MySpace
myspace music my music  featured playlists  top artists  music videos  karaoke  shows  forums 


MySpace.com | rss | sign in
Todd Lorenz



Last Updated: 12/8/2009

Send Message
Instant Message
Email to a Friend
Subscribe

Status: Married
City: Juda
State: Wisconsin
Country: US
Signup Date: 7/24/2005

Blog Archive
[Older      Newer]
 /  / 
Thursday, September 17, 2009 

Category: Life
So, I don't really update this blog often.  I do maintain the one on my main web site, toddlorenz.com.  Feel free to have a look every other week or so, and I'm also active on Facebook.   http://facebook.com/toddlorenz

So, as usual, it seems that life has presented me with something right when I needed it, and was likely the most receptive.  Dan Navarro has taken the time to not only befriend me, but offer me some much needed advice and some education concerning vocals.  I won’t get into specifics here because it’s not what I want to discuss and it’s a work in progress.  However, I do want to discuss teachers.

Good teachers, role models, mentors…people who with all sincerity and nothing but good in their hearts do their best to lift us up, make us better than we are and bring us closer to fulfilling our potential.  I’ve been lucky enough to find a few people who fit this description in my life, and honestly, I’ve almost gotten past marveling at the timing.  Things happen when they do and I’m not smart enough to be able to predict how things will turn out, so I just try to do the best I can as often as possible.  I’m human, so I fail a good portion of the time, but I still try.  

But, I begin to digress.  A good teacher can help you with any number of things…schoolwork, some form of art, physical fitness, or whatever form of personal development that might move you.  It’s been my experience that the people in my life with whom I’ve maintained and honored this type of relationship might be able to make a living at it, but they would teach someone who demonstrated a desire to learn even if that person couldn’t afford monetary compensation.  Something else could, or would, be worked out.  That seems to be an important part of the equation for me.  The knowledge that this person would continue to help even if you simply couldn’t afford to pay the regular asking price is somehow exceptionally comforting, and usually sufficient motivation to ensure that the teacher is paid somehow.  I have had mutually beneficial relationships with instructors who did not fit into this category.  But, I have not maintained any kind of contact, nor am I inclined to do so.  That may be my own shortcoming; I’m not certain.

The motivation of the person has to somehow remain pure; maybe that’s part of it.  Yes, everyone in this country (and really, this world) needs to have a source of income in order to survive, or at the very least, food and shelter.  But knowing that he/she would continue to teach with the best of intentions regardless of financial considerations prevents the relationship – and in some way, the lessons themselves – from becoming tainted and devalued.  If you can really put a price on something, its value is limited.  If the true value is indeterminable, there isn’t a real price.  

So, in other words, a good teacher is truly priceless.  

A good teacher not only has exceptional knowledge on whatever the subject may be, but is usually an exceptional motivator as well.  While I’ve always felt that it’s a student’s responsibility to learn, a gifted teacher knows when to push, when to back off, when to allow the student some space, and when to be demanding.  And, while it may seem unfair, I don’t think every student can be treated the same.  Remember, I’m not necessarily talking about the institution of state sponsored public education…but even then, people are different and should probably be treated differently, to a degree.  Fairness isn’t always about treating people the same, though it is sometimes necessary.  It’s a delicate balancing act, and something that is very easily abused.  While I’m not a parent and do not intend to become one, I would say that parenting is the ultimate teaching job.  How many of us would say that our parents really did a good job?  How many people have you known whose parents you would say had done a less than stellar job of rearing their kids?  It’s not a responsibility I envy.  

But, it goes with the territory, and in some ways, it’s the same with any teacher/student relationship.  So, what makes a good teacher?  For me, it’s someone with expertise in the subject being taught who is also an excellent motivator with the best of possible intentions for his students.  I’m probably forgetting something, but that’s what I have as I type this.
 
My whole point with this rant was to point out how thankful we should be for those who have helped us along our path.  I don’t seem to be getting there with any real level of subtlety, so I just decided to say it.  There are a few people in my life whom I consider to be invaluable and I'm fairly certain they know it.  

That’s it for now.
3:18 AM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 

Category: Music
Hosted By:
Todd Lorenz

When:
Saturday, July 04, 2009

Where:
The Attic Books & Coffee
730 Bodart St
Green Bay
54301

Description:
Come celebrate Independence Day with great night of acoustic music; no fireworks, but lots of soul!

Click Here To View Event
11:11 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 
Hosted By:
Todd Lorenz

When:
Friday, July 03, 2009

Where:
Brewed Awakenings
107 E. COLLEGE AVE
APPLETON
54956

Description:
Come by and say hi, enjoy some great music. I'm also in Green Bay on 7/4/09.

Click Here To View Event
11:06 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 
Hosted By:
Todd Lorenz

When:
Thursday, July 02, 2009

Where:
The Acoustic Cafe
505 S Barstow
Eau Claire
54701

Description:
Come on by and check me out.

Click Here To View Event
11:02 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Friday, March 13, 2009 

Category: Music
Did you know that I keep 7 songs from my considerable catalog free at all times?  I swap them out periodically.  Here's the current list:

Beauty of our Lives, V1
Never Mind, V1
Change, V2
That Quiet Country Living, V3
Ease My Dying Pain, V3
Big Bad Man, V4
The Woman I Love, V4

Use the Nimbit player on my web site or myspace page, find the tunes that are free, add them to your cart, and check out.  You'll receive an email with details on how to download them.  Of course, I'd be THRILLED if you chose to buy some or all of the other songs.

Lastly, I'll be in Fitchburg tonight:

Friday, March 13th, 2009 6:30 PM CDT
Ancora Coffee Roasters
2690 Research Park Drive, Suite E
Fitchburg, WI 53711

Y'all take care.  

3:54 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Sunday, February 22, 2009 

Category: Music
I thought this would be a good time to send out a general update.

First, if you haven't already downloaded all the songs you want from my Twenty Aught Eight project, you should do so before Friday 2/27/09.  The player/shopping cart will look like this, if you'd like to sneak a peek:

http://www.nimbitmusic.com/toddlorenz

I plan to keep a few songs freely accessible, perhaps rotating 7 at a time.  The rest will be available for purchase individually or an album at a time.  Physical CDs will also through Nimbit sometime within the next few weeks.

I now have a number of gigs coming up, with the first one in Madison on Saturday.  Please check my web site for more in that area, as well as IL.  I'm also in the process of putting together a tour in May that will take me to AZ and back.  I currently have dates booked in IA, NE & CO.  I hope to add more in other states, so please stay tuned.

Y'all take care.

Sincerely,

Todd
http://toddlorenz.com
http://myspace.com/toddlorenz
I can do no more than share who I am and what I have to say.
5:10 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 

Current mood:  annoyed
So, I'm having a great day.  I feel poorly, my wife feels worse, and I damn near cut off the top of my left thumb while slicing some ham for breakfast.  It's not all that bad, really, but I won't be making barre chords today.  I'll leave out the gory details.

On a more positive note, it seems that I'll be using my severance package from Microsoft to have a run at doing music full time.  I say "it seems" because technically, I have not yet received the full amount promised.  If it doesn't happen, I'll have to go out and get a source of income quickly.

I find how I came to this decision somewhat amusing.  I was laid off on a Thursday and then took the following weekend to not do much of anything.  When Monday rolled around and it came time to job hunt, I just didn't do it.  Instead, I set about finding myself some gigs.  It just felt like the right thing to do and I'm still doing it.

I had planned on using my three weeks of paid vacation to book a mini tour in May from here to AZ and back in support of Twenty Aught Eight.  I thought that might be off, but after thinking about it, I should still be able to do it.  In fact, I'm really now more flexible with the dates.

So, stay tuned.  The next few months could be interesting.

Oh, and CDs for Twenty Aught Eight should be available online by the middle of March.
5:40 PM 
1 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 

Category: Music
Ok, it's done.  The last song of my Twenty Aught Eight project has now been posted.  You can have a listen to it, and all of the tunes, over on my web site.  Yes, I stopped updating this blog many weeks ago, but I did post an entry on my own site nearly every week. 

I think I'm going to shut down this myspace thing.  Frankly, I don't see much of a point.  I understand the whole social networking thing, but that is part of the purpose of my site.  I don't really care much for myspace on the whole, and I never spend much time here.  I've never been comfortable with the use of the word "friend" as a label for those within one's network.  In my book, that's a title that has to be earned.

So, this may not be here for much longer.  In any case, thank you for listening.

Todd
4:43 AM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Tuesday, July 01, 2008  

Hey all...this week's song is called 6 Feet of Trouble.  Lyrically,
it's about a woman who gets by on looks and a predatory nature. 
Musically, I think it sounds like a marriage between folk and
southern rock.  Enjoy!

http://toddlorenz.com/music/2008v2/6_Feet_of_Trouble.m3u

Todd
8:09 AM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 

Current mood:  amused
Category: Music

Hello, folks.  This week's song is called Life is Good  It seems to me that I spend a lot of time bitching or working out my own problems with my material...but hey, that's one of the purposes served by art.  I wound up doing something more positive with this song, and I started with the phrase "Life is good when.." and went from there.  Some pretty good stuff, I think.  Enjoy.

New guitar is almost here...

10:18 AM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate