Of course my reply was yes.

SESAC has a songwriter’s bootcamp coming up next week where songwriters can hear about the latest goings on in the music business as it pertains to songwriting. My point is it always comes back to the music and the song. So many people attempt to worry about the marketing, or the image, but not the song itself. Sad.

I’m happy to be asked and I am ready to get my game on.

Since I’m going to be speaking and I’ve been running older music on the blog for the past couple of days, I’m going to run with a song called Speak by Queensrÿche. It comes off of what I would consider to be one of the best concept albums of all time. It easily ranks with things like The Wall and Tommy. Operation: Mindcrime. Every song, the whole damn disc from front to back – stunning and powerful.

Speak is about getting the word out on a revolution. In a way, with what I’ll be speaking about at the bootcamp it’s similar, only the revolution is to get people to think about writing quality music and upping their game.

The whole CD is perfection. Speak is merely one tune. The writing, the words, the music, the sounds, the production. It’s a masterpiece that you should explore and add to your musical library to help make it complete.

Go forth and have a great day!

Thus I’m making arrangements to bring the car in to have it checked out as a drop of 3 to 4 miles per gallon is pretty substantial. I’m hoping it can be rectified and brought back to near it’s original mpg of 25 to 26. I would be happy if that happened.

Writing of going, I’m going to roll with Go by the 80’s hair rockers Def Leppard. They certainly have enjoyed a long career with a couple of comebacks. I have to say that I really like this last release they created. Go is a very well done step into the now with their sensibility.

Slamming guitars, pounding drums, memorable melodies and thumping bass. It’s a rocking tune that grabs into you the moment it starts and takes you where you want to Go – to a joyride of music.

I do know that I wasn’t actually planning on finishing a music cue today and already I’m thinking that I will be spending the time to do it. Not a bad thing.

Because I’m feeling short of words and because of the post title, I’m going to run with a tune by Keane. They actually have a song called Bend and Break. Can’t help but be happy when a band has written a song that titles your thoughts. Does it mean they’re talking about the same thing? Nope.

They definitely have that UK sound. I’d liken it to Coldplay, but they do what they can to stand on their own two feet.

Enjoy!

I’m finally seeing the tail end of it. Meaning I can breath thru my nose again, for the most part. There’s still a buildup of gunk that needs to be blown out here and there, but it’s abating.

I’m starting another music cue today. Working on that stockpile of cues for this game thing that my agent should be throwing me into the mix for. Much nicer if they like what they hear and I’ve got a bunch of it up and ready to rock.

It would be great if there was a scratch and sniff thing that could be implemented to end illness. Kinda like snozzberries from Willy Wonka. Because I’d like an all powerful snozzberry to cure my ailment I’m rolling with Stevie Ray Vaughn today with his song Scract n Sniff.

The powerhouse of a guitar player. Couple that with a powerful voice as a singer and you have one hell of a musician that played his ass off. He had his share of troubles as well. He got over them and got his life back. I was fortunate enough to catch him live in concert from the front of a stage not more than a few weeks before his death. It was one of those moments where I could feel the power oozing out of him and his guitar.

You can still catch that power, but only on CD and video. Get your exploration on and find out!

One thing I can imagine is that friends who are involved on a “more than friends” basis would be inclined to hold each other and likely kiss. Which is where I’m connecting today’s choice of Kiss Me by Sound of Surrender. A band out of San Diego that has come to my ears. To start, I’m going to say that they have a very familiar approach and sound to their music. It’s nothing groundbreaking in terms of the production. What hooked me in the beginning was the format to the verse. I really liked it’s sparse vibe and simple words with melody. The chorus kicks in like a power pop tune should. Cool guitar riffs. A very listenable vocalist. Smart pop production for ear candy items. The song itself is there – that’s where it ends.

They draw comparisons to bands like All American Rejects, however I’m more apt to say they have a vibe by much younger cats like Show Me The Skyline. In fact, in listening to the song, the one thing that is highly disappointing is how fucking stupidly compressed and loud it is. It’s lucky that the song is really cool because I would normally pass this in a heartbeat because of the volume and compression alone. I dislike having to say something detracting when I’m featuring a song here, but Sound of Surrender could really use a cue from Show Me The Skyline for retaining a modern sound without the need for compressing and limiting the living snot out of the song. The reality is, despite me liking the tune it’s not something I could listen to over and over again because of that issue alone.

If you’re seriously into the brickwalled sound of wash and volume, you got something you need to dig into here. Otherwise, keep the fingers crossed that the people involved decide to rerelease the album with a better mix that doesn’t kill the vibe they created.

Meanwhile back the studio ranch, I’m going to be working on music for yet another uptempo instrumental rock thing, or rather high energy rock thing… Woo Hoo.

I will leave you with this ditty that has come across my screen and speakers recently. It fits quite well with my digital woes. Electric Eyes by Metaform is a very cool little trip into a cross of Electronica mixed with Rock and some DJ style things. I’m really digging the bubble synth sound in the background that also opens the song itself. The drum loop is snappy and huge. You don’t really hear drum samples with so much girth to them. It’s refreshing.

The vocal and all the effects it’s being twisted thru is also very very cool. I’m channeling a sense of Pink Floyd because of it. There’s a more modern sense to it, mostly because of the autotune that is warping some of the phrases. I feel like I could be sitting in a dark room with a single candle and some bitchen headphones pumping this tune deep into my brain. You might be laughing, but this is what we would do at Berklee. Sit in a darkened room and blast music. It would engulf us. Does anyone do this anymore?

Grab this song and more from Metaform. You won’t be disappointed.

In the meantime, I’m still shaking my head over the incident from a couple of days ago. So bizarre.

The good thing is, I’ve moved past it, and getting my head around the possibility of a new computer… I must be On My Way which is why I’m rolling with AlukarD. It’s got the title I need and it’s got some cool sounds too. Lots of different synths mixed with slammin guitars, a rockin vocal and snappy drums. It all sets up a cool air that says hey, you need to pay attention to what’s going on here.

Thus I’m telling you, pay attention.

Now go forth and have a great day.

To start, I did get some more rest in the morning – was still sniffling a little. Then got into the studio and started making a cue for a video game. Then it was off to Santa Monica to have a coffee lunch with a friend where we chatted about other parts of the country, music, and life.

From there it was off to another part of Santa Monica where I was to get a mountain bike ride in with another group of friends. That ride was supposed to start at 4:30. By the time they were all ready to rock and ride it got to be about 6 p.m. The plan changed from mountain biking to riding along the strand. Off we went down to Ocean from 5th and Santa Monica. The choice was to head North towards San Vicente before heading down to the beach to ride.

Along Ocean right near Arizona something very strange happened. Something that took a lot of us by surprise. Rather, took a lot of people in the area by surprise. When you think you’ve seen it all, Los Angeles can easily throw a curve at you. [geez Jody, get to the point already is probably what you're saying in your head].

Ok, my friend Russell and I were leading the way down the running path. Up ahead in front of me running towards me was a rather pretty woman. Moments later I could see a guy dressed in street clothes running at full sprint towards Russell. I actually said to him, Russell it looks like this dude is planning on running into you and tackling you. Russ didn’t really acknowledge what I said. When suddenly the guy coming up from the behind the woman made a sharp turn across the path, crossed over, reached out and grabbed her ass from behind.

Mind you, she jumped sideways obviously not expecting to have been grabbed on the ass. Immediately caught his hand threw it to the side and yelled at him saying, NOT COOL! All this while they were running towards us. He split off and ran to the right past Russell and she went left of me. Russell grabbed the guy’s shirt who then deflected off Russell as the two of us yelled at him saying, dude, what the fuck are you doing that was totally uncalled for.

He broke away and ran towards the street. As we turned around from a stop, the guy then ran past Dan and came back around towards the woman. He grabbed her by the arm, tugged at her then swung with his right arm and popped her in the face. Immediately he let her go and turned to run up Arizona. The woman was dazed and confused, the three of us turned to take off after the guy. In the process Russell took his bike and thrust it at the guy. It smacked the dude and dropped him in the street at Ocean and Arizona. As the guy started to get up Daniel ran and sat behind him and put him in a head lock as Russell grabbed his bike, I went to make sure the woman was ok. Another guy who saw this grabbed the dude’s foot and dragged him out of the street as Dan and Russ kept him incapacitated.

The guy that pulled him out of the street got him down on his face and his side and held him down while we called the police. The woman was in a state of shock and mentioned that she was in a bit of pain as hit her pretty square on the jaw. As I came back to see if any help was needed in containing him, an SUV stopped in the street, rolled down the window and asked if we wanted him to videotape us beating on him for YouTube. We weren’t beating on him (though he really deserved it). We refused and the SUV took off. A crowd of people started to gather around. Most people that saw it couldn’t believe what had happened.

The guy was easily someone in need of medication or had medication and wasn’t taking it. We questioned him and found out that he had been doing this sort of thing for a while. He had never been caught. He was laughing about it. Laughing in a way that clearly showed he didn’t care. He also mentioned that he had hit other women in much the same way. That’s downright disturbing. Then mentioned he’d never been arrested for it, or caught. Fortunately for this woman, his luck changed.

It took the police, the fire dept and the paramedics roughly 20 minutes to arrive at the scene. The first policeman immediate hand cuffed the guy so we didn’t have to contain him. Then the fire dept and the paramedics attended to the woman, making sure she was ok. I think more than the actual punch, she was in a state of shock. I mean, really, to be in a zone and then get violated and assaulted like that has to be a bit unnerving, especially for a woman like that. She was pretty (I’m sure she still is).

We relayed the account of what happened to the fire dept and the police. The odd thing is, it seemed like the cops really weren’t planning on booking the guy for anything. I mean c’mon we all saw it, we took him down. He should be booked on assault.

Once that all died down, we continued on our ride. Where at another point we came in contact with a older gentleman who had immigrated from Russia. He was asking if we were aware of the process of the mosques being built on sites where something of significance had been destroyed. I had read something about in the past week or so, but Russ and Dan had not. This guy was looking to chat about it and let us know that he hopes the younger generation doesn’t allow for America to lose it’s great nation and freedoms.

Two very weird interactions in a short span of an afternoon.

What was strange was having a couple of guys on the fire dept squad call us heroes for stepping in and doing what we did. I’m not sure I’d call it heroic more than it was or at least felt like it was the right thing to do. I mean c’mon, some random stranger grabs a woman’s ass and shocks the shit out of her, then moments later gives her a right hook? What else are you gonna do?

If I have to explain why I decided to roll with Hero Unexpected then I’m guessing you’ve got a lack of moral value going on or something. Enjoy the song and may you never have to be a victim in some such circumstance like that.

Wild.

Thus I want to keep this post short as well as I’m still pushing to get some rest before I start to punish myself in the studio. More or less.

There’s one thing that makes getting back on the roll of full speed life is getting others to support and join you. Which brings me to today’s choice in Kongos. I heard their song Come With Me Now and I was like, yeah there’s something emanating from the speakers. The crazy accordion to the gang vocals. There’s a nice groove going on that makes this song propel along at a pace that feels like a whole bunch of people gathering for a rally of some sort.

One of the things that came to mind as I listened is how this band would probably go over really well during a FMLY bike ride. I really get a group mentality out of this. The kind of group that is friendly but has a hard core most pit going on. I can imagine people getting worked up and flailing about to this song. Very bouncy. Ver moving. Wouldn’t you say?