Reuniting with an old friend
Tonight I actually spent some time with my old friend, the piano. We have some differences to work out – it’s been entirely too long since we’ve spent a decent amount of time together – but I’m confident that our relationship can be rebuilt. I made some progress on an old song, so that was great. I changed the key of the song a while ago, but did so with the intent to keep the chords of the bridge the same because I thought that if I brought that down too, it would be too low for me to sing comfortably – boy was I wrong. I decided tonight that it isn’t true to what’s really in my head that way, so back to plan A, now in D major. I wrote a piano part for said song too. Well, everything but the bridge. This is still a work in progress and I have no idea if I’ll end up keeping any of it in the long run, but it’s great to get back into that mindset of just putting your fingers to the keys and seeing what happens. I think the next step will be to record the piano line and see if it makes any sense when i try to sing over it. My relationship with the piano is still in such a fragile state that it will not allow my brain to process singing and playing pretty much anything but block chords at the same time, but this is why I’m trying to get us to be friends again. 
That’s really all I have to say for now except that I’m really looking forward to perfecting this song and then moving on to finishing the others that have been in pieces for entirely too long. So here’s to old friends and new ventures! 
Free Life
“And in the air the questions hang, will we get to do something? who we gonna end up being? how we gonna end up feeling? What you gonna spend your free life on?” Free Life – Dan Wilson, title track from his solo album
I had to share this song today because I’m so in this mindset right now. I just love the whole idea of this song, “What are you going to do with this life you’ve been given, this free life?” It’s a sort of call to action on one hand, but at the same time, and maybe even more so, a reminder to just appreciate the life you have. Appreciate the people around you who care about you and just keep living. Keep pursuing your dreams, no matter how far-fetched or difficult they seem. Don’t loose sight of what you want to do with your life, and if you do, try to find your way back.
I lost it for a while and I’m still not exactly sure where I’ll end up, but I remember what I want now, what I’ve wanted since I was about 12 years old – to sing and make music. I never stopped doing this, but I also don’t feel I’ve been putting quite enough effort into it for quite a while now. That ends today. There is no reason I can’t keep working on being a better musician. There are so many things I want to do with my life, a lot of which has to do with the kind of person I want to be. But, at the top of the list right now (career wise anyway) are: become a better musician and engineer and keep writing - the last part goes for music and prose. Now it’s in writing and I can’t forget it again. And while I could probably go on for quite a while about this, I’m just going to say one more thing about the song, upload a video so you can hear it, and call it a night. 
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of Dan Wilson’s songwriting. In this particular case, I love the simplicity of this song, it’s very mellow and has a melody that’s easy to follow, but the message is so powerful and the lyrics are great. “Lets fall in love again with music as our guide/ We’ll raise our ready hands and let go for the ride/ Down into unknown lands where lovers needn’t hide/ We got these lives for free we don’t know where they’ve been/ We don’t know where they’ll go when we are through with them/ The starlight of the sun the dark side of the moon”
What are you going to spend your free life on?
On a cool friday night a couple weeks ago, I made my way down to The Bitter End to check out the latest offering from Stephanie White and The Philth Harmonic. It was the CD release show for their second studio effort, This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, the follow-up to 2007’s Knee Deep InSanity. The band was on, the horns were hopping and Stephanie was wailing. All in all it was a great night and I couldn’t wait to get home and listen to the full album. Unfortunately, since I had about 8 million things to do that weekend, I completely forgot about it until Sunday afternoon when I was getting ready to leave for my 3rd big event of the weekend. Needless to say, it was a long weekend and by then it was starting to get to me, so I definitely wasn’t leaving the house without my ipod or my new CD. I had a long drive ahead of me and this CD was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits and get me in the mood for the evening’s festivities.
Beginning with an introduction that sparks your curiosity by foreshadowing what’s to come and continuing throughout with taunting, exciting, and heartbreaking songs of love, loss, and self awareness, This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things grabs you from the start and leaves you wanting more. Selfish Fool is the first track on the album and our first taste of Stephanie White’s clever songwriting and powerful vocals. “Watch me drown, but tease me with air … and keep me close by I’m the world you can rule, but don’t fall in love, you selfish fool” she sings to a would be suitor, in frustration with his behavior towards her.
The next offering is a more upbeat tune from the pen of the drummer and second part of the songwriting duo, Robbie LaFalce, Jr. As with most of the songs on this record, Figure It Out features quite a few instruments, both acoustic and electric, but the balance never suffers. I think that’s one of my favorite things about this band, especially on this album. I love how they use each instrument so effectively to enhance, but not overwhelm the overall sound and feel of each of their songs.
One of my favorite moments from Knee Deep InSanity is towards the end of Sustain where there is a musical interlude of sorts leading to the bridge – the piano and saxophone, with a little help from the guitar, build into the bridge where the French Horn comes in with this great solo that, when paired with Stephanie’s vocals, just gives me chills. The Philth Harmonic continues to impress me with moments like this on …Nice Things, especially on Teardrops whose fairytale-referencing storyline is improved immensely from the previous version* by the addition of the full band, saxophone and piano in particular. Just as impressive and interesting is the final track of the album, Emerald City Blues, which, according to Robbie, is one of their most ambitious songs yet. I love the contrast created by the woodwinds and distorted guitar here, as well as the microphone choice for Stephanie’s vocals. In order to give her voice a feeling of antiquity, the band was thinking about using modern mixing techniques until they found an “ancient” microphone that gave the exact effect they were looking for. It gives you the feeling that you are listening to an old record or hearing her on the radio 50 years ago.
Other highlights from This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things include the crowd pleasing Cheat On My Bffl; Can’t Get You Outta My Head – which Stephanie said at the release show, may be the only happy song she ever wrote ; and Fill Your Head with it’s awesome horns and lyrics to which I think most of us can easily relate.
As you can tell, I’m a big fan of this album and if Emerald City Blues is any indication of what Stephanie, Robbie, and the gang have up their sleeves, I can’t wait to hear what’s next!
For more info on Stephanie White and the Philth Harmonic, including upcoming events, head over to myspace.com/philthharmonic
*on Knee Deep InSanity
Feeling Strangely Fine
It’s the title of my first favorite CD and a pretty good description for my current state of mind. If you don’t recall the CD, I’m sure you know the “one hit wonder” that came from the album that got me out of my musical theater phase and began my obsession with “popular music” (or in some – maybe most- cases music that is far less popular than I think it should be). Closing Time was a huge hit for Semisonic, one of my all time favorite bands. And while I do love that song, it’s not my favorite song from that album, in fact it might even be my least favorite. The reason I love this album so much is because it is a perfect mix, there is not one song that I want to skip or repeat more than any other, although I couldn’t even tell you how many times I’ve listened to the whole thing. (At this point, I feel I have to send my apologies to my younger sister who had to share a room with me when I was obsessed with this and worse, in the previously mentioned musical theater phase when I listened to RENT on a loop for probably a good six months.)
Anyway, I’ve probably listened to this album more than any other in my collection, because no matter how long it’s been since I listened to it and no matter how many times I’ve done so, I can always go back. Which I think is a testament to Dan Wilson’s songwriting, he remains one of my favorite songwriters and a couple songs from his solo album have even made it to my Repeat Offenders playlist. But back to Semisonic and Feeling Strangely Fine, for me it’s a source of comfort and reassurance in the really tough times, never ceases to put a smile on my face and can broaden one if it’s already there. Which, I guess, leads me to the point I wanted to make with this post.
Why am I “feeling strangely fine”, you ask? Well, it’s kind of a long story and while I thought I was prepared to give some account of here, it just didn’t come out right. So, I’ll just leave you with a little thought/piece of advice and the option to contact me for the back story.
I know in the world we live in it’s sometimes hard to trust people and even to trust your own instincts about those around you. We definitely need to think about our surroundings, be on guard, and stay alert and all of that, for our own safety. But with that said, I just want to encourage you to try to keep your eyes and your heart open – you never know when someone will come along and change your life, even in the simplest of ways.
BTW, still listening to the Repeat Offenders playlist and Jolene just came on – Dolly, I’m sorry I haven’t been listening to you all my life – this song is amazing.
Repeat Offenders
I have a playlist with this title on my ipod/itunes, it’s a home for those songs that I can’t listen to just once. You know, the ones you have listened to hundreds of times, but every time they come up on the shuffle or as you’re listening to the album they are a part of, you have to listen at least twice before you move on. I added a new song to this playlist today (Ian Axel’s Afterglow) and as I was listening to it for like the 100th time, I stopped and took notice of a great little piece of the song that I never fully appreciated before. It’s towards the end of the bridge when the chorus comes back in, but bared down to piano and Ian’s vocals in 3 part harmony and it just sparkles, exactly as it should and makes you stop and really listen to what he’s saying. Which then makes you want to listen to the song again if you weren’t really listening to the lyrics before.
Anyway, that discovery got me thinking, all of the songs in this playlist have something like that: Michael Buble’s version of Feeling Good has this great orchestra complimenting and really creating a duet with him and I’m Your Man is just pure passion in musical form; Marc Broussard does this crazy sigh thing in Come Around and there is something about the piano and the way the lyrics roll into one another in Robbie Gil’s Stumble In(n) Love that just hits me every time as if I’m hearing it for the first time. I could go on, but suffice it to say, I could probably give you 10 reasons why each one of these songs has earned a spot on this playlist. Some are heartbreaking and some are amazingly uplifting, and some of them just got to me at the right time in my life for me to fully appreciate what the artist was trying to say.
In thinking about why I can listen to certain songs over and over and again, I came upon a “chicken or egg” type question, do i listen to these songs because of the little intricacies that I notice and love about them or would I even have noticed those things if I hadn’t listened to the song so many times? For now, I’ve decided that I wouldn’t have listened to the songs so many times if something didn’t grab me from the beginning, but I think it’s still interesting (and pretty cool) that after hearing something numerous times I can still find something to make me appreciate it even more.
But enough about me, what are your musical Repeat Offenders?
P.S. Afterglow is from Ian Axel’s EP im on to you., which is really crack in the form of awesome piano driven pop. So, if you appreciate that statement at all, I suggest you find a copy and allow yourself to get caught under his spell.
Have a great day everyone!
I went to see my good friend Josh Dion play at the Bitter End on Saturday night. For those of you who haven’t seen him play, you really should. “Pure energy” is probably one of the best ways to describe one of his shows. I don’t even know what else to say except that the man is ridiculous, awesome drummer, songwriter, and just a force of nature. And for me, inspiration as well - if he can give that much on stage every time, why can’t I give a little more to my art each day? It’s not just in that way that I take inspiration from Josh, it’s also from his lyrics and of course, the melodies that drive them. One of Josh’s new songs is called Get Out, which continues on as get out of your own way. Now I know this song is about a particular person/situation for Josh, but I think it’s an easy concept to relate to. I think a lot of us can be our own worst enemies at times, I know I can. I procrastinate, I get stuck in my own head, bogged down with pointless worries, or just too lost in my plans of what I want/have to to actually get those things done. So, for me, this song is just good reminder to step back and just “do it.” That’s another one of his new tunes, which has one of the most perfectly simple choruses i know, “figure out what you wanna do and do it, that’s all there is to it…” It seems so simple, and I guess it is, but if you’re at all like me, you really do have to “get out of your own way” to make that happen. You know what you have to do, or at least you have an idea, so stop dawdling, or feeling depressed because you haven’t done it yet. There’s no time like the present – Go out there and make it happen!
Why do we do it?
Create art and make music, that is. I’ve been reading and really enjoying a blog by a new friend of mine. It’s called Before The Lights Come Up and it’s written by a fellow music lover, Sam Teichman. Each day, Sam chooses his Lyric of the Day to explore and shares with his readers how that lyric has affected him that day, week, month, year, or throughout his life. In his “Liner Notes” he expresses his wish to “know why and how musicians create what they do. What inspired them to start, how the lyrics are conceived and crafted, the way in which the music comes alive, what they draw from creatively, and especially where they hope the music ends up, in our lives and our souls.” If you read my first post here you probably won’t be surprised to find out that this is a topic that is fascinating and dear to my heart as well. However, being a musician, as well as a music lover, I’m interested in adding my 2 cents in response to Sam’s queries.
For me, at this point in my musical journey, the why is a bit easier to elaborate on than the how, but I’ll try to tackle that one too. I can only fully speak for myself, but as these hypotheses apply to musicians in general I’ll probably be using “we” in reference to musicians/artists as a collective group. Anyway, why do we do it?
I think art is innate in all of us, but there are those of us who are just born with a need to create. To share our thoughts and emotions with others in a way few things can. It’s a need to express, to be heard and most importantly, to connect – with the music, with the universe as a whole, and most importantly, with other people. There is no feeling quite like performing for a live audience, whether it be 1 or hundreds. Even without an audience, just letting the music flow through you is a magical experience when you’re in the zone – you know the piece like the back of your hand and it’s become pure emotion and energy. Although you may be on your own, there is a feeling of connection to the composer and work you are singing or playing. For those of you who haven’t had that experience, it’s not unlike seeing live music. You know, when you hear your favorite artist singing your favorite song and it feels like he’s singing it just for you, it’s sorta like that. For me the rush is almost the same, but when I see someone I really like live, it makes me want to get up on the stage with them or go home and sit down at the piano with my notebooks and start writing, playing, singing, or all of the above.
Which leads me to the how. As more of a performer than a songwriter at this point, I can tell you that while there is a great deal of preparation and skill involved in executing a performance, there are certain aspects of performing that just can’t be taught, you either have it or you don’t. As with everything, there are levels of intensity and energy of performances, but you’d better have enough to engage the audience. As far as writing goes, I’m still in the early parts of that journey and right now I usually just write when inspiration strikes. Or when new lyrics and/or melodies come into my head and I have to get them down. I really consider it a gift that the melodies just flow sometimes. Now, I have to apply some perseverance and build those new melodies into full songs. I’m still struggling with this part, especially since I had a great partner to work with on my first full tune, but I’ll keep trying on my own and bouncing ideas off of my musician friends and eventually I’ll get there.
What do we hope our audience gets out of all this? A little joy, perhaps some camaraderie. It’s just nice to let people know that someone else has felt the same way you do or had a similar experience. And it’s really a symbiotic relationship, as musicians we feed off of their energy, the applause and appreciation of the crowd, letting us know that they get it too.
Please feel free to share your thoughts on the topic. And make sure to check out Before The Lights Come Up too.
