This is the printable cover for Fruitine.
Since I use it to make labels, it's tailored to my printer and browser (IE7) settings. It might not look or print as nicely on your PC.
I suggest you try a print preview and/or low-ink draft print before trying to print actual labels.
Make sure you configure your browser to print backgrounds, or the images won't print.
Set your left/right printer margins to 0.75 and your top/bottom margins to 0.50.
One foot in front of the other. That's the key to progress. Don't get discouraged by occasional stumbles and slip-ups. Or slips-up. Hmm. Anyway, don't let up.
I'm not gonna say "don't give up" because that's a cliche. It also implies that I'm trying to deal with demoralizing tragedies or something. No way. The only real "stress" encountered during the making of this album was getting adjusted to the new home and studio.
New studio? Yeah, new studio. I moved, so I had to build a new studio for myself. Well, I nailed thin plywood to the wall and ceiling studs; I don't know if you call that "buidling".
Same with the music: I nailed grooves and melodies to 8-measure blocks and called the result "songs". The solos and drum fills are like the tape I put over the cracks in the wood to keep out the bugs.
Yeah, my musical skills are almost as bad as my carpentry. I struggle to create something "normal", but don't even come close. You see, I'm not trying to be "artsy"; I'm actually trying to sound "normal". But I fail.
Of course, if I ever succeed at making "normal" music, I'll probably get sick of it. My belief is that Tripecac's charm lies in the "happy mistakes". Those and my amateurish enthusiasm are what I value most about it.
So anyway, here's a new batch of mistakes. Some are happier than others. Some have inside jokes that you have no chance of getting. Some have double meanings that even I didn't spot.
Does this mean the music's "deep"? Ha! Not deep, not arty, just playful piddling. It's all a form of mimicry, like my trying to "ice fish" or traverse a perilous "glacier".
One thing these songs have in common (besides a vaguely polar theme) is unguarded enthusiasm. Excitement, humor, fear, pride, annoyance, affection... I tried to keep it "raw", without putting up a facade of dignity. I didn't try to "civilize" the mistakes.
As long as I keep falling short of the goal of creating "normal" music, I'll keep enthusiastically banging on my pots and pans. Yep, gotta keep banging. Gotta keep fording ahead. No matter how frigid and desolate the theater.