Spring Update

So we're into the final third of April and I have not written any holiday or seasonal tunes! And to be honest, I don't really feel like it! I knew this would happen. I have not able to immerse myself into that genre of music as I had wanted to. But fear not--I have been working on other music. I have about four songs I am working on right now. One is lyrically complete and ready to start recording. The other three are more in the infant stages of writing. But I feel good that ideas are flowing. And at this time, I feel as though I'm going in the direction of shorter songs. The bulk of the music I love is pop & rock of the 1960's & early 1970's. If I had to sum it up into a range it would be 1964-1972. The majority of the hit songs of that era were all just about under three minutes long. So I'm probably going to keep them short and (hopefully) sweet. I'm also considering mixing all the songs in mono just to give the project that extra 60's sound. Some of my all-time favorite songs are in mono and only available in mono (as far as I know). Here are some of them:

Heart Full of Soul (The Yardbirds)

Gimme Some Lovin' (The Spencer Davis Group)

Can't Be Still (Booker T & The M.G.'s)

Ya Ya (Lee Dorsey)

Take a Heart (The Sorrows)

Down Home Girl (The Stones)

You Need Lovin' (The Small Faces)

Baby Don't Go (Sonny & Cher)

Barefootin' (Robert Parker)

Good Time Charlie (Bobby Bland)

I realize some of those may fall outside the specified range, but it's not an exclusive range. Anyway I'm not a huge fan of mono but it does give a recorded song more of a vintage, lo-fi feel. Plus, when comparing mono mixes to stereo ones of the thousands of songs I have in my library, the mono mixes usually sound louder and more balanced. Of course, that could have to do with mastering techniques as well. In the 60's most singles on 45 were punchy mono mixes made specifically to sound loud over the radio and on your home turntables. The Beatles released all their albums in both mono and stereo up through 1968. They involved themselves in the mono mixes and left the stereo mixing up to the studio staff.

I'm going to do this. And it's cool because I will still have access to make stereo mixes whenever the mood strikes or if need be. That's the difference between my recordings and the ones listed above. Many of those were recorded on two or three-track tape with the masters no longer available. Thus they are preserved for posterity in mono and nothing else. But it is fun to think about how they would have been mixed in stereo. I got used to a lot of The Beatles' earlier stereo output where most instruments would be panned to one side and the vocals on the other, with nothing much in the center. Those stereo recordings helped me better hear and figure out the different instrument parts so I could learn to play them. That's one of the reasons I prefer stereo overall--there is a lot more to be heard that mono mixes do not permit.

I think the four songs I'm working on will be interesting. If I can get really serious about finishing them up and doing a few more things I may actually have something to release this year.

Finally on the Radio!

Here's something I should have written about sooner, but it just slipped my mind with so many other things going on.

A few weekends ago, my song "(Doesn't That) Blow Your Mind" was played on a local radio station show in Missouri. I was contacted on my Facebook page by Nick & Bootsy from the KKID Basement Tapes show that plays local and independent music. They came across this song of mine either through here or on my Exit World Facebook page and were interested in playing it on their show. So I sent it and they played it. I wasn't able to listen to their show live at the time they played because it does not stream online. So I had to wait 4 days later when Insane Realm radio re-broadcasts the complete show online to hear it. It was a thrill when it came on! I have since sent them more songs. Hopefully they will deem them worthy enough to be played.

This is a milestone for me. It's the first time a song of mine has been played on FM radio by someone other than a personal friend or acquaintance. I've had a few friends over they years play some of my songs on college radio stations. WLUW, WZRD and WNUR have all played my music. So I was really excited when someone other than someone I know contacted me to air my song. Now I can confidently join ASCAP or BMI! (I probably won't. Not yet anyway).

So this was really cool and I take it as another sign that I am on the right path to a music career. Another really cool sign was when my YouTube video for "Another Morning What a Drag" took off for about a month and garnered about 1200 views in that short period.

On the other hand, I was really confident about "Blow Your Mind" getting successfully forwarded for a TAXI listing. The listing was for a Hollywood blockbuster that was looking for original early to mid 70's sounding music. I've been with TAXI A&R music company on and off for the last 10 years or so and this was the most confident I was in submitting any songs to one of their listings. It was to the point where there was very little doubt in my mind that this was going to be my big breakthrough. But today I received notice that it was rejected due to the lyrics not being universally themed. Funny, I don't remember the listing requiring universally-themed lyrics. Regardless, what I should have done was send just the instrumental track without vocals alongside the original. They did say the music was right on target and it was an 'excellent track.' Disappointing but I'll take it as a moral victory and be sure to send both vocal versions and instrumental versions from here on out, if possible--sometimes they specifically ask for either vocal songs or instrumental songs.

And I'm sorry to announce that I have made no progress on remixing some of my other songs and finishing up "Call on Me" for their inclusion on my forthcoming full-length album. But I still have time and it will get done.

Lastly, my YouTube channel name has been officially changed to Exit World. It is no longer AF14eva.

Ambient, Mood & Movie Music

If I should not make it for any reason as a recording artist in my own rite, I would be more than satisfied making music for films or broadcast programs or even commercials. I enjoy writing lyrics and singing even though I find it incredibly difficult to sing on pitch, but I also enjoy creating mood music and letting the instruments do the 'singing.' I am particularly interested in foreboding or suspenseful type music, like the great sounds that can be heard on many if not all the crime drama movies and TV shows of the late 60's through the mid 70's. That stuff is classic. SWAT, Kojak, Mission: Impossible, The Mod Squad, The Mechanic, Death Wish and so many others featured such amazing mood music soundtracks. But I don't want to limit myself to just that era, even the sounds created during that time sets the bar in my opinion.

I have here 2 pieces of original work I created. This first one is more modern sounding and could be used in a variety of applications. It's just a 2 track recording and completely recorded on my Yamaha S90 synthesizer. It could best be described as New Age or Ambient. I'm not sure what other classification I could put this song under. Perhaps Soundtrack. I think Ambient fits best.

This is a short 2 minute piece that I made in 2011. It's different from anything I created up to that point and anything I've done since. It's just a synthesizer track plus a piano track. I call it "Open Sky."




I was going for a simplistic yet foreboding feel. I just completely improvised on the piano part.

This next track has a more 70s feel to it. No wonder with the Wurlitzer and Rhodes electric piano parts! But that's what I was going for. I think it is more than just background music when compared to "Open Sky." It does have more movement to it and a fuller sound thanks to the electric piano parts, electric guitar, electric bass and drumstick beat.

I don't usually start recording any song with drums or percussion but this one did begin with the drumsticks. I was working on another song at the time--probably "Blow Your Mind"--and took a break. I had the vocal mic hooked up to some serious delay and reverb and just started messing around with some drumsticks. I came up with the idea for the cool beat you will hear in this song. I tried playing it in time for about 2 and a half minutes so I could have a decent length recording. After I had that track down I just started layering the other parts on top. The parts on this song were more planned out than on "Open Sky." At least the first half of the song could definitely be used during an on-foot chase or pursuit scene and the second half during some suspenseful or revealing scene. But you listen and decide for yourself.




This is one of my newer projects having been recording just last year in 2012. Would love to make a whole album of just this 70's tinged mood/movie music. The good thing is the songs don't have to be long. They can be 2 minutes and under. Consider this a preview of an album to come then. Perhaps you'll hear this stuff in the theatre or on TV in the near future.

(Edit: I forgot to mention that on 'Coming Apart' there are a few additional percussion instruments I added on there courtesy of my Yamaha S90.)