Beaver Dam songwriter Chaz deMeyer had a lot of living to get out of his system when he sat down to write and record “Recovery” in 2008.
The highly personal album was a catharsis and marked his comeback from personal tragedy. It also helped him restart a musical career.
His latest CD, “Vampire Love,” moves him along as a songwriter.
“What’s nice about this, is none of these songs are about me,” deMeyer said. “The songwriting has really grown.”
So has the production, according to deMeyer who rebuilt his studio following “Recovery.” Ironically, the album was released just prior to floods in 2008 that threatened deMeyer’s lakeside home north of Beaver Dam.
Still, deMeyer said he looked outside his personal experience for inspiration. He read a lot and tried to tap into a variety of popular themes. Vampires being perhaps the pop stars of the year in 2009, its not surprising he found himself writing a song that gave the album it’s title.
He once again looked to friends in the music business to collaborate with and said he was thrilled to work with Detroit musician Tom Taylor. The two used Skype (a free Internet phone service) to share ideas and Taylor helped with mixing and producing the work. The album art was provided by his son Rik and the photography by his daughter Alaina.
In addition to using the latest production technology, deMeyer discovered the publishing service, Kunaki. The automated service has allowed deMeyer to control distribution at a low cost. It also gives him the flexibility to repackage the album.
He sells “Vampire Love” on his Web site, www.chazzdemeyer.com.
DeMeyer is realistic about performing, saying it is a young man’s game. Instead his goals are to produce an album a year and hopefully find some interest in the songs he has written.
To that end, he said he has tried a number of musical styles and themes.
“I would just like to keep on writing,” he said.