Start Again Tomorrow

Old|New School -- CD or Digital Download?

2008-08-20T06:48:00.001-07:00

One of the things that I have found most interesting since recently releasing my record is people's preferences about wanting a physical CD versus a digital download.

Most people will say "young people today don't care about CDs - they just want the music, and digital delivery appeals to their desire for immediate gratification." I am guessing though that this isn't totally true.

I would love to have your thoughts, as comments to this blog post.

Tell me:

Do you prefer a CD or Digital download, and why?
What is your feeling on buying as opposed to... "finding" music you want to listen to?
How would you rate your comfort level (1-10) in buying something online, and why?

A Blog Reborn

2008-07-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

As you will notice, a lot has changed on the site to go along with the long-awaited release of my record "Start Again Tomorrow."

When I first created this blog, it was about the process of making the record. Then, I got kind of lazy and corrupted it into an easy way to share news. Well, that just kind of obfuscated the matter too much for my tastes, so from now on, this is reborn as an actual blog...

I want a place to talk about cool things that happen, thoughts about trying to somehow be heard in a music industry that I'm not part of, etc. -- that kind of thing. I'd love you guys to join the conversation (aka comment).

Time will tell - but for now, I will just say this: This process of making the record, and re-envisioning this site and myspace, and so many other things has been so emotionally stirring, and I am positive that I will never be the same again.

Thanks to everyone who provided support - in a thousand different ways - to get me here. I hope you like the record as much as I do.

House Concerts!

2008-03-28T21:50:00.000-07:00

I am putting out some feelers regarding house concerts. I really think that with my music, the best venue is the most intimate one. Making connections and singing for a small group of people is my favorite kind of experience. Because of this, I am interested in doing some house concerts. Basically, you would have me perform in your living room or family room -- invite 10 or more friends (as long as they have a place to sit comfortably), and we'll do a small intimate 90-minute show. No loud amplifiers, just a down-to-earth real musical experience.

If you are at all interested in more details on how a house concert might work, or if you are interested in hosting a show, please contact me at benjamin@benjamincostello.com. Thanks!

Back in action...

2008-02-19T05:21:00.001-08:00

Hello friends!

I know that it has been a while since I have had an update.   I have been kind of disabled for the last several months by software incompatibilities -- Pro Tools essentially never supports new OS versions until 6 months after they are released (or something inane like that), but I had other reasons I needed to upgrade.   So, I couldn't record -- couldn't do bedtime melodies -- couldn't even use my piano software :-\

BUT - I decided to take my old machine and set it up as a recording-only machine.   Wow - it has been so nice to have it back, and nice to have it open and ready all the time for when I have a moment or a whim.   So, I am back in action - making progress on "Start Again Tomorrow."    I have done some exciting arranging and instrumentals, and I am very hopeful and invigorated.

I have added a bunch of new videos to youtube lately, so if you haven't been by there in a bit - I invite you to take a look.   A new installment of Bedtime Melodies is forthcoming, and I will be keeping you more up to date than before.

Thanks!
Benjamin

Blogged with Flock

New Video: Love Song for No One (John Mayer Cover)

2007-11-09T05:01:00.000-08:00

I wasn't sure I liked this song until I heard him do it live with just an acoustic - then I loved it. So, I figured it out. I hope you enjoy.

New Video: One Man Guy (Rufus Wainwright Cover)

2007-11-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

Hehe all through this recording my dog was doing the most ridiculous things to get my attention (I hid the squeakers), and it just kind of struck me as ironic how not alone I was singing this song. Good stuff :) I hope you enjoy.

Family Sing-Along

2007-11-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

This is me, and my two brothers and father and my nephew Sammy. This is what happens when my dorky (but lovely) family gets together. Thought I would share. Sammy was freaking out and totally cracking us up hehe.

A Major Life Goal Accomplished

2007-07-16T16:33:00.002-07:00

For all of the hundreds of songs I have covered of other artists, I secretly wished for the day that the cycle would continue on from me forward - that day has come! You rock Vily! :)

Vily covers Childhood Places

Album Update + New Video

2007-06-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hello friends -- so, I have some good news finally about my album. After a pretty intensive process of going through many thousands of files, I was able to reconstruct a large majority of the work that I thought I had lost in the studio. Woo! :)

This means that I am back on track again, and in the next month or two, I plan to get back into the recording process. I am still as excited as ever about the album, and at this point I have more or less given up on guessing when it will be released hehe. But, when it is, it will be great, and I can't wait for you to hear it.

I recorded a new video for youtube today - a piano transcription I did of the song "The Countess Cathleen" from Riverdance. It's just piano, but I thought I would mix it up a little - enjoy :)

YouTube Mania

2007-05-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hey friends -- I just wanted to update you all on how things are going. I have restored a lot of files from my studio hard-drive pain, and I am hoping to get back into the studio soon and get the ball rolling on Start Again Tomorrow -- I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I have been busy making friends and videos for YouTube, it's been a lot of fun - please check them out!

Peace friends!
Benjamin

The Scientist

No Surprises

Black Star

Somewhere Only We Know

New Video: "True Love Waits" Live at the 9s

2007-04-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone - Megan caught one of my songs from last night's performance on her little camera, so I threw it up on youtube. It's a cover I did of Radiohead's song "True Love Waits" -- first time I ever played it out. I hope you enjoy and comments are always welcome.

Benjamin

New Recording: Sunday Bloody Sunday

2007-03-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Hello friends -- it is St. Patrick's day so I did something I have wanted to do for a long time and recorded a cover of Sunday Bloody Sunday. This version is inspired by a bootleg of a live U2 show where they took it down to the bones. I did a little arranging to make it my own. I hope you like it! Comments are always welcome.

Sunday Bloody Sunday (mp3)

Benjamin

New Video: I just don't think I'll ever get over you

2007-03-05T17:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight I made a video of the song "I just don't think I'll ever get over you" from the Garden State soundtrack. Enjoy :)

New Recording: Julia

2007-02-11T09:43:00.000-08:00

Hey all - I decided to take a much needed break from my album woes and do a new recording - this is a cover of a song by Emm Gryner called "Julia."

I hope you like it - comments are most appreciated :)
Benj

Listen to Julia (mp3)

Dear Murphy, I Hate Your Law...

2007-02-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Hello friends -- here is an update on the recording of my record:

Last week I spent three 9-hour days in the recording studio on my album. I made a huge amount of progress, and was feeling very positive about how it was going, and excited to keep working on it.

At the end of the week, I went to pick up my gear and hard drive, and before I left, went to make backup copies of the project files. An older copy of the files was on my hard drive "Instruments", and in order to make room for the updated versions, I deleted the old versions. The drive where all the projects were recorded is called "Benjamin" -- I deleted files from Instruments to make room for the updated files from Benjamin.

As Murphy's law would dictate, as soon as I emptied the trash on Instruments and started to copy the updated files over, Benjamin suffered a catastrophic drive failure, and the files were lost. The engineers at Glyph attempted to recover that drive, but there was such a horrible failure that the data was unrecoverable.

So, the next step was to try to "un-delete" the older versions of the files from "Instruments." Glyph was able to recover files, and for a fleeting moment, I thought I was back in action. Sadly though, on closer inspection it turns out that a significant enough number of the files were missing or damaged that no single song is likely to be usable. I am going to meet up with Alex from the studio next week to see what (if anything) is salvageable.

Fortunately, I have all three drum parts totally intact. That is the one instrument that I truly could not have done in my home studio. I'm at a point where I may need to do the majority of the album myself at home, as I have already used almost all of my budget in the studio. What I have left would be reserved for mastering and duplication of the CD when it's done.

So, it's a little unclear what happens next - I am really trying not to despair, as one way or another, I am going to have a record - let's hope that malevolent fortune is sufficiently satiated for now...

Benj

Forum Upgrade / Fix

2007-01-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

For months now I have been getting hundreds of fake registrations to my forum from spam bots on the internet. It turns out that in my attempt to manage those, I rejected a number of legitimate registration attempts.

One accidental rejection is one too many :( So, I upgraded the forum software and the new one is supposed to offer better protection from spam. If you are one of the people that tried to register and never got approved, please consider re-registering now. You will only need to do email validation and then you're in.

Thanks to everyone that makes the forum a nice little community of friends, and please I invite anyone interested to join in -- even if just to say hello.

Benj

New Videos from "Panorama"

2006-12-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

Hello friends -- I just got my hands on a couple videos of a performance I did on a local TV show here called "Panorama." I uploaded them to my Youtube profile - let me know what you think. Hope everyone is having a very safe and happy holiday season!

Benj

Childhood Places
The Good Life

YouTube / New Video :)

2006-12-13T07:25:00.000-08:00

Not sure if any of you have noticed, but I posted a bunch of my videos on YouTube, and it has been a pretty cool experience -- both in terms of people messaging me and people leaving comments. So, many thanks to the people who pushed me there.

Benjamin Costello on YouTube

I also recently posted a NEW YouTube exclusive video of "Just for Now."
Take a look

Sitting on my hands

2006-09-26T04:32:00.000-07:00

So I may be realizing why some people always say their album will be out on X date, and then continually move that date forward six months at a time with sincere hopes that if they say it out loud, it might actually happen... :)

So yes - I am waiting for some more studio time, and scheduling some musicians. I had hoped to have more done by now, but alas, it is out of my hands (which is why I am sitting on them).

I might have to record some cool covers in the meantime so that you all don't forget I exist! :-P

Pyramid Session One

2006-08-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

I think I am finally caught up on sleep enough after the frenzied rush to launch the new Ithaca College website. I am really happy with it how it came out though, and happy that I am no longer at work at 3am...

In the midst of all of that I managed to get away for a day and a half to Pyramid Sound where I will be doing the full recording and production of my album. This first session was all about drums, and Devon Reehl, joined me to record. Pyramid is renowned for having an amazing drum recording room, and the tracks I walked away with prove it.

DAY ONE

We started with the song "Start Again Tomorrow" which hasn't been released yet, so going into too much detail about it probably won't be particularly meaningful or interesting. However, what was interesting is the way that we realized the beat we had been playing before to this song wasn't the right one. Alex, the co-producer, devon and I worked for quite a while to figure out what the right beat was, and we found it and it makes an enormous difference to have it fit organically. This track is going to sound great - I can't wait for you to hear it.

I got to hang out in this little sound-proof chamber and play guitar and sing, while Devon was out in the main room, hearing me through headphones, and we could see each other through the glass. I was recorded, but just for reference - it was all about the drums. I must have sung start again like 25 times before we totally worked out the part, found the exact right groove, and decided we had the perfect take.

After a short dinner break, we got started on "Fall". I have had mixed feelings about putting drums on this song for a while now -- on one hand it's definitely more driving than some of my other songs, but I kind of like the simplicity of the song with just acoustic guitar and voice. By the end of some playing, and listening, we all agreed that having no drums was the best choice. (crazy, eh?)

So, on to "Put Up With Me" - we had worked out a beat for this before, but I wasn't digging it. I was also trying to understand the song, esp. when I tried to create a click track to use for the initial drum sessions, and found out that the song changes tempo considerably between the versus and the chorus. We messed around with this song for a long time, and tried crazy things that make it sound like zydeco and alt-country, and who knows what else, but ended up with kind of a funk beat. It's really amazing how when you find the right thing -- it just works and you know it -- the song feels different - almost takes on a life of its own.

So, Put up is going to have a different feel that what you know from my currently published recording, but I think you are going to really like it :) We wrapped for the night without getting a satisfactory take, as it became clear they were getting progressively worse, and there was little point in continuing.

DAY TWO

We came in ready to jam on "Put Up With Me" -- listened to the last take from the night before, and played it twice, both were good, and we decided the first was the keeper.

Finally, I set up my keyboard (this time in the control room because the booth I was in was too small for it), to record "Something I Don't" - another song you have not heard, but is without a doubt my favorite song on the album - I am so excited to share it. Dev and I had worked something cool out for this already, and somehow, the mood and spirit of the whole process were so alive that we just nailed this song on the first try - it was really amazing. We did another take for good measure, but in review it was clear after about the first 5 seconds, that the first was the one and only.

Alex did some old school editing to get the part perfect (there was one hit slightly off or something minor.. old school because we didn't record to a click, so it was kind of like cutting tape). I walked away with a CD of the three songs, and I'm practicing them now.

Next sessions are supposed to happen in the middle of September - I am craving them so badly now - knowing what an amazing feeling it is to be part of such a intricate and excellent process.

On the brink

2006-07-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hello my friends -- it was pointed out to me that I have been doing a pretty lousy job of keeping up with chronicling my album project. :)

The studio that I am recording at, Pyramid Sound, has recently undergone a fairly significant upgrade in some of the critical equipment, so the producer there (Alex) thought it would be worth it to wait for that upgrade to be finished before we started the album.

I met with Alex twice now to listen through songs, and I am really excited about the thoughts and ideas he had. It will be the first time that I have ever worked with a producer -- I have always relied on myself, so I think it will be really great for me, and for the record.

The most exciting news is probably that I finished my album cover artwork and I am really happy with the result. What I had posted before was the mockup -- the final one doesn't look too different, except it is all hand-drawn, whereas the mockup is just a photoshop creation (a frankenstein really of about 600 different images all mushed together until the idea was totally realized).

Here is the final artwork - I'd love your comments on it.

I am also in the process right now of redesigning my website to coincide with the CD release, which probably won't be for a while, but it never hurts to be a little bit ahead of the game. This is a *complete* redesign, and so far, I am liking it a lot. Maybe I will post some screenshots here at some point.

So, it looks like I will be spending some time in mid-august in the studio, and the drums are getting recorded in late August as my friend Devon who is playing drums is really busy touring / gigging with his band Revision. My friend Frank who is playing bass on the record is still down south, so even though I am doing everything else in the studio, he is most likely going to record remotely still. You can hear him on the updated "Childhood Places" I released. That track also features my best friend Chris Zemliauskas on the little piano bits (he also played with me on recent "Let Down" and "A Lack of Color" covers.

Goin to the Studio!

2006-05-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

After several weeks of putzing around trying to figure out what to do here, spending a good majority of that time distracting myself with friends and the entire season of Freeks and Geeks on DVD, I have decided to go into the studio to do my album.

My parents and my grandma are going to help me out with the funding, so I can do it sooner than later. I am getting really excited. I will be recording it at Pyramid Sound in Ithaca, NY.

This means that the work I had already done is going to be replaced, and so as a bonus for your patience while I was deciding, I have posted my new version of "Childhood Places" that was recorded for the record when I was self-producing. Let me know what you think.

Listen to Childhood Places

I have also posted my album's cover art, which I originally did on the computer, and am in the process of drawing it completely from scratch by hand with colored pencils. Right now my plan is to hand-draw all the album artwork.

I will keep you posted on how things are going with the production schedule and will most definitely post about my experiences in the studio!

Need Advice

2006-04-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

So, I have been thinking about possibly hitting a real studio to do my album. I am worried that it will take forever if I keep at it on my own. There are obstacles -- one is money, but my parents would like to invest in it, so that might not be so big an issue.

The biggest logistical challenge is that my bass player is in Nashville, and if I were to go do it for real, I would want him there. The thought of buying him a plane ticket doesn't bother me, but now we are getting pretty serious :)

I would have to pay my drummer to come back again, and gah - I don't know - it would just be extreme. But, it would be done so much faster, and I'm sure the quality would be superior to what I'm doing on my own.

I am thinking I can wait until my second album to self-produce -- maybe I will have more time (and better equipment) then.

At the end of the day, the album isn't an expression of my mad pro tools skillz, just my music, so I'm not heart broken if I don't engineer - in some ways it will make my performances better to only have to think about the music and let someone else concentrate on the technical stuff.

What do people think? Am I giving up to easily? Is self-producing worth enough to have the album take another year and a half to be completed?

The Name

2006-03-30T18:10:00.000-08:00

Crossing a huge intersection in Tribeca with Simon and Leigh, I suddenly got an idea for my album's title: "Depth of Perception." I really loved it -- you may see it in some ID3 tags -- I even registered the domain name depthofperception.com in anticipation of using it.

After I wrote "Something I Don't", I realized I finally had enough material for an album. It wasn't until then, when I put the songs into a single iTunes playlist, that I realized that the name had to be "Start Again Tomorrow."

I realized that somehow, despite how anarchic my songwriting had been, a very consistent theme connected all of the songs -- starting over. Looking at my life over the last couple years, it's really not a coincidence. . . .

So "Start Again Tomorrow" it was. Just a tid-bit of history for you :)

Making a Record

2006-03-29T22:27:00.000-08:00

My friend Jeff McCaffery said "I would rather call it a record than a CD — because it really is a record of you right now."

Sixteen months ago, it would have been almost impossible to imagine creating a full-length CD of my own original music, but here I am doing it - it feels amazing and frightening. Thanks to the friends that suggested I roll this blog to accompany the process.

Here is what is going to occupy every spare inch of my grey matter for the next six to nine months…

Start Again Tomorrow

Start Again Tomorrow
Put Up With Me
Girl
Fall
Just for Now
Rewind
Something I Don't
Childhood Places
Walk Away
Fields of Gold
The Good Life

I will take the next week or two to catch you all up to what is done so far, and then it will be real-time madness. I don't know exactly what to expect this blog to be, but I'd love feedback, and perhaps to share some little previews with you along the way.

It's really bursting at the seams
Absorbing everything
The spectrum's a to z