Life has a funny way of changing courses and at times, things that once seemed so important shift direction.

I miss songwriting. I miss recording, but it's unfortunately something that is on the back burner indefinitely. Why? I have an awesome wife, a fantastic 2 year old son, and a daughter coming in March! Between taking care of them and working, there's absolutely no time left for creativity.

I think that I now understand why my father, whose guitar and encouragement inspired me to play, put down his guitar before I was even born. Just as a comment - you better believe that now that the "kids" are grown up and out of the house, my father is more into guitar than he's ever been before.

I think that it takes an incredibly skilled musician and songwriter to be able to maintain their song writing abilities and creativity while having a family. Perhaps it just takes someone who has an established music career?

I'm extremely proud of everything I accomplished with songwriting and recording. I want to thank everyone who inspired me, everyone who encouraged me, and everyone who drops by this site and takes a listen to the music that I've recorded!

Thank you

- Chris

The Christmas Season is here, which means Christmas Trees, shiny lights, presents under the tree and the end of a year followed by some promises and resolutions.

I kinda thought my album would get done this year. Better things happened.

So, pre-emptively, I'll think about 2006.

1. I will finish the current 'album' one way or other, package it up and start on the next one.
2. I will start making clean acoustic versions of every song in the catalogue to serve as a base for future work.
3. I will probably re-do the site graphics and think up of a new album title for my second studio adventure.

I've been 'scribbling' a lot recently. I have a few new songs -- I'm getting bored of the older material, or rather, having old material that hasn't been recorded to my satisfaction while I'm experimenting with new material. I have written enough material for a new compilation of sorts ... more lyrical, less trying to figure out interesting patterns on the guitar ... I've been listening to a lot of Bright Eyes and Alanis Morrisette who both have a way of being direct and bending any sort of sentence they write into melody. I like that. I'll tell you what else I like -- I like when musicians write lines that lend themselves to very simple rhymes, but instead, choose another word that you weren't expecting and build a rhyming scheme from that displaced word... very clever...

I've fixed some broken links here and there in the website, added some new lyrics, changed up the playlist on the audio player (towards the end)... relistened to the little 5-song acoustic thing I recorded last year (which I think was a stroke of genius that I wish I could recapture the moment with an continue on ... reminds me of what I like about listening to Ben Gibbard's acoustic music ... or Billy Corgan's acoustic demos...)...

And all I want for Christmas, incase you were wondering, are the project files to my album so far. My new year's resolution if anything, won't so much be to do more with my music - it will be to organize a way to get those tracks so that I can fix some issues with them. Everest has a bizarre vocal glitch where two vocal tracks were spliced incorrectly... and I'm sure there were some other things that I've forgotten =)

Happy Hannukah

- Chris

Album Recommendations:

1. 
   

I'm proud to announce that a little something happened in the weeks following my last recording session...

I'm now married! How's that for a surprise turn on the new album? I'm now the proud husband of a Meagan Hickman -- my absolutely beautiful bride!

I've taken time off for work and preparations for some life changes -- the other news is that we also just found out that we'll be parents next year! I-N-S-A-N-I-T-Y! Actually -- it's the most fantastic thing that has ever happened in my life. We sold our ACL Festival tickets recently as morning sickness is a killer (and apparently the traffic from Hurricane Rita and impending rain is going to kill the festival too) and I'm sitting here humming Death Cab for Cutie as I write this update... if you guys haven't heard the latest album from Death Cab -- check out Plans -- it's brilliant. www.deathcabforcutie.com -- you'll dig "Soul Meets Body"...

So forgive that lack of recording progress... the album is rolled back to 2006 for sure. I have a few musician websites I've been working on that I'd like to give some shout-outs to...

First: www.everydayjones.com -- check out Jason Green and Alyssa Jandt's Seattle, WA-based act if you're into jam-band, loop-sampling, grassroots mahem ... Then there's my buddy www.kevineskowitz.com whose I recently saw in Washington DC. I wish that I could see each of my friends have their credit cards eaten by a renegade ATM machine ... it's the most amazing facial expression to see ... "CARD RETAINED"... and look out for www.virginiaplainmusik.com which is coming soon ... my good friend who manages to keep the sunshine and bleached blonde hair of southern California from frying her brain and mad piano skills ...

In the meantime ... let's see... I had about 600GB of data downloaded from this site in the past few weeks ... I at first was extremely flattered until I discovered that somehow, my private folder for file storage had leaked out on the net with links to tracks from the new Coldplay and Weezer albums ... a little bit of magic and all of those links now redirect here. If you leaked the address out to the world, you should be ashamed! Or rather -- thanks! I had people putting my own incomplete album up on file download lists... absolutely fantastic! I feel like a rockstar already!

I will record some demos soon ... and all will be peachy...

- Chris xxooxx!@#$!#@$

I think that the longer I take on this album, the less focused it will be on the topic.

I'm legitimately feeling more optimistic. =)

We've recorded 2 new tracks this month ... Everest and It Takes You. The latter was a song that I wrote recently and took fresh into the studio during a quick 3-hour session. Everest was today's ... pinnacle of production. It's my first track without an acoustic guitar -- I think it may be the best track yet from the album.

So I've been asked -- are you making an album and if so, when will it be done?

Yes, I'm making an album.  It'll be done when it's finished.� Between work and life, I've been recording songs slowly.  No one should use Craig at Deep Ellum Studios.  He's too much in demand and he needs more open spaces for me to come in and record.

Ryan Cabrera was recently in town and recorded a new song -- 'Photo' which was sent to the label today (no, I don't have this, I just heard it in the studio) -- which is damn awesome. I really respect the guy for his music sensibility -- catchy pop songs that are sincere and can appeal to a large audience.

I've reorganized the 'album preview' below on the page -- check out 'Everest' -- it's great.  My roommate says it reminds her of Joseph Arthur's 'In the Sun' with a bit of Howie Day... Collide / Perfect Time of Day.  I think it sounds

Also, check out:

Christopher Hickman - 80 Windows [Nada Surf] (mp3)

Well, well planned studio time = much more fun. After a long hiatus, I've been back in the studio laying down album versions of a few more of my songs. Personally - I think Between You & I rocks -- but I feel a bit silly singing both the female and male vocal parts. I wrote a new chorus for BY&I before recording the first set of vocals ... and added a 3rd verse to Dizzy Up the Memories / Dizzy Memories of You ... (which sounds better? The new verse kinda ties the second title into the song more ...)

I pieced together 'the album' from the studio tracks I have and some acoustic tracks that I've recorded ... and I'm trying to figure out how this all sounds ... it's clocking in at about 40 minutes so far... which isn't too bad.

After recording, I was invited to an open mic night by my good friend Holly (www.hollyriddle.com) who is now performing with a bassist and starting to work on getting an album together (or an EP?) -- let me say this much -- Holly was great. I need some serious work on the whole playing-in-front-of-people thing. I wish that I could have a taped copy of my ... performance? Then I could throw it in with the 'Fake Live Recordings' and totally destroy the illegitimacy of the whole concept. Setlist for last night - Disappear, Cleveland, Fish Story, and Dizzy the Memories > 40 Windows [Nada Surf].

While I'm here and rambling - you NEED (yes, you) to see Joseph Arthur live. My good friend, Meagan, and I saw him in Deep Ellum last weekend. Joseph painted a picture with spray paint bottles while singing to a loop he'd layed down for "Invisible Hands". Very sweet.

My other shout outs:

Kevin Eskowitz - he is the man in so many ways ... his EP is out now, it's called Velcro -- and it's very very cool. -- Go visit: www.kevineskowitz.com

Everyday Jones - Jason Green, guitarist and founding member of EJ -- things are going really well for him and Alissa -- I believe they are going on their first nation-wide tour this fall. www.everydayjones.com

And ... Craig Smith at Deep Ellum Studios who claims that my site comes up all over the place when you Google 'Deep Ellum Studios'... well, it doesn't, so here's a big fat link -- www.deepellumstudios.com

And parting words:

I'll be back on 04/20... not because I'll be spaced out and have amusing things to say -- but I'll be recording a bit more there. I just bought an MBox, so hopefully I can start preparing some scratch tracks to take into the studio so as to make better use of my time. I'll also be going to the studio on 05/09, and 05/23. I'm writing that here incase I forget =)

Studio Sessions IV - VI have been booked! Session 4 and 5 are set March 29th and 30th with the 6th session pending. I'm extremely excited about moving forward with other songs (like -- leaving Disappear alone).

I was jamming out on my new 5 string last night (It was previously my old 6 string Taylor that has been begging for a 'set-up' which for those of your who don't play guitar or maintain your guitar, is where the magic guitar man fixes the action, intonation, and all that technical stuff on your guitar so that you remember why you didn't just buy a $200 Yamaha guitar.)

Anyway - I jammed out to Disappear, Toy, Fish Story, and Waiting Game. The first 3 of those songs were actually written when I was missing my D string :) At any rate, I invented an extended outro to Disappear and am soooo tempted to waste more studio time on the 'single' for the album.

Speaking of songs, I think I just wrote the last track for the album ... it's a fast-paced rock song that would definately be a good closer...

Beneath the Ash / A Phoenix Will Rise

Your words --
Haunt me like the ghost of a child
Whose simple pleasures piled up inside
The secret place that I could never find.
Walls were the canvas for her mind.
In chalk she drew the passion of the fire
Where shadows danced each night until she died.
Her hunger sucked the marrow from inside.
Her hunger sucked the marrow from inside.

Have faith.
All these paths will someday intertwine.
As the world turns, what you lose will be found.
Roads will meet.
It's just a matter of time.
A phoenix rises from deep inside.
Your hear is bigger than your eyes.
All things pass and the child will rise.

My tongue --
Damned the day she stepped into my life
And begged as she was torn from deep inside
Was I consumed by empty promises and lies?
Was there truth in the words she left behind?
Ink stains cursed by fragments of her mind.
I cursed the ground with tears in my eyes
And my heart bled until it was dry...
My heart bled until it was dry...

Beneath the ashes the phoenix waits to rise...
She's so fragile now, you might want to give her time so she can try.

Give her love & give her time so she can try...
Give her love & give her time so she can try...

Have faith.
All these paths will someday intertwine.
As the world turns, what you lose will be found.
Roads will meet.
It's just a matter of time.
A phoenix rises from deep inside.
Your hear is bigger than your eyes.
All things pass and the child will rise.

Give her love & give her time so she can try...
Give her love & give her time so she can try...
Give her love & give her time so she won't slip away.