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I’ve set aside the bulk of this long weekend for recording. Usually, my little home studio is set up in a small, dark room in the back of my condo. For this three-day blast, however, I’ve moved everything to the living room. Now, during the long hours of recording and re-recording and re-re-recording, I can stare out the window and watch the world go by, or at least I can watch the fleet of Coach 21 buses coming and going from the yard across the street.

It’s a quiet, foggy morning in Potrero Hill. My plan is simple. First, I will drink more coffee, and then wait a while longer to make sure the neighbors are awake, and then start the process of laying down the guitar tracks to a handful of songs I’ve written in recent months. I’ll add my vocals after I’m happy with the guitar parts. Some of the songs feature another vocalist. For those tunes, I’ll get everything ready so it’s easy to add her parts later.    

I’ve made the decision—and it’s not an easy decision— to record these songs with acoustic guitar and vocals only. No drum tracks or bass lines or lead guitar turned up to eleven. Some of the songs may grow up one day to feature more full-blown arrangements. For now, I’m keeping things simple. The songs are waiting to be recorded.