Jeremy Larson

Store Peeks

Today I continued working on the men's section for the new Red Velvet store.  I searched through the last of the clothing piles upstairs and I think I found what I needed.  It's all looking amazing!  I had Elsie snap a couple of pictures while we were there.  These are the first two mannequins I've ever dressed:

and below the two mannequins, you can see a small portion of my collection of ties.  I don't think I'm going to actually keep that many on display, but I just wanted to lay out a bunch of them so I could get an idea of a color scheme.  Here is the collection of men's pants that we have so far:

I think I will be taking Marisa's advice and trying to get some of these tailored.  I did find some very nice fitting wool pants, but I think for a full collection we will need to do some work on a few pairs.

While I was working on the men's section, Elsie was working on the front counter display, and sorting through some lamps.  There is a HUGE collection of them, but I'm still not really sure where to put them in the store.  As of now, we don't really have a specific section for them.  Here are just a couple that we like:

I have an embarrassing confession to make.  Part of the reason I have this little adrenaline rush to work on clothing/fashion is because this week I got hooked on The Rachel Zoe Project.  I watched one episode and told Elsie I'd never watch it again.  Then the next night, I caught myself thinking, "Hmmm... They going to fashion week, and there may be some cool runway shows".  Then the next night, "Maybe Rachel IS pregnant...  I want to see Roger's reaction...".  

I'm getting ready to watch the season finale right now.  Don't judge.

Jeremy   

Men

Elsie and I have been juggling several things at once this week.  We now only have about four weeks until the new store opens.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned this or not, but I'm actually in charge of the men's section at the new store.  Most of my days this week have been spent treasure hunting for men's clothes up on the second floor.  We have thousands of clothing items sitting around in piles and hanging on racks that need to be sorted through.  As of yesterday, I've just about finished collecting everything I need.  I've collected hundreds of amazing men's ties, and it's safe to say that I think we will have the BEST collection of vintage ties from any vintage store I've ever been to.  

So far, the hardest thing to find is men's pants.  People may or may not know this, but most men's pants from the 60's do NOT fit anything like the ones you see on Mad Men.  It's actually very hard to find anything that has that "tailored" look.  Men's pants from the 60's typically have a very low crotch, and are extremely baggy in the thigh and leg.  ex:

One pleasant surprise, was how many amazing men's wool overcoats I found.  I don't typically wear overcoats, but I've found a few that are hard to pass up. ex:

 So I will probably be continuing my search for men's pants today.  I think I'm pretty much stocked on everything else for now.  Thanks for reading!

Jeremy

Oops...

Sorry everyone.  I didn't realize that bandcamp  has a limited amount of free downloads per month.  I guess I ran out within the first day... So, first of all, THANK YOU!!! and second, I'm sorry.  I think after the free downloads run out, it automatically defers to a payment option.  I believe if I pay a little extra, I can get a whole lot more of the FREE downloads for you.  I will try to figure it out tonight.  Sorry about that.  Thank you for your patience.

Jeremy

Free Download of Salvation Club

Tonight is a very special night.  It was the season premier of Dexter, plus there is a new episode of Mad Men!  I'm getting ready to watch both.  So, to celebrate, I'm posting a link where you can download my album Salvation Club for free.  I made a profile on bandcamp.com and you should be able to download the album for free there.  I'm still new to bandcamp, so if you have any problems, please let me know.  Here is the link:

http://jeremylarson.bandcamp.com/

If you already have the album, please share that link with a friend!  

Enjoy!

Jeremy 

Plan Of Action?

Today I finished up my mastering session for "Fort Christmas".  It went fairly quickly, and it's pretty much ready to go.  But rather than a feeling of accomplishment, I was basically left with a feeling of "What now?".  I listened back through my full length album, which I hadn't done in some time.  I'm glad I walked away from it for a while, because upon listening, I felt all of the emotions that I felt when I was writing the songs.  It's easy for music to lose it's magic when you are too close to it.  After listening through the whole thing, I returned to my initial thought- "What now?".  I hope you'll forgive me for saying so, but I've never felt as proud of anything I've done in my life as I am about this album.  And it's hard for me to come to grips with the idea that the future/success of this album is so unknown.  I should define what this "success" means to me.

Yes, I suppose it is already a success in the sense that I created something I am very proud of.  However, the communication of music is a huge part of the enjoyment I get from it.  For some people, the act of creating is enough to feel fulfilled.  I don't think it is for me.  It's the sharing of the creation that makes me feel fulfilled.  It's the two way conversation that happens in music, the writing of the songs, the sharing, and the relationship that people develop with those songs in return that make me feel alive.  How do I develop a relationship with a world wide audience when they are bombarded daily with hundreds of new bands, new music, and the clutter of their everyday lives?  I'm not sure where to even start.

Self promotion is one of my weakest areas.  I can't bring myself to add friends and fans on Facebook and Twitter, because I think people get enough of that everyday.  I don't want to become someone's spam.  So, tonight I looked up the contact info for several music magazines that I respect.  I'm going to start relentlessly submitting songs to these magazines weekly.  Is it because I think it will work?  No.  It's because I have to feel like I'm doing something.  I think if I was rejected by every music magazine and blog on earth, I wouldn't feel nearly as disappointed as I would if I didn't at least try.  I put my heart and soul into this album, and I can deal with just about anything, except the feeling like I didn't give it a fighting chance.  

I now have several months to try to get some attention for this album.  The months will fly by, and before you know it, the album will be out.  As I've mentioned before, releasing an album is like buying a new car.  Once it leaves the lot, it's old, and of less value.  I really do appreciate all of you hanging in there with me while I try to get this whole thing moving.  I want you to know that I've noticed that a lot of you are already talking about both albums on your blogs.  That means the world to me; and I just wanted to make sure that you knew that I noticed.  Thank you!

Project Runway is up online now, so I suppose I will go.  Thanks for reading.

Jeremy

Side Project Name Announcement!

I've been doing music full time for around six years now, and have never been able to think of a name for my music, so I've always went by "Jeremy Larson".  Naming things is not one of my gifts; probably because I'm very afraid to commit to anything.

However...

After a long conversation today, Elsie and I came up with a name for my side project.  Ok, she made the name...  But when I heard it, I loved it.  From here on out, this side project will be named: 

"Fort Christmas"

  Ok.  I feel better now.  It will be released early-mid October and will have 5 songs on it.  Since I'm trying to release it rather quickly (I just finished recording vocals today) I will need help from all of you to get the word out.  I will do everything I can to try to get you what you need to help spread the word- banners, buttons, promo vids etc.  Are you in?  I really can't do it without you!  Thank you all SO much for your constant support and encouragement.

Jeremy

String Clips

I opened up some songs tonight from the new album (not the side project) and was messing with some alternate mixes of the orchestral parts.  Not to worry, I'm not actually "remixing" the album again, I was just doing it for my own amusement.  It's interesting to me how much these string arrangements have changed over the last year and a half. 

 When I started this album, I played a little bit of cello, and had never really attempted the violin or viola.  Pretty much all of the strings on the previous albums were fake strings.  As I started trying to learn the violin and viola for this album, I recorded a lot of "string effects", rather than string parts.  Since the violin made such an awful sound when I played it, I thought, "Hey, I can use this!" and used it more as a sound effect in the beginning stages of the album.  My technical ability (or usually lack of)  has always determined the parts that I write.  As I got better at playing the violin and viola, the parts got more intricate.  Nothing flashy- keep in mind I still haven't learned how to hold either one properly...  Anyway, I think it could be safe to say that I spent more time on the violin and viola this year than all my years of piano put together.  It feels a little strange to type that, but each song had roughly 14 tracks of first violin, 13 tracks of second violin, and 12 tracks of viola.  And those don't count the hundreds of tracks I deleted due to poor performance.  I would usually record each part at least 40 times in order to get 13 good takes.

The following clips are a few string parts from the new album.  All the other instruments are muted.  These clips span a period of almost two years; the beginning all the way till now.  The last clip is the most recent.

 

String clips

Thanks for reading!

 

Jeremy

Thank You

I am completely overwhelmed by all of your kind words.  Thank you SO much for leaving such nice comments.  Your encouragement goes a long ways; especially at a time where I feel like I'm not sure what I'm doing most of the time.  This side project is a pretty drastic departure from the kind of music I usually do, and I have moments of doubt every day about whether or not it's "working".  I wanted to use this EP as a way to "clean my palate" (I hate that expression, but don't know a better one) before moving forward with any other writing.  In so many ways, it's already succeeded.  I wanted to do something that was fun that tells our (Elsie and I) story, and I've had an amazing time already working on these songs.

This has been one of the most creative years of my life.  I've written more songs this year than any previous year.  I finally made the album I've always wanted to make, and started a few side projects.  Just to give you a little update, my album is finished and waiting to be mastered.  I will be released in the spring.  I know that's a little bit of a wait, but as I mentioned before, I don't want it to be released until I've had a proper amount of time to try to spread the word.  My new side project should be finished this week.  Elsie and I are working on a name for it, and some concepts for branding.  We will probably do a photoshoot next week.  I also have one other side project with a friend that I'm hoping to finish by Christmas time.  

I feel so thankful for all of you and your constant support and enthusiasm.  Thank you for helping to make this the most productive year in my career yet!

Another New Song!

I will probably only have this up for the next day or so.  This is a song for my side project and it's called "The Leave Behind".  It's about Elsie and I on our first New Year's Eve together.  We weren't dating yet, but it's about my plan to try to get her to like me.  Enjoy!

(Song has been removed)

Jeremy

I'm Still Here

After much deliberation, Elsie and I decided to see "I'm Still Here" tonight instead of "Devil".  If you haven't heard of it, here's the trailer:

It's a movie about Joaquin Phoenix (I will refer to him now as JP for simplicity sake) directed by Casey Affleck.  I have to be honest, this was not a movie I was particularly excited about, but we really wanted to see a movie, so we picked this one.  

What I was expecting:  Lot's of cheap laughs at a very eccentric actor trying to make it as a rapper.

What I got: Heartbreak.

I think most people in the theater had similar expectations.  We all took our seats.  There was a group of fraternity brothers sitting behind us (all with their matching MSU T-Shirts) and I usually take that as a sign that I won't be enjoying the movie.  It's nothing personal, but from past experiences people of a similar demographic talk through the movie, laugh loudly, and try to squeeze in every little one-liner they can during awkward silences.

So the movie starts, and just as I predicted, my fraternity brothers behind me are roaring with laughter at the awkwardness/insanity of JP.  However, to my surprise, Elsie and I were also laughing uncontrollably.  I thought to myself "Is this really real???  (By the way, it isn't, but surprisingly, that's not important) It seemed too good to be true.  Seeing raw footage of a famous actor who is completely unaware of himself and his behavior.  This goes on for the entire first hour of the movie.  Everyone in the theater is unified in disbelief and laughter at a man that seems to be impossibly ridiculous. 

But something changed.  It can't be proven, but I believe roughly an hour into the movie, the audience was divided into thirds.

The first group continued enjoying the movie as we all did from the start.  Watching the movie much like people watch youtube clips of dudes giving beer to their dogs.

The second group slowly turned from amused, to feeling pity.  After a while it just seemed a little.... sad.  They might have started thinking, "Wow, this guy is crazy, and he's kind of pathetic too".  Glad I'm not him.

The third group (of which I am a part of) began to think "Wow, this guy's a little crazy, and a little sad; and he reminds me a lot of myself".  I didn't pity him, I related with him.  When you see JP dealing with disappointment and humiliation, you can't help but relate at least a little.  The reality is, at it's core, this movie is about a human being who is probably feeling like his life has already peaked at a young age.  He wants to try new things that he's passionate about, and actually create something that will leave a lasting imprint after he's gone.  That's something I can relate with.  Have you seen the horrible interview that he had on Letterman last year?  Yes, me too.  Pretty hilarious until you see what he went through 12 hours earlier, and 10 minutes after.

I know that celebrities often become parodies of themselves over time.  That is why some people simply cannot relate with them.  They are just characters.  They are just youtube clips on your laptop.  But for the record, I really enjoyed this movie.  I empathized with Joaquin, and I related with him.

 

In case you are a bit confused- as was I- this is not actually a documentary, but a great movie.  
   

Thanks for reading.

Jeremy