Who
can forget New England's Snowmageddon 2015? Not me, that's for sure. Not only
did we break the record for snow amount totals in New England (over 110 inches,
Harvey Leonard recently reminded me), but it appropriately marked the beginning
craziness of "I Wasn't Crazy."
About
a year ago my Dad and I took a ninety-minute (normally forty-five minute) ride
into our snow globe of a city. We were greeted with absolutely no parking on
Newbury Street and no snow removal from the sidewalk ramps. Dad and two very
kind strangers picked me and my 300-pound wheelchair up and over the snow piles
all for a thirty-five minute listening session with Steve Catizone, producer on
this and other songs of mine, at Cybersound's Studio B. Then it was ninety-plus
minutes back home. "Lana," Dad said, "maybe you could make it a video chat next
snowstorm?" He didn't really mind all that much. My Dad secretly loves our
adventures, not to mention it gave him something to complain about for the next
few weeks. "...then, we turn on to Newbury and wouldn't you know, they plowed
ALL of the snow to one side of the street! Not ONE parking spot. Not one!"
You're welcome, Dad.
That frigid February day I played three song demos for Steve. The first was a definite no, "not feeling it." Second song sparked a bit more interest and a "mmhmm...okay, we could definitely do something cool with this." Neither one of us was sold on it, though. Finally, after much trepidation, I hit play on the third and final demo I had with me. "I Wasn't Crazy," originally titled "Air U Breathe," was a song I wasn't sure I was ready to dive into quite yet as it tells about a hurt that I know I will never get over. Even though I had listened to my demo more than a thousand times, it felt like I was listening to it for the first. Hearing notes I forgot I played, listening to words I forgot I chose; the song was both risky and bold coming from me. When it was over I looked up at Steve who was wearing that familiar, wide-open, light-behind-his-eyes look. "This is the one," he said. I knew he was right. It was time.
That frigid February day I played three song demos for Steve. The first was a definite no, "not feeling it." Second song sparked a bit more interest and a "mmhmm...okay, we could definitely do something cool with this." Neither one of us was sold on it, though. Finally, after much trepidation, I hit play on the third and final demo I had with me. "I Wasn't Crazy," originally titled "Air U Breathe," was a song I wasn't sure I was ready to dive into quite yet as it tells about a hurt that I know I will never get over. Even though I had listened to my demo more than a thousand times, it felt like I was listening to it for the first. Hearing notes I forgot I played, listening to words I forgot I chose; the song was both risky and bold coming from me. When it was over I looked up at Steve who was wearing that familiar, wide-open, light-behind-his-eyes look. "This is the one," he said. I knew he was right. It was time.
Beginning
work on this song wasn't easy, to say the least. While my main concern was how
soon we could schedule our next session, Steve's was making the big move back
east. After years of producing artists in L.A. he was returning to his roots, as
well as closing up shop at his Boston studio, Sanctum Sound -
my favorite place on earth. If you follow my blog, you know how much I
loved that underground haven. If you know me, you know that I
absolutely abhor change, especially when it prevents me from making
music. Put those two things together, add in my "straight-jacket" song and I was
truly a joy to be around for the next few months.
Deciding
where to go from that point -- Should I work with someone new? Could I handle
the difficult feelings that came with working on this song? Would I have time to
take on another project while I waited? -- was a challenge. Fortunately, other
music projects did fit perfectly inside this time slot and made
the days pass quickly. Before I knew it, June had arrived and Steve was back. We
were finally able to have our first recording session for "I Wasn't Crazy." With
Sanctum Sound now gutted and filled with cubicles (ouch, it hurts to even think
about), we tried somewhere new. It wasn't pretty. I'll say this, the ride
wasn't...bad. Exact location and name will remain undisclosed, however. If you'd
stepped foot into Sanctum Sound for thirty seconds then followed it up with this
place? You would cry, too. Sanctum Sound has ruined me as far as recording
studios go. #Truth. We did get back on track, no pun
intended.
The work we managed in that first session, despite having only one horribly static-filled speaker available, was enough to help me put aside my four-months of pent-up frustration and get very excited about finding the perfect vocalist. "Crazy" was heading down an R&B avenue and, because I was so close to the song, we felt a male singer with a killer falsetto would be ideal.
The work we managed in that first session, despite having only one horribly static-filled speaker available, was enough to help me put aside my four-months of pent-up frustration and get very excited about finding the perfect vocalist. "Crazy" was heading down an R&B avenue and, because I was so close to the song, we felt a male singer with a killer falsetto would be ideal.
Usually
we spend a lot more time building the production before we are ready for a
vocalist. This time was different. This song actually needed the vocalist
to even find the rest of it's layers. I was settling in for what I thought would
be a long few days (weeks?) of listening to and looking for singers, (one of my
most favorite parts of this process) and then, well, this
happened:
- 12:00 p.m. - Ear buds in, clicked on YouTube app, searched "male R&B vocalist."
- 12:01 p.m. - A gazillion search results appeared. Started at the top with plans of working my way down, one by one.
- 12:02 p.m. - Clicked on the first video; somebody named Yuni Rain singing a cover of Nick Jonas's song "Push."
- 12:04 p.m. (-ish) - Search over.
Four
minutes. It's rare, I know, but there's this feeling you get when, after a few
hurdles, the stars decide they're going to align for you. That's what happened
when I heard Yuni Rain for the first time. I went into my usual stalker mode
following Yuni on all of his social media pages. Not only did Yuni have the
voice (holy shhhh did he have the voice!), but he had this incredible way of
connecting with every lyric he sang whether they were his or someone else's. His
levels of emotion transfixed me. That's how I knew. At this point if I wasn't
able to get this guy to sing my song, I wasn't doing the song, period. The scariest moment
for me was when I saw where Yuni lived. New Jersey. Not quite the hop, skip and
jump I was hoping for. And here I am complaining about my ninety-minute ride
into Boston, tsk, tsk. My Mom has always said to me since I was a wee tot
"Please don't get your hopes up, Lana. I hate to see you disappointed!" Too
late, Mom. I was either going to Jersey, or Jersey was coming to
me.
After
e-communicating for a few weeks, Yuni and I decided to "meet" over FaceTime to
discuss the song and a possible plan. We ended up talking for hours. I can't
explain just how fantastic it is to talk "songwriter" with another person
without getting that glazed over, shut-the-hell-up-already look. In between
conversation, Yuni serenaded me with my song and many of his own. He has
mountains upon mountains of talent - not just singing, but writing and
producing, too. We probably could've spent days discussing our songwriting pet
peeves and techniques, sharing the meanings behind each other's lyrics and
teaching each other Boston/Jersey slang, but we decided to continue it at our
upcoming session. That's right -- Yuni and I officially became collaborators on
"I Wasn't Crazy." Cray-cray, right?! He was looking forward to spending some
time (his first visit!) in Boston (Dad was only a little relieved that he didn't
have to trek me to Jersey) and I began counting down the days to his
arrival.
Despite
the fact that Cybersound's Studio B, where we ended up recording and completing
"I Wasn't Crazy," doesn't hold a candle to Sanctum Sound, Yuni Rain, Steve
Catizone and I had a pretty epic session. Making music with these two is an
experience like no other. I watched in fascination as the two of them infused my
song with their own magical, musical brews. We spent hours creating, talking,
singing, laughing and listening to music. We forgot that the outside world even
existed, at least I did. I didn't even think about food for a solid eight hours!
That's pretty much unheard of for me. The Snow/Rain recording session is one
that will go down in history. It will be encased in a lighted glass box in the
Songwriting Hall of Fame Museum...in my mind.
After
months of mixing (the most torturous part of this entire process), tweaking and
mixing again, we reached the version of "I Wasn't Crazy" that made me stop and
say "Okay, now I can hear it on the radio." I set my goals high for my
songs, I know, but it's just what I do.
Away
on a Girls Weekend in November, almost nine months since we started this
project, we were in bumper-to-bumper traffic in the middle of Providence. My
friends felt strongly that there was no better time but the present to listen to
my new song. "C'mon, Lana! Let us be the first to hear it!" Peer pressure,
girls? Really? I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the very familiar
symptoms of F.L.A. (First Listen Anxiety): layer of sweat across my forehead and
down my back, heart palpitations, inside cheek-chewing, hair twirling, nervous
eyebrow twitching. But guess what? None of that happened this time. Instead, I
listened along with them, not through them, to every note, every word Yuni
sang and how Steve weaved it so perfectly together and I just smiled. It was
different, yes, maybe even one of those songs you have to listen to a few times
to decide if it's worthy of your playlist. More importantly, it was a chunk of
my life that caused a bitch of a storm inside of my soul for so many years.
However, on that unseasonably warm November night, surrounded by my girlfriends
inside of my minivan, I felt like I could finally begin to let it all
go.
Over the last few months "I Wasn't Crazy"
was officially released by debuting on British radio station The
Radio Alternative with DJ Matt Barker, got a lyric video (made
by yours truly) and received additional airplay on Boston's Hit Music station: Mix 104.1, thanks to DJ Matthew Reid. It may not be my most
"popular" song, but it is a personal success in that it was necessary for
healing purposes, a musical success in that I met and was given the chance to
work with an extremely rare talent named Yuni Rain. Do yourself a favor and
watch his videos on his YouTube Page. There's no doubt in my mind that you will be just
as taken with his talent as I was (and continue to
be).
 |
| "Crazy" Team - Arlanna Snow, Yuni Rain and Steve Catizone |
 |
| Yuni recording vocals for "I Wasn't Crazy" at Cybersound: Studio B in Boston, MA, 2015. |
Stay tuned - 2016 is bringing some changes and always, always more music!
dreamBIG!
dreamBIG!
~Arlanna
