Putting all one's oats into a basket

So you may be asking, "Hey Greg, what have you been up to lately?" Well today I have an answer for you.

My good friends Jamison, Alex and I are working on a little creative project we like to call "Oats". We're writing a record and we are trying to involve as many of our friends as we can. Usually, an Oats recording session will look like the following. Jamison will be singing and playing guitar. Alex will be scribing, singing and playing a mean harmonica (but only if we're playing in C) or the glockenspiel. I'll be playing some sort of drum or slide instrument. Someone will be keeping time on a beer bottle or tape measure. Finally, Jordan Shaw will be there taking his usually amazing pictures. (By the way, all these pictures were taken by Jordan Shaw) We've had people come play the Casio, additional guitars, egg shakers, etc, etc, etc.

Our most recent song we recorded last night at the Art House over a couple of beers and in the company of "the art cat" who, during our time of jam, decided to climb all the way up the drapes of the window in order to get the Christmas lights above. The song involved Jamison and I on guitar while Jamison and Alex sung lyrics adapted from Adam Roper's poem, "Red Benches." The song is beautiful, and I don't if this is conceited to say at all, by I can not stop listening to it. (By the way, we just put it up on our facebook page and you can listen to it there.)

The beauty of this little project is that it is done communally. After we finished the recording and shut off the computer, we all began to discuss how important this "community" thing is important to the creative process. The truth is that an hour before we were over at the Art House, we were at my house trying to write for the record. The outcome of that attempt was chaotic at best. It wasn't until we were at the Art House, in the presence of our dear friends Jordan, Adam, and the "Art Cat" that the creative juices really began to flow. When it came to lyrics, we happened to have one of Adam's poetry books open before us and that is when the suggestion came to use his words in the song.

"Oats" is about community, and I starting to believe that the best art is done communally. And that is what WE have been up to as of late.