Smile, do something.

Awhile we grow, awhile we realise. If nothing has ever mattered or nothing but mattered, than I'm glad I had music. If a dream rested inside of me all of this time then I'm glad that music brought it out of me and allowed me to sit in it for just a short time. We cling to the feel good and push it away, all in an effort to acquire the feel good. I'm sure you've heard stranger from a stranger.

The presence of music has made me... dramatic, overly emotional, appreciative but working on it, spontaneous but why not take more chances, sympathetic and letting it get to me, grateful to almost tears, angry but completely controlled, long for home, pull my friends in closer, not worry too much "If all of this kills, why am I so hard on myself?" - M. Good.

Some of the best advice I have ever received was from a baseball coach. He said, "baseball or not, be a good daddy". I have spiralled that quote out of control to the most untouched corners of my life and I am better for it.

Be well, be good.

Walter

The Pocketers

In my opinion, the greatest songs are the kind that make you self-reflect and be honest with yourself; the kind that allow you to reminisce and be disappointed in yourself, be proud, be happy, and be a million other things at once. Yeah music is great when it makes you dance or want to cry with, but the best kind are what I like to refer to as "pocketers". Here are pocketers in my life currently:
Barenaked Ladies - Lovers In a Dangerous Time
Sugarland - Love
Travis - Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
Billy Joel - All About Soul (Remix)
Easton Corbin - I'm A Little More Country Than That
Brooks & Dunn - Indian Summer

"If you open your mind too much your brain will fall out"

A great man - a funny man, by the name of Tim Minchin would never take credit for such a great song title, because he read it in a book (ha-ha). So to avoid any mishaps with the law he decided to add the subtitle: (Take my wife) - clever man. In any case, this blog post is not about Tim, but more so the incredible message that comes with the line, "If you open your mind too much your brain will fall out". One can gather several ideas about the message and how it applies to life, but that's too much for a fellow to bare. When we write music, we want so much to harness the perfect sound and one that is unique. That's at least how a songwriter feels when they're young, inexperienced or starving for some progress. Some of the best songs ever written have been spawned from the ideas of those in the past, and similarly some of the best albums are compiled with songs that don't sound all too different. Simplicity is a song writing value that we fight with constantly but want so badly to embrace. Rely on the soul of your messages to speak louder than the divine and undiscovered song we may never find. Stay within yourself so to avoid your brain falling out.

The 90's Influence

“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music” – Sergei Rachmanjnov

I’d like to take this time to briefly reflect upon some music that has influenced my life. When I think about music that really inspired me currently – country, I can’t help but laugh about how drastically my interest in music has changed. Let’s see… my first favourite band was “The Eagles”, due largely to my Father’s influence; but my first personally acquired music favourite is definitely “Ace of Base”. You have to love Ace of Base. In grade five I began to become immersed in the greatest music generation of them all – the 90’s. “Soul Asylum – Frustrated Incorporated”, was a giant musical stepping stone for me and spurred my love for bands like: The Tea Party, Silverchair, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Matthew Good Band, Sky, Dr. Dre and Blink 182. This is all so nostalgic for me. In grade nine through ten, I periodically put away any kind of music except for hip-hop, rap and techno – dark days. Since then I have done my best to embrace more eclectic forms of music to help broaden my horizons. I’m a thinker and a head-in-the-clouds kind of guy (maybe more out-to-lunch than anything (ha-ha)), and letting music pull me in all different kinds of directions has helped to level out my perspective on life and concentrate on what I believe really matters – family, friends, home, kindness, being grateful, memories, hard work, passion and love. Try dipping into you’re old CD collection; it’s bound to make you feel good.

I heard this on the radio today with the windows down and warm late-winter air flooding in.

Pulling the plug

Who started claiming that club DJ’s were artists? I’m not talking about techno/house/electronica musicians who spend countless time making it ‘right’ in the studio and recording their own samples, I’m talking about DJ McScratcherson mixing Ludacris with Jay-Z at a bar and calling it his own. This song then makes its way onto the airwaves with a local radio DJ (insert late-night-radio club DJ from Toronto here) attached to it. I know this is no new argument and that it has all been said before, and that ‘I just don’t understand the club scene’ – sure; but how do you hold a match to even the most amateur of musicians who step onto a stage and sing and play in the most organic of fashion? There’s something about putting on headphones and matching beat patterns through two turn-tables and calling it your own that really drives me up the wall. How can one with years of practice and appreciation for the art of composition possibly except digital mixing n’ matching as a contribution to music? Dear DJs who release remixed top 40 song albums, how would you cope in a power outage? You bore me.

Changing with the seasons

The weather in the Niagara Region is starting to heat up and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The winters are long – too long, and frigid weather after the holiday season feels makes a lad feel blue. Last summer’s sub-par excuse for warm weather makes me feel pretty optimistic that we’re due for ‘a scorcher’. In lieu of hot weather and fast times, writing is bound for an upbeat spin. There’s something about the summer time – BBQ’s, bare feet in grass, baseball, windows down and manure in the pastures that makes country-rock music make sense to just about everyone; writing songs for people to step to can never be terrible. Time and seasons are inevitable, why fight it? In the winter we seek comfort and assurance, clinging to the soft and soothing makes sense to me. Summer time – hot dandy, time to come out of hibernation, be loud and make the people dance.