Can't Say No

Been waiting quite a while to get the umpteenth rewrite done on this one, then again a while to get a demo done.  For me, it was well worth the wait.  Can't Say No is one of the first ones I started writing when I went back to the chalkboard to start writing again.  It's a swampy-bluesy kinda thing and I love what The Gator Hole did with it.  Different type of song for me, so what else is new?

As of now, its sitting at the top of the song list here on the blog, if you want to have a listen.  I'm finding it fun to go back to earlier songs and rewrite with new-found skills.  Going to try to get another song into the studio right away.  My goal was 6 demos by the end of 2011, which I think I'll fall short of, but that's all good too.  I think the quality is crawling up the scale.

Still no "takers" on pitching any of the songs, but you know, that's another part of the process to learn about.  I'm planning on keeping my focus mainly on songwriting and get more active in the business end in 2012.  I think it's hard to spread the time out properly when the rest of life pulls and tugs on the clock.  As always, it's about balance and doing what you love to do.  I love writing and getting better, not too keen yet on marketing, so we'll see where that goes.

Character Ammo

I've heard real evidence of progress in my current musical adventure.  The process continues and I now find it increasingly challenging to figure out how best to proceed for the "best" progress.  I can tell you, it's not boring.

I'm mid-way through a class at SongU about story songwriting and character development.  Now I can see where I need some ammunition to reload the guns.  And here, I thought this was going to be simple.  Ha!  I think I have some real opportunity to better set up most of my lyrics by better character development.  You know, not only do you have to be adept at this process, you've got about 3 to 4 minutes in a song to get it done and tell the story too.  Oh yeah, simple.

I realize that not all songs are really story songs, but I'll just bet a lot more are than I tend to think about in that way.  Some are obvious, like "Mr. Bojangles" or "Cat's in the Cradle" (to go back a ways), but even if the story is less deep, the characters make it real.  Hmmm.  Lots of work to do.  I'm thinking about taking a creative writing class and then applying it to the songwriting.  I'm sure it couldn't hurt (not me anyway).

Interesting side-note, I understand that Harry Chapin's wife actually wrote the lyrics about Harry and his son.  No credit for the talented lady, hope she got to spend some of the cash for that one anyway.

A Perfect Time

Just got back my second demo in this current songwriting lifetime.  "A Perfect Time" is my first drinking song and my first real country feel song.  I opted to try a different studio from my first demo, mainly to get some different exposure into this part of the process.  I really like the lyrics on this one; I think there's a lot of song craft in it with a lot of Gary too from the standpoint of how I would talk to someone and be semi-funny in the process.

I went with The Gator Hole.  Love the name.  Had some communications back and forth with Galen prior to taking the parking brake off.  I really loved some of the vocalists he uses and I think it paid off.  He also is a supporter of SongU, so I'm in.

Ronnie here did the vocals and I was very happy with the results.  Nice chops man.

I also decided to turn right around move on my 3rd demo, again using The Gator Hole.  This next one is "Can't Say No" which has been rewritten (severely) and I'm pretty excited about it.  Gale thinks he can get a real swampy kind of sound (ala "Bad Things" from HBO's True Blood).  I've had this on the shelf for about a year, thinking about how to rewrite, so it's time has come.

Today is a good day and I'm loving the ride right now.  Fun in the sun.

Second Demo In-Process

After one critique on a song that I felt very comfortable with, I decided to go ahead and demo it. This is a little bit different tack than I've been taking. In the past I've gotten numerous feedbacks, but due to the recent spread of suggestions and my comfort level with "A Perfect Time," I decided to pull the trigger.



I also decided to go to a different studio this time to get some feel for comparison. This time I'm going to The Gator Hole in Nashville to see what Galen can do for the song. This will have a little more country feel, contemporary, but not as much edge to it as "Convince Myself." I have high expectations.


I did quite a bit of searching online and listening and three main reasons for going where I did. First was the quality of vocalists that I heard, second the overall recording quality and sound on the available demos and third, Galen's communication was quick and very helpful. It all made me feel like the experience would be great and productive. We'll have to wait and see how my 6th sense is working.

Conflicting Feedback

Although it can be frustrating, I'm coming to realize that conflicting feedback I think is a sign of positive direction. At least that's the way I'm going to take it.

I've literally received opposite direction (referring to song content and design) given from "experts" and this certainly didn't happen earlier in the process. I really think this boils down to the human factor after some of the low hanging fruit has been picked. I'm not saying that I'm done making rookie mistakes, but I think they are coming with less density than they used to. Absolutely a good thing. It does however, make it more interesting trying to move forward. Have to learn how to trust my own inner voices, yep those folks whispering and talking and yelling that I wouldn't talk about in front of my shrink (if I had one - yes, need for sure, but have not none-the-less).

So, I've decided to turn another page in my personal soga and limit, at least for awhile, my feedback. I usually feel pretty good about a song before I take it in for feedback anyway, but now I'm going to take a couple of tunes and get one review, then go into the studio - then off to the market.

Private Consultation

I had a private consultation with Alan Roy Scott this past weekend. It was a scheduled 1/2 hour Skype-type session. I brought a couple of songs with me to discuss, but my number 1 topic for discussion was what I felt was a simple question, with very-not-so-simple answers. I wanted to get some direction and the question was, what directions, tools, etc. should I use to go from being a good songwriter to being a marketable, great songwriter.

I know that there are lots of things that have to happen to become successful financially, but I was inquiring more about the craft as opposed to the business end of it. Well, Alan was gracious enough to turn our 1/2 session into 1 1/2 hours, and it simply flew by. Although the answers were not simple and really difficult to communicate, I understood the just of it and had already started down the suggested path a few weeks earlier.

I think at each "level" of songwriter craft, the songwriter has to take some inventory of where they are, where they've come from and refocus direction. In my case, the next step is again to listen and break down current material that moves me and pick it apart. What exactly is it in that one spot of that one song that draws me in, that gives me goose bumps or really pulls at my emotions.

One of the tricky things is that writers all do it differently, so there is no formula. Duh, that's why art is art and not science, even though there's a lot of science to get to a point where you can be an artist. Oh, how damn simple.

So, now I go back again the drawing board and classroom and dive in head first. What a fun ride to be able to take, even when your an old crotchety guy like me. Onward.


I have no idea what this image has to do with this post, but somebody's groovin'.

Local Connections

As noted in a couple blogs ago, I am co-writing with a local writer. We have some bumps in timing, getting together, but I'm very excited about what's coming out of it. I took a draft to a SongU class and got some very positive feedback and an idea for some changes. Interesting that the change ideas were something that we had considered earlier in the writing process, but had not continued with.

I did a rewrite after the class which really changed this song into a female vocal song. I'm going to test this out with a female vocalist locally in my studio and see what happens. I'd love to find some local talent and be able to do more "in house" demos if I can get the needed quality. It would save on some bucks, but more importantly keep me better in the mix of an end product. However, I have no problem now with having a demo done elsewhere. I think this idea of finding local talent is a good one and a natural progression to an end product.

As with everything, there isn't any rush. No deadlines, just keep getting better in all aspects.

Another aspect is the pitching of songs once completed. This is a whole different animal from what I've been doing. I've certainly got some avenues, but I don't know yet if for me, it makes sense to do this more hands-on too. It has never been my thing to self promote, but we'll see where all this goes and I'll leave that door open.

By the way, never wrote in this blog about getting my first song documented with ASCAP. Well, I did and it is now duly noted.