Bev's Blender Brain Blog

Christmas for Cowboys

Day 9 of the 11 Blogs of Christmas brings us to this tender, sweet song written by Steve Weisberg for John Denver. It first appeared on Denver's Rocky Mountain Christmas album in 1975. This is the only song on the Starry, Starry Night CD (besides the two instrumentals) that features Greg only.

I originally found the song through a Google search when we were looking for songs for A Cowgirl Christmas. I showed Greg the lyrics online and he said "its perfect, who wrote it?" I said "Steve Weisberg" and he said "Steve Weisberg from John Denver's band?"

Greg lived in Aspen in the late 70s, when the country rock scene was hot. Members of the Dirt Band and Denver's band would often sit in with the local bands in the Aspen hot spots. So, as it happens, Greg played a gig with Steve Weisberg circa 1977.

About a year after we released Starry, Starry Night, Greg got an email from Steve, out of the blue, wondering if the song we included was the one he wrote for J.D. all those years ago (we'd licensed it through the Harry Fox Agency). He didn't remember the gig, of course, but what a cool circle. 

Greg loves this song. Its sweet and strong, all at the same time. You can hear Denver's version on Steve Weisberg's MySpace Page. You might also want to pull out your Rocky Mountain Christmas album - and for that matter, all the other John Denver albums too, and rediscover one of the finest singers and songwriters of our time.

Go to the dowload page for your free MP3 of Christmas for Cowboys from our Starry, Starry Night CD
Download available through 9pm Pacific on Monday Dec. 23, 2008 to accommodate email subscribers.

Love Can Change the World

We played a Christmas benefit show this past weekend at The Barn - a house concert series in Gilroy, California. This is an annual event where several Bay area acoustic groups do 3 or 4 songs each, to raise money for local charities. Big party, lots of smiles, a few dogs and lots of great music. 

We did a couple of songs from our Christmas CD, then we did this new song (I've blogged about it here before). We're thinking this will be the title track to our next CD.

Love can change the world

I can play a part

If only I would listen I would hear

with an open heart

This song is about looking at the world from a viewpoint of love, not fear... of searching for answers, not claiming to be right.  I really do think its this simple.

Is the real product the song, or the CD?

When Taylor Swift's new CD came out, I took my 17-year-old daughter straight to Target after school to buy it. Yes, the PHYSICAL CD. Taylor Swift is her favorite artist, and she listens to her CD before every track meet.

But why, you may ask, would a 17 year old buy an actual CD rather than the download? Well I wish I could say that its because she wanted the experience of holding it in her hands, savoring the liner notes, appreciating the care with which the songs were chosen and ordered, perusing the credits to see who wrote the songs, who's playing the guitar solos... you know, all those reasons those of us who are older than 30 understand. 

But the real reason is that she's driving her dad's 1999 Acura, which is too old to have an iPOD jack and too new to have a tape player to plug in one of those converters. So the CD is more practical.

But thinking about this brought me back to this core question: is the product the song, or the CD?

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that songwriters (and writers in general) are the only artists who create something out of nothing. No raw materials are used in the creation of a song. The intellectual property that's created is the song... so maybe the physical or digital media that carries it is more like the mat and frame would be in the case of a painting? So is it up to the artist, or the buyer, to choose the matting and frame?

With both our CD products we agonized over song order. Everyone does. You see, to the artist, these songs are glimpses into our souls. Choosing what feel you want that first track to invoke, deciding what flows into what, how the entire project builds and releases over the course of 10 or 12 tracks - this process is part of the art.

Then, 9 times out of 10 the tracks are dumped into iTunes and sorted alphabetically. In the end I suppose its the buyers choice, but you can miss a lot that way.

In the case of our Christmas CD, Starry, Starry Night, for example, there is a bonus track (track 11) that isn't noted anywhere on the track listing or liner notes. After about 30 seconds of silence, you hear a verbal exchange... "are you ready?"  "no!"  "1-2-3-4..."

Ready or not, the music starts. Its my son Kevin playing Jingle Bells on the trumpet in 6th grade after only two months of lessons, accompanied by my stepson Stephen on piano and me on flute (which I haven't played in years). The track was recorded live, then Greg's daughter Laura added the jingle bell track later, disregarding the cardinal rule that you always record the rhythm tracks first.

You can buy this single of Jingle Bells on iTunes, and believe it or not, people have.

I'm not sure it really has the same impact as it does as a bonus track on the CD, though. In fact, we just fulfilled a rush order for 10 copies of Starry, Starry Night for a couple that plans to give the CDs as gifts to each of their Thanksgiving guests this year. They specifically noted their love for the bonus track in their order. And I'm pretty sure they like the rest of it as well.

I haven't listened to the whole CD all the way through yet this year - I usually do each Christmas. It takes me back to that process, when we agonized over song order, debated whether or not to capitalize the song titles, draped Christmas lights over our shoulders for the inside photo and I wrote these words in the liner notes:

It is fitting that our first full length project be a collection of Christmas songs, because this is how we started singing together in the first place. And every Christmas, we are thankful that we can sing together again.

And while we're grateful to everyone who loves our music enough to buy even one track off iTunes, if you never hold the CD in your hands, you'll miss a lot.

Tolerance, Acceptance, and People Holding Hands

California typically votes democratic, so we're not seeing a lot of presidential campaign ads here. Its not the place to spend the ad dollars.

What we do hear a lot about this election is Proposition 8. Its one of those propositions where yes is no, and no is yes. A 'yes' vote on Prop 8 is FOR a constitutional BAN on same sex marriage.

For the conservative right, as usual, its all about FEAR.

A few years ago, I was talking with my sister about the word tolerance, vs. the word acceptance. There's a huge difference. Listening to the radio today, it really hit me. The fear-based claim I heard was that if proposition 8 passes, we won't simply have to tolerate same sex marriage, we'll be forced to accept it.

Acceptance is based in love. Tolerance is based in fear.

Greg and I went to an Obama fund raiser house concert this past Sunday afternoon at a beautiful historic home in Santa Cruz. Richard Berman, one of our favorite songwriters, was performing. Richard doesn't write political songs. He writes stories.

Holding hands in Wal-Mart
Doesn't seem especially brave
But I was right behind them
And I saw the cashier's face

The look of shock, then anger
Then the masking of that glance
So much feeling stirred so quickly
By two women holding hands

The world is not in danger
Of succumbing to a flood
Of being overwhelmed
By a rising sea of love

Every kind of caring
Is a blessing on the land
Seems what's needed here is more
Not less
Of people holding hands

The song goes on, delving into an imagined history of these women, ending with the author's thoughts as to whether or not, if he loved another man, he would be brave enough to take his hand in Walmart. 

Its a true story. And most of it It all actually happened at a Walmart in Alamogordo, New Mexico.  

Listen and download "People Holding Hands" on iTunes.

UPDATE TO THIS POST

Most songwriters, myself included, find it difficult to tell a story exactly the way it happened. Those who try usually end up with a stilted narrative, not a flowing song. Instead we take a snip of life overheard at the grocery store, see an exchange between to people on the street or read a headline in the newspaper and off we go, making up the story behind what we've seen. I always say that just because it didn't happen, it doesn't mean its not true.

I assumed that was the case with this song - that Richard had seen that glance at the Walmart check out line, and off he went. But Richard is the rare songwriter who can tell the story as it happened and make it a great song. 

The rest of the story...

One of the women had had a husband
For over sixteen years
Had worked hard to see herself
As happy as she appeared

But there was a voice that called her
From someplace deep inside
That told her not to settle
And would not be denied

Her father knows the Gospel
He's an elder in his church
And for him his daughter's choice
Unravels his life's work

"You know you're killing your mother"
He tells her when she phones
And once again she's made to see
There's no more going home

I watch these women walking
And I am a bit in awe
They pay no heed to cashiers
Or others in the store

And I wonder 'bout myself
If I loved another man
Would I walk with him through Wal-Mart?
Would I offer him my hand?

Politics and Musicians

There have been heated discussions on all three music-related email discussion lists that I subscribe to over the past several weeks. On the Folk Alliance list, the FAR-West list and the House Concert Presenters Yahoo! Group the discussion has turned to whether or not - and when - it's appropriate for a musician to bring politics to the stage.

The really funny thing is that all three lists are primarily about FOLK music. Say it with me... DUH!

To be fair, the discussions have been very interesting. I agree that there is a point where entertainment stops and political rallying begins. Keeping focused and understanding your audience is not the same as censorship. But truth is truth, and at its core, I believe that's what makes a great song.

Rich Warren, king of WFMT's the Midnight Special and Folk Stage, wrote that he received an angry email last week after playing Chuck Brodsky's song He Came to Our Town (you can download it on iTunes). The listener essentially said he was tired of hearing our (current) president being called a liar.

Brodsky replied on the same list to point out the irony - according to Chuck it was Bill Clinton who originally inspired him to write that song.

Funny thing, truth.

Corn Sushi just isn't right

Greg and I LOVE sushi. We eat at Sushi Boat Kazoo in Campbell way too often - especially in the warm summer months when we just don't want anything heavy.

The sushi chefs at Kazoo must have gone through some new classes lately, because they are coming up with some crazy options that stretch way beyond the boundaries of traditional sushi. The first sign was when the happy bag had a smiley face on it, made of radish and green onion.

But CORN sushi? Its just not right.

Corn is a wonderful food. The gold of the Aztec Gods. The crown of America's heartland. It bears no resemblance to raw fish.

Songwriter Brad Colerick pays appropriate tribute to corn in his song Sweet Corn and even dares us to try it with a "drop o' Tapatio" - which turns out to be pretty good. And so is the song. You can download it from iTunes. The chorus reminds how corn is supposed to be enjoyed:

I want sweet corn for dinner
Sweet corn to feed my soul
Sweet corn, been waiting all summer
LIttle bit o' butter and a pinch of salt and pepper
and a drop o' Tapatio on my sweet corn

And that, my dear sushi lovers, is what corn is REALLY about.

Tapatio is a registered trademark of the Tapatio Hot Sauce company.

More than words on a page

I love Twitter more than ever, now that I've moved beyond the "I'm having a tuna sandwich for lunch" tweets (although I still do that too) to engage in the online conversation. I'm appreciating finding great blog posts that interest me, and I've turned a complete stranger on to blip.fm which he's apparently grateful for. So that's cool.

Today Bob LeDrew, fellow flack/musician/house concert host from Canada, turned me on to Wordle. I now share Bob's irrational love for Wordle. As Bob says, there's just something about seeing your words in visual form.

These are the lyrics to our unreleased song "Love can Change the World," arranged in "tag cloug" style where the more frequently the word appears the larger it is represented in the cloud.

Being a visual artist as well as a songwriter, this is like system overload for me - but in a good way. Seeing the visual of the words heart, open, can and hear so much larger than the rest really confirms for me that we communicated what we needed to with this song. It overwhelms me all over again.

You Can listen to a very rough demo of Love Can Change the World on our SonicBids page under the audio tab.

You can learn more about Wordle and make your own at http://wordle.net

I wonder what kind of picture we'd see if we plugged one of George W's speaches into Wordle?

Nothing new under the sun

One of my favorite blogs, the New York Times songwriting blog Measure for Measure, is back. It went silent for a month and I was worried. Now I see they've added two new bloggers so I'm pretty sure I know what happened. It got to be too much for the initial bloggers to keep up the posts, so they recruited some fresh blood.

So we welcome a newcomer to the songwriter blogosphere, Jeffrey Lewis. His Rip-Off Artist post is about the realization that your song is really a bit more than "inspired by" another artist. We've all been there. I remember noodling around with a new melody, wrapping an idea aroudn it and being so excited... then I played it for Greg and he said "Mary Chapin Carpenter." And I said "oh crap."

But Jeffrey explores this idea a bit deeper as well. He writes:

All aspects of creativity are basically reconstituted bits and pieces of things we’ve seen, heard and experienced, finely or not-so-finely chopped and served in a form that hopefully blends the ingredients into something “new.” The ancient Greeks seemed to know this, expressed in their belief that the Muses of creativity were the daughters of Mnemosyne, Titan goddess of memory. Perhaps we would like to think that the thoughts that go into creating a new song are purely impressions from “real life,” but a melody does not suggest itself as much from the impression of the 6 train ride you took this morning as it does from a melody from another song. The same for chord progressions, song concepts, lyric sounds and patterns, song structures and everything else. Folk music is supposed to be a shared continuum after all, and as Louie Armstrong said, “All music is folk music, I ain’t never heard no horse sing a song.”

I think that's the beauty of original songwriting. The creativity is all about weaving experiences together into a new slice of time that never existed before.

I remember talking with my sister a few years about about writing songs. She's a classically trained soprano with a beautifuly interpretive voice, so she's no stranger to the importance of good material. She said she was impressed that I could come up with something NEW to say when there are already so many great songs that have already been written. Or something to that effect.

I thought a long time about that. How many songs are there that say I love you? How many that say please don't leave me? How about I'm unhappy since you left me? I want you back? I don't want you back? Do we need any more of those?

Yes, we do.

Because music touches people. I see it happen every time we perform. Someone in the room is in a place where the songs we sing have a healing or transforming power. I never know which song it will be, or who it will be. Many times that person will talk to me about it afterwards, and I'm always humbled by it. Sometimes I just see it in their eyes and for a moment there's a connection that is unmistakable.

Thats the power of music and the importance of an honest song - no matter where the bits and pieces came from.

The World is on Fire

Jan Garrett's song The World is on Fire, from the album I Dreamed of Rain, was inspired by the way Jan felt during a stretch of Colorado wild fires a few years ago. Jan said it seemed that the whole world was on fire. For Jan, it was a metaphor for the larger issues facing society, as the war mounted in Iraq.

We often back up Jan and JD when they tour Northern California, and I love singing harmony on that song. Its luscious and dreamy. But I never really understood the inspiration until this past week.

Fire season started early this year in Northern California, and thousands of fires were started by dry lightening strikes. One of the largest fires is still burning near Ukiah, almost 2 hours north of San Francisco... on the way to Laytonville in Northern Mendocino County, the site of the Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival.

Greg and I don't go to a lot of festivals, but we'd planned on this one since our friend Renee Bodie has partnered with festival presenter Cloud Moss of Cumulus Presents.

The night before we were to leave, we checked the maps online to see where the fire had spread, and what the air quality reports said. But it didn't really matter because we were committed. We'd arranged to have our floors refinished while we knew we'd be gone. We had to go somewhere.

So we headed North as planned. The smoke was hanging heavy throughout the Bay Area. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge you could see Alcatraz, but not Oakland. And it wasn't fog this time. The farther north we got the thicker the smoke became and the harder it was to breathe.

The fire was centered near Ukiah, and going through that stretch of 101 was almost unbearable. If Renee hadn't called us the evening before to tell us it was clear in Laytonville, we would have turned around.

Only problem was, the wind had shifted over night, and the smoke started blowing right into the valley where there festival is held. Renee greeted us with a hand full of surgical masks. We decided that wearing masks, while a good idea for our respiratory health, might seem contrary to the open, Woodstock-like feeling of the festival. So we decorated them. Renee's has a happy face on it... although upon reflection it looks a bit like a pig snout. Perhaps that was a bad idea.

Over the course of the weekend the air hung heavy, but the mood was light. The smoke that hung all around us was a reminder that although we were having a great time, the destruction was close by and fire fighters were working round the clock to contain the flames.

More about the festival in upcoming  blog posts. 

My job is to make your job easier

What's the best way for me to get you to help me?

What if I were to make it so easy for you that it hardly felt like you were going out of your way at all? We'd both feel good about it, and I'd have a much better chance of getting what I want.

This has always been my philosophy. It started in my media relations career 20 years ago and continues now as I submit our CD for radio airplay, pitch venues and presenters for gigs and promote our concerts.

I've had this blog post pretty much written for more than a month. Today I got an email that prompted me to finish and get it posted. It was from CDBaby - if you're a CDBaby artist, you know the kind. It comes from founder Derek Sivers and is written like its from your best friend. And Derek HAS worked very hard to become every indie artist's best friend by creating a truly artist-friendly independent CD distribution site. The email included a link to download Derek's article How to Call Attention to Your Music. Although its worded a bit differently, he's essentially saying the same thing I am:

"Want to know the basic rule of marketing and promoting your music?

Constantly ask, "What do they really want?" (with "they" being anyone you are trying to reach).

Think hard, and don't take this one lightly.

Thinking of everything from the other person's point of view is one of the best things you can do in life. If done right, it will elevate you into the clouds along with a few select immortal beings. Every time you lift up the phone. Ever time you write an email. Every time you send out a presskit."

This is the credo that I live by. My job is to make your job easier. "You" being everyone from a DJ who I want to play our CD to the audience I want to come to our next live appearance. Which, by the way, is on June 1 at Roudon Smith Winery in Scott's Valley, Calif. as part of their Harvest Festival. Enjoy music all weekend as you sample great wines. Bring a picnic lunch or grab a sandwich at the winery, we're on 1-2 pm on Sunday.

So ... when I hear other musicians whining about how a house concert presenter, DJ, festival producer or music conference showcase committee wants them to provide their music for consideration in a specific way - using a specific format or procedure - I just shake my head.

• If a DJ wants me to submit my CD in a jewel case with a readable spine and the tracks numbered with the song length, that's exactly what I'm going to do.
• If a house concert host wants a link to where he can listen to my music online, I won't send him a CD in the mail instead.
• If a presenter who has booked me wants a ONE paragraph description of my music, I will not send a full page bio instead.
• If a music conference prefers its showcase applications be made through SonicBids, that's what I'll use.
• And I will communicate with my audience in a way that works for them, including concisely stating the details of the show and including a message about what they will enjoy about the event (the wine at Roudon Smith is very nice, btw). Also, I will not expect them to open an attachment and I will not send them large files to clog up their inboxes. And the links in my email will be helpful and will actually work.

The reasons are so obvious. I am asking each of these people to do something for me. To play my songs on the radio ... book me ... promote me ... recommend me to others ... spend their evening listening to my music and buy my CD.

This not only improves my chances for success, it also gives me more control. Here's one example. If a promoter needs one paragraph and I send him a full page, I not only make his job harder and potentially leave a bad taste in his mouth about working with me, but I also lose control over which paragraph he'll use from that full page I sent.

This is how I do my job, by making your job easier.

Doesn't that make sense? Or is it just me?