The Latest . . .

. . . from Doug Alan Wilcox; articulate, evocative and engaging singer songwriter
and good friend. . . 



(from http://www.dawilcox.com/doug_alan_wilcox_true.html)
On the making of “True”

I had been through a particularly crappy Winter - bouts of depression and malaise had kept me fairly off-kilter for months. Fortunately, I was able to use that pain to write a couple of new songs and had yet a few more tunes that were in the live show rotation but hadn't been recorded so figured it was time to get into the studio. In hindsight, the activity of recording probably saved me many more weeks of ugly mood. Things do happen for a reason.

Along about this same time, my friend and fellow singer/songwriter Rick Windon asked if I would be willing to to take a lyric he had rattling around and try to put my spin on things. The result, "It Only Feels Like Love", while not at all a happy song, is still perhaps my favorite on "True" (btw, this IS a mostly POSITIVE album, really..........).

Now, I've never spoken to other artists to see if their experience is the same but the recording process always takes on a life of it's own for me. I invariably go in with a plan that disintegrates into dust within days. However SOMETHING GOOD always happens in place of that plan.

In this case, the two brand-new songs that I was sure were going to be on this record ended up being set aside for another day - they just didn't fit the flow that was taking shape for "True". I got the idea to write a couple of instrumental, sound-scape-type pieces - not quite songs but bits to tie other songs together.

Another great friend, pianist Ray Jozwiak, had offered his services earlier on and I threw two of the instrumentals his way. One gained lyrics in the meantime and became the title track and first cut on the CD. These "sounds-capes" really mark a departure for me and I think lend a whole different tone to the collection.

This is what I mean by a project "taking on a life of it's own". Things tend to happen very organically and it's always an intriguing and surprising adventure (for me at least)  to see what I end up with.

So in the end, it all came along well in the course of just over two months. My lovely wife helped with production duties (a woman with a very good ear!)
and didn't fuss when I was locked up in the studio or spending time glued to the computer with headphones - listening over and over to mixes.

As you can see other places on this site, all my current recorded work is posted at BandCamp.com. Everything there streams for free so please feel free to drop by - no commitment. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed making this, and all, my records - and if you like what you hear, you know what to do............. :)

Of "True", Betsy Burnam says: "......... It's beautiful; almost Zen-like lyrics and feeling but with humor and gentle passion. Doug opens his heart........."


True
from the album True
by Doug Alan Wilcox
released 09 April 2014
© all rights reserved




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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
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My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

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Brew . . .

(from www.wikipedia.com)
". . . Recording sessions took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio over the course of three days in August 1969. [Miles]Davis called the musicians to the recording studio on very short notice. A few pieces on Bitches Brew were rehearsed before the recording sessions, but at other times the musicians had little or no idea what they were to record. Once in the recording studio, the players were typically given only a few instructions: a tempo count, a few chords or a hint of melody, and suggestions as to mood or tone. Davis liked to work this way; he thought it forced musicians to pay close attention to one another, to their own performances, or to Davis's cues, which could change at any moment. On the quieter moments of "Bitches Brew", for example, Davis's voice is audible, giving instructions to the musicians: snapping his fingers to indicate tempo, or, in his distinctive whisper, saying, "Keep it tight" or telling individuals when to solo.

Davis composed most of the music on the album. The two important exceptions were the complex "Pharaoh's Dance" (composed by Joe Zawinul) and the ballad "Sanctuary" (composed by Wayne Shorter). The latter had been recorded as a fairly straightforward ballad early in 1968, but was given a radically different interpretation on Bitches Brew. It begins with Davis and Chick Corea improvising on the standard "I Fall in Love too Easily" before Davis plays the "Sanctuary" theme. Then, not unlike Davis's recording of Shorter's "Nefertiti" two years earlier, the horns repeat the melody over and over while the rhythm section builds up the intensity. The issued "Sanctuary" is actually two consecutive takes of the piece.

Despite his reputation as a "cool", melodic improviser, much of Davis's playing on this album is aggressive and explosive, often playing fast runs and venturing into the upper register of the trumpet. His closing solo on "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" is particularly noteworthy in this regard. Davis did not perform on the short piece "John McLaughlin". . . "

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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

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Also, be sure to visit:
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What if . . .

. . . your host. . .

was. . .

brusque-  blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness

acerbic-  acid in temper, mood, or tone

abrupt-  unceremoniously curt

curt-  marked by rude or peremptory shortness

gruff-  rough, brusque, or stern in manner, speech, or aspect

. . . would YOU return???

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You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
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