Iconic American singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Oklahoma. Best known for "This Land Is Your Land," one of his more than 1,000 compositions, Guthrie died in 1967.
To learn more about Woody Guthrie, read about him at Britannica: Woody Guthrie
Showing posts with label songwriting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label songwriting. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Recommended Reading for Music Types!
I recently read the autobiography of Al Kooper ("Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards,") and I am currently reading a book by and about Phil Ramone ("Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music.") I highly recommend both books for musicians as well as producer/engineers.
Al Kooper is a colorful character, and his book is interesting just for the stories. Throughout his career, he has worn many hats, including that of songwriter, arranger, recording artist, sideman, producer, A&R scout, and probably a few more I have forgotten. He first came to fame as the organist on Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone," and it's fascinating reading how he actually got the gig!
He originally came to my attention as the producer of the Tubes debut album, but he is much more famous for producing Lynyrd Skynyrd's early albums, as well as being the guy who originally signed them. He is multi-talented, and a true "renaissance man." Unfortunately, that also means that has never fit into the "box" that the music industry and it's associated media likes to fit people into, which is why he never became a big star. I hope someday he will get the recognition he deserves, and I hope he lives to see it.
On a more personal note, I discovered that, until recently, he was teaching at Berklee, and he lives in the next town over from me. If I ever get to meet him, you'll definitely hear about it here!
Phil Ramone's book doesn't have as colorful stories as Kooper's does, but it is interesting just the same! Ramone (not a member of the Ramones, btw) was a classically trained violinist who started his career in the late 1950's as an engineer, and didn't really begin making his name as a producer until the 1970's.
I was most familiar with his production work with Billy Joel, but I was surprised to see some of the records he engineered in the 1960's. He worked on some of the Burt Bacharach records, and even recorded some landmark jazz albums, such as the Getz/Gilberto record. I was surprised to learn that I grew up listening to some of the records he engineered, such as Dionne Warwick's late-1960's work, produced by Bacharach (my mother had it on 8-track!)
Ramone's book describes his working relationship with Billy Joel and Paul Simon, as well as other artists. He also talks a bit about recording techniques, so it's essential for engineers. It's not necessarily an autobiography, in that it's more about his work than his life.
Get a signed copy of Al Kooper's "Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards" from his website.
Phil Ramone's autobiography "Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music" at Amazon.
Al Kooper is a colorful character, and his book is interesting just for the stories. Throughout his career, he has worn many hats, including that of songwriter, arranger, recording artist, sideman, producer, A&R scout, and probably a few more I have forgotten. He first came to fame as the organist on Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone," and it's fascinating reading how he actually got the gig!
He originally came to my attention as the producer of the Tubes debut album, but he is much more famous for producing Lynyrd Skynyrd's early albums, as well as being the guy who originally signed them. He is multi-talented, and a true "renaissance man." Unfortunately, that also means that has never fit into the "box" that the music industry and it's associated media likes to fit people into, which is why he never became a big star. I hope someday he will get the recognition he deserves, and I hope he lives to see it.
On a more personal note, I discovered that, until recently, he was teaching at Berklee, and he lives in the next town over from me. If I ever get to meet him, you'll definitely hear about it here!
Phil Ramone's book doesn't have as colorful stories as Kooper's does, but it is interesting just the same! Ramone (not a member of the Ramones, btw) was a classically trained violinist who started his career in the late 1950's as an engineer, and didn't really begin making his name as a producer until the 1970's.
I was most familiar with his production work with Billy Joel, but I was surprised to see some of the records he engineered in the 1960's. He worked on some of the Burt Bacharach records, and even recorded some landmark jazz albums, such as the Getz/Gilberto record. I was surprised to learn that I grew up listening to some of the records he engineered, such as Dionne Warwick's late-1960's work, produced by Bacharach (my mother had it on 8-track!)
Ramone's book describes his working relationship with Billy Joel and Paul Simon, as well as other artists. He also talks a bit about recording techniques, so it's essential for engineers. It's not necessarily an autobiography, in that it's more about his work than his life.
Get a signed copy of Al Kooper's "Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards" from his website.
Phil Ramone's autobiography "Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music" at Amazon.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The RIAA Goes After Another Batch of Students
The RIAA has reportedly sent out infringement notices to around 15,000 college students recently. This marks an increase in these notices from last year. The 25 schools involved include Ohio, Purdue, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Tennessee, University of South Carolina, Michigan State, and University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
I am conflicted on this issue. As a songwriter, I don't like the idea of people stealing artist's intellectual property. However, I think the record industry has brought this on themselves with their evil, greed-based practices. I think I would feel better about these lawsuits if I thought the artists and songwriters would actually see a dime from them, but we know they won't.
On the other hand, I often hear file-sharers justify what they are doing using a similar argument: "the artists don't get any of that money anyway!" If this is truly why you are stealing music, then for every track you have stolen, you should send some money directly to the artists and the songwriters!
Links for further info:
Yahoo - AP: Recording Industry Targets Colleges
Digital Music News - RIAA Steps Up University Anti-Piracy Campaign
Hypebot - The RIAA Smack Down Of 15,000 College Students
I am conflicted on this issue. As a songwriter, I don't like the idea of people stealing artist's intellectual property. However, I think the record industry has brought this on themselves with their evil, greed-based practices. I think I would feel better about these lawsuits if I thought the artists and songwriters would actually see a dime from them, but we know they won't.
On the other hand, I often hear file-sharers justify what they are doing using a similar argument: "the artists don't get any of that money anyway!" If this is truly why you are stealing music, then for every track you have stolen, you should send some money directly to the artists and the songwriters!
Links for further info:
Yahoo - AP: Recording Industry Targets Colleges
Digital Music News - RIAA Steps Up University Anti-Piracy Campaign
Hypebot - The RIAA Smack Down Of 15,000 College Students
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Tips For Composers
1. Listen constantly – Some artists claim they never listen to other people’s music, reasoning that they don’t want their ideas tainted by it. Most of them are currently residing in the “where are they now?” file!
a. Listen actively, with an analytical ear
b. Listen to what is current in your particular genre.
c. Listen to as many different styles as possible. In this day and age, more and more composers are borrowing elements from other musical styles.
2. Transcribe – This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to transcribe to paper; simply learning to play songs helps to expand your musical vocabulary.
3. Maintain your performance chops – Even if you consider yourself more of a composer than a performer, it is a good idea to look for opportunities to perform once in a while. As with listening, it is also a good idea to perform as many different styles as possible. Many of the best composers are also performers.
4. Carry a small recorder with you – You never know when you might have an inspiration. It may come to you in the car, or in the middle of the night.
5. Schedule time every day for composing – Even if it is an hour each day, having a steady time set aside for composing is a good idea. There may be days when you accomplish nothing, but in general, you will find a daily schedule to be fruitful.
6. Don’t be afraid to tinker or revise – Very few of us can get it perfect the first time. On the other hand, be careful not to second-guess yourself too much. At some point, you have to move on to other songs!
7. Try not to be thin-skinned – Our compositions are our “babies.” Don’t be devastated if your friends don’t like your songs. Be open to criticism, but remember that any critique is just one person’s opinion. Furthermore, don’t be disappointed if you are not happy with your songs. Sometimes it’s a good idea to distance yourself from a song for a few weeks, then listen again with “fresh ears.” Above all, don’t be overly self-critical; it’s just music, not brain surgery! And one more word about writer’s block: It happens to the best of them. Don’t give up on your writing just because you go through a dry spell.
a. Listen actively, with an analytical ear
b. Listen to what is current in your particular genre.
c. Listen to as many different styles as possible. In this day and age, more and more composers are borrowing elements from other musical styles.
2. Transcribe – This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to transcribe to paper; simply learning to play songs helps to expand your musical vocabulary.
3. Maintain your performance chops – Even if you consider yourself more of a composer than a performer, it is a good idea to look for opportunities to perform once in a while. As with listening, it is also a good idea to perform as many different styles as possible. Many of the best composers are also performers.
4. Carry a small recorder with you – You never know when you might have an inspiration. It may come to you in the car, or in the middle of the night.
5. Schedule time every day for composing – Even if it is an hour each day, having a steady time set aside for composing is a good idea. There may be days when you accomplish nothing, but in general, you will find a daily schedule to be fruitful.
6. Don’t be afraid to tinker or revise – Very few of us can get it perfect the first time. On the other hand, be careful not to second-guess yourself too much. At some point, you have to move on to other songs!
7. Try not to be thin-skinned – Our compositions are our “babies.” Don’t be devastated if your friends don’t like your songs. Be open to criticism, but remember that any critique is just one person’s opinion. Furthermore, don’t be disappointed if you are not happy with your songs. Sometimes it’s a good idea to distance yourself from a song for a few weeks, then listen again with “fresh ears.” Above all, don’t be overly self-critical; it’s just music, not brain surgery! And one more word about writer’s block: It happens to the best of them. Don’t give up on your writing just because you go through a dry spell.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Meet Bob Dorough
I first learned about Bob Dorough almost 20 years ago, when my friend Ben played a Miles Davis song called “Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern.)” Bob was the singer on this record, as well as the lyricist. I was intrigued by his quirky lyrics and his unique singing voice. I said to myself “if Miles recruited this guy to sing with him, he must have done some incredible stuff on his own.” In the ensuing years, I realized how true that was. Eventually, I got the chance to meet him, and even got to perform with him once in the late 90’s.
Bob Dorough was born in Arkansas, and grew up in Arkansas and Texas. After attending North Texas State, he moved to New York City, and the adventure began. He began to make waves as a jazz singer/pianist/composer, first playing with Blossom Dearie then releasing his first solo album, “Devil May Care,” in 1956. Miles Davis heard the album, and asked Bob to write and sing with him.
After a few more solo albums, he began working as a producer, and also did some commercial jingle writing and production. Through this work, he came to the attention of George Newall and Tom Yohe, who were putting together a project called “Schoolhouse Rock.” Over the 13 years the original episodes were produced, Bob produced all the recordings, and he wrote and sang many of the songs as well.
Even while he was producing the “Schoolhouse” sessions, Dorough never gave up his first love, singing and playing jazz, and he returned to it with gusto after the series ended. He did a series of albums for Blue Note in the late 1990’s, and released a live album earlier this year after performing a series of dates in England. What is truly amazing about this is the fact that he is now 82 years old! I looked at his website (www.bobdorough.com) and was amazed to see that he still performs regularly, having just completed a couple of dates in New York City.
Bob Dorough is truly a renaissance man, and has worn many musical hats over the years. He has a unique, expressive singing voice, and is a talented pianist. He is an especially gifted songwriter, both lyrically and musically, and I have always felt that is where his true genius lies. Even if you can’t find his recordings, other artists have covered some of his best songs. Here are a few choice song titles:
Devil May Care
I’ve Got Just About Everything (There are many great covers of this one)
Love Came On Stealthy Fingers
Small Day Tomorrow
Conjunction Junction (from “Schoolhouse Rock”)
He also wrote a great vocalese treatment of Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite”
Check out the discography on his website. Many of his albums are still available.
(I interviewed Bob in the late ‘90’s, and I hope to post that interview at some point in the near future.)
Bob Dorough was born in Arkansas, and grew up in Arkansas and Texas. After attending North Texas State, he moved to New York City, and the adventure began. He began to make waves as a jazz singer/pianist/composer, first playing with Blossom Dearie then releasing his first solo album, “Devil May Care,” in 1956. Miles Davis heard the album, and asked Bob to write and sing with him.
After a few more solo albums, he began working as a producer, and also did some commercial jingle writing and production. Through this work, he came to the attention of George Newall and Tom Yohe, who were putting together a project called “Schoolhouse Rock.” Over the 13 years the original episodes were produced, Bob produced all the recordings, and he wrote and sang many of the songs as well.
Even while he was producing the “Schoolhouse” sessions, Dorough never gave up his first love, singing and playing jazz, and he returned to it with gusto after the series ended. He did a series of albums for Blue Note in the late 1990’s, and released a live album earlier this year after performing a series of dates in England. What is truly amazing about this is the fact that he is now 82 years old! I looked at his website (www.bobdorough.com) and was amazed to see that he still performs regularly, having just completed a couple of dates in New York City.
Bob Dorough is truly a renaissance man, and has worn many musical hats over the years. He has a unique, expressive singing voice, and is a talented pianist. He is an especially gifted songwriter, both lyrically and musically, and I have always felt that is where his true genius lies. Even if you can’t find his recordings, other artists have covered some of his best songs. Here are a few choice song titles:
Devil May Care
I’ve Got Just About Everything (There are many great covers of this one)
Love Came On Stealthy Fingers
Small Day Tomorrow
Conjunction Junction (from “Schoolhouse Rock”)
He also wrote a great vocalese treatment of Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite”
Check out the discography on his website. Many of his albums are still available.
(I interviewed Bob in the late ‘90’s, and I hope to post that interview at some point in the near future.)
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Great news for independent artists and songwriters!
CustomFlix, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, is now providing a CD on Demand service. This is a boon for artists or songwriters who wish to have a professional product available on the internet, but cannot afford to buy large quantities of inventory up front.
CustomFlix will "manufacture and ship CDs only when customers place orders." Artists can sell their CDs through Amazon.com, arguably the largest online CD distributor, without paying any upfront costs. Couple this with online distribution through iTunes and similar services, and you have effectively eliminated the "middleman." Another victory for the independent musician!
CustomFlix will "manufacture and ship CDs only when customers place orders." Artists can sell their CDs through Amazon.com, arguably the largest online CD distributor, without paying any upfront costs. Couple this with online distribution through iTunes and similar services, and you have effectively eliminated the "middleman." Another victory for the independent musician!
Friday, September 15, 2006
Songwriting is a craft
When I first started trying to write songs, I often approached it from the following perspective: “I’ll just wait until the inspiration hits me, then I’ll know what to write.” Another mantra that I often found myself repeating was: “I can only write songs when I am in a certain mood.” This sort of thinking hampered me as a songwriter, and it took many years of “dry spells” and “writer’s block” before I realized I was doing something wrong.
So, I began researching the methods used by some of the world’s best songwriters, and I found that very few of them simply sat around waiting to be inspired. In fact, the most successful realized that songwriting was something one must work at, like any craft. Thus began one of the most fertile creative periods of my life.
My new approach was to schedule time each day for songwriting. I’ve always been a night owl, so I scheduled two hours every night, usually 10 pm-12. I decided to take Friday and Saturday nights off, since I was usually gigging anyway. I treated this time as sacred, allowing nothing else to interfere with it. In fact, you might say I treated it like a job.
I learned from this experience that songwriting takes discipline, effort, and time. Here are a few more tips to make your songwriting sessions more productive:
• Treat your songwriting time like it’s a job you have to go to every day. It should not be interrupted or cancelled for any reason.
• Don’t expect to come out of every session with one or more full songs. Most of the time, you will end up with several song fragments. Don’t think of it as a waste of time, though. You will find opportunities to use those fragments down the road.
• Don’t get in a rut! If you have been writing on guitar for days and weeks at a time, switch to another instrument, such as the piano, for a while. If you’ve only been writing music, put down your guitar, pick up a pen and paper, and spend the entire session writing lyrics.
• Keep everything you come up with, even if it’s unfinished. You will find a use for them. It’s also good to keep a file of all your lyrics.
• Keep a small notepad or a miniature recorder with you during the day, so you can record song ideas when you think of them.
• Try to connect with a community of songwriters. There’s nothing like objective feedback to sharpen your songwriting skills. There are many chapters of NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) all around the country. This is a good resource.
• Even if you are going through a legitimate dry spell, keep trying! It’s the only way to break out of it.
Good luck, and happy songwriting!
So, I began researching the methods used by some of the world’s best songwriters, and I found that very few of them simply sat around waiting to be inspired. In fact, the most successful realized that songwriting was something one must work at, like any craft. Thus began one of the most fertile creative periods of my life.
My new approach was to schedule time each day for songwriting. I’ve always been a night owl, so I scheduled two hours every night, usually 10 pm-12. I decided to take Friday and Saturday nights off, since I was usually gigging anyway. I treated this time as sacred, allowing nothing else to interfere with it. In fact, you might say I treated it like a job.
I learned from this experience that songwriting takes discipline, effort, and time. Here are a few more tips to make your songwriting sessions more productive:
• Treat your songwriting time like it’s a job you have to go to every day. It should not be interrupted or cancelled for any reason.
• Don’t expect to come out of every session with one or more full songs. Most of the time, you will end up with several song fragments. Don’t think of it as a waste of time, though. You will find opportunities to use those fragments down the road.
• Don’t get in a rut! If you have been writing on guitar for days and weeks at a time, switch to another instrument, such as the piano, for a while. If you’ve only been writing music, put down your guitar, pick up a pen and paper, and spend the entire session writing lyrics.
• Keep everything you come up with, even if it’s unfinished. You will find a use for them. It’s also good to keep a file of all your lyrics.
• Keep a small notepad or a miniature recorder with you during the day, so you can record song ideas when you think of them.
• Try to connect with a community of songwriters. There’s nothing like objective feedback to sharpen your songwriting skills. There are many chapters of NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) all around the country. This is a good resource.
• Even if you are going through a legitimate dry spell, keep trying! It’s the only way to break out of it.
Good luck, and happy songwriting!
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