Second Day of Diligence

I've really begun to step things up in my writing and it's really paying off (as if that were some new concept. lol). It's because I'm realizing that if my music is going to go anywhere, it's up to me to be diligent and work hard at this and take it somewhere. So I've begun to treat my music writing as a PT job (aside from my FT job) as much as possible. I come home, eat dinner and watch a a little TV or check email/FB stuff, then get off and work! Then I have a time to take a break, then back to work until I'm basically too tired to work or think anymore. So far after 2 days I'm really making progress on my songs! And I want to keep this momentum going so I can get all these songs to the point where I'm ready for mastering. Most of these songs (about 5 in all that I'm developing and finishing for now) are halfway or more done, I just need to keep working on them and finish them. I find that when I DO sit and decide to work, the ideas come and it flows like usual, thanks to God, who I always pray for inspiration from for my songs, cause I want every part as possible to be moving, and with purpose. I don't want some 8 measures of just waste or 'holding' until the chorus or verse, I want it to be interesting, I want people to listen to it again and again!

I know a few songs from Depeche Mode where the intro alone or the break is the most interesting part to me. That's what I want my songs to do, to move people whether it's the verse, chorus or break. And again, the only way I'll get it out there is by being diligent and disciplined and getting them to that point, of mastering. When I'm ready, I'd like to at least rerecord the vocals and possibly guitar in the studio, since I don't have the luxury of having a quiet place and high quality mics for that. Living in apartments is almost impossible to record quiet tracks. The rest of the instruments should be fine.

So today I 'decided' to work on All Day Long, a song I haven't posted anywhere online and probably won't until it's complete. There's a few songs I'm saving until they're complete. For All Day Long, I needed to re-record it all in time, cause sometimes I just lay it down and go to town with multiple tracks. So earlier I recorded the guitar, main vocals and harmonies (not final by any means), and tonight I'm laying down the piano and strings, which really give it it's character. That's what I'm doing as soon as I'm finished here.

As a side note, I'm really looking forward to this weekend, we're going to the Steve McQueen Car Show on Saturday at the Boy's Republic! It was a great turnout last year, so I'm looking forward to going again and seeing what they have, I'm sure it's grown a bit this year. Then a movie with my son afterwards or go see a friend sing with her band, either way it'll be a nice day.

Okay, off to work for a bit! :)

Open Mic and Thoughts...

Today was just an overall great day musically speaking, starting with service today and some great fellowship. During worship, some insight occurred to me or spoke to me, regarding the Cello. I've been writing a lot of music lately that includes acoustic guitar supported by strings, whether viola or cello and horns as well. I've been admiring the cello especially lately and watching more videos on Cello players. Although I've always admired the string section in general, I never thought of playing it myself. In fact, even though I write music with strings, I'd much rather have someone else with more experience and knowledge play that part. But today, a thought was planted, a thought that said more or less "YOU should learn the Cello." I let it kind of stir for awhile to understand it and process it, and as I looked into the possibility of really learning it, I found out that it really is possible for me to start learning it. What I mean is, it just so happens that a small music store down the street both gives lessons in and rents Cellos for students. And even if I don't take lessons and decide to teach myself, I can still just rent the Cello itself, which is well within my cost. Then it occurred to me, that while I'm learning the Cello and once I have it down fairly well, I can record an actual Cello in my music, since I have one in my possession! YES! And then I could really understand it from my own experience and knowledge, which would help greatly in my writing. But even if I come to a point where I can play the Cello well, I'd still rather have someone else play while I play guitar, but...I guess you never know what can become of all this until you get there or what it might lead to. Who knows if it might lead me in a completely different direction, but we'll see.

The open mic in Claremont went well. I got on the list this time, which was a great start, after waiting in line for a good half-hour in the sun. Blahhh But it was worth the wait of course, and I signed up for the second session. I sat next to a very nice gentleman, who ended up being the featured artist, of all people. He played a few nice tunes from the 20's and 30's. When it was my turn, I went up a little nervous cause it's been awhile since I've played in front of people, but tried to stay calm, played my music and sang, which went well for the most part, and got through it okay. But honestly, it almost felt like some horse race rather than a paced walk, so I felt a little disappointed with that. But I got some good feedback and compliments at the end, so I guess it went better than I thought, although I know I need more practice with this. The good news is, I found out about another open mic from several people, the Fret House in Covina, which has one every month as well. And it's already coming this Saturday evening, when I have Isaiah! So I'm not sure if it's going to work this time but we'll see. If I can take him with me and play, I may do that but I'll have to call and ask if that's going to be okay. Sometimes, you never know what kind of content is going to come from any one singer, so I need to be careful.

As a side note, I did some finger-picking exercises tonight. Not sure where that all came from, possibly my own conviction that I could use some more practice in that arena. :)

Laziest Saturday

Today was probably one of the most laziest Saturdays in awhile for me. I slept in as usual 'til like 11am, got up and had coffee and eggos, then ended up lying on the couch and falling in and out of sleep for another few hours! I usually don't do that but I guess the last week really took a toll on my body cause we were so darn busy, I probably needed it. When I finally got up and showered, I went for a nice hike closeby at Grand Ave Park. It's a park on one side of the street, then nice hiking trails on the other side. One trail goes down into the trees, the other higher into the hills. I took the latter this time and actually reached the top, praying I wouldn't see any lions or what not up there! lol That alone was refreshing, both the exercise and getting some sun, plus it wasn't too hot today. Then I hung out at Barnes & Noble and read a book I've been reading about networking strategies for musicians, a really good read! I started reading it not too long ago but figured I'd pick it up again and resume so I can learn a thing or two.

If I'm going to pursue music seriously, I figure it's good to have knowledge of what I'm doing and not try to wing it and struggle, which I'm assuming most DIY musicians do, since the author mentioned that most people who need this book probably won't take the time to read it. Most musicians would rather just write their music and get paid, and yes, that would be awesome, but we need to know how to get paid and network and get it out there! Most deals have been made because of a connection to someone in the music business, hardly outside of it. Sure, you can send your CD to a publisher or a station hoping they'll listen to it and play it, but they're so flooded with CD submissions that usually, the only CD they play is through a reliable source or a CD they are expecting to receive already, made through a connection.

So getting more and more connected with other musicians and publishers and what not is becoming very important, whether online or at venues or gigs or wherever the music is at. Even tomorrow, when I go play at the open mic (yep, I'm still going to do it!), I plan to stick around and connect with others. You never know who has the power to connect you with someone higher up! :)

Face The Day progress

I actually made some progress on the song Face The Day this evening. What started as some misguided notes on the cello track actually turned into the entry into the break. I found the right chord on guitar and laid down the track with some simple chords. Then I sat back and figured out the melody and lyrics together and formed a nice break melody. Once I was fairly pleased with it, I recorded those as well, a simple harmony line and some 'oohs' and 'ahhh' in the background, which I'm pleased with. I didn't get a chance to continue the cello track, which I need to continue tomorrow or this week. What I REALLY need to do is at least have a good foundation for the whole song, which I'm performing this Sunday at an Open Mic at Folk Music Center! If I have that much I'm good to go. If not I'll have to choose another song, which is fine. And by the way, while at Ontario Mills finishing an install today, after I was done, I walked over to Sam Ash to check out some guitars, and lo and behold, they were having an open mic session going on! I found out that they do this twice a month and it's a pretty decent setup and turnout too. And it's more public than the one previous stated. The one at Folk Music has more musicians than 'watchers', but we cheer each other on, which is nice. In the meantime, time for bed. Nite. :)

Night of Restringing

So I decided to buy new Martin acoustic strings for my guitar tonight and restring it after realizing that this simple thing will help improve the sound alone. I've been wanting to actually invest in a new 'upgraded' acoustic/electric guitar, just waiting for the right moment. For the time being, however, this will work fine, and just in time for the upcoming open mic at Folk Music Center in Claremont. I've decided to play at least one song there, possibly one of my newer songs. I missed out on last months cause I got there too late. They said people start lining up almost an hour early to sign up! So gotta get there early this time. This will be the debut for Mayson Gray, so to speak. These new strings will definitely help in recording as well. I was also able to buy some new ear buds as well so I can listen to music on my phone, especially my own music when I'm out so I can continue to write and put down ideas. My old Altec ones got a short or something in the wires and don't work well, which is a bummer cause I paid some good money for them and they sounded great! :( But these will do for now. I admit, as much as I wish I didn't have to work and had all the time I wanted for writing and being creative, having a job IS nice cause it pays for nice stuff. lol AND the bills. Guess I'm off to bed. I wish I didn't have to sleep, I actually hate having to go to bed. :P

A Weekend of Creativity

So last weekend, starting Friday night actually, I unexpectedly found myself working on 2 new songs, as if they were handed to me to create and complete like a project. Sometimes songs come to me like that, very quickly and take shape. Some take more time and work. These came pretty easily and took shape quickly. With all that was going on that weekend, from the Artwalk in Pomona to Mother's Day and getting out with mom, I still found some time to build on both of these songs. It's slowed down a bit only because I work FT and it's harder to lay down tracks during the evening here, but I'm still writing and completing tracks such as the strings, piano and such. I started off by working on more of the lyrics to Face The Day on my lunch today (posted below for your hearing pleasure :). I'm going to try doing more tomorrow because I have a chance to lay down more vocals right after work. I may or may not include these new songs on the EP I'm working on, which I'm hoping to finish and get mastered by the Fall. That may be the perfect time to present this type of music, although I plan on playing live at different venues starting this month at the monthly open mic they have in Claremont, where it will be my official appearance as Mayson Gray, where there's a pretty decent amount of both listeners and musicians present. I have 2 weeks to prepare one of my songs, and I was thinking of possibly creating either handout CD's of the same song or just small fliers or cards to help spread the word.

Some things have occurred to me while writing as Mayson Gray, which has been for the last year or so now. One, I think I finally found a style that I love to write in and am comfortable with. It feels like 'me', rather than pretending to present music that's not really 'me'. Two, that if I'm serious about getting this out, in whatever form that takes, then I need to take this seriously and treat it as a PT job or side business that NEEDS to be worked on, or else it will never get anywhere just fidgeting with it. It will simply be a hobby or side project, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but I myself want it to become more than that, which means I need goals to build on it. Third, that it would be to my advantage to gain knowledge of music in general, like writing, form, theory, and simply listening to other songs and seeing the structure. I was reading a magazine recently (that all too soon disappeared) and there's some great insight to be seen about structure and writing songs. Then lastly and recently, I came to realize (or maybe the Spirit may have revealed to me) that it's great that I'm working while doing this so I can invest in it, and also it's even more vital to work harder on this presently so that IF I cease to work for whatever reason, I'll be prepared by having completed, mastered tracks that I can work with and promote and hopefully, sell. And THAT, ironically, will be my fallback, at least for the time-being, unless Lord willing it becomes bigger than I expected. That would be a true blessing. :)

Hope you enjoy this nostalgic, acoustic track and if you like, please spread the word, I would be very thankful! :)