Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Engineer Geoff Emerick on Lyrics

In Emerick's recent book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles he makes this observation:
"For some reason, I never used to listen to lyrics all that closely. Perhaps it was because of my taste for opera and classical music that the vocal always seemed like just another instrument to me. I was attracted to it solely for the way it fit in with the backing, not for the words that were being sung. Lyrics simply never sold me on a particular song--it was the overall sound that did."
I think it's sometimes easy to get too worked up about what the lyric says that how the message is said gets lost.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Quote of the Day - Fellini

"All art is autobiographical. The pearl is the oyster's autobiography."

- Federico Fellini



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Goldfish Art



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Elephant in the Room

My wife and I are about 19 weeks along, expecting our first kid in June. We are incredibly excited and I'm actually looking forward to those sleepless nights. Soon after we found out we were expecting, my wife and I both knew we were going to have to discuss the elephant in the room. In our case, the elephant is my writing/recording/mixing setup and the room is our soon-to-be nursery.

One thing I'm really excited about is the fact that, for the first time, I'll have a dedicated room that's a creative space first, guest room second. When we moved into our house, this is what our guest room looked like (it used to be a little girl's room):


Then, with a little paint, new blinds and a few decorations, we ended up with this:


With the migration south into the basement, here is the room I'll be working with:


So far, we've painted the walls and have begun transitioning some of my gear to the new room:


The next step is treating the acoustics of the room. I'll keep you all up to date with the progress over the coming weeks!

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Full Potential

After writing full-time for the past few years, I've noticed there are ruts that each of us can fall into periodically. One of these ruts develops when we believe that there's only one grading scale that matters: commercial radio. And if we don't succeed in that arena, then we must have failed in one way or another. But is this true? No.


The conventional music business does not naturally push creators to reach their full potential beyond the boundaries of the traditional radio song. No one else will make you push yourself to meet your full potential. That job belongs to each and every songwriter.

Instead of trying to just write songs that fit into the traditional definition of  a commercial song, explore the way you approach writing your next song. Who knows--maybe you'll discover a creative direction that feels most true to who you are.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Bach x 8



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Story Behind The Song: “God Gave Me You”


Below is an interview conducted by Doug Waterman that appears on AmericanSongwriter.com (used with permission):


(Songwriter Dav
“God Gave Me You”
Written by: Dave Barnes
Recorded by: Blake Shelton
Peak Chart Position: No. 1 Billboard Country

When and where did you write the song?
I wrote the song at home in Nashville. I had the lyric idea on a visit to London, but to another melody. I’d had the idea of the music for a while. I actually went over to write with Matt Wertz for his album, and we didn’t have time to mess with the idea, so he asked me to shelve it and if we could come back to it. After playing it for Wertz, I remembered how much I loved the idea, and remembered the lyric idea from London, and the rest is history — i think i wrote it to that idea. I had to, of course, call Wertz and tell him I ended up writing it myself — he still gives me hell about that!

What inspired the song?
 i really loved the song title idea – it was a bit different at the beginning – the God Gave Me You idea, but as I kept tweaking it kept getting simpler, so that’s what it ended up as. It really resonated with me. It’s about and for my wife, Annie. It’s really a “Thank you” kind of a song. Because she’s awesome and has been, it wasn’t too hard to think of what to say!

How long did it take to write?
It didn’t take long at all to write. I really do think I wrote it in an afternoon. Those are the nice ones, where a melody and lyric idea match up perfectly. It was quick.

Were there any lines or words you can remember that were especially tough to make a decision on, that you went back and forth on?
It’s funny – there are some weird lines in this song. I mean, I love them. But i struggled through leaving a couple of them – namely “You’ll always be love’s great martyr, and i’ll be the flattered fool.” I mean, who says that? But I knew it was really unique and cool. And I never thought anyone other than me would be singing it, so I wasn’t thinking that way. I knew I would sing that and loved what it meant. and honestly how quirky it was! I love the “divine conspiracy” line too. And the bridge idea – “on my own i’m only, half of what I should be.” that’s a theme i seem to revisit a lot in my lyric writing. Maybe i should work on that. Ha!

How did the song get to Blake Shelton and producer Scott Hendricks? Any kind of story there?
Blake actually heard the song on Christian radio, which is funny due to the fact that I’ve never had a song on that format before. He was driving home from the Dallas airport to his home in Oklahoma, and the song came on, and due to where he was in his relationship with Miranda, it really connected with him. he downloaded the song then and there on the way home, and called Scott and told him he found a song he had to record. it’s such an amazing story because of the way he heard it. On the radio. No one pitching the song, trying to convince him about it. None of that. And also how it connected with him. there’s no greater thing for a songwriter than to know a song really connects with the people hearing it. So cool. Kudos to Blake for believing in it and pushing for it to be recorded!

How would you describe “God Gave Me You?”
I’ve thought about this alot with all that’s happened to the song as of late. I think it’s a sentiment that most of us can relate to, which is funny, because while I was writing that, i never meant for that to happen.I just knew it was how I felt. But I think most of us have people we are thankful for, people we have great appreciation for, and it’s hard to believe that we meet those people randomly, but rather that there was some divine providence in their involvement in our lives.

Any words of wisdom or advice for aspiring songwriters, regarding both the craft and business?
Just do the work. If this story proves anything, we never know what’s gonna happen. Ever. God has some crazy crazy plans, and they are best executed when we don’t mettle… but we do the work we know we are supposed to do. I personally think it’s a lot more fun that way too, to do your work and then watch it unfold… than to wear ourselves out worrying and overworking every angle to make it happen ourselves and on our own timeline. That’s my thought, anyways.

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Co-writer Characteristic #6 of 10: Teachability

Brittany's grandparents have always been a great example of what it means to be teachable. They are in the 80s and are still open to learning new things every day. The key to their teachability is their openness to things that don't necessarily fit into their paradigm, an uncommon trait for people their age who have "seen it all."

One of my favorite lines from any song is in "What a Wonderful World." I love hearing Louis Armstrong sing these words:

I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world



This is what it means for me to be teachable: understand that I don't understand everything, and that my lack of understanding is something wonderful. I mean, who wants to live in a world without mystery or wonder?

Keep writing (and being teachable),

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Usher vs. Goat


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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Quote of the Day - Whistler

"It takes a long time for a man to look like his portrait."

- James McNeill Whistler


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Monday, January 16, 2012

The Four Quadrants



While in the middle of reading Stephen R. Covey's classic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and came across this incredibly helpful diagram.

He makes the distinctions between urgent/non-urgent and important/non-important tasks, concluding that the activities in quadrant II (top right) are the elements that give our lives meaning and significance. The challenge, however, is sifting through the other three quadrants to identify which activities are important but non-urgent.

Here's an example of a quadrant II activity my wife and I undertook this past weekend, repainting an old table and hanging three chalkboards:



Spend some time today focusing on the things that are important but may not be absolutely necessary. That reminds me, I also need to invite my neighbors over for dinner.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Friday, January 13, 2012

So Start Now


From Neil Senturia's I'm There For You, Baby; The Entrepreneur s Guide to the Galaxy


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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Distiller



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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Hype Dreams

A junk food diet is unsustainable.
One consequence of the music industry generating less revenue is the lack of focus on developing talent. It's far easier to just try to sell people on hype. While Lady Gaga is really talented, I'm curious to see how strong her staying power is once her antics run out. It's the "quick buck" mentality (winning the lottery) compared to having a diverse investment portfolio. (And no, playing five different lottery games isn't considered a diverse portfolio.)

What does this mean for the independent songwriter/artist? We need to develop ourselves. We can't rely on anyone else to put inf the time or emotional effort to push us in the direction we need to go. So today, look at ways you can make some long-term, quality investments in your art and talent.

Keep writing (and investing),

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Quote of the Day - Twombly

"When I work, I work very fast, but preparing to work can take any length of time."

- Cy Twombly

The inside of a gingerbread house we made over Christmas.
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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Band on the Run



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Navy Seal vs. Mall Cop

Songs are not being paid for. The industry is shrinking. There are fewer publishing deals available. How will a songwriter make a living in the future?

I believe there are two types of songwriters--those who will be able to adapt to changes, and those who will not:

The "Navy Seal" Songwriter
- Can write a great song on their own without relying on a collaborator
- Can sing well enough to be considered an artist
- Can engineer their own recordings cheaply
- Is entrepreneurial and is able to lead well
- Creates their own unique opportunities based on their art
- Sees a limitless number of opportunities outside the box to monetize their art

The "Mall Cop" Songwriter
- Is primarily a lyricist or musician
- Isn't known for their singing ability
- Doesn't know how to work a recording program
- Relies on direction from others
- Creates their art based on opportunities given to them
- Assumes that there are only a limited number of ways for their songs to generate royalties

With the "Navy Seal" songwriter, art drives the opportunity, whereas with the "Mall Cop" songwriter, opportunity drives the art.

Both types of songwriters have been able to work side by side in the traditional publishing world, but the traditional publishing world is suffering. Songwriters who are only single- or double-faceted in their skill set will lose opportunities to others who can handle a plethora of situations. This is the heart behind Songbird Camp. We want to provide the resources for "Navy Seal" songwriters to thrive.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Quote of the Day - Delacroix

"The artist who aims at perfection in everything achieves it in nothing."

- Eugene Delacroix

A homemade Christmas gift: driftwood candle holder.




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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Eskimo Kisses



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Makeshift Vocal Booth

While home for Christmas, we put together this little recording setup to track our British friend Paula reading a poem for a kids album/book we are currently working on.

(Recording hint: one of the best spaces to record is in front of a bookshelf. The different sizes and surfaces of the books help diffuse the sound reflections.)

This is Brittany testing out the rig:




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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Monday, January 2, 2012

The Unteachable

This is an excerpt from an entrepreneurship book I'm reading (I'm There For You, Baby; The Entrepreneur s Guide to the Galaxy, by Neil Senturia). Like entrepreneurship, it's hard to teach someone to be a great songwriter.



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!