A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME
RiDawn has mentioned a song we wrote called "Tonight I'm Living for Me" and how she has evolved past it. It is a good example of what I call "A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME" and how most of our songs go by the wayside,as life, our moods, experience, and things around us change. As a writer we should all be WRTING. It is great to learn, do research, song study, etc. but the physical WRITING of songs, particularly CO-WRITING is how we learn.
RiDawn came to me after about a 13 year absence. We had known each other a long time ago, then as life gets in the way, had not seen each other. She got married, has step kids, is a caregiver for her Mother, is doing a lot of things, and so it has been hard to focus on music. When she started coming out to some of my shows, she actually contacted me and asked if I could work with her some. I really liked that because first, I require that people approach ME if they are really serious about doing things. Then FOLLOWING THROUGH. Most people get together once or possibly even twice, then fade out, usually as they realize how had this stuff really is.
Then I could achieve a number of things. First I could get some songs written and help a really good friend that I care about. I could show her and her husband (who is a great bass player and overall musician) some things to do to get her moving forward, present herself around town and showcase what she does. Thereby tweaking some of the people that I think should be a little nicer in how they treat other people. Then, I could use her as sort of a "labaratory assistant" with some of my tour clients. Having a more flexible schedule than most of my artists, she could come over in short notice, and we could write with them, showing them what it takes to write for an artist, dealing with moods, dealing with them having certain songs in their cataloge, so having to change your subject matter, dealing with multiple people in a co-write. And RiDawn could get some new songs for her catalogue. Enormous WIN WIN.
But first I had to get RiDawn up to speed and to do that we had to write the first song. That was "This Time I'm Living For Me." When I work with artists, I first have to get them to get what is bothering them off their chest. With her it was that bottled up feeling of starting and stopping, the frustrations of not being able to focus on what she would like to, the back log of emotions and physical manifestations that she needed. Having known her for a while, knowing her vocal range, and tempo/attitudes, plus knowing her personality made it very easy. The tune came out in about a half hour, and of course, the tears flowed freely. Luckily the ever ready box of Kleenex is always nearby.
With newer writers, particularly women, once you get them going they will unleash a barrage of emotions. Women think more emotionally which is why their songs are usually so emotionally based. And often, ANGRY. My job is to funnel that into a positive area, and show them how to use their real life in a way that gets reality based, and conversational songs. Anger sucks, and a wasted emotion in songs unless you funnel it in certain ways.
But often the Cathartic nature of songs doesn't mean those are what you want to showcase you. Thus, the GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME. I am glad she said what she said on the forum,because I want everyone to understand the mindset of the artist, what they go through and how they change. Writing with them, you have to navigate those changes. I, like RiDawn, believe the song was a good idea at the time, and now we have much better songs. She has written with myself and Phil, Dani Jamerson, Gail Carson, and soon will be many others. Her moods have changed and is much more self aware, positive and on a great career track. I am very excited about working with her when I can.
And it is different because while she is an artist, we are not shooting for that young persons' record deal. She is going to be performing mostly around town or with bands her husband puts together and will be having personal growth. and I hope she does a TON OF MY SONGS!
Now how all this manifests itself on a NATIONAL LEVEL, is in the case of KENNY CHESNEY. I knew Kenny and Tim McGraw when they were the "drunk Fraternity brothers" at writer's shows we did in town. They were both pretty new, hung around all the time, and would always be in the back of the room, talking very loudly during our writer's nights.They were the kinds of guys you see at Fraternity parties, always hanging around the keg, always nearly falling down, but never quite, and always very loud. Their voices would carry over the rest of the performers (except me, of course) and they never realized it. Neither ever played that I saw, but had a lot of thing going on. Frankly it was like we see thousands and thousands of times in this business. Tall good looking athelete type, and shorter,side kick. I would have NEVER thought either of them would acheive what they have, but I miss them sometimes. Missed Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift too. But hey,I did work with Thelma Lynne Moody. And we ALL know how that turned out. LOL!
At any rate, Kenny goes on and does what he has done which is an amazing story in itself. He has hung on longer and probably higher than just about anyone in Country music history. And no signs of slowing. But he has gone thorough a lot of artist's changes. He started out like all artists with the drinking, party, "bro-country" songs. Love songs, danceable songs, etc. He has great song sense and picks very well. And doesn't write that much. Sometimes that is important because you can be more objective. But I digress.
About nine years ago, Kenny married a Hollywood Actress, Rene Zellwinger. This was a marraige made in HELL, and while I undestand it, who would NOT like to be married to a VERY HOT HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS, GO TO ALL THOSE PARTIES, AND POSSIBLY GET YOURSELF IN A COUPLE OF MOVIES. Great career move. But all these things between celebrities are very difficult, and usually over very quickly. Ask Kanye and Kim, or Taylor Swift and anyone she has ever dated. Or any one of the music related relationships I've been involved in. The current bass player in the band, Boston would be a good one to ask if you ever catch her on tour.
So this thing flames out in a few months and they both went on with their lives. Kenny retreated to the Islands and lived for a while as a beach bum on various places. As you probably know, when you start getting around those places, suddenly you are hanging out, drinking, sitting on the beach, and become a total SLUG!!! It's why the call it VACTION!!!
Kenny, who is also a pretty smart businessdude, and he figured he could use this as a way to capture the unbeliveably lucrative JIMMY BUFFET PARROT HEAD NATION. This perinally summer group are millions of dedicated Buffet fans, who follow him like lemmings every year, go to all his concerts, buy all his merchandise, and have turned a song about a tequila drink into a two BILLION dollar empire. Every artist wants that crowd.
KENNY GOT IT.
He came out with his album, NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, NO PROBLEM, and it all worked. The songs hit those Carribean feelings everyone has inside and before long, everyone had their toes in the sand!!! And of course, it spurned an entire wave like Zac Brown and others. It was a wave and Kenny was right there in front, riding it.
He did huge summer stadium tours and even did things with Buffet. About this same time BUFFET HIMSELF, has hnis own first NUMBER ONE song, "IT'S FIVE OCLOCK SOMEWHERE", duet with Alan Jackson (Written by Don Rawlings, who got my job at Warner Chappel Music, told you there is always an MAB connection) and the "Carribean country movement was in full swing. Everywhere you went you heard that same stuff, and of course that led into the "Bro-Country" stuff that we all hear now, with tailgates, trucks, down by the river, watching my girl,named GURL, down the country road....." You know that one.
Kenny, being the astute business dude he is, saw this coming and shifted directions. Three years ago, insiders in town, song pluggers,publishers, hit writers, started getting the notices "NO MORE BEACH SONGS. NO MORE TEQUILA, NO MORE SAND IN THE SHOES." And all the Chesney pitches started being weeded out. If you had someone still pitching those songs or you were writing them because "You GOTTA GET THAT TO CHESNEY!!"
NO. YOU DON'T.
All those songs became GOOD IDEAS AT THE TIME.
Phil, this is part of what the "good songpluggers" know and act on. And why most pitches are completely wasted. Those artists have already done that and are on to something else. This is why it is so impossible for outside writers to get cuts. You are trying to catch a plane that has already left the runway, is in the air, and half way to it's destination. You are BEHIND the curve. Your songs were GOOD IDEAS AT THE TIME.
So what to do? WRITE WITH ARTISTS.
But be aware that a lot of them, particularly the younger ones, ARE BEHIND THE CURVE ALSO. They are usually only patterning themselves after who is out there currently. Go to YOU TUBE, and google the latest Taylor Swift song. Then look to the right of that video. You will see columns and columns of dozens, hundreds and THOUSANDS of young girls, their camera phone videos, doing EXACTLY THE SAME SONG! The only thing it shows is that they are NOT TAYLOR SWIFT and are easily influenced.
As a writer you CAN'T WRITE FOR TRENDS. Because trends change on a dime, (you think.) Actually trends have a career arc of about three years. For a year, they will be building in the Nashville writers rooms, and stages, publishing companies,record labels. Writers will all have similar songs. There will be new acts launched at showcases,the Country radio seminar.The spring releases will come out and most will dissapear.Then one, two or three new hot acts will come out. The Next Lady Antibellum, Band Perry, or Florida Georgia Line, will hit like a monster,hit the road with a major artist, their video will be everywhere, their song will explode everywhere you listen, will be played on all the radios, CD players at the beaches, the lakes, the rivers, in the bars, it will be the karaoke track of the month, and you will see it on t-shirts, bumper stickers, hats. It becomes a PHENOMON.
All the publishing companies will start saying 'Bring me one of those..." And their A&R staff will have a dozen groups, songs and vehicles already in their development rosters.
You will hear five,ten, twenty songs exacly like that. When it comes to "Bro Country" they use the exact same words.
But what the "outsiders" don't realize is that the Nashville people were hearing this a year before the public does. We hear those showcases, hear them at the Bluebird. Play with them at Frank Brown. By the time the wave hits, we are already sick of them. So it builds for a year, is on top for a year, then starts to descend for a year. And the amateur and outside writers, keep writing and bringing in the same songs. They play them on open mics and everyone says "Hey, you gotta get that to Chesney!!!!" Sure. And a monkey needs to fly out of my butt! Would be interesting but painful. Let it fly out of someone else's butt.
But you will have a bunch of GOOD IDEAS AT THE TIME. TIME TO WRITE MORE SONGS.
MAB