Well, it seems I've got a little time on my hands today. Not only am I blogging for the first time, but I've changed my posted songs as well.
One of the new songs is "Ready," and there's a story behind it, but first... as soon as you hear that beautiful, clear, strong voice, you'll know it's not me singing! The kind and extremely gifted Sue Demel (of Sons of the Never Wrong) sang the vocal for me, and Bruce Roper (also of Sons) was kind enough to play guitar and record the song...
OK, here's the story! A friend told me that there was an American SongWRITER contest going on: the winner would have his/her song sung by the American Idol contest winner, have all sorts of exposure, etc. I found out about this about a week before the contest ended. (I wasn't an avid Idol-watcher; I watched sometimes, if I happened to remember. I could do a whole other blog on what I think of Idol-like contests, and perhaps I will... some other time.)
So I started thinking about what kind of song "they" might be looking for. Something of a love song... something of a journey-song (it's been a long hard road, but here I am, etc. etc.)... something I obviously had not written yet... many of my songs are humorous, the rest are kinda sad... hmmm.
So on Friday the 13th (of April) I sat down to write the song. (The contest ended by midnight on 4/16, btw). Normally I start with the lyrics, and then the melody comes; in this case it was the opposite, I got the melody and started thinking of syllables that fit, then these images started coming and really, the song wrote itself for the most part, a little editing but not the usual amount of struggling that often occurs during the writing process for me.
Because it was NOT a funny song, I had no way to guage it. I called up a friend & played it over the phone, and she really liked it. So I thought: what the heck, what do I have to lose? nothing, nothing, nothing. So I called Bruce Roper, and he had studio availability Monday the 16th -- last night I could submit.
That was lucky in itself. Next I wondered if Sue Demel would be available, and willing, to sing it. First she told me that I was quite capable of singing it myself; "yes," I replied, "but I'd like to win!" -- so I played it over the phone, and she said yes!
Monday, 4/16: Mercifully Bruce agreed to play the guitar. Because Sue and Bruce are in the same band, they have a short-hand language between them... it was so wonderful to watch them work together... and in a matter of minutes, they were singing and playing my song better than I'll ever be able to in a million years. It was awesome!
A few takes... a little mixing... Bruce gave me the CD, I went home and submitted it (online) by 11:40 PM, with twenty minutes to spare!
No, I didn't win the contest (they had over 25,000 entries!). BUT!! I loved the whole process. I loved that I wrote a song that, had it NOT been for the contest, I probably never would have written. I love what Sue and Bruce did with it, and it makes me happy every time I hear it; I'll find a home for this song somewhere (and suggestions for this are certainly welcome!!).
And finally: as I listened to the song, over and over, on a recent drive, I realized that somehow, on a subconscious level, I'd written the song about myself: for I AM ready, ready for change, ready for opportunity, ready to see where life may take me... and I learned all this as I listened to Sue Demel give my words a voice!
Hope you enjoy it...