More songs are posted on MySpace! There are a total of 6 there now, which is half of what will be on the new album. One of those songs is the much-asked-for "Gypsy of Love"!! I SO appreciate everyone's response to that song, and as a result, we did end up cutting it for the album! Please check it out (at www.myspace.com/karismith) and let me know what you think! Speaking of which, the album is going well, and I'm so happy with what we've done so far! If you listen to the songs on MySpace, you'll hear that the direction we've taken for this album is a much different direction than I've gone before. And the record is ever-evolving! Now for the sordid, very detailed details… ;-)
When I came to Nashville, I came with a recognition of the talents that I have been blessed with, but also a good dose of humility about what all I had left to learn! With that in mind, I chose to record an album that included some of my songs, but also songs from other writers. In the first session, here's how that went.
1. Whisper – this song was first recorded on the "Kari" album. My producer, feeling that this song was so strong and so appropriate for the wedding market, was interested in re-recording it for this album. And I love the way it turned out! We changed the direction of the song a bit to make it a bit more commercial, and I LOVE the fiddle parts that really make this arrangement special! These are performed by Grammy-winning Glen Duncan, who is well-known for his triple-fiddle parts on many Shania Twain songs. An interesting fact about this song – people frequently ask me who this song is about. It's actually about no one in particular! Funny enough – the idea for this song came from wonderful friend and amazing writer Dave Tinney. When I first began performing, mainly backup vocals for Dave, we would frequently step back from the mic in between songs and whisper, so that we wouldn't be overheard by the crowd. During one of those moments, Dave and I were whispering – until I realized that we were on a break and the mics weren't even on. I whispered to Dave, "why are we whispering?" and he replied "I don't know… but maybe you should write a song about whispering…" And I did!
2. I Call it Love – this song was first recorded on the "go with you" album. My producer also wanted to re-cut this song with more of a country shuffle feel, so it is the other song that we re-made for this album. Gary Primm, who has played piano on Alan Jackson's last 7 albums, and for my favorite country singer George Strait – really takes the piano playing on this song to a whole new level!
3. I Have Fun – I first began this song back before I moved to Nashville, but had abandoned it for a while. (That happens a lot, unfortunately!) Another funny story – I began writing this one while lying in bed, and being too tired (or lazy! ;-) to get up and get my voice recorder, I actually wrote out the music in my notebook, staff lines and notes and all! When I went back to this song, my producer Dennis helped me bring the idea into today's commercial country, and we ended up finishing this song as a co-write, the hook of it being "She has money, but I have FUN!" :-)
4. Can't Help But Play – this song hadn't been previously recorded, but I had played it out many times, just calling it "The Sad Song"… this song is my nod to traditional country, which I actually did not discover and fall in love with until I moved to Nashville. Again, Dennis helped me steer the direction of the song so that it was commercial enough for today's radio, while including the elements of old-school country that I love, including instrumentation and melody.
So once we were done with the first four songs, I had 2 re-makes that I had written alone, 1 song I wrote that was previously un-recorded, and 1 song that was a co-write with Dennis, my producer. Based on this, I figured it was time to take advantage of the amazing pool of songwriters that Nashville had to offer! And here's what we came up with…
5. Gypsy of Love – I had not planned on this song being on the album! However, one trip to VA changed all that… I played this song at several shows while I was there, and noticed that by the second chorus, people were already singing along – "please! don't! love! me! I'm! a! gypsy!" For whatever reason, it just resonated… And I heard over and over – "you have to put that on your next album!" So I did, and I'm so very happy with the way it came out. The direction we took with that song also steered the record down a different path than we first anticipated. Gypsy is upbeat, out-of-the-box for country music, and very distinct rhythmically. My producer is so happy with the cut that it may end up being the title track! Strangely enough, I wrote the majority of this song at a rest area! I was traveling one of my many trips last year between Nashville and Richmond, and decided to take a break from driving to play for a little while. I had begun this song months before, but finally landed on something when I came up with this chorus. While I was playing, I gained an audience of one – the guy who cleaned and gathered the trash from the rest area. He listened while I played, and vigorously cleaned the area around me for as long as he could before finally saying anything to me. I talked to him for a bit before hitting the road again, and ended up giving him one of my CDs… This job isn't a job, it's a way of life! (please refrain from your "dangers of rest area" speeches – I have heard them all… ;-)
6. Mostly Me – I had the great honor of working with Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame member Bobby Fischer and my producer Dennis on this song. Bobby Fischer co-wrote several Reba McEntire songs, including the hit song "You Lie", he was a writer on "Goodbye Says it All" for Blackhawk, and on "What in Her World Did I Do?" for Eddy Arnold. Bobby came to the session with the idea, and I related almost -immediately! This song explores the "softer side" :) of my voice, and I'm happy with how it ended up!
7. My Sisters – You can only imagine what this one is about!! I have 4 sisters and this song is about them – though I NEVER imagined it would end up being recorded! When Dennis and I were choosing songs for this set of 4, he asked me to bring in every song that I had even a rough recording of – so I did. Before playing this song last for him, I prefaced it by saying that I KNEW that we wouldn't end up recording this song. I told the story behind this song – that I had written it in tears while driving a U-Haul to Nashville. When it hit me that I was moving away from everything that I was used to – mostly my family – it was pretty emotional, and I tried to cheer myself up by writing a song about my sisters, whom I love dearly! Dennis loved the simplicity of the song, and felt that it would resonate strongly with a wide audience of listeners. This one is (obviously!) dedicated to Karen, Shari, Sharen, and Shanen Kasi – my sisters!
8. Take the Memories and Run – This song is the only song on the record thus far that I did not write. This song was written by Angela Hurt, who is signed to a writing deal. More about that…
If you notice, every song so far – with the exception of "Take the Memories" – is a song that I either wrote or co-wrote. As I said before – I came to Nashville with the thought that my songs may not be at the level they needed to be to make it in Nashville. My producer didn't agree! There is a possibility now that "Take the Memories" will be cut from the record in lieu of another original song. It makes me feel SO good knowing that my producer believes in my songs enough to cut them – and if he didn't, he wouldn't put his name on them!
Finishing the album is a little slow right now – my producer is working with several acts right now, including country band Trick Pony, and that's taking a lot of his time. He has also just finished a gospel album for legendary (and still very active!) country singer Moe Bandy. But I'm using that time to continue writing and working on my writing and playing! I've also tried to spend some time relaxing this summer, as well as making a little money with an eBay business. I'm hoping the new album will be finished within around 2 – 3 months, and I will be releasing it both in Nashville, and in VA. I haven't forgotten where I came from!
Well, that was a LOOOONG and overdue update – if you're still reading it, I'm proud! Thank you for caring so deeply about the progress of my journey!
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