Validation - Part 3 of 3

Part 3 of 3

In another segment, Marie was talking about the song "Live Like You Were Dying," which was co-written by Craig Wiseman. She points out the "Nashville No-No" in the song when it starts, "he said I was..." and the song never tells you who "he" is. She pointed out that NSAI's eval service would most likely point this out and it goes to show you why you don't ignore your gut to follow the textbook way of doing it. Again, a point of validation to me personally, as I've said this all along.

My song Fireproof - http://www.reverbnation.com/jimmyanderson/song/14528640-fireproof - was one of the ones I sent in to NSAI toward the end. He didn't get it... First he said that I repeated statue and should have used a different word. He also said my line "into the furnace bound" was wrong - it should have been "bound for the furnace." He missed the fact that they were "tied up" and not "headed for." SMH Guess he didn't go to Sunday School. ;-)

I'm actually proud of that song in that I told the same story of the Hebrew guys, but used rhymes that were NOT the standard ones you hear in songs on that topic. I think the song is unique and a good bluegrass song, but he didn't think so. But I'm not changing it for him... :-)

Marie points out later in the episode that's "it's a really good organization." I must stop here and concur. I have "met" via the forums people from other parts of the country and had good conversations with them as well as gained at least one co-writer. I say "at least" one because there's a song we worked on together called Wandering Eyes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mCF82pVz_4 We have others in the works and there is a lady I "met" there that I'm also collaborating with, but we've not finished anything yet due to MY time constraints.

Steve and Marie both mentioned their own - um - lack of enthusiasm with their experience with the song evaluation service. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that feels that way. Wandering Eyes, for example, was sent in for eval by the other co-writer and he was told "ebb and flow" is not conversational English. That's for Americana, not country, and it should be changed. Well I happen to like Americana and I enjoy being "labeled" as such.  --- do third graders know what ebb and flow means? ;-)

I will say that I had one GREAT eval from lucky #13... I sent in Reflections of You - http://www.reverbnation.com/jimmyanderson/song/15988985-reflections-of-you - and he gave me encouragement as well as some GREAT ideas. The link above is actually where I re-wrote it based on some of his suggestions, and I do think it's a much stronger song. His particular eval would probably make a good checklist of great writing tips. The other eval's I got, though not necessarily "bad," were not helpful as they didn't give me anything to help me convey the message, but instead were filled with what I did "wrong."

I've also decided to stop calling myself an aspiring song writer. That makes it sound like I'm "not there" yet. It's true I don't have a cut - or a hold - or otherwise made any money, but that does NOT take away from the fact that I *am* a songwriter. I have written songs. Period. I don't tell people I'm an aspiring musician, but that I *am* a musician, and have been for years.

Steve addressed me in a later part of the show when he mentioned writers like us will "keep on keeping on" and our audience will find us. Six or twelve months ago that would have been harder to believe, but with the recent "Old Farts and Jackasses" movement, I have faith that "my type" of traditionalistic music is actually in demand. Maybe not the high demand that Kountry radio inspires, but demand nonetheless. Again, a point of validation.

(And no, Steve, that's not what I'm into - LOL)

Validation - part 2 of 3

Part 2 of 3

Later in the show, Steve and Marie talk about the song evaluation service offered by NSAI. I joined for one reason and one reason only - to be able to audition at Bluebird and somehow be discovered there. If you live more than 100 miles from Nashville they will not let you audition unless you're a member. They say it's to make sure you are committed to your practice, etc. That may be the case, but it's also a way of getting dues paying members.

One of the "benefits," and I use that term loosely, to being a member is their song evaluation service. I sent in Lower Broadway -  http://www.reverbnation.com/jimmyanderson/song/14373349-lower-broadway  - and the evaluator said it was too long (I know that - it's built in such a way you can cut out the last verse and/or a chorus refrain and it will still "work") for commercial radio and that none on the radio today would sing it because it's too sad. He suggested I put SOMETHING positive in there so it's not so sad. The purpose of the song is to be "real"and I think sad is the way to go. I've performed this song in public and it ALWAYS gets a great response, and I've had other artists come up to me and talk about how "authentic" the song is. That's a better evaluation to me anyway. :)

I was hoping the eval service would lead to what they call "pitch to publisher." They say that if the song is "ready" it will go higher up the food chain, and I had hoped this song would be recommended. I realized that unless it's something THEY like it would never go further, so I decided not to use the service. Once I had auditioned at Bluebird the third and fourth time and nailed it in my opinion, I realized I'm too "traditional" and I'll never be what THEY are looking for. I realized I had some "free" evals left, though, and I was going to lose them anyway so I sent in a few songs. I pretty well got back what I was expecting. One even told me, "this is not country - this is Americana." I took that as a complement. :-)

Back to Craig - one quote I loved - "it's all about the journey." He mentions that you MUST excite yourself with your own songwriting. If you're not excited by it, how is the world going to? He also said , "life is obstacles - are you focused on your goals or on your obstacles?" That's an encouraging reminder.


Come back tomorrow for Part 3...

Validation - part 1 of 3

This blog post turned out to be so long that I decided to break it into thirds...



Part 1 of 3

I just finished the latest episode of The Commercial Suicide Songwriting Podcast and felt such a validation of my thoughts and methods...

I am currently listening again as I really want it to soak in, and I want to mention a few specific things... Here's the link - http://feeds.feedburner.com/cssongwritingpodcast

And I am referring to Episode 11. If you are an aspiring songwriter, you should listen. Even if you are not but you are interested in the process, you should listen. :-)

First - as a direct reply to the topic of Immersion - I would be willing to give that a try... In my daily writing, I am much like Steve in that I wait for inspiration to hit. Whenever I do sit down to write, though, I can usually coax something out, but I don't like it to feel forced...

Next, there were some very wise words shared from Craig Wiseman. The first thing that jumped out at me was his comment about not regretting writing any song. You might notice the name of this blog - Life So Far. That's from the great song line "life's been good to me so far" and also refers to my belief that we are who we are today because of everything that's happened to us "so far."

So - he doesn't regret and neither do I. The songs I've written had a purpose - whether it was to work out a personal issue (therapy) or just to work past one idea to get to another. They all mean something to me and probably others as well, once they hear them. ;-)

I find it interesting that Craig "cautioned against being involved in 'the songwriter groups or organizations that are into tearing your stuff apart and making you rewrite it.'" This validates a feeling I've had for a while, but thought I might just not know what I was talking about. :-)

When I first started visiting Nashville as an aspiring songwriter, I saw 'getting a cut' equating to success. Now I was 44 at the time and not the fresh kid in from the farm. I had lived enough and been around enough people in various businesses to recognize marketing when I saw it. Well I saw it right away...

I realized that there is an entire industry built around the wannabe. I don't mean that as a derogatory term... I mean the aspiring artist and/or songwriter that just wants to be or write the next big hit. It seems like everyone has a workshop or master plan. "Come to my workshop and learn the right way to do it" or "join us and have an inside connection with the people in the biz."

Is there anything wrong with this? No, but as a mature adult I recognized it for what it was - a music business that thrives on people wanting to be in THE music business. They are not the gatekeepers, and they are not the key holders to the real gatekeepers, but they market themselves as such.

Why have I never said anything before? Two very strong reasons... First, I didn't want to sound jaded. I didn't want to sound like I'm bitter because I "failed," when I don't really feel that way at all. And second, because I didn't want to spit in the eye of people that MIGHT actually help me some day. A "commercial suicide," if you will.

Now I realize that it doesn't matter how close to the circle you dance, it doesn't get you IN the circle. And at the same time it doesn't matter how far AWAY from the circle you dance, if the right person sees or hears then they will bring you in.



More tomorrow in Part 2...

Auto tune article

Just read a wonderful article (shout out to Craig Havighurst for tweeting it).

"@chavighurst: In case you missed it, the best article about auto-tune ever: http://t.co/kYQOIZYfyG"

First, I must say that going into the article I was dead set against auto tune. I'm a fan of live music and the little "misses" and ad-libs just give music & singing character. Yes you want it to be pleasing to the ear, but natural pleasing is always better than fake pleasing to me.

There were several things in the article worth quoting - "As humans, we crave connection, not perfection." I couldn't agree more, which is one reason I prefer live acoustic music - from both sides of the microphone.

"“It’s makin’ me money, so I ain’t about to stop!” T-Pain told DJ Skee in 2008."

This reminds me that it's the music BUSINESS and profit drives it, so it comes as no surprise. Like other things in modern music though, *I* don't have to like it. :-)

There's an analogy that the creator of auto tune uses when asks is it evil - “My wife wears makeup, does that make her evil?”

That's a great analogy. I prefer women with less makeup - more natural and less fake, but a little eye shadow never hurt. :-) But makeup caked on like a clown face... Nope.

He also says - “I just make the car. I don’t drive it down the wrong side of the road.”

This next quote really sums up the main problem I have with auto tune - "Neil Young, Bob Dylan, many of the classic artists whose voices are less than pitch perfect – they probably would be pitch corrected if they started out today."

This next quote is kind of long, but you need the entire paragraph to see it in context...

“"I was listening to some young people in a studio a few years ago, and they were like, ‘I don’t think The Beatles were so good,’” says producer Eric Drew Feldman. They were discussing the song “Paperback Writer.” “They’re going, ‘They were so sloppy! The harmonies are so flat!”"

Now ANY technology that makes people think the Beatles were "[not] so good" should raise a red flag. Okay, maybe not the technology, but the overuse of it at least.

Again, I'm a fan of live music. I like it organic. I play with a gospel group most weekends and they still use a lot of live music but they also use more and more tracks. They are doing something I've started seeing a trend of - using tracks for part of the music and playing along using the live instruments.

Now don't get me wrong - I'm not knocking it! It has allowed more and more people to experience singing in public, and that's a good thing. But given my druthers... Well - it's live music all the way. :-)

The article's author ends with an example of letting a friend use auto tune to let four of them sing in good harmony. It made something mediocre into something they were proud of, and that's okay.

By the end of the article I had changed my mind about auto tune. I don't hate it anymore, but I do hate the overuse of it. :-)

Here's the last quote, and I think it's a great summation of her thoughts as well as mine...

"The Auto-Tune or not Auto-Tune debate always seems to turn into a moralistic one, like somehow you have more integrity if you don’t use it, or only use it occasionally. But seeing how really innocuous-yet-lovely it could be, made me rethink. If I were a professional musician, would I reject the opportunity to sound, what I consider to be, “my best,” out of principle?

The answer to that is probably no. But then it gets you wondering. How many insecure artists with “annoying” voices will retune themselves before you ever have a chance to fall in love?"

Encouragement

I attended the meeting of MSA last night - Memphis Songwriters Association. I was encouraged.

This may not be what you think, so keep reading...

Yes, I did a song (Hometown Proud - Vanessa has the video on her phone) and received GREAT feedback, so that was an encouragement, but the bigger encouragement I felt was just being around music and other songwriters for a change!

The guest speaker plugged in his guitar and started talking about himself and his career in music. This was interesting, but then he popped on a capo and started playing a chord progression.

Next thing I know I'm hearing REAL music played by a live person singing words that he wrote and I was surrounded by other people that were LISTENING. It was NOT just background noise - it was the reason we were all there.

Why is this an encouragement? Since Music Highway Crossroads closed for winter renovation, there has been no "listening room" place for me to go. It was a refreshing change and it was encouragement to me to continue licking this dream.

Last week we had our Relay for Life fund raiser and it was fun and a great cause, but the music was more background static for MOST people there. Not me, of course. Even when I wasn't in front of the mic I was taking it all in, but it just wasn't the same.

Thus also encourages me to be more diligent about finding a place in Dyersburg to have a singer/songwriter event. The venue I had in mind and was working on using fell through for now. The owner still WANTS to, but the logistics are not working out. Before last night I was thinking "oh well - maybe someday." Not now... I WILL find a place to have it (I have a particular venue in mind - just have to follow up). I will let you know...

Another Twitter Response

I have another twitter post I'd like to respond to, but this will take more than 140 characters, so I'm posting here...

Here's the tweet -

@SongwritersCafe: If you believe you never write bad songs, it might be that you need someone with a more objective opinion. #songwriting

My response - bad? That's a strong word. Maybe not every song is an instant radio hit, but I dare say that each and every song that's rolls off the tongue or guitar or keyboard can have a PURPOSE.

They may not be "golden words," but they might be a self-therapy. They might be something emotional to one person or family. They might be something the songwriter has never done before and it's an attempt to stretch out in a new style or rhyming scheme.

So a "bad" song? No. You might write what I would call a bad song but Britt is in the eye of the beholder...

Keep writing - I know I will. :-)

Walking it...

This is a response to a tweet by my social media friend Adam Levy... He linked to a tumbler post and my reply would have been more than 140 characters, so I thought I'd just post it here...

First - the original tweet -

@stringjuggler: Guitar Tip: Walk it like you talk it. - When I improvise, I'm not looking to impress anyone, or to outplay... http://t.co/RtcS7U6Vrc

Be sure to follow the link - I will wait. :-)

Okay - done? I have actually noticed this phenomena when working on lead instrumentals. The arrangement fits so well that you think you are hearing the lead Instrament play more than they really are.

This tip encourages me to NOT try and fill all the spaces. I played rhythm guitar and then bass guitar so much that I think I have to "hit every note" or "fill every gap" when really I don't have to.

Thanks Adam! All your tips are great but this one hits home a little closer... ;-)