Greetings from Greenacres, FL

[Mark Rhodes]

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. 

[HoboSage]

Hi, Mark.  I'm David.  Welcome.

[Mark Rhodes]

Thanks, David. Pleased to meet you. 

[Peggy]

Hi Mark, Welcome to Songstuff!

Peggy

[TheGarageJump]

I enjoyed your story Mark. Welcome to Songstuff. I've been on this site for over a year - plenty of support here. Hopefully you can get what you need from it. Let's hear your songs. Cheers.

[Mark Rhodes]

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.

[john]

Hey Mark

 

Welcome to the Songstuff!

 

What are you planning for your songs?

 

Cheers

 

John

[Mark Rhodes]

14 hours ago, john said:

Hey Mark

 

Welcome to the Songstuff!

 

What are you planning for your songs?

 

Cheers

 

John

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) 

[john]

9 hours ago, Mark Rhodes said:

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) 

Still young yet!

 

A lot of retirees head for open mic nights or decide to at least record their songs even if for private consumption. I always feel a little sad when all the work writers spend perfecting their craft goes unwitnessed, and unappreciated. I do entirely understand the lack of drive to head out. What about recording live performances using a web cam for a YouTube channel?

 

There are many options these days to leaving them on a shelf.

[Mark Rhodes]

On 9/2/2023 at 7:39 PM, john said:

Still young yet!

 

A lot of retirees head for open mic nights or decide to at least record their songs even if for private consumption. I always feel a little sad when all the work writers spend perfecting their craft goes unwitnessed, and unappreciated. I do entirely understand the lack of drive to head out. What about recording live performances using a web cam for a YouTube channel?

 

There are many options these days to leaving them on a shelf.

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) 

[Mark Rhodes]

On 8/31/2023 at 9:18 AM, HoboSage said:

Hi, Mark.  I'm David.  Welcome.

Thanks, David. Happy to be here. 

[Mark Rhodes]

On 8/31/2023 at 11:11 AM, Peggy said:

Hi Mark, Welcome to Songstuff!

Peggy

Thanks, Peggy. Happy to be here. 

[john]

5 hours ago, Mark Rhodes said:

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) 

Good goals to have, though I don’t set goals about number of songs. Instead I try to commit to the process, regular writing habits and process for writing. I have plenty ideas and I happily work on several songs at the same time, writing for the song I feel most inspired about in that moment.

 

I feel it’s healthier to have an endpoint for groups of tracks. Usually that is in the form of recordings. I feel it helps draw the line under certain styles or ways of working, to make it easier to move on stylistically.