String Me Up!

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Posted: January 16, 2020

With Michael Parnell and his amazing crew!

Such fun! Strings add a whole new level to the tracks. These guys are Top-Notch!!

I snuck in the room to shoot a little video while they were playing. It’s an entirely different experience being on the inside of the sound booth.

I told Dave Darling on numerous occasions, that I really hit the jackpot with him producing me. This has been such a fantastic recording experience…so much so, that on the final day of tracking, I felt like a kid being kicked out of Disney Land…. I wanted to dig my nails into that studio and wait for security to escort me from the building.

There’s this sinking feeling of depression that hit me. Of course, I’m also excited and nervous to get the new stuff out there, but recording and creating is my favorite part. I guess I’ll have to just write more…but still, I’m not gonna lie, I have some major blues at the moment.

I’m not sure when things will be mixed, mastered, and released, but I’m assuming some time in 2020. I know there’s still lots to do to prepare for that, so I’ll focus on that stuff for now.

Christmas Party & Recording Studio

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Updated: December 11, 2019

  • Bob Gentry, Jackie McLean [Roan Yellowthorn]
  • with Jackie and Kirk Pasich [ringleader of this cast of characters]
  • @ Clear Lake Studios
  • with the “master” Dave Darling, Cindy Alexander, and Rusty Young (from Poco)
  • Now this is a party!
  • Phil Solem [The Rembrandts], Bryan Stephens, Scott Terry [Red Wanting Blue]
  • Gina Sicilia, Mustangs of the West, Rusty Young. Paul Trudeau, Aubrey Richmond, [I’m sure I’m missing some names here]

This last Sunday was the Blue Élan Records Holiday Party. I had a blast! I’m usually really horrible at parties where I don’t really know that many people, but everyone I met was warm and friendly. The following day, they rent out Clear Lake Recording Studio and just about all the label artists get together to record various things; little bit of this and that. Studio Day is like going to a musician’s Disney Land. — It goes all day and everyone plays with everyone. It’s really something else!

I’ve been posting photos on Instagram and Facebook, but finally had a moment to stick them on the blog.

Kirk Pasich is one of those people you meet and think, “This guy is too good to be true!” He brings everyone together for the party and studio day. From talking to the other artists on the label, they tell me they look forward to it every year. The label seems pretty special, and unlike anything I’ve ever been involved with.

Blue Élan just signed Soul Asylum, so I got to meet Dave Pirner. I’m most certain I came off like a silly fan, but that’s ok… I am a silly fan. And by silly, I mean SUPER HUGE FAN. Soul Asylum was the first show I saw right after turning 21 and (legally) being able to get into a bar. I think The Lemonheads opened for them on that show. I chatted a bit with him and he teased me about my name “Bobbie Gentry, like the country singer“…no, no, just Bob. Ha!

Hey, whatever it takes so someone remembers my name, I’ll take it! 🙂

On the Studio Day, I recorded a new version of my song My Mistake with Jackie McLean from Roan Yellowthorn. We only ran through the song a few times before recording and I think we did it in like 2 takes. She’s amazing and made the song NEW again. I think it’s been 10 years since I actually played that tune, but hearing it again and changing it up a bit gave it new life!

For me, I’ve been “out of it” for so long in the music world, so when I come home to Palm Springs, I have that weird feeling of “Did the last few days just happen?” I only hope this feeling never ends.

Back to the Desert

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Updated: November 27, 2019

I’m home in Palm Springs this week… the dog is happy. Next week, I’m back in LA to work on the new album again. So far, it seems to be going great! The following week, the record company is having a holiday party – I’m excited to get to meet people from the label and other artists on the roster.

The day after the holiday shindig, they blocks out a recording studio and people get together and record. I’m not really sure what to expect, but it sounds like fun. I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing a duet. [more to come on that]

My blog and website still isn’t quite public (I’m just writing just to write, for now), but just wanted to have a little update. It’s a but tricky to update everything – Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the Blog, I need to figure it out. I’m really enjoying Instagram, though I probably have the least followers there compared to Facebook and Twitter. I sure wish I knew how to “properly tweet”… I still don’t quite get it. I’m old.

Twitter feels like being at a party, not knowing anyone, and just screaming out random hashtag stuff. Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to feel? At least with Facebook and Instagram, I feel like a I know a few people.

From the Recording Studio

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Updated: November 10, 2020

Here’s a few shots from the last recording session at Clear Lake Studios. Man! What a blast! I’ve missed this life so much. It’s crazy to be doing this again after so long. Being surrounded by such a great group of people is amazing. There’s just this wicked-crazy energy in the air; I really feel like we’re making something special here!

*My blog still isn’t “Live” but just documenting some of this stuff for now. I’m having a blast!

Back from LA

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Updated: October 20, 2019

Yesterday, I went to LA to do some pre-production work on the new album. I’m working with producer Dave Darling. Like most of us, Dave wears many hats; he’s a writer, singer, musician, performer, producer, magician, etc.. So far, so fun! I admit, I’m rusty and I’m not really used to being produced, but I’m super excited about it. It’s really nice to have an outside fresh ear on the songs, too.

In the past, I usually write a few things at a time and then gather the band to play it live in a rehearsal studio to work out parts, see how it feels [what works, and what doesn’t work]. Within that time of my usual Band Testing, if it works, I’ll usually record it, or rehearse it a bunch of times with the guys– so by the time the Record Light’s on, I’ve got a pretty good grip on what’s what.

This is a different experience though. See, for this, I’ve written a ton of songs all within the last few months and haven’t really tested them, or for that matter, learned them all that well. I’ve just been writing. And then once I have some bones of the songs, I move on to the next tune. In a way, it’s nice, because the songs are still so new to me so I almost have a fresh ear on them too, but on the downside, It’s like I’m learning my own songs again. *Mostly, I didn’t want to do much more than write the bones so I wouldn’t get stuck on hearing them a certain way, if that makes sense. So now, I’ve got a bunch of stuff and I’m keeping an open mind to anything; which makes pre-production possibilities limitless.

The drive from LA to Palm Springs to LA is always brutal. Traffic can suck the life out of me, so I’ve been staying the night there. That’s the plan when we’re doing actual studio recordings as well. It’ll be a huge help. Those of you who know how bad LA traffic can be will understand; It’d be no fun to show up to a studio session in Traffic-Zombie-Mode.

So, it was a productive trip… next week, we’re in the studio to track some parts. That’s when it gets REAL–not that it isn’t real now. Ha!

Oh! I should mention, this is going to be a different record from what I’ve done in the past. I’m thinking it’s going to reflect where I am in life; possibly even a different genre and stepping away from the hard-edged rock music I’ve done a little bit of in the past. Why? Well, that’s the past. 🙂

Things Ahead

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Updated: October 3, 2019

These next few weeks should be fun; I’m supposed to be back in the studio. I’m excited to be recording again, and I’ve been writing a bunch of new stuff. I have tons of older unfinished and unrecorded older stuff that I can dip into if needed but when I learned I’d be recording again, I got inspired with new stuff.

I’m not sure what genre of music I am these days. Hell, I don’t even know what genres of music there are… I’m so out of it when it comes to knowing what’s what these days in the music world. I don’t know where I fit, but I guess I’ll find out after the album is finished. I think the label might have some ideas for me. In any case, I’m just happy to be doing it again.

I still haven’t announced anything about being back in the Music Game, but I will as soon I’m actually doing it and get to be officially on the BE roster. I still have a pretty big mailing list….and I haven’t sent out a mailer in years. I’m looking forward to sending off that email and update.

The blog is public right now, but I haven’t connected it to my website main page just yet. I haven’t put any tags in these posts so I’m certain no one is even reading this, but I just wanted to put some thoughts down.

So, at the moment, I’m scheduled to take a trip back to LA on the 16th to do some pre-production work. Yeah, I’m also a little nervous. I mean, I know it’ll be like riding a bike, but being away from it all for so long has me anxious to dive in and make sure I still remember how to swim.

Oh!! I almost forgot, this is posted on other parts of my website but while you’re here, join my mailing list! heheh

Day 2 of Website Revamp

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Updated: September 23, 2019

Well, it’s not a total revamp, but I’m trying to get my ducks in a row…or on a pond, or at least swimming in the water. Keeping my head above water is a little tricky though.

There’s actually quite a bit of web-setup to do. I’m working on my Patreon site and I’m intergraded it into my blog [I’ll talk more about that later], set up some music links, and just cleaned it up a bit. *I think when I update this post, it should automatically post a link to Facebook and Twitter.

I remember when I used to keep my online journal years ago, it drove TON and TONS of web traffic to my site. I’m not sure how much of that translated into sales, but it really helped get my foot in some doors. I had some people who enjoyed my online rants probably more than my music. Ha!

Though, these days, with all the social media and status updates, I really have no idea if people actually read blogs anymore…. so I guess we’ll see.

For now, short and sweet….time to sleep.

Here we go again!

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Updated: September 22, 2019

Forgive my website dust while I try to get things in order. With all the social media updates, I’m not sure how much actual blogging I’ll be doing…but we’ll see. Years ago, I used to do a daily blog and that was a lot of fun (I really enjoyed writing). But first, let me get the rest of the site together…