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  • john

    Songstuff Writer and Artist Development Challenges

    By john

    Independent writers and artists face several large disadvantages when they are compared to signed, mainstream writers and artists.  Disadvantages that add up to making it a competition that indies can’t win. Hell they can’t even compete.   Lack of budget and poor contacts are fairly obvious disadvantages. Lack of experience and a lack of knowledge restricts songwriters and artists alike. Lack of an overall strategy, and a limited set of incomplete tactics, makes for a critical problem
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Thirsty Lion (&c.)...

The poster, notice and Rap are done for the Thirsty Lion performance next Tuesday, May 29. It’d be nice if some folks came (though folks really never have come to one of these); I expect to start working Tuesday nights come June (and June comes in, like, a week), and then I won’t be able to go to the Thirsty Lion for quite a while. So this is the Joe Equivalent of “the last waltz.†And it’ll be “the last waltz†no matter how many (or how few) people come. For the Thirsty Lio
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roxhythe

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Thirsty Lion (One More Time)...

Post-getting-a-job cleanup: I told Eric John Kaiser, who runs the Songwriter Showcase at the Thirsty Lion on Tuesday nights, that I will cease having Tuesday nights off at the end of May, when my square dance caller class in Portland is over (I will end up having Monday nights off instead). So Eric’s asked me back to perform Tuesday, May 29, the day after Memorial Day (and the night of my last class). I’ll be doing this solo; it’d be nice to have backup, but I’m not going to ask
roxhythe

roxhythe

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Lyrkicks, Right Um...so What The Heck Are They?

You may have read my previous two blog entries , or heck, even looked at the title of my blog and said to yourself...LyrKICKS? No, no need to rush to your dictionary, and if you "Google it" all it will do is ask you if you meant "lyrics". So don't do any of that, just keep reading. An excerpt from the Elise Anderson dictionary: LyrKICKS: also referred to by the phrase "music that leaves its mark", is shown to be defined as the following: Musical writing that figurat
eliselanderson25

eliselanderson25

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"the Resurrection Blues," And Other Stories...

Got Jim Loughrie’s recording of “The Resurrection Blues,†and it’s nice. Jim, Jane and I tweaked it a little at Jane’s house tonight. Three leads on the song, by Jim on dual harmonicas, Jane on fiddle, and (surprise!) Jim on kazoo. Posted it on Soundclick (it’s at http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11577540), and also sent it to the Coventry songwriters, who were reportedly interested. Album material, definitely; it’s a very professional-sounding recording. I also got Jimâ
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roxhythe

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Doing Dylan At The Mercantile...

There’ll be a “Dylan Night†show Saturday, May 26, at The Mercantile in downtown Beaver (some have argued The Mercantile is downtown Beaver), and I’m one of those invited to perform. Nothing but Dylan songs—it’s his 70th birthday, I understand. I have only three Dylan songs I know by heart and can sing decently, and I can’t do one of them because Fred and his girlfriend Sonya are performing it, and it looked like the performers were getting four songs apiece, so I beset myself to
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roxhythe

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Thoughts On The "going To Hell" Album...

At this point, the 13 Reasons Why Joe is Going to Hell album looks like this—seven “religious†songs, and six that I think of as the Bad Guys Series (things you will go to Hell for). Not in order, yet: RELIGIOUS: Can I Have Your Car When the Rapture Comes?—slow & sleazy Pole Dancing for Jesus—slow, sleazy Gospel Song for Charity (and Faith, and Hope)—fast bluegrass The Resurrection Blues—mod. fast blues The Abomination Two-Step—fast polka Bungee Jumpin’ Je
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2Nd St. Market Post-Mortem...

Yes, it was good. Our 22 songs filled exactly two hours with a 10-minute break, and there were people who came specifically to see us. And we got tips. (Hadn’t seen one of those new Presidential “silver†dollars before. We got five of ‘em.) I think I have some of the Celtic fiddle tunes down now. I had sheet music for the jigs, and didn’t look at it at all; I remembered the Irish polka (easy, admittedly—only two chords), and I had finished my “Every dog eats bacon†mnemo
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Schedule Triage...

First time this week I didn’t have to do anything between two work shifts except sleep—so that’s what I did. (I won’t get to do that tomorrow—I have to do a photo shoot for the paper.) Since I’m in in-constant-motion mode these days, being awake means I have Stuff To Do. Last shift for the week at the hotel tonight, and Sunday afternoon it starts again—another 36 hours crammed into four days (actually nights). Thus far the Private Life hasn’t suffered too badly, though S
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Time To Be Brave

Stuck between your fear of staying exactly where you are and your fear of the unknown you will find Idina Menzel's song "Brave." This song is the anthem for breaking away from today to go live tomorrow. "Brave" encompasses the wide array of emotions and thoughts involved in one's defining moment or turning point. "If this is the moment, I stand here all alone. If this is my right of passage, that somehow leads me home. I might be afraid, but it's my turn to be brave." Brave.
eliselanderson25

eliselanderson25

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The First Time I Heard Ray Lamontagne "let It Be Me"

Sitting, still a tad nervous but already comfortable on the dark blue carpet of my then - new boyfriend, now - love of my life's apartment. My heart, recently stomped on, crushed, grinded. Failure. Loss. He turns to me. "I want to play a song for you." "Sure." Instrumental starts, then a gravelly voice. "There comes a time, a time in everyone's life, where nothing seems to go your way, where nothing seems to turn out right." I wince. Now paralyzed. It was
eliselanderson25

eliselanderson25

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Arts Center Showcase Post-Mortem...

Bay City Arts Center’s first Performer Showcase was a big success. Nice crowd, the performers were all good, and there was quite a variety. A lot of support, I think, for doing another show. (And the audience drank all the coffee, ate all the cookies, and left behind a bigger “take†in donations than the Arts Center’s seen in a long time.) Some folks were surprised there is that much really good talent hanging out in Tillamook County. (And those were just some of the people I know.
roxhythe

roxhythe

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Mercantile Post-Mortem (&c.)...

I like the job. Of course, I haven’t exactly done it yet—I’ve just shadowed people who are doing it and when they tell me to do things, like the song says, I go where they send me. The people who work there—including the owner—have a lot of fun doing what they do, and I expect I will, too. One of the inevitable casualties of the Schedule Triage will be the frequency of the blog. Instead of three or four times a week, I’ll probably be back to once weekly, like the last time I
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roxhythe

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In Which Joe Is Offered A Job...

Well, I got offered a job Monday. Night auditor/front desk clerk at a local hotel. Low pay, part-time (though I got the impression they’d like to make me full-time quickly)—and only three blocks from home. I think I’m going to love it. I asked for a week to get my afairs in order, but don’t think they’re going to give me that much time. They really do need somebody right away. I also warned them that I have three city-manager applications in the pipeline, and two of those jo
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Arts Center Showcase (&c.)...

Looks like the Arts Center Showcase thing might just work. Got confirmations back from one soloist (and a “maybe†from another), two duos (and a “next month†from another), plus our band will play. Got another soloist to talk to tomorrow at his birthday party and one Sunday at the Rapture Room. Yes, might work. I do think we should be doing something different with these open mike things, and this might be it. Next step, if we’ve got enough performers, is for me to take mug sho
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Updates...

Ah, it is hard to not feel hopeful when the sun is shining. On the other hand, it doesn’t shine that much… Three news stories to do for the paper: one is a non-news story (but probably important because everybody expected it to be news), one a news story that turned out to not be very newsworthy (but I got a photo, and had to sit through a meeting, and I’d like to get paid for that), and the third hasn’t happened yet—it’ll be this weekend—and I have to be in two other places
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roxhythe

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"georgia, Slightly Revised" (&c.)...

Did it again… I was trying to learn “Georgia on My Mind†(the band wants to do it), and I couldn’t remember the words. So it grew new ones. (Sleazy ones, in this case.) This has happened before—“The World Enquirer†happened because I was trying to learn that old bluegrass turkey about Jimmy Brown the newsboy and couldn’t remember the words. (“The World Enquirer†isn’t performable in a lot of places, either.) On the assumption it’d need new music (that happened wit
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roxhythe

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Recofrding At The Tsunami...

Jim brought his recording equipment to the Tsunami last night, and recorded basically everybody who played. Of mine, he got “The Resurrection Blues†(the new one), and (because people requested them) “Pole Dancing for Jesus†and (after Jane arrived with her fiddle) “Can I Have Your Car When the Rapture Comes?†and “The Abomination Two-Step.†The recording setup was simply one of those fancy omnidirectional mikes in the center of the room, wired into Jim’s mixer and computer,
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roxhythe

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"the Resurrected Blues"?

“The Resurrected Blues†(sounded more down home than “Resurrection Bluesâ€) has six pretty good verses now. It needs a seventh, for closure—to wrap everything up, and make the song feel “finished.†Seven verses also allows for three lead breaks, which would be nice. Since this is a pretty standard blues, musicians pick up on it really easily and can have a lot of fun with it. It’s short, too (so there’s room for a lot of breaks, which musicians like, too). No choruses: in
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Updates...

Well, I did it all: the interview (still need to write the story) with photos, the Relay for Life meeting, the photo shoot with the Community Chorus and the GOP Central Committee meeting. Wasn’t really late for any of it. Today: a moving sale (at which I’ll be looking for furnishings for the Cascade Locks house), looking over the Garibaldi Pub with Denise as an a-la-Thirsty-Lion “showcase†venue, a meeting on the library tax levy (and a news story if it gets nasty), and music. Las
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Sinking De Mayo, And Other Stories...

Well, I didn’t get the Museum job. Couple other irons in the fire but really, despite the governmental protestations about “recovery,†I don’t see things getting any better. There is (as usual) a reflection in my private life: I’ve talked a lot about “reinventing myself,†but I haven’t—I’m still doing the same things I have been. And they’re not working, either. It is time to do something different. What? Does it matter? Caller class last night was the first one I
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roxhythe

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Talking To Myself..

Hello nobody, I've never tried a blog. I don't count on people flocking to read my thoughts, but hey.. this is my meager attempted at talking about something that takes up most of my time. For the majority of my life, I was not into music. I listened to it, but I didn't LISTEN to it. Also, my main musical choice was rap which usually on the radio wasn't very thought provoking. I really got into rap for a while until one faithful day I did someone with a group of my friends that i'd
nowhereman88

nowhereman88

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Ncrd Post-Mortem--And A Video Idea...

NCRD Comedy Show went good, I think; sound was perfect, and Jane and Ken were very good. Practicing both songs repeatedly the night before definitely helped. I think the audience liked “When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies†better (but they still ate all the cookies that had been laid out for refreshments). A lot of good standup, slapstick and improvisational comedy at the show; some of these folks were quite good. Ours was probably the tamest of the acts on stage; I’m inclined
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roxhythe

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Words Make Me Happy

Word itself is a strong word for it is the source for all communcation. Deaf people use sign words, blind people use braille words and all others use verbal words.
sunnyfender

sunnyfender

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