The Experiment

When I was a very young child, I was surrounded by music. My Mom would listen incessantly to her album collection. Her choice of music was clearly delineated: Elvis and Country Western. The pictures on the album covers always stuck in my mind. Men wore bedazzled suits and often had decorated guitars, women wore frilly dresses and had big hair. The music had that whiny country twang, and even the instruments sounded like they were crying.

My babysitters would bring their 45 record collections to the house when sitting me. It was on these occasions I would hear The Beatles, Chuck Berry, and all the bands of the British Invasion period. My babysitter and her sister would dance frantically while I cowered in horror under the coffee table. Ah, the memories.

I had a teen-aged cousin who had an electric guitar...you had to say it that way so people knew you were cool. He would sit in my living room and play for hours. It was then I decided that one day, I too would play electric guitar, and be cool.

I probably started my songwriting at this point also. Because I didn't play any instruments yet, I would find instrumental versions of popular songs, or even just instrumental songs, like "Green Onion" by Booker T and the MGs, and write lyrics for them. As I got a little older, I would make up a melody in my head. Sometimes I would commit them to cassette, other times I'd just write them down. Most of the time, they were just forgotten.

As I got older I learned to play instruments. First was bass guitar, then piano and then guitar. Now I could create a whole song from scratch, and I did. Eventually, I decided to record my own 45, which I did in 1984. The two songs can be heard and/or purchased for download on several sites. I spent most of the next thirty years playing in clubs and at functions. And now, I am moving on to the next phase of my music life.

Now, so many years later, I have pretty much retired from playing live onstage, and have gotten back to my roots as a songwriter. On a whim, I decided to enter one of my songs into a songwriting competition. Let me say this...in Nashville, the mecca for songwriters, there are specific rules for writing hit songs. Knowing this, I submitted a song that broke many of the traditional rules. Why? I had heard that most songwriting contests are scams of one type or another. Oh sure, the prizes they promised were often legitimate, but the premise of the contest was usually fraudulent. I wanted to experience it on my own. So I intentionally sent in a song I knew shouldn't win.

Shortly after my entry, I got a letter with a ribbon in it...I had won the "Director's Award", which is only given to those who show the ability to be professional songwriters. Oh boy! I put the ribbon on my refrigerator. A week or so later, I got another letter offering me a "Songwriter Contract". Before I read the contract, I decided I would would try to anticipate what it would say. I figured there would be a length of time involved...maybe a year or two. I thought they would promise me to promote my songs to record companies and artists, in return for granting them exclusive license to my songs, of course with a percentage of earnings going directly to them. This is what I anticipated. Here is what I got, paraphrased: We will send you a newsletter every month for a year, and allow you to have us record your song for only $xxx for a guitar/vocal demo.

So this whole songwriting contest was just a ploy to get aspiring songwriters to use the sponsor's recording services. Oh, and the special price? Well nearly EVERY studio in Nashville charges the same price. The bottom line is this company will do nothing for me I can't do on my own. Except for the cool ribbon...

Caveat emptor, and Take care my friends.

My Latest Endeavor

When I first started playing a musical instrument back in high school, the road to fame and fortune was a long, arduous adventure to say the least. Hanging out at music stores hoping to find players to put a band together was cheaper than taking out a classified ad in the local paper, and you hoped someone had a garage or basement you could play in, hopefully with very patient parents.

Today, we have Craigslist which provides free classifieds, and reaches many more people. Social media has made it so much easier to promote bands. The countless hours passing out flyers has all but disappeared. Even I, an analog guy in a digital world, have jumped on board the social media bandwagon.

I am proud to introduce my own music fan page which you can visit here. You can access status updates, and purchase downloads from my store if you like. There are links to other informative sites as well. I hope you stop by, take a look, and maybe click the "Like" button. Better yet, share it with your friends. I appreciate it. I will keep you informed as to how it's going from time to time.

As always, take care my friends.

Today's observations.

When I first started writing this blog, I used to write quite often about the issue of politics. I would read an article, hear a news story on the radio, or see a post on Facebook from a friend, and then proceed to pontificate about it here on my blog. I found that this led to many ugly disagreements, and that it strained some important friendships, so I stopped. Yesterday the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ended listening to three days of arguments on the issue of what has become known as Obamacare. It's purpose is to get everyone access to affordable health care.

I have sat back as an observer of the battle going on, and have become quite amused at how out of touch and totally ignorant arguments from both sides have gotten. Some of the analogies being put forward are so far-fetched that the best hollywood writers could never dream up such things. If it weren't for the fact that this is an important real life issue, this would be great comedy.

Another news item getting a great deal of attention is the Travyon Martin case. I knew it was getting out of hand when celebrities were tweeting the home address of the shooter, and others started tweeting the home address of the celebrity. And then I see on Facebook profile pictures of various people, safe and sound in their own homes, wearing a hoodie. That's all well and good, but some of these folks would NEVER be caught in public wearing one. And I dare say that some of these people, if they were walking down a dark street alone, and encountered someone matching Travyon's description in a hoodie, would cross the street. Or at least that would be their initial instinct. And that's okay, because instinct is natural...it doesn't make you racist.

But alas, I digress. I have decided to focus my creative energies towards my music. I have gotten some very good feedback from the two songs I recorded years ago. With the advances in technology, I can now write and record my songs at home, on this very computer. I am still learning how to use the software, but should be posting some demo versions of my songs soon. My hope is that one of my songs will attract the attention of a national act. In the meantime, please click on the music link to the left. If you like what you hear, please visit my reverbnation store, or look for my music on your favorite download sites like iTunes, eMusic, Zune and many others.

I'll be keeping in touch more regularly, so keep your eyes open.

Take care my friends.

The Resurrection

I used to play in a band in high school. You know, some kids with instruments who knew 3 or 4 chords and proceeded to spend countless hours butchering a group of songs that somehow all sounded alike. As the hours passed, we were unknowingly improving. My high school band even played a couple of shows before large crowds.

After graduation, we all parted ways. I ended up in a wedding band for a little over 12 years. When I got married, and more importantly, had kids, I had to choose between being a family man or a musician. You see, although I was making money in the wedding band, I was also writing a good deal of my own music. I went into a recording studio with some friends of mine, and recorded two of my original tunes, with the intent of making a "45" record. If you are under 40, you might have to Google that. I still have the master tape, but never did get it pressed. I thought the songs were lost forever.

Then I got an e-mail from a Facebook friend. His brother was the producer of the recording session I had done. My friend told me that his brother had sent him some mp.3 files, and my two songs were there. I was thrilled! But what to do with the songs now...

I burned a couple copies of the songs to give my kids. At least they could enjoy my music. I kept the CD in my car, and any willing passenger got to hear my songs. Then one passenger suggested I put the songs on iTunes. I checked into it, and did so. "I Wanna be Famous" is available on iTunes, and while is not making me rich, has sold a surprising number of downloads. This resurrected my desire to play music again.




I had heard Kristen Merlin, a singer/songwriter with incredible talents, and a band called The Vegas Valentinos in local establishments, and my enthusiasm for the idea grew. Then my high school band's drummer invited me to hear his group, The Toni Knott Band, and I was very surprised to hear how good they were. That did it. I had to find a band. I looked on Craigslist. I saw a couple ads looking for bass players, and replied. A few weeks after my replies, the very same Vegas Valentinos e-mailed me inviting me to audition. I did, and got the job. It was a godsend.

I am now playing live gigs again. The band does a good deal of original songs, and takes recording seriously. It is exactly the situation I had hoped for, and I must say I feel blessed to have been accepted by these wonderfully talented guys.

I have been saying that I want to enjoy the second half of my life a lot more than the first half. The Valentinos are a huge first step in fulfilling that goal.

Remember friends, it's never too late. Go after your dreams. You never know what could happen. Oh, and if you want to hear "I Wanna be Famous", just click on the widget to the left. Enjoy!

Take care my friends.