Tag: behind the scenes music journey

  • 70 Weeks of New Music: Jody Whitesides Epic Re-Releases

    70 Weeks of New Music: Jody Whitesides Epic Re-Releases

    I feel like you might be finding me for the first time, all over again. Not like I ever really went away, though playing live hasn’t been on the radar for the last couple of years while I was taking care of things behind the scenes.

    TL;DR: As I’m ramping up into all of this, more things will come online and there is a lot of stuff to unpack as we go. Plus I will return to Social Media.

    The Phoenix gave rise a few days ago. Hell, if you’re reading this by browsing by, you figured something out that people on my email list still haven’t heard yet. That my first re-released song happened last Friday August 22, 2025. It was quite the time in the making and I’m still spinning some wheels to get ahead of the curve.

    Here’s the plot…

    For the foreseeable future of about 70 weeks, there will be a new song released each Friday. Unless it’s a version of Do You Want to Play, which would release on a Tuesday. For each of those songs being rereleased, there is new cover art (because these came off albums, there wasn’t individual art the first time around). As an added bonus, there are animated versions of each cover, that currently only shows up on the website and on Apple Music.

    There’s another new feature happening as well. That is, you can purchase a full quality WAV copy (i.e. 48/24, or 96/32) of the individual songs you like directly from me on my web store. Or the entire album. For either version of audio purchase, you will also get a link to the download a high quality MP3 version of it with the artwork embedded. Purchasing directly from me is the coolest thing you can do as there is no middle-man. It’s just you and I and the exchange of goods for payment. A true win win.

    While I like Apple Music and Qobuz for their audio quality, you still can’t beat downloading the full WAV (and/or MP3) from me. It’s akin to sitting in the studio with me and hearing the true depth.

    If there is enough of a cry from people, I will also make the Dolby Atmos versions available for sale, but hot damn those are extremely large files and I know of no-one actually selling them yet. Would love to set that trend, but would need to figure out the logistics of housing the files on the store.

    Are you truly here for the first time? If so, joining the Jody Army will result in me emailing you a discount codes from time to time in the future to purchase most things on the store.

    Cool items

    Speaking of which, there are official transcriptions of all the guitar parts and all the bass parts for each song. I know when I was learning to play it was a real treat when Guitar for the Practicing Musician would have transcriptions in their magazine. It was the perfect combo of standard notation and Tablature. That concept has returned. Who better than the artist who played the material to do the transcription?

    These transcriptions are done in standard notation and TAB. They are in PDF format, and the only official versions available. God I wish I had that when I was learning to play. Because with Guitar for the Practicing Musician, it was a crap shoot what they would transcribe from month to month.

    Along this journey, each week there will be a new set of items on the front page, the store front, and the bio. That’s right, there’s a new bio each week to coincide with the release du jour. It’s been a tonne of work and it’s on-going.

    At the end of this re-release path will be new music. That newer music will be releasing roughly about a year prior to it hitting streaming services. Meaning I’m looking at pressing CDs, Vinyl (for the first time) and Cassettes again. Hell, there’s a good chance I’ll do it for the re-releases as well. Nothing beats being able to open an actual tangible product and feel the weight in your hands.

    Social Contact

    Social media got you by the tits or balls? I can say from experience: it’s a good idea to take a break from it now and then. Which is essentially what I did whilst working on all of this material. As the wheels get back into motion for all of these re-releases, expect to see more posting on social media, whether you like it or not. Oh, and make sure you join BlueSky, it’s been a nice jump off the toxicity of Twitter (fuck Elon and the switch to X). Yes, that old Twitter/X account is there, however, I’ve deleted everything I ever tweeted, and it is no longer a platform that I will use.

    Another stop coming along the connective journey between you and I is email. In the not-so-distant future I will be bringing my email list back in-house. It always made my skin crawl a bit to use an external email service, but at the time I made the jump – doing it in-house and by hand wasn’t a bowl of cherries.

    Now that I have the updated server, I have found a software for doing email similar to the big boys, but without big brother watching over it, and without them telling me how I can use it. That will benefit both of us. Along with allowing me to tailor things just for you.

    If you’ve hit this point, thank you for your attention into my career. It truly means a lot to me and I look forward to seeing you on the road again.

  • We Won ProMax. Then I Went Shopping at NAMM. Now It’s On.

    The new year is getting off to a bang. Robert Navarro and I are putting the finishing touches on a new project right after coming off the heels of winning the Audience Choice ‘Battle Trax’ live promo competition at the 2009 PROMAX UK show. A track we wrote and produced called ‘Ripper Deck’ is the winner.

    I’ve been extending feelers for new remixers to start work on another one of my new songs. Now that the library is getting underway, I’ll be putting my efforts into finishing all the songs I’ve currently got in pre-production for the next CD.

    NAMM show was a great time. New relationships have begun and I look forward to putting new toys to use on all the projects I’ve got coming on my plate.

    Stay tuned and may your year be off to a great start!

  • From Blackjack to Breakdowns: Finding Songs in the Chaos

    What a wild a crazy weekend. I spent some time off with some friends out at the Colorado River on the border of Arizona and California in a town called Parker. Actually it’s been sort of an annual thing for the past 6 years I think, at least for me. Some of them have been doing it for a while longer. Anyway, it was as usual, eventful. In fact just a couple of blocks from starting out, the boat trailer got a flat tire. Yikes. Without boring you with all the details, I got a nice sunburn, learned to wakeboard and wakesurf, and got stuck for an extra day out there when my ride’s car broke down on the way home. The bonus was playing some black jack and winning some money at the Blue Water Casino.

    In music news, I’m currently in talks with several PR and Radio firms. I’m working on getting Practical Insanity released with or without the Business Plan Funding. So far the reaction from all the firms I’ve talked to have been highly favorable. I’m going to be weighing their strategies to see whom I like best. So stay tuned.

    I’ve also started mapping out the songs that will make up the first two (out of 3) of the Christmas CD’s that will make up my first Christmas release. I spoke about this back in December or January, so check out the archives for the story on that. But at least it has gotten started. As well, I’ve also been demo’ing new songs for the follow up to Practical Insanity. Geez, do I ever stop?

    Movie Pick of the Week: The Longest Yard. Here’s a simple review of a simple movie. Don’t expect cinematic greatness. In fact, don’t go in expecting anything at all. Think in terms of mindless entertainment and you’ll likely have a good time watching this movie. I liked Adam Sandler, I didn’t really get why Burt Reynolds was even in it. Chris Rock was being restrained from really being Chris Rock, and some of the dialog was kinda cheesy. Otherwise there are funny, laugh out loud moments and I did find it fun.

    In case you missed the Music Connection Review, here is the repost from the previous news entry: In the latest issue of the Music Connection Magazine. I received some kind words and a total of 7 out of 10. Quoting from the Music Connection:
    “Whitesides is a singer/songwriter whose performances and material show lots of skill and craft without scrificing heart or conviction. the lyrics for All The Things and Days of Our Lives have a knack for depicting the imagery of everyday life in interesting ways. Electric guitar licks lend a hard rock backbone to the tunes, while the artist’s soulful voice acts like fine-grain sandpaper that gives his rough-hewn subect matter some compelling contours.”