In this post I will be debuting the song "Let's Run" which was written for my favorite singing star, Marley Lego. You likely have not heard of her, but she's still a star in my eyes--she's my oldest granddaughter...
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| Marley posing with some fans. |
Insecure Writer's Support Group
Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog.
The co-hosts for the September 5 posting of the IWSG are Toi Thomas, T. Powell Coltrin, M.J. Fifield, and Tara Tyler.
September 5 question - What publishing path are you considering/did you take, and why?
As I have mentioned in most of my posts since May, I've begun to focus on songwriting. I've been writing songs off and on since high school, but in April I became consumed with a song that I called "Let's Run" which I dedicated to my oldest granddaughter Marley whose singing performances had inspired my writing of the song. Later in this post I will debut the song with three different recordings.
I know very little about getting a song published. I've seen movies and heard stories about songwriters trying to peddle songs to publishers or whoever would listen. I've done minimal research though I know there is much information online about this topic. Maybe I'll take this traditional approach in the weeks or months to come, but for now I'm going to just put the song out there as a sort of market test. And to just have some fun putting something I've been talking about on my blog on actual display for public consumption.
The way I figure it, "Let's Run" is just one of many songs that I've written and new songs have been flooding my creative mind of late. If I'm taking a bad route with this "putting-it-out-there approach then I'll do things differently the next time around. For now I've had fun with this project and hope you listen and enjoy. Then, once you've done that. please vote and leave your comments.
I'm counting on you readers to help me with this project which might just lead me down a publishing path. I've seen YouTube video break-outs before and I guess we just never know. Especially when you're taking your first shot at doing something like I'm doing with my song.
Let's Run
As the 2018 Blogging from A to Z April Challenge was winding down I began feeling a creative surge that began to focus on music. Songs starting invading my brain space. This was primarily due to video performances by Marley that were being put up on Facebook.
Then an odd melody began recurring in my thoughts. It was a very peculiar simple melodic line which in actuality was not very melodic. As these weird notes repeated themselves in my head, words began coming along with an expanded melody until I had a song. I decided that this was Marley's song and maybe one day she might work up a version to sing.
Why the lyrics were about running I can't really say since I've never been a runner and cannot run due to a heart arrhythmia. But as I wrote I realized that the song was not so much about actual running as it was about persistence and staying in the race of life. In the song life is a marathon and we need to keep on running in that race. The message was as much for me as it is for any of us.
Here are three versions that are very different in style and approach--keep in mind that all are very rough drafts. I hope you listen, provide your feedback, and vote for the version you like the best...
Bird/Palma/Lucero "Let's Run" (2018)
Toward the end of May after I had finished writing "Let's Run", I happened to catch my next door neighbor Ricardo Palma as I was picking up my mail. I complimented him on his music website space at Bandcamp which I had recently discovered. Richard is a friend of my youngest daughter (Marley's mother) so when I mentioned my song for Marley he immediately volunteered to help me record a version with his music software program and his own musical ability. I gladly accepted since I didn't have much to work with on my own.
Using his phone, Richard recorded me singing the song without accompaniment. I know little about chords and writing music so it was in Richard's hands to figure out an arrangement. Interestingly, his version was so different that what I had been hearing in my head and yet it worked very well.
I like the way Ricardo imagined the song with a sixties surf vibe--or at least that's the way that I hear it. Someone else said it reminded him of the group The Cars. Beyond arranging this version, Ricardo also laid down 3 guitar tracks, one percussion track, and produced the entire sound. Another neighbor, Nate Lucero, played bass guitar and I sang the vocals. Ricardo used the Garageband app through his computer.
If you're able to watch the video as you listen to the music you might note that I did a pretty decent job of matching the visuals to the lyric content. All video is from my past summer's vacation. The road scenes were all shot by me while driving alone from New Jersey to Los Angeles (via Texas). The journey segments shown start in Virginia, passing through East Tennessee and West Texas, and finally skirting a massive dust storm on I-10 just east of Phoenix. The running kids are three of my grandkids.
By the way, I often had the CD of "Let's Run" playing loudly as I drove on my trip. As you might agree as you watch the road footage, this song version makes for a darn good driving song...
Lonnie Carver "Let's Run" (2018)
Some of you probably recall that I had put out a call for other musicians to contribute their own versions of the song (an offer still open). I only got one taker so far and that comes from my friend of 50 years, Lonnie Carver. This multi-talented performer has been involved with music since he was a kid and continues to this day. He's been a great friend over the years and once again he's pulled through for me with his version of "Let's Run".
Using the Garageband app installed on his Ipad, Lonnie recorded his version with just him singing while backing himself on his guitar. He gives the song a nice laid back Tennessee vibe that takes me back to my roots. After making his recording, Lonnie sent me the file which I added to a video I made. Once again I've used my vacation driving footage from West Texas.
Enjoy...
Arlee Bird "Let's Run" (2018)
Are we ready to get weird? As I was contemplating ideas for more cover versions of the song I remembered something I used to do back in the late seventies to make recordings of my songs. Using two cassette decks, I would lay down a first track on one, then play that recording back while singing or playing something else over it and record that on the other tape deck. I would record layers of sound back and forth between the decks until the sound quality was too diminished to continue.
I decided to use this approach using my video camera in my living room. This was an exercise in ineptitude and figuring things out by trial and error. The video took over a week to make with numerous reshoots in an attempt to come up with an acceptable product. Eventually I settled for the version seen here. I was tired and wanted to get this done.
During the shooting process I did two different takes of me playing the violin and a final one with me singing in front of the big screen TV which is displaying the previously recorded layered video. In all there are five layers of video and audio. The percussion mostly got lost in the mix, but considering my lack of equipment the sound is not too badly balanced.
It's a bit of a mess I'll admit, but I don't think it's a total disaster. Perhaps we can call it an interesting experiment. See what you think...
Time to Vote!
Don't worry about hurting my feelings with your vote. After all the song is mine and whichever version wins your vote still makes me a winner. I just want people to listen and vote. What's your favorite between these two choices? Which song version do you like best? You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:
StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'
'Curious as a Cathy'
Sound of One Hand Typing
Angel's Bark
Debbie Doglady's Den
Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
Winner of this Battle Announced on Monday September 10th
I'll be giving this Battle some extra time for voting to come in--at least I'm hoping to get more votes than I usually get on these Battles. Please help me out with this and share the post and encourage others to participate.
Are you hesitant to post excerpts of your work on your blog or elsewhere online? Have you ever tried to get a song published? What is the most number of times you've submitted the same work before getting an acceptance to publish?
