Checking In, Covers, and Harmonicas

Well, life is crazy. Haven't updated in awhile and thought I'd check in with some videos of what I've been playing.

The Answer to Everything... And it's NOT 42

As a musician, I am often confronted with dilemmas that involve money. I mean, most people find matters of money to be dilemmas, but musicians often find that it takes money to make money.  An artist has to record music, this costs either money for studio time or for the equipment to make a studio. Then, after they get good recordings done, it costs money to design, manufacture, and be able to sell physical CD's as well as music online on such vendor's websites as iTunes and Amazon. Merchandise that an artist sells, has to be first bought.

For a college student, who happens to not have any job at the moment other than making a few bucks here and there where he plays, the costs of such things are far out of my budget. However, there is  a solution to many of these issues. Networking. No, not the kind you do on Facebook or Twitter (although they could potentially be avenues to do what I'm about to explain), but rather the more "professional" kind; let's liken it to a real life Linked In (if you don't  understand this reference, then you probably aren't a "professional").

Mothers, TVP, Broken Down Cars, and Storytelling

The other day, I started watching all the videos I could find of folk artists performing live--to figure out what they do to be such great performers and how I can improve my own stageshow--from TV shows etc (i.e Austin City Limits, Soundstage, etc) and stumbled across a grammy-nominated artist I knew fairly well, Ray LaMontagne, on VH1 Storytellers.

He told a bunch of stories, especially in this clip, about growing up poor and what not. The audience laughed and was really into it, which got me thinking about my own shows.

That Jealous Moon, Reed Foehl, and Inspiration

Well, as not-so-long-time readers, as well as anyone who knows me personally, will surely know, I've been working on writing and recording a five song EP. In December, I released a track listing, but had not finished writing all of the songs. Recently, I finished the last of them. Cue audience clapping and cheering. The song entitled That Jealous Moon, specifically, came out fantastically and I'm extremely proud of it.  However, it took me nearly two months to finish it. If you just read two minutes, snorted, and rolled your eyes in disgust, back up and read that sentence again, for I said months.

See, inspiration is elusive, hard to find, and oft times, rather fleeting.

The Lowdown on Lewiston

Well, I wanted to tell you and show you a bit of what I've been up to, so maybe you'll forgive me for my LONG absence. I think I may just need to create a new label for these last three blog posts, EXCUSES.

So, my dad and I came up here to move me into an apartment before school started. We got in late on a Thursday night. The next morning while eating breakfast, I saw that a coffee shop/cafe was having an open mic that night. So that night, I went over to The Cafe Sage to see how it was, and ended up performing.

The Sagebrush Rebel is back!

Yes, you are actually reading a blog post again. No, this is not a dream. Nor is it deja vu. This is new. This is right. This is now.

So, I suppose explanations are in order, eh?

Well, Christmas was crazy, I struggled through recording and then lost all my files, compounded with a move clear across the state to a new state, and being without internet for awhile, plus getting moved in and accustomed to a new city.

Then, it happened. I got asked to join a band. I've been playing my folk music around town in all the coffee shops (which Lewiston has an abundance of really nice coffee houses), and got noticed. Now I'm in a rock band and I've been busy practicing, playing shows, doing schoolwork, finding friends, chasing females (ok THAT is a lie), etc.

Have no fear, new content is on the way. Starting tomorrow. I will have something BRAND NEW and exciting for you then. I can't wait either.

Extended Absense

The Sagebrush Rebel will return soon with new content. The month of December is crazy. Your patience is appreciated, and it will be rewarded, I promise.

Watch for updates on my folk EP which while scheduled for free download release on Christmas Eve, will be coming out in the next few days.

For Emma, Forever Ago (Lo-Fi Magic)

For Emma, Forever Ago. Bon Iver.

Musician Justin Vernon, finished recording an album with his band ending in the band parting ways, experienced a hard break-up with his girlfriend, and had an awful battle with mono in the fall a few years ago. Feeling heartbroken, lost, and out of place, he decided to spend the winter alone in his father's cabin in northern Wisconsin. Alone, with all his personal belongings--some clothes, a four-track tape recorder, a computer, a couple guitars, a few microphones and a few other miscellaneous items--he spent a bleak winter there in the cabin cut off from the world. It was there, that he took the name Bon Iver (based on the French Bon Hiver or Good winter) upon himself and wrote songs chronicling his frustration, anger, and resentment towards the painful recent events in his life.

He recorded them himself, with only what he had,... a meager, incomplete home studio. He intended to send these song demos to record labels and hoped get a record deal with one, but when his friends heard the demos, they raved. At the insistence of friends and family, he pressed five hundred copies of For Emma, Forever Ago and had a concert and release party.

Some Photography and the Importance of First Impressions

I just wanted to share some of my work with you tonight, as well as some pictures taken of me performing as Sagebrush Rebellion. First I'll explain the context of the snippet I'm going to post.

Beginnings. Beginnings of any creative work are like first impressions. Whether it's the first verse of a song, the first page of a novel, the introduction of an formal article or essay, or the first paragraph of a short story, the first few sentences are crucial. In essays, the first paragraph has to catch the reader's attention as well as state the purpose and point of the entire essay. The introduction in a musical selection must set the tone as well as interest the listener. In a story--short or long like a novel--the introductions are just as crucial.

Imagine these beginnings as a first meeting with someone. In a story or song especially. The listener/reader will be introduced to the cast of characters. One must set up who is the narrator of the work, as well as indict who the audience is, whether that is a general audience (i.e. the World) or a very specific one (i.e. a single person or group of persons, whether named or un-named). The first few moments really count. Imagine you come face to face with a person and you greet them, but they make no reply. More than likely, if they are unresponsive, you will say good-bye and leave. It's the same in writing. There must be a connection made between the narrator and the audience.

A Lesson in Songwriting

There's an old saying among writers that has great relevance to songwriting.  "Less is more." Using this in a story is much easier than in songwriting. When applied to writing, its uses are very obvious. Instead of "The grey dog with a mangy coat and a definite limp walked slowly down the street, full of pot holes and rain." a writer could say, "The mangy grey dog limped down the street, around the pot holes filled with last-night's rain." Its more succinct and really paints a clearer picture. But, applying this is much more difficult in writing lyrics.

Neither of the above lines would work in a song. They're much too long, and laden with awkward words. Sam Beam, of Iron and Wine, recently discussed how he uses well-known religious imagery to clarify and create images and stories.