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what i wanna say is... custom song contest (1/20/08)
my musings, music happenings and rambling tangents
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email erikwhatiwannasay@yahoo.com and say 'tell me more'
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what you had to say...
Kathleen in new jersey : "You're right about the
whole political thing. If people stopped behaving like football fans,
stopped voting as if this was American Idol, maybe we'd be able to solve
some problems. The best you can do is say your piece (peace), clearly
and to the best of your ability - you can't make people listen. One
thought - the jerks always open their mouths, but the one person (at
least one person) who needed to hear what you were saying is growing,
becoming a bigger person for having heard your song. That person will
reach others."
Doug in connecticut : "Enjoyed the discussion
on partisanship and the tendency to adopt others' spin. Drives me crazy
and I'm sure I've been guilty of it. I say the 'agree to disagree' phrase
quite a bit. Only recently have I been able to discuss politics with
my own family in a civil manner at all, and I tend to just nod and agree
with Christine's father to avoid any kind of strife. He's a Rush listener,
but I'll give him enough credit to say he generally is a pretty good
thinker."
- - - - -
the people have spoken... and, quite frankly i didn't
listen...
hey thanks for voting on the custom song topics. and the results are....
well, who cares what the results are... this ain't November 4th. and,
anyway I'm gonna write all five songs... finished four in the past week...
along with a great co-write with my friend Pat Wictor. I have some rough
recordings I did into a handy-dandy handheld recorder dealio (my new
favorite toy), but I'm gonna use some restraint and save you the poor
recording against my natural tendency to just send it out. one of you
told me recently that i should be banned from sending out my home done
recordings as they don't do me justice... i really only make these recordings
for archive's sake to keep and save what i've done. so, i'm gonna give
myself a couple weeks for editing and smoothing out the edges and when
i cross paths with my friend Todd Guidice with a nicer home studio up
in Newburgh, NY on Feb. 15, I'll make clean version demos of all five
songs. then, i'll post 'em on my myspace familyalbum page and ask you
to vote on which one gets produced... that is, which one gets harmony,
and bass, mandolin, percussion... the works. i can't afford to produce
all five, so your vote really will count this time.
- - - - -
public displays... not many shows, but these will ALL
be great...
- Feb. 29 in Fredericksburg , VA: in-the-round including
good friend Chuck E. Costa
- Mar. 7 in Framingham , MA: opening for Gordon Bok,
at Amazing Things
- Mar. 13 in Jefferson Valley, NY: i.t.r. w/ Trina
Hamlin, Beaucoup Blue, Anthony DaCosta, at Mainstage
- May 3 in State College, PA: splitting show with Karen
Mal, at Acoustic Brew
- - - - -
what i wanna say is...
singer-songwriters get criticized often as a whole for being too introspective,
self-referential and 'heavy' with their writing and choice of song topics.
it's fair enough. if you listen to every song written by every coffeehouse
singer-songwriter you'll find your share of songs that weren't written
for you, to communicate, but seemingly for the songwriter to the songwriter
about the songwriter. i even read an interview with James Taylor where
the one thing that bothers him about his songs is that they are too
self-referential... imagine, the nerve of a guy who would be self-critical
about being self-referential... he might as well have been interviewing
himself... geez ;)
but, notice when i sent out a request for song topics how deeply personal
and heavy the suggested topics were. five topics... two about the passing
of a loved one, one about the extreme adversity and difficult conditions
for underprivileged kids, one about a life philosophy adopted by someone
with a destructive physical disease, and one about a childhood hero
who... well, died in a plance crash. These are all heavy topics, and
all very personal.
i sing lots and lots of songs that i wrote that aren't about me. they're
about topics of social relevance, or about a friend's grandfather, or
a military family, or a transsexual, or a baseball player. and, i find
those songs to be very rewarding to sing. but, it occurred to me recently
as I've taken on truly personal topics again from time to time, that
very often my set doesn't show any really clear window into 'me' that
isn't indirect through my interpretation and delivery of other stories.
i have a handful of new, pretty raw, songs that are specifically about
my experience. and i observe that, in a set of tunes by other artists,
if the artist drops one of these truly personal songs in... I think
it really completes the picture of the artist and *can* give a true,
authentic look at the soul of the presenter *if* the song really effectively
gets to the heart of the matter. of all the good, sensitive, compassionate,
funny songs on topics that are not about the songwriter, it's the one
that truly is that completes the presentation.
so, what about the general criticism of songs that are introspective
and self-referential? the thing is people (the people that go to folk
shows or art presentations who are somewhat 'in touch' and willing to
'go there' to feel and grow) really don't have an aversion to the personal
songs. these songs just have to be done right. and, it's a tricky task
to make it happen without alienating your audience. i heard a Vance
Gilbert song on XM radio once and it was a highly personal song written
in letter form from the narrator to an ex-lover. you know what, it slayed
me. of all the really fine stuff done by Vance Gilbert, humorous and
otherwise, this one broke down any barriers between artist and listener,
to me. listening to Cheryl Wheeler talk about the thoughts that come
into the mind of a lonesome traveler crossing the Mississippi in the
middle of the night ("...i wonder if my heart is too full, or just
too empty"), or to Ellis Paul express his sentiments like this:
If you want to run, I'll pack my suitcase
If you want to stay, I'll make a front door key
If you need space to fly free
Take all the sky you need
these songs are what really make it happen for me. and, they encourage
me to dig deep and find a way to say what I need to say. when I grow
as an artist by challenging myself to take the most highly personal
thoughts and make them into authentic art, I also grow as a person.
and, if I take those chances to lay it out there behind a mic, I'll
keep the faith that there are ears, and souls, that need to hear what
i have to say. i'll stumble, miss my target, work to keep my balance
and focus, toe the line... and be willing to 'go there.'
- - - - -
what you had to say... on selecting song topic from
the choices...
Bonnie in connecticut : "Wow, can you do more
than one? They're all beautiful ideas. Bobby, aw man, little angel only
10 years old. Of course that touched me! I love the Clemente one too.
And the kids and teacher. And move the world with a song. About the
ashes in a garden... I love the idea that if I cut a tree down for Xmas,
which I still feel kinda bad about, we can return him to mother earth
where he started from... like our bodies.... so I like the idea definitely."
Bryn in illinois : "...fell in love with baseball
because of Roberto Clemente. Watching him in right field, hand tight
to his side, a ball on it's way...no arms up over his head.....just
a gentle 'pop' into his gloved hand. THIS IS THE SONG I WANT YOU TO
WRITE! I would love to give it to my Dad who has a great story of standing
on a ladder, painting the house when Mazeroski hit the homer to win
the 1960 world series....and almost fell two stories!"
Liz in louisiana : Tending the Garden. "...I also
just lost a 36 year old friend to breast cancer this weekend. she fought
for eight years with only one year of remission in the very beginning.
she, like many others, was a very strong person and was a great inspiration
to many in many ways. She even had the amazing strength and opportunity
to plan her entire funeral and write her obituary. not only did she
inspire us during her living but also in her dying. Over 3000 people
attended her wake and funeral. Over 3000 people that she brought together
through her illness. I like Michelle's idea of tending a garden. my
friend asked that we continue to love her but we'll have to do it in
a different way. Some don't understand how you could love her in a different
way. i think it is to continue her legacy...perhaps even start our own
legacy inspired by her."
Laura in virginia : "I vote for Tending the Garden...
It resonates with me because of a family story regarding my grandfathers
death...we planted him too...We put his ashes in a small box and gave
him a little saw and super glued him in. The saw of course is in case
he ever wants to get out and return to us :) You should ask my Mom about
the reasons why we gave him a saw and superglued him in...its a classic...and
she tells it best.
Rob in new jersey : "All 5 of the custom song
stories would make a good song; it's really hard to pick. The Clemente
song I guess is my favorite since I am a big baseball fan. That gets
my vote."
Arrie in wisconsin :
"The one that strikes me as being the most poetic for
a song is the one about the garden and the ashes. While three of the
others are very personal and powerful, the garden one seems both personal
and universal."
- - - -
roadtrip... connecitut folks... come on up with me
to the Amazing Things Arts Center on March 5. It's an hour trip to Framingham
, MA from Hartford . I'd like to fill up my car with three guests...
and we can add another car if there's interest. the show is in a great
music environment and i'll be opening for legend Gordon Bok. and, I
promise all the wonderful perks of the glamorous rock star touring life
-- including free wireless internet at Mass. Pike reststops, the tasty
truck stop buffet in Willington, and maybe that charming greasy spoon
with a view of I-84 and books upon books free for the taking -- the
Traveler Restaurant and Bookstore in Union .
- - - - -
'til next time,
love,
Erik
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photo by Jeff Gottesman |
