I gigged at Extreme Pizza in Wilmington the other night. Friday the thirteenth, to be exact. Extreme has been really snazzy - they've hosted a bunch of networking events for the inDEpendence musician network, and we had our FAWM meet and greet there. I enjoyed splitting the evening with friend and fellow songwriter Alyssa Regan. If her music is playing, it is never background music for me, because she's got the awesome intricate piano work which is coupled with some of the most awesome harmonic progressions.
I also posted a new video. I wrote "Solace" as part of 50-90 back in July or August. Most of what I wrote I didn't especially like, to be honest, but I got some keepers like "Sweet Life" and "Branded" and "Abandoned Bandana" and "Petal, Falling" (okay, maybe I liked more of them than I thought).
I'll be the first to admit that I like this song because it showcases a lot of fancy guitar things. I like it because of the tricky harmonic progressions that never quite go where you want them to. But that's not why I play it.
Showing posts with label songs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label songs. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Bindering
Recently, I've been inspired to get my tunes all done up pretty in a binder.
Okay, maybe "pretty" is overkill. Regardless, I began collecting what printouts I have, three-hole-punching, labeling, indexing.
Observations:
Okay, maybe "pretty" is overkill. Regardless, I began collecting what printouts I have, three-hole-punching, labeling, indexing.
Observations:
- Of the roughly 86 documented songs I've written, 10 are instrumental, 5 are retired. I've got 51 sets of lyrics written down, and 20 still unaccounted for.
- 58 songs were written as a direct result of FAWM or 50/90, songwriting challenges.
- The list doesn't include any of my electronic compositions or compositions from college.
- My earliest songs from middle school and high school have almost all been completely lost. I had songs I'd written for friends as presents, etc. that I have forgotten. I may be able to find them in some of my old notebooks, but for the most part, it seems that I wasn't interested in preserving them at all. In fact, the interest in self-preservation only extends back maybe 3 to 4 years. And, y'know, let's be honest, probably they weren't that good anyhow. The only ones I really remember were the ones I continued to perform, which were instrumental ones like the Banana Peel Rag, because I didn't like to sing then.
- Songs apparently are retired on a basis of wanting to move away from whatever the song was about. Songs written specifically for then-boyfriends were all retired when the subjects became ex-boyfriends. Subsequently I moved away from writing specifically for people. (And let's be honest, I haven't had a beau in a hot minute, which makes it difficult to write for one.) There are also retired songs that were just an emotional blab of whatever, and I eventually made a conscious decision not to play them anymore. I can remember at least one case of finishing performing a song and thinking to myself, "Wow. I don't actually agree with what this song says anymore. I'm not going to play it for an audience ever again." I don't miss the songs I retire, though - they're not forced into retirement :) If I hadn't been compiling, I would hardly have remembered they existed.
- Collaborations have increased exponentially in the last three years. Mostly because of a conscious effort to learn to play nicely with others. It's been a wild and awesome ride.
- All these songs and yes, still, no album. And yes, it now seems more ridiculous than ever. But, y'know, the number of songs is not really the key here, the key is having songs that move. It's nice that I have such a wide pool to choose from.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
FAWM Blog #9: Showcase Showdown
For me, the FAWM season is now done. The songs have all been written, and the showcases have all been SMASHING.
The first, at the Newark Arts Alliance, was recorded entirely by Michael. You can watch the whole playlist on YouTube. (I had to scoot in after a contra dance, which is why I’m wearing my skirt and being barefoot.) The audience was very attentive and eager to interact. Which worked out awesomely on “Sea Song” - I had them humming along... it created a perfect ambiance. It was a great opportunity to play my uke and dulcimer stuff, which I felt would be too troublesome to bust out at other showcases.
The second, held at Extreme Pizza in Wilmington, was kickin’. This was a later showcase put together by our friend and fellow musician Jacopo de Nicola. Many thanks for his thoughtfulness and hard work. It was nice to have an evening showcase - and a Friday night, at that! Jacopo let me borrow his bass so I could play “Your Star.” It was well-received. (Especially by one of the waitstaff who I’m pretty sure was the one hollerin’ at me “I know that’s right” as soon as the bass licks started rollin’)
The third, at the World Cafe Live at the Queen. The staff treated us so well. The sound was great. The food was great. Our audience, attentive and sizable! Bam! And the “Stinkbug Song” finally made its stage debut.
Here’s a photo of us at the end, courtesy of James Simpson Photography:
And also a photo of Matt and myself playing “Let There Be Snow,” courtesy of Michael:
I gave out plenty of CD’s of my FAWM output and I’m thinking I will release the tracks to bandcamp. Just trying to decide whether to post just the 14 that are purely mine, or if I want to ask my collaborators if they’re cool with me putting their work up on my bandcamp. For free. Hmmmm.
Mostly I am proud. Of myself? Yeah, sure. I am. But I am primarily proud of our awesome little community. Three showcases. Many folks showed up at all three. Ten acts at least at each. Incredible talent. (As I frankly told one audience member, “the only difference between us and what’s on the radio is that we’re not on the radio.”)
But... incredible people, too. People whose talent wells up out of a naturalness of self. And the thing is that the selves involved are just beautiful and wonderful.
There was one FAWMer who approached me at a showcase, expressing gratitude towards Michael and me for all of our work promoting and organizing. There was a note of underlying worry. A kind of worry that says “it must have been such a burden for you.”
If you’d ask me, “Were there hard times?” I’d say yes, definitely. But I was blessed to be working alongside of some awesome people who shared them with me. “Did it stress you out?” At times. Life is busy, and enthusiasm is a poor guard against time constraints.
“Was it a burden?” A resounding and emphatic no. Because every step, good or bad, is part of the journey toward this end. I already know the outcome is good. I am already wholly convinced of that. If a difficult thing happens in the process, I can deal with it in its own moment without losing sight of the big vision.
It’s good, people!
The first, at the Newark Arts Alliance, was recorded entirely by Michael. You can watch the whole playlist on YouTube. (I had to scoot in after a contra dance, which is why I’m wearing my skirt and being barefoot.) The audience was very attentive and eager to interact. Which worked out awesomely on “Sea Song” - I had them humming along... it created a perfect ambiance. It was a great opportunity to play my uke and dulcimer stuff, which I felt would be too troublesome to bust out at other showcases.
The second, held at Extreme Pizza in Wilmington, was kickin’. This was a later showcase put together by our friend and fellow musician Jacopo de Nicola. Many thanks for his thoughtfulness and hard work. It was nice to have an evening showcase - and a Friday night, at that! Jacopo let me borrow his bass so I could play “Your Star.” It was well-received. (Especially by one of the waitstaff who I’m pretty sure was the one hollerin’ at me “I know that’s right” as soon as the bass licks started rollin’)
The third, at the World Cafe Live at the Queen. The staff treated us so well. The sound was great. The food was great. Our audience, attentive and sizable! Bam! And the “Stinkbug Song” finally made its stage debut.
Here’s a photo of us at the end, courtesy of James Simpson Photography:
And also a photo of Matt and myself playing “Let There Be Snow,” courtesy of Michael:
I gave out plenty of CD’s of my FAWM output and I’m thinking I will release the tracks to bandcamp. Just trying to decide whether to post just the 14 that are purely mine, or if I want to ask my collaborators if they’re cool with me putting their work up on my bandcamp. For free. Hmmmm.
Mostly I am proud. Of myself? Yeah, sure. I am. But I am primarily proud of our awesome little community. Three showcases. Many folks showed up at all three. Ten acts at least at each. Incredible talent. (As I frankly told one audience member, “the only difference between us and what’s on the radio is that we’re not on the radio.”)
But... incredible people, too. People whose talent wells up out of a naturalness of self. And the thing is that the selves involved are just beautiful and wonderful.
There was one FAWMer who approached me at a showcase, expressing gratitude towards Michael and me for all of our work promoting and organizing. There was a note of underlying worry. A kind of worry that says “it must have been such a burden for you.”
If you’d ask me, “Were there hard times?” I’d say yes, definitely. But I was blessed to be working alongside of some awesome people who shared them with me. “Did it stress you out?” At times. Life is busy, and enthusiasm is a poor guard against time constraints.
“Was it a burden?” A resounding and emphatic no. Because every step, good or bad, is part of the journey toward this end. I already know the outcome is good. I am already wholly convinced of that. If a difficult thing happens in the process, I can deal with it in its own moment without losing sight of the big vision.
It’s good, people!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
FAWM #8: FAWM OVER
I received a text from a friend this morning. This is how the conversation went:
Friend: MORNIN' 8:42 AM
Me: I BEAT FAWM :D 9:10 AM
Friend: Now we rehab you so you can enter society again! 9:11 AM
(Is it that obvious!?)
This is a word cloud compiled from all the lyrics I wrote or helped write this month. (Pretty cool!)
So, yep. All the songs done been written. I was surprised by my output. Someone posted on my wall telling me I had the most songs of anyone in the Philly area. (I didn't know anyone was keeping track!) This is pretty cool. But only 14 are purely "mine." I don't know. I'm flattered, but I'm also being humble about it. I wasn't competing, I was just trying to write and let God do things by my writing. And I'm really, really pleased.
ME, JUST ME!:
Songs
1. Kaleidescope Heart
2. The Stinkbug Song
3. Keep in Mind
4. I Like Trees
5. Amaranth
6. The Underground Spring
7. Vultures
8. Murre Song
9. Come June / Swallowtail
10. Your Star
11. Sea Song
Electronic
12. Game Over
13. Earth and Sky
Instrumental
14. Waltz for a Clementine
Playing nicely with others:
with Matthew Halley:
15. Let There Be Snow
16. Finding My Feet (also with Erin Magnin)
with Erin, Shane, Andrew, Michael:
17. White Kids
with Shane:
18. Flowers Gotta Grow
00. *Viva (and Stefan) (*I did not accept credit on FAWM due to limitations on listing 2+ collaborators)
with Michael:
19. Damsel of Distress
with Stefan:
20. The Errant Whistler (and... Shane. Kind of. Accidentally. Darnit Shane.)
with The Other Otter - Bryan, Josh, and Angela:
21. The Downtown
22. A Song About Physics
(and maybe a couple other tunes that I've contributed to but they're not done with 'em yet)
Now, that's a nice sight to see:
WOO now I can sleep and do laundry again! ...
Oh wait, we've got some showcases around the bend yet. :3 STAY TUNED!!
Friend: MORNIN' 8:42 AM
Me: I BEAT FAWM :D 9:10 AM
Friend: Now we rehab you so you can enter society again! 9:11 AM
(Is it that obvious!?)
This is a word cloud compiled from all the lyrics I wrote or helped write this month. (Pretty cool!)
So, yep. All the songs done been written. I was surprised by my output. Someone posted on my wall telling me I had the most songs of anyone in the Philly area. (I didn't know anyone was keeping track!) This is pretty cool. But only 14 are purely "mine." I don't know. I'm flattered, but I'm also being humble about it. I wasn't competing, I was just trying to write and let God do things by my writing. And I'm really, really pleased.
ME, JUST ME!:
Songs
1. Kaleidescope Heart
2. The Stinkbug Song
3. Keep in Mind
4. I Like Trees
5. Amaranth
6. The Underground Spring
7. Vultures
8. Murre Song
9. Come June / Swallowtail
10. Your Star
11. Sea Song
Electronic
12. Game Over
13. Earth and Sky
Instrumental
14. Waltz for a Clementine
Playing nicely with others:
with Matthew Halley:
15. Let There Be Snow
16. Finding My Feet (also with Erin Magnin)
with Erin, Shane, Andrew, Michael:
17. White Kids
with Shane:
18. Flowers Gotta Grow
00. *Viva (and Stefan) (*I did not accept credit on FAWM due to limitations on listing 2+ collaborators)
with Michael:
19. Damsel of Distress
with Stefan:
20. The Errant Whistler (and... Shane. Kind of. Accidentally. Darnit Shane.)
with The Other Otter - Bryan, Josh, and Angela:
21. The Downtown
22. A Song About Physics
(and maybe a couple other tunes that I've contributed to but they're not done with 'em yet)
Now, that's a nice sight to see:
WOO now I can sleep and do laundry again! ...
Oh wait, we've got some showcases around the bend yet. :3 STAY TUNED!!
FAWM Blog #7: The home stretch.
Well, I left you hanging around song 16. I finished up FAWM with 22 songs this year. As I mentioned, I was determined to do 14 songs entirely on my own, and I met my goal. I praise God for this. Because in all honesty, most of these last few songs have just dropped completely into my head. Much of the process, by the end of February, has become so internalized that I don't consciously think about the way I want to express it, I just do it. OR it gets dropped into my head. A couple of lyric sets I had envisioned completely different music for. Then, the way they came out was completely not what I had originally wanted, but it fit so much better than how I would have done it.
SONGS:
#17: Vultures. I will not link you to the demo because I didn't want it available for download. It's one of the most negative things I've written in a long time, though it does redeem itself at the end, and I feel it's a true representation of something deeply lodged. It's not bad to write stuff like that. But if my heart is for my brothers and sisters on the earth, I want to take time to think about what I'm going to feed into their spirits. This is most important. Yes.
Vultures was written over a period of a few days. I had meditated on the words and the meaning for awhile. In spirit, I was carrying something painful and I really wanted nothing to do with it, so I was crying out for the burden to be severed from me. I woke up one day and felt quite definitively that the vultures said no. Keep going. And while this could seem depressing, I was... relieved. Honestly. Because it was not a condemning sort of "keep on sloggin'," it was more of a "you're not as dead as you think you are - you're alive and you'll carry this just fine."
#18: Game Over. (mp3) An electronic thing. This was a verybadday. I was intentionally not eating because I had been marginally ill for a week and wasn't digesting and had a disappointing weekend at the beach and lungphlegm and the painful thing was still painful.
#19: Murre Song. (mp3) I wanted to write another Alaska song. It has taken 2.5 years for them to start trickling out. I am hoping for more soon. Anyway, this is from the liner notes: Murres!! I had a chance to study Murres in Alaska in 2008. I have always been somewhat awed by the way they come into the world. They nest on these rock cliffs (see below for photos/videos) and after being alive for 3 weeks, they "fledge" by jumping off the edge of these cliffs into the ocean IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. You've probably seen the Planet Earth ducklings jumping out of a tree. They've got NOTHING on murres.
I told Matt Halley that this was in the style of Matt Halley, and he agreed. He has been a good influence on me because he has taught me by simple example that slow and contemplative songs are powerful and worthy of my effort. I did write them before, but now I have more peace about writing them.
The next three were written between 5 pm and midnight yesterday. I am somewhat amused of the variance in genre between the three songs. Who the crap am I that I can do that? So crazy.
#20: Come June / Swallowtail. (mp3) Essentially, I've still got these three black swallowtail butterfly pupa, in their chrysalises, sitting beside the kitchen sink, overwintering. I had no idea when they'll emerge. Or even if they'll emerge at all. But I can NOT bring myself to get rid of them.
This is one that I did not expect it at ALL to sound as it does. I had this idea that this song was gonna be sad and slow and it ended up being... multifaced. Charged up at times, meditative at others, emphatic even a bit. I'm very proud of it. It's a stab at something a little new and different.
#21: Your Star. (mp3) I basically had wanted to write something with just the bass, and I also wanted to put a ton of filters on something. Again, NO IDEA. The music came out of nowhere. I was mostly just playing, I mean, for an hour I was about 8 years old writing and singing. I didn't try to write excellent lyrics, I didn't try to think about it very much at all. And I kinda... like it. :)
#22: Sea Song. (mp3) A celtic-y hymn-like thing. Pennywhistle x2 and dulcimer. This one actually came out how I thought it would.
SONGS:
#17: Vultures. I will not link you to the demo because I didn't want it available for download. It's one of the most negative things I've written in a long time, though it does redeem itself at the end, and I feel it's a true representation of something deeply lodged. It's not bad to write stuff like that. But if my heart is for my brothers and sisters on the earth, I want to take time to think about what I'm going to feed into their spirits. This is most important. Yes.
Vultures was written over a period of a few days. I had meditated on the words and the meaning for awhile. In spirit, I was carrying something painful and I really wanted nothing to do with it, so I was crying out for the burden to be severed from me. I woke up one day and felt quite definitively that the vultures said no. Keep going. And while this could seem depressing, I was... relieved. Honestly. Because it was not a condemning sort of "keep on sloggin'," it was more of a "you're not as dead as you think you are - you're alive and you'll carry this just fine."
#18: Game Over. (mp3) An electronic thing. This was a verybadday. I was intentionally not eating because I had been marginally ill for a week and wasn't digesting and had a disappointing weekend at the beach and lungphlegm and the painful thing was still painful.
#19: Murre Song. (mp3) I wanted to write another Alaska song. It has taken 2.5 years for them to start trickling out. I am hoping for more soon. Anyway, this is from the liner notes: Murres!! I had a chance to study Murres in Alaska in 2008. I have always been somewhat awed by the way they come into the world. They nest on these rock cliffs (see below for photos/videos) and after being alive for 3 weeks, they "fledge" by jumping off the edge of these cliffs into the ocean IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. You've probably seen the Planet Earth ducklings jumping out of a tree. They've got NOTHING on murres.
I told Matt Halley that this was in the style of Matt Halley, and he agreed. He has been a good influence on me because he has taught me by simple example that slow and contemplative songs are powerful and worthy of my effort. I did write them before, but now I have more peace about writing them.
The next three were written between 5 pm and midnight yesterday. I am somewhat amused of the variance in genre between the three songs. Who the crap am I that I can do that? So crazy.
#20: Come June / Swallowtail. (mp3) Essentially, I've still got these three black swallowtail butterfly pupa, in their chrysalises, sitting beside the kitchen sink, overwintering. I had no idea when they'll emerge. Or even if they'll emerge at all. But I can NOT bring myself to get rid of them.
This is one that I did not expect it at ALL to sound as it does. I had this idea that this song was gonna be sad and slow and it ended up being... multifaced. Charged up at times, meditative at others, emphatic even a bit. I'm very proud of it. It's a stab at something a little new and different.
#21: Your Star. (mp3) I basically had wanted to write something with just the bass, and I also wanted to put a ton of filters on something. Again, NO IDEA. The music came out of nowhere. I was mostly just playing, I mean, for an hour I was about 8 years old writing and singing. I didn't try to write excellent lyrics, I didn't try to think about it very much at all. And I kinda... like it. :)
#22: Sea Song. (mp3) A celtic-y hymn-like thing. Pennywhistle x2 and dulcimer. This one actually came out how I thought it would.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
FAWM Blog #5: Collaboration nation pt. II
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!!
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!!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
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 #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.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Something's in the details and it's actually good.
I kinda like that this setup totally trumps the TV. (Come to think of it, I should probably make up a dust cover for it, since I use it like, once a week, maybe?)
I always underestimate the value of having a nice workspace. And I always kid myself into thinking that music isn't work. I know, inherently, that it is work, and I do take it as seriously as I take any other job I've had. I just make stupid decisions, like, having a workspace doesn't do that much for ya.
Um, yes, it does. baka!!
I'll be the first to admit that I am in a learning process. I mean, shoot. Despite years of classical training, I hardly ever played in front of a mic before I started pursuing singer-songwritership. That takes getting used to; it's a whole crazy world of understanding how to play and sing into microphones, why feedback happens, how sound system setups work (for the longest time I wasn't even sure I knew what a "monitor" was). But the learning is fun and I don't mind admitting I'm an idiot if it means I also get to talk about having fun.
I've been selecting, detailing, preparing songs. Ditching songs that don't resonate with me (cos why should I record songs I'm not 300% in love with?). Printing out lyrics sheets to my own songs, getting into the nitty-gritty of how and why I want to express certain elements of them, questioning and editing chord choices... I freakin' love it. Details, details, details, I love them. An ounce of detail can convey pounds of meaning, even if unperceived by the majority of listeners. They matter, and I love making them matter ^^
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Feast
Well, I did it. Four songs in a row. What's called a "feast" in 50/90 or FAWM terminology. A feast is anytime you write multiple songs in the same sitting.
A couple songs, I couldn't tell you what they're about even if I tried. ("Unfamiliar Places" and "Bound Away") But the last two are about an abandoned bandana that I found while wandering the streets of Newark, and the Emerald Ash Borer, which is very much a threat to our ash trees.
All these ideas are related in that they've been kicking around my head for a little while, so I made a stab at focusing on completing a bunch at once. It was a good experiment and I'm pleased, but the problematic bit is the bit where I sit around on the computer and wait for comments. I need something to eject me from the internet.
Anyway, I've been going back and forth with various commitments. Time is precious and I haven't sat down and focused on an album, but I can sit down and spend all day writing songs. Also I still haven't got a website or anything fancy like that. I can blame it on the tighter work schedule I've got, but I know that's not all of it. You do what you want to do, ultimately, and I guess I just don't know what I want with music right now. Part of my problem is that I haven't lifted up most of it in prayer. If it's not time for an album, if that's just an idea I've got in my head that shouldn't happen right now, I'm fine with that. But have I even asked? No.
So there you go.
The fever pitch of my day job will go down drastically in three weeks when our camps end. I'm planning some stuff, including A) an appointment so I can get a really cute haircut ^^, B) vacation days for later August. I'm really looking forward to it.
A couple songs, I couldn't tell you what they're about even if I tried. ("Unfamiliar Places" and "Bound Away") But the last two are about an abandoned bandana that I found while wandering the streets of Newark, and the Emerald Ash Borer, which is very much a threat to our ash trees.
All these ideas are related in that they've been kicking around my head for a little while, so I made a stab at focusing on completing a bunch at once. It was a good experiment and I'm pleased, but the problematic bit is the bit where I sit around on the computer and wait for comments. I need something to eject me from the internet.
Anyway, I've been going back and forth with various commitments. Time is precious and I haven't sat down and focused on an album, but I can sit down and spend all day writing songs. Also I still haven't got a website or anything fancy like that. I can blame it on the tighter work schedule I've got, but I know that's not all of it. You do what you want to do, ultimately, and I guess I just don't know what I want with music right now. Part of my problem is that I haven't lifted up most of it in prayer. If it's not time for an album, if that's just an idea I've got in my head that shouldn't happen right now, I'm fine with that. But have I even asked? No.
So there you go.
The fever pitch of my day job will go down drastically in three weeks when our camps end. I'm planning some stuff, including A) an appointment so I can get a really cute haircut ^^, B) vacation days for later August. I'm really looking forward to it.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
I wrote it, but it's not mine.
Nothing currently happening in my life reflects what's going on in this song, so I have to admit it's from God to me for someone else.
Sweet Life
I've been posting other stuff, too, that I didn't feel was noteworthy enough to talk about on the blog, but here's the link to the rest of my 50/90 material. I'm 6 songs in, probably a little behind but I'm still optimistic.
Sweet Life
I've been posting other stuff, too, that I didn't feel was noteworthy enough to talk about on the blog, but here's the link to the rest of my 50/90 material. I'm 6 songs in, probably a little behind but I'm still optimistic.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
New things, new old things.
I've played an open mic nearly every week so far this year.
I don't know if that's what I'm supposed to be doing, but that's what I've done.
We went out Wednesday to Aqua * Sol's open mic. Aqua * Sol is a sweet venue - it's right on the C&D canal, next to the Summit North Marina. Perhaps an odd location and a little bit tucked away, but that just makes it something of a hidden treasure. The open mic was well-run and we made some new acquaintances... the guy who runs it also will make a recording of your performance and if it turns out, you can buy it from him. That's kinda snazzy. Since there were four of us, we asked if he could just do one CD of all of us. Haven't heard back from him about it yet but I got my fingers crossed. Stefan did a really sweet improv and the thing about improv is, if there's no recording, it exists one time and one time only, generally....
It's nice to try something new every once in awhile. Stranger, though, to have people with me when I'm trying something new. I guess most folks don't even like to do new things unless they can drag someone along with them... I like getting out of my comfort zone, though, and I find that if I try something new and I don't like it, at least I didn't make anyone else suffer through it with me. If I do like it, I can drag people back the second time.
But nooooooooooo, turns out I have friends who also like trying new things and stuff like that. Weird!
I like this story, so I'm going to tell it: we split from Aqua * Sol, but we didn't get far before we found somebody broken down at the 896/71 intersection, which is a pretty major intersection and not a good one to be broken down at... so we pulled over, Shane and I jumped out, and asked if we could help. Turns out we couldn't, but the guy was really appreciative of our offering. As we stood there, Stefan and Kayley drove up and asked if we needed help. At this point, the guy was overwhelmed and said loudly, "You people are awful young to be so nice!" (or something to that effect, of course) We were instructed to notify our parents that they had done well.
Anyways, that was that. Last night was an awesome basement show at the Palk house and I didn't play and I enjoyed the snot out of myself. Some really fantastic musicians came from pretty far away just to have a chance to play a few songs. I think that's what music does to people. It drives you to strange places to play for complete strangers and usually it works out pretty good, or if it doesn't, it's somethin' to tell the grandkids.
What music's doing to me... I feel new songs welling up. I haven't been obedient to that and sat down and wrote them out, but maybe that is what I'll do this weekend. Sequester myself and write music. If somebody could bring me a meal at some point that would be great since I'm pretty sure I'll forget to eat.
I don't know if that's what I'm supposed to be doing, but that's what I've done.
We went out Wednesday to Aqua * Sol's open mic. Aqua * Sol is a sweet venue - it's right on the C&D canal, next to the Summit North Marina. Perhaps an odd location and a little bit tucked away, but that just makes it something of a hidden treasure. The open mic was well-run and we made some new acquaintances... the guy who runs it also will make a recording of your performance and if it turns out, you can buy it from him. That's kinda snazzy. Since there were four of us, we asked if he could just do one CD of all of us. Haven't heard back from him about it yet but I got my fingers crossed. Stefan did a really sweet improv and the thing about improv is, if there's no recording, it exists one time and one time only, generally....
It's nice to try something new every once in awhile. Stranger, though, to have people with me when I'm trying something new. I guess most folks don't even like to do new things unless they can drag someone along with them... I like getting out of my comfort zone, though, and I find that if I try something new and I don't like it, at least I didn't make anyone else suffer through it with me. If I do like it, I can drag people back the second time.
But nooooooooooo, turns out I have friends who also like trying new things and stuff like that. Weird!
I like this story, so I'm going to tell it: we split from Aqua * Sol, but we didn't get far before we found somebody broken down at the 896/71 intersection, which is a pretty major intersection and not a good one to be broken down at... so we pulled over, Shane and I jumped out, and asked if we could help. Turns out we couldn't, but the guy was really appreciative of our offering. As we stood there, Stefan and Kayley drove up and asked if we needed help. At this point, the guy was overwhelmed and said loudly, "You people are awful young to be so nice!" (or something to that effect, of course) We were instructed to notify our parents that they had done well.
Anyways, that was that. Last night was an awesome basement show at the Palk house and I didn't play and I enjoyed the snot out of myself. Some really fantastic musicians came from pretty far away just to have a chance to play a few songs. I think that's what music does to people. It drives you to strange places to play for complete strangers and usually it works out pretty good, or if it doesn't, it's somethin' to tell the grandkids.
What music's doing to me... I feel new songs welling up. I haven't been obedient to that and sat down and wrote them out, but maybe that is what I'll do this weekend. Sequester myself and write music. If somebody could bring me a meal at some point that would be great since I'm pretty sure I'll forget to eat.
Monday, March 21, 2011
The story behind the song: "Small Town Places"
I've been residing in Delaware a year and a half now. Yesterday, for the first time, I realized that I actually live here. Y'see, there's this thing called Rita's 'round these parts, and they give away free water ice on the first day of spring (which was yesterday). Despite growing up in what is essentially the rural Pennsylvanian suburbs of Newark, I never knew this 'till last year.
Not only did I enjoy free Rita's yesterday - every two seconds, it seemed like I was running into someone else I knew. People from church. People from work. People from meeting other people. Most of which I've only met within the last year.
It was really weird, coming back. If you asked me at 19 where I'd be when I grew up, I'da told you, "anywhere except there." It's not that I hated the place, there was just nothing to draw me back. Nothing, anyway, that overpowered the draw of wanderlust and the smell of adventure. As far as I was concerned, I'd seen everything to be seen.
College was adventure. Not knowing my way was adventure. Alaska and DC were an adventure. And developing a relationship with God, I finally found out, was the best adventure of all. Ironically, though, God called me back here. To go to a church that is two miles from where I grew up. God is funny like that. Whenever an area of pride gets broken down in me, I just laugh. It's absurd to be proud of anything in the face of a God that made everything.
During FAWM this year, I sat in the Eagle Diner on Elkton Road one night, having arrived early for want of a place to sit, drink coffee, and write. With a blank page before me, I began to stare blankly around the place, waiting for something to spill over from my mind into the notebook. As it turns out, there are these pencil sketches that adorn the walls of the Eagle. I've been going to this place nearly every Thursday for a year now, and though the sketches are for sale, not a one of them has ever sold. Probably because they're of random locations in a tiny little town, and to be honest, they're nobody's masterpiece.
But the poorly-rendered locations caught and snagged on a corner of my prickly little heart, and I realized that those places actually mean something to me. What's more, I wasn't as irritated about it as I thought I'd be - irritated at being stuck in a dinky little town with nothing to offer, when I could be wandering and boldly executing my life as I saw fit out in God-knows-where.
Instead, I'm here, and I'm happy, because there is an adventure to be lived here. Many adventures. With many people. Who are wonderful. And with God, who is also wonderful.
The Eagle Diner, according to recent reports, is slated to close on Monday, March 28th. Granted, it's been rumored to have been closing for the entire last year, but I think this is for reals. And I actually care about it, which is strange and wonderful in its own right. We had our FAWM Meet and Greet at the Eagle Diner. I met so many awesome people there. I honestly remember the first time I was invited to hang with folks there, which was a blessing in a painful time. Had so many late-night conversations, the kind that are deep and surprise you with how they sneak up on you. Got yelled at for being too loud. And I wrote this song there.
"Small Town Places" (click to listen)
Everything inside was screaming "run while you can";
you listened to the whisper whose small refrain was "stay."
There's never been a town where you imagined settling down;
"anywhere but here" is the prayer that you'd pray.
And now the small town places are hangin' on the wall,
places made of wherewithal and spit.
They're the landmarks on your tour of insanity du jour;
offered up the bullet and you bit.
You're a voice without a vision, firing cannons in the dark,
blindly aiming by the only light you see.
As cities throw their detritus of beams into the sky,
the country moon is watchin' all horizons bleed.
And now the small town places are hangin' on the wall,
sketches never bought or sold.
They're the X's on the map of your adventure and a half,
a tale that's not worth telling 'till it's told.
(interlude)
And now the small town places are passin' as you go,
familiar streets and old decrepit stores.
Occupying the real estate on the wall of things you can't escape,
and you don't think you mind it anymore.
You don't think you mind it anymore.
No, you don't really mind it anymore.
Not only did I enjoy free Rita's yesterday - every two seconds, it seemed like I was running into someone else I knew. People from church. People from work. People from meeting other people. Most of which I've only met within the last year.
It was really weird, coming back. If you asked me at 19 where I'd be when I grew up, I'da told you, "anywhere except there." It's not that I hated the place, there was just nothing to draw me back. Nothing, anyway, that overpowered the draw of wanderlust and the smell of adventure. As far as I was concerned, I'd seen everything to be seen.
College was adventure. Not knowing my way was adventure. Alaska and DC were an adventure. And developing a relationship with God, I finally found out, was the best adventure of all. Ironically, though, God called me back here. To go to a church that is two miles from where I grew up. God is funny like that. Whenever an area of pride gets broken down in me, I just laugh. It's absurd to be proud of anything in the face of a God that made everything.
During FAWM this year, I sat in the Eagle Diner on Elkton Road one night, having arrived early for want of a place to sit, drink coffee, and write. With a blank page before me, I began to stare blankly around the place, waiting for something to spill over from my mind into the notebook. As it turns out, there are these pencil sketches that adorn the walls of the Eagle. I've been going to this place nearly every Thursday for a year now, and though the sketches are for sale, not a one of them has ever sold. Probably because they're of random locations in a tiny little town, and to be honest, they're nobody's masterpiece.
But the poorly-rendered locations caught and snagged on a corner of my prickly little heart, and I realized that those places actually mean something to me. What's more, I wasn't as irritated about it as I thought I'd be - irritated at being stuck in a dinky little town with nothing to offer, when I could be wandering and boldly executing my life as I saw fit out in God-knows-where.
Instead, I'm here, and I'm happy, because there is an adventure to be lived here. Many adventures. With many people. Who are wonderful. And with God, who is also wonderful.
The Eagle Diner, according to recent reports, is slated to close on Monday, March 28th. Granted, it's been rumored to have been closing for the entire last year, but I think this is for reals. And I actually care about it, which is strange and wonderful in its own right. We had our FAWM Meet and Greet at the Eagle Diner. I met so many awesome people there. I honestly remember the first time I was invited to hang with folks there, which was a blessing in a painful time. Had so many late-night conversations, the kind that are deep and surprise you with how they sneak up on you. Got yelled at for being too loud. And I wrote this song there.
"Small Town Places" (click to listen)
Everything inside was screaming "run while you can";
you listened to the whisper whose small refrain was "stay."
There's never been a town where you imagined settling down;
"anywhere but here" is the prayer that you'd pray.
And now the small town places are hangin' on the wall,
places made of wherewithal and spit.
They're the landmarks on your tour of insanity du jour;
offered up the bullet and you bit.
You're a voice without a vision, firing cannons in the dark,
blindly aiming by the only light you see.
As cities throw their detritus of beams into the sky,
the country moon is watchin' all horizons bleed.
And now the small town places are hangin' on the wall,
sketches never bought or sold.
They're the X's on the map of your adventure and a half,
a tale that's not worth telling 'till it's told.
(interlude)
And now the small town places are passin' as you go,
familiar streets and old decrepit stores.
Occupying the real estate on the wall of things you can't escape,
and you don't think you mind it anymore.
You don't think you mind it anymore.
No, you don't really mind it anymore.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
FAWM post #12 - The results of 2011
Well, folks... it's been three days since the FAWM season officially closed. In those three days, I have been too busy to even think about having a life, which meant my final FAWM blog post was delayed a bit.
But it's here! So join me as I procrastinate on things my neighbors would appreciate, such as fixing the rut I put in my lawn and weeding my garden... this might be a long'n.
First, I'm going to do myself a favor and list my songs, link them directly to their respective MP3 files (so that clicking on them will bring you to the actual sound file), and give a short self-critique. Next year, my FAWM page will be wiped clean so that I can put up more stuff, so this is my own little archive.
1 The Invitation
Loved starting out with a banjo tune, pretty happy with the chorus. not sure about that bridge.
2 The Migration
An arty enviro song. glad I wrote at least one of these. I honestly think I expressed exactly what I wanted to.
3 Little Bird (with jocelyn)
Awesome collab which I really enjoyed. This was the only collab where someone gave a complete set of lyrics which I then set.
4 A Rather Politely Phrased Request From A Fellow Citizen and Motorist
This one was so fun. A good song for the open mic at the bar ^^
5 Invention for Dulcimer
Goin' out on a limb with this one. Instrumental. Not sure this is actually how you play dulcimer, but I actually love the construction of the music. May develop it.
6 The Sun (is free energy!)
An educational enviro song. WITH BANJO! It's very fun and I'm glad I wrote it.
7 Small Town Places
This one was sprung on me. It was never on my list of ideas. But I'm glad it's there. More thoughtful and slow.
8 Irish Platypus (with heyzach)
My first in-person collab. Ever. (Ever!) Instrumental. Our musical ideas are so varied.
9 The Five Stages of Infatuation
Another fun one for the bar, like the traffic song. Just a caricature of the rigmarole of being single. Through-composed, too!
10 Peter (with natrin)
I love them all, but I love this one. The recording's good except for that one note that I'm flat on >.< I really love the mandolin solo. Personalizing the story of Peter walking on water was just fun. Making a video was awesome, which was Michael's idea, not mine...!
11 Jimmy Baker and the Bees
Enviro song, upbeat, educational, fun, funny. It's my inner Shel Silverstein coming out.
12 Crowns
I personally think this is the most beautiful song I wrote all FAWM. I think because it is a perfect encapsulation and expression of what I was dealing with, musically and lyrically. I figured this would probably confuse folks who know me, but I also figured they could just ask me if it was really a problem.
13 Mud Season
I didn't like this one when I put it up. I felt like putting it up was a cop-out. Could be developed.
14 Looking For Words (Tyranny of Complexity) (with shanepalko)
I'm rocking a bassline in this one, and doing some singing. Shane's doing everything else. This one really moves. I find it gets caught in my brain.
15 Por Supuesto
I actually really love Spanish. I really seriously regret that I don't practice it more. But this set of lyrics came to me in Spanish, so I brushed up and wrote it down. I love harmonizing, too ^^
16 Third Grade Music Class (the recorder song) (with wolfeman217)
... I really don't count this one. It's amusing to me because we had three very talented guitarists in a room together and... we write a stupid thing on recorders. Cripes.
17 Space Trash
Michael requested this one months ago. I'm still working on a list of suggestions, but Michael is persistent so I made it a goal to get it done this FAWM. It's pretty silly.
So, overall... I got 4 environmental songs, 2-3 that are upbeat and silly, 2-3 that are more solemn and deep, 10-12 songs that I would feel comfortable bringing up to speed for the stage, and some great collaborations with other artists. I'm really very happy about that. ^^
What now? Now we prepare for the FAWM showcase, I cross off some of my spring goals (yes, I keep an excel spreadsheet of my goals), take a short breather, clean the house, weed the garden, and then get moving again.
It's not easy, it's really not. I will admit that this business of being whatever I am is a lot of work. But I will also admit that it's what I am, and I find fulfillment in it. Not just joy, not just pleasure... fulfillment. I could just ignore music, hunker down, live life like a normal middle-class American and die, but that's just survival. It's more than loving what you do, or pretending that you love what you do (because you force yourself to love it). It's tuning into the voice of your own discontent and allowing it to draw you deeper into the fulfilling stuff that makes no sense to the world or the folks that live in it.
Because ultimately, it makes no sense to do any of this, in terms that the world understands. But God, I can't not.
But it's here! So join me as I procrastinate on things my neighbors would appreciate, such as fixing the rut I put in my lawn and weeding my garden... this might be a long'n.
First, I'm going to do myself a favor and list my songs, link them directly to their respective MP3 files (so that clicking on them will bring you to the actual sound file), and give a short self-critique. Next year, my FAWM page will be wiped clean so that I can put up more stuff, so this is my own little archive.
1 The Invitation
Loved starting out with a banjo tune, pretty happy with the chorus. not sure about that bridge.
2 The Migration
An arty enviro song. glad I wrote at least one of these. I honestly think I expressed exactly what I wanted to.
3 Little Bird (with jocelyn)
Awesome collab which I really enjoyed. This was the only collab where someone gave a complete set of lyrics which I then set.
4 A Rather Politely Phrased Request From A Fellow Citizen and Motorist
This one was so fun. A good song for the open mic at the bar ^^
5 Invention for Dulcimer
Goin' out on a limb with this one. Instrumental. Not sure this is actually how you play dulcimer, but I actually love the construction of the music. May develop it.
6 The Sun (is free energy!)
An educational enviro song. WITH BANJO! It's very fun and I'm glad I wrote it.
7 Small Town Places
This one was sprung on me. It was never on my list of ideas. But I'm glad it's there. More thoughtful and slow.
8 Irish Platypus (with heyzach)
My first in-person collab. Ever. (Ever!) Instrumental. Our musical ideas are so varied.
9 The Five Stages of Infatuation
Another fun one for the bar, like the traffic song. Just a caricature of the rigmarole of being single. Through-composed, too!
10 Peter (with natrin)
I love them all, but I love this one. The recording's good except for that one note that I'm flat on >.< I really love the mandolin solo. Personalizing the story of Peter walking on water was just fun. Making a video was awesome, which was Michael's idea, not mine...!
11 Jimmy Baker and the Bees
Enviro song, upbeat, educational, fun, funny. It's my inner Shel Silverstein coming out.
12 Crowns
I personally think this is the most beautiful song I wrote all FAWM. I think because it is a perfect encapsulation and expression of what I was dealing with, musically and lyrically. I figured this would probably confuse folks who know me, but I also figured they could just ask me if it was really a problem.
13 Mud Season
I didn't like this one when I put it up. I felt like putting it up was a cop-out. Could be developed.
14 Looking For Words (Tyranny of Complexity) (with shanepalko)
I'm rocking a bassline in this one, and doing some singing. Shane's doing everything else. This one really moves. I find it gets caught in my brain.
15 Por Supuesto
I actually really love Spanish. I really seriously regret that I don't practice it more. But this set of lyrics came to me in Spanish, so I brushed up and wrote it down. I love harmonizing, too ^^
16 Third Grade Music Class (the recorder song) (with wolfeman217)
... I really don't count this one. It's amusing to me because we had three very talented guitarists in a room together and... we write a stupid thing on recorders. Cripes.
17 Space Trash
Michael requested this one months ago. I'm still working on a list of suggestions, but Michael is persistent so I made it a goal to get it done this FAWM. It's pretty silly.
So, overall... I got 4 environmental songs, 2-3 that are upbeat and silly, 2-3 that are more solemn and deep, 10-12 songs that I would feel comfortable bringing up to speed for the stage, and some great collaborations with other artists. I'm really very happy about that. ^^
What now? Now we prepare for the FAWM showcase, I cross off some of my spring goals (yes, I keep an excel spreadsheet of my goals), take a short breather, clean the house, weed the garden, and then get moving again.
It's not easy, it's really not. I will admit that this business of being whatever I am is a lot of work. But I will also admit that it's what I am, and I find fulfillment in it. Not just joy, not just pleasure... fulfillment. I could just ignore music, hunker down, live life like a normal middle-class American and die, but that's just survival. It's more than loving what you do, or pretending that you love what you do (because you force yourself to love it). It's tuning into the voice of your own discontent and allowing it to draw you deeper into the fulfilling stuff that makes no sense to the world or the folks that live in it.
Because ultimately, it makes no sense to do any of this, in terms that the world understands. But God, I can't not.
Friday, February 25, 2011
FAWM post #11 - I'm a winner!
On Wednesday, I wrote "Mud Season," a short instrumental I consider to be only a very rough draft of a song to come:
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
FAWM post #9: Only one week left?!
Aiieeeeeeee! Panic!
I only have three songs left to meet the 14-song quota. I wrote another one today, "Jimmy Baker and the Bees," to add to my collection of nature-based songs:
I only have three songs left to meet the 14-song quota. I wrote another one today, "Jimmy Baker and the Bees," to add to my collection of nature-based songs:
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