"Exciting" short video in which Hotel California A Salute To The Eagles (myself included) wait out a storm, sequestered on the bus in the middle of downtown Kingsport, TN on June 9, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Waiting Out The Rain - Kingsport, TN - Video
"Exciting" short video in which Hotel California A Salute To The Eagles (myself included) wait out a storm, sequestered on the bus in the middle of downtown Kingsport, TN on June 9, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Track Preview - "Mama Gonna Whoop You!"
Okay, as promised, here's a song preview of "Mama Gonna Whoop You" only available to those of you on my email list. (I figure you hopefully like me enough already to accept this piece of work in it's unfinished state and won't flee at the click of a mouse if you don't like it!)
It's a rough mix. There's still things to add to it like background vocals, but I think it's still fun to hear and I wanted to share. Once you click "play" it should ask you to confirm that you're on the email list before you're allowed to hear more than 30 seconds of it. (Now, if 30 seconds is enough for you, then maybe I haven't done my job in hooking your ear into hearing more!!) Hope that's not the case!
It's a rough mix. There's still things to add to it like background vocals, but I think it's still fun to hear and I wanted to share. Once you click "play" it should ask you to confirm that you're on the email list before you're allowed to hear more than 30 seconds of it. (Now, if 30 seconds is enough for you, then maybe I haven't done my job in hooking your ear into hearing more!!) Hope that's not the case!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Taxi Forward - Urgent Entertainment News! - Sounds Like?
It's always good to get a bit of good news when you're not feeling up to snuff from the flu.
Got the results of another Taxi Music pitch of mine that was forwarded. In short, the listing called for:
ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION-type INSTRUMENTAL CUES a la shows similar to Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, etc., needed by a Full Service Music Publishing Company with a great working relationship at a Major Network for use in multiple shows! They're looking for short cues of 60 seconds or less - think "bumpers" and transition music! They said, and we quote: "The key word often used for the music we want is 'urgent entertainment news'."
Click on the music player to hear my....creation "Celebrity D&B"
We'll see what happens"!
What is Taxi? What is a "Forward" Click HERE.
Got the results of another Taxi Music pitch of mine that was forwarded. In short, the listing called for:
ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION-type INSTRUMENTAL CUES a la shows similar to Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, etc., needed by a Full Service Music Publishing Company with a great working relationship at a Major Network for use in multiple shows! They're looking for short cues of 60 seconds or less - think "bumpers" and transition music! They said, and we quote: "The key word often used for the music we want is 'urgent entertainment news'."
Click on the music player to hear my....creation "Celebrity D&B"
We'll see what happens"!
What is Taxi? What is a "Forward" Click HERE.
Monday, May 2, 2011
A Dream That Won't Come True
Today is the day after Osama bin Laden's death. I suppose I don't need to go into detail for you who he is, and actually, he's not the subject of this post. Let's change our focus, shall we?
This morning as I had iTunes DJ playing while preparing for a hotel departure, the Carpenters came on. The song (not one of their well-known hits) was called "Now".
You know, it's guaranteed that every time I hear Karen Carpenter's voice, I will melt...chills! What a voice! Simple and pure.
Here's something you may not know about me:
It's always been a secret dream of mine ever since I can remember since Karen, Richard, and their parents, were fellow Downey, California residents like I was, to sing with Karen someday. Of course that will never happen because she sadly died in 1983 of anorexia complications. So while I was living my childhood life and spending hours on end hunkered down playing my guitar in my bedroom on the west side of town, Karen and Richard Carpenter lived and we're rising to the heights of worldwide musical fame on the northeast side of town!
Kind of cool to think about!
But now Karen's no longer with us. There a plenty of singers who I greatly admire, but she remains to this day my all-time favorite female singer. I enjoy her not only for simply the heart-warming entertainment she brings but also as a fellow performer. Of course, you'll probably read this a lot in my posts, but I'm so blessed and grateful to be singing for a living and always learning something from admiring the talents of the best!
I can't but help but think there's a little "bit of Karen" I've absorbed into whatever performance skills I may have acquired along the way from watching and listening to her.
A quote that went along with this posted video from NedNickerson2010 for the song "Now":
"Following Karen's death, Richard returned to the studio and worked on his and Karen's last recordings, including two of the songs she recorded in 1982 as well as other songs from previous recording sessions over the years before. "Now" was a work lead, recorded in one take, and was intended to familiarize the musicians with the song as well as Richard's arrangement. After a complete music track had been recorded, Karen would have returned to the studio and recorded new vocals for the song. But as it was, the work lead turned out to be the last song Karen ever recorded."
This morning as I had iTunes DJ playing while preparing for a hotel departure, the Carpenters came on. The song (not one of their well-known hits) was called "Now".
You know, it's guaranteed that every time I hear Karen Carpenter's voice, I will melt...chills! What a voice! Simple and pure.
Here's something you may not know about me:
It's always been a secret dream of mine ever since I can remember since Karen, Richard, and their parents, were fellow Downey, California residents like I was, to sing with Karen someday. Of course that will never happen because she sadly died in 1983 of anorexia complications. So while I was living my childhood life and spending hours on end hunkered down playing my guitar in my bedroom on the west side of town, Karen and Richard Carpenter lived and we're rising to the heights of worldwide musical fame on the northeast side of town!
Kind of cool to think about!
But now Karen's no longer with us. There a plenty of singers who I greatly admire, but she remains to this day my all-time favorite female singer. I enjoy her not only for simply the heart-warming entertainment she brings but also as a fellow performer. Of course, you'll probably read this a lot in my posts, but I'm so blessed and grateful to be singing for a living and always learning something from admiring the talents of the best!
I can't but help but think there's a little "bit of Karen" I've absorbed into whatever performance skills I may have acquired along the way from watching and listening to her.
A quote that went along with this posted video from NedNickerson2010 for the song "Now":
"Following Karen's death, Richard returned to the studio and worked on his and Karen's last recordings, including two of the songs she recorded in 1982 as well as other songs from previous recording sessions over the years before. "Now" was a work lead, recorded in one take, and was intended to familiarize the musicians with the song as well as Richard's arrangement. After a complete music track had been recorded, Karen would have returned to the studio and recorded new vocals for the song. But as it was, the work lead turned out to be the last song Karen ever recorded."
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
I Reflect Therefore I Am and Therefore I Shall Continue The Journey
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| Yours truly pondering in a meadow somewhere in Missouri. Photo: Kevin Lovelady |
Ha, ha - funny!
Seriously, I HAVE been reflective (Of the most meditative kind minus the "transendental" aspect) of late. I believe I'm on my 6th year with Hotel California A Salute To The Eagles. Goal #1 was to take part in some really cool musical situation where I didn't have to play in bars 5-nights-a-week for a buck, but where people were actually paying attention to the music. I found H-Cal. and Holy-Divine-timely-intervention! - it was a perfect match!
Lo and behold, I found out how much I enjoyed performing on the big stage and how much I enjoyed learning THAT whole thing. Connecting with the audience, hitting those necessary high-notes on certain songs, playing my parts correctly (ha ha!), etc. This as well is a never-ending, though rewardingly exciting, path of continued learning.
So this is where I am. Double-edged sword, double-whammy, however you want put it. I was formerly just a guy wanting to write songs and play some cool gigs. Now I'm a guy who I think has grown to love the stage as well. From the feedback I get, wow! - I'm touched.
Putting out a CD in the future? I don't know. Not a very focused...umm,...focus... to get somewhere in the music biz. I've just reached my 50th year on this planet. Guess this late bloomer/dreamer is just re-evaluating. I'm very blessed to do what I do. In the words of California PBS Television host, Huell Howser, "The Adventure Continues"!
Thanks for reading. God bless you in your endeavours!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Added another track as a Free Download
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| Got a photo with Imogen at a listening event in Hollywood for her latest CD |
Singer, Imogen Heap donated these vocals to an online charity project and hundreds of songwriters like myself added their own tracks to them.
So what you hear are her vocals just as they were mixed and uploaded. And then I added my own chord structure, rhythm arrangement, etc. on my Mac, mostly on the road somewhere in Florida.
I didn't spend a whole lot of time on it, but it was a whole lot of fun to do! It would not be proper for me to sell this track so I put it up for a free download. Hope you enjoy it.
If you're already on email list, it should be automatically available to you.
Click on the "3 Free Downloads" box on the top right of this site or CLICK HERE.
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