4 years ago. Life is strange. I don't know why I made the decision to pull this out. Or what made me think it wasn't a good fit. I had it all along. What made me pick this one out of all the other songs I've worked on over the last few years? I don't know really. I'm glad I did.</p>
<p>This also brings me to song order on a record. It has a lot to do with the flow of the songs yes. But to me this album has a 'story' to it and 'Running Away' goes perfectly with the themes of the first two songs and ends that particular 'chapter' of the story. I'll talk more about this soon.</p>
<p>Check it out <a contents="here" data-link-label="Painting the Silence" data-link-type="page" href="/painting-the-silence" target="_blank">here</a>. Read the rest of the song stories if you haven't yet and <a contents="pre-order and download your copy of 'Painting the Silence Vol 1' today!" data-link-label="Music & Stuff" data-link-type="page" href="/music-stuff" target="_blank">pre-order and download your copy of 'Painting the Silence Vol 1' today!</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>mike</p>
<p> </p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/48966692017-10-18T12:06:21-04:002017-10-18T12:06:21-04:00Track Two: Fallen<p><a contents="Fallen" data-link-label="Painting the Silence" data-link-type="page" href="/painting-the-silence" target="_blank">Fallen</a> is a great song to see where the album <em>could </em>have gone. Who knows I might have a bunch like this hee hee.</p>
<p>This is one of the oldest pieces of music on the album. Actually just the acoustic guitar part. I came up with that little riff--man--probably during the 'Myself Again' record. I always thought it was cool. I never got it to go anywhere so I mainly used to play it just sitting around as a cool picking exercise. Even then most of the time I would trip myself up with the turnaround. I started trying to play it 5 times through. Then 10 haha. It became like practicing scales.</p>
<p>One day I had just gotten a new midi controller. For those of you who don't know it's a keyboard that 'plays' computer instruments. I wanted to experiment and didn't have any ideas. So I sat down and recorded the acoustic part just for fun. I did some weird stuff too. I took sounds and messed with the settings, played them way too high or low...just messed around.</p>
<p>So there that sat. For about a year. </p>
<p>Then I bought a new electric guitar and amp. I wanted to play around. At this time I had just finished '<a contents="February Sessions" data-link-label="" data-link-type="album" href="/album/403445/february-sessions" target="_blank">February Sessions</a>' so in my head I wasn't being 'serious' with what I was doing. I had a cool delay pedal. So I just made a bunch of noise and screwed around with the knobs on the pedal. This is the swooshing sound you hear in the louder sections.</p>
<p>I thought it sounded pretty cool but it had no singing part. As I usually do I mumbled a bunch of out of tune things into the mic and left it at that. I always have my demos in my ipod so I can listen to them. You never know when inspiration will strike! Every time this came up I thought the same thing. Love the music. Hate the melody.</p>
<p>There is another song that didn't make the cut for volume 1 that is all moody bass and chunky acoustic stabs. I had a real floaty pretty melody for that one. Didn't quite fit the music. One day I was just laying around and the crap version of 'Fallen' came on. I started singing the other melody in my head to it. Damn it worked! Back to the mic to mumble the new melody.</p>
<p>When I talk about my mumbles, I usually say some words. I just don't necessarily know what I'm trying to say. Like 'Find it Out' I had some cool phrases that came out that day. </p>
<p>There it sat. For years. Just like that. </p>
<p>Last October (I got a lot done last year. And I finished the album this year--huh. Might be something to this October thing) I finally finished the lyrics and sang the song as you hear it today.</p>
<p>I like the mood of this one a lot. The words aren't linear and you can make what you want of them. Kinda dark. But it's so <em>pretty</em>. Isn't it? Listen <a contents="HERE" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335874/fallen">HERE</a></p>
<p>If you like what you hear- go download it today! <a contents="Download Painting the Silence Vol. 1" data-link-label="" data-link-type="album" href="/album/610603/painting-the-silence-vol-1" target="_blank">Download Painting the Silence Vol. 1</a></p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>mike</p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/cac8fc915637b3e28a9c603f9255be56062c7e56/original/img-1581.jpg?1508342659" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/48958562017-10-17T20:07:45-04:002017-10-17T20:16:58-04:00Track one: Find it Out<p>I'm all the way done. So over the next few weeks leading up to the official release of the full album I will be posting the songs, in order, so you'll be able to hear them.</p>
<p>Tomorrow you'll be able to pre-order the album. There will be a few different options. One for everybody!</p>
<p><a contents="Find it Out" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1335798/find-it-out" target="_blank">Find it Out</a></p>
<p>I remember the day I came up with this. It was winter time and I was in my studio which was in my basement at the time. I have big windows looking out into the yard and it was one of those days where it snowed like crazy but it was pretty fluffy snow. I love days like that. They make me feel like the whole world is wrapped in a soft blanket. They're cozy.</p>
<p>So I went down and turned on the equipment. Sometimes I don't know what I'm going to do exactly and I just mess around. On this particular day I came up with a real driving strum on the acoustic. It also happened to be one of the days that I have the mics on and just record whatever comes out. The feel was a little edgy. And energetic. I immediately grabbed my electric and put a good distortion on it. Bass was next. I listened back to what I had done. I leaned into the vocal mic.</p>
<p>Right then I came up with about 80% of the words AND the harmony vocals. Actually all the playing and singing you hear except for the lead vocal and drums are exactly what I played that day. The first try. Sometimes I get lucky. </p>
<p>I had gotten my very first real piano that year. I threw up some mics, wrote the chord changes in front of me and played. That's what came out. Ha. (man telling this story you'd wonder why it was so long before I released this thing)</p>
<p>Something that did hold me up. First I had to finish the lyrics. But to me more importantly the <em><strong>feel </strong></em>of how I sang that day---I was worried I'd never recapture it. I sand strong. Passionately. It sounded GOOD. I actually thought about pulling an 'REM' and leaving the mumbles in place.</p>
<p>Fast forward 5 years. Last October to be exact. Right around this time last year. I finished the lyrics and sang it exactly 2 times through. You hear the first take.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I really really like this one. </p>
<p>Hope you do too. <a contents="Click to listen in the player on the album page" data-link-label="Painting the Silence" data-link-type="page" href="/painting-the-silence" target="_blank">Click to listen in the player on the album page</a></p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/aff05184f688c2de647dad666722ee4ed06b2cc2/original/img-1630.jpg?1508285531" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/48954442017-10-17T15:06:57-04:002017-10-17T15:06:57-04:00Mastering and Techie Shit<p>So confession.</p>
<p>I've never mastered my own album before. Ever.</p>
<p>Why? Mainly cause it's a very specific skill. It's all about very SMALL tweaks to volume, compression and EQ. It takes years to learn how to do it well. I've always gone to Silvertone Mastering before. That was always my most favorite part of releasing a record. They have AMAZING equipment and speakers. Hell the speakers probably cost as much as my Jeep. </p>
<p>So why am I not doing that now? Well, for one, I have a mastering program I've been learning over the past year and a half. I think I'm doing alright. Plus--$$$$$. It's expensive to get mastering done and well, I don't have that extra money. Sorry Larry!</p>
<p>Anyway</p>
<p>So I'm done with all the mastering. As I explained before this is kind of like the 'glue' that makes everything work together as a whole. I've learned to listen in a whole new way to the finished tracks. Polishing here, making it a little more 'present' there. It took awhile. And just as before it involved a whole lot of listening in different settings. Man my ears are tired!</p>
<p>The last thing that I'm actually doing as I write this is called 'Dither'. This is a weird one. Basically it's like this. Think of a piece of paper. Now you get to draw all over it. You can fill up every single inch with color or images. And you do initially. Then, you have to load it into a computer. Pretend the computer won't fit the whole piece of paper. So you have to make it smaller. Your 8X11 piece of paper becomes 4x6. </p>
<p>When this happens the computer 'guesses' to try to make the smaller picture as full and vibrant as the full sheet. But there are things that will be left out because you've 'compressed' the image.</p>
<p>Same thing happens in music. When I record every sound takes up the whole sheet of paper. To make it work on a CD it gets smaller. Then if it goes online to itunes Spotify etc it gets made into an Mp3--even smaller. Each time there is information that gets left out and other info that gets magnified. When this happens there can be distortion and weird sounds added in.</p>
<p>Dither solves that problem.</p>
<p>I hope that makes sense. Ha. Never knew that? Did ya? See? This is educational.</p>
<p>So I'm running all the final tracks through the dither and making CD versions so I can share it with all of YOU.</p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/25102/28cb6658e2ea04603b034e0c464677457605b3eb/original/img-1696.jpg?1508267181" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/48918482017-10-14T13:59:44-04:002017-10-14T13:59:44-04:00Leaving it alone<p>HEY!</p>
<p>Yeah. Well one of the wonderful things about technology is that it lets someone like me make a record. It's great. </p>
<p>The worst thing is that there are <em>so many things you can do</em>! Too many! Too many! There are so many toys to play with. If you're not careful you'll start playing just cause you can. And probably start ruining things.</p>
<p>I've been working on all the mixes. And like I said in the last post-one thing to be wary of is the whole "hey it worked on THAT song...why not try it here? And here? And oh yeah over here!" syndrome.</p>
<p>So. Yeah. I kinda did that.</p>
<p>Haha</p>
<p>But luckily. I caught the sickness early!!!</p>
<p>I was doing a car check this morning and seemingly 'out of nowhere' 3 songs sounded---wrong. Must be the car. This stereo sucks. Right? Couldn't be ME and my world class mixing skills...nah. Car stereo sucks!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sadly, it was me. All me. </p>
<p>I fixed it though!</p>
<p>I can officially say that as of today I am DONE mixing.</p>
<p>Next step is mastering. This is mainly like waxing your car after you wash it. If you don't wash it well, the wax won't help. If you don't rub the wax in all the way your car won't shine. That's mastering. It's making the album as a whole all shiny and sparkly and sounding like all the songs belong together.</p>
<p>After that-----well. It's done. Like- <strong><em>all the way</em></strong> done!</p>
<p>YAY!!!!</p>
<p>more soon</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/48906592017-10-13T14:26:33-04:002017-10-13T14:26:33-04:00Recording Stuff and things. And stuff<p>What goes on after all the parts are recorded?</p>
<p>Well- funny you should ask.</p>
<p>LOTS</p>
<p>First there're all the mixes. This is where you 'balance' all the sounds against eachother. Not to make sure they're all the same volume, but to make sure they sit in the song where they should be. You don't want an electric guitar that is way louder than every other sound. You want it to sound like an electric guitar playing with all the other instruments.</p>
<p>Now some things are nearly always a bit louder. Vocals, snare drum. Besides that, the mix can really change how a song feels and sounds once it's done.</p>
<p>So there's lots of listening. On all sorts of different devices, speakers, stereos. For me this means my main set up in the studio. Then my car. I check a lot of mixes in the car. I have a really good stereo system in my living room. That one matters too. Also I have a PA speaker set up in my barn. The car gets two kinds of checks. A CD in the radio and streaming from my phone. The last few are no less important. Headphones. I have a high end set I use for recording and ear buds. Finally, I just play it through my phone with no headphones.</p>
<p>The idea is to have all the parts I se expertly mixed audible on ALL of the different places I listen to them. If not, back to the mix.</p>
<p>Mixing is also kind of funny in that sometimes to make something sound louder, you do it by turning stuff DOWN. I know! Weird right?</p>
<p>This is really the most important stage in the finishing of a record. If you can't hear the song the way you want in your mix, well, nothing can fix it once you press it. So lots of time on this part.</p>
<p>The thing I've learned over the years is to NOT listen to the song like a fan. It's a different kind of listening when I mix. It's critical yes, but more focused on 'what serves the song'. How do the different parts interact? How do they sound together?</p>
<p>The other important thing is to take breaks. This is because of a few things. </p>
<p>One- My ears get 'tired'. Too many passes of songs and I'm not sure if I'm hearing problems or just making them up</p>
<p>Two- getting 'used' to a certain idea. For example let's say 2 songs have similar instrumentation, tempo, feel. They may need radically different things in a mix, but if I work on them too long together I might start reflexively doing similar mix tricks to both and end up with a mess</p>
<p>Three-- sick of it all! Some songs mix easily. Some well...don't. I could listen to the same song or even the same section of a song multiple songs. And start to kind of hate it and my existence and throw out the hard drive and go work at McDonalds</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So I am mixing. Listening. Taking breaks. Listening more. Mixing again if I need to.</p>
<p>As of today I THINK I'm happy with ALL of the songs. </p>
<p>One more day of listening checks and I'll know.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>More soon</p>
<p> </p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/48886492017-10-12T12:59:19-04:002017-10-12T12:59:19-04:00Home Stretch-Finding what is supposed to be<p>Life is funny. </p>
<p>We struggle. Try. Fail. Get up. Try again. Move forward. Sometimes things turn out exactly as we planned. Sometimes we get to where we wanted to go but the road there is very different than we envisioned. Sometimes we end up somewhere completely different and that is the perfect place for us to end up.</p>
<p>This album has felt like that. All of that.</p>
<p>When I first started working towards a new record my plan was to make a stripped down acoustic quiet pretty album. I had just finished 'Ria' which was lush and full with lots of production on it. I stripped back in a certain kind of way with 'February Sessions'. This time just trying to make a big dumb loud guitar record. There were very few added effects or sounds. Generally, if I couldn't get the song to work with what basically is a 'band' set up: guitars, bass, singing and drums, it wouldn't be added on those songs. That was fun.</p>
<p>Those 2 albums came out 6 months apart as well. It was a lot of work. </p>
<p>So--yeah. I thought I'd go further back to my 'roots' as a solo acoustic performer and release an acoustic record. </p>
<p>Eventually I wrote many many songs. Certain ones floated up and got finished quickly. Others didn't. Some of the ones that didn't sadly enough were some of my 'favorite' ones. I mean favorite in that they were great yes, but also they fit my 'vision'. The stripped down acoustic sound. As the songs took shape I kept certain songs in the rotation no matte what else was going on. And I stayed stuck. The ones that didn't get finished got harder to finish. I also started leaving other songs OUT of the mix because they didn't 'fit' the overall sound I had going on with the ones I liked 'better' (again this really only means they were better suited to my original plan)</p>
<p>So last week---I looked at my 'final' list. Four songs. Fours songs still sat there basically in the same form they had been in some case for 6 years. These 4 songs. All I had to do was finish these four and I was done. Then I had a long conversation with a good friend and realized--it wasn't the songs stopping me. It was ME.</p>
<p>I immediately went back through songs I hadn't considered for the album in a long while. I took those four songs out. Put one in. </p>
<p>There it was.</p>
<p>My album.</p>
<p>It had been 'done' for awhile.</p>
<p>Life is funny.</p>
<p>Also, when I listen to it, it isn't an acoustic stripped back record. It's actually quite upbeat and happy. Joyful. Hopeful. There is ONE stripped back acoustic song. ONE. ha</p>
<p>My friend also reminded me that for some time I'd been saying this would be 'Volume 1' which of course means there will be a volume 2. Those songs I was hanging onto will find a home. Probably sooner now that I let them go. And let THIS volume be what it was supposed to be.</p>
<p>Soon soon it will be finished all the way. Mixing, tweaking. Stuff like that happens now. </p>
<p>Get ready. It's good.</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p> </p>Mike Grutka tag:mikegrutkamusic.com,2005:Post/48689022017-09-28T11:39:34-04:002017-09-28T11:39:34-04:00Finishing Touches. Decisions. Hair Pulling.<p>So yeah it's been 7 years since I put out an album. What the hell? How did it go so fast?</p>
<p>Busy:</p>
<p>Not that nothing got done. Between studio recording, half finished tracks an iphone 'idea' recordings I have well over 200 song ideas. Sometimes I have to remind myself of this since it's easy to blame 'writers block' or something like that when I get down about not being done. A lot of the songs that will be on Vol 1 were nearly finished in 2011-2012. Right after 'February Sessions'. 'Find it Out', 'Fallen', 'See the Light'---all pretty much finished then. So why did I wait? Ahhh Life</p>
<p>Editing:</p>
<p>This is always the part that's the hardest. I always fall in love with every idea. Every song. Every riff. They're all so fucking cool when I first come up with them. Sadly, not all of them are good enough. Not a bad thing, just how it is. I get so excited when some new part comes to the surface. A new lyric. A new piano part. A new chord progression. And it's easy to spend time trying to flesh out that idea. However it takes time away from the songs that really are better. Or fit better. So lately my focus has been on self editing to get the final running order in place and finish those songs.</p>
<p>Themes:</p>
<p>Sometimes thinking about what I just wrote, a song won't make the final album for a lot of reasons but one of the biggest is that it doesn't fit the theme of the overall album. Or there's another song that's similar in feel or music that fits better. I've done this before. "How the Story Ends" ended up on 'February Sessions" but was written when I was doing 'Reach'. On this one 'Winter Song' is actually from the 'Ria' sessions. And oddly enough since I think I haven't done anything, the version you'll hear is the version that was laid down then. Seven years ago ha. Only a few tweaks to the lyrics.</p>
<p>So here I am at the end of September. I have a goal of having everything finished on my end by the end of October.</p>
<p>Stay tuned!</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p> </p>Mike Grutka