I was into some funk today...not the good, groovin' James Brown funk....it was the 'can't get nothin' done, can't get my head straight' funk. I got everything set up to record today, but the fingers didn't seem to cooperate and the creativity seemed absent. After struggling for an hour or so to get something accomplished, I just took a break. Went out to get something to eat, hoping to move my mental state out of the negative zone by being around some people and just seeing something outside of my recording equipment. When I got back from my outing, I slept for a bit, then woke up refreshed and ready to go at it again. While I wasn't able to achieve all of my goals today, the day ended up being fairly productive. I think I now have the drum track to 'Brother' complete and I've started the lead guitar part - I haven't tried the vocal yet. The song that had me frustrated 'The Stranger' may be complete now, except that I want to re-record the vocal (is that the same as incomplete? I'll decide later...). There's some really awkward parts on the vocal track that I think must be corrected, because they stick out like a sore thumb. I was reading my last post from April and had to laugh a bit. So much for 'laser beam focus' - it's been a quick month since I posted that entry. While I've kept my focus on music, by going to open mics, staying involved in my songwriter's group and rehearsing for solo events, it's been difficult to get time to record. I was so glad to have today set aside just for recording and arranging - I didn't have to think about one other thing than getting tracks laid down. That's why it was so frustrating when the day started off with a less than great recording session. I was about ready to give up, when I decided the best thing to do was take a break and clear my head. Sometimes doing nothing for a little while really helps you get the most out of the day, rather than struggling with something that you can't get finished. I'm glad I made the decisions I did - I guess that was a good lesson to take from today. I also got a reminder that your expectations can set you up for disappointment and/or failure. You have to be able to extract the good out of a seemingly bad situation and be ready to move on to something else and come back later with a fresh perspective. If I can get a few more hours of recording time in this week, I think I'll be able to post the songs.