NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS FROM CHARLIE OTTO + HIS GEAR

I’m working on a new full length album called “GET PERMANENT.” The last time I completed a cohesive full length was my 2020 release “( )PRESSION” which I’m now realizing was also all caps. Here is the process:

-in one week of fall of 2023, i made 25 snippets of songs from scratch. sometimes that means i think of some band i want to sound like as an exercise, or some idea to start with, but mostly, i just go.

-one by one, arrange these things into full songs. i have a lot of other stuff going on so this takes a couple years. i have tons of voice memos of me playing acoustically or just walking and working on lyrics.

-i’m recording as i go, but i always have drums that i play on a keyboard to start, knowing that at one point i’ll have to get my favorite drummer in the world involved, Matt Walker. New this time around, he came over a few times to work on songs when they weren’t fully arranged, and helped make some new parts. 

-i recorded a few more people. Alan Berliant on bass, Ryan Tedder on sax for a tune, my wife Kasey Foster for some hard to reach vocals.

-i’m re-recording my vocals at a do it yourself studio named Information Playback Reel Studios. it has a vocal booth inside a bank vault and a really nice microphone.

-normally here is where i go into a proper studio and record drums proper. however Matt Walker had to go on tour with Morrissey for 6 months, so I’m just gonna use all my scratch recordings of his drums, all cut up and everything, and make that work

-half the songs are very rock and the other half are more electronic. so i have to bring the rock ones to a guy who knows how to mix that stuff. still figuring that out. and the electronic stuff, i bring to R34L.

-somewhere in this process, i’ll look to hire someone to maybe promote the thing i guess? i don’t know, this has never worked out very well. i don’t even know where to start.

-i’m playing with ideas for the ablum cover. this photo below is done with chatgpt, although i’ll probably look for a human to make the final

-will i make a vinyl out of it? for some reason that sticks in my head, although i don’t know why. everyone says its a huge waste of money. we’ll see

In 2024, the GEAR + I played more shows than ever before. It was very fun, but it also takes up a lot of time and energy. Booking, promotion, advancing shows, travel, setting up and tearing down are all aspects that must be done before anyone can see a show. During my busy months, I wasn’t able to devote enough time to making new music, so I’m excited to get into that over the next few months. Goal list:

-finish new album “GET PERMANENT”

-build new studio

-make one session that includes all my dance tunes, so that i can play nonstop like a DJ would

I will post more updates I’m sure, but a huge thanks to everyone who was a part of 2024. I’ll see you in 2025 for sure!

2024 has been the busiest year yet for me + the gear, so much thanks to everyone who came to a show or followed along online. I’m playing one last show, here are the details:

Saturday, November 16
Hunt House Creative Arts Center
113 E Main St, St. Charles, IL 60174
Music from 8 to 10pm
all ages, $15

Hunt House is a music school and performance venue run by a very talented collaborator of mine, hometown hero Leslie Hunt. She asked that I come out and play my tunes but also describe a bit of the process of making music and videos, and performing them live.

Leslie will come up and perform the tunes we made together, including this one:

I’m headlining the Lakeview East Arts Festival on Saturday, Sept. 14th. It’s at the corner of Belmont and Broadway in Chicago, it’s all ages, outdoors, very fun.