Tag: independent songwriter journey

  • How My Breakup Anthem Survived Censorship and Found New Life

    How My Breakup Anthem Survived Censorship and Found New Life

    Maybe You’re The Problem: Once Upon A Time…

    There was a pop princess that was loved throughout the land. She came up thru the ranks and wowed people in one genre then shifted to another genre. All the while, she was growing up in front of everyone’s eyes – to a height of 5’10”. Being so public her dating life became fodder for chatting around the water cooler and for the gossip tabloids. She’d bounce from guy to guy, cavorting and having fun. Much as one would do as a teenager in anywheresville the universe.

    Yet, the songs this troubadour was creating dealt with how every guy had done her wrong. That she was a victim of the male counterpart at any given point in her story. Making them out to be “the bad guy” was the m.o.

    At one point in this tumultuous time of her dating life a comedian suggested that a male songwriter ought to write a song from the perspective of a former boyfriend who had been dumped by the songstress. What he went thru. How he felt about it. And then… His response.

    That’s where I stepped in. I wrote just such a song called Maybe You’re The Problem. Recorded a demo of it and made a makeshift music video to go along with it. All in good fun. Posted it to YouTube where a PR friend caught wind of it and posted the link to the video. All of a sudden it went viral! Racking up 10s of thousands of views in a matter of hours.

    Comments started pouring in. Lots of hate filled comments defending the songstress. Others were a bit more jovial, getting the joke and the fact that its only a song and meant to be on the humorous side.

    The song remained in its little silo for a few months getting more views and more comments. Then one day, POOF! It was gone. The video had been yanked from the video site claiming violations of the end user agreement. Or rather violations that were a bit more vague. Honestly, I’m still not clear as to exactly why it got deleted.

    Shortly thereafter a lovely woman wanted to be my manager and suggested that I rerecord the song and pull the reference to the songstress out. I thought, why the hell not. I can do that. No big deal. This manager really loved the song, just not the reference. Voilá the song now exists in the world without the reference to the imaginary songstress. It’s dressed up in new sonic beauty and ready to be shared in the world.

    Which is why you’ve spent time reading this far. Be my royal fan and find you streaming service to press play.

  • That Time My Drum Fill Got More Love Than the Vocals

    That Time My Drum Fill Got More Love Than the Vocals

    drum fill love

    It’s not often where you’re in a studio talking about a drum fill. At least not often where you’re proclaiming you love it. This is precisely what happened during a moment in the recording process of Till We Meet Again, a song written by myself and the awesome Jesse Stern. We’re in the studio doing vocals with George Leger III when George blurts out something entirely unusual for an engineer / co-producer.

    Talk about getting caught off guard, especially when drumming is like ESL. I remember wanting to be a drummer when I first wanted to learn an instrument. However that got nixed by my mom due to saying it would be too noisy. Instead I got a guitar and an amp. How much noise did that make? A whole lot more.

    Imagine my surprise when a drum fill part I created elicits a response like what I get in the video. Of course the most polite response is what I gave, but seriously, in my head I was like – hey! I did that. Maybe I should have been a drummer first. What a different world I’d be in if that had been the case. I might not be the songwriter I turned out to be. Who knows, I could have become an on call studio or touring drummer. Ah, who am I kidding – I love the musician I am, but there are times. Times when I do wish I were a better drummer.

    Drum Fill Love

    YouTube player

    Transcript:

    I said I love that drum fill!

    Thank you.

    Fuckin’ love it.

    It’s a cool drum fill.

    It’s totally cool.

    I done did that.

    Totally fuckin’ cool.

    yeah.

    I have to make that a Phil Collins thing somehow.

    Get it to sound like it’s in a fuckin’ glass room or something bizarre.

    Oh lord.

    Aw, c’mon man.

    Have you subscribed to my YouTube Channel yet?

  • All The Things Lyric Video

    All The Things Lyric Video

    Falling In From Practical Insanity

    One of my first successful co-writes was All The Things with Greg Watton. It happens to be the subject of today’s post. Mostly because I thought it prudent to make a lyric video for it in an acoustic environment. The bonus is that you get to see and hear what I’m singing and how I played the acoustic guitar part in the song. It was written just before I had gone to a songwriter’s conference and it was one of several songs that A&R people from the major labels were interested. That’s always a shot in the arm to boost one’s confidence in what they’re doing. Greg and I have written a few other songs – but none have made to the airwaves yet.

    All The Things Lyric Video

    YouTube player

    Lyrics & song by Jody Whitesides, Greg Watton

    Ever since I was a kid Everyone picked on me
    Growing up was the hardest thing For a boy with no self esteem
    So I found a little place In the backyard of my mind
    Disappeared without a trace Didn’t want them to find me

    For every year that passed me by
    There was less of me to recognize
    I wish I made more room to grow
    Instead I hid I didn’t know

    All The Things that people say
    All The Things that people do
    Will bring you down When you let it get to you
    All The Things that you don’t know
    All The Things that make you fall
    Doesn’t really matter When you rise above it all

    Now that I’ve become a man You were there to walk me through
    Facing each memory Of those who harmed me
    Now that I’m trusting you I’ve started exploring everything
    Emotions that may drown me Like a river pouring out-

    (Chorus)

    Finished with the words that hurt
    Finished with feeling like dirt
    No use living in regret
    Instead its best to forget

    (Chorus)

    Enjoy yourself!