So then the question becomes

It's not your voice  It's not the chords  It's not your blouse Or the choice of moods It's your quality of thinking That sets you apart  The strength of purpose Coming from the heart I can be polite to everyone  I can force myself to care But with you it's effortless  It takes me somewhere It's not enough to be kind I get that from my dog It what's on your mind That turns me on

Everybody Must Get Paid

The guy behind the counter The seller of marijuana The sound mixer The bartender The cocktail waitress The maker of your dress The rehearsal space owner The six seven bouncer The website designer The social media promoter The software seller The ticket taker The opening band The studio musicians The famous masterer The bagel caterer The music critic's paper The opinion maker The van rental agent Your mother

Things I Tell Myself

Let's pretend it's groovy Let's pretend it's alright Nothing comes from worrying Let's enjoy tonight Tomorrow comes the struggle Tomorrow brings fire Against trouble without blinking We fight for our lives Let's take another drink Sing another song Search for the humanity Amongst this twisted bunch Tomorrow comes the reckoning Tomorrow we meet god Dressed in our Sunday best Hearts warm with blood

Thank You, Mr. Briley

Just finished a workshop with the very talented Martin Briley. He spoke of the importance of "melodic shapes", referring to vocal melodies. The penny dropped. In recent years I've been writing this sequence:

Lyric idea -> Chords -> Vocal Melody

Whereas he's suggesting this :

Vocal Melody -> Lyric -> Chords

Duh. That's why he has gold records and why my mom still helps me out.

A Slow Fascination

to be ridiculous 

fun to play with

to work

without reason

Ice cream together

Listening to our

favorite music 

It's very important

Its where I get off 

It's a trick 

i know how it's done 

It still holds

I still do that

I'm still there

a slow fascination 

measured in years

Stage Fright

...suddenly melts away all at once. It's like I followed a breadcrumb trail back to my reasons for doing this and I'm at peace with all the psychological stuff. My musicianship has galaxies to go, but I don't doubt myself as I writer. I put lyrics and chords together. I sing the songs and that's enough for one person. Amen

.

Explaining Myself

In Professor Rose's Music Appreciation Class... So...I've never made a million dollars. I'm a middle-aged dude with no money in the bank. Why do I write songs? It's obsession.