You can find my up-to-date FAWM page here:
http://fawm.org/fawmers/emkeev
Two (to three) more are up. With one in the works. ANTICIPATIONNNN
On Monday, I was supposed to jam with Matt, but I felt like crap. So that didn't happen. :( Sorry, Matt.
On Tuesday, I felt less crappy. So I hauled m'self up to Philly to jam with THE OTHER OTTER! (Which, incidentally, makes it sound like I am also an otter. I like band names like this. Local band My Friends also has this effect: "Hey, come listen to My Friends!")
The Other Otter, anyway, is a band/collective/group of awesome folk. Folks. Folk? People. HUMAN BEINGS! Bryan and Angela and Josh, who joined us a little later. We wrote a couple of songs... I'm excited about BOTH of them. In different ways. "A Song About Physics" (mp3) was created by means of a writing game; each person was supposed to write a one-line response to the last line written, then pass the paper on around the circle. Rules may have been bent, but it was in the name of awesome songwriting, so I think we will be forgiven. This was a very thoughtful and constructive process, which I enjoyed thoroughly.
And then Josh came home. Josh is the third of the otters. Otter. o.o He laid down some ideas involving chords and breaking glass, Bryan said something about downtown, there was some intense strumming and headbanging and... oh crap, it's not up yet. It'll be worth it. Promise. (EDIT: IT'S HERE!!) This process was really more... um, de-structive?? But TOTALLY EPIC. There was a whiteboard involved, though. And I am pretty sure I laughed from about 9:30 until forever. I'll be surprised if I made it through any of the takes without giggling.
Now we're up to Wednesday. Which ended up being, GUESS WHAT, another collaboration session. Rather impromptu. Shane and Stefan came over, tea was involved, songs were written. "The Errant Whistler" (mp3) came about thusly: Stefan said the penny whistle sounded totally sweet on the Christmas album, I picked it up, he played the guitar. We just made things up for ten minutes until we had that tune. Shane happened to walk in on the best take and started flippin' whistlin', not knowing we were actually recording... THANKS, buddy... but it sounded cool and so we kept it and named it appropriately. Which is kind of lucky, actually, because it's kinda hard to name instrumentals.
You will not find this one on my FAWM page, as I had just "won" by posting "The Errant Whistler," but Shane and Stefan marked this down as a collab: "Viva" (mp3), an instrumental/vocalized trio with 2 guitars and 1 bari uke (more or less baby guitar). I like how it came out. I do think we ought to do another recording - the whole night was so laid-back that we just kinda'... meh.
Yeah.
Um, so, I guess technically I won.
But it doesn't feel like I did. I only wrote 8 on my own.
I am therefore determined to finish writing 6 songs on my own, in addition to whatever further collabs may happen.
Also my birthday's coming up and I'm not sure I even care... I just want to write songs. Make music. I still have so many ideas. I still wanted to write more electronic stuff. Aggghhhh!
Work has noticed the effects of my songwriting. "You look tired." Yes, well, I am. But I love what I do.
For the record, though, I DO plan to sleep more than 4 hours tonight! Yippee!!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Contra Dancing!
(I'm double-posting. I don't care.)
I'm happy to say that I've joined up as a board member for the Arden contra dance, which is my "home" contra dance by virtue of the fact that it is the closest dance. 30 minutes is pretty close... by my own informal research, an hour seems like a typical drive, two hours or more is common for a special dance.
Anywho, so now I'm helping. I like helping. Since I'm pretty good at internet, I took over interneting. I had to think for a hot minute about a page versus a group for the contra dance facebook presence, and I went with a group.
It took me about a week of serious thought and research (e.g. poking around on the internet) to get to that point. It seemed counter to the social media training and intuition I've got. When I took over things for the park, it was... kind of a mess. By "mess," I mean that there were a few different groups and no fan page for the park. No one seemed to understand what the difference was between the two, and to be fair, it took awhile for the differences to emerge in actual user experience. Very basically, pages are what you use if you're a business. Groups are what you use if you're a community.
The park needed a page; contra dances need groups. Simply put. I'll be happy to explain in detail if you care to know why.
So it's over here! Yay!
I also will be doing some e-mail list stuff. And, obviously, I hope to get more folks involved. I'm not just talking about my friends - I go back and forth between feeling like I'm harassing folks versus doing them a disservice by not including them. All I'm trying to do is make more people aware that you can get three hours of live music, exercise, culture, dance instruction, awesome people, and fun for only ten bucks.
I'm happy to say that I've joined up as a board member for the Arden contra dance, which is my "home" contra dance by virtue of the fact that it is the closest dance. 30 minutes is pretty close... by my own informal research, an hour seems like a typical drive, two hours or more is common for a special dance.
Anywho, so now I'm helping. I like helping. Since I'm pretty good at internet, I took over interneting. I had to think for a hot minute about a page versus a group for the contra dance facebook presence, and I went with a group.
It took me about a week of serious thought and research (e.g. poking around on the internet) to get to that point. It seemed counter to the social media training and intuition I've got. When I took over things for the park, it was... kind of a mess. By "mess," I mean that there were a few different groups and no fan page for the park. No one seemed to understand what the difference was between the two, and to be fair, it took awhile for the differences to emerge in actual user experience. Very basically, pages are what you use if you're a business. Groups are what you use if you're a community.
The park needed a page; contra dances need groups. Simply put. I'll be happy to explain in detail if you care to know why.
So it's over here! Yay!
I also will be doing some e-mail list stuff. And, obviously, I hope to get more folks involved. I'm not just talking about my friends - I go back and forth between feeling like I'm harassing folks versus doing them a disservice by not including them. All I'm trying to do is make more people aware that you can get three hours of live music, exercise, culture, dance instruction, awesome people, and fun for only ten bucks.
FAWM Blog #5: Collaboration nation.
You can find my up-to-date FAWM page here:
http://fawm.org/fawmers/emkeev
Song number 9: "White Kids." (mp3) A beatboxing improv generated by us five kids after we were done listening to last Sunday's production of Hometown Heroes. We won the Homie Award for Best Collab - for the Diner Club Christmas album! Then we were ridiculous. And beatboxed. Myself, Andrew, Shane, Erin, and Michael. And it was good. The end.
Song number 10: "Flowers Gotta Grow." (mp3) with Shane Palko. Just a happy little collab. I really like it... it seemed really simple at the time, but something about it is catchy and happy and pleasant on the ol' eardrums.
Song number 11: "Finding My Feet." (mp3) This one's another collab. Joining me are Erin Magnin and Matthew Halley. We wrote and recorded this in two and a half hours. It was really magical. It's a slow tune, employs three-part harmonies and a little guitar strummin' to tell a story about finding one's own feet after disconcerting circumstances.
Song number 12: "Damsel of Distress." A collab with Michael Natrin, which I mentioned in the last post, or the post before. Dulcimer and banjo and a humorous ballad-type thing, in which we switch meters and tempos and all kinds of fun stuff! Will Phil save the damsel, or what?...
Song number 13: "The Underground Spring." O HAI LOOK I WROTE A SONG BY MYSELF! Yeah... this one was tagged as the week three challenge, "big topic." It seems to be about the passage of time, but I'mma be honest with you. The metaphor is a vehicle for me to describe... oh, any number of things regarding God. Overcoming of death. His loving nature. His nourishment. His presence despite appearances. I really love it.
Whew. So I've been busy. But I don't think I'm nearly done writing, even though I'm so near the 14.5 song finish line.
http://fawm.org/fawmers/emkeev
Song number 9: "White Kids." (mp3) A beatboxing improv generated by us five kids after we were done listening to last Sunday's production of Hometown Heroes. We won the Homie Award for Best Collab - for the Diner Club Christmas album! Then we were ridiculous. And beatboxed. Myself, Andrew, Shane, Erin, and Michael. And it was good. The end.
Song number 10: "Flowers Gotta Grow." (mp3) with Shane Palko. Just a happy little collab. I really like it... it seemed really simple at the time, but something about it is catchy and happy and pleasant on the ol' eardrums.
Song number 11: "Finding My Feet." (mp3) This one's another collab. Joining me are Erin Magnin and Matthew Halley. We wrote and recorded this in two and a half hours. It was really magical. It's a slow tune, employs three-part harmonies and a little guitar strummin' to tell a story about finding one's own feet after disconcerting circumstances.
Song number 12: "Damsel of Distress." A collab with Michael Natrin, which I mentioned in the last post, or the post before. Dulcimer and banjo and a humorous ballad-type thing, in which we switch meters and tempos and all kinds of fun stuff! Will Phil save the damsel, or what?...
Song number 13: "The Underground Spring." O HAI LOOK I WROTE A SONG BY MYSELF! Yeah... this one was tagged as the week three challenge, "big topic." It seems to be about the passage of time, but I'mma be honest with you. The metaphor is a vehicle for me to describe... oh, any number of things regarding God. Overcoming of death. His loving nature. His nourishment. His presence despite appearances. I really love it.
Whew. So I've been busy. But I don't think I'm nearly done writing, even though I'm so near the 14.5 song finish line.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
FAWM Blog #4: I'm up to 8!
You can find my up-to-date FAWM page here:
http://fawm.org/fawmers/emkeev
So, basically I'm an overachiever. Not only does this song have multiple instruments and harmony tracks, but I took photos of the trees I was describing and made a video out of it:
I'm basically really happy with that one. It's called "I Like Trees," in case you couldn't guess.
I also wrote and recorded "Amaranth" (mp3) in 3 hours today. I wish I could tell you about it, but I think that's for another day. I think that the inspiration for it isn't yet done with me and I'll see another few songs sprouting from the same seed, at which time I'll happily update you.
I enjoy putting on different styles. It's like putting on different costumes. I'm blessed to have the ability to express things this way. My only prayer regarding the whole songwriting business is that I can return even a fraction of this blessing through the thoughtful crafting of songs that reflect His goodness and His truth. And, I mean... I want it for every song. Not just certain ones. I crave it. I feel hungry or thirsty without it. 'Cause that's what makes my songs live and it's what makes me live.
Michael and I also did some collabing today, and the song is pretty much done, but we didn't quite get to recording anything other than a scratch track >.< Look for it tomorrow!
A break is in order so that I can tend to things, such as some contra dance stuff and some business matters with the music... again, more on that another time!
http://fawm.org/fawmers/emkeev
So, basically I'm an overachiever. Not only does this song have multiple instruments and harmony tracks, but I took photos of the trees I was describing and made a video out of it:
I'm basically really happy with that one. It's called "I Like Trees," in case you couldn't guess.
I also wrote and recorded "Amaranth" (mp3) in 3 hours today. I wish I could tell you about it, but I think that's for another day. I think that the inspiration for it isn't yet done with me and I'll see another few songs sprouting from the same seed, at which time I'll happily update you.
I enjoy putting on different styles. It's like putting on different costumes. I'm blessed to have the ability to express things this way. My only prayer regarding the whole songwriting business is that I can return even a fraction of this blessing through the thoughtful crafting of songs that reflect His goodness and His truth. And, I mean... I want it for every song. Not just certain ones. I crave it. I feel hungry or thirsty without it. 'Cause that's what makes my songs live and it's what makes me live.
Michael and I also did some collabing today, and the song is pretty much done, but we didn't quite get to recording anything other than a scratch track >.< Look for it tomorrow!
A break is in order so that I can tend to things, such as some contra dance stuff and some business matters with the music... again, more on that another time!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
FAWM Blog #3: Let There Be Snow
You can find my up-to-date FAWM page here: http://fawm.org/fawmers/emkeev
Song number 6. "Let There Be Snow" (mp3). Collab'd with Matthew Halley, who did awesome with harping and singing and recording and of course, the co-writing.
What to say about this? We had a great time, and a beautiful song was written. Bam.
Some days, I remember having thoughts like, "Man, if I could make my life better, this is what I would do: I'd spend my time creating things and musicking with other people."
And then I realize that's what I'm doing now.
Song number 6. "Let There Be Snow" (mp3). Collab'd with Matthew Halley, who did awesome with harping and singing and recording and of course, the co-writing.
What to say about this? We had a great time, and a beautiful song was written. Bam.
Some days, I remember having thoughts like, "Man, if I could make my life better, this is what I would do: I'd spend my time creating things and musicking with other people."
And then I realize that's what I'm doing now.
FAWM Blog #2: Full speed ahead
You can find my up-to-date FAWM page here:
http://fawm.org/fawmers/emkeev
I've been tracking roughly a song a day.
Practical consequences:
I wrote two instrumentals. Earth and Sky (mp3) is electronically composed. I was so tired and hungry when I uploaded it (extreme circumstance) that I dissolved into a fit of self-loathing, tore it down, and went to sleep. I felt better when I woke up, so I put it back up. All's well. I had fun writing it, though, honestly. I think my main damage was that I hadn't really decided what the song was about. Even if there's no lyric, a song (to me) needs a direction, a thought, something to tie it together. So I ended up with what I think of as a song with multiple personalities. But I do like it.
Then there was "Waltz for a Clementine." (youtube)
I opted to make a video because I wanted folks to experience this really cool instrument. My performance is a little heavy-handed because I was just flat-out enjoying myself. I do like the piece itself. It's honestly not at all what I was expecting to write - I originally picked up the guitar and the notebook and ended up with a dulcimer tune with no words. Go figure. The title's from something I heard yesterday at the dance... one of my friends was waltzing around with lemonade and then told the story of another friend who was waltzing with a clementine... I knew the title was "Waltz for a" something, and Clementine just seemed to fit.
I love my dancing friends. Have I said that recently? I'm thrilled they're a part of my life. I went yesterday to the Arden contra dance, alone, having neglected to try to coerce anyone into joining me due to the busy times of FAWMing. But when I got there, I was joined by some good people from New Jersey and then we met with another good person in Philly and life was just... really... good.
I also really enjoy musicking with Matthew Halley, who did a really awesome collab with me this evening. He's adding a little folk harp and throwing it together soon. It's gonna be sweet. We've jammed a handful of times over the last month and it's been great having another detail-oriented music person to bounce stuff off of.
Speaking of bouncing - I'mma bounce to bed.
http://fawm.org/fawmers/emkeev
I've been tracking roughly a song a day.
Practical consequences:
- Eating has taken a hit. I now consume one giant meal per day, with little snackies all around. The problem is not the having of food. The problem is that I will write a song for several consecutive hours and during that time, I leave the mortal realm altogether. Exaggeration or not - except for extreme circumstances, I have no concept of hunger or physical needs during the time I'm writing songs.
- Sleep has taken a hit, but that's nothin' new.
- Eyelids have begun to twitch.
- "I can't, I have to write a song" has become a standard excuse for not doing something.
- The house is only marginally more dirty, as I have managed to keep pace with most of the mess.
- I'M SO HAPPY.
I wrote two instrumentals. Earth and Sky (mp3) is electronically composed. I was so tired and hungry when I uploaded it (extreme circumstance) that I dissolved into a fit of self-loathing, tore it down, and went to sleep. I felt better when I woke up, so I put it back up. All's well. I had fun writing it, though, honestly. I think my main damage was that I hadn't really decided what the song was about. Even if there's no lyric, a song (to me) needs a direction, a thought, something to tie it together. So I ended up with what I think of as a song with multiple personalities. But I do like it.
Then there was "Waltz for a Clementine." (youtube)
I opted to make a video because I wanted folks to experience this really cool instrument. My performance is a little heavy-handed because I was just flat-out enjoying myself. I do like the piece itself. It's honestly not at all what I was expecting to write - I originally picked up the guitar and the notebook and ended up with a dulcimer tune with no words. Go figure. The title's from something I heard yesterday at the dance... one of my friends was waltzing around with lemonade and then told the story of another friend who was waltzing with a clementine... I knew the title was "Waltz for a" something, and Clementine just seemed to fit.
I love my dancing friends. Have I said that recently? I'm thrilled they're a part of my life. I went yesterday to the Arden contra dance, alone, having neglected to try to coerce anyone into joining me due to the busy times of FAWMing. But when I got there, I was joined by some good people from New Jersey and then we met with another good person in Philly and life was just... really... good.
I also really enjoy musicking with Matthew Halley, who did a really awesome collab with me this evening. He's adding a little folk harp and throwing it together soon. It's gonna be sweet. We've jammed a handful of times over the last month and it's been great having another detail-oriented music person to bounce stuff off of.
Speaking of bouncing - I'mma bounce to bed.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
FAWM Blog #1: Three songs, radio interview, focus, energy
You can find my up-to-date FAWM page here: http://fawm.org/fawmers/emkeev
A little backlogging before I get to the songs: Todd Chappelle and I were on Graffiti Radio on Tuesday (January 30). The podcast is available here. Mike Nigro's a fun guy to get interviewed by, and Todd's a great guy to have on your team. Team FAWM. Team what the heck is this mess oh yeah FAWM.
I got made fun of for saying "word." I thought the mic was off. It was right before a commercial break. I don't know if it came through, but Todd thought it was hilarious and now it's a running joke.
I played "Space Trash" and "5 Stages of Infatuation," both of which don't receive a ton of play. (Possibly because I'm not playing out a ton right now.)
Well, so I have three FAWM 2012 songs right now. I took off from work on February 1, and basically just wrote for many hours. I recorded Kaleidescope Heart (mp3) and The Stinkbug Song (mp3). Stinkbug's part of a request from a co-worker, and it's some of my best banjo work/writing to date. Kaleidescope Heart was my "first fruits" song. Essentially, just dedicated to God. I do pray for all my songs to belong to God and to be centered in His love, but this'd be just a special dedication. The really cool thing about first fruits this year is that some of us FAWMers got to talking about it in the forums - a whole big long thread of really excellent and articulate discourse on worship and the place of music in church and with God. I said that I do this first fruits thing, and a few people picked it up and tagged their songs as "first-fruits," so you can filter songs by that tag and see who did it and what they wrote. Really awesome. I love what they wrote. I was really blessed by what they wrote. :)
Okay, so... there's a ton of really excellent talent that signed on with FAWM this year. We should have a really excellent couple of showcases in March. I'm also personally just really pleased because there are several new lady singer-songwriters, and, y'know, I'm totally fine hanging out with guys, but, it's nice to balance things out a little.
Nuff said.
Then today I wrote Keep in Mind (mp3), which is actually my favorite so far, because while I guess it came out sort of mysterious, it makes complete and total sense to me and it is the combination of my heart and God's heart for me. I wrote most of the lyrics in the grocery store parking lot. The lyrics just began to come to me as I was driving, and then I just had to sit and write them out before they fled.
That's one thing I'm enjoying about February. I know that it's time to buckle down and write songs. So you just do it. You take an hour in the parking lot to get the lyrics down. You spend Friday night in amid offers to go out. You just know that the songs need writing, and you balance everything with that when you can. I really enjoy the focus. I wish the other 11 months of the year had similar things... and, granted, they probably will. Soon.
A little backlogging before I get to the songs: Todd Chappelle and I were on Graffiti Radio on Tuesday (January 30). The podcast is available here. Mike Nigro's a fun guy to get interviewed by, and Todd's a great guy to have on your team. Team FAWM. Team what the heck is this mess oh yeah FAWM.
I got made fun of for saying "word." I thought the mic was off. It was right before a commercial break. I don't know if it came through, but Todd thought it was hilarious and now it's a running joke.
I played "Space Trash" and "5 Stages of Infatuation," both of which don't receive a ton of play. (Possibly because I'm not playing out a ton right now.)
Well, so I have three FAWM 2012 songs right now. I took off from work on February 1, and basically just wrote for many hours. I recorded Kaleidescope Heart (mp3) and The Stinkbug Song (mp3). Stinkbug's part of a request from a co-worker, and it's some of my best banjo work/writing to date. Kaleidescope Heart was my "first fruits" song. Essentially, just dedicated to God. I do pray for all my songs to belong to God and to be centered in His love, but this'd be just a special dedication. The really cool thing about first fruits this year is that some of us FAWMers got to talking about it in the forums - a whole big long thread of really excellent and articulate discourse on worship and the place of music in church and with God. I said that I do this first fruits thing, and a few people picked it up and tagged their songs as "first-fruits," so you can filter songs by that tag and see who did it and what they wrote. Really awesome. I love what they wrote. I was really blessed by what they wrote. :)
Okay, so... there's a ton of really excellent talent that signed on with FAWM this year. We should have a really excellent couple of showcases in March. I'm also personally just really pleased because there are several new lady singer-songwriters, and, y'know, I'm totally fine hanging out with guys, but, it's nice to balance things out a little.
Nuff said.
Then today I wrote Keep in Mind (mp3), which is actually my favorite so far, because while I guess it came out sort of mysterious, it makes complete and total sense to me and it is the combination of my heart and God's heart for me. I wrote most of the lyrics in the grocery store parking lot. The lyrics just began to come to me as I was driving, and then I just had to sit and write them out before they fled.
That's one thing I'm enjoying about February. I know that it's time to buckle down and write songs. So you just do it. You take an hour in the parking lot to get the lyrics down. You spend Friday night in amid offers to go out. You just know that the songs need writing, and you balance everything with that when you can. I really enjoy the focus. I wish the other 11 months of the year had similar things... and, granted, they probably will. Soon.
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