8 posts tagged “music”

I love local music. Hearing artists pour their hearts and souls out is an experience like no other.

I love performing my music live. It's great to be able to share my art with friends and strangers. The feelings of community and shared experience are wonderful.

One aspect of performing live I have come to look forward to at every show, is the performances of the other acts. The energy and music is awesome. I came home from a show recently and immediately picked up my guitar and wrote a new song.

I was thinking about this today after reflecting on the show we played last night. So I decided to make a playlist that is comprised of all local artists and put it on my MySpace page. I have performed with many of these artists and they are amazing live.

Please take a minute to listen to some of these tracks. Even if you just listen to the beginning of each one I'm sure you will find something you will enjoy. Just click on the word "playlist" at the bottom of the music player on my page.

If you haven't checked out a live local performance lately, go check your community rag and find out what's going on this weekend.

If you don't want to leave the house this Friday then be sure to watch Essential Machine's online internet show. It starts at 9:00pm and it's free!
 Just visit http://essentialmachine.com

I will be blogging again soon!

Peace and love,
RJ

Scotts Roger’s album Good Breeding is refreshing. It combines humor and jest with honesty and passion. This is the first album that will make you laugh and give you goose bumps before you finish listening to the last track.

I See It Like This is a light introspective acoustic guitar riff driven song. Its thoughtful lyrics and driving yet subtle piano track will draw you in instantly. With lyrics like “…hell in a basket because Barbara’s marrying Julie… I don’t see it that way," this song’s message of not always believing what you’ve been told is energizing.

Although the doubled vocal track can be distracting and the rhythm track may be a bit too poundy, the song Beautiful Woman showcases Scotts Roger's ability to take a humorous idea and put it to music in a way that is new and entertaining.

The Dance will make you laugh every time you hear it. Its brilliant wit combines the seriousness of being lonely with the irreverence of patronizing a strip club. The melodic nature of this song will make you want to sing it every time it comes on your iPod.

Everybody Loves Me is the best track on the album.  It has a wonderfully haunting chorus, catchy lyrics, and a melody that lets you feel the singer's pain.

Overall, this album is folky, funky, and fun. If you are looking for something new and refreshing to jam out to this summer, go buy this album from iTunes. To preview their music and see some live videos visit their site here... Scotts Roger's Myspace Page

For a limited time only! A live performance of one of my new songs! When Grey Sky Comes!

Love and Peace,

RJ

I'm working on a song that will not have any acoustic instruments other than my voice. This type of song is a first for me. I want to be able to infuse my own brand of songwriting into this complete non-organic form of music. I am excited about the process of using percussion. I miss playing with the band sometimes so this will help me get my drum fix.

The new Death Cab for Cutie album Narrow Stairs Is awesome. It is a bit more polished than other Death Cab Albums put it still has that wonderful movement we've all fallen in love with. Go listen today!

I'm so sick of the press acting as though you have to be a woman or a gay man to like the television show Sex and the City. I love the show, it is a well written series about a group of women and their lives together. Are most men that misogynistic that they are unable to find value in a show that has a mostly female cast? I can't think of one legitimate argument a man might have to hate this show or movie. It's one thing if shows and movies about relationships are simply not your cup of tea. But to make this into a thing about men and women and who is allowed to like it, is sexist. I read an article from the AP asking if woman alone can make this movie a success at the box office. I was insulted and I'm not a woman. I can only imagine how this must make women feel. I will be seeing this movie in the theater with my wife. I was the one who found the trailer online before Kare. I couldn't wait to show her. These woman represent the strong women of this country. They are a great inspiration to all who watch them, in a country that can be so blatantly sexist. If you are one of those men that talks shit about the show and has never watched an episode through to completion you need to grow some balls, go to the video store or netflix or what ever you have and rent the first season. You might just realize its not so scary and you can handle it and even enjoy it. 

One of my clients we will call "Patrick" loves coffee. He drinks at least 5 to 6 cups in the morning. He has his own little 4 cup machine he keeps in his workshop. Maxwell House original is the only kind of coffee he likes. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal except he isn't supposed to have any caffeine. I tried to convince him that decaf was just as good with no luck. So thank goodness for the Half-caf that looks almost identical to the original. It's only difference is that it has a light blue ring around the top of the can that says "Lite." He can't read so this works perfect. He still gets his coffee and I don't feel as bad about him drinking it.

I arrive at work at 6:46am. As I walk up to the back door of the home I hear a faint buzzing sound coming from the shed/workshop to my right. It's Patrick running his scroll saw. He's working on a wooden Mrs Claus. This will be added to the large stack of Mrs Claus figures he is stock piling. He told me he was going to make a Santa to go in between the two Mrs Claus figures he has mounted to a platform on his desk. I guess that will be next week. I approach the shed only to hear him muttering under his breath like Elmer Fudd. He's mad because the rain kept him from the lake this weekend.

My job is just one big balancing act. I have people pulling me from every direction and it's up to me to make them all happy while keeping them healthy. The challenges are great but the rewards are as well.

I have a new/old song that I'm getting ready to record. Some of you may have heard "Slove"(I think I will change the name) well it has been re-imagined. I have really gotten back into that song and it has been transformed into something better. I never used to be into revision. I always felt like I couldn't get back into the mood I was in when I first composed the work. Looking back now, I think that was a lack of practice and openness. I don't have to be in the same mood. That's what makes revision so important. You can bring the new experiences and moods to the composition and infuse it into something even better. Often after a "cooling off period" you have time to let the song evolve. Through this process I have found my work really maturing.

I am going to book some summer shows soon. I'm going to work on that this week.

I think another blog tonight maybe in order I have some other things to blog about.

Love and Peace,
RJ Dietrich