Reply To: Masters of Song-Fu
Hi All,
First, I want to thank everyone who put aside their love of all things JoCo and cast their vote my way… a very astounding thing to do considering that his entry was up there with some of his best work. I really am delighted that people have responded so positively to my song. Thank you everyone for the encouraging and kind words.
I have been away on vacation since the voting started and have been out of touch. (In a beach house with no internet and bad cell service) So now that I’m back among the connected, I will respond to some of the questions and comments that have been thrown my way.
In case you haven’t checked in with Quickstop, the sign-up for Song Fu (part deux) is August 5th. I will be entering the next contest so that the fun may continue. I only hope JoCo isn’t too busy touring to participate this time around.
Some of you wondered if I would be releasing songs regularly (ala Thing A Week). I am planning on doing just that. Well, not just like that… but in some consistent way. I’m open to all thoughts and suggestions… Also, was thinking about running a contest of my own on my site. The winner would choose the theme and/or style of a song that I would write specifically for them. Would love to hear what people think on that one.
Jinx wrote:
Here’s what I want to know from JeffM: How did having JoCo as a writing opponent/colleague affect you as a musician and songwriter? Did the process make you think about Thing A Week differently? Did it inform your recording sessions or influence the levels of harmony you decided to add to your final song?
Great questions. Having JoCo as my competition did affect me quite a bit, but not in the way you might think. My song writing and production is almost always informed by my love of the song and just making sure I am proud to let someone else listen to it. If I don’t feel good about letting it out into the world, then I know it’s not ready. Going up against him made me shoot for something different. Some direction that was familiar to me, but different from what direction he might take. Ultimately, my style isn’t so different from his. We have much of the same influences and seem to enjoy the same artists. So even though I tried to lean toward a more “Eagles does Bowie” sound, people were still saying that we sounded like we were in the same ballpark.
“Did the process make you think about Thing A Week differently?” –
This whole competition has made me think about Thing A Week differently. It has opened my eyes to what JoCo must have gone through for that year. A very bold thing to do. But now that I am sort of doing that, it’s become quite satisfying and a little addicting. I am really enjoying it.
“Did it inform your recording sessions or influence the levels of harmony you decided to add to your final song?” –
Nope. One of the first things I heard in my head when I started writing “High” was that harmony in the chorus. The time limit and a having such a talented and experienced competitor did influence my recording sessions in some ways. I normally like a little more detail work in my recordings. I like to flesh things out a little more than I was able to with songs from this contest. I am hoping to add more of that as I get more adept at working quickly in the studio.
Spiff wrote:
“I’d love it if JeffM ended up with a bunch of fun, story-driven songs that I could turn into videos. :)”
Man, I would love that. I think I have a few story-driven songs on my to-do list. BTW, all my stuff is (and will be) registered with a Creative Commons license, so feel free to do whatever you like.
I should say that I started this journey (of taking my music public) in May ’08. And as a result of this contest and some other events, I haven’t finished recording my first album yet… so there isn’t much for anyone to compare my Song Fu work with. I was thinking about posting some older demos on my blog if anyone is interested.
Also, as much as I love discussing my work and future plans, it feels a little weird to do it on JoCo’s site… so I will be writing relevant posts on my blog so that we can discuss more there. I will, of course, be on these forums (as I continue to be a huge JoCo fan) so if you want to shoot me a quick question, feel free. I just don’t want to wear out Jonathan’s welcome.
Some of you might be interested to know that JoCo did shoot me a private e-mail after we submitted our songs… He was very gracious and it was the highlight of my week.
Thanks again to everyone!
Jeff