#itunes | MidiMike

Posts Tagged ‘#itunes’

I Hear Her Say, “Don’t Forget Me”

Posted: August 12, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: #12string, #acoustic, #audio, #creativity, #dreams, #guitar, #inspiration, #itunes, #life, #lyrics, #memory, #music, #musician, #past, #personal, #poetry, #retro, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #story, #train, #vocalist, #vocals, #writer

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dark-energy/id962943592

I wrote this song as a plea from the past. A message in a time capsule planted in you memories. It is in remembering that we learn.

Maybe it is because I have worked in the service area in one form or another for years, but I see a lot of people that do not want to wait their turn. They think they have a better reason to be first than anyone else already in line. The bass player with The Merchants Of Death (equal part original / cover band I played in) had a fascination with trains so I added the part about the train being on time after using some of his images while talking excitedly about their beauty and how powerful they are. It seemed to fit. You don’t have to wait, but neither will the rest of the world if you are not here to get on board. It exposes a point in time where too many things seem to push you the wrong way, and very little anyone can do about it. Life stacked against you.

It is also a reminder that somethings are better understood when looking at them in the distant past. As we remember events – especially through our dreams – our part in those events can become clearer. Often, I am not the saint or righteous person I thought I was when it happened. We can all be fools. Sometimes our dreams and the path to paradise is right in front of us and we do not realize it; or worse we refuse it for mysterious reasons. This is one of my older songs that I really love even after all these years.

This is another song recorded on my 12 string Ovation guitar I have. For this song you can tell I have two vocal tracks and I am singing all the way through the song. Using slight panning separation I try to add distance in the vocal parts. The guitar is open-tuned to G, which makes the chords seem full and spacious at the same time. I like it, anyway! To me this is a gorgeous sound all on its own.

“Get Out Of Line”

Just after my dream fades,

I hear her say,

“There will be many days,

For Fool Parades.

CHORUS:

If you don’t want to stand,

Then get outta line.

But don’t be surprised,

If the train is on time.

Still, it seems funny how,

Lost track of now.

Things that might have helped out,

They won’t allow.

CHORUS:

If you don’t want to stand,

Then get outta line.

But don’t be surprised,

If the train is on time.

“Don’t forget what I said”,

And I shake my head.

Feel the sweat on my bed,

Or tears instead.

CHORUS:

If you don’t want to stand,

Then get outta line.

But don’t be surprised,

If the train is on time.

Just after my dream fades,

I hear her say…..

“Don’t forget me”.

It’s Easy To Die – It Doesn’t Get Much Darker Than This

Posted: July 23, 2015 in My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #creativity, #death, #digital, #effects, #harmony, #inspiration, #itunes, #keyboard, #lyrics, #Midi, #music, #musician, #personal, #piano, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #story, #studio, #vocalist, #vocals, #writer

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/retrograde/id962542260

It may take a few times through listening to this one. A number of my songs might seem quite alien at first. I hope you let them grow on you. (OK, that sounded kinda creepy LOL!) This is a textured song where I did all the sequencing and drum programming. There are no guitars on this song. Most of this is Atari days using the Proteus 1 tone generator an the RX 15 drum machine. I also use sounds straight from the keyboard(s) I use as controllers. In this case it is the Korg Trinity V3. Other than the vocals, everything is recorded via MIDI and plays back live sounds from the keyboards and tone generators (along with effects and other goodies). From start to finish this is a dark piece. Sparse percussion with a rolling sequenced bass line. You have heard my wife before on “All Night Long” and “What I do at Night” and this is another one of her gems. The intro and break vocals are from Phyllis Ann, who toured with The Personal Touch and sang on “The Touch” and “Our Bodies Move.” As the song begins I try to use multiple melody lines in various instrument voicings to lay the chordal structure. Plucky guitar sounds come from the Korg. Slow trance – lulling you closer. Then the message; “Who’s Following You?”. But the subject quickly settles on the main issue; death. Too many of us are waiting for that dream.

“It’s Easy to Die” (@) MSK 1990

I wonder, I wonder who

Who, is following you.

It’s easy to die

You just close your eyes.

And then once the dream begins

It will never end. My friend.

Don’t put up a fight

Just follow the light.

It’s not too hard

And once the dream begins

It will never end.

Chorus:

It’s easy to turn

Your life into lies. My friend

And once the dream begins

It will never end.

Your Heartbeat Mimics the Music You Listen To

Posted: July 10, 2015 in Opinions and Observations
Tags: #audio, #band, #cdbaby, #creativity, #genres, #guitar, #inspiration, #inspire, #itunes, #love, #lyrics, #music, #musician, #performers, #personal, #recording, #singer, #song, #Song review, #songwriter, #sound, #vocalist, #vocals

Hey everyone! While the question is open and I still hope people continue to post their most influential artists and bands at https://midimike.com/2015/06/29/who-do-you-love-influential-musicianbands/ , I want to thank everyone for participating. I have listened to a ton of new music. With some I was familiar with the artist and others I was not aware of at all! Even the bands I knew of, the suggestions were songs I had not heard before but were probably the best the artist recorded. I would like to summarize the lists you posted and make a condensed suggestion article once I have listened to each suggestion a few times. What music and band we like tells a lot about us in many ways. This is a good community and we share a number of qualities and talents. We have our own pulse. A common foundation that is very cool.

The Value of A Musician – A Cautionary Tale

Posted: July 8, 2015 in Opinions and Observations
Tags: #audio, #band, #bass, #creativity, #guitar, #inspiration, #itunes, #journey, #keyboard, #love, #motivation, #music, #musician, #observation, #performance, #performer, #personal, #piano, #recording, #runningsound, #singer, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #story, #studio, #truth, #vocalist

As a member of a cover band, I was given the opportunity to add something to my personal profile on the band web site. I added a statement that went something like this; “we will play anywhere for free…..we just charge to move the equipment in and out”!

If you think about it, you would have to pay an awful lot of money to have ‘professionals’ move that much equipment. Then they have to pack it all up and take it back at the end of the gig. I have played keyboards, guitar, percussion and back up vocals in most of the bands I performed with. Sometimes I also ran sound at the same time! I was carrying so much gear for myself that I probably had more than the sound guy! Once you haul equipment out of your house (I did not have duplicates, so what I used in the studio I had to tear down and take to the gig, set it up, tear it down, take it home and set it up in the studio again) and set up the gear you are all hot and sweaty and exhausted and now get to play for 4 plus hours, pack it all up and take it home. Ahhhh, the glamourous rock and roll life. Knowing all that, I think most people would be amazed at how little the local band playing the bar scene gets paid for all that work. Maybe it is confusing because we call it ‘play’. If I figured out an hourly rate I would probably get really depressed!

We also had to practice, individually and as a band. No weekends free…. you get home at 3 or 4 in the morning and have to recover most of the day, then you play that night and do it all over again. I always worked at a day job and still do, so this was about all the free time I had. Now time for family, writing and recording projects and hopefully a little time in the sun.

Is it fun? Absolutely. I am an introvert and very shy in public, but it is a thrill to perform with great musicians and have the audience appreciate what you are doing. I would not give it up, and if I were a bit younger I would still be out there. At one point I told the band members that I would quit gigging out when I turned 50 – or my van broke down, whichever came first. My van did break down first, but our light guy fixed it himself for free. So I kept playing out. Way past 50. I recently stopped because tinnitus (a ringing in the ears from long exposure to loud sounds) got pretty bad in the last few years. I only play out for special occasions these days, but it is still a blast.

Girl from Arlington Heights

Posted: July 6, 2015 in My Tunes
Tags: #12string, #acoustic, #audio, #cdbaby, #create, #creativity, #dreams, #guitar, #inspiration, #inspire, #itunes, #love, #lyrics, #motivation, #music, #musician, #personal, #poetry, #recording, #retro, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #story, #studio, #truth, #vocalist, #vocals, #writer

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dark-energy/id962943592

This is another acoustic guitar song with me as the vocalist. This is a true story that I took creative license with and made into something more than it was for the effect. This song really is about me getting a ticket while driving around town. This was many years ago, so the details are always suspect, but I was driving local roads and might have been distracted but as the traffic ahead of me slowed and then rapidly came to a stop …… I didn’t! Unfortunately I ran into the car in front of me – at very low speed – but to fast and to late to stop in time. The police officer gave me a citation for ACD, which I suspect, most of you safe drivers might not know what that is! Around here that stands for Assured Clear Distance. It is the driver’s obligation to make sure to have enough distance between you and the vehicles ahead of you to stop in time to avoid doing what I just did. This was my first accident and it was all new to me. While I am waiting to get my citation and then reviewing the event afterwards I thought ‘how am I going to explain this?’. So I came up with a rather funny romantic embellishment and wrote a song about this experience. The song also has an interesting intro and break. A number of my songs will have unusual time signatures. For the musicians out there, send me a message if you know what time signature I used.

Who Do You Love? – Influential musician/bands

Posted: June 29, 2015 in Opinions and Observations
Tags: #audio, #band, #creativity, #favorite, #genres, #inspiration, #itunes, #love, #music, #musician, #performance, #performer, #personal, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #writer

104

I am fairly new to the blogging world, but after a few months I have learned a lot. Recently, I was amazed at the response and the thoughtfulness in the lists provided by other bloggers in the community on my Love/Hate post. Comments mentioned knowing me a little better and with so many of you posting your list I have been able to know some of you better as well. In addition to that, I thought it was actually a lot of fun. I would like to suggest another sharing of ideas. I would LOVE to have your thoughts on bands, artists and musicians that have influenced your life. I do not want to restrict this to bands per se, but to include individuals, songs, groups and bands or musicians. I will continue to post articles highlighting bands you may not be familiar with and I hope your answers will make me aware of new bands or artists out there that could be stellar, just not known to me. In fact, over the years I have depended on friends to direct me to great artists and musicians. They do my filtering for me and I get to hear or see really great performances I would never have come across on my own….. I don’t get out much LOL! If you will, please post a list of your favorite artists and maybe recommend a song from each. I am not sure about most of you, but the ‘popular’ songs and hits on a CD or album are often not the best or favorite tracks. I hope this is as much fun as the last one! All genres of music welcome.

Lost Love Lyrics

Posted: June 26, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: #12string, #acoustic, #audio, #create, #creative, #creativity, #death, #demo, #digital, #dreams, #family, #father, #goodbye, #guitar, #inspiration, #inspire, #itunes, #journey, #life, #loss, #love, #lyrics, #microphone, #midimike, #motivation, #music, #musician, #performance, #performer, #performers, #personal, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #story, #studio, #vocalist, #vocals, #writer

*Please see previous post if you are interested in the story behind why I wrote this song. *

“Lost Love” 86 bpm © MSK 6-2004

We’d been together just a little while

Each day melted into the other.

Daylight through the evenings we danced,

Completely consumed by one another.

As life went on our love got stronger.

My friends thought that it would never last.

I know all things come to an end.

Just didn’t think it would be so fast.

It’s been a long number of years now gone

How many more I don’t really know.

Everyday I try to say good bye,

but For some reason I just can’t let you go.

And he said, ‘son, if ignorance is bliss,

You must be a very happy man’.

Memories of your Lost Love might never go away,

But everyone else you love can.

Father and son, we were never far apart

Through ups and downs, good and the bad

We stood so proud; laughing together.

I’d wait forever but you won’t be back.

When my sister died I found myself crying.

Weeks upon weeks and still to this day

I realize I’m thinking about her

As I’m wiping my tears away.

Son, if ignorance is bliss,

You must be a very happy man.

Memories of your Lost Love might never go away,

But everyone else you know can.

Share what you have, help those in need

Focus on the people around you.

Ask us for help, talk to your friends

You’ll feel so much better when you do.

It’s been a long number of years now gone

How many more I don’t really know.

Everyday I try to say good bye,

But for some reason I just can’t let you go.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dark-energy/id962943592

Lost Love – Your Loved Ones Are Still With You

Posted: June 24, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: #12string, #acoustic, #audio, #cancer, #create, #creative, #creativity, #crying, #death, #dreams, #family, #father, #guitar, #inspiration, #inspire, #itunes, #life, #loss, #love, #lyrics, #midimike, #mom, #motivation, #music, #musician, #observation, #performance, #performer, #personal, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #story, #studio, #tears, #truth, #vocalist, #vocals, #writer

Death is nothing new. My father died of cancer when I was – well, to be honest, I do not really know. mid-twenties? early thirties? How can a person be talented enough to write beautiful music and still be so lame when it comes to anything important? I am not sure, but my family has had to deal with me for a long time. My parents were divorced for years and I did not know him that well. At the same time, I felt like I had known him forever. He was never there through the most difficult times In my life and yet at the same time he never left. Reading about loss of a loved one on other blogs it is clear many people do not feel that way. The loss is real, it is crippling, it never ends and there is no comfort for the emptiness, no magic words.

I KNOW that wasteland. Years later my younger sister died from a freak drowning accident. I was prepared for the death of my dad (and grandparents, friends and distant family members before him). I shared his love of life and his regrets during that brief time. For my sister I had no defense. I did not dwell on death, but if I considered it, it was almost a guarantee she would outlive me. Surrounded by close family and friends I just started crying. Talking, greeting, consoling, hugging, but through it all I cried. I could not share her love of life or future dreams. I could not speak to her of death; she was gone. I thought we had so much more time left. For days if I saw her picture or heard her name; I cried. Even this far forward I had to mentally prepare to write this intro.

Not long ago, my younger brother had to pay his pleasure tax. Years of drinking and smoking caught up and throat cancer started eating away at him. The funniest and kindest guy you would ever know, he did not want to burden anyone with his problems. I did the best I could to let him know he was not alone and did not have to go through that by himself. We spent a lot of time together in those last few months. As his medical power of attorney, I followed his direction. I understood his desires and knew his demons. Some things are still too painful to think about so I don’t. But I do remember what a great human being he was. We cried many times together and apart. These days I smile thinking about him, and how great humanity can be.

Love is another type of loss but for all my education and experience over the years I could not tell you which loss is more devastating. Family you live with and know all the cool things you learned and shared together. A loved one you will never be able to learn and share future things with. Loss of the past or loss of the future. The wasteland seems to keep spreading out forever. You will never get through it and nothing can replace it.

In the middle of the wasteland jumping all the way up to the moon seems more likely than getting through to the other side. But it is the sense of loss that keeps us there. My father is still with me, telling me “remember the past, but look forward, son. Don’t blind yourself to the path out, seek it”. Hopefully, you will see that your loved ones are still with you.

This is a fairly recent song. I happened to be going through my files to build a catalog of songs I have, songs in the works and ones I have co-written for a project. Looking through papers here and there, rifling through files saved from one form of media to another, I found a set of lyrics entitled “Lost Love”. I looked at it for a while and started reading the lyrics. I did not recognize any of it, but it was my handwriting and as you will soon see, it is very personal. I read them and thought, I need to do something with this.

I have instruments in almost every room in my house. A week earlier I had been playing a chord progression that was simple but captured a certain feeling or mood that I liked. I ran upstairs and got the lyrics I mentioned. I played the guitar with the lyrics in front of me and started to sound out where the lyrics fit in the progression.

Thinking the music and lyrics fell together beautifully, I went to my studio to lay down a rough version of the song. I used one microphone and recorded the guitar and melody line. This is “Lost Love“.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dark-energy/id962943592

Reels of Tape Lyrics

Posted: June 19, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: #12string, #acoustic, #audio, #band, #cdbaby, #create, #creative, #creativity, #demo, #dreams, #guitar, #harmony, #inspiration, #inspire, #itunes, #journey, #life, #love, #lyrics, #microphone, #midimike, #motivation, #music, #musician, #observation, #performance, #performer, #performers, #personal, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #stage, #story, #studio, #studioengineer, #vocalist, #vocals, #writer

Reels of tape feel no pain

Watch the movie over again.

Life pours past the flags unfurled

Crack the crystal paralyzed world.

CHORUS: I’ve been told if you live in the future,

You’ll be who you wanna be.

But I ain’t moving to San Francisco

‘Til it drops into the sea.

Careful surgeons with knives of rust

Open wounds of crimson lust.

Forget today and tomorrow.

Leave this song behind, and all it’s sorrow.

CHORUS: I’ve been told if you live in the future,

You’ll be who you wanna be.

But I ain’t moving to San Francisco

‘Til it drops into the sea.

First things first, but think about it twice.

Follow those who take their own advice.

Wasn’t trying any other time.

I’d walk away mumbling a Few Shattered Lines.

CHORUS: I’ve been told if you live in the future,

You’ll be who you wanna be.

But I ain’t moving to San Francisco

‘Til it drops into the sea.

Reels of tape feel no pain

Watch the movie over again.

Life pours past the flags unfurled

Crack the crystal paralyzed world.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dark-energy/id962943592

This is one of the original acoustic tunes that’s featured on my new album “Dark Energy.” You can find it on ITunes or CD Baby under Michael S. Kennedy.

Reels of Tape – A Few Shattered Lines

Posted: June 17, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: #12string, #acoustic, #atari, #audio, #band, #cdbaby, #create, #creative, #creativity, #demo, #dreams, #guitar, #harmony, #inspiration, #inspire, #itunes, #journey, #life, #love, #lyrics, #microphone, #midimike, #motivation, #music, #musicequiptment, #musician, #observation, #performance, #performer, #performers, #personal, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #Reel, #retro, #reverb, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #story, #studio, #studioengineer, #vocalist, #vocals, #writer

As I continue to dig into past songs it is easy to see one problem I have; I am not good at naming my songs. Sometimes I go for the punch line, but the punch line is not even a line in the song! Sometimes I try to highlight one phrase, but ignoring conventional songwriting wisdom, I do not use a phrase over and over in the chorus and call that the title. So here is another example where the names have changed over the years. Originally the title was “A Few Shattered Lines“. I was reading a letter from a friend of mine at college and I pulled some of his phrases into the lyrics. Below are the results.

Reels of Tape has a deep meaning for me. I spent a lot of years recording on reel to reel tape decks. I still have my original 4 track TEAC machine. The lyrics are more abstract than other songs I have written and for some reason I can still slip back to those times when I hear this song. I am using my Ovation Balladeer 12 string guitar as my standard writing/recording instrument over the years, and I just love the tone and the progression of the chords. The twelve strings just sound so full, and when using open tuning, it can make the chords sparkle. The other quick observation: I don’t get rid of equipment I buy…… I keep it forever!

The lyrics seem to create images that expand beyond the words. Familiar topics can do that sometimes when looked at with a different point of view or even a change in mood. I love – Life pours past the flags unfurled, Crack the crystal paralyzed world – and other parts, but I could not really tell you why. Another phrase that sticks with me is – Forget today and tomorrow, leave this song behind, and all it’s sorrow. a lot of my lyrics have a rather dark perspective. But behind them all is a sense of hope and a promise that things will get better and improve. I am one of the most optimistic people I know!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dark-energy/id962943592

Recording as an acoustic tune, I use one track for the vocals (unless there is a harmony track) and I use another track for the ‘line out’ from the acoustic/electric guitar, and then I use another track for a microphone placed in front of the 12 string (even here, it is important to place the microphone at the ‘sweet spot’ to get the best tone. Placing a microphone in front of anything without testing will more often disappoint rather than delight. As in other posts, I have had better success if I literally stick my head up to the instrument and move back and forth until I get the best sound. Doing this while playing the instrument is not practical, so I place the microphone, record, listen and compare it to other tracks that use a different microphone position. Once you have the best of the best, you can be pretty safe using it again. Live situations with full bands and instrumentation is a challenge and I still try to stick my face in there to get an idea what that instrument sounds like but also if it is close to other instruments, speakers, or unwanted noise makers. Most vocalists will stand in front of the microphone, but even in this case if they lean or tilt one way or the other it can dramatically affect the final tone or sound. Much of this is tied to the proximity effect and we will get into that later. For the most part I will pan the 12 string guitar line out to hard Left and the microphone for the 12 string hard Right. Vocals go in the center, unless you have more than one vocalist or lead singer. I use very few processors like compressors, gates, limiters, and the like. As long as you start with a solid tone a bit of EQ if needed, bring in some light reverb or delay and the mix is done.

MidiMike

Available on iTunes and CD Baby

Social Media

MSK original Songs

Posts Tagged ‘#itunes’

I Hear Her Say, “Don’t Forget Me”

It’s Easy To Die – It Doesn’t Get Much Darker Than This

Your Heartbeat Mimics the Music You Listen To

The Value of A Musician – A Cautionary Tale

Girl from Arlington Heights

Who Do You Love? – Influential musician/bands

Lost Love Lyrics

Lost Love – Your Loved Ones Are Still With You

Reels of Tape Lyrics

Reels of Tape – A Few Shattered Lines

Archives

Available on iTunes and CD Baby

Social Media

MSK original Songs

Posts Tagged ‘#itunes’

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