Will Downing Shares More 'After Tonight' Recording Details
Singer and songwriter Will Downing, who is battling the disease polymyositis, is speaking frankly about the challenges he faced in recording his brand-new CD After Tonight. His first project for the Peak Records label was released yesterday (October 30th).
Downing had already begun the process of recording with producer and friend Rex Rideout when the symptoms of polymyositis became so acute that he couldn't walk or stand. Determined to complete the album, Downing explained how he was able to continue: "We'd basically already cut about three or four songs, or we'd gotten them to the point where the lead vocals were down and then we mixed after the fact. But the rest of the project was basically done from the wheelchair or from a hospital bed that I had set up here in my house. And we used tech to the utmost and transferred files via the Internet between myself and Rex Rideout."
There were some moments that nearly brought the veteran singer to the outer limits of frustration, such as not being able to stand up to sing: "Probably the toughest thing I've ever done before was sing from a wheelchair or a hospital bed, because you basically can't breathe the way you'd like to breathe. You'd like to be able to take a nice deep inhale and be able to sing from your diaphragm, and it's impossible to do sitting in a chair."
Downing's lead single "After Tonight" is climbing up the national urban adult airplay chart this week.
Singer and songwriter Will Downing, who is battling the disease polymyositis, is speaking frankly about the challenges he faced in recording his brand-new CD After Tonight. His first project for the Peak Records label was released yesterday (October 30th).
