This past week, I somehow convinced the writers of Shapeless Shape to let me write and record a song for their children’s book, The Shapeless Shape, now live on Kickstarter. Victor and I talked extensively about what a song for the book might look like, and the biggest hang-ups were really related to how I’d get paid for my part. It’s a difficult and complex topic, touching on issues like Work for Hire and mechanical royalties. (Yes, I’ve mentioned these for all of you music business geeks out there.) But the point is, we worked it all out!

Shapeless Shape is the story of one odd shape’s journey of self-discovery, finding out where it fits in in a world filled with circles, squares, and triangles—shapes with an obvious place and use. The application, of course, is that we all must discover, with the help of others (like teachers and peers), where we can fit in to society, contribute and be a part of the bigger picture. But the book concept is so much bigger than the story itself: the shapes in the book were hand-made, then photographed, turning this into a multi-layered art-piece. (Learn even more here: http://www.theshapelessshape.com.)

Throughout the day today and tomorrow I’ll be brainstorming and sketching for the song; and if I’m lucky, I’ll have a solid rough recording by the middle of the week.

Only ten days to go to back Shapeless Shape on Kickstarter!