dear woodland creatures

we're in the home stretch and i couldn't be more excited! just a couple more sessions and Songs and Sacred Rites is in the can! i finalized album art recently as well and am really happy with what i'm going to be presenting in physical form. SOO much music is consumed digitally these days (which is great) but i wanted to have something special for those of us who like the whole package. can't wait to show everyone!

a belated welcome to 2015, everyone! with the new year has come a reaffirmed enthusiasm for Dear Woodland Creatures and a renewed sense of purpose for all things DWC. as of today, i have officially wrapped all recording of Songs and Sacred Rites! the last few vocals were finalized, a couple additional drum tracks were recorded, and a couple little bits of candy were added to make this album the single greatest collection of recordings to which i have yet to dedicate myself. i cannot wait for you all to hear it!! it touches on all the little microcosms of influence that've made me the musician and composer i am (at the time of this writing anyway!). everything from ambient jazz to stoner rock to bluegrass, psychedelia, experimental noise, blues and, of course, the traditional folk musics of so many places in the world that have served as my inspiration for this project from the beginning! if that sounds like a disparate collection of sounds and textures, just wait until you've heard the finished product!

i'll be hunkering down in the coming weeks and saving my pennies so i can get this thing mixed and mastered with my friend, the stupidly talented and imitable Randy Garcia, as well as getting some serious merch locked and loaded. i'm working with a couple fantastic graphic artists to determine the perfect visual expression for my music as well as with some great local Atlanta printing shops to develop concepts for CD design, T-shirts, stickers, and maybe some other fun stuff as well! of course, once the album is in the can, it will also be available to purchase via the usual Internet channels.

after that, the only left to do is to GIG!! i'll be looking to book shows starting this Spring in my home city as well as the regional areas that have always been my favorite places to play. Macon, Columbus, Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Montgomery, Mobile, Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh, New Orleans, Shreveport--cities i am looking forward to seeing again (as well as cities of which i have yet to be the recipient of your hospitality), get ready for me! this year is going to be a busy one and i can't wait to present the fruits of my labor, to learn every day, and to meet people who are willing to be enriched or challenged by Dear Woodland Creatures!

keep an eye on the blog, folks, for upcoming news as to an official release date, a CD release show, and any news on any out-of-town shows. i'll be posting little teases as the album gets mixed and mastered and will announce a couple contests for cool swag as i get it! also, in the coming weeks, i'll be posting a comprehensive look at the rig--the beast that makes performing this music possible! thanks, as always, for looking, for listening, and for supporting me on this journey. i can't wait to take the next step with you! take care, and have a great 2015!

had a whirlwind session yesterday and am proud to announce that "Songs and Sacred Rites" is nearly finished being recorded! i have one session this Thursday for all the electric guitar parts, then add some vocals, and it's off to mixing and mastering! i'll post again in the coming days with another update and a sneak peak at the album art. thanks for listening!

i just uploaded a selectively-mixed teaser for "Dormanant" onto Soundcloud! as the recording process continues, i'm really enjoying soloing different instruments i've already captured and listening to the ways in which each piece plays off of the anothers. this little clip is the perfect example of one of those experiments. in the full recorded version of the song, there's a full drum kit, tablas, acoustic guitar, rhodes piano, and a couple glissando-heavy drone parts. this mix, it's just the main Rhodes, the acoustic guitar, and the tablas which gives the part a very cool vibe. i'll probably post little teases to a couple other songs in the coming weeks to whet your appetites for the official release! so far, i've only got a handful of tracks left to record here at home before heading to a new space to record all the electric guitar parts! i'll keep you posted with updates, photos of the process, and various whatnot. thanks, as always, to those of you out there who are listening and reading! i can't wait for you to hear what i'm working up!

ps. if you want to hear the Dormanant teaser, click on the Soundcloud link at the top of this page or follow this link directly. https://soundcloud.com/dearwoodlandcreatures/dormanant-teaser. thanks!

so yesterday was pretty frustrating. i had the day off and planned on using the time and the time by myself to knock out all the acoustic parts for Songs and Sacred Rites. 10 or so hours later and i had done more troubleshooting than recording and ended up with one take of one song that i was happy with. it was, to say the least, a challenge and an exercise in discipline and patience. today i decided that, instead of giving it a day or so (which is my usual M.O. and lets me refocus and process what i have), i just went for it. deleting all but the one track i was happy with, and spend another 5 or so hours in the studio space hammering away. the result, i'm pleased to say, is great! i was able to concretize my parts and play them tonefully, passionately, and precisely! another tiny hurdle conquered on this journey towards an album and an expression that is uniquely and wholly my own. i'm working on the little movie clip i promised also--i've selected a bit of backing music and i'm just sorting through the little clips from recording sessions to find the ones i like the best. hopefully i'll have it done soon! thanks for stopping by, and i'll post another update soon!

...i've probably watched the Rush documentary "Beyond the Lighted Stage" a dozed times and, each time i do, it inspires me both as a musician and as someone who believes in the transformative power of the merger of passion and precision. quite a great lesson on the eve of a day off sure to be rife with recording. i can't wait to get to it!!

hey everyone! i've been working hard recording my first album, Songs and Sacred Rites. nearly all the percussion is done--standard drums, sure, but there's also taiko drums, tablas, a Viking War Drum, and lots of treated or experimental percussion stuff. i'm maybe halfway done recording all the Rhodes parts, wrapped the organ parts, and have been doing some really useful experiments with the vocals to find out just how i want them to sound. it's really coming together and i'm getting really excited about the results! i hope you are too. i'll be posting a short teaser video of the recording process next week so be sure to swing back by and check it out. thank you, as always, for listening to, engaging with, and supporting me and Dear Woodland Creatures. i'm having a ton of fun being on this journey and knowing that it excites others is just fuel to the creative fire! take care!

...the title of my first album! it's going to be called "Songs and Sacred Rites" and is currently in the pre-production stages. over the next several days, i'll be spending a lot of my time getting all the percussion done. i'm pulling out as many stops as i possibly can on this record--lots of interesting instrumentation and a couple guest performers as well! i'm going to work really hard on this, and i can really feel the momentum building inside me to make this something i'm really proud of. hopefully, people will notice it and like it too! stay tuned through any of the myriad of social mediums for updates! i'm really going to take care to document this process for you guys--from videos to sample recordings to little insights into my creative process. openness is captivating and i want you all to be a part of this with me. thanks for listening!

you have reached the official website for Dear Woodland Creatures! within these pages, you'll find all kinds of info and special goodies related to DWC and multi-instrumentalist/composer Joshua Washburn. be sure to sign up for my mailing address, stay tuned, and thanks for listening!