General musings, not related to any specific skill or task.
You've probably heard me say (or seen me write) this before: Loudness matters! But not in the way you might have been taught. The LOUDNESS WARS (intentionally typed loudly) were built upon the premise that "louder is better". For years, record labels asked mastering engineers to make each record louder than the last, and louder… Continue reading The Secret of Maximum Loudness
Songwriting is storytelling, and more than that, it's a sharing of emotional experiences. Whatever you have ever felt that made you want to write a song, somebody else has had that same feeling, and will recognize it when they hear you sing about it. Do you know what else they will recognize? They'll recognize when… Continue reading Authenticity Doesn’t Have to be a Constraint
Making art, and finding a market for art, is a difficult business. We don't do it for the dreams of making lots of money; we do it because we can't NOT do it. An artist has found a calling, a purpose, and fulfilling that purpose is ultimately more rewarding than a paycheque. Don't get me… Continue reading Don’t Forget to Celebrate
Why does an artist BIO always seem to be written in third-person? And how can I set out to write a great BIO for myself? Nobody Knows You Like I Do The purpose of a BIO is more than just listing the facts about where you came from, when you were born, and what you've… Continue reading Have You Met My Best Friend?
I'm often asked by my songwriter/artist friends to give my thoughts on their new releases. I'm happy to do so, but when they wait until they have a finished (and usually released) master, there's not likely much I can offer beyond "sounds great", because IT'S ALREADY OUT THERE. Let's put that aside for a moment,… Continue reading What You Talkin’ About?
I work with a lot of young artists who are trying to figure it all out. Every one of them makes choices and learns from failure to make themselves stronger. Most of them seek to work with collaborators to make something bigger and better than either of them could create on their own. However, sometimes… Continue reading Be Mighty. Take Charge.
Happy New Year! The first day of a new calendar year is a natural time to look back and re-examine our way of doing things, especially when we can learn something from doing so. Look Behind For Help They say that "hindsight is 20/20", meaning that we get the clearest picture of any situation when… Continue reading 2020: The Year of Hindsight
Even if you don't observe Christmas, you can give yourself a gift as a songwriter. And that gift is something you never would have expected - Garbage! One Songwriter's Garbage, is Another Songwriter's... Garbage? Okay, I won't suggest that one writer's garbage is another writer's gold, or anything like that. What I'm really talking about… Continue reading Give Yourself the Gift of Garbage
It does a disservice to songwriters everywhere, each time we hear a well-known songwriter speak to the media about how they wrote a favourite song of ours in a mere twenty minutes. It does a disservice because it is always either a deception or simply an untruth. Sure, it is not uncommon for a songwriter… Continue reading Writing Is Re-Writing Is Writing
Have you ever spent even a single day, in isolation, waiting for the outside world to come to you and brighten your day? Hoping that things will get better, but expecting it to come entirely from forces outside of yourself? Artists are often accused of working too much in isolation, creating art without ever presenting… Continue reading It’s About Time
