A History of The Silver Key

October 10, 2009
Previously in this journal I noted that I sent all the materials I used to make the album (sketches, notes, hard drives, etc.) away. This turns out to have been a bad move. We're doing a gig in a week and I have horn players joining in. But I don't have the original arrangements. So now I have to listen to the disc to know what the hell happened - I don't even have the luxury of listening to the multi-track for reference (how wonderfully easy it would be to listen to just the horns). *sigh* So I'm re-creating them from scratch. Glad I learned something in college.
Note to self: don't do that again.

October 10, 2009
Wow. So I checked out one of the treasure hunting sites. And I've had some friends and family tell me where they think it is, or what clues are (or aren't). Well, more accurately, they just tell me things they've noticed. Like, "I think the number four is important" or "I listened to it and thought Juneau, Alaska, - not based on anything, just a feeling". [yes, I know, Juneau is outside the lower 48, but I substituted the real city he said].

I've heard so many I've started writing them down - it's awesome. I really wish I could spout off and say "that's it! keep going!" or "you're close, but look at it THIS way" or "uhhh, I have no idea what you're talking about". Of course, I can't do any of that. But it's fantastic to know that other minds are hitting the trailheads of paths mine went down when I made it. So cheers, everybody. It's awesome to watch unfold.

Also, CDBaby sold out. How cool is that? Not to worry, re-stock is in the mail. But I've never had a CD sell out by any method anywhere, so that's a nice first.

September 25, 2009
It just occurred to me that iTunes has scrambled the album. I have no idea why that happened, but most bands, when they put a record together, pay pretty close attention to the track listing. And iTunes, for reasons unknown (unknowable?) has mixed it up. So, if you have the songs from some digital distribution point and want the order, here it is:
1. The Beginning
2. HIKJ
3. I'm Gonna Write Show Tunes
4. Where The Blue Meets The Blue
5. The Story So Far
6. In One
7. Star Light, Star Bright
8. Ever Upward
9. You Can Tell
10. Got To Find A Way
11. My Silver Key
12. Peace & Love

September 22, 2009
Two cool things today:
It seems The Key is mentioned/discussed on at least two forums for treasure hunters: http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=76e05c6763a6ebcf4cd824d34e9d7059&board=84.0
and at
http://tweleve.org/new-hunts-rumors/
This is just great. These are, after all, exactly the right people this was made for.

And....
We are on iTunes! The world's biggest music store. Excellent. The only crappy thing is, you can't get the artwork from iTunes. Yes, I know, some albums have digital booklets, but as this isn't released by a major label (or a big indie) we're un-allowed. And the new LP feature of iTunes isn't an option (yet). Working on it though.

But I'll make this offer:
If you bought a digital version of the disc, send an email and we'll send you a PDF of all the art. Send to agrosso at texas dot net.

Cheers.

September 15, 2009
Today is the day, the big day, the day I've been awaiting for about 10 years now.
It's finished, it's released, degreased, and unleashed (capice?) (sorry 'bout that, what can I say, I'm stoked).
My PR guy tells me that press releases are heading out all over the place - radio, tv, net - and interest is there. With a little luck we'll get a lot of people playing along. And frankly, that's what I really want to happen - a lot of people playing this game I made. Nothing better.
Apparently, some of the folks who pre-ordered have started solving clues. I've gotten emails and phone calls about specific things (which, naturally, I can neither confirm nor deny).
If one of you were an enterprising sort, I'd bet there's a market for a forum. You know, a ePlace where you could hang out and share info. Of course, some would just lurk, and others want to solve it all by themselves, but still. I think that's how A Treasure's Trove was unraveled; but I could be wrong about that.

Anyway, it's been a long trip to get to here. I hope you dig it. Enjoy. Behave.

And as ever, further bulletins as events warrant.

September, 2009
It's Labor Day weekend and all the pre-orders have been shipped!
Let the pigeons loose!
And there was much rejoicing. Tell your friends and neighbors. It's the perfect gift for kids, adults or anyone who likes puzzles.
The more people who play, the more fun it is. And the prize gets bigger, too. OK, thus ends my sales pitch. I mean, I hired a PR guy for that, right?
But I am very happy this is, after long last, finally out.

August, 2009
They're here!
The CDs arrived today and they look super-cool. Color me pleased. So now I'm off to pack up all the pre-orders (so far), ship some out to the people who played on it, and to my PR guy. Awesome.
It's a great feeling to hold something 10 years in the making in your hands. If you ever get the opportunity, I say take it.

July, 2009
The audio is complete. I hold the finished master CD in my hot li'l hands and have sent it on to manufacture. Similarly, the final tweaks (down the the sixteenth of an inch) of the artwork have been nudged and modified and saved and sent. Proofs in a day or two and we are off to the presses.

I also took an unusual security measure.
I collected all the materials I used in the creation of this project, boxed them up, and sent them away somewhere safe. Every map, drawing, sketch, plan, lyric, draft, note, arrangement, demo, hard drive, flyer, stamp, document, direction, coordinate, cipher, idea, and scrap. I even tore pages out of notebooks - something I HATE to do. All emails moved and deleted. All files safely tucked away in a secure location. Why? Well, it would really suck if, say, a guest to my home found an answer key (or what they thought was one). Or more likely, if my iMac got stolen, it might give an unfair advantage, if not the actual answer. So to prevent any of that, it's all gone.

But I took a picture of much of it, to remember the time we spent together.

June, 2009
Artwork: check.
Mixing: check.
With luck I'll still hit my self-imposed deadlines and be done done released by mid-September.

May, 2009
Almost done writing and recording. Still have to mix and finish the artwork. I think I've found my mastering engineer, though.

April, 2009
The key is hidden! Ha! No stopping this train now.
And I took some extraordinary measures to hide my tracks. Let me explain. When Kit Williams hid the hare for his book Masquerade, he left tracks. That's how the hare was eventually found - someone followed his trail and deduced that way, rather than figuring out all the clues. That was in 1979 or so. This is 2009 and there are far better ways to track someone - cell phone roaming, GPS, flight data, credit card receipts, security cameras, etc. To make it difficult, here's what I did:
1) Told no one except, 2) the friend that went with me, 3) took my friend's car, 4) made no reservations, 5) camped, 6) paid cash, and 7) while we took a cell phone in case of an emergency, it stayed off.
While I suppose someone could poll all my acquaintances and run some crazy scheme to link security camera data across the US together in order to find the where whens, I think it's highly unlikely. At least I know no one will be able to troll through my credit card or phone data and come up with anything usable.

March, 2008
Songs are flying together! Man, but I love good players, and Austin is full of them. If I ever have to put together a live performance, it's gonna be harder to figure out who NOT to ask.

December, 2008
Tracking begins, even though much of the songs remain unwritten. The actual key is commissioned.