Hello to everyone, long time since contributing to this side of the fence and now after my self-imposed exile from Songramp since last May, (peed off with the lack of contribution on the Lyric Forum) I hope this finds you all well and safe after the Christmas Season
So what have I been doing, well best of all been going to Open Mics (sometimes 5 in a week) and some with my son. My son is blessed with a beautiful voice – must be from the Kiwi Maori grandparents – and he is off to England to see what he can do with music sob sob but it is his dream, tried talking him into Nashville or Austin but his market is England.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=944777555552872
This is him playing at a Festival at the Basin (first time I went out to an open mic with him almost had tears it was so beautiful, also like the fact he only plays three verses!!)
He does play his own stuff mostly but this is the only recording I have.
As for me I feel I am now at the next stage of development and have finished the basic apprenticeship of being a songwriter but must now learn to be a professional tradesman incorporating the business of being a songwriter and doing the required networking etc.
1. I am sure now I can a write a song or even 5 per day for extended periods of time with fresh ideas, so if I ever get the opportunity to write up I am confident in myself I would not be wasting their time.
2. Am about to BAND UP as “Arty Redsocks and the Holey Souls” with a couple of gigs already planned. This was not my original intention as I still want to be a writer but if they won’t play em I have to.
3. Up Tempo is king but you still need some change or contrast in there.
4. One of the things as part of my development has been the change from fairly static open mic performances to see whether the song itself is strong enough to semi performance just like they do on TV LOL
5. Kept writing and critiquing as these things can only help – as a case in point the 375th song I wrote for the last FAWM 50/90 has gotten amazing reactions with the audiences
I have read up on the last 15 or so pages and the one thing that drew my attention was MAB’s line
“…IN MY OPINION (always have to start out with that) it is about being clear and trying to avoid what everyone else is doing.”
Decided about 18 months ago, to not watch or worry too much about the hit songs as has been said many times, these are already old hat to the industry. But this is at odds with the general advice given of trying to write for Jason Keith etc… Robin Frederick for instance does some great analysis of current hit songs, but everybody is trying / doing those songs!
So isn’t the idea to try and predict or at least work to something fresh or unique. I know I watch the audience and having now done at least 150 different original songs live to mostly 18 – 30 year olds and then again to an older audience the funny thing is an ugly old 3 chord playing, average voice at best gets a better more receptive audience from the younger ones. They are generally receptive to new songs.
The older demographic open mics are invariably all covers, all night and although there are course some strong supporters of originals these nights are generally ruder and less interested in originals with that candy crush game particularly popular– this is not to say I don’t have some really good nights there - but I now walk out when they play MUSTANG SALLY.
But the best audience of all are the clients at the Centre for disabilities I work in. I play a couple of times a week there, one for the ladies room which I only play my originals, another for a Down Syndrome Client which are the songs he likes and then old songs for the Older Adults. If the ladies like the song I can tell you, they are very beat / rhythm dependant, playing it out live to an audience will work
It struck me the first time I worked in Disability care back in the 70’s their love of ABBA, it was amazing for the next time and now this time it is unchanged across the age of 18 – 57. If you can distil what they had sure better time spent than moaning about crap lyrics on the radio.
Well it is now 4.00 am I have spent three hours writing a song, reading of forum pages and writing this novel and I think it may be time for bed.
Would love to learn more about the writers collective but for some other time may be
"get into the beer" and make observations that he might rather keep to himself. That is something we ALL do, and many people never realize that. The entire internet is made up of people that should "think before they press 'SEND.'".
WOW
Arty
So what have I been doing, well best of all been going to Open Mics (sometimes 5 in a week) and some with my son. My son is blessed with a beautiful voice – must be from the Kiwi Maori grandparents – and he is off to England to see what he can do with music sob sob but it is his dream, tried talking him into Nashville or Austin but his market is England.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=944777555552872
This is him playing at a Festival at the Basin (first time I went out to an open mic with him almost had tears it was so beautiful, also like the fact he only plays three verses!!)
He does play his own stuff mostly but this is the only recording I have.
As for me I feel I am now at the next stage of development and have finished the basic apprenticeship of being a songwriter but must now learn to be a professional tradesman incorporating the business of being a songwriter and doing the required networking etc.
1. I am sure now I can a write a song or even 5 per day for extended periods of time with fresh ideas, so if I ever get the opportunity to write up I am confident in myself I would not be wasting their time.
2. Am about to BAND UP as “Arty Redsocks and the Holey Souls” with a couple of gigs already planned. This was not my original intention as I still want to be a writer but if they won’t play em I have to.
3. Up Tempo is king but you still need some change or contrast in there.
4. One of the things as part of my development has been the change from fairly static open mic performances to see whether the song itself is strong enough to semi performance just like they do on TV LOL
5. Kept writing and critiquing as these things can only help – as a case in point the 375th song I wrote for the last FAWM 50/90 has gotten amazing reactions with the audiences
I have read up on the last 15 or so pages and the one thing that drew my attention was MAB’s line
“…IN MY OPINION (always have to start out with that) it is about being clear and trying to avoid what everyone else is doing.”
Decided about 18 months ago, to not watch or worry too much about the hit songs as has been said many times, these are already old hat to the industry. But this is at odds with the general advice given of trying to write for Jason Keith etc… Robin Frederick for instance does some great analysis of current hit songs, but everybody is trying / doing those songs!
So isn’t the idea to try and predict or at least work to something fresh or unique. I know I watch the audience and having now done at least 150 different original songs live to mostly 18 – 30 year olds and then again to an older audience the funny thing is an ugly old 3 chord playing, average voice at best gets a better more receptive audience from the younger ones. They are generally receptive to new songs.
The older demographic open mics are invariably all covers, all night and although there are course some strong supporters of originals these nights are generally ruder and less interested in originals with that candy crush game particularly popular– this is not to say I don’t have some really good nights there - but I now walk out when they play MUSTANG SALLY.
But the best audience of all are the clients at the Centre for disabilities I work in. I play a couple of times a week there, one for the ladies room which I only play my originals, another for a Down Syndrome Client which are the songs he likes and then old songs for the Older Adults. If the ladies like the song I can tell you, they are very beat / rhythm dependant, playing it out live to an audience will work
It struck me the first time I worked in Disability care back in the 70’s their love of ABBA, it was amazing for the next time and now this time it is unchanged across the age of 18 – 57. If you can distil what they had sure better time spent than moaning about crap lyrics on the radio.
Well it is now 4.00 am I have spent three hours writing a song, reading of forum pages and writing this novel and I think it may be time for bed.
Would love to learn more about the writers collective but for some other time may be
"get into the beer" and make observations that he might rather keep to himself. That is something we ALL do, and many people never realize that. The entire internet is made up of people that should "think before they press 'SEND.'".
WOW
Arty
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