I've been having a lot of fun playing with Audacity, a freeware recording program that I can run on my laptop.
I've made a habit of recording myself practicing songs that I'm learning, so I can listen back and get a better idea of what works and what doesn't when it actually comes time to play them out.

I've also been having a lot of fun lately with the mandolin, which I picked up a few months ago. I can manage a decent accompaniment with it, and have been learning some tunes and riffs as well, nothing complicated yet, but I'm still pretty new. I am using it to accompany a lot of songs during my live shows, though.

Recently I wrote a song (an event in my world, most of what I write doesn't make it past the wastebasket) and recorded a rough cut of it on Audacity. It's sloppy and using a cheap mic, but it was fun, and I thought I'd share it with you here. It's called "Hey, Conductor" and is inspired by my frequent trips on the Raritan Valley Line into NYC to visit friends or visit the city's great cultural institutions (you know, museums and bars).

The fun of digital recording, for a folk singer like me, is you can get an idea or a new recording from your hands to your friends' ears in an hour. It may not be the best sound quality, but it keeps the music flowing.

Enjoy!