Song Journal Portal

Stories make the world go 'round 

 

Riddle: What do U2, Derringer Discoveries and the late-great John Prine have in common with David Husted?

A Story:

Last December Derringer Discoveries (a popular music adventure podcast) sent a request to my email account to host an upcoming podcast episode with them.  The topic would be to get into the weeds discussing some "to be selected" artist/band the DD team and the co-host all mutually love.   

Here were some clues that they sent this request to the wrong email.

Clue 1: Subject Line said: Are you David Prine?   lol…..No, I am not David Prine.
Clue 2: First sentence: I enjoyed talking with you the other evening.   lol : No, we did not talk the other evening.

David Prine happens to be a relation of John Prine. John Prine, for those who may be living under a rock, is a mega popular folk singer who recently passed away. Mr. Prine was nominated to the Singer-Songwriter Hall of Fame in 2019. 

Did this stop me from moving out on the invite. No Sir : )

Here is my email response. 

"Thank You…..just to double check,  You mentioned we talked the other evening.  We “talked” via email but did not verbally chat, so I just want to make sure you sent this email to the correct person. Assuming you did : ) I would be happy to co-host…thank you for asking…honored you asked.  Will need more info on that at opportunity. If you did mean to send this to another rockstar named Dave and you sent to me by accident ……no worries. Either way, I am now gonna send you 5 to 10 artist suggestions whether you want them or not….: ) Also, I’d be happy to send you some voice overs per your spec guidance below………Thanks Again and looking forward to the event.

VR

Dave"

Here is Paul's (of the DD Team) paraphrased response:

……Fortune favors the bold. I was writing to Dave Prine (RIP John Prine's nephew, if that means anything), but I'm impressed with your response. So, yes, please plan to be a co-host with Team Derringer…….

Life Lesson to me: The DD Team response was unexpected and goes to show how important connection, interaction, resolve, humor and good natured friendliness can take someone.

The rest is history. Several months later a Derringer Discoveries Podcast co-hosted by none-other-than David Husted was born. Topic: U2

Just to be clear: David Husted is not yet in the singer/songwriter hall of fame but he is working on it ; )

Cheers

Dave

Photo by Özge Taşkıran  

 

Word of the Day: Quicken 

The word "quicken" originated from Middle English "quikenen," which evolved from the Old English word "cwician," meaning "to come to life" or "to make alive." It's rooted in the concept of making something faster or more lively.

Poem of the Week: "The Guest House", by Rumi 

"The Guest House", by Rumi

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.


A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.


The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.


Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Collide 

Collide: by David Husted

My thoughts on the birth of Chords and Arrangement in the moment of conception

I completed a song I decided to call Collide today.  It grew out of a simple C chord strumming pattern in the verse and me mumble singing melodic phrasing until the line "Show me your piece of the world" appeared. Coming out of that C I play a simple Am G back to F  and then back to the home court C.  I heard the following

Save me all your raving lunatic
Slogans that placate our minds

Verse 2 was more of the same until new words emerged.  I still had zero idea where the story was really going.  It seemed to be teetering on the brink of two divergent storylines.

I then spent a lot of time trying to be too cute with complex chorus chord structures and began to see my concept of a song and the actual feel of the song were not converging. I tried again.  This is when I went back to my keyboard and I just quietly played a piano version of the verse and felt my way into a simple pre-chorus chord transition that hit with the emotion in the words I was humming. These words ended up morphing into this:

C D7 F Fm 

But we got to move fast
This Earth's still shining
But she's running out of gas

I think the Fm is what grabbed hold of me because of the turning of the F major into an F minor.  Close chords yet shifting the mood a bit. Radiohead does this perfectly in the song Creep going from C to Cm.

Now, the actual chorus chords did get a taste of the chordal complexity I was after but I was happy that this complexity arose more organically based on what I was singing vice just force fitting in more complex chords.

Here is the chord pattern I hit on

Am F#m7b5 C G7 
The F#m7b5 adds a subtle dissonance that I was after

It was the lyrics here that the storyline finally took a position and became about our escalating climate and social crisis but also about how one balances their own mental health against these stressors. Hence the image of the yin yang symbol emerged and took shape in some of my lyric lines.

When I hear No, know that Yes opens doorways
When I feel Sad, know that Happiness will rise
When I head East I think I might be meeting West
When Yin meets Yang and birth and death Collide

So there you have it.   But not totally.  What I did not tell you is that I spent several weekends building a totally other song that just simply had to be let go of.  I was basing it off a reference track called Alaska by Maggie Rodgers. My goal was to create that intimate drum and singing style similar to that song.  It was a disaster.  I gave up. This song has no similarity to that song because I started over but it did provide the spirit and enthusiasm to create.  Thank You Maggie.  This is part of music creation I am afraid.  Sometimes you just have to start over. 

Well,  I finally took an opportunity to jot down some of my thoughts right at the moment of song completion.  Thanks for sharing a moment with me

Dave

Sunrise in Destin and Word of the Day 

Word of the Day

Vignette: A vignette is a short, descriptive scene or sketch that captures a moment or a mood. It's often a brief snapshot that paints a picture with words, focusing on a particular moment or aspect of a larger story. Vignettes can be found in various forms of literature, from novels and short stories to poetry and plays. They offer glimpses into characters' lives, settings, or emotions, providing vivid imagery and evoking a specific atmosphere or feeling

 

 

 

photo courtesy of Laura who awoke early enough to capture this great shot

Noble Cat and other Miscellaneous Thoughts 

I started making music when this noble cat was still alive and my first fan (perhaps my only fan at the time). Music making has always been a hobby to satisfy an impulse to learn cool things related to music tech and to get the creative sprites dancing inside my head out into the world. It was a pathway of discovery on multiple fronts discussed below.  

One: Learning to understand and perform on a real instrument. In my case on one called a synthesizer. Practice….Yes, I am afraid you must do this relentlessly. This is job one.

Two: I can remember learning about music technology (i.e. Midi, DAWs and plug-ins) for the first time around 2008 and being fascinated like an Alice in Wonderland walking through the briar patch. My vague understanding of these concepts and this software slowly, through trial and error, bloomed into skillful means to an end. This is not for the faint of heart.

Three: The technology was cool but learning the craft and nuance of recording, mixing and mastering even more challenging. This is an art. I still have much to learn. 

Four:  These skills coupled with a burning desire and belief that I could now create my own musical masterpieces (at least according to me ; ) was inspiring. This desire, however, is not enough.  You must act even when you do not necessarily feel like creating. Sit down and arrange, form, mold and forge music. Just Do It. 

Five: The ability and means to share this music with the world via distribution services and streaming platforms or, at a minimum, with attentive, appreciative nearby friendly animals.

Dave