Mark Rhodes

Interesting article about a remarkable lyricist. Bernie Taupin, Elton John's lyricist, would like to have a word

Thanks, Peggy. Happy to be here.

Thanks, David. Happy to be here.

Thanks, John. Lately I record things with my iPhone, just me singing and playing guitar. I have a DAW (Reaper) and have made some better sounding demos that way. I may get back into that during the final few months of the year. I have an idea that I want to write 12 songs a year. I've done that for a few years now. It's enough to amount to something without being so many as to overwhelm me with anxiety. The first part of this year (and the last part of last year) was a wasteland due to a family tragedy that shut me down for a long time; but last month I wrote a lot of songs and I have a dozen for the year, so it makes sense to focus of making better recordings of some of them. Still don't care about venturing out and performing. I did some of that when I was younger. Glad I did it. But it's not something that appeals to me now. Also, I work on playing guitar. A lot. I'm determined to move from half-assed to good if it kills me. ;o)

Hey, John, and thanks for the welcome. What am I planning for my songs? Mainly, to keep writing them. I turn 65 next month, so I have few plans that would require me to leave the house. ;o)

Thanks for the welcomes! I'll post a song or two when I can. I think I have to post several times elsewhere before being allowed to post songs. That makes sense to me. I was a moderator elsewhere (-a guitar forum) and sometimes people would join and immediately spam the site.

Thanks, David. Pleased to meet you.

Hello, all. Retired guy here. Been playing guitar since elementary school and writing songs since about that time (though it would be several years before I wrote a decent one). Grew up listening mostly to rock and blues, with some country thrown in. (I graduated high school in Nashville and liked some of what I heard there a lot.) Later worked the graveyard shift and listened to a jazz show overnight. That's where I learned about the Great American Songbook and became a fan of Sinatra, Ella, Lady Day, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and so on. Nowadays I don't listen to radio much at all. No knock on today's music, I just spend a lot of time playing guitar and coming up with stuff---after hours of that, I don't listen to music to relax. I think some of my songs are good, but what's my biased opinion worth? Bupkis. But I do expect to keep writing for as long as I live.