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The Muse's News |
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Issue 3.4 - July 2000
ISSN 1480-6975
[ Back to The Muse's News Index ] [ Home ]
This issue sponsored by:
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I n T h i s I s s u e :
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@-- Editor's Musings
@-- Q&A with Nancy A. Reece from Carpe Diem Copyright Management
@-- Music Reviews - by Ben Ohmart
@-- Songwriting Book Review - by Jodi Krangle
@-- Featured Article - OUT OF THE BOX by James Linderman
@-- Musical Notes - Songwriting Contests & Market Info.
@-- Muse's Clues - by Irene Jackson
@-- Songwriter In Spotlight - Dove nominee, Chuck Leonard
@-- On Site Featured Article - An article already online for your
viewing pleasure.
@-- Classifieds & Useful Services
@-- Contact information
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ISSN 1480-6975. Copyright 1998 - Jodi Krangle. For more contact
information, see end of issue.
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If you enjoy The Muse's News, why not suggest it to friends?
http://recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=333678
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This ezine featured at EzineCenter.com - the Ezine Search
Engine(tm) - http://www.ezinecenter.com/
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S p o n s o r M e s s a g e :
(Please support the sponsors that support this newsletter! Thanks!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LYRICIST! THE SONGWRITER'S BEST FRIEND HAS ARRIVED . . .
Virtual Studio Systems, Inc. is proud to announce Lyricist, the
first of its kind word processor designed for musicians,
songwriters, and poets. Includes rhyming dictionary, spell checker,
thesaurus, album categorization and more. Visit our web-site
http://www.virtualstudiosystems.com/ to download your FREE 30-DAY TRIAL
COPY and find out about our low 45-day introductory sale price.
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E d i t o r ' s M u s i n g s :
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Lots of changes at The Muse's Muse this month! First of all,
you've probably noticed by now that I'm starting to introduce a new
design. I find it much more streamlined and quick to load than the
last version - and a *lot* less cluttered. I hope you'll like it
as much as I do. Gradually, the entire site will be converted. For
now, just the top layers are completed as I carefully make sure
everything's working properly. If you find a problem, feel free to
e-mail me about it, ok? I really appreciate your patience.
There's been a new addition to the Songwriting Spotlights this
month too. Have a listen to Tris McCall at
http://www.musesmuse.com/samplesong-m.html#tris . Great music, fun,
educational (everything you ever wanted to know about New Jersey
but were afraid to ask! :-)) - what more do you need? Seriously,
folks - Tris is extremely talented as both a musician and a
lyricist and I was very happy to add him to the spotlight roster.
Well worth the listen!
The winner of this month's book raffle, a copy of David Wimble's
THE INDIE CONTACT BIBLE, goes to Craig Evans from Richmond, VA.
Congratulations, Craig! I'm certain you'll find the book
incredibly useful. For a review of this book and information on
how you can get your own copy, read on.
We have a new columnist! Danny McBride has been an ASCAP writer
for twenty-five years, and is best known as a performer from his
days as ShaNaNa lead guitarist and television personality "Dirty
Dan" on the ShaNaNa Show. You've probably noticed a few of his
articles around The Muse's Muse already. One of his articles was
in the Muse's News a few issues back, in fact. His column will
deal with the more humorous side of songwriting. Let's face it.
Most of us are so caught up in the business/work end of things that
we forget what it's like to LAUGH about it. Danny will help us
remember. The two articles he's already submitted are included in
his section at http://www.musesmuse.com/amusemyself.html - but
there's going to be lots more to come, so stay tuned! (Thanks,
Danny!)
And I think that's about it. As per usual, best of luck and above
all, love what you do.
--Jodi
Back to Menu
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C o p y r i g h t & P u b l i s h i n g Q & A :
with Nancy A. Reece of Carpe Diem Copyright Management
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Q: Hi Nancy,
Am a recent subscriber to muse's news and would like to know what
the legal fine points of the word "phrases" means pertaining to
copyright registration in which they state : "Phrases are not
copyrightable." I would like to submit my original music to film
and TV industry contacts (as well as A&R departments in the record
industry) and want to know how my copyright (registered or not)
would protect me when a great deal of music used is in the form of
clips, if you will, and hesitate to send material for this reason!
This would also be helpful when considering the use of short, but
recognizable portions of other copyright material, (owned by
others) as well, in my own work. Thanx much, Andy
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A: Thank you for a unique question Andy!
The use "phrases" refers to titles and slogans that should be
trademarked instead. You need to go ahead with your PA and/or SR
forms to register your copyrights.
When you pitch portions of the works, be sure to indicated your
copyright notice as you would the entire work. Be sure that you
have permission to represent any other owners of any works or
portions, thereof.
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Q: Hello Nancy,
I have two copyrights done as a collection, ten songs on each. The
only reason why I did it this way is to save $360.00. A friend of
mine told me that I will have to pay 20.00 a song in the long run
anyway,so why not pay it now? Is this true? Thank you, Sam C.
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A: Hello Sam:
The registration fees are up. Be sure to visit the U. S. Copyright
Office Web page for current registration procedures.
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/reg.html
To be fully protected on each composition, you would want to
register each separately, as well as each sound recording. Many
publishers choose to register groupings. Review the procedures
again and see what best fits your situation.
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Q: Hi Nancy,
I am a little confused over the copyright and publishing laws. When
copyrighting something through the US Copyright office do you or
don't you own the rights to its production ie... you wrote a song
(lyrics and music) but did not record it and applied for the
copyright. Somebody else records the song and copyrights the
recording. Do they own the publishing rights?
Thanx, Confused in Alaska
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A: Don't be confused Lance. When you hear a recorded song you are
hearing 2 separate copyrights. The copyright to the underlying
work, the composition, is one item of intellectual property. The
sound recording is another, separate item of intellectual property.
You can have an 10 song project where there are 20 separate
copyrights and a 21st on the compilation! Even more items of
property may exists if there are co-publishers.
If you write a song and retain the publishing rights, you would
need to issue a mechanical license for someone else to record the
song. The rights in that license are specific.
The owner of the sound recording can not exploit the use of that
copyright beyond what is in the agreement. Further permission
would need to be secured for additional uses.
Without a written transfer of ownership, the creator of the
composition retains ownership.
*****
Carpe Diem's owner and president, Nancy A. Reece has been
involved in the music business since 1983. She was the president
of an independent advertising agency for eight years as well as a
successful personal artist manager for nine years. She
represented the careers of several recording artists and
songwriters including those with EMI, Zomba and Liberty Records
as well as Benson, Starsong, WoodBridge, Temple Hall and N'Soul
Records. She also represented, for a number of years, a Grammy
and Dove nominated record producer. Reece has won awards of
excellence in print magazine advertising and has been named as
one of 2,000 Notable American Women (1995) as well as being
listed in the International Who's Who of Professional and
Business Women (1993). She was also named Cashbox Magazine's
Promoter of the Year (1989).
**If you would like to ask Nancy a copyright or publishing
question for our continuing Q&A section, please send your e-mail
to nreece@musesmuse.com. She can't guarantee she'll get to all of
the questions, but she'll certainly try.**
Back to Menu
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M u s i c R e v i e w s : by Ben Ohmart
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Stanley Davis Nice… Nice
I agree with the cd title. Sometimes it’s nicer than that. Tracks
like ‘Time Strands’, with the World Music vocals, the bongos, the
busy piano, the whatever the hell else there is, combine to make a
thoughtful listening experience. Then there are the ‘See Whirled’
tracks that bridge the gap between jazz, new age, a twist of regal
Christianity, and surprise rhythm. This is an instrumental cd,
unless you count the non-English voice that comes in on a couple
tracks. Don’t count on it, but sit back and listen to something
Nice… Nice that is awfully good on the whole. There are moments of
hokey sounds, but they are few and far between. What is mainly the
Point of this cd is a mixture of styles, to be embraced in a
relaxed state. Sometimes you’ll feel you’re listening to the plants
at Epcot, and you will pause a moment, and contemplate.
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Sly Dog
The b&w cd cover shows a little bit of a demonic bull dog peeking
out from a tree. He seems to be waiting for his nemesis. He seems
to be pissed, or freshly without piss and mean. Any explanation can
be sewn onto the jackets of this hard rock band playing like the
old Van Halen spirit minus the intricate lead guitar breaks. The
guitars are hot and wired, as is Carl Hampton who yells across the
street at the audience who just may fear getting too close. The
hard edge of what happens musically can be summed up in a couple
song titles like 'Flesh Hangover' and 'Black-N-Blue Collar Man'.
Some of the licks remind me of a stronger Brian May, sometimes Kiss
smacks up. In any case, if you like your liquor hard, break the
bottle over here.
mccrecords@aol.com
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OTHER NEW MUSIC REVIEWS SINCE LAST MONTH INCLUDE:
Alastor - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-alastor.html
Eric Alexandrakis - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-alexandrakis.html
Alice Project, The -
http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-aliceproject.html
Brotherhood of the Rose,The -
http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-brotherhood.html
Stone Coyotes, The -
http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-stonecoyotes.html
Trespassers William -
http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-trespassers.html
Joyce Harrison - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-harrison.html
Haunted Groove - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-hauntedgroove.html
Sue Valentine - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-valentine.html
Jengurl - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-jengurl.html
---------------
******
Ben Ohmart has had 100s of stories and poems in zines and
journals, and had 4 plays produced last year. His lyrics will be
on 2 CDs this year, 1 a gothic album, the other a rock album.
He's currently writing films, with hopes of having one done in
Malaysia soon, and is also trying to break into the prison of
television. He's white, 26, single and loves British comedy. He
lives in Boalsburg, PA, and enjoys watching rabbits eat his
garbage. Contact him at: ohmart@musesmuse.com .
**Ben has kindly consented to do music reviews for this
publication and also for The Muse's Muse itself. If you have an
independently released CD or tape that you'd like to get
reviewed, send it off to: Ben Ohmart, P O Box 750, Boalsburg, PA
16827 or drop by his Music Reviews web section at
http://www.musesmuse.com/musicreviews.html for more details.**
Back to Menu
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S o n g w r i t i n g B o o k R e v i e w : by Jodi Krangle
THE INDIE CONTACT BIBLE - compiled by David Wimble
http://www.bigmeteor.com/muse/
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WOW is all I can say. Well. I guess I have to say more than "Wow"
or you're not going to get much out of this review, are you. ;-)
Here's the thing: This is an absolutely priceless resource for
indie musicians. If you want your music reviewed, on the radio,
*heard*, THIS is the resource you need to have. It's not going to
tell you "how" but it will *certainly* tell you "who". Everybody
is in here. And I do mean *everybody* (yup. The Muse's Muse
too!). David has listed everyone's name and e-mail addresses where
applicable, along with their urls. Why only urls, you ask?
Because by going to that url, you can likely locate all the latest
contact information and those things change pretty quickly. Trying
to keep up with that would be an impossible task. Still, there's a
lot that needs to be kept up with anyway. Because of that, two or
three issues come out per year with updated information that David
himself and the readers who use his bible, find out about. There
are five sections: reviewers of independent music, radio stations
that are willing to play independent music, services that will help
you sell your music over the internet, sites that will allow you to
upload music files, and sites that will allow you to upload
information about your band for FREE. Each section is divided into
genre, then by geographical location. It's enormously useful and
should save you hours and hours of trawling the net only to find
dead links and information that doesn't apply to you at all. The
Indie Contact Bible is a great tool and one I highly recommend you
pick up in order to compliment your other music marketing
techniques. Have a look at the url above and read through a few
sample pages to see what I mean.
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S p o n s o r M e s s a g e :
(Please support the sponsors that support this newsletter! Thanks!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UNLEASH THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE INTERNET WITH SONGSCOPE.COM!
SongScope is a valuable tool enabling you to build an on-line song
catalog, accessible only by proven industry professionals. Receive
FREE email informing you every time record producers and industry
professionals make requests. Until July 15th, Muse's Muse viewers
can make one FREE submission. Further songs are only $19.95 per
year. An ecommerce enabled marketing/promotion page and tour
calendar are also available for performing songwriters to get
further artist exposure. See www.musesmuse.com/songscope.html for
details or contact: writerinfo@songscope.com ~ Tel: 770.754.4543
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F e a t u r e d A r t i c l e :
OUT OF THE BOX
by James Linderman
© 2000, James Linderman.
All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.
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Most people feel that the phrase "out of the box" is already
getting stale from being overused and yet, I'm still exhilarated
every time I see it. The more I see this phrase the more it seems
to be telling me that we want to see things approached from a fresh
perspective.
A guitar magazine may hire a guitarist with little or no experience
at using recording equipment to write a review about a new digital
multitracker. They will want the guitarist to log every impression
of the experience from "first sight" to "end result". The effect
they are looking for is a genuine and innocent testimony from
someone their readers can identify with.
From the viewpoint of the technical people at the company that
makes the digital multitracker, it must seem ludicrous to have the
review written by someone with no technical knowledge or
experience. The writers at the magazine may be equally astonished
that all of the rules that apply to their submissions will be
overlooked in an article that will be heralded for it's "spirit"
and not for it's technical accuracy or literary style.
Like the magazine editor who hires the guitarist to write about the
digital recorder "out of the box" (excuse the pun) I often get the
opportunity, in a workshop, to invite a songwriter who knows a
great deal about, lets say, astrology (and references that
knowledge often in his or her songs) to write about, let's say,
fishing. When he or she responds to this challenge with an
admission to knowing nothing about fishing I always simply say…
"good".
Songwriters will often want to write songs based on their lifelong
interest in trains, nature, their heritage, war, ecology, even
romance. These songs will, obviously, vary in "quality of craft"
but what they will have in common is that they will have been
written from a perspective that is knowledge driven and not
exploration driven.
A songwriter at the task of writing on an unexplored topic will be
inclined to approach this experience as an explorer with all of the
excitement, energy and fear that pursuing "things unknown" has to
offer. This is good.
The songwriter who is asked to write about fishing may not write
about fishing, per se, but could use fishing as a catalyst in
which to frame the spirit of the song. The goal will be to create
uniqueness, innocence and freshness…as in "fresh out of the box".
How this exploration is executed varies from songwriter to
songwriter. Some interview enthusiasts, some read books, magazines,
news clippings, etc. Some writers will watch people fish, some will
go fishing themselves. Others will gather nomenclature, which is
language indigenous to that topic.
If we were to list the terms common to the wonderful world of
fishing, our list would include words like; boat, oars, water,
fishing line, lure, shore, dock, tackle, cast, bait, morning,
stream, and nets.
We will now want to metaphorically match these fishing terms to
words that represent human emotion, human condition and/or
spirituality.
If our specific human theme was suffering, a list of these words
will include; charity, pain, give, need, sympathy, loss, shelter,
hunger, understanding, fear, tears, relief, loneliness, and help.
By connecting our fishing terms with our human condition words we
can build images that will be unique from the ones we usually pull
out of our "songwriting tackle box". We do this by imagining what a
boat might symbolically represent to a human condition of need. We
might also want to consider what kind of suffering (or relief from
suffering) could be connected with our image of a boat.
As songwriters, looking to only use fishing terms to provide a
metaphoric setting, we will find that we are less likely to get
stuck on thinking of what fishing is and be more likely to see all
of the things that the elements of fishing could be symbolic of.
Thinking "out of the box" can place us on a city street, on a cold
night, where a homeless teen steps into a shelter and a worker
there "fishes" through her soul by casting out a line of hope.
This same "out of the box" thinking can place us fly fishing in a
quiet stream, on a hot summer morning with our father and brothers,
in a scene that offers us a sanctuary in the middle of the breakup
of our marriage.
"Out of the box" can take us to a setting that we can almost see
and touch and hear and feel. The picture that we create for our
listener's imagination will be worth the thousand words that we
cannot use when writing the lyrics of a song.
******
James Linderman lives and works at theharmonyhouse, a private music
lesson, songwriting and pre-production facility in Newmarket
Ontario. He is a songwriter and consultant for the Youth Office of
the Toronto Diocese of the Catholic Church and leads music
workshops across the country. James has a Canadian University and
an American College education in music composition and is the
author of The Contemporary Songwriters Workbook. E-mail James at
theharmonyhouse@home.comBack to Menu
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M u s i c a l N o t e s : Songwriting Contests & Market Info.
In the interest of conserving space, I will only be including
changes to this listing in this newsletter. All other contests
and market information that have already been listed here, are
displayed at http://www.musesmuse.com/contests.html &
http://www.musesmuse.com/markets.html . Please check there
regularly for updates!
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NSAI ANNOUNCES EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR PERFORMING SONGWRITERS
The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) presents
Play for Pay 2000 sponsored in part by Songs.com on August 4 & 5 in
Nashville, Tennessee. The event is a two-day educational conference
and trade fair designed specifically for performing songwriters of
all levels. Attendees will participate in sessions on everything
from producing your independent album and creatively increasing
your bookings, to utilizing the Internet and marketing your
material to Indie labels and radio. Opportunities for industry
showcase! The event is open to all. Cost: $275 for NSAI members,
$350 for non-members.
To learn more, visit http://www.nashvillesongwriters.com/
or call NSAI at 800-321-6008.
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CALLING ALL SONGWRITERS --
SAW Announces the 17th Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest!
The Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW) presents the 17th
Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest sponsored by SAW, BMI, Oasis
Duplication, Omega Recording Studios, TAXI, and Writer's Digest
Books.
The Mid-Atlantic Song Contest is a great vehicle for recognition of
up-and-coming songwriters, with results printed in national,
regional and local press as well as on the internet. You do not
need to be from the Mid-Atlantic region to enter . There are a
total of 11 categories of music including jazz, children's, folk,
country, adult contemporary and rap with prizes ranging from $1,000
in cash to gift certificates for CD mastering by Omega Studios,
memberships to TAXI (an independent A&R vehicle), and a collection
of books from Writer's Digest Books. In addition, all first and
second place songs from each of the 11 categories will be included
on a Winners CD, compliments of Oasis Duplication, to be
distributed to top personnel of several major record labels,
publishing companies, and web sites as well as regional radio
stations. The judges consist of local and regional industry
representatives from the Washington DC, Baltimore & Virginia area.
Past judges have included representatives from BMI, Warner Chappell
Music, EMI, Sony Music, Polygram Music, Opryland Music , Sony Tree,
regional producers, promoters and radio station personalities.
For more information, contest rules and regulations, or to enter,
call 800/218-5996 or go to http://www.saw.org/. The deadline for entries is
August 8, 2000. Enter today!
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NCSA SONG CONTEST
The Northern California Songwriters Association announces The NCSA
Song Contest, and entries are now being accepted. The entry form
is reproduced below so that entrants can print it out and mail it,
or you may request one by mail, or print it out from the NCSA
website (http://www.ncsasong.org/).
ENTRIES MUST BE POSTMARKED
NO LATER THAN AUGUST 15, 2000
PLEASE take the time to read the rules and regulations carefully.
If you have any questions regarding the contest or any other matter
related to entering, please contact us via email at
info@ncsasong.org or phone (650) 654-3966.
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SONG SHOPPING CENTER -
http://TrowbridgePlanetEarth.com/T2/T2C1.html
SUBMIT YOUR SONG -
http://trowbridgeplanetearth.com/T2/T2S1.html%20
McClure & Trowbridge Publishing, a Nashville TN niche and
alternative music publisher, announces today that its WWW,
Internet, and office song promotion services, previously available
only to Trowbridge Writers, are available to Trowbridge Associates
as well. Associates, independent songwriters whom McClure &
Trowbridge sign to promotional contracts, now have a "leg up" into
the fast paced world of music plugging and the faster yet Internet.
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CONTEMPORARY SONGWRITERS WORKSHOP:
theharmonyhouse presents daytime or evening workshops through July
and August. Workshops include: music and lyric writing plus music
industry information. No prerequisites required, comprehensive
workbook provided.
Location: Toronto area, or to groups (7+) at location of your
choice. Call or E-mail for more information, free brochure and
registration form. (905) 853-5537, theharmonyhouse@home.com.
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JOERECORDS.COM IS SEEKING MUSIC:
joerecords.com is seeking compilations, unusual, weird,
hard-to-find, ethnic and world music. If you are interested in
submitting, send to:
4047 49th SW,Seattle, Washington 98116
or contact katehart@speakeasy.org
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Back to Menu
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M u s e ' s C l u e s : by Irene Jackson
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I had an email recently from a songwriter with all kinds of
questions about writer's rights, mechanical rights and a whole lot
more, some of which I just couldn't answer at the time. His
circumstances may have seemed unique, but in fact they were not!
Wish I'd known about this particular page back then!
http://www.halsguide.com/crashcourse.html
The question this particular page starts out with is: "Why does
Music Publishing seem so hard to understand?" Well, here is a
place to begin your understanding...this is essentially a
dictionary of publishing terms, written by Lynne Robin Green, who
is herself an independent publisher.
Now at first glance, this may be a little overwhelming to the
less-than-seasoned songwriter...but read it through a few times and
it'll start to click. There are song-shopping agreements, an
explanation of cue sheets (fortunately I worked in TV and radio and
already knew about these, but most songwriters don't at first!),
and even a small recommended reading section at the end.
In an earlier Muse's Clues, I suggested a site which had a huge
list of contract examples, but so many of them would be meaningless
without a rudimentary understanding of the terminology used. I
know I've mentioned this before, but the biggest problem most of us
have as songwriters is the fact that we do not know enough about
this mysterious business of publishing before we throw ourselves
into it...hence, my favourite "arm yourself with knowledge" addage!
And as I have also mentioned before, you should always consider
taking any contract to an entertainment lawyer before you sign
it...someone who can explain every aspect to you in plain language.
This may be an expensive proposition at first, but if it leads to a
satisfactory relationship between you as a writer and a publisher
or record company...it'll be well worth your investment.
And the Crash Course is an excellent place to get started!
******
Irene Jackson is a performing songwriter from Victoria, BC in
Canada. Aside from writing, recording and performing, she also
maintains a website for songwriters that includes tips, articles
and more links of interest. Her latest CD "Motor Scooter" has
had attention everywhere from Japan to South America, and a new
release is due out sometime in 1999.
Songwriting Tips: http://www.irenejackson.com/tips.html
Homepage: http://www.irenejackson.com/
Songs on MP3:
http://www.mp3.com/artists/20/irene_jackson.html
Back to Menu
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S O N G W R I T E R I N S P O T L I G H T : Chuck Leonard
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Chuck Leonard has been writing songs for a good long while. He's
had a great deal of success with it too - if 11 #1 hits is any
indication. With 66 cuts at this point, he's still going strong.
Having toured with the likes of Ricky Skaggs, Ronnie Milsap, George
Jones, Greg Crowe, Mark Gray, The Judds, Tammy Wynette, The Oak
Ridge Boys, John Wesley Ryles, Bruce Carroll and Ron David Moore
and having had cuts with such notables as John and Audrey Wiggins,
Butch Baker, Greg Crowe, Bruce Carrol, Ron David Moore, Lisa Daggs,
Gary Chapman, Regi Stone, Karen Peck and New River, N'Harmony,
Wilcox and Pardoe and The Lyons, he has a lot of wisdom and
know-how behind him when it comes to writing songs. I don't know
about you, but *I* definitely wanted to hear what he had to say. ;)
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Q: What made you start writing songs in the first place? Did you
have a musical family? Was there something in particular in your
life that inspired you to begin?
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A: I began writing songs at a very young age...9 to be exact...they
weren't very good but you gotta start somewhere...
I was inspired by Bob Dylan's "Hey, Mister Tambourine Man", Willie
Nelson's "I Never Cared For You" and Paul McCartney's "Yesterday".
It seems that those songs connected with the writer that was in me.
I understood the lyrics and the form of the song. It seemed quite
natural. I guess something just clicked and the "light" came on. I
am the product of a family with a musical heritage of sorts. All
the way back to my grandfather on my mother's side of the family.
We had a family band growing up and I played drums at first and
then took up guitar. I sang with my two sisters Charlene and Connie
(who also played drums) and my oldest brother occasionally joined
us on some dates. My mother played the bass and my step-father
played the guitar. We hired a few additional sidemen to play steel
guitar and rhythm guitar. We played mostly in Texas and then
because my step-father was military we were transferred to Europe
where we played the installations (NCO and EM clubs) across
Germany, Italy and England. For about two years we also worked for
Wrangler Western Wear in Germany. It was a great experience growing
up there. I lived outside of this country for about 14 years. I was
influenced by the culture and music of those countries and it
probably molded certain aspects of what I write and the styles I
experiment with at times. I write a lot of different types of
music. Country, classical, jazz, pop, blues, gospel, contemporary
Christian, rock'n'roll and some hybrids of all of those styles.
Lyrically, I enjoy songs that tell stories and songs that connect
with people emotionally, spiritually and cerebrally.
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Q: Do you remember the songs you wrote when you first started
writing? What improvements do you think you've made over the years
and how have you managed to do that? Experience? Research and
reading? Anything else in particular that has helped you?
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A: The songs I wrote when I first started weren't incredibly
memorable. Only one really comes to mind. It was called "Billy
Rio"... sort of went like this... Billy Rio was born down in Texas,
the leader of an outlaw band, had a horse named Thunder and a dog
named Blue, and two six guns in his hands... so, as you can see...a
story song right from the start... kind of a ballad like "Streets
Of Laredo" and it really went downhill from there.
I hope I've improved or the 66 cuts I've had were all a fluke!!!
Seriously, I've studied my craft and learned to re-write which is
difficult for some writers. We often have a tendency to think our
first thoughts are our best because they've come from that initial
inspiration or emotion. The truth is...it is subjective in one way
and like most things in life... when you get to looking back... you
see things you would've done differently. Fortunately, with
songwriting, you can go back and change things. Unless, that is,
you wait till it's demoed or cut and then you have to live with
what you created. It's always a challenge to top your best line, or
best hook or best idea. More often than not we settle for less than
our best because it sometimes is enough to get by. I've tried to be
more disciplined in my approach to writing and re-writing. I think
it has made me a better writer and has made my writing a little
less prolific but much more productive as far as getting cuts and
people wanting to hear more songs from my catalogs. I like hearing
"what else you got, boy?" when they mean "we like your writing" as
opposed to "what else you got, boy?" and they meant "you got any
good songs?"
Co-writing is a beneficial way to improve one's writing ability, as
well. It's like playing tennis with someone who is better than you.
It will ultimately raise your game. Co-writing with better writers
will ultimately raise your quality. The downside of co-writing is
when you have an idea that you could or should write by yourself
and you dilute the essence of it by filtering it through another
mindset. If they are on the same page as you... you're good to
go... but if they have a different perspective you run the risk of
your idea becoming something totally different that what you had in
mind. It's a 50/50 prospect, either way. That's just the nature of
co-writing. There are, of course, instances where you actually find
that you've contributed more than 50% (sometimes 100%) and someone
has their name on the song because they were "in the room at the
time" or they "got the coffee", etc... I never squabble about
percentages. I just try and be very conscious of the people I'm
writing with and try to write with talented, competent and
productive writers. In the end, it's just one song at a time and
nothing to really lose sleep over. If you bring out the idea and
you start writing a song around it... the deal is essentially done.
50/50 and that's the way I think it should be. There have surely
been days when I didn't pull my weight and was given credit for a
song that I didn't equally contribute to and it evens out in the
long run. Experience...hmmm...well, I've been doing this for 14
years professionally. Meaning...I've gotten paid to be a
songwriter. Before that time, I just wrote because I loved writing
and I didn't have to worry with whether or not what I was writing
was commercial or whatever. The rules change a bit once someone is
paying you to write for their company. You have to work at it and
show up for appointments and do your demos and pitch your material
along with your publisher. You have a stake in what happens and a
lot of writers sit around waiting for the gravy train to show up at
their front door. It really doesn't happen that way very often. All
along that road is where you gain your experience. You learn what
works and what doesn't. You learn who you can and can't work or
write with and who to trust as far a judging a song. In this
business there are very competent people and very incompetent
people. You just have to figure out those things as you build your
reputation. It is a two-way street - writer/publisher - but I have
long stopped totally depending on a publisher to determine my
success or lack of success. I now have three companies of my own
and co-publish some of my material. I have to say it takes many
years to gain that ability and status. New writers generally will
have to go through the trials and tribulations of starting at
square one and moving forward. You rarely see a writer start off at
the top of his profession. Regarding research... I read quite a bit
and I observe the world around me. I draw from my own life and
experience and I draw on inspiration from my Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. The word of God -ala- the Bible... is an incredible
resource that holds insight pertaining to every aspect of being
human and living in a world that continuously challenges the heart,
mind, soul and spirit. Love is probably the most covered subject in
the world and I draw from the loves in my life, as well.
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Q: What song of yours are you most proud of? Why? What makes it
special to you or makes it stick out in your mind? (I'm not just
talking financial success here, by any means.)
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" O N S I T E " F E A T U R E D A R T I C L E :
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