Wednesday 18th October
It’s three days since I was at the Isle of Wight. I’ve been trying to get in touch with Dwayne about the drone footage but I think he must have been very busy as there was no answer. I’ll leave it to fate. If I’m meant to have the drone footage, he will send it. I don’t want to keep bothering him as he was doing me a favour. I’ve started to edit something together out of what I have. It’s okay. Well, it’s better than nothing at all. I take a deep breath and shutdown the editing software and reopen the song instead. The choir sounds incredible. In fact, it sounds so good that the song needs drums, and possibly strings too. And this is an area I really feel supported in and extremely fortunate. With the music, I don’t feel the limitations. Within a few hours I have programmed drums on the song and written and played a simple bassline too. In the afternoon, Jonathan Hill – my dear old friend and literal ‘extra string to my bow’ comes round and records about 16 tracks of violin, viola and contra viola. I recall Amanda Palmer talking about how many people do not understand an exchange of skills that doesn’t involve money. And she’s right, it’s alien to many people. But it’s how I have managed to keep producing music. Love and friendships. And it still moves me even after all these years, that through love and friendship, the dreams we imagine can become realities. Jono casually packs away his £1 million violin and scoots off to do a show. I start to mix the song and forget all about my struggle with the video. I keep an eye on Kathy’s fundraiser which has reached about £1500. I’m pleased, but I hope we reach the goal. And I really hope the song will help to raise awareness. The song is never going to make money because it would need a full advertising campaign, but we can use it to promote the fundraiser. The song is the advert really.
By about 2am I am listening to the mix and it’s okay but the programmed drums just sounds really inappropriate against all the authentic instrumentation. I head into the kitchen and make one of my Spanish Tortillas which reminds me of Spain and my mum’s place. I take half an hour off to refuel and stop listening. As I swallow my last mouthful of Tortilla, I feel a little lost and alone and not sure if I’ll be able to achieve what I am imagining in my head with the song or the video. It’s 3 o’clock in the morning. But wait, that means it’s 10’clock at night in Canada. I need help and I am going to ask some friends in Canada if they might be able to answer the call.
My friends Ben (in Toronto) and Alexy (in Montreal) are two of the most talented, thoughtful and kind musicians I know. We are great friends who share a common unknown journey together. We never know where it’s headed, but we can pretty much see the steps laid out in front of us on that journey. A few steps at a time, but we both know we are, for now, headed in the same direction. Miraculously, Alexy is going to record some drums at Ben’s place in Toronto and between them they have offered up the possibility of recording drums and mixing the song for me next week! It’s incredible, because these are two skills that I do not have, which they both possess in abundance. When love and skill together come together, expect a miracle. I think this could be really amazing. Still no sign of the drone footage. But the sound is coming together!
Have you missed the first four chapters of this story? Go here.
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Ben Pelchat, Tim Arnold and Alexy Guerer, Toronto, 2017