By Chris Moore:

After a day off yesterday, spent watching Jerry Manuel lead the Mets to a defeat, I returned today for the second day of recording sessions for my first album in four years, The 2010 Project.

As I still haven’t established a direct link between my guitar pedal and my laptop, I chose another track with a strong acoustic leaning.  This song, “Vows and Changes,” is from the perspective of someone who feels rejected, having just ended a longstanding relationship after his significant other stopped loving him.  This is based loosely on the experiences of one of my friends, and I think it taps into a powerful set of emotions that I can sympathize — and, to a certain extent, empathize — with.

Going into the session, I thought that the “studio recording” of “Vows and Changes” would be very stripped down and acoustic, not so different from the demo I recorded a few months ago.  Here: have a listen to the demo:

“Vows and Changes” (Demo)

Then, as I started running through the song today, I felt differently about it than I ever had before.  This is a song that I have played many, many times since I wrote it a year or so ago, so it was interesting to feel it shift before me.  The result is a track with drums (and, eventually, electric guitar) that is a lot more beat-driven, which I think conveys the emotion of the song very well.

So, here’s the rough version of “Vows and Changes” for you to hear in contrast with the demo version above.  Please keep in mind that it is a rough version, and that there are still additions to be made, levels to be adjusted, and backing vocal tracks to be re-recorded in places.

“Vows and Changes” (Rough)

As a final “behind-the-scenes” feature, check out this photo of my recording setup.  It’s obviously state of the art, so try not to be too jealous!  Not pictured is my girlfriend Nicole’s Macbook, which I used for a metronome when I recorded the final section of this song.  (Since the tempo speeds up and I can only change the tempo for the entire track, I was initially concerned that I would have to go by my natural rhythm — an alarming proposition, as anyone who knows my sense of timing will understand!)  Thank God for girlfriends with Macbooks and headphones that have long cables!

Recording "The 2010 Project" at CMM Studio