The UPS man brought me a dream on Wednesday...
I've dreamed for several years now of making a CD that would fit in this perfect little spot between folk, country, and bluegrass. It had to be unique, it had to be heartfelt, and I knew if I did it right it would have a universal appeal. I wanted to make a record by some unknown dude named Zane Williams that was so well written and lovingly crafted that it could stand alongside the classics by Alison Krauss, or the Dixie Chicks, or James Taylor. I wanted to finally do my best at something, and see what I was truly capable of.
How did it turn out? Before I tell you, I want to share with you my memory of three separate times that I cried during the making of this CD. Grab a hanky and let's go back in time...
1. We had been doing "pre-production" for a week, and it was the last day before we starting actually recording. I still didn't have a bridge I liked for "Livin' in the Good Ol' Days", despite several attempts to write one. My co-producer's opinion was that time was up, and we needed to do it like it was or not do it at all. I was sleep-deprived, worn out from having creative disagreements all week, and felt like my dream for the record was already slipping away. I was utterly hopeless and disappointed. Mitch and I sat by the sound board in silence for a long moment, while I looked down and wiped tears away. I later realized that actually, I still had plenty of time to work on it before we recorded that particular song. I ended up writing a bridge that I still love to sing today.
2. The first day of recording the main tracks, I knew I was dropping a few thousand dollars just for that day and I was very nervous how it would go. I remember standing in the control room listening to Bryan Sutton, Andrea Zonn, and Charlie Chadwick play through some of my songs for the first time and being ABSOLUTELY blown away. It sounded so wonderful, I couldn't believe that it was live music coming out of the room next to me. My eyes welled up with tears of happiness and relief. It was worth every penny, and was the highlight of my musical career to that point.
3. Then there was the night that I sketched the design for the cover. Things had fallen through with the professional designer I had hired, after almost six months of talking with her. I had no money left, and the project had been dragging on forever. The only viable option left was to do it myself, but I wasn't sure if I was a good enough artist to make a design that was worthy of the recording we'd made. I wrestled with sketches and trace paper all night, until finally I had a breakthrough at about four in the morning. I sketched the final design as the sun came up, and I held it up, and I thought that it truly was beautiful. I went outside, sat on the sidewalk in the gray morning light, and cried. I felt that for the first time in my life, I had done my best on something.
There were probably more teary-eyed moments, but I don't want to seem like TOO much of a sissy artist here. The point of it all is, I tried to do something right for once, and it was really hard, but I'm glad I did it. Now that this particular struggle has come to an end, it's plain to see that ANYTHING worth doing in life involves struggle. That life IS struggle. It has wonderful ups, and it has miserable downs. And if you're doing something worthwhile, something you believe in, hopefully it's worth it.
So how did it turn out?
Well I can't tell you that it's perfect, but it's within spittin' distance of perfect, which ain't bad. It's REALLY unique looking, it sounds great, and I am going to be really proud to share it with the world for a long time to come. Wooohooo! We mailed out the pre-orders on Thursday, and you can now listen to the entire CD and purchase it online at my website.
CLICK HERE to visit my website and start listening right now!
Shoot...now that it's all over, I'm already looking forward to the next one... Peace,
