Tag: independent musician storytelling

  • A Hectic Holiday That Inspired Fan Engagement & an Atmos Breakthrough

    A Hectic Holiday That Inspired Fan Engagement & an Atmos Breakthrough

    Pushing thru the eye of the storm. After a lovely holiday known as Thanksgiving in the U.S., there was a mellow weekend. Then Sunday evening and an all-nighter last night led to a breakthrough. Oh, and finally the Atmos version of Delicate Stretch of the Seems finally landed!

    There was a literal and figurative storm around my world last night. Finally Mother Nature did a little dusting of snow after an extremely warm November. Then there was a non-trivial event of the network in front of the server and I was up all night getting it back online. I’m in a state of delirium as I write this.

    The good thing is on Sunday I made a major step forward for those on the Jody Army list. All the points I’ve been planning for fans have been getting tracked, but not reported. Now they are finally tracking, updating and reporting. In the next email going out there’s some peeps that will get a special email welcoming them to the first tier of the Army.

    The best part of the points kicker is that all emails will now give you your current point totals – all you need to do is keep on being you, reading the emails, coming to the website and sharing. Now that the points tracking is in place and solid, I can move on to the next bit of awesomeness. The plan is to announce it January 1, 2026.

    After a large amount of back and forth with the distributor and Apple Music… The Atmos version of Delicate Stretch of the Seems has finally landed! Yes it will sound similar to the stereo version, but also quite different in spacial feel. It’s been a long ass time in the making and it’s exciting to finally be getting it out there and available for your ear holes.

    christmas-past-jody-whitesides

    Lastly to kick off December, it’s finally time to start wishing people a Merry Christmas and or happy holidays. What ever floats your boat in cheerful sayings. To that end there’s gonna be some festive stuff popping up in the next few days and next few weeks as the year winds down.

    I’ve kept up my goal of releasing a new song every week since I began back in February. What a ride it’s been and 2026 will have a lot more of that coming as well.

    This particular proclamation starts yet another trend in terms of timing. Stay tuned!

  • When a Song Finds Its Focus: The Story of “Stand My Ground”

    When a Song Finds Its Focus: The Story of “Stand My Ground”

    Productive day yesterday. Got a lot of calls made. Emails sent. Even got to finally sit with a bit of a tune and spruce it up. That would be why I can say song sixteen finalized is Stand My Ground.

    This particular song underwent a slight transformation. I had to tweak a few of the lyrics. I felt it needed a little more cohesion in the presentation of the words. It’s now got that. Such that it remains universal and personal at the same time. Without being overly vague. Though it still has a strong sense of metaphor. Which is to say, I hope it’s not too clever in it’s telling of a story now.

    The arrangement got shortened a little. I decided it didn’t need the Pre Chorus going into the second Chorus. It appears only before the first Chorus.

    Sonically, I’ve made my notes of things that I wish to have happen once I hit the studio to be recording the final version. In the meantime, I’ll be sitting down to song 17 today, it’s got very minor tweaks. Who knows I might be announcing it tomorrow. Then I’ve saved the toughest song for last…

    For now, you’re in the know that the sixteenth song finalized is Stand My Ground. Have an awesome day!

  • From Sparse Demo to Full Studio Sound: The Story of “Femke”

    From Sparse Demo to Full Studio Sound: The Story of “Femke”

    If you were keeping tabs on the song order, you might have noticed that I started alphabetically. However, today I’ve already broken ranks. The second song finalized is Femke. No rhyme or reason why on that, it is what it is.

    In this song I made lyrical tweaks to the second verse. I also made a lyrical change to the first line of the chorus. It now makes a bit more sense to an outsider view about someone you might know and the changes all recorded on the demo. Musically I didn’t find a need to tweak any of the melody. I will be adding a few elements in the studio that are beyond what is in the demo. I keep the arrangement fairly sparse. But instead of drum and orchestral samples, I’ll be bringing in the real thing. More human that way.

    What song will come next and when will it get finalized? Only the shadow knows. For now, you are in the know knowing that the second song finalized is Femke.

    Stay tuned.

    — Jody