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30 days and 30 songs have whizzed by, with the final one being my first collaboration with a fellow sellabandee (sounds like a posh cigar, doesn't it?).
So what's next for the intrepid Toz?
Dunno.
I better get my thinking cap on to find a way to push on up to the first $1000. Anyone fancy a collaboration while I am thinking? Music comes easier than thoughts...
SONG 30 - COLLABORATION WITH INGE M - LISTEN TO MY EYES - 1st September
MP3 of TWO versions of the song available to joint believers!
Toz says: a couple of weeks ago, having exchanged a few short messages with Inge about music generally, I suggested a collaboration; Inge mentioned she had a set of words without a tune, and as soon as I saw them, it was an easy job to slide them into a few chords I had been messing with. The title had a magical ring to it, such a strong concept for a song, with a huge emotional message.
It only took a couple of ideas emailed back and forth, and the rough version of the song you can hear on the player arrived very quickly. I was so excited to hear how quickly Inge was able to translate my grunting into a beautiful soaring vocal performance!
This is an edited version - the fade is there to hopefully leave you wanting more. Aren't we mean? Over the coming month we will be working on a complete version of the song, and this, along with the acoustic version, will be made available to anyone who takes a part in BOTH artists during September. I believe that the final version will be rather special, and to any fans of Inge's unique style, a real collector's item. So if you want to hear the bridge, the final chorus, and a few more instruments..you know what to do!
Inge says: I hope you will enjoy our new song and will believe in both Toz and me!!!
Please message us both and let us know if you decide to buy the parts - we will need your email address when the track is done!
SONG 29 - TAKING BACK MY DREAM - 31st August
Only half a song really. And very rough. I wrote it as a quick response to not qualifying for the American Idol songwriting contest last year, simply because I am not American. I thought the days of discrimination were over, but clearly not. SO I wrote half a song and forgot all about it, until I started scouring my computer for songs to use in this challenge. I think I may well finish this one, as I think it has potential - and the words could easily be about the old chestnut, love.
SONG 28 - ONE MORE CHANCE - 30th August
A song about someone taking their last shot at the music business, or maybe even at life, before finally giving up. Any comparisons you may draw will be totally co-incidental. Perhaps. I am getting close to a version I am happy with - I have been messing with this one for a while now; a decent vocal and a few little tweaks and it will be done. But as I am running out of songs, it needed to come out a few days early...it'll go back into hiding shortly. For a while.
SONG 27 - BURNING A HOLE IN MY HEART - 29th August
A love-gone-wrong song, co-written with LQ Pickens. I had previously written a song with the same title, but it was pretty awful. I liked the title though, the concept coming from 'money burning a hole in your pocket' - I though too much love burning a hole in your heart was a nice idea so I asked LQ to write the lyrics to see if I could send the music in a different direction. This is just a rough recording, but I'd like to take it further.
SONG 26 - HERE IS LOVE - 28th August
Another simple little tune - but today you get a 'before' and 'after' - 'here is love' is my own rough demo, and the next track 'here it is again' is the same song renamed and interpreted by a bunch of session musicians in Nashville. My preference would be for something about halfway in between; so hopefully I will get the chance to record a slightly harder but more professional version shortly.
SONG 25 - NASHVILLE - 27th August
Simplicity itself. An acoustic track with aspirations to be played by a tidy country band with a mandolin player. I wrote this in October last year when all the new songwriting friends I had made decided to get together for a weekend in Nashville....and I couldn't go. I'd just moved house and was trying to find a new car before the engine blew in our old one...and my wife's father-in-law was seriously ill.
Also I was crippled by my fear of flying. So the day they were all getting together, I sat at home gazing out of the window feeling sorry for myself - and wrote this song and emailed it to them so they could hear my pain!
But this was just the catalyst. Two months later I DID get on a plane to go and record some tracks with a session band in Nashville. My son came with me, brought some CDs of his band, and as well as having a blast while we were there, he got a producer really interested in the band...and now they have been over to the States, toured for 3 months, recorded 5 tracks in the studio with the US no1 album band's guitarist producing...and now they have just secured a support slot on tour with the same band.
So it was a down day, but it all lead to a few good things - you make your own luck in this business!
But I still hate flying. ;-)
SONG 24 - IF YOU WERE HERE WITH ME - 26th August
Ok - I admit it... I am running out of current songs! I haven't actually been seriously working on songs with my own vocals for very long, so I am now scraping the barrel a bit to find enough of ME to be able to call this my page. Hopefully I will get a bit of time tonight to do some work on another track to put up later in the week!
In the meantime, this is something I have dragged out of the archives from a couple of years ago when I had an old-school moment...this shallow, meaningless song draws quite a bit from the music I listened to as a kid - the Joe Cockers, the Zeppelins, perhaps the Claptons etc....I am not putting myself in that class, just explaining the influences. It's all a bit rough and shouty, but I liked the chords and wanted to get something down before I forgot them. Although it's a bit old-fashioned, I confess I would quite like to hear this played by a real band of top musicians. By the time that happens I could give it the vocal performance it deserves too. For now, it's a bit of fun, but we'll see...
SONG 23 - HIDE AND SEEK - 25th August
After yesterday's epic story, today's song is a bit lighter and the story behind it is simple. My Texan friend Carrie Baird sent me some lyrics, I did my best to put some English country-rock flava to them, asked Emma to sing....and here's the result. A song!
SONG 22 - IT'S WORKING - 24th August
Thought I would add one more dark-ish tune to increase the holiday-weekend misery emanating from my player. Although this can be uplifting too. This song has a strange background, a combination of happiness and desperation. Let me explain....a few years back, a 21-year-old lad from the local area, a guy with a beautiful girlfriend, a precocious musical talent and as popular as a fella can be....in other words a guy with everything to live for, drove his car to the edge of a 100 metre cliff, backed up, revved his engine - and drove it off the edge. This was no accident. He had to drive it into a field first.
I started wondering what was in his mind at the point before putting his foot on the gas. I imagined myself at the edge - looking out to sea, and feeling the freedom of the wind and waves, detaching myself from all that was my 'real' life...then just stepping off to 'fly'. People do it all the time, so there music be something in it.
Then I started working on this tune with singer Amy, who has a voice that just transports you (or me at any rate) into another world. I wanted her to capture that feeling of detachment and soaring away from reality. I think she did that pretty well.
The title actually came, rather boringly, from the name of the drum loop I used - 'Working' .(I don't know why they give a drum loop a name, but they do, and there you have it!) I have no idea if that lad was on drugs at the time, but it would be one theory - in my imaginary scenario, I felt there was SOMETHING influencing me to take that jump, whether it was a chemical, or if it was just God calling me to join the elements. So 'I don't know what you gave me, but it's working' suggests that the state of mind was one of elation rather than depression.
Sorry to ramble on, but this song, as unfinished as it is, does actually haunt me a little, and I think the story is quite important to understand the mood.
Incidentally, the death, and the manner of it, left his friends in a real state of shock for a very long time. He was sadly missed, and no-one reallly knows why he just drove his car off the cliff.
Spooky.
SONG 21 - I JUST FOUND YOU - 23rd August
Another melancholy tune, and with good reason. Just over a year ago, I had the good fortune to join a message board with a great bunch of American songwriters. We quickly became good friends, and I became very close with a few of them. They all got together in Nashville in October. I was just moving house at the time and was unable to make it, but after a brilliant weekend, one of them went home feeling very ill. A short while after, she discovered she had leukeamia. (Sorry about the spelling). Janine had already touched our hearts with her music and her bubbly personality, and it was a huge shock for all of us to think of her suddenly so very ill. While she was undergoing chemo and unable to communicate, another writer, 'Ret', was so moved, she wrote a song for Janine. When she sent me the words I was so touched I just had to add the music. This is the result. Sorry if the vocal is a bit shabby; if it sounds like I was crying when I was singing it's probably because I was. At the time we had no idea when or whether Janine was going to recover.
I'm pleased to say she is now in full remission and on the road to recovery. But the song is there as a reminder of how these things happen so quickly sometimes.
Sorry if it's a bit depressing for a holiday weekend!
SONG 20 - HIT AND RUN - 22nd August
This is a very dark song, sung by Ramsin, who was actually left in a coma by a hit and run driver when in his teens. This song is less about the music and more about emotion. It worked very well as we wrote this acoustically, but was a bit long with just guitar and voice. It is STILL long, but the spookiness and late arrival of the musical dramatics at least helps you get through. I know it's not a hit single, but if heard in context it can be quite powerful. I hope to get Ram on sellaband in his own right soon, and would be really keen to hear this recorded in a grown-up studio rather than on my computer - a good sellaband album track I think.
SONG 19 - SHINE YOUR LIGHT ON ME - 21st August
This is a song that started a lot of things going for me. I won't do the full story here, as I have to go grocery shopping in a minute....but it was written as an entry for the American Idol contest. I was working to a very tight deadline and with a couple of days to go, the singer I had planned to use went missing on me. I enlisted the help of Carmen; she had never recorded a song before, and owing to the constraints of when I could use a piano player, she came and learned the song along to just an acoustic guitar. I then had to explain to her where I wanted her to pretend the band were getting more dramatic etc, so she could inject a bit more passion into it....as a result, I never quite managed to get the instruments into sync with the voice, but I think for a first effort (where her voice also got very tired toward the end as we had learned the song a line at a time) the vocal was pretty remarkable.
Somehow I had problems with the sound quality too - lots of hiss that I couldn't get rid of. Never mind; I KNOW this song will be awesome when it finally gets the full production, whoever sings it. I am now waiting for the right time to record it professionally. That time is approaching!
It's the nearest to a 'traditional' song I have ever written. I hope you enjoy it for what it is.
SONG 18 - I STILL REMEMBER - 20th August
A sad little tune, written to the lyrics of Carrie Baird, about a musician with Alzheimers - a true story and very touching.
EMBARRASSED!
Oh dear...I do usually check that I am putting the correct version of a song on the player; but it seems yesterday I put my work demo of Ancient Words up here by mistake, so quite a few people will have got a very poor impression of it! It was the initial thoughts of how the song should go, with me squawking away on a track that was unfinished and in too high a key... Apologies to anyone who heard it - please destroy those memories and listen to the finished song! I guess it was bound to happen with me changing tracks every day, but I will try and avoid it in future.
SONG 17 - STARFISH - 19th August
Originally on sellaband on the Eucalyptus Moone profile, this song has generated a fair bit of interest amongst believers. For the moment, the Eucalyptus Moone project is on hold. Singer Amy is away at University and where we thought we would be able to get some time together this summer to work on more material, it doesn't seem likely now.
She has a beautiful voice though, and I'm not going to give up waiting! I have plenty of material to work on with her once she has graduated. In the meantime, I hope this piece shows another side of the multi-faceted creature that is Toz, and gives a few more believers faith in me.
The song was actually written about my beautiful first grand-daughter (ROCK AND ROLL!) when she was newly born and totally captivating. She had been nicknamed 'Starfish' owing to the way she would sleep with her arms and legs out. Oshi was born 9 weeks premature and was very poorly for a while; she is now a very bright and vivacious 5 year old. And I am a very proud grand dad! :-)
The song also features a synth sound that I can't resist....it also shows up in SQUARE PEG and another song that will soon show up on sellaband, featuring yet another stunning female singer, Emma.
SONG 16 - ANCIENT WORDS - 18th August
A gentle song; co-written with LQ Pickens, and the first song I have ever sent a rough demo to a studio and just let them come up with a complete song. As it was a Nashville studio, it was bound to come out with a country feel, so that was no surprise, but it just goes to show how you can make songs sound so different. My version was a bit like an old pomp-rock band on a bad day! Featuring vocals by producer Sean Gasaway, this is one that is getting 'pitched' to American artists, and may one day appear on someone else's album!
SONG 15 - SQUARE PEG - 17th August
This is a bit of a big decision for me to put this one up. Let me explain, if you have time....
Firstly, my wife Mandi will probably kill me if she comes on here while the song is in the public domain, so if you don't see me active again, that's what's happened. It was nice knowing you. She is rather embarrassed by some of the more demented moments in this song, and quite rightly so. Would YOU want to be married to this person? Don't answer. Anyway, it was only ever a bit of fun, and remains so, but sometimes I think a bit of wacky can generate interest in a song, so what's the harm?
Having said that, this song has always been a favourite of anyone who hears it, in any of its various versions. The repetitive stupidity of the chorus seems to get under peoples skins and is easy to sing along with.
The lyrics are the result of a VERY bad experience that knocked my life for 6 (an English expression - cricket related) in 2001. It was bad but GOOD too, as it turned me back to music. But these words just reflect that I have never really fitted into anyone else's little compartments. A kind of SCREW THE WORLD song I guess. It's very terapeutic to get these feelings out!
Anyway, I had the framework of the song recorded on my then-new computer system, when I was left home alone one afternoon. I decided to record the vocal, and started playing with the echo. I was just having fun, ok? No animals were harmed during the making of the song, but I did have a bit of a groovy time with the echo, and have pretty much left this recording untouched ever since.
Since then, I have been honoured by a good friend of mine, Ram, not only recording a few versions of the song with his band, but also naming the band after it! performed live, he took it to new levels, with the chorus being used as a major audience participation tool. Imagine it if you can! SQUARE PEG...ROUND HOLE..... Wonderful! I guess you'll have to hear the track first.
Sadly, Square Peg the band are no more, but I am still working on music with Ram; some of it has already been posted here, and more will come before the 30 days are up.
I also had fun working on a 'dance' version of this, but I am a bit rubbish with all of that looping and stuff, so if there are any dance geniuses out there who fancy playing with the song, please do get in touch!
This song is still waiting for me to do a definitive version. I actually believe that something good could come of the 'right' treatment; I just haven't worked out what that is yet!
Anyway, have fun with it - and if you're quick and buy a part up to $500, I'll send you and mp3....
It's only going to be here for 3 days, then I need to get it off before Mandi finds it!
SONG 14 - ALREADY GONE - 16/17th August
This was the first song I completed when I started writing again a few years ago. Vocals are by JEFFI and it was pretty much meant to be a pop song in the style of what was going on in the UK in 2003 or whenever it was. Someone pointed out a similarity between the chorus of this song and a well-know hit from a few years before - oops! It wasn't intentional. Can anyone spot it? A free mp3 to the first person to correctly name the song and artist.
16th August
A busy day today, just back after being out in the rain all day; need to grab some food before a gig tonight....so no time to put up the song today, but will make it up with TWO new songs tomorrow....including the track that will be given away to all my believers up to the first $500.
See you tomorrow!
SONG 13 - LET IT GO - 15th August
This was my first-ever transatlantic collaboration. To cut a long story short, I read some lyrics written by Janine Talbot, from Maine in the good ol' USA, and was touched by the sentiments - it was a story from the heart about an abused wife, and music came easily for the words. I enlisted the help of singer Emma Jeffery and this was the result of her first-ever solo recording. It's only a home demo, but I think her performance shows wonderful empathy with the subject. This song has been shortlisted to appear on an album in the USA in support of victims of abuse. I hope it makes it onto the album!
SONG 12 - SUNSHINE - 14th August
The story to this is already written a bit further down the page, so I won't repeat it. Right now, I wish I could see some bloody sunshine...this has to now be the worst summer for the last 50 years at least. Makes me MISERABLE!! Feel free to cheer me up with a part......
SONG 11 - THE ONE - 13th August
A simple story for this one. I wrote a tune to enter as the American Idol winners song for this year. I sent it to my songwriting chum, LQ Pickens, with an idea of the melody and the main line of the chorus....and she came up with the lyrics. Then I flew over to Nashville and had it recorded by a bunch of awesome musicians (similar to the way I will record my sellaband album! ;-) ) and gutsy session singer and full-time real-estate agent Kristy Rhode. She is incredible to watch in action....maybe I could post a video up here....and such a waste of talent; a true country star waiting to happen.
I guess this is just here as an example of what Tozmusic can sound like when done professionally. Hope y'all like it.
SONG 10 - NEVER GONNA DRY THESE TEARS - 12th August
Here's another work-in-progress; I had the opportunity a few months back to co-write a song with someone who had been offered the chance to get a CD in Jon Bon Jovi's hands when he was in a good mood, having dinner with family....don't ask me how!
It was a fun project - but what do you write for the man who has everything? I just thought the best way to go, rather than second-guessing, was to try and write a typical Bon Jovi ballad, one I could imagine him singing. So here's the result. I had my friend Ram sing this version (although I am working on my own now - in a lower key!) and even he didn't get it done by the deadline...so I had a female singer finish the bridge section just prior to sending it off. It did make me think a duet all the way through could be cool though.
So far, no word from Jon Bon. These things take time... :-)
SONG 9 - REWIND - 11th August
This song has a writeup elsewhere on this page, so I won't repeat. It's due in for a little improvement shortly. Some bass, drum and vocal work to tidy it up! A song that was accidentally written....but once I have loosened it up a bit, I think it will be quite nice!
SONG 8 - HERE IT IS AGAIN - 10th August
This one features the vocals of Nashville singer Mandy Thomas; I spent a few days recording in Nashville in December 07, and it was wonderful to hear these pros bring the music to life. This particular song is a bit of a departure for me, with its almost Latin feel. Almost. I don't know where it came from, but everyone that heard it seemed to like it, so when it came to choosing songs to have recorded, this got the vote.
Until the very last moment, I was due to sing on it myself, but then I heard Mandy working on another song and thought she could do a better job, even though the key was low for her. However, I do have the backing track, so just for the fun of it, will record a version myself soon, and put that up - just for comparison.
It's a bit middle-of-the-road, even for me, but maybe I'll get it in a nice roimantic comedy soundtrack sometime. Then watch the dollaroonies roll in!
SONG 7 - LONG WALK HOME - 9th August
This one features my own dulcet tones again. it's one of the 3 songs I started with when joining sellaband; it still needs real drums and real bass, but I am working on that. It will be a much punchier song when I finish the job. I can do the drums but need to wait for the bassist - but he's mighty fine and worth waiting for. the reason I have to wait is authentically rock and roll: he's helping his mum move house. The full story of this song is elsewhere on the page so I won't bore you with it again. Lyrics by Amy Polkinghorne.
SONG 6 - HOME - 8th August
Another collaboration - this time with singer Ramsin; a catchy little number with added traffic jam. I'm currently working on editing it a bit and adding (again) some real drums and bass to make it a bit less starchy. Ramsin may also be on sellaband in his own right soon...we are currently working on a 3rd song for his profile.
SONG 5 - A WORLD OF MY OWN - 7th August
A simple little guitar-and-voice track featuring the vocal talents of CARMEN, a young singer whom I have high hopes for. She's currently at University and very busy, but I think once her course is complete, we may see her working on some tracks and putting her own profile here on sellaband.
I do have a version of this song with my own vocal....but I need to go and listen to that again before I am brave enough to put it on. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow, for purposes of comparison.
SONG 4 - ARE YOU COMING HOME TONIGHT? - 6th August
Jeepers, this one's a bit country too. Well, my excuse for that is that it was born of a collaboration challenge on a songwriters website I had just joined. The idea was to pair two random members of the site to write a song together. Of the hundreds of members, the site paired me with the one other person I already knew on there, and whom I'd already written a few tunes with! Anyway, she sent me some lyrics that were SO smalltown America, that the kind of music that evolved was inevitable. I actually quite like it - it kicks along nicely once it gets going, and I am sure it could be a huge hit in linedancingland.
At the moment, it's got boring old computer drums and boring old computer bass, but I will be getting both switched sometime soon. Maybe a bit of punchy guitar too, and we could have a metal track on our hands....
But don't be fooled - I AM NOT a country act! Really.
SONG 3 - DESPERATE DAYS - 5th August
This song was written in my very English garden a few years ago, and is the most 'country' I have ever been. I don't know why! The words about stations and trains just flowed whilst sitting next to my little stream in the sunshine! When I got the opportunity to go to Nashville in December last year, and work in a studio with some PROPER musicians, this just HAD to be one of these songs that was recorded. I just wanted to see how genuine Nashville session musicians would interpret it...and I wasn't disappointed. Not me singing I'm afraid, but the song is all mine!
SONG 2 - WORLDS APART - 4th August
Believe it or not, this is NOT me singing. I know. It's amazing. I write a lot, and work with quite a few different singers locally. This is Jeffi - I think she has a haunting and unusual voice, and if she could knuckle down to it, she could do a really cool album. Maybe if I get a bit of momentum, she will want to do some more, but sometimes real life has too many other brightly coloured options. This is a pop song about two people meeting up - no real meaning behind it. I am working on a 'band' version of this, but haven't some up with a final version that I am happy with - yet. Picked this one today because some clever person on the forum suggested I start with a song title beginning with 'Z' - this is the closest I could get.
SONG 1 - OCEANS - 3rd August
One of my early attempts having recently bought my computer and recording software. My first grand-daughter Oceana was born 9 weeks prematurely and lay tiny and helpless in her incubator for many weeks. This was an attempt to capture my feelings at the time, lyrically being ambiguous between the baby and the Ocean she represented. Don't know how I cut the end off it (the song!) but would love to give this the works in a grown-up studio.
..............................................................................................................
I'm here to see if even someone like me can carve out some kind of existence in the world of music without being beautiful or image-conscious. We'll see.... I'm really a songwriter, and co-write with a variety of lovely people; I also work with a number of talented young singers, but some of the songs I just have to keep for myself. Or at least allow them to grow before handing them over. So that's what this page is all about. I'm not the world's greatest musician, but I do the best with what I have. I like melody and hooks, and don't hear enough of either in a lot of the music being offered today. I love it when I do find something new and special though. I'm always on the lookout for excellent musicians prepared to help me record some tunes in exchange for a cup of tea and a few rich tea biscuits. That's cookies to you American folk. I'm not proud - I'm not trying to BE anybody - all my songs are available for anyone else to use or record....with the right legal stuff of course. Feel free to get in touch whether you're a movie producer in Hollywood or a punk band from East Kilbride.
Having said all of that, if the Sellaband community was to embrace all things Toz and propel me to a proper recording in a proper studio.....that would change things. Bigtime.
I'd love to hear what you think - I'm not exactly cutting edge, but I like to deliver a tune that you can get your teeth into.
I'll be putting more on myspace shortly - www.myspace.com/tozmusicuk - and am so stupidly prolific that you will be finding all sorts of little titbits lying around here in Tozland. Old versions, acoustic versions, improved versions; I'll do whatever I can to make this an interesting place to come.
Friday 20th June 2008
A quick note about the songs: I record everything at home on my computer, and play all the instruments; I am not specially good at anything though, so it usually sounds a bit stuttery or not quite as polished as it could. My main aim at this point is to get the songs in some kind of shape and record them so I don't forget them!
I am a bit lazy and often don't get things sounding as good as even I can - so I am hoping that by using sellaband it will give me the incentive to improve the recordings of existing and future tracks. I've seen the phrase used on sellaband 'nothing that the services of a good producer won't sort out' - well, that applies to me 100%. I often have the ideas and can't express them as well musically or technically as I would like.
You can hear a few of the songs I have had done professionally at my songwriting page - www.myspace.com/thesongdoctor - it may give you an idea of what could happen!
Enough excuses. Here's a bit of info about the songs.
LONG WALK HOME
I subscribe to a site called 'songU' - a kind of workshop place for songwriters....and this song came about as a result of a 'blind date' challenge, where I was paired with a young Canadian lyricist (Amy Polkinghorne). She sent me a rough lyric, and the story about an argument and the long walk home (presumably to apologise and make up!) developed.
There was no chorus though, and I wanted to lose some of the lyrics to make way for something a little more repetitive...but in the end I used Amy's words as a kind of pre-chorus and added 'it's a long walk home' in as well. It does make the song a bit long, but it was a compromise - and at the time was only to fulfill the challenge of actually writing it. Having done so, I grew to like it so now I don't really mind that it's long. It's not hit single material anyway, so what the heck?
Currently with lazy computer drums, I plan to put something less automated on it soon.
I STILL REMEMBER
I'm a member of a little internet community of writers; the rest are all American, and I've spent the past year writing quite a lot of tunes with them. I'll save the story of how it all came about with them another time, but for the moment, here's the story of the song.
One of the members had posted something up on our message board last year on Fathers Day (which is pretty big in the US apparently) about her Dad, who suffers quite badly from Alzheimers. Her Mum (sorry, I mean MOM) passed away a few years ago, and her Dad still asked where she was every few days. She also told how he used to be a gigging musician and how the music had all left him now. A sad, sad story.
Anyway, a couple of months later, one of the other members came out of the blue and said she'd written some lyrics dedicated to the Dad. She posted them up, and I immediately felt moved to put music to them. The whole thing took about 30 minutes I think. That was the easy bit! When I came to record it, the emotional fragile soul that I am, I had trouble getting certain lines recorded as I was choking up on the sadness of it all.
I was proud to be involved in such a poignant project, and the song has a special place in my heart. Maybe one day we may be able to use it as a fundraiser for Alzheimers. If I can get a good recording of it....who knows?
REWIND
Nice and simple, this one. I always have a few songs on the go with a lady called LQ - (catchy, eh?!) - and usually have a few sets of words that I am trying to put to music from her. One day a few weeks ago, I was messing about on the computer trying to find a keyboard sound to add to a song (that is still not quite finished) and all of a sudden this riff came to my fingers and I couldn't leave it alone. It had no relevance at all for the song I was working on, which was a slow, bluesey kinda thing....so I had to quickly record it so as not to forget it.
I added some more chords and sent the riff to LQ to show her what had happened while I was trying to improve the other song. She loved it and asked if it would go with some lyrics she had sent me a few days before.
Well, they almost did! I was able to juggle things around a bit and pretty much fit a load of words that lacked a normal structure into a musical piece that had a very tight percussive structure ...and I think it worked pretty well. I am not known for piano-led tunes, so this song came as a complete shock to me! Consequently I am quite pleased with it and am hoping for a few more accidents like it.
It still needs a few frills and a better vocal...but the main ideas are there. It's about chilling out - so that's what I'm going to do right now. Care to join me?
Thanks for reading.
Toz
So what's next for the intrepid Toz?
Dunno.
I better get my thinking cap on to find a way to push on up to the first $1000. Anyone fancy a collaboration while I am thinking? Music comes easier than thoughts...
SONG 30 - COLLABORATION WITH INGE M - LISTEN TO MY EYES - 1st September
MP3 of TWO versions of the song available to joint believers!
Toz says: a couple of weeks ago, having exchanged a few short messages with Inge about music generally, I suggested a collaboration; Inge mentioned she had a set of words without a tune, and as soon as I saw them, it was an easy job to slide them into a few chords I had been messing with. The title had a magical ring to it, such a strong concept for a song, with a huge emotional message.
It only took a couple of ideas emailed back and forth, and the rough version of the song you can hear on the player arrived very quickly. I was so excited to hear how quickly Inge was able to translate my grunting into a beautiful soaring vocal performance!
This is an edited version - the fade is there to hopefully leave you wanting more. Aren't we mean? Over the coming month we will be working on a complete version of the song, and this, along with the acoustic version, will be made available to anyone who takes a part in BOTH artists during September. I believe that the final version will be rather special, and to any fans of Inge's unique style, a real collector's item. So if you want to hear the bridge, the final chorus, and a few more instruments..you know what to do!
Inge says: I hope you will enjoy our new song and will believe in both Toz and me!!!
Please message us both and let us know if you decide to buy the parts - we will need your email address when the track is done!
SONG 29 - TAKING BACK MY DREAM - 31st August
Only half a song really. And very rough. I wrote it as a quick response to not qualifying for the American Idol songwriting contest last year, simply because I am not American. I thought the days of discrimination were over, but clearly not. SO I wrote half a song and forgot all about it, until I started scouring my computer for songs to use in this challenge. I think I may well finish this one, as I think it has potential - and the words could easily be about the old chestnut, love.
SONG 28 - ONE MORE CHANCE - 30th August
A song about someone taking their last shot at the music business, or maybe even at life, before finally giving up. Any comparisons you may draw will be totally co-incidental. Perhaps. I am getting close to a version I am happy with - I have been messing with this one for a while now; a decent vocal and a few little tweaks and it will be done. But as I am running out of songs, it needed to come out a few days early...it'll go back into hiding shortly. For a while.
SONG 27 - BURNING A HOLE IN MY HEART - 29th August
A love-gone-wrong song, co-written with LQ Pickens. I had previously written a song with the same title, but it was pretty awful. I liked the title though, the concept coming from 'money burning a hole in your pocket' - I though too much love burning a hole in your heart was a nice idea so I asked LQ to write the lyrics to see if I could send the music in a different direction. This is just a rough recording, but I'd like to take it further.
SONG 26 - HERE IS LOVE - 28th August
Another simple little tune - but today you get a 'before' and 'after' - 'here is love' is my own rough demo, and the next track 'here it is again' is the same song renamed and interpreted by a bunch of session musicians in Nashville. My preference would be for something about halfway in between; so hopefully I will get the chance to record a slightly harder but more professional version shortly.
SONG 25 - NASHVILLE - 27th August
Simplicity itself. An acoustic track with aspirations to be played by a tidy country band with a mandolin player. I wrote this in October last year when all the new songwriting friends I had made decided to get together for a weekend in Nashville....and I couldn't go. I'd just moved house and was trying to find a new car before the engine blew in our old one...and my wife's father-in-law was seriously ill.
Also I was crippled by my fear of flying. So the day they were all getting together, I sat at home gazing out of the window feeling sorry for myself - and wrote this song and emailed it to them so they could hear my pain!
But this was just the catalyst. Two months later I DID get on a plane to go and record some tracks with a session band in Nashville. My son came with me, brought some CDs of his band, and as well as having a blast while we were there, he got a producer really interested in the band...and now they have been over to the States, toured for 3 months, recorded 5 tracks in the studio with the US no1 album band's guitarist producing...and now they have just secured a support slot on tour with the same band.
So it was a down day, but it all lead to a few good things - you make your own luck in this business!
But I still hate flying. ;-)
SONG 24 - IF YOU WERE HERE WITH ME - 26th August
Ok - I admit it... I am running out of current songs! I haven't actually been seriously working on songs with my own vocals for very long, so I am now scraping the barrel a bit to find enough of ME to be able to call this my page. Hopefully I will get a bit of time tonight to do some work on another track to put up later in the week!
In the meantime, this is something I have dragged out of the archives from a couple of years ago when I had an old-school moment...this shallow, meaningless song draws quite a bit from the music I listened to as a kid - the Joe Cockers, the Zeppelins, perhaps the Claptons etc....I am not putting myself in that class, just explaining the influences. It's all a bit rough and shouty, but I liked the chords and wanted to get something down before I forgot them. Although it's a bit old-fashioned, I confess I would quite like to hear this played by a real band of top musicians. By the time that happens I could give it the vocal performance it deserves too. For now, it's a bit of fun, but we'll see...
SONG 23 - HIDE AND SEEK - 25th August
After yesterday's epic story, today's song is a bit lighter and the story behind it is simple. My Texan friend Carrie Baird sent me some lyrics, I did my best to put some English country-rock flava to them, asked Emma to sing....and here's the result. A song!
SONG 22 - IT'S WORKING - 24th August
Thought I would add one more dark-ish tune to increase the holiday-weekend misery emanating from my player. Although this can be uplifting too. This song has a strange background, a combination of happiness and desperation. Let me explain....a few years back, a 21-year-old lad from the local area, a guy with a beautiful girlfriend, a precocious musical talent and as popular as a fella can be....in other words a guy with everything to live for, drove his car to the edge of a 100 metre cliff, backed up, revved his engine - and drove it off the edge. This was no accident. He had to drive it into a field first.
I started wondering what was in his mind at the point before putting his foot on the gas. I imagined myself at the edge - looking out to sea, and feeling the freedom of the wind and waves, detaching myself from all that was my 'real' life...then just stepping off to 'fly'. People do it all the time, so there music be something in it.
Then I started working on this tune with singer Amy, who has a voice that just transports you (or me at any rate) into another world. I wanted her to capture that feeling of detachment and soaring away from reality. I think she did that pretty well.
The title actually came, rather boringly, from the name of the drum loop I used - 'Working' .(I don't know why they give a drum loop a name, but they do, and there you have it!) I have no idea if that lad was on drugs at the time, but it would be one theory - in my imaginary scenario, I felt there was SOMETHING influencing me to take that jump, whether it was a chemical, or if it was just God calling me to join the elements. So 'I don't know what you gave me, but it's working' suggests that the state of mind was one of elation rather than depression.
Sorry to ramble on, but this song, as unfinished as it is, does actually haunt me a little, and I think the story is quite important to understand the mood.
Incidentally, the death, and the manner of it, left his friends in a real state of shock for a very long time. He was sadly missed, and no-one reallly knows why he just drove his car off the cliff.
Spooky.
SONG 21 - I JUST FOUND YOU - 23rd August
Another melancholy tune, and with good reason. Just over a year ago, I had the good fortune to join a message board with a great bunch of American songwriters. We quickly became good friends, and I became very close with a few of them. They all got together in Nashville in October. I was just moving house at the time and was unable to make it, but after a brilliant weekend, one of them went home feeling very ill. A short while after, she discovered she had leukeamia. (Sorry about the spelling). Janine had already touched our hearts with her music and her bubbly personality, and it was a huge shock for all of us to think of her suddenly so very ill. While she was undergoing chemo and unable to communicate, another writer, 'Ret', was so moved, she wrote a song for Janine. When she sent me the words I was so touched I just had to add the music. This is the result. Sorry if the vocal is a bit shabby; if it sounds like I was crying when I was singing it's probably because I was. At the time we had no idea when or whether Janine was going to recover.
I'm pleased to say she is now in full remission and on the road to recovery. But the song is there as a reminder of how these things happen so quickly sometimes.
Sorry if it's a bit depressing for a holiday weekend!
SONG 20 - HIT AND RUN - 22nd August
This is a very dark song, sung by Ramsin, who was actually left in a coma by a hit and run driver when in his teens. This song is less about the music and more about emotion. It worked very well as we wrote this acoustically, but was a bit long with just guitar and voice. It is STILL long, but the spookiness and late arrival of the musical dramatics at least helps you get through. I know it's not a hit single, but if heard in context it can be quite powerful. I hope to get Ram on sellaband in his own right soon, and would be really keen to hear this recorded in a grown-up studio rather than on my computer - a good sellaband album track I think.
SONG 19 - SHINE YOUR LIGHT ON ME - 21st August
This is a song that started a lot of things going for me. I won't do the full story here, as I have to go grocery shopping in a minute....but it was written as an entry for the American Idol contest. I was working to a very tight deadline and with a couple of days to go, the singer I had planned to use went missing on me. I enlisted the help of Carmen; she had never recorded a song before, and owing to the constraints of when I could use a piano player, she came and learned the song along to just an acoustic guitar. I then had to explain to her where I wanted her to pretend the band were getting more dramatic etc, so she could inject a bit more passion into it....as a result, I never quite managed to get the instruments into sync with the voice, but I think for a first effort (where her voice also got very tired toward the end as we had learned the song a line at a time) the vocal was pretty remarkable.
Somehow I had problems with the sound quality too - lots of hiss that I couldn't get rid of. Never mind; I KNOW this song will be awesome when it finally gets the full production, whoever sings it. I am now waiting for the right time to record it professionally. That time is approaching!
It's the nearest to a 'traditional' song I have ever written. I hope you enjoy it for what it is.
SONG 18 - I STILL REMEMBER - 20th August
A sad little tune, written to the lyrics of Carrie Baird, about a musician with Alzheimers - a true story and very touching.
EMBARRASSED!
Oh dear...I do usually check that I am putting the correct version of a song on the player; but it seems yesterday I put my work demo of Ancient Words up here by mistake, so quite a few people will have got a very poor impression of it! It was the initial thoughts of how the song should go, with me squawking away on a track that was unfinished and in too high a key... Apologies to anyone who heard it - please destroy those memories and listen to the finished song! I guess it was bound to happen with me changing tracks every day, but I will try and avoid it in future.
SONG 17 - STARFISH - 19th August
Originally on sellaband on the Eucalyptus Moone profile, this song has generated a fair bit of interest amongst believers. For the moment, the Eucalyptus Moone project is on hold. Singer Amy is away at University and where we thought we would be able to get some time together this summer to work on more material, it doesn't seem likely now.
She has a beautiful voice though, and I'm not going to give up waiting! I have plenty of material to work on with her once she has graduated. In the meantime, I hope this piece shows another side of the multi-faceted creature that is Toz, and gives a few more believers faith in me.
The song was actually written about my beautiful first grand-daughter (ROCK AND ROLL!) when she was newly born and totally captivating. She had been nicknamed 'Starfish' owing to the way she would sleep with her arms and legs out. Oshi was born 9 weeks premature and was very poorly for a while; she is now a very bright and vivacious 5 year old. And I am a very proud grand dad! :-)
The song also features a synth sound that I can't resist....it also shows up in SQUARE PEG and another song that will soon show up on sellaband, featuring yet another stunning female singer, Emma.
SONG 16 - ANCIENT WORDS - 18th August
A gentle song; co-written with LQ Pickens, and the first song I have ever sent a rough demo to a studio and just let them come up with a complete song. As it was a Nashville studio, it was bound to come out with a country feel, so that was no surprise, but it just goes to show how you can make songs sound so different. My version was a bit like an old pomp-rock band on a bad day! Featuring vocals by producer Sean Gasaway, this is one that is getting 'pitched' to American artists, and may one day appear on someone else's album!
SONG 15 - SQUARE PEG - 17th August
This is a bit of a big decision for me to put this one up. Let me explain, if you have time....
Firstly, my wife Mandi will probably kill me if she comes on here while the song is in the public domain, so if you don't see me active again, that's what's happened. It was nice knowing you. She is rather embarrassed by some of the more demented moments in this song, and quite rightly so. Would YOU want to be married to this person? Don't answer. Anyway, it was only ever a bit of fun, and remains so, but sometimes I think a bit of wacky can generate interest in a song, so what's the harm?
Having said that, this song has always been a favourite of anyone who hears it, in any of its various versions. The repetitive stupidity of the chorus seems to get under peoples skins and is easy to sing along with.
The lyrics are the result of a VERY bad experience that knocked my life for 6 (an English expression - cricket related) in 2001. It was bad but GOOD too, as it turned me back to music. But these words just reflect that I have never really fitted into anyone else's little compartments. A kind of SCREW THE WORLD song I guess. It's very terapeutic to get these feelings out!
Anyway, I had the framework of the song recorded on my then-new computer system, when I was left home alone one afternoon. I decided to record the vocal, and started playing with the echo. I was just having fun, ok? No animals were harmed during the making of the song, but I did have a bit of a groovy time with the echo, and have pretty much left this recording untouched ever since.
Since then, I have been honoured by a good friend of mine, Ram, not only recording a few versions of the song with his band, but also naming the band after it! performed live, he took it to new levels, with the chorus being used as a major audience participation tool. Imagine it if you can! SQUARE PEG...ROUND HOLE..... Wonderful! I guess you'll have to hear the track first.
Sadly, Square Peg the band are no more, but I am still working on music with Ram; some of it has already been posted here, and more will come before the 30 days are up.
I also had fun working on a 'dance' version of this, but I am a bit rubbish with all of that looping and stuff, so if there are any dance geniuses out there who fancy playing with the song, please do get in touch!
This song is still waiting for me to do a definitive version. I actually believe that something good could come of the 'right' treatment; I just haven't worked out what that is yet!
Anyway, have fun with it - and if you're quick and buy a part up to $500, I'll send you and mp3....
It's only going to be here for 3 days, then I need to get it off before Mandi finds it!
SONG 14 - ALREADY GONE - 16/17th August
This was the first song I completed when I started writing again a few years ago. Vocals are by JEFFI and it was pretty much meant to be a pop song in the style of what was going on in the UK in 2003 or whenever it was. Someone pointed out a similarity between the chorus of this song and a well-know hit from a few years before - oops! It wasn't intentional. Can anyone spot it? A free mp3 to the first person to correctly name the song and artist.
16th August
A busy day today, just back after being out in the rain all day; need to grab some food before a gig tonight....so no time to put up the song today, but will make it up with TWO new songs tomorrow....including the track that will be given away to all my believers up to the first $500.
See you tomorrow!
SONG 13 - LET IT GO - 15th August
This was my first-ever transatlantic collaboration. To cut a long story short, I read some lyrics written by Janine Talbot, from Maine in the good ol' USA, and was touched by the sentiments - it was a story from the heart about an abused wife, and music came easily for the words. I enlisted the help of singer Emma Jeffery and this was the result of her first-ever solo recording. It's only a home demo, but I think her performance shows wonderful empathy with the subject. This song has been shortlisted to appear on an album in the USA in support of victims of abuse. I hope it makes it onto the album!
SONG 12 - SUNSHINE - 14th August
The story to this is already written a bit further down the page, so I won't repeat it. Right now, I wish I could see some bloody sunshine...this has to now be the worst summer for the last 50 years at least. Makes me MISERABLE!! Feel free to cheer me up with a part......
SONG 11 - THE ONE - 13th August
A simple story for this one. I wrote a tune to enter as the American Idol winners song for this year. I sent it to my songwriting chum, LQ Pickens, with an idea of the melody and the main line of the chorus....and she came up with the lyrics. Then I flew over to Nashville and had it recorded by a bunch of awesome musicians (similar to the way I will record my sellaband album! ;-) ) and gutsy session singer and full-time real-estate agent Kristy Rhode. She is incredible to watch in action....maybe I could post a video up here....and such a waste of talent; a true country star waiting to happen.
I guess this is just here as an example of what Tozmusic can sound like when done professionally. Hope y'all like it.
SONG 10 - NEVER GONNA DRY THESE TEARS - 12th August
Here's another work-in-progress; I had the opportunity a few months back to co-write a song with someone who had been offered the chance to get a CD in Jon Bon Jovi's hands when he was in a good mood, having dinner with family....don't ask me how!
It was a fun project - but what do you write for the man who has everything? I just thought the best way to go, rather than second-guessing, was to try and write a typical Bon Jovi ballad, one I could imagine him singing. So here's the result. I had my friend Ram sing this version (although I am working on my own now - in a lower key!) and even he didn't get it done by the deadline...so I had a female singer finish the bridge section just prior to sending it off. It did make me think a duet all the way through could be cool though.
So far, no word from Jon Bon. These things take time... :-)
SONG 9 - REWIND - 11th August
This song has a writeup elsewhere on this page, so I won't repeat. It's due in for a little improvement shortly. Some bass, drum and vocal work to tidy it up! A song that was accidentally written....but once I have loosened it up a bit, I think it will be quite nice!
SONG 8 - HERE IT IS AGAIN - 10th August
This one features the vocals of Nashville singer Mandy Thomas; I spent a few days recording in Nashville in December 07, and it was wonderful to hear these pros bring the music to life. This particular song is a bit of a departure for me, with its almost Latin feel. Almost. I don't know where it came from, but everyone that heard it seemed to like it, so when it came to choosing songs to have recorded, this got the vote.
Until the very last moment, I was due to sing on it myself, but then I heard Mandy working on another song and thought she could do a better job, even though the key was low for her. However, I do have the backing track, so just for the fun of it, will record a version myself soon, and put that up - just for comparison.
It's a bit middle-of-the-road, even for me, but maybe I'll get it in a nice roimantic comedy soundtrack sometime. Then watch the dollaroonies roll in!
SONG 7 - LONG WALK HOME - 9th August
This one features my own dulcet tones again. it's one of the 3 songs I started with when joining sellaband; it still needs real drums and real bass, but I am working on that. It will be a much punchier song when I finish the job. I can do the drums but need to wait for the bassist - but he's mighty fine and worth waiting for. the reason I have to wait is authentically rock and roll: he's helping his mum move house. The full story of this song is elsewhere on the page so I won't bore you with it again. Lyrics by Amy Polkinghorne.
SONG 6 - HOME - 8th August
Another collaboration - this time with singer Ramsin; a catchy little number with added traffic jam. I'm currently working on editing it a bit and adding (again) some real drums and bass to make it a bit less starchy. Ramsin may also be on sellaband in his own right soon...we are currently working on a 3rd song for his profile.
SONG 5 - A WORLD OF MY OWN - 7th August
A simple little guitar-and-voice track featuring the vocal talents of CARMEN, a young singer whom I have high hopes for. She's currently at University and very busy, but I think once her course is complete, we may see her working on some tracks and putting her own profile here on sellaband.
I do have a version of this song with my own vocal....but I need to go and listen to that again before I am brave enough to put it on. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow, for purposes of comparison.
SONG 4 - ARE YOU COMING HOME TONIGHT? - 6th August
Jeepers, this one's a bit country too. Well, my excuse for that is that it was born of a collaboration challenge on a songwriters website I had just joined. The idea was to pair two random members of the site to write a song together. Of the hundreds of members, the site paired me with the one other person I already knew on there, and whom I'd already written a few tunes with! Anyway, she sent me some lyrics that were SO smalltown America, that the kind of music that evolved was inevitable. I actually quite like it - it kicks along nicely once it gets going, and I am sure it could be a huge hit in linedancingland.
At the moment, it's got boring old computer drums and boring old computer bass, but I will be getting both switched sometime soon. Maybe a bit of punchy guitar too, and we could have a metal track on our hands....
But don't be fooled - I AM NOT a country act! Really.
SONG 3 - DESPERATE DAYS - 5th August
This song was written in my very English garden a few years ago, and is the most 'country' I have ever been. I don't know why! The words about stations and trains just flowed whilst sitting next to my little stream in the sunshine! When I got the opportunity to go to Nashville in December last year, and work in a studio with some PROPER musicians, this just HAD to be one of these songs that was recorded. I just wanted to see how genuine Nashville session musicians would interpret it...and I wasn't disappointed. Not me singing I'm afraid, but the song is all mine!
SONG 2 - WORLDS APART - 4th August
Believe it or not, this is NOT me singing. I know. It's amazing. I write a lot, and work with quite a few different singers locally. This is Jeffi - I think she has a haunting and unusual voice, and if she could knuckle down to it, she could do a really cool album. Maybe if I get a bit of momentum, she will want to do some more, but sometimes real life has too many other brightly coloured options. This is a pop song about two people meeting up - no real meaning behind it. I am working on a 'band' version of this, but haven't some up with a final version that I am happy with - yet. Picked this one today because some clever person on the forum suggested I start with a song title beginning with 'Z' - this is the closest I could get.
SONG 1 - OCEANS - 3rd August
One of my early attempts having recently bought my computer and recording software. My first grand-daughter Oceana was born 9 weeks prematurely and lay tiny and helpless in her incubator for many weeks. This was an attempt to capture my feelings at the time, lyrically being ambiguous between the baby and the Ocean she represented. Don't know how I cut the end off it (the song!) but would love to give this the works in a grown-up studio.
..............................................................................................................
I'm here to see if even someone like me can carve out some kind of existence in the world of music without being beautiful or image-conscious. We'll see.... I'm really a songwriter, and co-write with a variety of lovely people; I also work with a number of talented young singers, but some of the songs I just have to keep for myself. Or at least allow them to grow before handing them over. So that's what this page is all about. I'm not the world's greatest musician, but I do the best with what I have. I like melody and hooks, and don't hear enough of either in a lot of the music being offered today. I love it when I do find something new and special though. I'm always on the lookout for excellent musicians prepared to help me record some tunes in exchange for a cup of tea and a few rich tea biscuits. That's cookies to you American folk. I'm not proud - I'm not trying to BE anybody - all my songs are available for anyone else to use or record....with the right legal stuff of course. Feel free to get in touch whether you're a movie producer in Hollywood or a punk band from East Kilbride.
Having said all of that, if the Sellaband community was to embrace all things Toz and propel me to a proper recording in a proper studio.....that would change things. Bigtime.
I'd love to hear what you think - I'm not exactly cutting edge, but I like to deliver a tune that you can get your teeth into.
I'll be putting more on myspace shortly - www.myspace.com/tozmusicuk - and am so stupidly prolific that you will be finding all sorts of little titbits lying around here in Tozland. Old versions, acoustic versions, improved versions; I'll do whatever I can to make this an interesting place to come.
Friday 20th June 2008
A quick note about the songs: I record everything at home on my computer, and play all the instruments; I am not specially good at anything though, so it usually sounds a bit stuttery or not quite as polished as it could. My main aim at this point is to get the songs in some kind of shape and record them so I don't forget them!
I am a bit lazy and often don't get things sounding as good as even I can - so I am hoping that by using sellaband it will give me the incentive to improve the recordings of existing and future tracks. I've seen the phrase used on sellaband 'nothing that the services of a good producer won't sort out' - well, that applies to me 100%. I often have the ideas and can't express them as well musically or technically as I would like.
You can hear a few of the songs I have had done professionally at my songwriting page - www.myspace.com/thesongdoctor - it may give you an idea of what could happen!
Enough excuses. Here's a bit of info about the songs.
LONG WALK HOME
I subscribe to a site called 'songU' - a kind of workshop place for songwriters....and this song came about as a result of a 'blind date' challenge, where I was paired with a young Canadian lyricist (Amy Polkinghorne). She sent me a rough lyric, and the story about an argument and the long walk home (presumably to apologise and make up!) developed.
There was no chorus though, and I wanted to lose some of the lyrics to make way for something a little more repetitive...but in the end I used Amy's words as a kind of pre-chorus and added 'it's a long walk home' in as well. It does make the song a bit long, but it was a compromise - and at the time was only to fulfill the challenge of actually writing it. Having done so, I grew to like it so now I don't really mind that it's long. It's not hit single material anyway, so what the heck?
Currently with lazy computer drums, I plan to put something less automated on it soon.
I STILL REMEMBER
I'm a member of a little internet community of writers; the rest are all American, and I've spent the past year writing quite a lot of tunes with them. I'll save the story of how it all came about with them another time, but for the moment, here's the story of the song.
One of the members had posted something up on our message board last year on Fathers Day (which is pretty big in the US apparently) about her Dad, who suffers quite badly from Alzheimers. Her Mum (sorry, I mean MOM) passed away a few years ago, and her Dad still asked where she was every few days. She also told how he used to be a gigging musician and how the music had all left him now. A sad, sad story.
Anyway, a couple of months later, one of the other members came out of the blue and said she'd written some lyrics dedicated to the Dad. She posted them up, and I immediately felt moved to put music to them. The whole thing took about 30 minutes I think. That was the easy bit! When I came to record it, the emotional fragile soul that I am, I had trouble getting certain lines recorded as I was choking up on the sadness of it all.
I was proud to be involved in such a poignant project, and the song has a special place in my heart. Maybe one day we may be able to use it as a fundraiser for Alzheimers. If I can get a good recording of it....who knows?
REWIND
Nice and simple, this one. I always have a few songs on the go with a lady called LQ - (catchy, eh?!) - and usually have a few sets of words that I am trying to put to music from her. One day a few weeks ago, I was messing about on the computer trying to find a keyboard sound to add to a song (that is still not quite finished) and all of a sudden this riff came to my fingers and I couldn't leave it alone. It had no relevance at all for the song I was working on, which was a slow, bluesey kinda thing....so I had to quickly record it so as not to forget it.
I added some more chords and sent the riff to LQ to show her what had happened while I was trying to improve the other song. She loved it and asked if it would go with some lyrics she had sent me a few days before.
Well, they almost did! I was able to juggle things around a bit and pretty much fit a load of words that lacked a normal structure into a musical piece that had a very tight percussive structure ...and I think it worked pretty well. I am not known for piano-led tunes, so this song came as a complete shock to me! Consequently I am quite pleased with it and am hoping for a few more accidents like it.
It still needs a few frills and a better vocal...but the main ideas are there. It's about chilling out - so that's what I'm going to do right now. Care to join me?
Thanks for reading.
Toz
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Thursday 21st August
I've been doing so much writing and track-swapping and 'inviting' that I'd kinda forgotten about this bit. Blogging. Where did that word come from? One minute it doesn't exist, then everyone's doing it! One of the (printable) pet names for my wife when we were first married was 'Blog' - but then it was just a meaningless term of endearment. Ah well, time moves on and leaves us trailing in its wake.
So since I last wrote here, I have put no less than 19 different songs up on the player. I realise I haven't exactly set sellaband on fire yet, but I am slowly but surely forcing people to have an opinion. Learning how this community works is a process that is taking a bit of time; I was initially a bit 'shy' of approaching people directly but I understand now that it's the only way you have any chance of attracting the attention of some believers, so I may as well just get on with it!
I have only spent a small amount of time every couple of days so far 'spamming', and have been pleasantly surprised by the results. It seems that either it is politely ignored or a good response is achieved. Which is nice. It is also commonsense to assume that not every believer will log in to sellaband each and every day like a dedicated artist will. So it may be days or even weeks before some of the 'introductory' work draws a response at all. Each day therefore I spend with a little effort in this direction is like a record label placing ads in a music magazine and waiting for it to pay off. Keep advertising and the message reaches more and more people.
It's not my natural game to be so overtly commercial, but needs must. It's a tough world and music sat on the internet is no use if no-one knows it's there.
But I am finding the challenge of sellaband more exciting and appealing every day. At the outset, I had no expectations, but have been happy with the limited feedback on my (mostly) unfinished and unpolished music, and the fact that a good number of people I have never met are putting their hard-earned cash into MY little project. Only I know for sure how much better the work I will produce can be. I have never before had a real reason to work hard at my songs. Write one, record it roughly, pat myself on the back, and move on to the next one. Now, more and more, I have a responsibility to others to come up with the goods. At the moment, all my believers are doing in auditioning my current offerings (even though there are 30 of them) is checking out my CV (Resume to you yankee folk) - looking at the track record and projecting forwards. I am, as I said, pleased to have had a good reaction to some fairly bland songs (or at least bland recordings).
The future in the short-term, holds a bit of toughening up of the music, honing and improving the playing and vocal work. Just about everything you will hear at the moment is me doing my best on every instrument. To demo songs for the future sellaband album, I will be giving believers something much better to get their teeth into. Each song that is deemed worthy will be taken into the workshop and hammered and polished until it is fit for its purpose. this will take a while, but in the meantime, there is no shortage of rough demos to keep interest levels up.
After this 30-song stunt, I will slow up a little and also only use my own vocal performances. With any luck I will have worked on a couple of newer tunes by then and can keep the page fresh. I have been airing the other singers just to show what has been going on in my musical world; most of them are still working with me and I am hoping that at least a couple of them will soon make their solo debut on sellaband in their own right.
At the age of 52, I have decided/realised it is NOT cheating to use a vocal coach, so have started taking singing 'lessons' to improve my range and consistency. It's another example of how seriously I am taking this $50,000 quest. The thought of actually recording a 'proper' album with 5,000 pre-sold copies gives me a huge buzz. So I don't care how long it takes, or how many attractive young women I have to sleep with to reach my goal. Bring it on.
I guess that will do for tonight. I have to think about new gimmicks and incentives to keep the believers rolling up in their ones and twos. 50 down, 4,950 to go. happy days!
Bless you if you have read this far. You now know more about me than my neighbours do.
Toz
Sunday 3rd August
I've decided to do something a bit unusual. Hey - I have nothing to lose! I still haven't resorted to contacting individual believers and asking them to come here and listen but I am thinking that may well have to come soon. Perhaps this latest idea will at least be something worth telling them about....
For the rest of August (most of it!) I am going to change one track per day on my player, and add a different track that hasn't yet been here. That means about 28 different songs going on here, but I think I can just about do it.
I am going to include songs that I have written or co-written, but am not going to stop at songs with just me singing - as I write for a few different people I am going to attempt to show a bit of variety. After all, when it comes down to it, my sellaband album can include any songs that my believers like - we can take a vote on that later!
I actually surprised myself yesterday when working on a list of all the songs I have in one form or another, some professionally recorded, others really rough, and many somewhere in between, and thought this prolificness (is that a word?) could be an angle to follow whilst I work on stronger versions on some of the songs.
So, who knows - if you are here on Monday and don't like any of the songs....come back on Thursday and there will be three completely different ones. Come back on Sunday and there will be three more! You get the idea.
Have a wonderful week.
Monday 28th July
Greetings! I don't quite know how I missed a week, but I did. I know the only way I am going to keep the 'momentum' going (and I use the term very loosely) here on sellaband is to keep things fresh, so I am annoyed with myself for letting things slip already. Never mind, I'll get back on track.
Not a lot of progress on the parts in the past two weeks but I will persevere. I haven't yet started to try and force people to come and listen, so maybe it's time to get the street team into action. I just need to find a couple of zimmer frames and we'll be on the case.
I just uploaded a new (to sellaband) track - 'SUNSHINE' . Two reasons for this; one, because the weather here in the SW of England has been gorgeous for a few days - it really looked liked summer had finally arrived. It maybe about to slip back to normality and rain shortly, but it was wonderful while it lasted. I am very much a sun-driven person; not that I have to bask in it, just that the light gives me energy. I am a miserable git in the winter, and even more so in the summer if the sunshine doesn't arrive. I often wonder how much more I would get done if I lived in a sunnier country.
The other reason is just to show off the lyrical talents of a good friend of mine, Amy Bogue - she's also one of my early believers, and she writes a fine song. I've worked on a couple with her now, and hope to come up with some more before long. We didn't actually write it TOGETHER as such. I was going through a miserable, sunshine-free patch last year, and out of the blue Amy sent me these words to cheer me up - a kind of 'you've got a friend' sentiment, which was lovely and quite touching. I picked up my guitar, and in a very short space of time had the tune for the words that you can hear on the player here. I've been told they have a kind of anthemic quality, and would love to do some HUGE arrangement with the song....but it's so simple at the moment that I have been scared to mess with it. maybe one day.
Hope you enjoy it anyway. I'll be back soon with enhanced versions of other songs too....don't go anywhere.
Have a wonderful time, whatever you're doing!
Toz
Monday 14th July
Almost another week has passed - I say almost....it's late Sunday night/early Monday morning and I am not quite tucked up in my cosy bed. I'm a bit of a late bird anyway, but the main reason I am still up tonight is that I am suffering for my art (and my fan!) and I don't think I will sleep if I do hit the sack.
Why, you ask? Well, it's like this: my bloody knee is killing me, and I suspect it's because I took it by surprise this afternoon and had a bit of a session on the drums....first time for ages. It's no use sitting here at the computer reading critiques of my songs (from another site) that say some of my tracks are stiff and boring, while also knowing how much I could improve them with a bit of proper drumming. As opposed to the keyboard/computer kind.
So I tried out a few of my songs to see which I fancied learning and recording first. And I was having such a great time that I probably did it for a bit too long 'without warming up' as my dear wife Mandi was only too quick to point out. Dammit - I guess I'm not 19 any more. Nobody told me.
The good news is that when the pain stops (have you noticed a recurring theme in these blogs by the way?) I will be energising 'Long Walk Home' with a bit of human drumming. Along with a few other songs too. I'm quite excited to get a different one up here. Just can't decide what to go with next; it'll probably be one from the archive, giving me a bit more time to tidy up a more recent one.
Anyway - it was pretty exciting to hit the chart with a small slap last week; it's quite easy to engineer a number 1 for a few moments with a swiftly-invested $10, but longevity is what it's all about, and to still be in there on Wednesday was a big achievement for me! If anyone reading this wants to see an old man get really excited, then by all means throw a few dollars my way on Tuesday or Wednesday.
It would be really nice to start marching towards that $500 mark this week. I could tell the bank manager that my account may be sorted out by the end of 2009 then. With confidence. Well, I can dream, can't I?
You may have seen me mention elsewhere that believers who are in up to the $500 point will be in for a nice little reward when that milestone is reached. It's probably worth saying that here too. So, by my calculation, there are only 22 parts left to cash in on this little beauty. As the lovely ladies who were the voice of my generation once said....''take a chance on me".
You know you want to.
Have a splendiferous week. For those of you whose English is not great, that means 'pretty damn good''.
Monday 7th July
Here I am again then. It's going to be interesting to see if I can keep up a weekly update, finding something interesting to say so often. I know people who can never find anything interesting to say, so it is a challenge!
A whole week has passed, and sadly, the toothache that slowed me down in the previous week managed to pretty much grind me to a halt. It's quite difficult to come up with another pretty tune when it feels like someone is repeatedly bashing you in the face with an icepick. After two visits to the dentist, and some fairly painful root canal work, the pain has died down, so I should be up for a bit of work this week.
I am planning to do something a bit special with the dentist actually; I go to this lovely clinic with lovely (and I mean that) dentists and staff, all of whom go out of their way to make your visit as comfortable as possible. One of the ways is by playing music of your choice whilst you have treatment. My dentist (Sharon) is also a huge music fan, and we have long conversations (usually quite one-sided, as my mouth is always full of cotton wool and surgical instruments!) about all kinds of music. I keep her updated on my musical career and my son's band, Kolo. If there's a new song or a CD she'll put it on and have a listen, and my music is getting played unwittingly to other patients too!
Not sure if it's a good thing that they learn to associate my music with discomfort....but I'll live with it!
Anyway, I am going back for yet more work in a couple of weeks and I plan to set Sharon and the staff of SMILE (yes, really) a challenge; if they put in so many parts between them, I will write a song just for them; the name of the surgery can give rise to some good lyrics I am sure. I know it's a title that has been well used, but what the heck? I had a chat with Sharon a few weeks ago about the lyrics of one of our favourite songwriters (Justin Currie - Del Amitri) and she commented how it was so wonderful to hear a man that could write such sensitive words. Well, my plan is to write something to make my dentist weep! In a good way...
So there you have it. I do also think that as an incentive to increase the sale of parts, I could also do something similar as an open challenge. So tell me (anyone that has managed to read this far) - how many parts do you think someone should have to buy to have a song written just for them? Let me know.
In the meantime, I shall take advantage of the appalling weather here in the UK (how is it in USA/Germany?Netherlands?) to stay in and work on some music. Teeth permitting.
Have a great week folks - hope there are a couple more of you next week!
Toz x (the kiss is just for the ladies)
Sunday 29th June
G'day folks!
Well, it's been just over a week since I arrived here on SAB with a small puff of smoke and a whisper from the rooftops. How has it been? Pretty good I think. My initial campaign of contacting family and close friends has so far fallen on (presumably) deaf ears, but a few kind writing partners and musical friends have chipped in with a bit of early support, along with a good number of SAB regulars, whose support has been unsolicited and therefore highly valued. That, to me, is a big reassurance that I could maybe get somewhere with this.
I am a realist though - $160 is quite a long way off $50,000 ...but it IS a start. It's going to be a lot of work, but I am keen to see just how far, at the age of over 21, I can take this. One thing makes another happen. It's very easy to rest on one's laurels, however withered and spindly they may be, and make music just for the pure satisfaction. 'Oooh, there's another nice song Toz' - but unless I do something with it, it's a bit like the old tree-falling-in-a-forest thing. What's the point of a song if no-one ever hears it?
So this exercise is designed to bring me out of my little shell and make me WORK a bit harder. I am already looking forward to playing live again this week....not sure what I'll do yet, but it depends on the voice - I have toothache AND a cough, so maybe something from my screamo metal catalogue might be best! I'll work somthing out. And if I play live, then I can tell people about sellaband, and if they come here, then that will drive me on stronger. It may just be one believer at a time, but I'll persevere. There will be more exciting, dynamic artists appearing here who will get there a lot faster, I have no doubt, but I will take the tortoise approach. One lumbering step at a time.
If you can help the process, please do. tell someone else - help me take another step. That'd be cool.
In the meantime, I am delighted with my first week here. I am working on a few new songs, and at some point in the next week or so, one of them will be ready-enough to demo here. I have one called 'Breathing on the moon' - an electronic, industrial-sounding piece. Another song called 'Wings' is brewing - a pop-country-ish song about a daughter growing up too fast. I know all about that, and although the lyrics are not mine, they really strike a chord with me. Also lurking is 'Burning a hole in my heart' - a bluesy track. I should really get on with them rather than writing about them! So here goes....one of them will appear here soon - or maybe a revamped version of something already done. We'll see.
Thanks again for all your support so far - keep it coming!
Toz
I've been doing so much writing and track-swapping and 'inviting' that I'd kinda forgotten about this bit. Blogging. Where did that word come from? One minute it doesn't exist, then everyone's doing it! One of the (printable) pet names for my wife when we were first married was 'Blog' - but then it was just a meaningless term of endearment. Ah well, time moves on and leaves us trailing in its wake.
So since I last wrote here, I have put no less than 19 different songs up on the player. I realise I haven't exactly set sellaband on fire yet, but I am slowly but surely forcing people to have an opinion. Learning how this community works is a process that is taking a bit of time; I was initially a bit 'shy' of approaching people directly but I understand now that it's the only way you have any chance of attracting the attention of some believers, so I may as well just get on with it!
I have only spent a small amount of time every couple of days so far 'spamming', and have been pleasantly surprised by the results. It seems that either it is politely ignored or a good response is achieved. Which is nice. It is also commonsense to assume that not every believer will log in to sellaband each and every day like a dedicated artist will. So it may be days or even weeks before some of the 'introductory' work draws a response at all. Each day therefore I spend with a little effort in this direction is like a record label placing ads in a music magazine and waiting for it to pay off. Keep advertising and the message reaches more and more people.
It's not my natural game to be so overtly commercial, but needs must. It's a tough world and music sat on the internet is no use if no-one knows it's there.
But I am finding the challenge of sellaband more exciting and appealing every day. At the outset, I had no expectations, but have been happy with the limited feedback on my (mostly) unfinished and unpolished music, and the fact that a good number of people I have never met are putting their hard-earned cash into MY little project. Only I know for sure how much better the work I will produce can be. I have never before had a real reason to work hard at my songs. Write one, record it roughly, pat myself on the back, and move on to the next one. Now, more and more, I have a responsibility to others to come up with the goods. At the moment, all my believers are doing in auditioning my current offerings (even though there are 30 of them) is checking out my CV (Resume to you yankee folk) - looking at the track record and projecting forwards. I am, as I said, pleased to have had a good reaction to some fairly bland songs (or at least bland recordings).
The future in the short-term, holds a bit of toughening up of the music, honing and improving the playing and vocal work. Just about everything you will hear at the moment is me doing my best on every instrument. To demo songs for the future sellaband album, I will be giving believers something much better to get their teeth into. Each song that is deemed worthy will be taken into the workshop and hammered and polished until it is fit for its purpose. this will take a while, but in the meantime, there is no shortage of rough demos to keep interest levels up.
After this 30-song stunt, I will slow up a little and also only use my own vocal performances. With any luck I will have worked on a couple of newer tunes by then and can keep the page fresh. I have been airing the other singers just to show what has been going on in my musical world; most of them are still working with me and I am hoping that at least a couple of them will soon make their solo debut on sellaband in their own right.
At the age of 52, I have decided/realised it is NOT cheating to use a vocal coach, so have started taking singing 'lessons' to improve my range and consistency. It's another example of how seriously I am taking this $50,000 quest. The thought of actually recording a 'proper' album with 5,000 pre-sold copies gives me a huge buzz. So I don't care how long it takes, or how many attractive young women I have to sleep with to reach my goal. Bring it on.
I guess that will do for tonight. I have to think about new gimmicks and incentives to keep the believers rolling up in their ones and twos. 50 down, 4,950 to go. happy days!
Bless you if you have read this far. You now know more about me than my neighbours do.
Toz
Sunday 3rd August
I've decided to do something a bit unusual. Hey - I have nothing to lose! I still haven't resorted to contacting individual believers and asking them to come here and listen but I am thinking that may well have to come soon. Perhaps this latest idea will at least be something worth telling them about....
For the rest of August (most of it!) I am going to change one track per day on my player, and add a different track that hasn't yet been here. That means about 28 different songs going on here, but I think I can just about do it.
I am going to include songs that I have written or co-written, but am not going to stop at songs with just me singing - as I write for a few different people I am going to attempt to show a bit of variety. After all, when it comes down to it, my sellaband album can include any songs that my believers like - we can take a vote on that later!
I actually surprised myself yesterday when working on a list of all the songs I have in one form or another, some professionally recorded, others really rough, and many somewhere in between, and thought this prolificness (is that a word?) could be an angle to follow whilst I work on stronger versions on some of the songs.
So, who knows - if you are here on Monday and don't like any of the songs....come back on Thursday and there will be three completely different ones. Come back on Sunday and there will be three more! You get the idea.
Have a wonderful week.
Monday 28th July
Greetings! I don't quite know how I missed a week, but I did. I know the only way I am going to keep the 'momentum' going (and I use the term very loosely) here on sellaband is to keep things fresh, so I am annoyed with myself for letting things slip already. Never mind, I'll get back on track.
Not a lot of progress on the parts in the past two weeks but I will persevere. I haven't yet started to try and force people to come and listen, so maybe it's time to get the street team into action. I just need to find a couple of zimmer frames and we'll be on the case.
I just uploaded a new (to sellaband) track - 'SUNSHINE' . Two reasons for this; one, because the weather here in the SW of England has been gorgeous for a few days - it really looked liked summer had finally arrived. It maybe about to slip back to normality and rain shortly, but it was wonderful while it lasted. I am very much a sun-driven person; not that I have to bask in it, just that the light gives me energy. I am a miserable git in the winter, and even more so in the summer if the sunshine doesn't arrive. I often wonder how much more I would get done if I lived in a sunnier country.
The other reason is just to show off the lyrical talents of a good friend of mine, Amy Bogue - she's also one of my early believers, and she writes a fine song. I've worked on a couple with her now, and hope to come up with some more before long. We didn't actually write it TOGETHER as such. I was going through a miserable, sunshine-free patch last year, and out of the blue Amy sent me these words to cheer me up - a kind of 'you've got a friend' sentiment, which was lovely and quite touching. I picked up my guitar, and in a very short space of time had the tune for the words that you can hear on the player here. I've been told they have a kind of anthemic quality, and would love to do some HUGE arrangement with the song....but it's so simple at the moment that I have been scared to mess with it. maybe one day.
Hope you enjoy it anyway. I'll be back soon with enhanced versions of other songs too....don't go anywhere.
Have a wonderful time, whatever you're doing!
Toz
Monday 14th July
Almost another week has passed - I say almost....it's late Sunday night/early Monday morning and I am not quite tucked up in my cosy bed. I'm a bit of a late bird anyway, but the main reason I am still up tonight is that I am suffering for my art (and my fan!) and I don't think I will sleep if I do hit the sack.
Why, you ask? Well, it's like this: my bloody knee is killing me, and I suspect it's because I took it by surprise this afternoon and had a bit of a session on the drums....first time for ages. It's no use sitting here at the computer reading critiques of my songs (from another site) that say some of my tracks are stiff and boring, while also knowing how much I could improve them with a bit of proper drumming. As opposed to the keyboard/computer kind.
So I tried out a few of my songs to see which I fancied learning and recording first. And I was having such a great time that I probably did it for a bit too long 'without warming up' as my dear wife Mandi was only too quick to point out. Dammit - I guess I'm not 19 any more. Nobody told me.
The good news is that when the pain stops (have you noticed a recurring theme in these blogs by the way?) I will be energising 'Long Walk Home' with a bit of human drumming. Along with a few other songs too. I'm quite excited to get a different one up here. Just can't decide what to go with next; it'll probably be one from the archive, giving me a bit more time to tidy up a more recent one.
Anyway - it was pretty exciting to hit the chart with a small slap last week; it's quite easy to engineer a number 1 for a few moments with a swiftly-invested $10, but longevity is what it's all about, and to still be in there on Wednesday was a big achievement for me! If anyone reading this wants to see an old man get really excited, then by all means throw a few dollars my way on Tuesday or Wednesday.
It would be really nice to start marching towards that $500 mark this week. I could tell the bank manager that my account may be sorted out by the end of 2009 then. With confidence. Well, I can dream, can't I?
You may have seen me mention elsewhere that believers who are in up to the $500 point will be in for a nice little reward when that milestone is reached. It's probably worth saying that here too. So, by my calculation, there are only 22 parts left to cash in on this little beauty. As the lovely ladies who were the voice of my generation once said....''take a chance on me".
You know you want to.
Have a splendiferous week. For those of you whose English is not great, that means 'pretty damn good''.
Monday 7th July
Here I am again then. It's going to be interesting to see if I can keep up a weekly update, finding something interesting to say so often. I know people who can never find anything interesting to say, so it is a challenge!
A whole week has passed, and sadly, the toothache that slowed me down in the previous week managed to pretty much grind me to a halt. It's quite difficult to come up with another pretty tune when it feels like someone is repeatedly bashing you in the face with an icepick. After two visits to the dentist, and some fairly painful root canal work, the pain has died down, so I should be up for a bit of work this week.
I am planning to do something a bit special with the dentist actually; I go to this lovely clinic with lovely (and I mean that) dentists and staff, all of whom go out of their way to make your visit as comfortable as possible. One of the ways is by playing music of your choice whilst you have treatment. My dentist (Sharon) is also a huge music fan, and we have long conversations (usually quite one-sided, as my mouth is always full of cotton wool and surgical instruments!) about all kinds of music. I keep her updated on my musical career and my son's band, Kolo. If there's a new song or a CD she'll put it on and have a listen, and my music is getting played unwittingly to other patients too!
Not sure if it's a good thing that they learn to associate my music with discomfort....but I'll live with it!
Anyway, I am going back for yet more work in a couple of weeks and I plan to set Sharon and the staff of SMILE (yes, really) a challenge; if they put in so many parts between them, I will write a song just for them; the name of the surgery can give rise to some good lyrics I am sure. I know it's a title that has been well used, but what the heck? I had a chat with Sharon a few weeks ago about the lyrics of one of our favourite songwriters (Justin Currie - Del Amitri) and she commented how it was so wonderful to hear a man that could write such sensitive words. Well, my plan is to write something to make my dentist weep! In a good way...
So there you have it. I do also think that as an incentive to increase the sale of parts, I could also do something similar as an open challenge. So tell me (anyone that has managed to read this far) - how many parts do you think someone should have to buy to have a song written just for them? Let me know.
In the meantime, I shall take advantage of the appalling weather here in the UK (how is it in USA/Germany?Netherlands?) to stay in and work on some music. Teeth permitting.
Have a great week folks - hope there are a couple more of you next week!
Toz x (the kiss is just for the ladies)
Sunday 29th June
G'day folks!
Well, it's been just over a week since I arrived here on SAB with a small puff of smoke and a whisper from the rooftops. How has it been? Pretty good I think. My initial campaign of contacting family and close friends has so far fallen on (presumably) deaf ears, but a few kind writing partners and musical friends have chipped in with a bit of early support, along with a good number of SAB regulars, whose support has been unsolicited and therefore highly valued. That, to me, is a big reassurance that I could maybe get somewhere with this.
I am a realist though - $160 is quite a long way off $50,000 ...but it IS a start. It's going to be a lot of work, but I am keen to see just how far, at the age of over 21, I can take this. One thing makes another happen. It's very easy to rest on one's laurels, however withered and spindly they may be, and make music just for the pure satisfaction. 'Oooh, there's another nice song Toz' - but unless I do something with it, it's a bit like the old tree-falling-in-a-forest thing. What's the point of a song if no-one ever hears it?
So this exercise is designed to bring me out of my little shell and make me WORK a bit harder. I am already looking forward to playing live again this week....not sure what I'll do yet, but it depends on the voice - I have toothache AND a cough, so maybe something from my screamo metal catalogue might be best! I'll work somthing out. And if I play live, then I can tell people about sellaband, and if they come here, then that will drive me on stronger. It may just be one believer at a time, but I'll persevere. There will be more exciting, dynamic artists appearing here who will get there a lot faster, I have no doubt, but I will take the tortoise approach. One lumbering step at a time.
If you can help the process, please do. tell someone else - help me take another step. That'd be cool.
In the meantime, I am delighted with my first week here. I am working on a few new songs, and at some point in the next week or so, one of them will be ready-enough to demo here. I have one called 'Breathing on the moon' - an electronic, industrial-sounding piece. Another song called 'Wings' is brewing - a pop-country-ish song about a daughter growing up too fast. I know all about that, and although the lyrics are not mine, they really strike a chord with me. Also lurking is 'Burning a hole in my heart' - a bluesy track. I should really get on with them rather than writing about them! So here goes....one of them will appear here soon - or maybe a revamped version of something already done. We'll see.
Thanks again for all your support so far - keep it coming!
Toz
Expand Shows
I will be hosting the Hook & Parrot Acoustic night every Wednesday from July 2nd at the Hook & Parrot, Seaton (Devon, UK).
If there aren't enough other people to perform, I may get up and play myself! Although I have played in bands (as a drummer) and performed as a singer (kind-of!) I have only ever performed solo with just me and my guitar twice now...once last week and once a couple of weeks before!
I shall step it up a bit now though, and by the time I reach $50k I should be a seasoned performer. that should give me a bit of time....
So, in other words, my current gig listing is:
Wed July 2nd - Hook & Parrot, Seaton, Devon, UK
Wed July 9th - Hook & Parrot, Seaton, Devon, UK
Wed Jul 16th - Hook & Parrot, Seaton, Devon, UK
Wed July 23rd - Hook & Parrot, Seaton, Devon, UK
You get the idea!
If there aren't enough other people to perform, I may get up and play myself! Although I have played in bands (as a drummer) and performed as a singer (kind-of!) I have only ever performed solo with just me and my guitar twice now...once last week and once a couple of weeks before!
I shall step it up a bit now though, and by the time I reach $50k I should be a seasoned performer. that should give me a bit of time....
So, in other words, my current gig listing is:
Wed July 2nd - Hook & Parrot, Seaton, Devon, UK
Wed July 9th - Hook & Parrot, Seaton, Devon, UK
Wed Jul 16th - Hook & Parrot, Seaton, Devon, UK
Wed July 23rd - Hook & Parrot, Seaton, Devon, UK
You get the idea!
Expand 
Bulletins
Last parts sold
| Ronald | 3 days ago | Netherlands | 1 Part |
| Christian Schuett | 4 days ago | Germany | 1 Part |
| Lucretia | 4 days ago | United Kingdom | 1 Part |
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Sep 05 2008 03:25 CET Dave Allen BURNING MOUNTAIN STUDIO
Ha, I just read what you said on Katie's page about the hair and boobs, don't tell me just worked that out. Anyway, I've still got plenty of hair even on my boobs, but it doesn't help!
Sep 05 2008 01:58 CET Katie Thompson
Hey Toz
Hows it going Boss???
Katie xx
Sep 03 2008 22:04 CET Lucretia
It's hard work for sure because I usually need eyes in about 200 directions at any one time.
Don't suppose you know an inventor of a 48hr day?
I managed to catch some of your 30 days of songs so I think I've got a fairly good idea of what could possibly come out even if your song with Inge isn't a good representation. :)
Sep 02 2008 17:09 CET One slice of bread
Inge is always nice! I teased her a bit for naming Christian your first mutual believer when in fact I believed in this "winning combination" before him... She also wrote that if I wanted a free MP3, I should give you my e-mail adress. Well: who doesn't want free MP3's? Every true Dutchy loves the concept of free!! So if Inge was actually right this time ;-), you can send a MP3 to j.melessen@planet.nl . Now go and get that first K!
Sep 02 2008 11:16 CET Dave Allen BURNING MOUNTAIN STUDIO
Well, you finished the 30 songs, so, what next? Ah, yes, rather partial to food, wine etc. But, I do exercise. Gym a couple of times a week, a walk to the fridge, I used to play rugby, and was 16 stone without any fat, so it's allowed to soften a bit after another 20 years don't you think? The dog was a stray and just came up to me and sat there for 30 minutes. I think he was with some young guys playing on the beach. I suppose you have heard of "Home and Away", well that is filmed over past the island you can see.
I liked the Inge collab, it's funny, I am one of her earliest supporters.
Have you got a 1K plan yet?
Dave
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Sep 05 2008 03:25 CET Dave Allen BURNING MOUNTAIN STUDIO
Ha, I just read what you said on Katie's page about the hair and boobs, don't tell me just worked that out. Anyway, I've still got plenty of hair even on my boobs, but it doesn't help!
Sep 05 2008 01:58 CET Katie Thompson
Hey Toz
Hows it going Boss???
Katie xx
Sep 03 2008 22:04 CET Lucretia
It's hard work for sure because I usually need eyes in about 200 directions at any one time.
Don't suppose you know an inventor of a 48hr day?
I managed to catch some of your 30 days of songs so I think I've got a fairly good idea of what could possibly come out even if your song with Inge isn't a good representation. :)
Sep 02 2008 17:09 CET One slice of bread
Inge is always nice! I teased her a bit for naming Christian your first mutual believer when in fact I believed in this "winning combination" before him... She also wrote that if I wanted a free MP3, I should give you my e-mail adress. Well: who doesn't want free MP3's? Every true Dutchy loves the concept of free!! So if Inge was actually right this time ;-), you can send a MP3 to j.melessen@planet.nl . Now go and get that first K!
Sep 02 2008 11:16 CET Dave Allen BURNING MOUNTAIN STUDIO
Well, you finished the 30 songs, so, what next? Ah, yes, rather partial to food, wine etc. But, I do exercise. Gym a couple of times a week, a walk to the fridge, I used to play rugby, and was 16 stone without any fat, so it's allowed to soften a bit after another 20 years don't you think? The dog was a stray and just came up to me and sat there for 30 minutes. I think he was with some young guys playing on the beach. I suppose you have heard of "Home and Away", well that is filmed over past the island you can see.
I liked the Inge collab, it's funny, I am one of her earliest supporters.
Have you got a 1K plan yet?
Dave
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Reviews
| Believer | Date | Parts |
| Hans Van Nuffelen | 27.08.08 | 2 |
2708 Welcome to Sellaband, have fun and good luck. |
||
| One slice of bread | 23.08.08 | 2 |
Fantastic singer / songwriter. Doesn't write just for himself, but also for various other great artists. That's what makes TOZ unique here on Sellaband! |
||
| Walter M. | 09.07.08 | 5 |
