My goodness! It's been a while! You know that thing where the longer you leave something, the harder it is to go back and do it... well that’s me with this. The fact is, whilst I've been busy doing music over the interim, I think I'd become a bit jaded with the lack of progress: getting these songs done - seems to take an inordinate amount of time - and making any real impact. Any endeavour or labour of love is a bit of a slog, and brings with it its frustrations – and indeed moments of self-doubt. So writing about these trials and tribulations could wait, whilst I quietly ploughed on.
Of course, when I have these moments I remind myself that this journey is really about working through the collection of musical creations I have going back over the years, and the cathartic experience of getting them out of my system – albeit belatedly. It's something I need to do. So slowly, slowly I do them as best as I can with the resources and abilities at hand, learning along the way. With a sense of relief, letting go once done and moving on to the next project.
Having organised the bits of paper, I totted up my songs on a spreadsheet and got to about 50 that I’d written (either solo or in collaboration), which is quite a lot! There will be others not fully formed awaiting rediscovery amongst the 'ideas tapes'. It is surprising how long a tune can stay with you, fixed in the mind, etched on the soul; some of these songs will have been with my many years, some are new, and some are old songs with new bits giving them a new lease of life. I might have three-quarters of a song and think I need a new bit for here, and it will come and feel like it was always part of that song. The creative process continues to amaze. The process of recording is more of a challenge, more involved and prolonged.
My Happy Place
Filming Lover Boy video
I do enjoy losing myself with my headphones on singing into the mic, and playing guitar as I run through the many works-in-progress. The discipline of focusing on one thing at a time is sometimes lacking! Those first steps in getting it down can be a bit daunting. Yet it usually comes together and the results are getting more polished. Admittedly, not always getting it right, some earlier songs will need revisiting! Moving forward is what matters. Time is not finite, nor procrastination the best of friends.
I’ll try and write a bit more frequently. Though I'm reminded of a tweet by @Skip_Licker, one of my favourite tweeters:
“Recreate the thrill of having a blog by shouting out of your window into a cold, uncaring and lonely night at 3am.”
A short post. Currently working on a couple of songs from the Boys Talk days, the first is a reworking of an early demo with updated lyrics which is done, but now needs a video of some sort for my YouTube channel – and some rain! Taking a backing track from an old recording, I've enjoyed doing the vocals and harmonies, keeping true to what Mike and I did in those Halcyon days, whilst augmenting the sound, and so giving an old song a new lease of life. Coming soon...
The second imminent song, was an idea of Mike’s with a great chorus that I completed post Boys Talk, and have been jamming to for a few months; the song has some new bits and is just waiting for me to focus on the recording - taking it from rough to more polished. An upbeat song, inspiring, great to sing, with very positive message that with a little exposure may get picked up.
There is always something on the go, though with life's other pressures progress seems to be slow. It would be nice to be able to concentrate on doing music; there is a lot of material to work through. Maybe needs a plan.
It's now two years since I uploaded my first song and video to my tinkersong channel on YouTube, the first of 15 original compositions to date – some old, some newer. Hopefully, choosing the date of the sinking of the Titanic wasn't a bad move! I've not been as prolific as I would have liked, but it takes time to get it together – song, recording, some sort of video – still, it's important for me to be doing it, so the journey will continue.
The surprise to me is that that first song 'You Make Me Feel Better', which I went with in spite of it being more basic and raw than I'd planned, has done so well, almost taking on a life of its own. By some way my most popular upload. It is an unfinished Boys Talk song that I reworked; it became quite a romantic number with the idea of someone coming along and saving you. Quite summery too. A song that I really will have to do properly as a 'studio standard' recording. And one day I will… or maybe someone else will (if they ask nicely). [New 2016 version with video filmed on the Isle of Man below.]
You Make Me Feel Better (2016 version)
The journey has had its moments of excitement, as well as disappointments, each having an impact on the psyche, spurring me on or frustrating somewhat. The Lennon/Beatles tribute 'Mathew Street', an old Boys Talk recording, was a promising beginning that seemed to connect, it brought back nice memories of writing it inspired by a John Lennon poster, and of the recording session with Mike Meade (synth/vocals) and Pat Acres (guitar), and the total high of getting a song down; I would be deluding myself if, given its theme and love of The Beatles, it's done anything near what I'd hoped or expected.
'Wake Up,' which sees me writing with passion and cogency about the skulduggery in a political context, seemed to create a little stir within the blogging world, from where I drew inspiration, which was nice – and appreciated. Still a slow burner given all that's going on in the world and being done to people. I will revisit the themes separately in a future blog; I may even dabble some more musically in this area.
The most recent song 'Have You Tonight' has surprisingly done little (so far). Short and sweet. Good feel to it. A bit of a throw-away song borne of brief encounter and the euphoria of a 'moment.' Worryingly, mustering up less than 50 views in a month is something of a bleak reflection of my life and a prolonged period of self-imposed isolation. It is a bit of a rude awakening. Really hoped that doing this (the music) would effect positive change. If I'm honest, generally, the video views on most of the songs aren't that great, the connections are not really happening, even though I'm pleased with most of the songs and recordings, and how I've gone about doing the videos - given the palette and resources available to me.
Have You Tonight
I shouldn't beat myself up too much, to keep me going, there are some good songs in the pipeline and others I'm holding back for when I'm 'discovered', I’ll keep at it. It's who I am, and when I'm in the moment there is no better feeling. Well apart from…
Can't believe another age has passed since my last outing here. Sometimes wonder where the time goes.
There was a little hiatus, as during November I turned producer, recording my cousin, Danny Thomas, who visited me and wanted to do a Christmas album. We did 10 tracks over a long weekend and, after some mixing and tweaking, came up with a very good collection of festive cheer and reflection. It was an interesting exercise, recording someone else, getting a performance. Danny, always a fab singer, did a really good job and came up with some really nice harmonies. There were a few moments when listening back the hairs stood up on the back of the neck! And the good thing is, these songs can be used again next year!
Sadly, though it was in the queue, my own, original Christmas song never got recorded. A song of lost love that might one day pull at the heartstrings.
I managed to get one new song recorded and a video produced just after Christmas. That song Look On The Bright Side, was me revisiting one of the very first songs I wrote, not long after owning my first guitar. Thematically, it is similar to It's Alright With Me, basically, using those troubled moments we all have and seeing the positive.
As I do, I start these projects and let them evolve a while before getting down to it, that way when I jam the song, ideas will come; in this case the D shape intro, a slight variation on the melody from the original, a solo... My harmonies with myself seem to come naturally now. In the process of recording I hit upon the idea of having an uplifting, mantra-like outro, coming up with the all new "Everything's Gonna Be OK" ending, which threw up some interesting overdubs and harmonies.
Once I have the song recorded and I'm happy with the mix, the next thing to think about is a video. I'd invested in a new HD camcorder, hoping for better quality and a 'lock on subject' focus seeing as I tend to be filming myself. I took some footage in the local park, with a film crew of one and some funny looks as I mimed to a mobile phone. At home, I filmed in front of a new greenscreen cloth, hoping to add backgrounds; unfortunately, I’ll have to resolve issues of cloth transparency, mock-studio lighting and enough computer processing power! (Green sheet rather than green screen.) The edit was difficult in that the new HD files were 'too much' for the computer (juddery monitoring) so syncing sound and video was hard. After much trial and error, I got there in the end; and, it having enough bits in it to make it interesting, was quite happy with the produced video.
However, an uploaded video is reprocessed by YouTube and on occasion I get syncing problems, which is off-putting to the viewer (and frustrating to me), so the live version is the fourth attempt!
With each song and video I learn something.
Look On The Bright Side
It's very pleasing after all those years to bring such an early song to life. Brought to mind the quote from Star Trek spoof Galaxy Quest "Never give up, never surrender." It’s kind of how I feel about all of these songs and my belated musical foray – and why not?
Sometimes writing things down helps set things in motion, so with this in mind, I thought I'd make an interim post about what I'm up to with tinkersong. I need to come back in due course and write a little about my most recent upload.
Wake Up: a song for our times - one of political, social and economic observations - which having had a little boost from the blogging community (Max Farquar*, Captain Ranty* and others) has done quite well, heading towards being my no. 2 most viewed video in less than a month.
I should also write about my experience of putting on a local music festival, but that is another story...
I embarked upon this music project 18 months or so ago, as much out of a frustration that, if it was to be, it would be up to me, as a need to purge the soul and set 'mes enfants' free. Though, in the process of progressing this project, it's been more about doing than outcomes. A pebble thrown into a lake... success and recognition would be a bonus.
Funnily enough, I've always felt a little unworthy when in the company of proper musicians – when I think of some of the original music I've heard that got nowhere, you wonder whether it's worth picking up the guitar. That said, I think I've surprised myself with what I could do with my limited home studio set-up and a little endeavour.
At the outset, I already had quite few demos recorded - some of better quality that others - my 'better' songs I’d intended keeping for the studio (or the album), so I've been mostly doing songs that were new recordings, apart from a few strategic songs like Mathew Street (Beatles connection) and Driven [below] (a relatively polished, studio recording that came from a music production course). So doing these 'new' songs has been a voyage of discovery.
Driven
In the pipeline, I've a song called Have You Tonight, which is about the lustful frisson of excitement of meeting someone. The Condom Song: a song about being prepared! The Spanish version of I Told You So. A twist on Happy Birthday about an estranged love. There is my Christmas song, which has been around for years, 'un peu triste' and not so jolly, but I think it's alright, and I really need to get cracking on with it or it won't be keeping the X Factor annual musical contribution to the world off the top! There are three or four others 'in progress' (Dreams, Ever Since, I Got No Bed, and a reworking of Boys Talk) which just need me to get on with it!!!
Then there are a couple of songs from my Boys Talk days where the decent quality; studio-recorded demos need something visual to accompany them. One an energetic cover of the Everly Brothers' song Temptation; one our observations on 'body language' which coming out quite funky was one of the best things we did. Again, having gone down the YouTube road, I need to come up with something visual. There being no duo any more, I have an idea of getting people to mime the lines whilst acting it out. How to organise…? For Temptation, images of temptresses, come-to-bed eyes, red lips and flashes of naked skin come to mind (all in the best possible taste of course).
And then there are the covers: a Beatles cover off their first album, recorded but needs something visual; I've a Smokey Robinson song I've been playing with, which has potential. Both quite different from the originals.
All of this against a backdrop of the maelstrom of life and other demands, and monkeys on backs. Hopefully, there will be enough time, and fruits of my endeavours will be worthwhile. Bear with me…
*Of the bloggers, Max Farquar stopped blogging, and dear old Captain Ranty (Colin Grainger) passed away in 2015.
Summer seems to have come and gone with a whimper since the last posting; there have been 3 new songs, a mini-music festival organised… with other songs in the pipeline. The good thing about doing the music is that I am coming up with new ideas, which is pleasing; my initial thinking was that I would work through songs I already had.
The summer began with the completion of a brand new song, of which the spark came in June 2010. Born of frustration and being somewhat 'lost'. The idea and tune for what would become 'Stop The World' came to mind, which I recorded into a mobile phone - a few words which gave the song its direction and a tune for the verse. Always handy to have some recording device at hand for when the muse strikes. For me, the creative process could be me singing a few words when an idea arrives or strumming a few chords on a guitar and singing something over it.
I have boxes of cassette tapes with these snippets of ideas, some get developed into songs, others go nowhere ending up in a musical cul-de-sac; others, fragments, have the potential to become something - the tune staying with me a barometer of that. It's not always an easy process, and it's very rare that something comes in one go.
Having been picking up the guitar and working the idea, it wouldn't be until May that it I would begin working on 'Stop The World' in earnest; that moment being the arrival of the middle eight chord sequence. I had the tune, a verse and chorus, middle eight… firing up Cubase (music sequencing software), I would build up a structure (arrangement) in this case of intro, verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, middle 8, room for a solo, chorus, to the end. My initial tempo, would be sped up to something more natural, one that felt right.
A work in progress, having a song structure and basically playing it; I worked on the bass line, guitar parts and drums (with fills as a finishing touch)… added guide vocals and harmonies, developing the music whilst jotting down ideas for additional lyrics. By now I had in mind an idea of what I wanted to say, it was a matter of finding the words to express myself; on a couple of sheets of paper, I would scribble down lines as my subconscious sent them to me – no rush.
As the weeks progressed the second verse emerged, the middle 8 blanks were filled (with some good lines I thought). I wanted a more ‘positive’ ending to what is an angst-ridden song - an optimism that links a few of my songs.
Drawing on a country feel, which seemed to fit with the sentiment, at first I camped up a little on the harmony, which was fun if a little over the top, and was toned down considerably by the time Cubase version 5 arrived. In the interim, I had the idea for the a cappella section after the middle 8. I produced a little solo, as well as the riff in the outro.
It took a while but was a very pleasing creation all round. A Grammy Award, maybe a Granny Award, around the corner! Said what needed to be said, and had enough interesting bits to hang it together. And after some more endeavour, it came out like a proper song in the mix. Not bad for a song recorded in my living room. I think it is a little country in style - a youtuber commented 'Traveling Wilburys', which I can live with. Pleased that the tinkersong output so far is quite mixed.
Stop The World
For the video, perhaps in the excitement and rush to get it done, and due to gloomy weather outside, I shot a simple video of the 'recording' with a few cutaways, and edited with Sony Vegas.
Personally, I like it when songs resonate with me, which is perhaps the trick; for me, 'Stop The World' is quite a naked affair, each word, each line, a truth and, in that, a release. It’s done now.
I performed it live to a backing track for the first time at Howfenfest 2011 (24 July).
A year ago today I uploaded my first video to my YouTube channel tinkersong, just me with a guitar, a camcorder for both vision and sound (the intended overdubbing was thwarted by a dodgy camera mic lead!), singing a song, though written many years before in a room in Hounslow with Mike Meade, I’d never recorded before. 'You Make Me Feel Better' - a song about trying to move on - a bit rough and ready, but a start on this phase of my musical journey. The hits are steady and in due course it will hit 1000 views. Nothing exceptional but something...
In the meantime, with fits and starts, frustration and joy, doubt and elation, and some endeavour, I've added a further eight songs. There was the Boys Talk Lennon tribute, 'Mathew Street', with a video made from photos using Windows Movie Maker, put together with intricate care to match transitions to beat. I thought this would do a bit better than it has given its theme and the legions of Beatles fans; that said, it's from where most of my new online (Facebook) 'friends' have come.
The video shoot for 'Driven' came out well, editing for the first time with Sony Vegas; a video that matched the quality of the recording. So as I progress, I'm learning, surprising myself with what I can do with both the music and the video.
In choosing the songs to get done, a period when I lived in France, which was creatively prolific became a focus; these were songs I'd had written but had never recorded. In 'The Ballad of Christy Buck' - a tribute to my dad - I found a harmonising style; with a nod to the Talent Show machine, 'Danny (Superstar)', now with a newly added middle section came to life - I'm particularly pleased with how this came out. A pity about the problems with the YouTube upload conversions, which seem a bit hit and miss sometimes. An old favourite, 'Just In Case', has some nice harmonies on it… And still, there are probably another four or five songs from this period worthy of recording.
I snuck in 'Gillian' - an old 4-track recording made with Mike – significant personally, and will almost certainly be revisited.
Recently, two songs: 'Festooned With Love' and 'It's Alright With Me' have been added. 'Festooned' is a song I've lived with for many years, about a love that wasn't to be, the acoustic works quite well on it; its recording took me back to the moment of its inception. Love, hope and despair in 3½ minutes! As for the girl, reconciled a few years ago, we remain in touch, good friends. It must be quite cool to have a song written about you!
'It's Alright With Me' is quite a deep and philosophical song, optimistic (a bit like the first song), again from my French stay. (The room at Paul Langevin school should have a blue plaque on it!) It' a song that I've attempted to record a few times; this version sounds like it does in my head, and I'm very pleased with the result. The video I shot around a local lodge, with a degree of self-consciousness filming myself and singing along to the track being played on CD - it's tough not being a superstar! There is a certain irony about me singing a song called 'It’s Alright With Me' at this moment in life… there is a lot of turmoil around and music is providing a lift and some succour.
So, a journey has begun. It's fun. It feels as if I've achieved something. In the end it was down to me to get on with it. There have been a few disappointments along the way, some surprises, and progress is slower than I’d hoped. Nonetheless, there is momentum, and the songs are getting done. There is some good stuff in the wings (it says here), with many more original compositions and a few covers to come. The itch has been scratched, now we’ll see where this leads.
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