A journey of self-discovery

Hello.  How have you been?  Good I hope, at least for the most part.

So here I am a lot of the way through a sort of journey of self-discovery.  You see, it's occurred to me that these songwriting challenges, to me at least, are a way to discover who I am in the shape of things.

Now I know that might sound deep, philosophical and, quite frankly, full of shit, but hey, we get these thoughts from time to time.  Basically, I think that at different times it's a good thing to just stop and work out who you are at that particular point in life.  Now personally I thought, like some of you, that all of that stuff was just crap that people say - people who, I admit regrettably, I used to just take the piss out of when I was younger (so much younger than today).  It has taken this long for me to realise all of this!!!

So, where has this journey into myself taking me?

Well ask you might as Yoda would say.  In a way these songwriting challenges have helped me get back to thinking about my songwriting and my playing a damn sight more for one thing!  I'm a lazy musician because, in all honesty, I don't really have a reason. I don't gig because of work, and I don't have a band.  That is something that certainly bugs the "I want to be a musician" in me.  By that last statement I mean that it's simpler to just write songs and let a "proper" singer put them across.  I've always been in the "get by" fold when it comes to singing, and that bugs me because I think my songs would go over better by others singing them.

Now I've been putting music to someone else's words (unfortunately they've only written what I can term as a single verse and chorus, which is making things tricky, unless I want it to turn out like McCartney's Goodnight Tonight, Why Don't We Do It In The Road, or......  Well, he's written a few where it's just the same verse repeated hasn't he. I'm trying to think of others who have done that?

So (back to the topic in hand), I'm working on this song and thought as a laugh I would try and do what I call a grungy vocal (it probably isn't), and someone said that I should keep doing that, so I am going to. All these years hey!

One problem is that that vocal won't cut it for everything that I write, but I am going to keep trying. I may fail, but I'll keep trying until I have someone to fall back on again, at least!

Thank you for reading. Take care.

August 29th 2013 (42 years, 9 months, an 3 days old).

What Am I Doing?

Hey, how are you all?

It's been, hmm, ten or so days since I last posted.  I was meaning to post before now, but I just got carried away with things, more music than anything else.

At this exact moment I am listening to some music by another person that is taking part in the 50/90 songwriting challenge, and their work is with ambient music, which is different I know, but I like it a lot.  A lot of it is relaxing, plus they seem to come out with sounds that are always fascinating to listen to.

Now that song has finished (which I enjoyed), and the next song on the list on the 50/90 site is another ambient piece, this time more minimalist and over twenty minutes long...  Hmm. If this person created fifty pieces in ninety days, then technically they could produce potentially twenty hours of music.  Amazing!  What is more amazing is that five minutes through it I am not bored.  It is very relaxing (perhaps too much so for a night shift).  I am fascinated by different styles of music, the equipment used, and that sort of thing.  I like experimenting with it all as well, but at the same time I sort of make things up on the spot hoping it will work essentially.  Eleven minutes in and still good.  The piece can be found HERE if you're interested.  It wouldn't be out of place in a Blade Runner sequel, or something like that.

Now that is a space to create music.  Not my space though.

I have listened more recently and heard some great music, and I am happy to be making more friends through the experience.

Because of these friends that I have made, I know for certain that when the time comes that I can, I will most certainly be sorting out a passport and making my way to America one of these days and doing that dreamed of road trip, which will take place during a future 50/90 songwriting challenge period.  I will be travelling around the United States meeting fellow 50/90ers, hopefully jamming with them, getting to know them, hopefully staying with a good few of them as well, and generally having fun between bouts of driving from one place to another.

A picture I found of some participants, possibly including
some that I will meet sometime during my eventual road trip.

There are a few negatives to this idea though, and I have only just recently realised this.  One negative is that I won't be able to spend long enough with these people to get to know them as well as I would like to.  The reason for that is because I would be doing a trip around the states during a ninety day period, which is one heck of a lot of miles to cover, and there are a lot of people in the US that take part in this madness that is the 50/90 challenge.

Madness in the way that there are some who are writing so frenetically and prolifically that they must be locked inside their music writing areas with only a little food and drink being forced into them by some sort of drip.

I've got past the fifty songs now, so I've disconnected mine. ;-)

I'm doing more listening of people's songs and reading of their lyrics now I think.  At least that is the idea, but a problem is that I am still being inspired and coming up with ideas, so I'm not doing as much listening and reading as I was meaning to.  Oh well...

As I have no doubt already said, there are pieces I have been working on that will probably turn out to be good and some that I will possibly leave well alone.  That realisation will come once it is all over and I get to listen to all that was created.  Click HERE and check some stuff out.  If there's anything you like, then let me know.  I was particularly happy with the songs No Money In My Pocket (lyrics by Cindy Prince) and 6,000 Miles (lyrics by Arthur Rossi).

NOW I WILL TAKE A BREAK...

Crikey, it's been two days since I wrote all of that...

I have started putting music to another of Cindy's lyrics that is called Wildwood Passion (and uses quite a few chords and has key changes, so that won't be easy to do), and I have two sets of lyrics by Wyman Griffith to put music to as well.  I am hopeful at writing more with Liz Petty, and a few others.  There is a thirteen year old taking part who has posted up some very good lyrics who I almost feel as though I should spur on by finding something to put music to as a backing for her to sing on.  I'll find something, or perhaps put a music backing up and point her in it's direction to let her write something to go with it...

I'm not just writing with others though.  I am still writing both words and music as well.

Photo of our caterpillars.

Me and Louise frequently play word games and mess about with silly rhymes.  I occasionally write poetry, and yesterday I did just that, so I sent a text of what I had to Louise.  A few minutes later Louise sent me something back that worked with it.  It was about about Cabbage White butterflies, and I decided to make what there was into song lyrics.  The two bits I wrote I have put as the verses, and Louise's bit I have made into a bridge.

It was based on the fact that we had got some cauliflower given to us from a friend's allotment, and while I was at work Louise sent me a text to say that there were come caterpillars in with the cauliflower, which were Cabbage Whites.  Louise didn't want to just throw them away, so she left them in the container with the leaves from the cauliflower (and a little bit of cauliflower as well).  They were okay for a few days, but then we decided that we should take them somewhere.  I took them to the churchyard across from where we live, and left them in what I think was a nice little area.  So, that is how that came about.  Not a usual subject for a song, but I am happy with it.  All I have to do now is set it to music.

Thank you for reading, please take care.

August 14 2013 (42 years, 9 months, and 19 days old).

Things going on

Hey how's things?

I'm here again then...  Blog more often and people might think I'm going back to my old self.  Don't be daft! ;-)

Today I have a sort of list of things in my head that I want to tick off...

Firstly there's this predisposition of all things to do with the royal baby.  Now don't get me wrong, I am not someone that is against the Royal Family.  I think they are very important to the UK, and yes I can see that Prince George (as he is apparently named) is important to the country.  The thing is that once we've had all of this the media frenzy for it all is still ridiculous.  They are still after whatever they can get.  LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!  It's a baby for crying out loud.  Another few years and it will be okay to shove a twenty foot long camera lens into their face, but for now just let them be.  We don't need to know anymore!  What else could we find out?  I know for one that I don't need to find out when it starts getting potty trained, if they use Pampers extra-dry, or any of that literal crap.  Leave it!

Michael Ansara (RIP) playing Kang
in Star Trek The Original Series.

Second thing on my list is to say farewell to the actor Michael Ansara.  The first thing I remember about Michael Ansara was seeing him play Kang in the seventies repeats of the original series of Star Trek.  He also played Kane in the television series Buck Rogers In The 25th Century.  They are the two things that stand out to me, but he also had roles in I Dream Of Jeannie (starring his then wife Barbara Eden), several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the film The Ten Commandments (uncredited), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (again with Barbara Eden), Perry Mason, Harum Scarum (an Elvis Presley film), Lost In Space, and so very much more.  He was a great actor in all that I saw him in, and I am sure that he will be missed by all those who knew him more than I did.  All I know is that I liked his acting.

Third then is something that has always irritated me.  Robert Mugabe is still in power in Zimbabwe!  What a bloody travesty that is.  It is plain to all but those wearing blinkers that he has fixed the whole charade that masked itself as a "democratic electoral campaign".  yeah right.  It was as democratic as a stick over someone's head saying "vote for me or die!"  That is actually a technique that has been used before now in Zimbabwe as well by the way.  Why is is he carrying on like this?  It beggars belief that people don't say to him, "look, go out of power and take yourself out of the standing and let's see what happens!"  It's a case of selective interference.  We will interfere in some other areas, but not there.

I actually wrote a song many years ago about how much of a lying, deceptive, manipulating, and genocidal leadership he holds.  Things obviously change there!

My journey home.

Anyway, it has just gone four in the morning and I need to get my stuff packed now and tidy the cabin here at work ready for the day man to relieve me of duty.

Thank you for reading, and please take care.

August 3rd 2013 (42 years, eight months, and nine days old).

PS - I was thinking of going on for longer, but instead decided to make the post short and succinct. Hahaha. :-)