Full-Length Album vs. Concept EP - Concept Record or Song Cycle - From the Mind of McFarland video blog.
In March of 2013, I made the trip to Harrisburg, PA, with a stop in Cape May, New Jersey for the annual Singer-Songwriter Cape May conference, where the previous year I'd met a producer named Jason Rubal. He struck me as very different from other producers I'd worked with in the past - no pushiness to work with him, no \"I'll make you famous\", no immediate impression that he wanted to change and mold what I'd been doing into something entirely different. I got the impression that he wanted to find artists that were already doing something interesting, something unique, something exciting, and help them emphasize exactly what makes them so unique; to showcase their individuality in a music business that's overrun with things being brought to a comfortable middle-of-the-road place. I chatted with him about the full-length album I was thinking about recording within the next year, and the role a producer might take in helping choose the right songs, the order, etc.
Over the course of the next year, I wrote a lot of songs, many while I was on the road, but also many inspired by the events that had brought me from Kent, Ohio, where I'd spent my first 27 years, to Asheville, North Carolina, where I've now lived for the past two. As I started to parse the songs in preparation to record my next record, they started to fall into two camps - sentimental songs that were directly anchored to that story, and other, more sarcastic, biting, or clever songs that weren't directly related to that story, even if they were a part of that relationship. It soon became obvious what the correct solution was: a concept EP. Or more appropriately, two concept EPs, each one a discrete song cycle that had a core idea to it. Then the idea came that these could combine into one concept record, but as a side A and a side B. Why do one full-length album, when you can create two, separate, and much more compelling pieces of artwork?
Working with Jason was an absolute pleasure, and I couldn't be happier with how the records turned out. It's going to be a while before the second comes out, but the first one is available now - I'd love to hear what you think of it!
-MMcF
----------------------
Unleaded rhythmic alt-pop fuels singer/songwriter and two-wheel troubadour Michael McFarland's engine. Michael McFarland in the simplest summary? Writer, Rocker, Biker, Geek.
For Michael's Music, Cd's, Downloads, Merchandise, live show schedule, music blogs, music videos, and everything else you want to know about McFarland, visit the Michael McFarland Website at http://michaelmcfmusic.com/
