MUSIC | MidiMike

Archive for the ‘MUSIC’ Category

The Touch Lyrics

Posted: April 18, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: #family, #genres, #guitar, #humans, #keyboard, #life, #Liveband, #love, #lyrics, #Midi, #midimike, #music, #musician, #observation, #performance, #personal, #piano, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #touch

That stars in the sky don’t matter to me.

The crescent moon at night, I can not see.

Living for a future, that’s never there.

All I know are the feelings that we share.

CHORUS: But I can feel the harmony

Feel the truth no one can see.

Don’t have to see to know that it’s true,

When you touch me, I touch you.

When you touch me I touch you.

No sun to begin each and every day,

And so many words have nothing to say.

The difference between tears and a smile,

To know these things if only for a while.

CHORUS: But I can feel the harmony

Feel the truth no one can see.

Don’t have to see to know that it’s true,

When you touch me, I touch you.

When you touch me I touch you.

An easy smile and a touch of mystique

But strength alone is what makes us unique.

As long as you touch me, I will touch you.

As long as you touch me.

CHORUS: But I can feel the harmony

Feel the truth no one can see.

Don’t have to see to know that it’s true,

When you touch me, I touch you.

When you touch me I touch you.

“The Touch” – Understanding Humans

Posted: April 15, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #atari, #audio, #band, #bass, #demo, #digital, #drummer, #drums, #guitar, #keyboard, #life, #Liveband, #love, #lyrics, #Midi, #music, #musician, #performance, #piano, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #story, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #vocalist, #vocals

Ideas from songs can and should come from all sorts of things. I try to observe experiences from other people. Too many writers base their material on their own personal experience. This is powerful but has serious drawbacks. One has to experience nirvana or tragedy in order to write about it. This can be limiting unless you have a very tumultuous life. Not good for health and well being of the artist. So I try to empathize, sympathize and understand the thoughts, mood and feelings of others as they experience life changing events.

I had been a musician with limited access to toys for most of the early years. Lots of time and not much cash or resources available. That did not stop me from observing others, and in fact probably offered me the time to observe. Anyway, a friend of mine and I were walking around and I noticed a person in a wheel chair. There was another person behind pushing the chair, but something seemed a little unusual for some reason and I kept watching the pair. IWE naturally thought the person pushing was there to help the person in the wheel chair. They went up to one of those bank ATM’s and much to my surprise, the person in the wheel chair moved out of the way and the walking person went up to the ATM display. What moved me to write this song was the fact that I had originally assumed the person walking was assisting the person in the wheel chair. The person standing started to use the ATM and they searched by hand for the braille instructions! The person walking was blind, and being assisted by the person in the wheel chair! We can touch others in so many different ways. That lead me to the lyrics and a better understanding of human beings. Not just their ability to assist others in ways we might not think of, but also how we (I) perceived something and came up with the wrong conclusion. I use a phrase that describes that effect; Many people have the correct observation but come to incorrect conclusions. This song, the lyrics and the music, mean a lot to me personally. I truly hope you find something here you can relate to.

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/perigee

What I Do At Night – The Driving Song

Posted: April 8, 2015 in family, MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #atari, #audio, #band, #bass, #daughter, #demo, #digital, #dreams, #driving, #drummer, #drums, #family, #guitar, #keyboard, #life, #Liveband, #love, #lyrics, #Midi, #mixingboard, #motivation, #music, #musician, #performance, #piano, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #story, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #tech, #vocalist, #vocals, #Yamaha

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/perigee

**This is MidiMike’s daughter. I help my dad out with his blog. I wanted to tell all of you that this is, by far, my favorite song that my dad has ever written. If you stop to listen to any of the original tunes, I would highly recommend this one!! Thanks.**

And now a message from my dad:

On most of my tunes, I play all the instruments and sequence the drums and other sound effects. I usually sing lead or I have my wife take the vocal lead. Once I started working in music stores selling instruments and sound equipment, I asked friends (and customers at the time!) to come over and lay down guitar solos or I might have a guest vocalist. What I do at Night was one that we did ourselves. I play all guitar parts and the back up vocals. I think at this time I had graduated from a Yamaha MT4X (I think they were called and this was a 4 Track double speed cassette recorder) to the Alesis ADAT. So now I had an amazing 8 tracks to record on! Actually I needed one track to record the SMPTE time code so the Alesis ADAT would sync up to the computer (now I actually have a PC and put the Atari in deep storage). I can go into this details on this system for a later post when I am feeling nostalgic, but it allowed unlimited MIDI tracks on the PC or Atari and connect to the playback of the ADAT.

The song itself reflects my thoughts on a number of topics. I really like to drive. I don’t have a fast or luxury car. I just like to drive. When I have some free time or just want to think, I often find myself cruising the local country side. I would listen to music while driving and that sometimes adds to the frustration. Most of the music you hear on commercial radio is garbage or re-packaged songs and ideas I have heard for the last few decades. Like a lot of us struggling artists and performers, we see a bunch of bands with lots of air-play and they are just so-so. OK music, but nothing special. As a songwriter, I get so tired of the same theme or idea in every song on the radio and they seem to get played non-stop.

One line reflects this fairly well…. ” so I turn the radio over to the right, playing the same songs as the other night”. Originally titled – “Rainy Day”, What I do at Night has become one of my favorite driving songs. Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Billie Holiday and Strange Fruit

Posted: April 7, 2015 in MUSIC, Opinions and Observations, Reviews
Tags: #audio, #band, #Billie Holiday, #birthday, #genres, #life, #love, #lyrics, #music, #musician, #performance, #petergabriel, #piano, #poetry, #recording, #singer, #song, #Song review, #songwriter, #sound, #stage, #story, #studio, #vocalist, #vocals

I was way to young to know why or when I developed an aptitude for music. I always enjoyed the musical landscapes around me. Not just the notes; with all the talk and technique, notes are still only half the picture. But I think I can tell you when I developed an appreciation for popular music. I have many influences but these are different times. Again, I am not trying to be a learned historian, and as a young kid the timing of events were hazy at best and are not clear to me even now. You were lucky to have one radio station that played your favorite songs. Three major network TV stations and no Internet, no cable, no Wi-Fi, no downloads, no digital. Hard to imagine now. WE had limited choices. But there were pockets of musicians and savvy citizens, sharing, listening and teaching, just as there are now.

If you were into astronomy, you could find lens grinders or professors or local enthusiasts that could show you the universe. Photographers, carpenters, everyone searching for their own needs. I started searching for new music. I could say new styles, but in a way they were all new. I am drifting a little here as I think back. I have been interested in anything that was beyond ‘standard, normal, traditional, formal or cookie-cutter songs’. Old movie musicals, TV show and commercial jingles, and the various music cultures (Country, Broadway, Classical, ancient “Pop”…) might have been cute, but after I listened a few times, there was no excitement in listening to the song. Kinda’ like; I already know the punch line, so why listen to the joke? I can be a harsh critic. But fair is fair, I throw stones at my own glass house.

There have been many songs that lead up to this. I hate to give credit to one song. I hope I remember the name of a song from Billie Holiday called “Strange Fruit” recorded around 1939. At the time I did not know what it meant. I was still innocent. This was devastating poetry mixed with liquid emotion.

From this point on I knew… I knew there was some thing that could reach my core. I don’t mean to say ‘soul’, but that is the closest and easiest word to use. Find me at my depth and talk to me. And that meant I could also talk to others from those depths. I found a language and at the same time not necessarily a family, but a culture of musicians. I still have a weakness for female vocalists that make their own way. I am a succor for a Hammond B3 Organ and a great brass section too. I would like to share a few of them with you from time to time.

Slick As A Dream

Posted: April 1, 2015 in family, MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #bass, #daughter, #demo, #digital, #dreams, #drummer, #drums, #family, #guitar, #keyboard, #Liveband, #logical, #love, #lyrics, #Midi, #mixingboard, #motivation, #music, #musician, #performance, #piano, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #story, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #vocalist, #vocals

Plain and simple, the lyrics are about my daughter. As a proud parent, I am often overwhelmed by the innocence, beauty and unlimited potential when holding a new-born in your arms. Not to get weird here, but there is nothing like it. As I cradle, rock or talk baby-talk, it is difficult not to think about the new life I am holding, how fascinating they are and to drift into thoughts of what will happen in their future and how we can make that path easier. This song also features Gary Jefferson on vocals. You will hear him a lot on my tunes, and he was the vocalist in the demo recording the band did in the studio. He has pulled me into a number of projects and I often ask him to help me with mine. There are so many musicians I depend on and work with regularly. I will introduce you to them and the work they have done in future posts.

Most of the music is sequenced along with the drum tracks, I play the rhythm guitar parts and had a friend come in for the guitar solo, while my wife adds back-up vocals. All grown up and with children of her own, the meaning of this song gets deeper and closer to the heart every year.

“Slick as A Dream” (c) MSK 1988

Slick as a dream, this beauty machine

Sharp and so cold, young – just as old.

Moving so sweet you can feel the heat

Smiles of sorrow can’t wait ‘til tomorrow.

One thing you’ve learned: love has to be earned

Pain must be shared, embraced if you dare.

Nightmares are gone, but she carries on

Can’t forget her, love lasts forever.

Tender love cries slowly hypnotize

The helpless day now melting away.

And if you dare she’ll become aware

Give those who bleed whatever they need.

She knows exactly who she is.

And exactly what she needs.

Lyrics to “Red on Your Blue Suede Shoes” – Per request

Posted: March 26, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: #audio, #band, #bass, #drums, #guitar, #lyrics, #Midi, #music, #poetry, #recording, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #stage, #story, #studio, #TheWho

Well, I tripped,

I didn’t fall.

I looked up,

And I slipped down.

You look up and still don’t find the sky.

The last time.

Who’s there to damn them if they don’t try.

Their worst crime.

Well, they slipped up.

God one more time.

They got their money,

So they don’t mind.

You look around and wonder why,

Your friends die.

No one can blame you, I saw you try.

Ain’t your crime, ain’t your crime.

You wake up in the morning,

With red on your blue suede shoes.

They don’t give you no warning,

When it’s your time to lose.

You look up and wonder why.

Your friends die.

Who’s there to blame you cause you don’t try

Your worse crime.

You wake up in the morning,

With red on your blue suede shoes.

They don’t give you no warning,

When it’s your time to lose.

Red on Your Blue Suede Shoes

Posted: March 25, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #Cincinnati, #demo, #digital, #dreams, #guitar, #keyboard, #Liveband, #lyrics, #Midi, #music, #musician, #performance, #recording, #recordingstudio, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #studio, #TheWho, #vocalist, #vocals

So many tragedies have happened and each gets buried under the other.

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/perigee

I was walking downtown recently and took a picture of graffiti on the bridge going from Covington to Cincinnati and used this opportunity to look at the past and hope for the future. I know this is an old subject and many people have forgotten all about this and therefore some may think it unimportant. Red on Your Blue Suede Shoes is an up-tempo catchy rhythm but the lyrics are in stark contrast. The song is in honor of the innocent victims of bad decisions and prejudice. During earlier years, concert promoters tried to cash in on what they called ‘festival seating’ where they could remove chairs and pack in as many people into an area as they can – as long as they are all paying customers, that is. This by itself is not necessarily a bad thing, but it was combined with bad decision making, planning and execution. As the crowds in Cincinnati Ohio anxiously anticipated a great performance by The Who, the doors remained locked. The crowd now gaining mass and enthusiasm, wanted to make sure they got a good spot for the concert, and people started pushing toward the many closed doors before anyone was allowed to enter. Unbelievably, the venue only opened a few doors in each area and kept the others shut. Once this happened, everyone tried to rush into the few open doors so they could get to their spot.

Thousands of people squeezed and pushed those in front to try to get in. Not everyone was able to handle this crush. Some people fell down and literally got trampled to death by other fans. The Red on their Blue Suede Shoes came from walking over fellow human beings that are unable to maintain their balance. I am not sure if the song is mostly anger toward those who could do something like this or mostly hope that many did try to stop the dangerous mob to assist fallen fans. This song is dedicated to the Cincinnati 11, and the Who. I will never forget.

Chopper – An Instrumental Song

Posted: March 18, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes, technology
Tags: # mixer, #atari, #audio, #digital, #guitar, #keyboard, #lyrics, #Midi, #music, #musician, #performance, #recording, #retro, #runningsound, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #tech, #Yamaha

When I first went to a music store near my town to see if I could get a job, I naturally went to a store I shopped in a bunch of times. I was one of the first customers to purchase a new keyboard that was starting to break all the sales records at the time. It used FM (Frequency Modulation) to essentially create or ‘synthesize’ new sounds not possible before, ……… and …… you could play up to 16 notes AT ONE TIME!!! You take that for granted now but that was a thrill for electronic keyboards (other than organs and all that).

So I went over and talked to the owner. He walked us over to the keyboard I had purchased and said, “can you program this thing?”. I told him absolutely and I can show him now how to create cool new sounds. He said, that was OK and I was hired. That started the sales portion of my journey. This song got the name and the main groove from the keyboard sound in that Yamaha DX7 synthesizer.

If you played individual notes in the right tempo, the thumping sound would build just right and you got this effect like a helicopter at a distance. I did write lyrics for this song, but I always hear it as an instrumental. For the early instrumentals, I was recording on the first computer for consumer electronics that had a built in MIDI port, the Atari and I had the 1040 ST. Again, that means nothing today, but this was space-age technology and had a lot of musical applications. I still have it (two, actually and two monitors) and it still works to this day. I can fire up the Atari and still play all these MIDI pieces as I did when they were written.

The drums are all programmed. In fact, everything is. All the sounds are triggered from the Yamaha DX7 and recorded via MIDI. Each time you hit play’, you are regenerating all the sounds to make this song. See the MIDI series for MIDIMike’s intro to MIDI by clicking here.

MIDIMike

St. Patrick’s Day – A Part of Me

Posted: March 17, 2015 in Holiday, MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #American, #audio, #band, #demo, #digital, #dreams, #family, #Irish, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #love, #lyrics, #Midi, #motivation, #music, #musician, #recording, #retro, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #St. Patrick's Day, #stage, #studio, #studioengineer

Speaking about lyrics that never become songs, etc., sometimes I write and record a demo or rough track of a song and it just never seems to go anywhere. Some of them do get resurrected, many don’t. For some it may be as simple as a tempo change or a different arrangement. Other times for me it is mysterious. In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, I would like to post lyrics to a song in the making. As this platform gives us access to followers around the globe, I do not want to leave anyone out, so please take this as intended. If I don’t mention your country, other people’s songs will!

Then in a later post I can bring in the recorded demo tracks. I like the lyrics for the most part and I love the idea behind the song, but it is not there yet. Maybe after a pint or two of Guinness and some suggestions from you I can finish this song. And of course, that could be a topic in and of itself. We hear phrases like “final mix”. Some people say there is no such thing. Others say you just have to stop at some point and let it go. Much of this may depend on your final goal. Are you a singer/songwriter trying to get a break and some air-time? Are you shopping for places your band can perform your unique style? Do you want to have a clean demo to send to your favorite artist? Is this a sound-track for video/YouTube? Do you make sound effects for games?

We can always say make it as good as possible but that is very subjective. Hire 50 sound engineers and you will get 45 different mixes (there are always people that look over your shoulder!) Tip for today; it takes a really long time to fix it in the mix even if you know what you are doing. It is much easier and preferred to get the great sound first, and then record it properly (using gain staging and other procedures mentioned earlier). When you record a great sound it will sound great. As a sound guy for a local band I would get compliments on the sound (House from the audience but almost always monitors from the band). I thank them and tell them the band sounds great, I just let everyone hear them.

“A Part of Me” © 08-2000 MSK

American Indians gave me my soul,

A spiritual guide for all living things.

Each man’s fate is his to control

Peace with Nature, the warrior sings.

A Part of Me belongs to all of Them

From the Germans strength was my first lesson.

Trial and precision as you master these.

Pride that’s passed down from son to son.

Built in each hand crafted Masterpiece.

Oriental neighbors have shown me the light

Truth, Balance, Eternal harmony.

The beauty of patience and delight

Traditions deep within history.

A Part of Me belongs to all of them.

I’m proud to be an American.

Sisters and brothers from every shore,

That’s what makes us Americans.

Part of Me belongs to all of Them

From the Irish I inherit my pride

I stand my ground and I will speak my mind.

I will honor the lands and the tide,

And I’ll never leave a neighbor behind.

My English side embraced nobility.

Dry humor in the face of foes

Hardy enough to capture the seas.

Portraits legends and heroes.

African Americans forced to become

A torn people of two nations.

Tribal tales and melodic rhythm

Passed onto the next generation.

The French helped me understand

Style and grace can be nurtured like wine.

To believe there is no better place

Life shared with friends, bread and wine.

A Part of Me belongs to all of them.

I’m proud to be an American.

Sisters and brothers from every shore,

That’s what makes us Americans.

Part of Me belongs to all of Them

Year after year

They want to raise their children here.

Because sweat blood and tears

Can amount to something here.

There’s a lot of people in my life

A part of Me belongs to all of Them.

Your song may be different and that’s OK.

Sing it with your fellow American.

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 7 – Fix It Before You Mix It

Posted: March 16, 2015 in Live Sound Reinforcement Series, MUSIC, music technology
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #digital, #drummer, #drums, #guitar, #keyboard, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #logical, #lyrics, #Midi, #motivation, #music, #musicequipment, #musician, #performance, #recording, #retro, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #studio, #studioengineer, #tech, #vocals

This is a good time to walk around a little if you can. If you have a helper that can baby sit the board for a while, slowly walk around the venue. Listen to the various instruments as you walk to different sections and notice how each area sounds as you pass in and out of range of the main speaker clusters. Listen again for areas that ‘drop out’, especially in the main audience areas. Talk to the host. Make adjustments and respond to their suggestions. Interact with the audience if you are good at that sort of thing.

Bring all that listening back to the sound board.

What adjustments can you make to improve the house mix? Is a player sounding great when you are right in front of the stage but fades quickly if you are back further or at the bar? Does the kick drum or one of the vocalists sound muddy and hard to hear clearly. Listen to each instrument again. Use the headphones and solo tracks do they sound muddy in the headphones too? If so, you might need to change the EQ settings or other audio processors, change microphone location, REPLACE the microphone cable!, put rings on the drum heads to stop heads from long ugly tones, hey, there is a lot of stuff that goes into making the band or performance sound good.

It can go wrong. I have gone up to drummers during sound check to ask them if they have any objections if I tune the drum heads for them before the gig. Far too many drummers don’t know how to do this and far too many more don’t know that you even can. If the kit is out of tune and generates all sorts of random harmonics and overtones, there is no way to get it to sound ‘awesome’. It can sound loud and it can sound full, but it will never sound good.

I have probably upset a few performers as well by asking that they tune their instruments before we start playing. One of the benefits of also being a musician in a number of bands is I can tell when something is out of tune. I don’t think I can get drunk enough that playing out of tune is a good thing, but there obviously are a few out there. If they cannot tell the difference that is worse than being too drunk, but we all sound and play better when everyone is in tune. Some bass players can’t tell any more so you have to politely step in once in a while.

In a large club in front of a packed audience, the lead vocalist roared into the microphone, ” I ain’t got shit in the monitors, sound guy, I got nuthin’ up hear at all…”.

I responded with a simple but effective test that I could do from way out in the audience. I reached up to the main faders and yanked them down completely before he got to the “…… sound guy, I got nuthin’ up hear at all…” part.

So he ended up with the band now reduced to stage volume. As he was saying …’sound guy …’ He was booming through the on stage monitors at an amazing decibel level. He apologized to me and the audience when I turned the mains back on and we rocked out the rest of the night. The house was loud enough that he could hear them more than the mains and he was not used to that feeling. That the sound guy would not have the vocals loud enough in the main mix and he would need to hear the monitors really loud on stage. He ended up really happy with the mix and did not have to scream all night over the band stage volume. Keeping things solid can include a number of unexpected challenges that are better met head-on, but these business relationships should also be kept friendly and cooperative.

Have spare cables for everything, even if the sound system does not use it. Power cables for devices and amps. Adapters for audio cables. Tape, markers and paper. I bring guitar cables and a few spare mic cables everywhere. Batteries. Small hand tools. Power outlet tester. Flashlights. Drum head tuning keys. Zip ties, the list could go on but session after session, someone will need those things for the show to go on and you will be the champion pro. You gain cooperation and trust for the next gig. Win win.

We all know the saying about weak links. When you have so many components – each connected with cables and software and processors, it can take a while to troubleshoot the system when you have a failure. Yes failure. If you are the sound guy or gal and things don’t work or it sounds bad, YOU are the failure! There are basic steps you can take and I can describe them in a generic way, but that type of advice will not apply to every system out there. No two clubs or sound companies have the same sound equipment. The best advice is to keep the number of links in any chain as low as possible. The more links, the more of them that could be or eventually become weak. It is not always practical to have a spare of every component, but finding local music and sound stores open in your area is getting tougher. If taken care of properly though, most professional PA equipment available today will last a long time. More on “Maintenance and Tips” in a future SLR series.

MidiMike

Available on iTunes and CD Baby

Social Media

MSK original Songs

Archive for the ‘MUSIC’ Category

The Touch Lyrics

“The Touch” – Understanding Humans

What I Do At Night – The Driving Song

Happy Birthday Billie Holiday and Strange Fruit

Slick As A Dream

Lyrics to “Red on Your Blue Suede Shoes” – Per request

Red on Your Blue Suede Shoes

Chopper – An Instrumental Song

St. Patrick’s Day – A Part of Me

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 7 – Fix It Before You Mix It

Archives

Available on iTunes and CD Baby

Social Media

MSK original Songs

Archive for the ‘MUSIC’ Category

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