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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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The Next Puppet Show *&c.)...

In Shakespeare mode… Draft script for the next Great Intergalactic Puppet Theatre performance is done—“Cinderpiggy,” a retelling of the Cinderella story by the cast of “Pig Wars.” Darth Vader in the title role, Luke and Hansolo as the evil stepbrothers, Chewy as the evil step-Wookie, Leah as the airhead princess desperate for a boyfriend, and Yoda (with his cute little wings) as the Fairy Whatever. (Got a Magic Mirror, too—obviously robbed from a different fairy tale, but poor Leah, alone in
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Protools And Me (The Singer/songwriter) - New Article

Recording a professional quality CD has always been the domain of recording studios. But the times they are a changing with professional quality recording becoming an affordable option within your own home. Just how affordable is it to achieve professional results? Protools And Me (The Singer/Songwriter) Cheryl Hodge Profile
Songstuff

Songstuff

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About That Rapture (&c.)...

Saturday at 6 p.m. was supposed to be The Rapture. I didn’t go; it doesn’t appear that anyone else I know went, either, but I haven’t checked with everybody. I’ll pass on a comment, though: “People disappear every day. And 144,000 people” (that’s the number in the Book of Revelation) “isn’t very many, compared to the earth’s population. How do you know it didn’t happen?” The qualifications for being one of the 144,000 are a little vague, after all. There was a bright side. One of my
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Ghost In The Night.

My cold figure fatigues in the night, My senses chill and perish, Though my body’s warmth, interlocked at Nine. It’s around midnight, and I began to slowly fall, I have given my most, maybe all. When a single tear slowly freezes me, I think of the ocean, I think of the sea. Is it true I am not fond as my own life anymore? Oh, it’s true! I’ve grown greatly sore. Wind, takes my speech away, It takes away the light from the falling stars. Trees sway with this wind, it’s not
SammusicZENzone

SammusicZENzone

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Loosing This.

Am I loosing you, or am I loosing me? I convey you to be greatly immaculate, when you can’t see. I collaborate the night’s darkness by my side, When I whistle and Bristle time to time. I loose my senses, I loose my touch. When the summer’s hot breath gives me a rush. I think of us, I think of me. I’m not loosing you, but I am loosing me. If nature can consume time, Can it consume me? It consumes us; scenery that’s mine. If one cool breeze can bite me, Then winter win
SammusicZENzone

SammusicZENzone

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Summer '10

As if I had a choice, listen to my voice You hear it shake and ache, This beauty that we made. Together we stood, it was the best, I know I lost, I know I spoke, Now we're a mess. Oh, it took you little time to find something momentary, Oh, it took me forever to find someone; I could finally sing! Again and again, Summer of 2010, You took me by surprise, Your beauty and your enterprise, Made the cold shiver my spin, night by night. The moon's light glistened and gle
SammusicZENzone

SammusicZENzone

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A Music Festival In Wheeler?

A new music festival is being organized for the Coast this summer; if it comes off, it’ll be in Wheeler, in mid-July. Successor to the old Crab Festival—with the price of crab headed for the same stratosphere as gasoline (in this case, because of overseas sales—and one can’t complain, since local boys are getting the money), and the bar that spearheaded the old event out of business, they want to do something different. Both Deathgrass and The Impromptus (who are determined to get a better nam
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First Cd Sales (&c.)...

Well, we were supposed to be Internet-less for four days, while the phone company sent a crew from Florida to fix some big, mysterious piece of equipment that failed… It’s back, after less than a day—with no explanation, of course. (I wonder if the repair crew is still en route from Florida.) Life Without Internet did interrupt a couple of typesetting jobs—the SOSA newsletter, which I’m already late on, and one for the square dance club; on the other hand, I did get other work done, and figu
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Strategies For Submissions To Music Publishers

Strategies for Submissions to Music Publishers Now you’ve gotten the green light to submit some music to a music publisher either through networking, an organization event, a reference book, an online listing or whatever, the question is, “Which songs out of my catalog do I submit?” You need to put yourself in the music publisher’s place to fully understand what they’re looking for. This is not an easy question to answer, but here are some rules of thumb to guide you: 1. Research the
JimBruno

JimBruno

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Strategies For Submissions To Music Publishers

Strategies for Submissions to Music Publishers Now you’ve gotten the green light to submit some music to a music publisher either through networking, an organization event, a reference book, an online listing or whatever, the question is, “Which songs out of my catalog do I submit?” You need to put yourself in the music publisher’s place to fully understand what they’re looking for. This is not an easy question to answer, but here are some rules of thumb to guide you: 1. Research the
JimBruno

JimBruno

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The Deathgrass Cds Are Here!

The Deathgrass CDs are here! Opened one up and listened, and yes, DiskFaktory really did record it, and they did their usual very good job. We got a salable item, here. Next step (well, a few steps from now)—sell this puppy. Got to make back production costs. Today, copies go out to some radio station DJs that have expressed interest in listening to it (and maybe playing it on the air), and a music publisher and a record distributor I’m in touch with who have also deigned to listen. I’
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The Impromptus' Debut...

Debut performance for The Impromptus last night at the Bay City Arts Center, and it was good. They were good. I got numerous comments later saying how good we sounded. We did: Pole Dancing for Jesus (me) Still the One (a Mutt Lange/Shania Twain song, by Candice) Desperately Sinking Into the Sea (Kathryn) Armadillo on the Interstate (me) --and two more songs later on, because there weren’t many musicians left for the open mike: Dylan’s “Wagon Wheel” (because we know it, and we
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Updates...

On the radio Friday for the Bay City Arts Center… A number of people apparently heard the broadcast; response I got back was “Wow—you sure have a lot of stuff going on there.” Yes, there is. One additional event I’d like to have happening there in May is the Deathgrass CD Release Event—we should have the CDs from DiskFaktory by mid-month (and hopefully they did everything right). Both radio stations got advance copies of the CD last week, and hopefully will play them. It would be fun to
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Podcasting House Concerts?

I can cross “’Manzanitaville’ lyrics” off the to-do list. Done, and it sounds like it’ll be okay. Yes, a parody, but it ended up with substantially more social commentary than I’d planned. We’ll practice it Sunday night and see how it comes off. It was scheduled to be the #2 song on The Impromptus’ setlist for the Manzanita Farmer’s Market. Another of those Wild Ideas… Between the economy (which is in shambles) and high fuel prices (which will make the economy even more of a shambles),
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Tonic Lounge Post-Mortem...

Comedy night at the Tonic Lounge in Portland was good. (I didn’t send out any notice to the “joelist” or to Facebook—this was just a short appearance, only three songs, and I didn’t know how it was going to go. But it was good.) Half a dozen standup comics there, plus me (and some were good, and others less so), but the good side was there was a fairly sizable and appreciative audience. And the bar owner really likes it—and that’s a major key to keeping it going. It happens every week, whic
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"alice" Unchanged...

Well, Alice’s brain (body) transplant did not work, and I’m not sure why. I gave up after working at it for three days, and she’s back in her old (and a little worse for wear) case, with her partially non-functional motherboard. Her one remaining IDE port is running her almost-completely full 40-GB hard drive and her DVD-ROM drive, and it’s going to stay that way, I guess. I did get a few good things out of the exercise (I should—I spent three days at it). I have a rather sturdily-built
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Deconstructing "alice"...

I’ve about decided “Alice” the ‘puter needs a new body. I would get a new motherboard if I could, but I can’t. However, I’ve got four computer hulks out in the garage, three of them purchased from the community college when they moved and a fourth bought from Sharma Kay, dear departed friend and former bass player in our short-lived Portland band. The college’s are Pentium IIIs, and it appears from the techie Websites that I can make those work with my stuff. They were all supposedly working
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The "12 Reasons Why Joe Is Going To Hell" Album...

I’m slowly slipping back into my new/old role as newspaper reporter. It’s not a real job—I’m just a fill-in, while the real reporter is having a baby. I have covered three news stories in the past 24 hours (still have two of the stories to write, though), and have a fourth to do tomorrow afternoon. It was a distinct pleasure to be able to go to a meeting and do the write-up in an hour after I got back home, and know it was right. If I could keep that up, it’d be worthwhile. And people are s
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About That Suicide (&c.)...

Heard from a friend on the other side of the globe about the musician in Bend, Oregon, who committed suicide at an open mike; reportedly, the guy introduced a song entitled “Sorry for the Mess,” and at the end, stabbed himself to death. He was 19… I was asked whether one should say anything. I’m not sure one can. Without knowing more—specifically, why it happened—any comment I could offer would be pure speculation. I think I’d like to hear the song. It might offer some clues. I am perenni
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Paying Taxes, Playing Music, And Stuff...

Music at the Tsunami Grill in Wheeler was good; not too much progressive-rock stuff (I like Aaron, but I cannot follow his rock instrumentals), so I pretty much got to play all evening. No bass player, so I “emulated” bass on the acoustic guitar (doable with that little amp, if one gets the knobs set right); compliments from several people on my playing—maybe they’re starting to know who I am. I sang a few things, too: “Pole Dancing for Jesus” is a definite hit with this crowd, even though the
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Thoughts On An "earwigs" Video...

A music video of “Earwigs in the Eggplant”? Why not? I am good at assembling resources (one of my city-manager skills), and I can script (three plays now, with the sock-puppet cast, and a couple decent music videos); I have the equipment and (I think) the expertise to do both video and still photography. So how would I do this one? Photos, maybe, of all the plants—and pests—mentioned in the song. Getting real-life photos of all the plants listed in the song is probably not possible—
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"earwigs In The Eggplant"--And Setlists...

New song. It’s a love song about vegetables—and garden pests—tentatively hight “Earwigs in the Eggplant” (after the most-repeated line). Essayed it at the Lotus in Nehalem, and even though rough, folks appeared to like it. I still have the music to finalize. It was the result of a suggestion: since The Impromptus are doing a gig at the Farmer’s Market, shouldn’t we do a song about vegetables? And rather than search for songs about vegetables, I decided I’d rather write one. I did disco
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