Jody Whitesides

Category: News

  • Seventh Song Finalized Is "Love Takes A Holiday"

    Seventh Song Finalized Is "Love Takes A Holiday"

    With some steps forward, there are some steps backwards. Such was the case this past week. Despite the setback, I’m happy to relay that the seventh song finalized is “Love Takes A Holiday”.

    Yes, I had managed to spend a little time away from my release to work on a film trailer track in a dubstep style. I mentioned in the last post that initial reaction was awesome. Even the client finally got back to me stating I nailed it. That’s enough to put a smile on the face. Still awaiting word from the studio…

    LTAH – for short, required a fairly good amount of thought. The original demo was a little on the dragging it’s feet side. That doesn’t stop it from being a really good song, but it did stop it from being a great song, or even a possible hit. Thus I reworked it with a faster tempo. This gives it a livelier vibe that bounces a little more – without taking out the nature of stomp it has. I also reworked the lyrics, shifted the verses around and gave it a more focused perspective.

    In the re-recording of the track, I reconfigured some of the guitar parts and added more elements to it. One of my favorite new bits is a “talking bass” sound that I picked up from doing the dubstep track. I think it’s going to add some cool character to compliment the Clavinet I have in it.

    You’re probably wondering, what the hell was the setback? Well… I have a really nice microphone that I’ve been using to record the demo vocals with. It decided that right now, or rather last Tuesday, was the perfect time to crap out and stop working. That’s rather unfortunate for such a pricey mic to do. Good thing I’m on good terms with the company. They’re going to give it a checkup and get it back to good health. In the meantime, I’m picking on songs that I need to tweak with more than just vocals – gives me time to really think through the arrangements. That’s always a good thing.

    Even LTAH got a slight change in the arrangement of things too. Added some cool stops to two parts and also gave the intro riff and reprise. Keeps the song from motoring too fast through the parts now that the tempo has made a pretty good jump. These changes signal that the seventh song finalized is “Love Takes A Holiday”. Stay tuned. I’ve got another 11 more to tweak before studio performances and perfection are up to bat.

  • Sixth Song Finalized Is "Till We Meet Again"

    Sixth Song Finalized Is "Till We Meet Again"

    Talk about being a little too busy sometimes. Turns out that I actually got this latest track dealt with back on Tuesday. However, I got called in to create a song for a film trailer and I’ve been working around the clock for a couple of days to get it done. I’m happy to say that the sixth song finalized is “Till We Meet Again”.

    The great thing about this song is it’s simplicity. I wrote it with Jesse Stern, the infamous bassist. I had the idea for the guitar and what I wanted to have happen, he came in with a great bass line, then we cobbled some words together and voila. A very very catchy diddy that gets people right from the get go and holds on fast.

    I’m ready to hop on another song after I deal with doing a live performance for Grant’s Advent Calendar today at noon. I’ll be doing a google hangout with him and performing my song Christmas Brought Me You live.

    What did I do for the past couple of days? Well, I was knee deep in doing a Dubstep track for a film trailer. I can’t say what trailer it’s for. However, when I dive into something that I don’t have a ton of experience I have to do a lot of research to make sure I’ll do it the right way. Thus I got a chance to watch a couple of tutorials on creating the appropriate sounds, then spent time, writing, twisting and manipulating sounds to make a solid track. Early feedback says: It’s a hit. Which is pretty cool, considering it’s only for a film trailer.

    Time to get back to work and get the next song tweaked and ready. Until the next update, thanks for stopping by to find out that the sixth song finalized is “Till We Meet Again”.

    — Jody

  • Fifth Song Finalized Is "Careful"

    Fifth Song Finalized Is "Careful"

    Productive weekend for a working musician. The most important thing for the wrap-up is that the fifth song finalized is “Careful”. Additionally I started a track for a film trailer and I recorded some children doing a spoof on 12 Days of Christmas for yet another film trailer.

    Getting right down to it, I put the demo of my version of Careful together yesterday. A song written by Warren Sellars, Mark Luna, and myself. A couple of amazing writers right there allowing me along for the ride. It was a fun set of writing sessions. Leading to a delicate but strong song.

    Thanks to a call from late Friday afternoon, I had a couple of extra things thrown on my plate for film trailers. Thus, I couldn’t get an additional song finalized yet. Though I predict by tomorrow, I’ll have another to announce.

    In the meantime, my quote of the day for yesterday was: “You won’t know sleep until your head is on a pillow.” [Jody Whitesides]. The great thing is, I got two more tracks ready, and that fifth song finalized is “Careful”. Plus a couple of film trailers equals a bingo couple of days.

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