These last few weeks I've been continuously working on a video presentation to screen behind the playback of the 'Songs For Ghosts' album at the October launch party event. I've now completed just over an hour's worth of video to suit this. It won't be possible to playback the entire two disc CD set from the album, but I'm hoping to put together a selection of specially chosen tracks from both discs to give some indication to the attendees of the complete double album package.
My task now is to come up with images for what I hope will be an extensive package for the double album. I've been photographing various objects and treating them in different ways to, hopefully, produce an effect which will be both enigmatic and entertaining. It's an ongoing process and decisions will be made later as to which images work best within the package. But, so far, it's all good.
Nevertheless, the choice of what goes where will be difficult as there are so many possible images to include. This kind of thing requires a lot of consideration and careful thought.
I also need to arrange time at Fairview Studio to master the double album's discs with John Spence. Everything has to be completed, (artwork and mastered tracks,) in time to hit a mid-September deadline for getting the mastered tracks and finished artwork to the factory in time to deliver product back to me, so that I can personally autograph each album that will eventually be given to the ticket holders of the October 28th launch party.
But, even after these duties are eventually dealt with, I'm not off the hook yet. There are backing tracks to work on and prepare/master for the live performance, (including some brand new ones,) notes to write for presentation of the playback of album tracks, further backing tracks to be chosen for the live performance and compiled to disc for it, (and so on.)
I also need to decide on which guitars are used on which tracks. Always a delicious job, but one frought with constant indecision.
Artwork/drawings to be created for fans to buy, a guitar of mine to sell, (decorated with my artwork,) personal out of print archive CDs to prepare for the mechandise stall, and all the other important, but tedious stuff, of getting the various guitars and technical equipment ready in time to be shifted to the venue. (A few repairs need in that area too.)
All in all, the amount of preparatory work that goes into what, to some attendees, will seem effortless, is far more involved and time consuming than most people would think. For just this one event, the amount of preparation is quite something.