Category: Songwriting

Categories
Bluegrass Music Music Instruction Songwriting

SEMBMA Bluegrass Kids Showcase/Songwriting Thoughts

It occurred to me that I forgot to post my thoughts about the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association’s 2025 Michigan Bluegrass Kids Showcase held on October 19 at the Woldumar Nature Center in Lansing. In short, it was a good time had by all.

The first hour was dedicated to the SEMBMA scholarship sponsored students performing tubes that they have worked on with their instructors, as well as a few past recipients showcasing their now professional-quality skills.

The second hour was held by the Edgar Loudermilk Band, who although from Georgia, have continually been supportive of Michigan bluegrass and the work SEMBMA has done to promote it in the area. Edgar has been a friend for years, and it is always a pleasure to converse with him when he is in town. The band gave a great free performance to those attending the kids showcase.

The third hour was special, in that Edgar and his band hosted a jam session with the kids as well as some adults attending a local jam session in another room of the building. While it was rough aroudn the edges, everyone seemed to have a good time, especially the younger musicians getting a chance to perform with a well-known bluegrass band.

My unfortunate incident involved my camcorder. I had numerous problems with it the last few times that I used it. I finally figured out the video end, but the audio has always recorded with a distortion, no matter if I use the built-in microphone or one of my many other pro mics plugged in I need to perhaps make some kind of attenuator to limit the signal, but as it is, the audio volume is low. Another job to work on during the winter.

For more information on the event, along with go to the article from Bluegrass Today: https://bluegrasstoday.com/2025-michigan-bluegrass-kids-showcase/ .

I will be heading to Nashville next week for a few days. I have a songwriter session scheduled, and hope to snag at least one more while I’m there. If not, I know I will find something to do down there. I have reached that point in my songwriting tenure that I need to definitely do more networking and co-writing with others outside of what is immediately available locally.

Co-writing with David Morris and Dawn Kenney proved to be my most fruitful, with “Something About a Train” winning the Merlefest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, the IBMA Songwriter Showcase, and being recorded by Valerie Smith. But that was 10 years ago, and not much has happened since. I have done some co-writing over the internet and through mail communications, but nothing that has been breakthrough, although it has been positive. I tried to do some networking at SPBGMA last year, but it was much more limited in possibilities than what is available at the IBMA conference. I still have no real intention of attending IBMA next year, so I need to take alternate steps.

What I need to do most is be more aggressive in introducing myself. I have the business cards, as well as CDs and thumb drives with some demos. I can easily had them out and walk away, hoping that the artist/manager/publisher will take a chance, but I need to PR myself better. The next few days will be spent researching available resources in Nashville that I can at least get my foot in the door.

I’ll be here next weekend, then leaving Monday, so my report will be in two weeks.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Country Music Songwriting

Kris Kristofferson RIP

Last weekend, one of the greatest talents in the country music industry, if not in the whole entertainment industry, passed away. Kris Kristofferson left this world September 28 at the age of 88. He was a singer, songwriter, musician, actor, writer and poet. He was known in the music community as part of the country music Outlaw movement. The one word that I would describe him: Badass!

He was born in Brownsville, Texas with a father that was a US Air Force officer. The family moved around frequently, and he graduated from high school in California. His college interests were in writing, where he had a number of essays printed in the Atlantic Monthly. He worked as a dredging contractor on Wake Island, as well as appearing in Sports Illustrated for his achievements in football, rugby, and track & field. He graduated summa cum laude from Pomona College, and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University in England, where he excelled not only in literature, but also in boxing.

After Oxford, under pressure from his parents, he joined the US Army, where he attained the rank of captain and became a helicopter pilot. While stationed in Germany, he re-launched his fledgling music career by forming a band. He then was assigned to teach literature at West Point, but resigned to pursue songwriting.

In Nashville, he struggled for a few years, taking on a janitorial job at Columbia Recording Studios. It was there that he met June Carter, who gave one of his demos to Johnny Cash. He also took a job as a helicopter pilot for a petroleum company in Louisiana, which is when he wrote some of his most iconic songs. During this time is when he performed his most famous stunt of flying and landing a helicopter in Cash’s front yard to pitch a song. Cash would eventually record Kristofferson’s song “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” That song would win Song of the Year at the 1970 Country Music Association Awards.

He briefly dated Janis Joplin, who would later have a posthumous hit with his song “Me and Bobby McGee.” Other songwriting hits included Ray Price’s “For the Good Times,” O.C. Smith’s “Help Me Make It Through The Night,” and Roger Miller’s “Darby’s Castle.” By the mid-1970s, he was starting an acting career, which included films throughout the next four decades to include Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Convoy, Semi-Tough, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a remake of A Star is Born (for which he received a Golden Globe Award), and most famously as Abraham Whistler in the Blade trilogy.

He was married three times, with the second marriage being to singer Rita Coolidge. The two of them made a number of recordings together, and even appeared as a couple on The Muppet Show. He was a political activist, especially with anti-war sentiments. He would often perform at rallies, and even performed in Havana, Cuba in 1979.

In the 1980s, he was best known for being part of the country music supergroup The Highwaymen, along with Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings. The quartet put out three critically acclaimed albums, as well as starred in a remake of the movie Stagecoach, and provided voices for audio readings of Louis L’Amour stories. In the later part of his career, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. He has received numerous Grammy Awards, along with recognition from BMI, the Americana Music Association, and CMT. He announced his retirement in January 2021, while his last performance was in February 2020.

My view of him as a “badass” comes from the fact that he was multi-talented, supported so many causes, and had that stare from his eyes that he looked like he could kick your ass in if you crossed him (and he probably could). I was fortunate enough to meet him once a few years back at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival. I was working for Jim Lauderdale, who was MC-ing the event, and Kristofferson was one of the headliners. He came in for his soundcheck early. It was cold and flu season, and I had a decent cold going on. I sneezed real hard once, and he turned to me and said that he knew how I was feeling, as he had a cold going on as well. It thanked him for all of his work, not only as a songwriter but for his military service, and he was extremely cordial and friendly to me. We talked about a few things, then he went off to do his soundcheck. All of his time there backstage, he was friendly and kind to everyone that he met. Later that evening, despite his cold, he gave an amazing hour-long solo acoustic performance that had the laid-back crowd go wild.

I have a Kris Kristofferson songbook that I occasionally pick up and look at. Not so much to perform one of his songs, but to look to his lyrics for inspiration. It is truly a gospel reading for songwriters everywhere, no matter what genre.

He was an amazing talent, and I know that his songs will continue to be covered for many years. And I can guarantee you, somewhere in this world right now, at a coffeehouse, there’s a singer/guitarist performing a Kris Kristofferson tune.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Songwriting

Another Reason That American Songwriter Magazine Sucks

I stopped my subscription to the hard-copy of American Songwriter magazine a few years back. The articles were getting way too politically left leaning. It was like the magazine was trying to compete with Rolling Stone.

A few weeks back, an online article popped up on my computer entitled “10 Bluegrass Songs Everyone Should Know” (https://americansongwriter.com/10-bluegrass-songs-everyone-should-know/). The article is written by Peter Burditt, who seems to be a regular contributor to the magazine and/or website. However, I highly doubt that he is a go-to person when it comes to bluegrass music. A Google search did not find any credible information on the man, unless he is also a financial consultant or a lacross player.

The article chooses the following as “must know” bluegrass songs:

  1. “Dueling Banjos” – Eric Weissberg
  2. “Man of Constant Sorrow” – Dick Burnett
  3. “Blue Moon of Kentucky” – Bill Monroe
  4. “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” – Ada R. Habershon & Charles H. Gabriel
  5. “Rocky Top” – The Osborne Brothers
  6. “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” – Flatt & Scruggs
  7. “Nine Pound Hammer” Unknown
  8. “With Body and Soul” – Bill Monroe
  9. “Tennessee 1949″ – Larry Sparks
  10. “Tortured Tangled Hearts” – The Chicks/The Dixie Chicks

OK, where do I start?

In the article, Burditt states that these are 10 bluegrass songs that you should know. As a writer? As a musician? As a band? As a listener of bluegrass? He never defines that. In all instances, he is off target. Speaking for myself as a fan, musician and writer of bluegrass music, I only see three songs that are “must-know” contenders: Numbers 2, 3, and 5. These have been standards in bluegrass bands for a number of years. I could even go to say that “Man of Constant Sorrow” has not been a contender until the release of the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? back in 2000. It was popular with the Stanley Brothers back in the 1950s and 60s before Carter Stanley passed away, but rarely heard until the movie brought it back to life.

Numbers 1 and 6 are instrumental songs, but “Dueling Banjos” is rarely performed by any bluegrass band. It has become more of a novelty song with bluegrass bands, the musicians joking around when tuning up or between-song banter. There are a lot more popular instrumentals that that one, including “Shucking the Corn,” Orange Blossom Special,” and “Back Up and Push” to name a few.

Number 4: “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” is pretty much a folk standard, and yes, many bluegrass bands perform it. However, it is usually as an unexpected encore or when two or more bands get together on stage to perform. So yes, it is one that bluegrass performers should know, but it is not on a regular set list.

Number 7: “Nine Pound Hammer” is better known by its country-picking version from Merle Travis, and is rarely played among bluegrass bands on stage. Occasionally, you will hear it in jam sessions, so, yes, it is one that you should probably know. That is, if you are looking to do some parking lot jams. If that is the case, then there are a dozen or more jam standards that you should know that are not on this list. I recommend checking out Pete Wernick’s website, where he lists over 100 songs that one usually hears at bluegrass jams (https://wernickmethod.org/jam-favorites).

Number 8: “With Body and Soul” is one that I would consider on a secondary list, not necessarily a “must know.” A few bands do this song justice, and it has a unique chorus, if you can get your tenor singer to do some falsetto on the line That’s how she loves me. Because it is not as common as “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” it does make a nice change of pace when a band does a rendition.

Number 9: Larry Sparks is a modern legend in the bluegrass world. He performed with Ralph Stanley after Carter’s passing, went on his own in the late 1960s, and has been giving us great music ever since. Is “Tennessee 1949” a must-know bluegrass song? Again, probably secondary. Incidentally, this was written by Bill Emerson and Pete Goble, not Sparks. However, Sparks always had a good ear for good songs. When he originally released this song in 1987, it was a bluegrass smash hit, and yes, parking lot jammers started including it in their repertoire. A few bands cover it, but it is not as common as the article makes it out to be. This is a good example of the author trying to make out like he is “in the know” with bluegrass music.

Number 10: Really? REALLY? I have NEVER heard this song played on stage by any bluegrass band, nor have I ever heard it in my years of playing at or listening to multitudes of parking lot jams! Even when jamming with female bluegrass singers, they tend to go for tunes by Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, or Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard. Way more common tunes include Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors” and “Jolene,” or Lucinda Williams’ “Can’t Let Go.” Again, Burditt is trying to look like he is “in the know,” while also being inclusive, which is popular with the Left these days. All that it tells me is that he has probably never attended a bluegrass festival.

So what songs would I include in a Top 10 list? Here are a few:
“Hard Hearted” – Jim & Jesse
“Sunny Side of the Mountain” – Jimmy Martin
“Freeborn Man” – Jimmy Martin
“Salty Dog Blues” – Flatt & Scruggs
“Doing My Time” – Flatt & Scruggs
“Rolling in My Sweet Baby’s Arms” – Flatt & Scruggs
“Thirty Years of Farming” – Fred Eaglesmith/James King
“Dooley” – The Dillards
“Angel Band” – The Stanley Brothers
“Dark Hollow” – Bill Browning/Mac Wiseman/Muleskinner
“East Virginia Blues” – The Carter Family
“Love Please Come Home” – Reno & Smiley
“In the Pines” – Bill Monroe
“Sitting on Top of the World” – Bill Monroe (among others)
“Wabash Cannonball” – Mac Wiseman (among others)

As for instrumentals, before “Dueling Banjos,” I would include standards such as “Bill Cheatham,” “Cripple Creek,” “Whiskey Before Breakfast,” and dozens of other old-time fiddle tunes, as well as the instrumental songs mentioned previously. I am also aware of a few Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Gordon Lightfoot songs that seem a lot more common with jammers than some of what is mentioned by Burditt.

I wrote a blog a few years back on bluegrass fake books (https://luegra.design.blog/2020/07/17/a-brief-look-at-bluegrass-fake-books/). I would recommend checking out Bluegrass Fakebook by Bert Casey for some “must know” bluegrass songs instead of going on the opinion of Peter Burditt. He truly seems like he did very little research on popular bluegrass songs and just googled his way through the article.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Songwriting

Pro Connect: Not Just Another Songwriting Contest

This past Thursday, I had the privilege to be a part of a great songwriting get-together. While I have been a member of a local songwriting group here in the Detroit area called Songwriters Anonymous, I am also part of a national group called Songwriting Pro. It is run by Nashville songwriter Brent Baxter, and the concept is to help network songwriters from around the world doing specific genres so that they can showcase, critique and possibly co-write with each other.

One program that is part of Songwriting Pro is a monthly meeting called Pro Connect. Members submit a song that is related to the chosen genre, and 10 songs are chosen for review by a highly respected Nashville publisher. Brent and the publisher will listen to each demo and give honest advice, including good and bad points, suggesting restructuring of the arrangement, and possibly verbal agreements for further promotion of the song by that publisher.

I am not too keen on songwriting “contests,” but this particular session was for gospel music, as the guest was Randy Cox, a popular gospel and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) writer and publisher. A few years back, I co-wrote a bluegrass gospel song called “Superheroes” that I always though was a hit waiting to happen. I wrote it with bluegrass friends Dawn Kenney and David Morris. We had the late Steve Gulley record a demo with his wife (a different bluegrass demo by Dawn appears on my ReverbNation page: http://www.reverbnation.com/mitchmatthews). We have shopped it around for a while, but have had no bites. I decided to submit it for this particular Pro Connect session, and fortunately, it made the Top 10 choices.

The meeting Thursday night was on Zoom, and Dawn was able to join me on the internet with Brent and Randy. Our song was ninth in line, so there were a few ahead of us. There was not really any bad songs in the bunch. I was a bit nervous mainly because the other songs were much more geared toward CCM, and Randy does more work with those songs. He was extremely helpful with each songwriter, but wasn’t afraid to give harsh criticism, which put off one writer. When “Superheroes” came up, I was glad to see that Randy absolutely loved the song. He was honest in saying that he did not handle bluegrass gospel music, but was so much into the song that he provided a direct contact with a bluegrass record company that he felt would use the song.

Needless to say, both Dawn and I were extremely happy, so much that it motivated Dawn to join Songwriting Pro as well. If anything, it is motivating me to get back into writing full steam ahead, especially with a few bluegrass gospel bits and pieces that I have in my old notebook.

Of course, I got only about four hours of sleep that night, ecstatic that I received some notice on one of my works. Inspiration, as well as recognition, can come when you least expect it. I was not expecting much from this submission, but now I am glad that I did submit, and plan to pay a lot more attention to what Brent and Songwriting Pro have to offer.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Lutherie Songwriting

Back to Work!

Well, we laid my mother to rest yesterday, and I feel that I should get back to busy-ing myself in order to keep my mind alert and my slightly arthritic hands working.

Yes, I missed SPBGMA, but I am glad to see that it was a success. Lots of jamming, and plenty of surprises. I am committed to being there next year!

I will still be moving back into my mom’s house and selling my house, so the clean up will continue, along with cleaning out some of my mom’s stuff from her house. As for me, more selling off of music equipment, especially amplifiers and other electric guitar-related stuff that I never use any more. I’ll be also selling some jackets that don’t fit or never fit in the first place but I was too lazy to get rid of. My advice is, if you are in the Detroit area, keep checking Craigslist and look for “Dearborn/Hamtramck” as a location.

I will be trying to hit more shows as well. Not much offered during February and March, but I will keep checking and hope to find a few major bluegrass shows that I can have guitarists try out the 2208! I will definitely try to hit a bluegrass festival as well, but with Milan and Blissfield both cancelled, it will be either Charlotte or something on the west side of Michigan.

And back to practicing gutiar and fiddle, as well as songwriting. Taking care of mom took a lot out of practicing, and I was not motivated to do any songwriting, Hopefully, I can get inspired. I plan to attend more Songwriters Anonymous meetings, as they have always had supportive people.

And finally, lutherie. I definitely want to get back to maintenance and repairs of guitars. I plan to start simple, like setting up that $47.01 bass guitar that I got a few months back (https://luegra.design.blog/2022/12/17/the-47-01-bass-guitar/). I still have a few Yamaha acoustics that I want to set up, one that needs some repairs, and a lot of other minor jobs. I really enjoy working on guitars, and I want to accomplish a few things before the Demon Arthritis takes over.

Next week, I should have a blog full of rants and raves. Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Songwriting

More About Songwriting/SPBGMA 2023

A bit of a follow-up from last week.

First off, I did get a 2004 printing of The Songwriter’s and Musician’s Guide to Nashville this morning. Thumbing through it, I can see a lot of updates. They even put in a cartoon-style map of Music Row and which record/publishing companies are in each building. The chapters are set up more as an overview of each aspect for the aspiring songwriter (record companies, publishing houses, management, etc.), then lists the names and addresses. Alas, as the information here is 18 years old, it is mostly outdated again. Looking at the map, I can tell you from my recent years of visiting Nashville that most of Music Row is different. I guess that if one were to follow this book, the best bet would be to search the internet as well to see if there are any address changes, or if the business even still exists.

Even though I am no longer a member of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), I still get the monthly e-newsletters. This includes the monthly IBMA Songwriter Newsletter put out by the Songwriting Committee. Most of this month’s newsletter is about the songwriting panels at the September World of Bluegrass Conference in Raleigh. I’ve missed it now for about eight years, ever since it moved to Raleigh and now that the IBMA has thrown its hat into the political ring, and I don’t miss it. However, I noticed that they are taking advertisements for the newsletter now, and the one particular company that has an ad this month is called Buy Demo Tracks (www.buydemotracks.com).

This company promotes itself as a stopping place for songwriters to either download or request a recording of a song for a demo, which is uploaded on the site to market to artists. In turn, artists can surf the site for possible songs to record, or even get karaoke-versions of song to sing to for a demo or audition. The three founders of the company are songwriters themselves, and a “staff writer” is Rick Lang, an IBMA board member. I will have to do some more research on this comapny, but at first glance, it is either a great resource for songwriters to get noticed, or another way to get money out of songwriters’ dreams.

No more pussy-footing around for me, I am setting aside the last weekend in January 2023 for the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) conference in Nashville! I haven’t had a vacation in three years now, and this seems like the perfect get-away to get ready for. I have been wanting to attend for the past few years, but the pandemic and a new job has screwed my time up. No more! I’ll be getting a room at the Sheraton and perhaps spending some time jamming as well as marketing some of my songs. In the meantime, I need to sort out my own demos, perhaps record or re-record some demos, and get back to marketing myself! Anyone out there reading this, let me know if you will be there as well January 26-29. I cannot wait!

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Songwriting

Songwriting: How Things Have Changed Since 1991

My church next weekend is having its annual (after two years of COVID cancellations) rummage sale, and it makes for a great opportunity to clean my house out of unwanted things for them to sell. The donations consist mostly of books that I have either read and don’t feel the need to keep, or ones that I picked up on a whim and now try to figure out why I grabbed them in the first place.

Sorting through my endless pile of books brings back a lot of memories. Hobbies that I started and never finished, biographies of people I once thought important to my education, and guides to adventures that I still pursue in the back of my head. One such book was The Songwriter’s & Musician’s Guide to Nashville by Sherry Bond. I purchased this copy back in the early 1990s when I thought my songwriting was going to make me the next Tom T. Hall. Thumbing through the pages, I see how outdated the information is.

The first half of the book is still somewhat relevant. It talks about what to expect in Nashville, the history of Music Row, and planning a trip to the city as well as a possible showcase. The second half contains contact information of record companies, publishing houses, showcase venues, and management representatives. Just from my experience in visiting the city recently, I can tell you that probably half of these companies do not exist any more.

This edition of the book was printed in 1991, so that is over 30 years old. The internet was still in its infancy, and sites like Facebook, ReverbNation, YouTube, and others that a songwriter or musician could use to promote him/herself were hardly ideas then. The old-school way of getting your song hear by a publisher was to send a hard-copy letter to the office to schedule a meeting, or if you were lucky to get connected, calling on the phone. A desperate tactic was to have a few hundred cassette tapes of your songs in a duffle bag and go knocking on doors along Music Row, then hit a few bars after business hours and schmooze to anyone that would listen to you talk.

There are still thousands of aspiring songwriters out there (I can include myself in that mix), but things have changed. Emailing publishers and songwriter reps is even becoming outdated, although it still works in a lot of cases for introduction. You still need to spend a lot of time in Nashville, but it is not as important to live there permanently. Co-writing can be done using Zoom conferencing. However, to get your foot in the door, it seems more important than ever that you have had some success from the start.

I focus my songwriting in the smaller market of bluegrass music. The artists in the community are much more personable with their audiences than other formats. However, the artists are still very closed-minded when it comes to trying out new songwriters’ material. Back in the days of Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, and Flatt & Scruggs, while the artists did write some of their own material, they were very open to a “good song,” whether they heard it on their own or their producers made some suggestions. Today, it seems the A- and B-list of bluegrass artists flock to perhaps a dozen established songwriters or stick to their own material exclusively.

I am more fortunate than many in that I do have a hit song under my belt, one that was showcased at the IBMA World of Bluegrass in 2014, then won the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest in 2015 then later recorded and charted by Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike. However, that hasn’t been a golden ticket for me. I still struggle to get other songs of mine in the ears of artists. As far as co-writing with others, my two partners with that song are more closer-knit with the established songwriters, but they are facing the same brick walls. The established co-writers tend to work with each other, and it is a clique that is every difficult to get an invitation to.

My personal life over the past few years has put some wear-and-tear on my songwriting activities. Primarily, caregiving my 89-year-old mother is practically a full-time job in itself. I am also trying to get rid of my house since I am spending most of my time at my mom’s place caring for her. I still pick up the guitar almost every day, as well as the fiddle, but inspiration is hard to come by. I thumb through my songwriting lyric notebook as well to get inspired, but it is hard to hold on to. I haven’t been as active with the local Songwriters Anonymous group due to exhaustion from my work and caregiving. I always think that I could force myself to dedicate a few minutes each day to songwriting, but it ends up disappearing within a week or so.

Back to the book. From a quick internet search, it looks like the last edition was published in 2005, but I could be wrong. If so, that would make it over 15-year-old information, which in the entertainment industry means that it is outdated. I would still be interested in securing a copy, just to compare with my older edition as well as what I know about the Nashville songwriting environment today. If anything, finding the book has kicked me in the pants slightly to think about getting back into songwriting again at a stronger thirst. I hope that this little bit of inspiration doesn’t wear off. I leave you with one of my original songs on my YouTube page.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Songwriting

Songwriting Requires Inspiration (at least for me!)

I remember when I was playing in roots-rock and alt-country bands 20+ years ago. I could easily write a song each week that I was happy enough to perform live with the band. If I were to have taken one of those “song a day” challenges back then, I would have had no problem with the task at-hand.

For the past few years, more like the past decade, that talent has slowly left me. I still write, or try to write, but it is not as easy. A lot of it has to do with inspiration. Back then, I was hitting bars, visiting places, working with a lot of other musicians, and soaking up the experiences. Ever since I started caregiving my mother when my father passed away seven years ago, which is a full-time job along with my regular full-time job, I have lost a lot of creativity. I am lucky to go out to a show once every three months, my employment is most of my social life, and other than weekly church attendance, I do very little for myself as far as outside activity is concerned.

I started to realize that the need to “get out of the house” for my songwriting a few years back, but it has really hit me within the past few months. COVID took away a lot of that socializing for two years, but the problem was, I got used to staying home and doing very little to stimulate my songwriting. You can only write so much about staying home, and no one wants to hear about that in a song anyway.

I have a songwriting notebook, and right now there are about a dozen bits and pieces of songs in it that I try to re-visit every few days to get re-inspired. I was actually inspired a few days ago with a new song idea at work yesterday. A few lines are floating around in my head, but nothing big. But today (Saturday) is my busy day shopping for mom and the week’s food/supplies. Add to that I have a colonoscopy exam on Monday, so Sunday will be spent taking laxatives and starving. I may get some songwriting done in between trips to the bathroom!

I have tried the route of disciplining myself to sit and write for a few minutes each day no matter what the situation. For a while, I would wake up every morning, randomly open up the dictionary and put my finger down on a word, then write about it for 10 minutes non-stop. Even that didn’t help after a while, I seemed to be writing about my same complaints no matter what word came up.

I definitely need more inspiration. Hopefully this summer things will change. I plan to hit more bluegrass festivals, and perhaps attend a songwriting camp that I believe I mentioned a few blogs back. I need to just jump in my car and drive somewhere. I haven’t visited Nashville in over two years. I would love to go back, I should plan on it this summer. My Songwriters Anonymous group plans to start meeting up live again next month (it has been on Zoom for the past two years, and I do not have a great connection for it on my computer internet system), so perhaps that will motivate me in some way.

I hope to find a co-writer that I can work with regularly soon as well. The few good co-writes that I have done have been with people out of town, and our work has been over the phone or emailing back and forth. I have not found anyone in my area that I am compatible with and is determined to write quality bluegrass music. I am not saying there are not great songwriters in my area. Honestly, I get humbled many times when I go to the Songwriters Anonymous meetings and someone performs a song that floors me. I am just not finding anyone that meshes with my style.

I end this blog with a video from my Kitchen Koncert series. The song is “Brown-Eyed Soldier,” co written with my “bluegrass kid sister,” Vickie Vaughn, who is currently the bass player for bluegrass bands Della Mae and High Fidelity. Recorded during the pandemic lockdown, I attempted to give it a Jerry Garcia acoustic feel.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Music Musicians Songwriting

Perfect Song #5: A Taste of Honey “Boogie Oogie Oogie”

I have been debating for the past few days as to list this song as part of the Perfect Song series, or simply a guilty pleasure. It is both for me, so let’s proceed.

A Taste of Honey was one of many flavors of the disco era. Record companies were looking for anything that they could throw out on vinyl that would get people dancing at the discotheques. However, this band was different. The band actually had been around since the early 1970s doing USO tours and corporate shows in the Los Angeles area. The core of the band was bassist/singer Janice Marie Johnson and keyboardist Perry Kibble. The original guitarist Carlita Dorhan left in 1976, and Helen Payne replaced her. It was these three musicians (along with producers Fonce and Larry Mizell) that made “Boogie Oogie Oogie” the classic song that it is today, over 40 years after its release.

On the surface, the song is typical disco. Basic 4/4 beat with a dance tempo, moving bass line, and simple lyrics. However, there is a reason (in fact, a few reasons) why “Boogie Oogie Oogie” is still relevant today while thousand of other disco songs gather dust in the used vinyl bins at the local record store. First off, this was performed by the band, not a bunch of studio musicians backing a molded and shaped singer. When you have musicians that have worked together for a number of years, whether it is a tight-knit studio ensemble or a group like The Beatles, a good listener can distinctly tell that groove.

Turning to the song itself, it was written by Johnson and Kibble. Again, no record company tampering here. In the pop music world, having a team of songwriters is the norm. However, the Mizells and the A&R people at Capitol Records had a good ear this time.

Now, let’s look at probably the most important piece of this song – the bass line. Johnson laid it down herself. There was no bringing in a studio pro bassist for the recording, and that is a good thing. This bass line is beyond the disco dance groove. It is a line so catchy, that any beginning bass player HAS to learn it! For anyone that studies music production (like me), it is so damned refreshing to know that she got carte blanche with her bass playing. It is beyond a groove – it is a statement. I also love that, at the end of the second chorus, she sings, “listen to my bass, now!” Yes, I am listening!

Next, let’s check out the rhythm guitar. Again, laid down by Payne, not some studio guitarist. The intro has that slide that is sensual, then once the song kicks in, the staccato picking followed by the jangly Bb chord. What makes this sound so special is that the guitar sound is so clean. No distortion, delay, or dated effects like phasing or flanging. Just the guitar straight into the amp. Yes, there is that heavy-fuzz lead at the end of the first chorus, but it can be expected to create a different kind of tension. But Payne makes playing rhythm guitar sexy.

As for the lyrics, there is nothing that is literary here. Simple words that people can sing along to. Johnson has a sweet voice that makes the verses flow smoothly. Then, when the chorus kicks in, Payne’s gritty backup harmony singing is beautiful. The vocal climax here is at the end of the chorus, when the words “more — boogie” is sung, it goes from two-part harmonies to a full, lush sound. THAT is a great production ear!

The band had another hit with a cover of “Sukyaki” in the early 80s, as well as a few more Top 20 hits. But nothing has had the long-term impact that “Boogie Oogie Oogie” has had. The song is sexy without being sexual. The arrangement is timeless, and again, that bass line makes anyone that picks up an electric bass want to learn that groove. Because the disco era was not kind to most artists, a group like A Taste of Honey felt the wrath of the recording industry. Fortunately, knowing that the song is still being played on classic R&B radio stations as well as appearing in a number of commercials and soundtracks, royalties are still going to Johnson and Kibble’s estate (he died in 1999). A wonderful thing would be to see Janice Marie Johnson receive more recognition for her amazing bass playing.

Chew on it and comment (and listen to her bass, yeah!).

Categories
Americana Music Songwriting

Nanci Griffith RIP

Toward the end of every week, I start to get frustrated thinking about what topic to post on my blog. When something comes along prior to tthe time to write, I feel relieved and happy. However, today I am not so happy with the news that came to me earlier in the day.

While driving home, my buddy texted me to say that singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith passed away. Although she left us on August 6, it was her wish that her death not be made public until a week afterward. Nanci was an Americana treasure. She wrote fantastic story songs. “Love at the Five and Dime” is an absolute classic. She rode the fence between folk and country music. She liked to call her music “Folkabilly.” Anyone that appreciated fine songwriting knew how great she was with a pen and guitar.

I was fortunate to see her perform twice. Each time, it was not a concert. She had an aura that made each audience member feel like she was singing and talking to that person alone. I know that sounds cliche, but with Nanci, it was true. Her banter between songs was so down to Earth, like you were sitting with her at a coffee house or bar. If she ever felt nervous on stage, you could not tell. She looked at you when she spoke.

She always looked like that girl you knew in high school, the one who was into poetry, but wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty changing the oil on a car if need be. She had an innocence on stage, yet was known for her cussing off stage. That is human, that is personable, that is what you want in a friend.

She was equally at home with a band or solo. Each song was a chapter in an American novel, like Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio. Every story, she was there, either as a reporter or protagonist. You could see the location in her words. After seeing one of her performances, it was guaranteed that you walked away emotionally satisfied.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, her record company was trying to pigeon hole her into the wave of neo-traditionalist country music performers. Nanci was much more, and she could not be put into such a category. Yes, her songs were like the country songs of old, but she and her songs were were beyond barriers. Folkies latched onto her. Other country artists looked to her for compositions and inspiration. She was so much better as long-standing singer-songwriter than she could ever be as a short-lived pop star. And the music world is so much better for it.

Like many songwriters, she went through a blockage for a few years, hers during the mid-2000s. She came back strong in 2009 with The Loving Kind. If I were to choose my favorite of her albums, it would be Flyer from 1994. Other great discs include 1987’s Lone Star State of Mind and 1993’s Other Voices, Other Rooms, which won her a Grammy. She collaborated with so many other songwriters, the list is almost endless. I implore you to visit her catalog and listen to a few songs. You will surely be motivated to buy a few of her albums.

Goodbye, beautiful lady, dearest Nanci. You were a crush of mine, if only for your amazing writing. You are taking a piece of my heart with you. I pray that your songs will continue on for generations to come. I imagine some young girl who is just learning guitar and wants to sing, and she gets a hold of one of your albums, and learns from it.

Chew on it and comment.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started