I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love music.

“Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.”

William Congreve

Now, I don’t know that this beast is savage… but he sure seems to like music !!!

Merry Christmas, everyone !!!

Vancouver 2011 Post-Riot Citizens’ Wall of Hope #ThisIsMyVancouver from Kurtis Kolt on Vimeo.

After I was done, I went back and played it again, only then realizing the multi-part harmony was all the same guy, overdubbing himself.

Very cleverly done…

He “grew up” working in traditional media, but has recently come to embrace Social Media.

He is working on a project and wanted some “station identification” sound byte promos.

I don’t particularly care for the way my voice sounds… I have always been aware that I have a tendancy towards SSSSSsssssibilance, and when I attempt to deepen my voice, in my head, I hear the dulcet tones of Sam the American Eagle, from The Muppet Show.  (And, as soon as I think about that, I start to get the giggles, and it devolves from there…)

So we had tentatively planned that we would get together with another friend (@OwenGreaves) who worked for years in Radio, and record these promos using his voice, in my Studio.

As I was working away, today, I was looking at the projects piled up, and the dwindling slots available in my schedule… and it wasn’t looking good… so I went ahead, and flew solo.

A couple of the voice bits, and just because I had all the machinery powered up, I threw together a “Weather Network” style musical blurb version.

The reason I’m posting these… (other than it is 2:30 in the morning, and I am unable to sleep…) is that we sometimes forget that the skills that we ourselves have, are not universal, and each of us brings different tools and skills to the table.  I have a small recording studio in my basement, and sound editing software on my computers, which apparently not everyone has.

The joy of Twitter, is that we were able to connect, and in a relatively short time, I threw together some preliminary promos, that will allow him to work and move forward on his project… (and after Christmas, can be replaced by professional vocal talent)

TNN Voice Promo

TNN Theme Musical Blurb

Again, I’m not expounding about how wonderful they are… for they are literally thrown together.  What I wish to draw attention to is that sometimes we forget that things that we do are different than things OTHERS are able to do… and folks don’t know we can do them, because we just don’t toot our own horns enough !!!

Beep Beep !!!

The efforts seemed disjointed, and while each person contributed something, there was no flow.  Different sections that while “technically” meshing… don’t fit together well. Flow is important in a song.  It is a story that you are telling, and you have to get the listener, from the beginning to the end without them jolted out of their seat, by a sudden twist in the story.

A lot of my previous co-writing experiences had those problems. Earthquake cracks and fissures that the listener had to leap over, to make different parts of the song connect.

As a result of these experiences, I have tended, in the last while, to write alone.

A friend kept pushing me to get together and write, and we got together last week, and it just flowed.  In three hours, we bashed out the basis for what we both feel has the potential to be a hit song.  We are still working on it… doing tune-ups and tweaks.

Over the weekend, I was thinking about it, and wondering “what was different THIS time?”

It occurred to me that in this case, I already knew the guy, knew his personality, as he knew mine. We were comfortable with each other, and maybe more important, we were comfortable saying “I don’t like this section, I think it needs to go a different way.” Rather than just accepting it as good enough… we pushed each other, and got a better song, as a result.

I think that because we were both going for the same thing… and our strengths are complimentary… (I’m a lyrics guy, and he already had some musical ideas in his head) …even if we didn’t know each other, we would have “clicked.”

So I finally am able to truly understand what everyone says… Finding a co-writer does make your songwriting better.

But I also realized that finding a co-writer is a bit like dating. You don’t necessarily “connect” with every person, regardless of how people think “you are perfect for one another…”

Just keeping trying, until you find someone you “click” with. And, until you find someone you click with… remember… It’s not you… it’s THEM !!!

Keep writing, and keep looking !!!

Myself, I have a small frame on my wall, with the words… “In Tune, In Time & With Feeling”

Wikipedia suggests that Musicality is:

a noun that means sensitivity to, knowledge of, or talent for music. The word also refers to the quality or state of being musical (aka melodiousness.) A musical person has the ability to perceive differences in pitch, rhythm and harmonies. One usually differentiates between three types of musicality: To be able to perceive music (musical receptivity), to be able to reproduce music as well as creating music (musical creativity).

Musicality may also refer to fitting a dance to the music being played, with the goal of relating the dance to the music’s rhythm, melody, and mood. Dancers usually step on the beats of the music, and may vary the size of their movements with the volume of the music. This is especially true in choreography, where dancers plan a routine of dance moves, sometimes with a specific song in mind. This is also a key characteristic of improvised swing dancing. Unlike most ballroom dances which tend to use the music as a metronome to guide the dance, Lindy Hop and West Coast swing view matching your dancing to the spirit/mood of the music is the highest goal achievable.

A friend sent me this video.

The gentleman doesn’t sing, and doesn’t dance…

Doesn’t speak.

But you HAVE to have the sound turned on… (we are talking about musicality here) …to enjoy it.

A gorgeous performance… of Juggling.

Enjoy…

Friedrich Nietzsche said it best.

“I am one thing, my writings are another matter.”

I started the BobSongs Blog, because I wanted to write, and talk about my music.

However, life… (messy as it is) …got in the way.

Things sometimes tick me off, and affect me, and I feel compelled to write and explore my feelings.

So, (for instance) when news that convicted pedophile Graham James had received a pardon from the National Parole Board, and the Federal Government (tough on crime ??? Not !!!) …knew nothing about it… I was ticked.

When I was plucked from amongst other volunteers, to Run with the Olympic Torch, I wrote about it.

And, for over a hundred Blog posts… whatever the fallout, I wrote about it.

I’ve had some hate piled on me… one person, to the point that I had to block him.

But overall, the response has been positive, or it has (in some cases) inspired a debate… and that is good.

At its best, discussion brings together different viewpoints, and when done properly, is an inclusive process, showing us that we are more alike than different.

At worse, it allows me to vent, to bring to light something that I am proud of, or think deserves a bit more prominence.

There have been a LOT of very varied topics… but my original intention was to have my Songs and Songwriting featured, but my BobSongs Blog has evolved into a lot of other things.

Thus, I’ve been looking for another Blog domain, that encaptures the “everything else”-ness of my writings.

Driving down the highway, in Washington on Friday, my sweetie and I were talking about it, and that’s when we came up with…

Bob… Blah… Blah…

So, from now on, the BobSongs Blog will be Music, and music-related Posts only.

Bob.. Blah… Blah… will be the home of ”What’s In Store”, Caught on the Web, Musings and other NON-Music posts.

Thanks for checking both out, and I hope to see you back here… AND there… soon !!!

“So” I said, “You’ve got your name reserved, for your website domain?”

Well… no.  Someone else has that domain reserved.

“But then surely, on your Facebook page…”

Uh, no… I haven’t got around to securing my name as a Facebook nickname, yet.

“Twitter…. ???”

Well, I don’t get Twitter, so I haven’t secured the name…

“Are there any other social media or business networks that someone can find you on ?”

Oh, yeah… I’m on MySpace, YouTube and LinkedIn.

“What name did you use on those ???”

Oh, they’re all different.

*Stunned silence*

Make a name for yourself:

The guy is a great songwriter, and an amazing musician… but not surprisingly, not too many folks have heard of him… because he has a different name, everywhere you look.

One of my teachers used to say, “Whatever you do, try to create a name for yourself.”

A NAME.

Singular.

Not a string of names and clever acronyms that no one but you will understand.

I am my brand.

I am BobSongs.

On my Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook… even, so help me… Flickr… (you know I’m not a photographer, right ???) …I am BobSongs.

I have as many variations of BobSongs and Bob Gray web domains sewn up, as are available.

The ones that weren’t available, I keep a list of, and check every few months to see if any of them have become available.

Patrol the Brands you are associated with:

Google Alerts is great for this.

If anything “hits” the web with Bob Gray, BobSongs, or any of a few other keywords I target… I get a weekly update, e-mailed to me.

Usually it is information about other BobSongs/Bob Gray’s, or tracking something from my Twitter feed or Blog…. but every once in a while it is something I want to see, or at least be aware of.  Pennywise the Clown, from the Stephen King novel “It”, was one Bob Gray.  Another Bob Gray that pops up from time to time is the professional speaker, who talks about how to expand your memory.  There are lots of others.  But if someone is saying something about my Brand… I want to know it.

Be constant, and consistent:

I’m a bad example here, and am currently unable to follow my own rule, because TOO many of my Blog posts are NOT associated with the music and songwriting of the BobSongs Brand.  The reason for this is that I haven’t yet found an alternate Brand that I am comfortable with, that is available as a domain, and on Twitter.  As soon as I do… Whoosh… my non-music content will be transferred from this Blog, to the new site.

On Social Media, I try to break down the conversations by category… so I have lists for Hockey Fans, Scotch Drinkers, Musicians, etc… as, many times, the groups with similar interests tend to talk about the same things.  If I do a LOT of chatting about a subject, I would consider having a separate account for that “voice.”  In my case, with my passion for all things Vancouver Canucks, I created the NucksBob Twitter account, to stop from ticking off my “other” Twitter followers, and so I can focus my tweets, in that account.

You don’t have to do any of this stuff.

Just like you don’t have to get gigs… be successful… sell your CD’s…

You don’t have to.

But by establishing and maintaining a consistent Brand, you make it easier for people to find and support you, and it makes it that much easier, when you find success, to further establish your Brand, and broaden your support base.