FADING FAST 03 - From the Sketchbook

Three phone recordings!

Welcome to From the Sketchbook where I pull the curtain back on my creative process.

Today I share three early phone recordings of my latest single, “Fading Fast.” If you’ve not heard it yet, you may want to check out the studio version before listening to these sketches. Listen to the single HERE.

First up, the ‘seed.’ This recording captures the idea for the song as it came into being. At this stage I was improvising words and hoping to strike on keeper lyrics. Some of the ideas from this initial stab made it into the final draft. “Omaha,” “cornfields” and “Chicago” all make appearances here and ultimately were developed more fully in the final lyric. In the chorus you hear me marble mouthing gibberish while finding the bones of the melody. Marble mouthing is an age-old technique. Tried and true.

“Fading Fast" began life as a strummy, folky guitar song. Once the verses and chorus had taken shape, I began to play around with other feels. My audio sketchbook is littered with tunes performed in wildly different ways.

When writing a song, often I’ll switch from strumming to fingerpicking. Or change keys. Use a capo. Try open tunings. Anything to get a new read on things. In addition to showing me how sturdy the song is, these sorts of changes help keep the writing process fresh. It’s always inspiring to hear a piece of work in a new way. Bob Dylan talks about this in his interview in Songwriters on Songwriting—a book I highly recommend—so you know this whole switching things up technique is legit.

At my writing desk taking a break from the action.

In this second sketch, I did my best AC/DC meets Chuck Berry rhythm while imagining I was being backed up by The Kinks circa Muswell Hillbillies. I was joined by Elaine Summers on ukulele and the occasional backing vocal. While this vibe was super fun to play and sing, it did not support the emotion of the song. And so my search for the ideal feel continued.

This third and final sketch finds me sharing the first draft of my new bridge with Elaine. By the time of this phone recording I had settled on a fingerstyle guitar approach similar to the one I used on the final studio version.

I’m thrilled to have a venue where I can share these early sketches. Thank you for being here! Extra special thanks to my paid subscribers who support this endeavor!

Peace & Love Songs,

Pete

PS: Paid subscribers visit my “Rarities” download page by clicking HERE.