Introducing The Jeffersons

We're getting into my favorite part of the recording process now...the final mix! This is like the icing on the cake...when all the instruments get put under the microscope and levels get turned up and down and it all comes to life! We're working with Ed Seay for this part and he is one of the best! He's worked on records with Martina Mcbride, Pam Tillis, Highway 101, John Prine...to name a few.  We've got the first one done and it sounds awesome!! I was upstairs with Ivy and all of sudden I heard Paul yell, 'Holy S!$*&!'.   I thought somethng was wrong but it was just him freaking out over how good the mix sounded! Remember that song 'One Headlight' (The Wallflowers)? Well, we did our own version of the song and it's so cool! Can't wait for you all to hear it.......

I love the Bathouse studio! Paul and I got back recently from our session there and it was so awesome! First of all it was so great to get out of town for a couple days after dealing with our flood damage and all the chaos with that and the fact that all we had to do was get up in the morning and go make music was wonderful!  Plus this house that has the studio in it is just totally ideal for making a record. It's right across the street from Lake Ontario and we just happened to get beautiful weather too so you could walk out the front door and go stare at the lake for a few minutes any time you wanted. Very calming...

The music itself that we recorded turned out incredibly well! We had Colin Linden (guitar), John Dymond (bass), Steve O'Connor (piano), and Jerry Adolf (drums). They are the best of the best for sure! Colin brought 8 guitars with him and we used  them all! He comes up with some of the most amazing sounds....so soulful.

And of course I have to mention the chip truck across the street. Ontario is known for having fresh cut french fries sold out of little road side stands (chip trucks) and I absolutely LOVE them!! Loaded up with lots of brown gravy.....mmmmm!! I ate way too many while I was there but the sinnin' was so worth it!

Hey, maybe that could be the picture on the cover of our record.....me and Paul and a big plate of fries and gravy! Oh yeah....

Lisa

What a week it's been! The city of Nashville has really been through it. Some of you may have seen some of the devastation on the news and as bad as it looked it's nothing like being right there amidst it. I drove down to a friends house the other day in an area that was particularly hit hard and I drove past houses where people had their entire lives out in the front yard! It looked like a huge yard sale except everything was ruined...so heart breaking! There was one street I was driving on where I could see how high the waters had risen and it was at least 20 feet above where any car would have been...it was rather eerie. This whole thing has been unbelievable!

As far as our own situation goes, it's going reasonably well. We're still feeling a little discombobulated because of everything but we're getting through it. We just keep reminding ourselves of the people who lost everything and remember how lucky we are.  We have a new roof and new gutters already...yahoo! It looks great! It's been a little frustrating dealing with our insurance company but that will require a blog all on its own when we get through this. We're discovering that other people we know are finding it difficult to deal with their insurance companies too.....

At this point we're putting the rest of the repairs on hold because we're flying off to do our Jeffersons record in 3 days and we need to get our heads back into music and out of the constuction business! I'm looking forward to getting out town for a few days, away from the ugly pile of rubble in our back yard!  We're excited to finally get to record our album! We're loving our list of songs and can't wait to hear what the musicians will bring to them! it's gonna be awesome!

 

Lisa

As I'm sure many of you have heard, Nashville was hit with some terrible flooding over the weekend.  We know many people that have been affected and wish them all well.  Our house is on a bluff so no flooding for us, however, Paul and I were in the house with our daughter Ivy when we heard a huge crash and then glass breaking.  We soon discovered that a huge tree had fallen on our house putting a great big hole in the roof. Then there was so much rain that came in through the hole that the ceilings on that side of the house all collapsed...what a mess!  But luckily no one was hurt...we're all safe. It could have been so much worse so we're counting our blessings. There are many people in the city with much bigger problems than us right now. At least we still have a home...we're only living in half of it right now...but we have it to live in.

Ivy and I took our first solo flight home, without Daddy, to Vancouver last week to celebrate my bro's 40th birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise that we were coming but unfortunately one of our family members goofed and an e-mail accidently got sent to Dean which told him we were coming. Arghh! Oh well....

We had a really good time though. Ivy got to play with all her cousins and of course got lots of hugs from Grandma.  I was pretty nervous about flying all the way to Vancouver from Nashville with Ivy by myself...it's a long way with an 8 month old who wants to be on the move constantly! But we did it! Ivy did great and I managed to keep my sanity throughout the trip. And I have to say that the flight attendants were very nice and accommodating. I know I've written a few blogs about my displeasure with certain airlines but this time we flew Air Canada and it was a good experience. Who knew it was possible?? Yeah for Air Canada...and they didn't lose my bag either!

We found a great song today! It was in Paul's catalogue of material and he wrote it with John Scott Sherrill. It's called 'I Would Die For You' and has the most amazing melody.  It's been really fun going through our stacks of old songs...there are so many that we've always liked but either forgot about or they got lost in the 'record label' shuffle. Paul and I are hoping to write a few more as well to add to the list. It's been interesting writing songs while our little co-writer Ivy, adds her ideas...she likes to rhyme gaa gaa with baa baa....

I'm writing on Wednesday with 2 of my girlfriends. Should be fun! Hopefully we'll get something done instead of yacking at each other all day!

Short of being a pyromaniac I do love a good fire. Oh, I was never a boy scout but I did grow up on a cattle ranch in California where I learned how to make fire. There is something prehistoric in watching fire. Many times even a favorite TV show could not compete with an entertaining fire which I could literally watch for hours. Now through the years I’ve made some interesting discoveries about fire some of which I think may be great metaphors for life and some not so much. First the obvious: two logs burn better than one. But they must be a precise distance apart to allow just the right mixture of oxygen, just like a carburetor in a car. Second: dry logs start burning easier. But have you ever noticed that wet and perhaps even a little rotted wood burns hotter? It takes a while to get them started, usually they must be mixed with good dry hard wood and it takes a while but when they do catch I’ve had the grill literally melt down from the heat. Thirdly: it’s the radiant heat from the coals at the bottom that provide the best heat into the room. The fire on top which is by far the most entertaining produces great heat but mostly it’s lost right up the chimney. Anyway, I pretend to be a kind of fire-snob, but perhaps someone can one-up me. By the way Lisa and I are writing a lot and listening to a lot of songs, by the fire.

Paul

We're lovin' the Olympics here in the Jefferson household! I don't think I remember being as into it during previous years as I am for 2010. I guess it has something to do with it being in my hometown. As my friend Victoria Banks was saying, 'it's interesting to see Vancouver through the eyes of NBC'. Makes me proud! I thought the opening ceremonies were really spectacular too. Loved k.d. lang's version of 'Hallelujah'. That song is sooooo beautiful...wish I could sing it myself...

Paul and I also have fun with the Canadian/American thing...he cheers for USA, I cheer for Canada. One of my favorite events is the downhill skiing. They're going so friggin' FAST! And when they wipe out I can't believe they just get up and walk away! It looks like they should be in 7 different pieces!

I also love the figure skating events. Congratulations to the Virtue/Moir duo for winning the gold in the ice dancing competition. Yahoo Canada!! I was also happy to see Evan Lysacek take the gold in the mens program. I heard that Evgeni Plushenko said in an interview that he thought he should have won the gold because he did the quadruple spin (lutz..sow cow..whatever you call it) but I didn't think the rest of his program was near as graceful as Lsacek’s. To be honest, I was glad to see him knocked down a notch. Great ice skater but a little too cocky for my liking...listen to me! Suddenly I'm a figure skating expert! Ha!

 

GO CANADA!!

I’m just dropping by to say that Lisa and I have been meeting with some of Nashville’s legendary producers to see if we all fit. Many of my closest friends have asked me why I don’t just produce this project myself and it’s still a possibility, but Lisa and I believe adding a third pair of ears, especially Grammy-winning-like ears could be only a good thing. Be assured Lisa and I have set our sights very high and made a short list of producers, and we’re grateful to have the opportunity to meet with them all. Also, The Jeffersons are writing all the time, but more interestingly we have been revisiting our favorite older songs which have lingered on our minds and now seem to find new energy and purpose singing them together. 

Paul Jefferson

I was watching an episode of Oprah the other day and she had a very informative show about driving and using cell phones. They were talking about several stories of people, including children, who were seriously injured or killed because of accidents caused by people driving while using cell phones. They even did some testing with 3 people who thought they were 'master texters' and could never be distracted on the road but the results of the test proved that they were indeed driving unsafely. They said that driving while texting is like being under the influence of alcohol and probably worse. The whole show definitely got to me. I thought about how many times I've been on the cell phone while driving and missed exits or turns because I was distracted...and worst of all...sometimes with my daughter in the car! Totally NOT worth it! Anyway, I've decided since watching the show to not use my cell phone while I'm driving. It's just too dangerous. I think sometimes we forget just how big and heavy these chunks of metal are that we're hurtling down the road in and the risks are high enough without talking on the phone!

There are some places in the world that have already made it against the law to use cell phones and drive and I think it's a good idea. I know most of us are guilty of this but I hope that some of you may read this and choose to stop driving under the influence of cell phones!