Issue #43 — Wednesday, October 4, 2023
It was nine years ago today that I started using the stage name, Kharlie M. Since then, I’ve produced three albums: Come On, Kharlie M (2018), The Child in You (2021), and When Love Overtakes (2023). Currently, I’m working on a fourth album, Especially for Wendi. Ten of 13 songs are completed for that one so far.
The only full album done prior to Kharlie M was Umm… (2007) which was done under my given name, Charlie Petitt. Being new to digital recording (and digital composing) at the time, I did a number of things that I would do differently today. For years, I had considered remaking the album; in 2021, figuring that a remake wouldn’t sound much different from the original, I decided to simply reissue the album in its original form.
I’ve learned a lot since then and still desire to remake the songs, keeping the original feel (or at least the intended feel) as much as possible… but…
…instead of doing a new Umm… album, these songs will be integrated into the new albums I still intend to release. Four songs on the original Umm… album were love songs for Wendi; these will now appear on Especially for Wendi and should appear later in 2023. Two will appear on From the Very Heart (or maybe under a different title), two more will appear on Songs in the Key of M, and two will appear on an album of hymns to be done after that. One song originally intended for Umm… but didn’t make it, has already been released on Come On, Kharlie M; that song is “The Passing of Time.”
As much as I enjoy performing for other people, for now my gigs have been limited to open mics, mainly the one at Mocha Moment. Being a caregiver for my wife, Wendi, whose health is impaired by Huntington’s Disease, diabetes, and other ailments, my time is limited for outings, but I am still able to record and release new material. Hopefully in the future, she will be able to attend some shows with me. I love her more than the world and want her at my side, whether I am playing live for you or at home.
© 2023 Charles Dwain Petitt and Ummamum Music.