“So, here is my new forecast – four releases at the fewest and six at the most.  Can’t wait to see how wrong I am this time.”

The bad news is I was wrong by a lot.  Like, I missed my fewest by three. Coming in to save the year from being a total wash album-wise is Appalachian Winter, with it’s 2020 release of Winterhewn. God bless that project. With the exception of the Construct, it is the longest-running entity out here.  AW also saved last year from being a total write-off as well. Silly though that project may be, don’t underestimate it! It hangs around and GETS SHIT DONE, SON.

Which brings me to the Construct – world events put the kibosh on anything being done with that project out here this year. With the exception of vocals and some points of production, we’re really close with that tri-album release. But, Mike has probably had lots of time to write and practice his voicework, so I have optimism that we could still see that release-bomb drop this year. That is, unless he’s just read that previous sentence and said to himself “Oh shit,” in which case, maybe 2022 will see that perfect storm of albums I’ve been forecasting since what, 2017?

All of that said, I’ve got BIG news out here. A drum set now graces the studio with its presence. It’s a Studio-owned set, so it’s not going anywhere either! Production of real drums out here has always been a dream of mine. I’m practice, experimentation, and method-finalizing away from this actually happening out here!

Also got a new computer, but we all know how much of a pain in the ass that is so I won’t go into detail about that. The thing has some power to its name, so recording out here became standard at 99.6 kilohertz or whatever that is. Also, a new audio interface has taken us up to a 16-track-at-once capture, which will serve that drum set well.

So, it may have been one album, but that’s still better than none. I said that last year and I’m sticking to it. Considering the upgrades here, it’s been a stellar year. You likely won’t hear anyone else say it, so allow me: 2020 has been a GREAT YEAR!