Greetings from sunny and windy Chicago....choir finally getting some major time in the studio, for really the first time ever, and, wow, has it been rewarding. So far we've got 5 songs down (pretty good for three and a half days): Round, We Crawl, Beautiful Feeling, Never Forget (10 Times Before), The Fragile Army, and working on Younger Yesterday as we speak/type.

So let me tell you who's here and what's happening (hey, hey, hey). It's all the ladies in the club, Jennifer Jobe (really sort of the leader of our motley crew, in the sense that she has such a strong and amazing voice and can sing anything while we're working on parts), Jessica Jordan (who is kind of the glue that sticks us all together with her gentle nature and solid ability to round out all the high parts), Julie Doyle (well, where do you start, she's the one that makes all of this craziness that is the polyphonic happen- we wouldn't be here, Chicago or even a band, without her - and don't get me started about her ear, simply unbelievable), Kelly Repka (the little girl who's grown up into a beautiful woman throughout this project and consistently delivers vocally & comically whenever needed), Potsy Wilson (our mysterious dark horse who has rounded out this choir with her beautiful voice and extreme talent to come up with awesome harmonies), Annie Clark (our guitarist and "second engineer," who we've kidnapped for her talent to cut and paste her handsome voice in with the best of them), Jenny Esping (our secret weapon, who used to sing with us before she became a little mama, and has not only an alarmingly delicate voice but also a wonderfully creative spirit), and me (awkward describing myself but I suppose I am the Linda McCartney of the choir - not the best singer but can hit Tim's melody just fine - and hopefully am contributing with my shiny personality - btw, I also can order a mean sushi to-go order without breaking a sweat!). Dude-wise we have the "Kackletaps": Tim (our fearless leader, who has written some of the most important and moving lyrics I've ever heard…just you wait), John (the mad scientist behind the board who's led us to this amazing studio), and Evan (our keyboard player, who has such a great vocal range and a head full of so many ideas he might explode that we couldn't leave him behind).

The songs are unbelievable & wildly passionate. I can't wait for people to hear them. We're trying to get two songs done a day but the first day was a little shaky as most of us stayed up too late and danced too long the night before. The last two days have been super-productive (except for the pizza comas). We've been fueled by ridiculous amounts of coffee and therefore have been brainstorming and experimenting like crazy - executing parts that don't even sound like a choir. Well that's all for now - Roy Orbison in the house and I'm needing some more java joe.

Jennie K.