Hello World!
Let's be honest here, alright? I love to create music. It's close to being a drug for me when inspiration takes over. I will spend countless hours with my guitars playing chord progressions, searching for that dream original that absolutely everyone will love. Sometimes my new songs grab hold of me and stay with me, while others just fade away once the music stops. Lately I've been thinking about all my years I've spent writing songs and suddenly I took a hard look at myself and asked one very simple question about my love for music. The question I asked myself is this: "Why?"
Why do I always find myself drawn to my guitars, keyboard and microphones so often? Why do I love to create new music by myself for hours at a time, and yet feel completely uninterested in playing even a few chords of what happens to be the current hot rock track every radio DJ is playing on the air? Why do I share my music online with both friends and strangers alike, opening myself up to feedback that is far more likely to be criticism and emotion evisceration than any positive feedback from new listeners and fans?
Because I am who I am.
I am a songwriter. A vocalist. An artist. I write and perform my new music because the creation process is what makes me feel alive. I feel such a surge of adrenaline when I write a chorus for a new song that has that pure 'hook' quality to it. I can't wait to finish the whole song and share it with anyone who will listen.
This next part is the important message of the day, my own personal revelation if you will. I've realized that it's the sharing that matters the most to me in the end, not the response I get.
I have realized that it's okay if some random stranger from Ohio says in a forum that I will never amount to anything. It's okay if Mike from Alberta says he hates my voice. Or my choice of effects on my rhythm guitar. If John from Florida thinks I'm lousy at something else, hey that's alright with me as well. I figure there are builders and destroyers in this world, and while the builders are often too busy trying to create something worthwhile it just leaves the destroyers with nothing better to do than run other people down. If I get insulted by fifty people online who say I have no talent, but also get praised by three people who said they loved my new song then I will always call that a success. One fact that we all know is that you really can't please everyone. I will always find people who don't like what I have to offer. And I will always cherish every single person who does.
Another fact we all know is that the only sure way to fail in life is not to try in the first place. Too scared to put yourself out there? That would be the majority of us. Sadly that also leaves you with a 100% chance of never being heard. I am not that guy. You can like me, love me or hate me - I am okay with whatever you decide. I am always going to put myself and my music out there so that you can choose.
And on that note, I would like to invite you to listen to one of my latest songs, 'Jack's on Queen' on my page at Reverbnation.com . I enjoy listening to it, there's a good chance you will to. Also, on September 1st, 2013 I have a single that will release on iTunes and Amazon.com. It is called 'Coming Home' and is a song that I wrote about an adorable little boy I personally know named Oscar. Oscar is struggling with Leukemia and recently went on a trip to Disney World with the Make A Wish foundation. In honor of Oscar I am donating all monies raised from sales of this song to charity. If you, random stranger, happen to be reading this why not listen to some of my songs and see if you enjoy them? Any word of mouth always means a lot to me. Heck, just write me a note to say hello, I love to communicate!
Best wishes to you.
Be well.
Be kind.
Be heard.
...Definitely be heard.
Later, World!
Showing posts with label independent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label independent. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
Back by popular demand!
After several years of collecting 'virtual dust' on the internet, Back Stage With Jay V resumes!
Hello World!
In the time since my last post a lot of life has happened including some highs, and some lows. I've met a lot of great people already in 2013, and greatly expanded my circle of good friends. But today I'd like to talk a little about one new friend in particular.
I'd like to tell you about a special little guy named Oscar. Oscar is 4 years old, and comes from a good family with an older brother and two parents that love both their children immensely. Oscar looks like any fun loving 4 year old you've seen before, but there is something about him that you wouldn't know most days from looking at him - Oscar has Leukemia.
I met Oscar and his family and it affected me right away. I saw two parents coping with a stress most of us will never see, and yet they still were incredibly outgoing and uplifting, while they immediately made me feel right at home in their house. It's an uncommon sight, to see people who can carry themselves with such grace while coping with stressful circumstances beyond their control.
After that day was over I felt an overwhelming urge to do something nice for them, even if only as a gesture to show them that someone else has noticed how kind they are, and how special little Oscar is. That's what lead me to write a song for Oscar, something fun and uplifting - much like the family themselves. They had told me about the stress of having to leave Oscar in the hospital so many nights, and the anxiety that it would bring. So I wrote a song for Oscar simply titled: 'Coming Home (Oscar's Song)'.
I am not content with stopping there though. After working on the song over a couple months I finally had a finished mix that was not just ready for Oscar and his family, but was ready for the world. And so with a lot of excitement I can announce that on September 1st, 2013 'Coming Home (Oscar's Song)' is releasing on Amazon.com, iTunes, and other major online retailers. For example, you can already find the Amazon listing for the new single located here. I will be sure to add more links to other retailers in the next few weeks as September 1st approaches.
After consulting with Oscar's parents on this, I am happy to reveal that I will be donating ALL of the proceeds from this release directly to a charity that has been very supportive to Oscar's family - Candlelighters, a childhood cancer support program that does important work and provides real help for families coping with childhood cancer.
I have so much more to talk about over the next few weeks as September 1st approaches, and I hope to share this story with many more people as it grows. In the meantime, why not like my page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jayvmarshall and stop by to listen to some other songs of mine at www.reverbnation.com/jayvmarshall
Later World!
Hello World!
In the time since my last post a lot of life has happened including some highs, and some lows. I've met a lot of great people already in 2013, and greatly expanded my circle of good friends. But today I'd like to talk a little about one new friend in particular.
I'd like to tell you about a special little guy named Oscar. Oscar is 4 years old, and comes from a good family with an older brother and two parents that love both their children immensely. Oscar looks like any fun loving 4 year old you've seen before, but there is something about him that you wouldn't know most days from looking at him - Oscar has Leukemia.
I met Oscar and his family and it affected me right away. I saw two parents coping with a stress most of us will never see, and yet they still were incredibly outgoing and uplifting, while they immediately made me feel right at home in their house. It's an uncommon sight, to see people who can carry themselves with such grace while coping with stressful circumstances beyond their control.
After that day was over I felt an overwhelming urge to do something nice for them, even if only as a gesture to show them that someone else has noticed how kind they are, and how special little Oscar is. That's what lead me to write a song for Oscar, something fun and uplifting - much like the family themselves. They had told me about the stress of having to leave Oscar in the hospital so many nights, and the anxiety that it would bring. So I wrote a song for Oscar simply titled: 'Coming Home (Oscar's Song)'.
I am not content with stopping there though. After working on the song over a couple months I finally had a finished mix that was not just ready for Oscar and his family, but was ready for the world. And so with a lot of excitement I can announce that on September 1st, 2013 'Coming Home (Oscar's Song)' is releasing on Amazon.com, iTunes, and other major online retailers. For example, you can already find the Amazon listing for the new single located here. I will be sure to add more links to other retailers in the next few weeks as September 1st approaches.
After consulting with Oscar's parents on this, I am happy to reveal that I will be donating ALL of the proceeds from this release directly to a charity that has been very supportive to Oscar's family - Candlelighters, a childhood cancer support program that does important work and provides real help for families coping with childhood cancer.
I have so much more to talk about over the next few weeks as September 1st approaches, and I hope to share this story with many more people as it grows. In the meantime, why not like my page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jayvmarshall and stop by to listen to some other songs of mine at www.reverbnation.com/jayvmarshall
Later World!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
New single hits the 'Net this Saturday and more!
Lots of valuable info coming your way today!
First off I'd like to remind everyone that I'll have two of my songs airing on a radio station in Waterloo, Ontario this Monday, March 17th (on St. Patrick's Day!). 'Waiting' and 'Devil On My Shoulder' will both be featured as new music on The Rock Show which airs from 3-5pm on CKMS FM (click www.ckmsfm.ca for the webcast!) They'll be airing during a call-in segment where people call in and vote whether or not the songs should keep getting more airtime! If you're around a PC on Monday afternoon you could call in at 1 519 884 2567 and tell them that you heard Jay V on the show and think it rocks!
Secondly I'm pleased to announce that I will be uploading 'Devil On My Shoulder' on all my websites this Saturday to help spread the word more in advance of the radio show. Make sure to check it out, it's a great guitar rockin tune! This Saturday is the first day that anyone outside of band members and select radio hosts will have ever heard it!
Which brings me to another topic, most people may know of one or two places where they can get some info on Jay V, but I've never made one big list of my websites and profiles, so here we go!
Jay V. Marshall on ReverbNation - The first place that Jay V's songs appear!
Jay V. Marshall has a blog - A peek backstage at everything Jay V behind the scenes
Jay V. Marshall on MySpace - Want to network? Just dig the songs? Send a friend request!
Jay V. Marshall is on artistopia.com - This profile will be finished after the songs hit the radio
Jay V. Marshall has a profile at CBC Radio3 - in progress for now
Jay V. Marshall is on Garageband.com Rate indy music and discover new artists!
First off I'd like to remind everyone that I'll have two of my songs airing on a radio station in Waterloo, Ontario this Monday, March 17th (on St. Patrick's Day!). 'Waiting' and 'Devil On My Shoulder' will both be featured as new music on The Rock Show which airs from 3-5pm on CKMS FM (click www.ckmsfm.ca for the webcast!) They'll be airing during a call-in segment where people call in and vote whether or not the songs should keep getting more airtime! If you're around a PC on Monday afternoon you could call in at 1 519 884 2567 and tell them that you heard Jay V on the show and think it rocks!
Secondly I'm pleased to announce that I will be uploading 'Devil On My Shoulder' on all my websites this Saturday to help spread the word more in advance of the radio show. Make sure to check it out, it's a great guitar rockin tune! This Saturday is the first day that anyone outside of band members and select radio hosts will have ever heard it!
Which brings me to another topic, most people may know of one or two places where they can get some info on Jay V, but I've never made one big list of my websites and profiles, so here we go!
Jay V. Marshall on ReverbNation - The first place that Jay V's songs appear!
Jay V. Marshall has a blog - A peek backstage at everything Jay V behind the scenes
Jay V. Marshall on MySpace - Want to network? Just dig the songs? Send a friend request!
Jay V. Marshall is on artistopia.com - This profile will be finished after the songs hit the radio
Jay V. Marshall has a profile at CBC Radio3 - in progress for now
Jay V. Marshall is on Garageband.com Rate indy music and discover new artists!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
80%Rock, 20%Talk - A Radio Single Is Almost Done
Hello World,
A friend of mine asked me for an update about how much progress is being made now that recording sessions for the album are in full swing. I'm pleased to announce that the recording sessions have been going incredibly well, with two songs already around 80% recorded and ready.
What do I mean "80% done" you ask? Well it's like this. The lyrics and chord progressions are written by me before anyone else is involved. This is, after all, a solo album that is being produced and released independently in my own name (Jay V.Marshall). Once the basis for the songs is finished then it's time for me to bring in the rest of the crew to take things to another level.
So next I brought in Darryl G (drummer) to replace my computer synthesized beats with the actual drum tracks for the album. Darryl has a sweet 10-piece drum kit put together in my studio right now for recording. He and I spent a couple days together speeding things up and slowing parts down, plus adding and removing different drum rolls and fills. Definitely a lot of fun jamming in the studio.
Once that was done I had to take a couple more days isolating myself in the studio re-recording all of the rhythm guitar tracks and vocals I had previously layed out to match the new rhythm and pacing that we'd created. It was actually a couple weeks before I was satisfied with my vocals again.
Next came the background vocals. I brought in Christine F, an excellent singer who I've heard perform dozens of times in front of large crowds at bars and taverns all over. She's pretty much a "Karaoke Diva" but I think that's mostly because she's been too busy living her life to try to find a more serious venue to show her vocal talents in. Fortunately the background vocals for the first two songs have only involved some singing of key notes and a few lines of lyrics during the chorus' so there wasn't much in the way for her to stress about. A true professional, she was able to perform excellent takes again and again, right up to the point that I was certain she had nailed her parts exactly.
And so now I am at the point where I just need the bass guitar recorded and the songs will be done. But much the way that life always goes, my close friend Dave M who performed Bass for me the last time I was in a band has moved on in life and started a family with his (gorgeous) new wife Jennifer. Which brings me to my new bass guitarist Chris B who I have asked to finish up his tracks and bring these first two songs on the album to the finish line. I've given Chris a CD with the rest of our tracks mixed down already so that he can relax with it and get some practice in with the final recordings so that when he comes to record his tracks things should go extra smooth with no surprises.
So basically if you made of list of all the steps it takes to record music in a studio for an album like this, the checklist for my first two songs would look something like this:
Lyrics & Music: done
Lead Vocals: done
Rhythm Guitar: done
Drums: done
Backing Vocals: done
Bass guitar: pending
The goal by the way, is to record 15 songs in total and release the album using the top 12. Assuming that things get wrapped up with these songs in the next two weeks, I should be able to send out the first single as part of a promotional package to several radio stations sometime in early March. In the meantime I ask people to just keep checking in at www.reverbnation.com/jayvmarshall and at http://jayvmarshall.blogspot.com/ for the latest news.
Remember, I still have an old demo of Waiting available to listen to at reverbnation which was recorded using sythesized (fake) drums and bass. The music was created solely by myself as a preview copy which I gave to the rest of the group to familiarize themselves with the song before we got into the studio. If nothing else, it offers a chance for you to preview what kind of lyrics to expect from the CD later. But of course remember that the music you will hear on that cut is nothing like what you'll be hearing from me soon (after all, I'm no drummer or bassist!) and the vocals were not something I cared about at that point. I just like to let people see a little bit of the creative process as we go along, as a Back Stage Pass if you will.
Later World!
A friend of mine asked me for an update about how much progress is being made now that recording sessions for the album are in full swing. I'm pleased to announce that the recording sessions have been going incredibly well, with two songs already around 80% recorded and ready.
What do I mean "80% done" you ask? Well it's like this. The lyrics and chord progressions are written by me before anyone else is involved. This is, after all, a solo album that is being produced and released independently in my own name (Jay V.Marshall). Once the basis for the songs is finished then it's time for me to bring in the rest of the crew to take things to another level.
So next I brought in Darryl G (drummer) to replace my computer synthesized beats with the actual drum tracks for the album. Darryl has a sweet 10-piece drum kit put together in my studio right now for recording. He and I spent a couple days together speeding things up and slowing parts down, plus adding and removing different drum rolls and fills. Definitely a lot of fun jamming in the studio.
Once that was done I had to take a couple more days isolating myself in the studio re-recording all of the rhythm guitar tracks and vocals I had previously layed out to match the new rhythm and pacing that we'd created. It was actually a couple weeks before I was satisfied with my vocals again.
Next came the background vocals. I brought in Christine F, an excellent singer who I've heard perform dozens of times in front of large crowds at bars and taverns all over. She's pretty much a "Karaoke Diva" but I think that's mostly because she's been too busy living her life to try to find a more serious venue to show her vocal talents in. Fortunately the background vocals for the first two songs have only involved some singing of key notes and a few lines of lyrics during the chorus' so there wasn't much in the way for her to stress about. A true professional, she was able to perform excellent takes again and again, right up to the point that I was certain she had nailed her parts exactly.
And so now I am at the point where I just need the bass guitar recorded and the songs will be done. But much the way that life always goes, my close friend Dave M who performed Bass for me the last time I was in a band has moved on in life and started a family with his (gorgeous) new wife Jennifer. Which brings me to my new bass guitarist Chris B who I have asked to finish up his tracks and bring these first two songs on the album to the finish line. I've given Chris a CD with the rest of our tracks mixed down already so that he can relax with it and get some practice in with the final recordings so that when he comes to record his tracks things should go extra smooth with no surprises.
So basically if you made of list of all the steps it takes to record music in a studio for an album like this, the checklist for my first two songs would look something like this:
Lyrics & Music: done
Lead Vocals: done
Rhythm Guitar: done
Drums: done
Backing Vocals: done
Bass guitar: pending
The goal by the way, is to record 15 songs in total and release the album using the top 12. Assuming that things get wrapped up with these songs in the next two weeks, I should be able to send out the first single as part of a promotional package to several radio stations sometime in early March. In the meantime I ask people to just keep checking in at www.reverbnation.com/jayvmarshall and at http://jayvmarshall.blogspot.com/ for the latest news.
Remember, I still have an old demo of Waiting available to listen to at reverbnation which was recorded using sythesized (fake) drums and bass. The music was created solely by myself as a preview copy which I gave to the rest of the group to familiarize themselves with the song before we got into the studio. If nothing else, it offers a chance for you to preview what kind of lyrics to expect from the CD later. But of course remember that the music you will hear on that cut is nothing like what you'll be hearing from me soon (after all, I'm no drummer or bassist!) and the vocals were not something I cared about at that point. I just like to let people see a little bit of the creative process as we go along, as a Back Stage Pass if you will.
Later World!
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