Evolution - Songs to Non-Songs?

Years ago, we had guitar heroes like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Drummers like Dino Danelli, Ginger Baker and John Bonham.  Keyboardist like Kieth Emerson, Jon Lord and Rick Wakeman.  The sad truth is that we have no younger musicians coming up the ranks to take their place.  But what about the quality of songwriting?
        Let's just go back to the Great American Songbook era. The songs had rich melodies and intricate chording. The verses and choruses were different.  Really different.   And they had bridges and intro verses too. 
       In the 60's and 70's the songs remained great.  Each melody was distinctive and could be played on the piano or guitar or with a group. You could remember the songs. 
      Let's come to this day and age.  It's hard to pinpoint the problem  The songs kind of sound like songs, but with closer inspection, they are not real tunes.  It's sounds like someone wrote something based on a riff or an improvisation.   But there's very little distinction to the verses and no distinction between the verses and the choruses. Most of the Adele or Bruno Mars songs sound identical to me.
  They say we deserve the low quality politicians we have because we elected them. So do we deserve the low quality songwriting that we're getting because the average listener thinks they're great?
Probably.   The good news is that there's still a lot of tremendous music being made. It's all over the Internet.   But don't look for it on TV or the radio.   It's not there.     

Why should you record a CD?

I would say that the number one reason to record a CD is that....you've sung for a long time and perfected your craft.  You want to make a historical document of this achievement.  Yes, people may remember what you sounded like 10 years ago or even 5 years ago, but that doesn't replace a physical document that they can listen too.
    Unfortunately, as we age we start to lose some of the power we once had.  Or at least the dynamics and tone of our voice will change.  If you wait 5 years from now, it maybe will be too late.  Has Barbra Striesand's voice changed in the last 5 to 10 years?  Big time.
     In addition, our family and friends really enjoy having a recording to put on once in a while to hear what we sounded like years ago.  ( or more recent)   There are many singers that are no longer with us that I would of loved to have a recording of.
       Although the " big boys" may charge up to $10,000 for a CD, locals cats ( like myself) can get it done for under a thousand dollars.   10 to 15 songs is the norm.
      So if you don't have a CD yet, you may want to think about it.     

10 Things To Do Before Arriving At The Recording Studio

1. Bring lyrics.  Make sure they are big enough to read.  Hint:   Copy and paste into a program where you can make the fonts no smaller than 18 pts.

2. Warm up.   In the car should be fine.   Start low and soft.   Don't sing whole songs to start.  Just low notes or phrases.  At the studio is not the time to begin a warm up.

3.  Know the song, keys and general arrangement.  You might want to book a rehearsal with the musician(s) before the actual recording session. 

4. Bring drinks ( water, warm tea , honey, cough drops)  with you just in case.

5.  Don't drink astringents before the session.   ( coffee, alcohol , soda )

6.  Don't drink cold liquids before session.

7.  Be rested.  If you know you have a session the next day, get proper rest the night before.

8.  Don't blow your voice out the night before by talking ( or singing)  too much or too loud.

9.  The recording engineer knows his equipment and probably has a lot of experience with recording.  Now's not the time to play " record producer."  Many wrong decisions have to be corrected later.

10.  Have a " sound " in mind to guide the recording engineer in the right direction. For instance, you may want the final recording to sound like an Anita Baker recording or a Frank Sinatra sound.  If it's a simpler approach, find it first on YouTube or bring a CD.

There's lots more, but these 10 will do for now.  Thanks   

7 Ways to Promote Your Next Show...

1,  Send out an e-mail to your entire e-mail address book. Folks want to hear about your show.  Give them 2 weeks notice.

2.. Send out an message on Facebook.  Make sure you include the address, phone number and time of the event.    1 week and than 1 or 2 days before he event.

3.  Create an event on Facebook.  It's different than your message dynamically.  You can target specific people as well. 

4. Send out a promotional message on Twitter.  1 week and then 1 or 2 days before the event.

5.  Put up cards and posters at nearby coffee shops and music stores.   Guitar Center has a bulletin board located somewhere in the store.

6.  Put an ad in Craig's List. ( free)

7.  Call friends on the phone with the info. 
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Don't promote your show or collect e-mails at someone elses performance or workplace.  It's tacky and unprofessional.  If your good, start getting e-mails at your own gigs and watch your list grow! 

On George Harrison's Birthday , Here's the Top 10

The Top Ten Things I dig about George Harrison...

1.  " Taxman" one of the coolest rock songs ever written and recorded.  George wrote it
although McCartney plays the solo.

2. His version of " Devil In Her Heart"  is one of my favorites.

3. No one looked cooler holding a " Country Gentleman" Gretch guitar.

4. Cool acting sequence in " Hard Day's Night" where they think he's auditioning for a TV show.

5. Solo in " Something" one of history's best.

6. Sinatra said " Something" was one of the best love songs ever written. ( although mistakenly
credited it to Lennon / McCartney )

7.  Played really well thought out solos.  ( check out " All My Lovin' )

8. Cool 12 string playing.  ( like the " Hard Day's Night" solo)

9. Cool appearance on the Smothers Brothers Show.

10. Although McCartney and Lennon wrote it, George's version of " I'm Happy

Just to Dance With You" defines early Beatle happiness.   Dig?

10 Favorite Musicians

10 Favorite Musicians ( There's a Lot More!)

1.  Jaco Pastorius

Changed the way we look at the bass. Unreal ability and passion.

2.  Tony Williams

Great power and innovation.

3. Paul McCartney

Changed it all...right?

4.   Stan Getz

Beautiful tone and attitude.

5.  Tommy Emmanuael

Taking the acoustic to really high levels.

6.  Buddy Rich

He's on a higher level technique wise than anyone else.

7. Maynard Ferguson

Still the best!

8.   Miles Davis

The definition of " cool".

9.   Jimi Hendrix

Super innovation and passion.

10.  Oscar Peterson

Taking all the elements and going to the highest level.
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THE TOP 20 COUNTRY SONGS A SINGER SHOULD KNOW

1.  For The Good Times - kris kristofferson
2. Help Me Make It Thru The Night - kris kristofferson
3. Crazy - Patsy Cline
4. You Don't Know Me - Eddie Arnold
5. He'll Have To Go - Jim Reeves
6. I Can't Stop Loving You - Don Gibson
7. You Were Always On My Mind - Willie Nelson
8. Could I Have This Dance - Anne Murry
9. I Fall To Pieces - Patsy Cline
10. Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page
11. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain - Willie Nelson
12. Stand By Your Man - Tammy Wynette
13. God Bless The USA - Lee Greenwood
14. Make the World Go Away - Eddie Arnold
15. The Green Green Grass of Home - Porter Wagner
16. Desperado - The Eagles
17. Oh Lonesome Me - Don Gibson
18. Rocky Top - Osbourne Brothers
19. Statue Of A Fool - Jack Greene
20. Break It To Me Gently - Brenda Lee 

10 More Things that made the Beatles Unique

10 More Things that made the Beatles Unique...

1.  Did you ever notice, the Beatles were all the same height?  This added to the synergy giving the 4 separate entities and power much more than the four individuals.   Check out the other groups of the time and you'll see many appearance differences.

2.  They all had thick hair.   Very crucial considering their hair was very unusual for the time and received a lot of attention and once again gave them a synergy different than other bands.

3. The English accents made them sound different here in America.  It was very unusual to hear, especially to an American kid.

4.  Their guitars were unusual to the 60's viewers.   The Gretch Country Gentleman, the Rickenbackers and of course the Hofner bass.

5.  Their producer ( George Martin) was classically trained and had a background in comedy records. It shows in the recordings.

6. Although it wasn't intended, the American records had a weird audio sound with total separation on vocals and music and selected instruments. I think it added to the uniqueness.

7.  Each Beatle could be the spokesman for the group. Old videos show that either Ringo, George, John or Paul could go toe to toe with the show's MC or announcer with funny repartee and quips. No other group could present that.

8.  The "Hard Day's Night" movie brought award winning talent in ( without the cost) for a really cool movie.  Every aspect ( even so called mistakes) was right on.

9. Having 2 unreal songwriters was enough, But Taxman, Something, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Here Comes The Sun are some of the few classics that George Harrison wrote. Wow.

10. Paul McCartney played drums ( Back In The USSR, etc.) guitar ( Taxman, And Your Bird Can Sing etc) rhythym guitar ( Sgt Peppers) amongst a lot of other instrumentation.   No other band had someone on that level.

Well there's hundreds more reasons why the Beatles were so unique.  Keep posted!