To Create or Not Create...That is the Question!

My last post here was over 3 months ago. Sadly I don't have any news regarding music. First of all because where I do my musical work is very hot during summer and not really conducive to spending hours being creative. Not safe either. And second because of general discouragement, disillusionment and disappointment.

Yes, making music is fun and great and rewarding if that is what one is passionate about, as I am. But I think one of the necessary elements of art is sharing it with others. Letting it be seen or heard. What's the point in painting portraits but keeping them all in your room and never allowing anyone else to see them? Or learning how to dance all the different dances there are but never performing them but to yourself in front of a mirror? Or creating music that no one else ever gets to hear, either because you don't share it or your options for sharing it prove futile? (And it does not even have to apply just to art. How about science? If you found a cure for something what is the point if you don't share it?)

Which brings me to YouTube. I am tempted to upload more of my songs on this website but I look at the number of video views and I say, "What's the point?" The numbers are pathetic. It seems people are more interested in watching other people's reactions to viral videos and video games. What is this? We have gone from doing things ourselves to watching other people do things to watching other people react to other people doing things. I don't understand this. Why would anyone want to watch anyone else's reactions while playing a video game? Where is the entertainment value in that? Why not just play the game yourself? God forbid I recommend that though seeing as how I believe video games in general are a curse upon young people (not to mention those not-so-young who still indulge).

But there is no way to compete with all the mindlessness out there. I can upload a new song today and it will have a negligible amount of views for most of its life. Every time I upload a new video I tell myself that this will be the one that does well. It's all bogus. No one's interested. Everyone is looking for something that is controversial, has shock value or is celebrity-related. Reverbnation, Bandcamp, soundcloud and other websites are really no different. I seriously don't believe anyone fans you on those websites for any reason other than wanting you to fan them back and increase their audience, or worse yet, trying to sell you a product or service. The only websites that have brought my music any exposure is this very blog where I write (discovered by The Basement Tapes) and also Podshow Music Network. Some of my songs have been picked up as a result of these 2 websites and have been played in various areas, including as far away as Germany.

I wish I had better news or a more optimistic outlook. If anything I still intend to release my full length album this year--this fall actually. It's still a major goal and I'll consider it a milestone for me when it does happen. And it will allow me to have my songs on Spotify and other music streaming websites, even if they're not played ever. But just knowing that they are there gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Before I sign off I do want to say that I have been fiddling around with my Christmas song a little. Just trying to improve it in time for the holidays. I have been trying to add a second snare drum track from my Yamaha S90 synth over my original one to make it stronger and more modern sounding. I'm not a huge fan of using 'fake' drums on my recordings but until I can figure out how to get a great recorded snare sound in my studio space I must use whatever resources I have at hand to make the best recordings I can. Also I had an idea for a tubular bells track to replace the original horns track but that has not gone very well.

In closing, I want to share this quote from an episode of "Night Gallery" which struck me from the first time I heard it and has come to signify reality more and more each time I hear it. Just to put this quote in context, it was uttered inside a funeral home in regards to the outside world:

"Out there is the graveyard! Out there--the slaughterhouse where they kill and bury dreams. A whole world full of lonely pallbearers."

 Yes, I see this manifesting itself on a daily basis.

My Thoughts on TAXI

Today I want to talk about something I've been hesitant to do so for a long time. The reason I'm doing so now is because I am no longer connected to this subject at this time and that I want others who may read this blog to know a little more about how this matter works and what lessons I learned from my experience.

Recently, I decided to allow my membership to expire in an organization named TAXI Music Service. It is touted as the "world's leading independent A&R company" which I do not doubt at all. Basically it works this way: you pay an annual membership fee of $200, $300 or more--depending on whether you're a first-timer, renewing member or you want beyond the basic services--and twice a month you receive updated listings of what the entertainment industry is requesting. Each listing comes with a due date. So if you have any recordings which in your opinion match any listing, you can submit them to the listing with a $5-per-song submission fee. And then you wait 30-60 days to hear back from them. You'll receive a notice that either your song(s) were forwarded to the industry personnel who submitted the listing or the song was rejected by the TAXI reviewers. At times you will also get an extensive critique of your song with scoring on point-scales and comments as to why your song(s) was rejected, what was good about it and how to make it better. Other times you will just get a rejection notice with not much information other than a line or two that states why the song was disapproved. I have never gotten any songs submitted past the TAXI people (forwarded) so I don't know what kind of notices you get in that situation. But once a song does get forwarded you may or may never hear from the person it was forwarded to.

My first stint with TAXI was in the early 2000's. I'm not sure for how many years I was with them Perhaps four, five or six. Not sure. It just wasn't one of those things that you tend to remember. At that time I didn't really have a lot of songs anyway and the music I was working on was very limited in scope. I only sought out very specific listings and they weren't all that common. So after several years of sending in the same songs and always getting rejected, I allowed my membership to expire sometime in the mid to late 2000's, Then, as I changed direction in my creativity and worked on many new songs during my separation with TAXI, in 2012 I decided to rejoin TAXI and try again. Now I had more songs and they were better. I had learned to produce better sounding music and I also had some nicer gear. Plus, there were a lot more music categories that I could submit my music to as opposed to the one single category I was only going for during my first stint.

It was during my second stint with TAXI (2012-2014) I really felt that I was going to break through. As I said, my music was better and it covered several different genres. I had more options. But there was something I still didn't understand until just the past few months. I submitted almost every one of my best songs at least once and I still never got one past the TAXI reviewers. Everything was rejected. Remember when I wrote about working on a cover version of "Hey Joe" for a special project? It was for a TAXI submission. It too was rejected.

It was around that time that I actually came to understand what TAXI is all about and how you MIGHT succeed with it. If you are interested in creating copycat music--in the sense of whatever is big and hot now or whatever was big and hot in the past, e.g. Jimi Hendrix--then you might have a chance. If you want to be a Mumford & Sons soundalike or a Drake clone or a JET copycat, then you're going in the right direction. All of TAXI's listings has artists/bands that are referenced so that you know what they want your music to sound like. If however you want to do your own unique and original music, you really don't stand a ghost of a chance. The majority of my own unique and original songs were usually labelled as retro sounding which I guess nowadays for an artist trying to break through is not a good label. By the same token, if a huge, established artist/band makes some retro-sounding music--i.e., Coldplay's X&Y album--it's immediately proclaimed 'genius' by the critics. [Note: I am a huge fan of Coldplay's X&Y album].

So I had to decide; do I want to sound like today's mainstream bands/artists and work on music I'm not especially passionate about for a CHANCE--albeit probably a tiny chance--to make it through TAXI? Or stay true to myself working on my own original music and accept that I am probably never going to get anywhere--especially not through TAXI--with it? I custom made a few recordings for TAXI listings. But they too were rejected. "Hey Joe" was one of them. I enjoyed doing that song because I've always like that one and it's from the era that I'm really influenced by. But I don't have the time or energy to spend doing covers just to have them get rejected. I know it's possible to get noticed doing covers especially if you go the route of YouTube. Most of my view numbers on my YouTube channel come from the instrument covers I did versus my own songs. But the original intent of doing the covers was to attract views to my music which has never really materialized.

So my personal experience has been that TAXI Music Service is not interested in original, unique music. Not my original Exit World music. If I had a song that sounded just like the Lumineers but with a touch of Exit World they might accept that. But an Exit World song with a touch of the Lumineers? No. Thus, if you are willing to make or already have music that sounds like that made by the big mainstream names, TAXI may work for you. But I really don't have the time nor the desire to make music in the style of modern artists & bands I'm not interested in. If that means I have no chance of 'making it' in the music business, well, that's something I've been slowly coming to terms with in recent months anyway. I'll keep making music regardless and putting it out there. Thank goodness for the internet!

Analogman Peppermint Fuzz

Just yesterday I uploaded a video to YouTube of a recording that I played an electric guitar solo using an Analogman Peppermint Fuzz pedal. This pedal sounds great and has a sound straight out of the 1960's. I've tried other fuzz pedals and they all had peculiarities about them, mainly being that they did not sound all that 'fuzzy'. This one's a keeper though. I won't try to describe the sound because, as the Lovin' Spoonful once sang, it's like trying to tell a stranger about rock & roll. You gotta hear if for yourself!

And that's what the pedal looks like. Resembles peppermint candy. Sadly this great pedal is a discontinued one. Conversely if you have one it can garner you a nice, quick chunk of cash. Currently there is a used one on eBay with a bid of $202 and 3 days to go. I'll keep an eye on it to see what it ultimately sells for.

Analogman pedals always sell for obscene amounts of money. I had two of their King of Tone pedals simultaneously once. I pre-ordered one which took about a year to actually get, and during that time a fellow guitarist sold me his. Luckily I was able to compare his older model with the brand new one side-by-side. I liked the older one a lot better. Difference in sound texture was very noticeable. I immediately sold my new one for nearly double the price I paid. The older one I kept for quite some time before eventually selling it as well. It was a superb pedal and all but I don't play live and I really felt the gain on my Fender Super Sonic gave me all the sound I needed for my recordings. Whoever bought that second one I sold sure got a great sounding piece of work! Hands down beat similar pedals out there by the big names such as Ibanez, Voodoo Labs, Fulltone, Maxon and others.

Roger Miller's "King of the Road" Full Bass Tab

One of my most popular blog posts here continues to be the bass tab I made for my video of me playing along to a few lines of "King of the Road" by Roger Miller. In that video I played a little of the original bass part but I also improvised a bit. And I tabbed out the whole part that I played, which was less than a minute long.

Since this post was so popular and I've had many requests for that tab, I decided to tab out the whole darn song. No improvising. Just the original part played by the original studio bassist. To the best of my ability. Some parts are a little harder to hear and decipher. I even listened to a stereo version of the song but it can still be difficult. Took quite some time to do also. The song is only about 2:10 long but tabbing out a part can take very long. So I hope you all will appreciate the effort and use it in good fun! And if you really appreciate the work I put into it, there is still a donate button on my page. Thanks!

G  :----------------------|-----0-3-----------|---------------------|
D  :3-5-3-0---------0----0|1--------0-1-2-3---|-2-3----1-h3-3-1-----|
A  :--------1---0-1-------|-------------------|-----------------3---|
E  :----------------------|-------------------|-------------------1-|

G  :-------------------|------------------|------2-3--3-2--0-|
D  :-------------0----0|1----1----1-2-3---|-3--3-------------|
A  :----0-1----1-------|--------1---------|------------------|
E  :1-3----------------|------------------|------------------|

G  :--0-0-2-3--3-0---------|-----0-3-----------|----------0------|
D  :3--------------3------0|1--------0-1-2-3---|-------3----1--0-|
A  :-----------------1-----|-------------------|-----------------|
E  :-----------------------|-------------------|-----------------|

G  :-------------------|------------------|----0-2-3--3-2-2-0-|
D  :3---0--------0----0|1----1----1-2-3---|-3-----------------|
A  :--3---1----1-------|--------1---------|-------------------|
E  :-------------------|------------------|-------------------|

G  :---0-2-3--3-0---------|------------------|----------3-2--0-|
D  :-3------------3------0|1----1--0-1-2-3---|-----------------|
A  :----------------1-----|------------------|-----------------|
E  :----------------------|------------------|-----------------|

G  :--0-2-3----0----3--|------------------|------0----------|
D  :3------------3-----|1----1--0-1-2-3---|-3--3----3--1--0-|
A  :-------------------|------------------|-----------------|
E  :-------------------|------------------|-----------------|

G  :------------------|------------------|-----------------|
D  :---3-------------1|1----1--0-1-2-3---|----------3-1--0-|
A  :-3---1----1-1-----|------------------|-----------------|
E  :------------------|------------------|-----------------|

G  :-------------------|------------------|------2-3--3-2-2-0-|
D  :3---0--------0----0|1----1--0-1-2-3---|-3--3--------------|
A  :--3---1----1-------|------------------|-------------------|
E  :-------------------|------------------|-------------------|

G  :0---0-2-3--3-0---------|--------------------|----------------|
D  :--3------------3------1|1----1--0-1-1-2-3---|----------------|
A  :-----------------1-----|--------------------|----------------|
E  :-----------------------|--------------------|----------------|

G  :-------------------|-----1-4-----------|------3-4--4-3--1-|
D  :4-4-4--------1----1|2--------1-2-3-4---|-4--4-------------|
A  :------2----2-------|-------------------|------------------|
E  :-------------------|-------------------|------------------|

G  :--1-1-3-4----1------4|------------------|------------1-----|
D  :4--------------4-----|2----2--1-2-3-4---|----------4---4-2-|
A  :------------------2--|------------------|------------------|
E  :---------------------|------------------|------------------|

G  :------------------|------------------|----1-3-1-4--3--1-|
D  :1---4----------1--|2----2--1-2-3-4---|-4----------------|
A  :--4---2-----2-----|------------------|------------------|
E  :------------------|------------------|------------------|

G  :1---3-4--------------|-----------------|------------1--2-|
D  :--4--------4---------|-----------------|----------4------|
A  :-------------2--2----|-------2---------|-----------------|
E  :------------------4-2|0----4----0--2---|-----------------|

G  :-----------------|-----1-4-----------|----1-3-4--4-3--1-|
D  :-----------1----1|2--------1-2-3-4---|-4----------------|
A  :-1--2----2-------|-------------------|------------------|
E  :-----------------|-------------------|------------------|

G  :--1-1-3-4--------------|-----------------|-----------------|
D  :4------------1---------|-----------------|---------------4-|
A  :---------------2--2----|-------2---------|----------2--2---|
E  :--------------------4-2|0----4----0--2---|-----------------|

G  :--2-3-4----1-------4|------------------|------3-4--4-3--1-|
D  :4------------4-4----|2----2--1-2-3-4---|-4--4-------------|
A  :-----------------2--|------------------|------------------|
E  :--------------------|------------------|------------------|

G  :--1-1-3-4----1----4-1--|------------------|----------------|
D  :4--------------4-------|------------------|----------4-----|
A  :-----------------------|-------2-2--------|----------------|
E  :----------------------2|0----4-----0--2--2|----------------|

G  :-----------------|-----1-4-----------|------3-4--4-3--1-|
D  :4----------1----1|2--------1-2-3-4---|-4--4-------------|
A  :----2----2-------|-------------------|------------------|
E  :-----------------|-------------------|------------------|

G  :----------------|
D  :-4--------------|
A  :----------------|
E  :----------------|