Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

Whats going on in my life....

Almost finished the new record. It will consist of 10 brand spankin new tracks. One being something familiar to the ears. It will be titled "Lucky Ones". I do not have any cover art or packaging ideas yet, but will soon. Plan on having your copy by December 2008.

Football season is back again!!! I am strictly an NFL guy. Sorry, but cant get into the whole hype about college football. Maybe its because I grew up in the North. Just dont like it. I could care less about Saturdays. Its Sundays that I look forward to every week. Hard core Philadelphia Eagles fan. They are looking good so far. I have a good feeling about his season.

Just moved into a new house. I like it. Its cozy.

Went to see "Burn After Reading" the other night. Terrible. I am dissapointed that the Cohen Bros can put out a masterpiece like "No Country For Old Men" and then follow it up with this. It wasjust too boring for me. The story line was not very impressive. Im sure amny people will disagree with me on this one. Oh well.

Dark Knight is hands down the movie of the year and might be one of the best movies Ive ever seen. Hope they make at least one more.

I am currently playing "Star Wars Force Unleashed" on PS3. Awesome game. Very amusing. Yeah, Im a gamer geek!

Other than that, I am waiting for Tim Smith to finish up his bass parts on the album so that we can finish up some vocals parts and minor changes and edits here and there. I'm excited about this one. Also nervous. I have not even thought of packaging, a release party date and venue, etc yet. So much to do before 2008 leaves us.

Oh on that note.....2008 goes down as the worst and most unlucky year for me and many people I know, EVER! The list goes on of unfortunate events that took place in my life this year. I hope 2009 is better.

See ya!

Wednesday, February 20th, 2008

Have not written in this too much this year.

Not much to say right now.

Get the DVD called King Of Kong: Fistful Of Quarters. The best movie I have seen in a while. Great full feature documentary about the cult of classic arcade gaming. You will laugh your ass off but it is also a great and touching story. Trust me!!!

I am looking forward to 2 movies this year....The Dark Knight and Indiana Jones. They are gonna be awesome. It is unfortuante that Heath Ledger is no longer with us at such a young age, however, that is gonna make Dark Knight even that more eerie and disturbing. Cant wait!!!

I have been having fun watching Mike Lee (oh excuse me, Michael Johns) compete on American Idol. I do think he is gonna make at least top 3 and with the way the other talent is right now he has a good shot at winning. It will be cool to say that I played guitar for an American Idol winner. I kind if wish now that the age limit was one year higher so that i could compete against him. He may have more hair than i do, and an Australian Accent, but I would give him a run for his money along with everyone else. But I'm an old man in the music business. Sucks, but its the harsh reality.

I have made a promise that if they raise the limit next season I will try out. I will be going against my word in the past, but it does look fun and I never noticed that until actually watching it this year to see how Mike is doing.

See ya at the gigs!

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

Well i was excited about the new year starting but now I would rather have 2007 back. From a pretty bad car accident to friends and family members either being hospitalized or passing away al in this first week of 2008, its looking like it might turn out to be a bad year for me and Irina, and a few loved ones in our lives.

Damn it!!!

The list goes on and on of unfortunate things that are going on right now, but I hope it all turns around for the better soon before starting wishing 2008 away and waiting for 2009.

Other than a bunch of personal matters though, other things are going ok. I have not lost any gigs yet so thats good. But I do have a feeling that a couple of the places I play regularly are gonna be giving up on music in the next month or so. Then its back to hunting for jobs again.

Sorry to compain. But like I said before, isnt that the whole point of blog pages??

If your having a bad 2008 already..welcome to the club.

Take care.

Tuesday, January 1st, 2008

Goodbye 2007. I cant really say that i will miss you. It was a year of ups and downs.

I feel like I took great steps towards furthering my career this past year and learned a lot of new things. But I also feel that I took some steps back in my career too.

I did not play an original show in Atlanta at all in 2007 and was not able to release any new material. I did hit the road for a few weeks with Gareth Asher, which was fun as hell, but I feel it was not a step in helping my career at all. 2007 made me lose a lot of motivation and inspiration as far as writing and performing. But Im already getting antsy and am finishing up enough songs for a new album so I think things were turn around again in 2008.

2007 also marks the year that my favorite gig and hang out spot, CJ's Landing closed its doors for good. It seems like ever since that place closed I kind of lost my fan base and true supporters. And I know that has a lot to do with me feeling so burned out by playing cover gigs recently. At first i was really disspointed that people who claimed to say they would follow us wherever we go kind if fell off the face of the earth, but I'm over it now and I realize that people loved being at Cjs Landing and the cool atmosphere and vibe it had was amazing.

I also lost the whole enjoyment of playing with an amazing band and the fun we had on stage playing to a packed crowd every week. I miss playing with a full band and sharing the stage with great friends and players like Bret Hartley, Bass Malone, and Sean McIntyre. The last part of 2007 kind of steered us all in different directions.

What else......hmm......I am excited with my new venture as a songwriter for the Nashville scene. I think this could become a great career for me. I just have to keep the motivation going, which has slowed down during the holidays for obvious reasons. I really need to put together this songwriters nights I have been working on too. Damn, Im a f**in slacker!

2007 had some good movies come out. I think my favorites were Tranformers, Superbad, and Juno. I cant say the same for music this year. I think the radio gets worse and worse every year. Dont see it getting any better in the years to come as long as this terrible "grunge/alternative rock" revivial keeps trying to happen, along hip hop taking over most of the pop media and award shows, etc. Makes me wish for the early and mid 90's to come back again.

That last few months have also seen me in the doctors office very often. I recently found out I have a couple of health issues that can become more serious in the future if I dont take care of them now. Nothing too uncommon. But I am having a hard time motivating myself to stay healthy. My lifestyle keeps me from staying commited. I definitley put my health insurance company to work this year and I hope that I dont have to in 2008.

I think Ive done enough complaining. I will end here. I will say that great things came out of 2007. I had a great year with my girlfriend, Irina. I met some great new friends, I stayed quite busy and did not reach bankruptcy. I added a playstation 3 to my living room. And I was able to travel to some very cool places I have never been too.

That is all. I hope you all have a great 2008!!! Now back to bed, Im really hungover.

Tuesday, October 9th, 2007

ATLANTA SONGWRITERS.....PLEASE READ AND RESPOND!!!
Body: Hey,

If you are a songwriter in the Atlanta area and want to take it more seriously and meet other songwriters and collaborators then check this out......AND PLEASE RESPOND TO THE EMAIL BELOW AND LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS!

I am planning a monthly event to get songwriters of all experience and genre together to co-write with each other and hang out and just get those songwriting juices flowing. There seems to be a lack of collaboration in Atlanta and there does not seem to be any sort of event for us to get together and improve our craft.

Anyway, I am planning the first Monday in November (the 5th) to be the first gathering. It will take place in Roswell, GA at the Funny Farm Comedy Club, located inside of Startime Entertainment on Holcomb Bridge Road.

It will run from 7-9pm and any songwriter is welcome to attend. We will break off into small random groups of about 3 or 4 people. You will all decided on whos idea or chorus, or verse, you want to start writing a song around. You will have 45 minutes to work on it and then you will be put into another group to start a different song.

Obviously a hit song will not be written in 45 minutes, but the purpose is to just learn to write with other people about other ideas you might not have thought of and to just exercise your songwriting brain and hopefully gainthe inspiration and motivation to take your songwriting more seriously and make it a career.

These are all just tentative ideas I have. It will take a couple meetings to see if it works and to let it grow into something huge here in atlanta. I will also start bringing in speakers and indutry writers to put on workshops and to help us with our writing.

A few people will also be chosen to perform a song and tell us how you came up with it.

So......I need whoever is reading this to email me directly at wiltsey2000@yahoo.com

Please let me know if you are interested in attending the first gathering on Nov. 5th. I will then keep your email on record and email you all of the details as time gets closer.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE email me about this. I want to make this into something special and I cant do it without you. Even if you have no idea who I am, this is a chance to meet new people of all ages and genres trying to do the same thing you are trying to do.

Thanks and I hope you made it through this long bulleting. LOL!

brian wiltsey
wiltsey2000@yahoo.com

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

Man, what a busy summer so far! it has been a year of ups and downs already. I cant believe summer is almost over with and it will soon be fall. I leave for my annula 2 weeks Colorado trip in 2 weeks and that pretty much marks the end of my summer.

I have been getting heavy into the songwriting lately. I am starting to collaborate with other people and trying to pitch some hit songs to some other artists. I think it is a great way to make a living and is very gratifying. So far I have collboarted with Alex Forbes (Cindi Lauper, Taylor Dayne), Anitra Holley (Amerigo Poppy), and Bret Hartley (Sugarland, Clay Cook). Already things are sounding good and one of my songs has already been picked up. I am not getting my hopes up yet though becuase tit has to recorded first by the artist and then approved for the album. Its not a big deal, but will be a good credit to start off with.

I went to Nashville yesterday to meet with some songwriters and organizations. it was successful. Everyone listened to my stuff and sees hit potential. I just have to tweak some things and learn the ways of songwriting better.

I have also been trying to write songs for my next album. I want to do some different things on the next one. A whole different feel than the last 2 albums. Its gonna be a little while before that starts though.

Other than that, I am going through CJs Landing withdraw. My new gigs just dont amount to the weekly CJs gigs. I was very lucky to be a part of that whole saga. It opened many doors and earned my a great fan base. However, i have not seen any of the CJs' regulars and fans that were coming out every week at my new gigs. It is kind if sad and dissapointing. I feel like the closing if CJs has ruined some things for me here in the ATL. oh well, shit happens and you have to move on.

I am pumped for Philly Eagles seas on to start up again soon. I feel good about this season. I am planning on having the superbowl party at my house this year since they will be in it!!

Well, I guess thats all. Its a long one, deal with it!!

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007

Ok, I know its been forever. It always is that way. Its hard keeping up with this website. Anyway, its been an interesting year so far. Alot of ups and downs already.

CJ's is closing in 2 weeks. I laready rmabled about that in my news section though so I will discuss other things here.

I have been keeping on touch with some industry contacts I met out in LA last month. This week I collaborated on a new song with Alex Forbes from New York. She has written many hits from the 80's and 90's and I am honored to have her want to co-write with me. I think our first song is pretty good.

I also put together a little studio in my basement. I broke down and bought a macbook pro laptop. I am very glad I did. The macs are so easy to use. It comes with Garageband, a recording program, so I have been busy with that and learning the world of recording. It is not an area I am that interested in and I have no intentions in ever working in a studio or recording other people. Its just a great way to lay down my ideas and demos and since I am getting more into strictly songwriting for other people it is just what I need.

Monday, May 7th, 2007

Thank you to everyone who came out to my surprise birthday party yesterday!! I was totally not expecting that. Irina did an amazing job planning it and keeping it a secret. It is so awesome that so many friends came out for it. You all rock. I am lucky to have such great people in my life.

Irina dragged me to CJs in Sunday afternoon for a "meeting". When I walked in I first saw a life size cut out of Han Solo. I said out loud, "What the fuck??" As I said the Star Wars theme came on in the stereo, a storm trooper walked towards me, and everyone jumped out and surprised me. Could not have been any more perfect.

It was Star Wars themed party, even with a magic show. LOL!

As some of you might know, I am a huge Star Wars fan. Our house is filled with collectables and memorabilia. I love that stuff. If only I knew back then what I know now. Also, along with me, Start Wars was born in May of 1977. So we both celebrate out 30th birthday this month. Yeah, I'm a loser!

I cant believe I have hit the big 3 0. It better treat me well, damn it!!

see ya and thanks again, especially to my baby, Irina.

Tuesday, March 20th, 2007

Things have been running smoothly so far this year. I am looking forward to my trip out to Hollywood next month. I will be attending the ASCAP Songwriters Conference. I hope this will help in furthering my career as a songwriter. I need to sell some songs, yo!!!

Irina and I joined Jack and Ari last week to go see "300". Awesome movie!!! Non atop battling and decapitations. Awesome!!! I also watched Borat for the first time. I thought it was hilarious. So over the top. I dig it. You should see it if you dont get offended easily by politics, ethnicity, religion, and racial issues. Personally I think it is stupid that people get offended by those type of moves. It is showing what America is really like. Deal with it! It's a comedy!

Congrats to my bass player Sean and his new wife Jen. They got married the other night and the ceremony was pretty much a reunion every musician I have everplayed with here in Atlanta. Great time. Good deserts.

That is all for now. I am a slacker with this part of my website. I just purchased a digital piano so i can learn to be a better player and actually start writing songs with that instead of a guitar. I'm off to do a lesson now. Later!

Monday, January 29th, 2007

My first blog of the new year!

I had a great 2006. I hope this year is even better. It has started off on the slower side. But I have some plans this year which will get the gears rolling.

Some plans for the year are: Attending the ASCAP Songwriters Convention held in Hollywood in April. Here I will meet with thousands of other songwriters including big names in the industry and learn how to become more successful with this trade. I want to become a successful songwriter.. I have to face the facts. With the way the music industry is so f 'd up backwards these days, I cannot go on forever just being a performer. I'm getting older and definitely not getting skinnier. The pretty boys are taking over the music industry since the late 90's. But I wont rant about that right now. So..yeah....writing songs for others in something I very interested in doing and think that I can be very successful with.

I am also writing some country songs with my guitarist, Bret Hartley. With his connections in the Nashville scene from his Sugarland noteriety and good song arrangments, we make a good collaberation and I already have some good songs almost ready to be recorded that should stir up some action in the country scene. We will be recording that very soon as well.

Third, I will be recording an E.P. album this spring, containing some new songs, a cover tune, and some b-sides. I am excited to get this out to the public. It will be short length album with just a little taste of what is to come.

I have many more plans in the works too. More on that later.

Hope you have all had a good start of the year. I am pissed the Eagled did not make it to the Superbowl. Since I cannot stand the AFC, i will have to go with the Bears on this one.

P.S. : I saw that new movie Children Of Men last week... Very intense!!! I dug it. I recommend it if you are into graphic intense scenes. It was very real and I hope that this world's future does not come down to that.

Thursday, November 30th, 2006

I am pleased with the way 2006 turned out for me. I was able to create an my favorite album yet and played my best shows in front of the best crowds yet. I had some great opportunities this year and I am thankful to everyone who made them possible.

I am looking forward to a great 2007 as well. I plan on starting a new record sometime next year. Not sure what it will be like and not sure when it will happen, but it will.

I will also put up some new song demos and video clips from the last show very soon.

Thanks to everyone and I hope you have a great holiday. I know I will.

Friday, November 10th, 2006

Stressed, depressed, and sick would be the three words to describe me right now.

It seems that every time I hav a big show coming around, I end up getting some kind if nasty cold. I dont know if its mental or not. I feel like shit right now. My throat is killing me and my nose wont stop running. Just what you wanted to hear huh?? No such thing as TMI on this website.

On top of being sick, I got news today that I figured I would get before the year was out, but still was not prepared. My grandmom passed away last night. We were very close. i spent a lot of time with her growing up and she taught me alot of what I know today.

She lived a full life and it was time. I know she is happier now. However, I wish I had one more chance to chat with her. The weird thing is that I had a feeling that I should call her yesterday becuase I knew her health was getting worse in the last few days. I called and my aunt answered saying that my grandmom was sleeping and that I should call back in an hour. So I did, and when I called my aunt was upset and told me that my grandmom could not talk and that something was wrong. I knew that was it and I would not have a chance to talk to her again. I got the final call an hour later with the news.

So....now I have to fly up to Jersey straight from leaving CJs Landing on Saturday night. I will have no sleep and I am feeling sicker and sicker by the minute. Should be an interesting weekend.

I then have to rush back to Atlanta on Tuesday for band rehearsal for the big show this weekend. I hope to God that I am healthy for it.

Thats all. Sorry for bringing you down.

Friday, November 3rd, 2006

Friday, November 3rd, 2006

Please mark on your calendar....

HUGE ORIGINAL SHOW ------ SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18th

CJ'S LANDING (BACKROOM CONCERT HALL) ------ SHOW STARTS 9pm!!!

My full band will be playing a big show of all old favorites, new favorites, brand new songs, and some particular cover tunes brought back by popular demand. ;)

Please come out. Sam Fisher from North Carolina will kick things off at 9pm. Wes Yoakum's new band will follow at 10:15, and we will hit the stage around 11:30ish.

It's gonna be a night not too miss. Please spread the word and mark your calendars this instant so you don't forget!!!

It would mean so much if you could all make it out. It's an important show and I hope to have the best crowd ever. Please take the time and tell your friends and try to get them out too. I am really hoping to have all the old faces out and a bunch of new faces too.

Other than that......the Philadelphia Eagles are killing me right now!!! They need to get their act together again.

Thursday, October 19th, 2006

Man, what a slow time of year. I have lost some good gigs in the last month due to the change in seasons and business. This is a bad time of year for everyone. I actually have started looking for a weekday job to make up for the lack of business. I never thought I would have to. But I just can't depend on clubs canceling music at the last minute anymore. I wish these bar/restaurant type places would understand that this is how musicians make our living too. If your gonna have music, than have it and don't be so inconsistant. It sucks how we get treated as the expendable ones. Yeah, I'm upset, but like i said before, this here space is where I get to vent.

Onto to good things. I just booked a trip out to Los Angeles next April for a huge songwriters conference. I will be meeting one on one with a well known songwriter and will be attending a bunch of workshops and panels in hopes to further my career as a songwriter and not just a performer. I am realizing that I am getting up there in age and so far my albums have not done as well as I have hoped so I gonna turn to the next cool thing and write for other people. I am looking forward to attending this conference in Hollywood. Plus, I have never been there and we are being put up in the the fanciest hoptel on Hollywood Blvd. YUH!!!

In the meantime, Bret and I have begun writing some country songs that we hope to promote and sell to the big dawgs.

Gotta run. Come out to a show soon. I've got some good ones coming up, plus CJ's Landing on Saturday nights is probably THE place to be nowadays. We start at 10pm.

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006

I spent this past weekend as the best man in my buddies wedding. My childhood friend Greg finally tied the knot. It was great hanging out in Athens with many of my friends from back home in Jersey. We had a great time. Got really drunk. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony at a very cool civil war mansion.

I was nervous about giving the big toast at the reception but I think I did a pretty good job. Everyone seemed to be amused by it. I kept it more on the humorous side. I had planned on saying a lot more than I actually did, but oh well.

It was a great weekend. Wonder who the next one of the crew to get hitched will be????

Monday, October 2nd, 2006

So, fall is here. I am not a big fan of the colder weather. I wish it was summer all year round. however, with fall comes NFL football. Many of you are gonna hate me for saying this, but I absolutely hate college football. Growing up north, college football is not big. NFL is what we follow. I know down here in the south, you all worship your college teams. I just dont get it. I guess its because I was never a fan of college all together. I went and had a great f'in time, but would not do it again. I dont get the people that love UGA football, but never even went there. it's almost like following a college football team is a fad or trend. Its cool down here to like UGA or get into college football battles with friends. Not me. I would rather debate against which album meant more to the 80's or which team is gonna go to the Superbowl.

Again, I know many of you are hating me right now for reading this, but that's just how I look at it and since this is my blog, I'll say what I want. LOL!

With that said...Irina surprised me with the coolest thing last week. She found a bar nearby (Jocks and Jills in Alpharetta) that is the home to South Jersey / Philly folks. They have a room designated for us each week for Eagles games. I am so happy that she found this. It felt like home being able to wear my Eagles jersey and watch a game with fellow die hard fans from my home area. Kind of surreal almost. This is where I will be spending every Sunday now. If you are an Eagles fan or grew up in South Jersey, let me know and I'll let you in on the best kept secret!!

Other than that. I am busy writing new music and thining about a new album. Not until I have the current ones paid off though. The quicker you all buy the albums, the quicker I can start a new one!!! I tried out one of my new ones last week at the Saloon gig. I felt good about it and I think it went over well. I am also going to get more serious in writing songs for other artists, particularly in nashville. I have my first writing session next week. I hope something comes out of it.

I am spending most of today re-doing my 2 myspace pages. I have a music page and a personal page. Check out www.myspace.com/brianwiltsey and www.myspace.com/wiltsey.

That's all for now. Thanks to all of you who came out the the writers in the round last week. It was myslf, Gareth Asher, and Mike Magno. What a great lineup. We all sang and played on each others songs. It was great. I cant wait to see the video and hear the recording of it, thanks to Tracy.

Monday, September 11th, 2006

Thanks again for checking this out. I just want to take a minute to wish a couple of people Happy Birthday!! ...... Ashley Leckey and Nona. Hope you had a great weekend and thanks for being cool friends.

Thats all for now. Im trying to deal with booking some northeast shows that is not easy task. Im pretty frustrated with the whole booking process especially after doing it on my own for so many years now. I think all of the music venues who think they are the shit should really take some time to return phone calls and emails. Uggh!!!!

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006

Here it is. The new site. I hope you all enjoy it A huge thanks to Renae for taking up so much time and putting up with my picky ass in creating this great site! You rock, but you already know that!.

Things have been going great! We played a kick-ass show for the 99x unplugged in the park last Sunday! Thanks to all who came out. Ike rocks as well!

I just bought a brand new aoustic guitar today for my gigs. My Tacoma was showing some old age and its just time for a chance. I bought a sweet Larrivee LV-09RE. i had to go to Nashville to find it. No one in Atlanta had what I wanted. Glad it was a successful trip. Cant wait for all to see and hear it!

Enjoy the site. Check everything out!

Tuesday, April 4th, 2006

I know... it's been a while again. I've been super busy and its only gonna get busier for me.

We just got back from our trip to Vegas! Amazing is all i can say. It was so fun. Won a good amount of money, saw all of the attractions and hotels, took a helicopter ride through the Grand Canyon and went horse back riding through it as well, ate at the best buffet, and saw the most unbelievable show I've ever seen at the Bellagio Hotel called "O". It's part of the Cirque Du Soleil and it was amazing!! I can't even put in into words how cool it was. You have to see that one if you are there. Anyway, Vegas made Atlanta look boring and I cant wait to go back.

If you have been there, then you know exactly what I am talking about. If you have not been there, It's much more fun than you probably alrady imagine.

So, on to other stuff... I just got the call today that the cd's are ready and i will pick them up tomorrow. I am stoked to see the finished product. Also the opthe merchandise is being made as we speak. I am doing much more for this album than I have done in the past. And here you all thought that I had given up for good. Oh no, my friends, the time off was well worth what I have in store soon.

I have a busy week ahead of me with running a lot of errands and spending more money that I dont have. So I gotta run. Til' next time.

Tuesday, March 21st, 2006

I sent the record out the other day to be duplicated. This means the finished product will be in my hands in just a few weeks!! I am now working on the new stickers and t-shirt designs. They will be available at the CD Release parties. I have already confirmed Atlanta's for May 5th at CJ's Landing and back home in Philly/Jersey at the Tin Angel on May 12th.

Hope you all can join me for these very very special nights!

Sunday, February 26th, 2006

Met with Ben today to listen to half of the mixes. The record is sounding great! He is doing a great job, just as I expected. i can't wait for you all to hear it. It is definitely goingto be different. The songs are different, the style is a little different, and the mixing of the songs is really different! It will surprise some of you. Hopefully in a good way, but I could see where some of you might not dig it because it's nt what you are used to from my albums. That's what I love though, to make each album a little differnent. maybe the next one will be straight up acoustic with a 4 track recorder. Who knows.

I am loooking right now at a May 5th release party, probably in the backroom of CJ's Landing in Buckhead. Please mark it on your calendar. I will keep you updated with changes, etc. I am hoping to have a couple very special guest opening bands as well!!

Friday, February 17th, 2006

Drove through rush hour traffic down to Ben's tonight at 6pm. Today was out finaly day of recording. I'm kind of sad to see it over with, but that just means that it is that much closer to being a final product and something for you all to have.

I met the female singers today. One of them happened to be my old vocal coach, Melissa Ellen. This was a coincidence but it was very cool that have her be part of this. it was almost kind of awkward though that here I was telling my old coach how I wanted something to be sung. Weird.

She brought along another very talented singer named Tonya. They sounded great together and add that 'gospel-like' sound that I was hoping for. They have some pipes I tell you!!

They sang on 'Everything'. I had always heard the last chorus becoming huge and filled with the voices of a choir. That is what it sounds like now and it's gonna be cool when it is mixed down. They sand some great harmonies over the chorus and when I gave them the room to adlib and go crazy, that is what they did. They 'took it church' baby!

Soo.....this will complete my journal entries for the studio. It was a great and very productive 3 weeks and in just a couple more weeks it will be mixed and mastered and completed!!

Now I just need to figure out the artwork and cover design. Anyone know of graphic artists / art directors?? Send them my way!

Hope you enjoyed keeping up with my day in the life. The studio is a great environment. It is where all the creativity flows and it is amazing to see and hear how things come together and how I can make a simple tune written on the acoustic guitar become a monster!

Make plans to come to the CD release party. I am tentatively planning on the weekend of My 5th or 6th so mark those days on your calendars and plan on coming out. More Details on that later.

Till next time...

Thursday, February 16th, 2006

Arrived at Clay Cook's new studio at 11pm. Bret and I rode down together.

Clay played "pianner" on 3 songs. He did a great job. It's been forever since we have hung out and it was good to see him and have him be part of this album again. He played some good stuff on the grand piano. It was definitely what those songs needed. He played on "Reminds Me", "Tomorrow Can Wait", and "Could've Told You That".

It was about 2am when we finished up and left. Just one more piece to the puzzle!

Wednesday, February 15th, 2006

Did not sleep well last night. Arrived at Ben's pretty tired today. But my voice felt pretty good and that is all that count today.

We started the day by setting up the Marshall amp and I grabbed my Casino and re-cut guitar on "Come Back Down" and "You Make It Better". They have more balls now and sound even better with that pairing. The songs needed a bit more contrast between guitars. Good call on Bret's part. That did not take long.

I then decided to mess with the keyboard and come up with some cool sounds and atmosphere on "Stupid Love". I found some cool sounds after searching for about 30 minuted. I guess you will have to wait to hear it. Definitely a different approach then I have ever taken on previous albums. I guess I have to get with the "now" on some songs.

it was then off to get something to eat.

Then back to the studio for my final background vocals. I did some cool parts I think. Tried to new melodies and stuff too. Kind of though outside the box on a couple tunes which I havent done in the past. As you can see, this album will have some new things going on that you wont find on anything else I have ever done. Hell yeah!! Im excited!

So..I can finally say that my job is done. It is now up to Clay and the female singers and Ben's mixing and then you can all have something a new Brian Wiltsey album to enjoy (hopefully).

Oh yeah, by the way, I have to mention that Ben's new daughter Stella is one the cutest little girls. She was all smiles everytime we were in the room and it is amazing how laid back she is for having loud music in her house all day long.

Tuesday, February 14th, 2006

Day 2 of this week and one more day closer to finishing this project. Today we talked more about mixes and changes. We went through each song and discussed what we liked and did not like and what else need to be added or subtracted. This is the part where the three of us have our differences and own opinions of how the songs should sound, but that is natural and unavoidable when you make a record. I am just glad that I am have Bret and Ben who also know there shit when it comes to making a good song. The three of us together have some great ideas and we give each of our ideas a chance before giving it the yay or nay.

Ben kind of went through and made the edits to the songs as we came up with the ideas. This will make for less work later on his part. After spending a few hours on that, I went ahead and re-cut the lead vocals on "Come Back Down". I was too tired to sing that one last week I did it and I was not happy with my performance. I am much happier now. We tried a different vocal mic this time too and that helped. Thank God that is out of the way.

We then headed back to the Flat Iron for dinner. They have good food. It was also good to see Brooke (the bartender from 10 High) there. It was packed in there tonight. For one, it's Valentines Day and two, Daniel Lanois played at the Earl tonight and Im sure that it was packed. I wish I could have seen it. He is a very respected and influential person in the music industry.

After dinner it was time to finish up the backing vocals. Bret had to go play at 10 High, so it was just Ben and I. I actually got through about 5 songs before getting tired. We called it an early one. I have 3 more songs to sing on and my job is done.

I was not able to spend Valentines Day with Irina. So..happy Valentines, baby!

Monday, February 13th, 2006

The start of another productive week in the studio. Today we ariived at Ben's house usual time and I got right to work. I had all of last week to listen to the rough mixes and decide what should stay and what should go and what need to be re-cut. Brandon Bush (known for being one of Atlanta's top piano players, let alone, Train's keyboardist) came in at 1pm and we got to work on laying down the keys for the songs. He played on almost all of the songs. He added some great parts and made the songs even that much more interesting. He played Rhodes, Piano, Hammond B-3, the melotrons and the Moog. He came up with some badass sounds and parts. I don't know Brandon that well. But him and I were able to chat and shoot the shit on our way to Chick Fi'le for lunch. He introduced me to a band called Spoon which I really dug and plan on getting their album right now on Itunes.

Anyway, he was in the studio for about 4 hours. After he left the three of us just talked about the mixes and what needed to be worked on. I then re-cut the lead vocals to "Tomorrow Can Wait" and laid down a few background vocals. I have decided to sing all of the vocals on this album, except for one song which will feature a good friend of mine and great singer/frontman. I love singing backups and harmonies. I feel that is one of my strengths. I like coming up with interesting parts and counter melodies. Alot of that comes from growing up listening to the Beatles.

I was able to sing backups on about 3 songs and then we were all tired and ready to call it a day. We got a lot done. Almost there!

Wednesday, February 8th, 2006

Day three this week finished!!! We have done a ton of work in the last week. All guitars, rythm parts, acoustics, and lead vocals are finished!!

We arrived again at 12 noon. Right away, I fixed some of my electric parts and added some new ideas I had overnight. I had to redo the guitar on Reminds Me. After laying down the acoustic yesterday on it, the two just did not sound right together. But I quickly fixed that problem. I also fixed the guitars on the bridge of Stupid Love. That song fucking rocks!! I think it is the closest to a straight up modern poprock song that I have ever written. You cant go wrong with a couple Marshalls and Gibsons either.

After that, I added some cool ideas to some other songs. Just little ear candy parts. It is very cool to be able to do more of that stuff myself on this album. Bret also laid down a quick piano part that really helped out on You Make It Better.

I then finsihed up all the acoustic tracks. Man, it's unbeliveable how much a simple layering of an acoustic guitar can bring a song alive and fill it out so nicely. Just a word of advice for the songwriters and producers..if your song is missing that certain something, just add a nice acoustic in the background and it comes alive!!

Finally... all my guitar parts are finished. I can now concentrate on vocals!!!! But before that, we headed to the Flat Iron in East Atlanta for dinner. Blake Rainey was our waiter. He is a really good singer-songwriter in town. During dinner I spoke on the phone to John Faye up in Philly to confirm our studio schedule for next week. I am sending him up a song to sing backups on. That will be killer!

After stuffing my face it was back to the studio to start vocals.

I felt very good. Irina stopped by to see whats it like to be in a studio. It was cool having her there because I have hardly been able to see her the last couple weeks.

I finished up the vocals for Could've Told You That, Everything, Girl Who Saved The World, Tomorrow Can Wait, Collide, and Come Back Down. I saved that one for last becuase that is the most strenuous on my voice. You'll see what I mean when you hear it. Its an "in your face" rocker! We used a few different mics to get different tones and sounds.

The only song that I am not sure if my performance was good enough was on Tomorrow Can Wait. Its very high in my range. It took a few passes. I will have to sleep on it and listen to it tomorrow with a clear head and mind.

We were all very tired and cranky by the end of the night. Ben burned Bret and I a copy of the songs to take home and come up with more parts and keys for them. The hard part is over. Now we just have to add the final touches and the album will be complete!

Studio is ajourned until next Monday.

Tuesday, February 7th, 2006

Arrived at Ben's again today at noon. Bret and I carpulled. All the equipment was already at the studio so we did not have to bring anything except my Alvarez acoustic. One of the best sounding acoustics I own. I would even put it up against some martins and taylors I have heard.

We started right away with laying down Bret's guitar parts. He used his strat, Les Paul, Tele and Gibson ES335 along with the Marshall and Fender Super Amp. The tones we are getting the best I have ever had on a record. It sounds great especially when Bret's and my guitars are doubled.

After his guitar parts were done, It was time to get some dinner and get out of studio for a while. We ate at The Earl. Great patty melt!

Then, back to work. I played a coupe acoustic tracks on Reminds Me, On My Own, and the 12 string on Girl Who Saved The World. We stacked 2 different acoustics and 3 different electrics on On My Own and it sounds reallly cool. A very "Elliott Smith" kind if sound.

It was then time to start vocals finally. Since I have given up smoking since New Years Eve, my voice has been problem-free. I gave it up just for this moment. Hopefully I will stay true to it.

I sang the lead vocals on Reminds Me, On My Own, Stupid Love, and You Make It Better. I am happy with my performance tonight.

It is about 12 midnight and I just got home.

Monday, February 6th, 2006

Just got home from day 3 in the studio. Today Bret and I met Ben at his home studio in east atlanta around 12pm. It was a cold rainy day and sucked drinving there and trying to load all the amps and guitars in, but oh well.

Today was my guitar day. I played the electic guitars for all the songs. Got all the rythm tracks done and even added second guitar parts and lead tracks. It was nice to actually play some leads and solos on the record. I have always left that up to someone else but I have decided that I want to make this record as much my own as possible. I thought I played some good stuff. I hope it comes across good in the final mix.

We got awesome guitar tones today!! I think they sound better that the last album and i thought that sounded great at the time. I used a lot of different pairings this time around too. I played my Epiphone Casino, my '72 reissue Tele, Bret's Gold Top Les Paul, his Vintage Kay hollowbody, and Ben's Gibson ES330. They all sounded great but my Casino was the favorite of the day. The amps I used was Bret's Marshall, his Goodsell, and my 1965 Ampeg Reverberocket. They sounded great today and were the right tones and combinations I was hoping for! It's good to be working with Bret and Ben on guitars becuase they are the tone masters and know exactly what they are doing. They set me up and I just play.

We didn;t have time for vocals today but since we got so much guitar work done, we will be able to do a lot of vocals tomorrow. Along with Bret's guitars and my finals overdubs.

I'm even more excited about everything now. This album is gonna have some heavy rockers!! My favorites today were Stupid Love and Come Back Down. They Marchall amp gave those songs more balls than anything I have written to date. Hell yeah!

More tomorrow...

Thursday, February 2nd, 2006

Sooo....hmm....

East Andrews gave me the boot tonight!! They said "they want to try other opportunities", whatever the hell that is supposed to mean. I put in 2 years of playing there every Thursday!! I guess that's how it goes though. I'm not happy, but I'm not gonna worry about it too much. There are much better "opportunities" for me in this great town. I guess that is why they stopped replying to my emails and phone calls and have been acting weird lately. So, if you have been coming out there on Thursdays to hear me play, I will let you know where I will start playing next. Thanks for the support there over the last 2 years. It was good while it lasted.

Spent most of the day and night working on guitar parts for the new songs. I am excited to be able to play almost all of the guitar parts on this album including the leads, which I have never really explord before. I can't wait!!!

Tuesday, January 31st, 2006

Woke up kind of late today, but made it to the studio on time at 12pm. We had to finish up the drum and bass tracks today. it would be a quicker da today becuase all the drums and sounds were still set from last night and we now had a better feel of playing together and being in the studio together.

Things went smoothly again. It did not take many takes on any of the tune, except for a couple. We had some disagreements and long talks about how certain songs should be, but nothing to bad. That is expected when you put 4 musicians in a studio together for 2 days straight. Everything was hashed out though and I am pleased with the final project.

My guitar playing was a little better today. I will still have to oversub most of it because i was still very focused on what else was going on. Jake was feeling better so hishead was more into it today. He did great. Hardly no mistakes or retakes. he playe dsome very cool parts too. he knows his shit what it comes to being creative. A couple times, Marcus and Jake wanted to add some of their creative tangents to the songs which I did not feel worked well with the song, but we compromised on some things. A couple times though, I was getting pretty upset, but did not show my anger to much. I kept it in and wanted everyone to be happy.

I was feeling kind if disrespects a couple times and felt like the other guys did not know what I was talking about. But when it comes down to it, it's my name that is going on the cover and it's my money that is being spent!!!

We finished up by 6pm with today's completion of Come Back Down, Everything, Collide, and You Make It Better. After Marcus and Jake left, the other 3 of us stayed and I played a live/acoustic version of If I Lied, which I want to include on this album. It was nice to have the big drum room to do this in because it gives it such a big room sound and more of a live feel. It will sound like I am sitting next to you playing the song. Hope that is a good thing.

We left the studio around 11pm. It was a success. We have all the drums and bass parts completed. Now, next week, we meet again for guitars, vocals, pianos, etc. It will be fun!!!

I will add more after next week's journey.

Monday, January 30th, 2006

Been very very very busy!!

This journal will kind of be my studio log for the next few weeks. We have begun the new album. I can't believe it. It's been 2 years since the last album and it is time to begin my new project. I really did not think I would be ready by now to start a new one, but i am and it feels really good to get back in the swing if things!! I first want to thanks everyone who pre-order my upcoming album. You have helped immensily and I owe you sooo much praise. I am very lucky to have fans and friends like you.

So......

Today the five of us met at Crossover studios at 12pm to begin laying down the bass and drum tracks. It was myself, Ben Price (engineer), Bret Hartley (co-producer), Marcus Petruska (drums), and Jake Lawson (bass). Jake was sick so he ended up coming in later in the day, but just intime to start tracking. The drum room is huge and they sound amazing! Marcus is a great player so that makes it sound even better. We spent the afternoon setting up mics and getting sounds right. I played electric guitar and sang as scratch tracks for the rythm section to follow along with.

It was about 4pm when we started out first song. it only took 3 takes to nail. That is a sign that this is gonna be quick and painless. I am glad that I hired these guys to play. They were very prepared.

Today, we finished Could've Told You That, On My Own, Reminds Me, Girl Who Saved The World, and Stupid Love.

Around 9pm, Bass Malone came in and played drums on Tomorrow Can Wait. He did an awesome job. Just what I wanted. He is great when it comes to playing the Ringo/Bealtes thing. Plus, we have been playing together fo so long that he knows what I like and he is used to the sound I am going for when I write songs.

I was a little disspointed with my guitar playing. I was hoping to keep some of the tracks I played, but it is looking like I will have to overdub everything next week. I was just too concentrated on what the rythm section was doing that i was forgetting chords and just not playing well. But, that was not the priority today, so it's all good.

I am very happy with the sounds we got and we left the studio around midnight. Got to get some sleep and do it again tomorrow!

Tuesday, January 17th, 2006

Got some things done today. I am working on making the final production notes for the new album. I have some lyrics i want to change and some guitar parts to work on. I am getting a little stressed because i feellike there is so much stuff to do and so little time.

I just sent out a pre-order offer to everyone on my list. If you are reading this and did get the email, I hope you will consider helping me out. If you did not receive the pre-order email, please let me know and I will get the info to you.

Being a solo artist has can be tough. I not only have to have the weight on my shoulders to make a great album and rely other people to hold their own and make the songs turn into exactly how i hear it in my head, but I am the only one that has to pay for it as well. Being a struggling local musician, I do not have the backing of labels or investors. It is all coming out of my pocket and making an album is not cheap. To give you an idea...I made my final payment this month to take care of the last album i made almost 2 years ago. And here i am going ahead and doing it again in a less stable financial state than before. That is why i am offering cool pre-ordering packages in hopes that many of my friends and supporters will lend a helping hand. So far many of you have been cool enough to help.

I am not worried about spending all of this money on the project though. Making this album is the spark i need to get back into the business and it is the only thing that will make me happy. These new songs are ready to be created and heard by an audience. No matter if i can afford to do it or not, this project needs to be started and I am very excited about it.

I hope that this album will finally propel me to some sort of success in the industry. I thought the last one would and i was wrong, but I have even more faith is this one. I think people might take me more seriously when they hear this next one. It sucks to make a great album and have it denied only because this industry is so ass-backwards and looks count more than talent. If I made my last album in the 70's i would be a rock icon right now. Haha!!!

Ok, enough of the rambling, but that is why this is a "journal".

See ya!

Sunday, January 15th, 2006

So I felt better today. I came down with a cold earlier this week and my voice has been scratchy as hell. i had trouble singing my gigs this week. However last night at cjs it was ok. we had another crazy gig. packed house and everyone had a good time. it was a laid back crowd until we jokingly played Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone", and from then on out we had the crowd in the palm of our hands. muahaha.

I woke up today to play my regualr sunday gig at Gordon Beirsch. I had to fly solo today and sing the show my own, which is not fun on a Sunday morning. I felt ok though and got through it.

Tonight, Irina and I went to see David Copperfield. It was pretty cool. I have never been to a show like this before. It was not the amazing show that i was hoping for. I guess he is not in his prime anymore. He did some cool shit though, like making a car suddenly appear on stage from thin air, he sent an audience member to a Philippines Island with a picture that he had just taken of the audience a few minutes earlier, and he made 13 audience members dissapear and re-appear in the back of the room in the matter of seconds.

Some of the tricks seemed too obvious how it worked and some were just based on great modern technology, but then again some of the stuff was pretty amazing and I have no idea how it happened. I am glad that we went and experienced something like that. It was kind of haunting in a way and i get a weird feeling when i think about it. I have to admit that i felt like tearing up at this one point of the show where Copperfield magically rose out of the floor in the middle of the audience. It was kind of powerful. I held back the tears though. Grown men do not cry at magic shows. LOL!

After the show we went to eat at Cafe Intermezzo. I am still stuffed from the huge piece of cheesecake I inhaled.

I have a busy week coming up. Much to do to get ready for the studio.

Monday, January 9th, 2006

Man, I have not had a chance to relax since the holidays. This year has been very busy already and if i follow through with everything that i plan on this year, it may end up being my busiest year ever.

New year's was great at CJ's. It was a packed house and a crazy night. In fact the last couple saturdays there have been packed and a great time. I think the closing of other buckhead bars ahs had an impact and CJs will see more customers. I hope so. If every saturday is like this past one, it will be awesome!!!

Anyway, I've been busy with a few things. Getting ready for the new record that we start on this month. In fact I just got home from out first night of pre-production. I am excited to have Marcus and Jake play on it this time around. It will have a different feel and sound to it. Marcus brought a lot of great ideas to the table and has a very aggressive playing style that i like. Jake is just a very creative player, simply put. We played through the new stuff and it was cool hearing it all finally with a band. It's gonna rock!! I cant wait for you all to hear it. Should be just a few months.

What else....oh yeah, I have been getting things together for a new business that Irina and I are starting. It is gonna be a party planning business where we provide everything you need for your party, from music and drinks, to photography and games. it will be cool but is going to be a lot of work.

Some other things that are new for this year on top of the new album and the new business, I have stopped smoking which has helped my voice a great deal. I hope I dont start up again after the album is finished but i probably will. Also, I am enrolling in a russian language course and I am gonna buy a piano and start playing again and hopefully get good.

That's all. It's gonna be a busy year, but I am looking forward to very good things and I know you will all dig my new album. YUH!!!