Project Studio Guy

September 14, 2009

The PSG is Back Again

Although I fancy myself a would-be “morning person”, I am finding it difficult to get up these past few days. Why? We are still on “west coast time.” I desire to rise at 7AM, but my body is screaming, “IT’S 4AM! What are you doing?”

I want to go to sleep at 10:30PM, but my body sternly states, “Sorry, you can’t sleep yet. Its only 7:30.”

My mind is still hard at work processing everything from our recent trip to California and Oregon.

Naturally, upon our return our friends have been asking, “Did you have a nice vacation?” I feel compelled to remind them that it was a “working vacation.” I am tempted to say, “Don’t you remember what I told you before we left, that we were going out there to work? We spent most of our time working, along with preparing for and leading a songwriters’ workshop in Oregon. We may have had a couple of days off, but we did not return home all refreshed and relaxed.” While this is what I am tempted to say, I realize that petulance is not attractive, so I simply say, “Did we have a nice vacation? Yes, it was very nice.”

So, am I complaining that our trip was not restful? Of course not! It was in fact, quite beneficial, and we actually did return home refreshed and rejuvenated mentally, if not physically.

In the coming days, I’ll relate some thoughts that came to me during our CA and OR expedition. As I write about our trip, it won’t be just a “we went here and we did that” recollection, (we can tell you that over lunch sometime…) but rather a collection of “life lessons” that were brought to mind during our various activities. No radically new or unheard of concepts here, just a little common wisdom that benefits the mind and the soul.

Posted by leonolguin at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2009

Hiatus (Sort Of)

The PSG is going on “hiatus” until September 14th.

Sheryl and I, along with our daughter Rose, will be leaving early Saturday morning for Newport Beach California. This marks the first time we have traveled together as a family for quite some time. I have not been away from Florida since 2005. Sheryl and I have not traveled together for more than a night or two since early 2007, before her battle with cancer.

We will spending a week in Newport Beach, staying with Sheryl's mom Bev. While we are there we will be celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday, and attending the 80th birthday celebration for my Dad. I also get to meet his new wife. He recently got married again after 4 years as a widower.

We'll also get to see various siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends we have not seen in quite some time. There are a few folks we are looking forward to meeting, too!

Then on August 30th, we will put our daughter on a plane bound for Osaka, Japan. Rose will be spending her senior year studying at Konsai Gaidai University. She will be staying with a host family, and completely immersing herself in the Japanese culture and language.

Sheryl and I will then go to Eugene Oregon to help conduct a songwriter's camp. More on that later.

Postings will be sporadic over the next few weeks since we'll be away from the office and the studio, but I plan to post some updates “from the road.” So the PSG will not be stopping entirely, but I may miss a day or two.

Posted by leonolguin at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2009

You'll Hurt Your Hands!

I can relate to this classic "Peanuts" strip:

View image

I, like most young boys, wanted to excel in sports. I was, admittedly, not a gifted athlete. I was too small for football, and too slow for track or cross-country running. I could hit a baseball well enough, but I was not a good fielder. I could not swim at all, and was too uncoordinated for gymnastics.

The one sport where I showed a little promise was, surprisingly enough, basketball. I had a pretty good outside shot, and could handle the ball fairly well.

I even thought briefly about trying out for the “B” team in High School. I knew I wasn't good enough to play varsity, but I thought I might have a chance to make the “B” team.

When these plans became known, I was subtly (well, not so subtly) discouraged from trying out, since seemingly everyone was worried that I might jam a finger (as often happens in basketball) and thus hinder my ability to play piano.

Thus ended what promised to be a very mediocre athletic career. I have not played basketball for over 20 years. But I still play the piano.

The most serious injury I ever suffered from piano playing was during a recital when I finished my piece, got up from the piano, took my bow, and tripped over the bench while attempting to exit the stage.

Posted by leonolguin at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)

August 05, 2009

Big News! Big News?

Before going to work, I was watching CNN this morning as they covered the story of the two American journalists who were coming home after 140 days of incarceration in North Korea. It was certainly a poignant moment, and worthy of receiving the media’s full attention.

So as the story reached it climax with the emotional reunion of Euna Lee and Laura Ling and their loved ones, I spotted a “headline” that was running along the bottom of the screen:

Paula Abdul to leave “American Idol.”

I am the only person in America to find this juxtaposition of news stories somewhat disconcerting?

Big News!

Big News?

Posted by leonolguin at 03:57 PM | Comments (2)

What the Truly Great Ones Do

They reach back and help the ones behind them.

They mentor, they instruct, they warn of dangers and pitfalls.

They encourage, they motivate, they praise.

They may even rebuke and exhort when necessary.

They remain unthreatened by another’s improvement or success. Rather, they are spurred on to do even more themselves, not in an effort to outdo anyone, but rather to keep growing and remain vital and active.

Posted by leonolguin at 12:26 PM | Comments (1)

August 04, 2009

The Continuum – Part 2

Continuum: A continuous extent, succession, or whole, no part of which can be distinguished from neighboring parts except by arbitrary division.

All musicians are on “the continuum.”

There are those who are still close to the starting point. Perhaps they have learned a few guitar chords, or taken a piano lesson or two.

Then there are some who have moved a bit to the right, a little further along the continuum. They have learned to play their instrument with a touch more ease and fluency, and have tried writing a few songs.

There are those who are farther down the line. We might even call them “professionals”. They have written countless songs, played innumerable gigs, made some decent money from their musical endeavors, perhaps have gained a little recognition along the way.

But here is the main question: are the professionals “better” than those who are less advanced, who are “farther to the left?”

No!

They are simply in a different place on the continuum.

I have always rejected the notion that one musician is “better” than another. This is one reason why I don’t like music “competitions.” (And no, I don’t like nor watch “American Idol!”)

Yes, it’s true that “natural” ability (i.e. talent) plays a part in determining one’s place on the continuum, but diligence, dedication, and hard work also go a long way in establishing one’s position.

That position on the continuum is not fixed. A good musician keeps moving to the right by continuing to grow through conscientious practice and study, and by finding motivation and inspiration from those who are “farther to the right.”

Posted by leonolguin at 06:49 AM | Comments (1)

August 03, 2009

The Continuum

No, this post is not about the native habitat of the delightfully sardonic character “Q” from “Star Trek: The Next Generation" (although he would be fun to write about).

The continuum to which I refer is the one upon which all musicians are placed.

Sometimes a musician of modest attainments will be confronted with the substantial accomplishments and seemingly supernatural abilities of another musician, and find himself or herself becoming discouraged.

“I’m not very good, and this other guy is better,” becomes the dominant thought.

The problem is that we tend to think “vertically” in terms of “how good” a musician is. Supposedly, there are those perched on the highest levels that have the most talent, and those on the lower levels who are destined to toil in mediocrity.

It’s akin to the way we view differing levels of financial means. The rich are obviously on a “higher level” than the middle class and the outright poor.

I do not believe it works this way with musicians. I would encourage you to learn to think “horizontally”. We are all on a continuum. There is a “starting point” to the far left, where all musicians begin.

That’s the first thing keep in mind: ALL musicians start at that point.

No one is born automatically knowing how to sing, write songs, or play an instrument. There was a time for every musician when they picked up their instrument for the first time (or sat down at it if it was a piano!), or sang a song for the first time, or made their first attempt to create something musical.

More on this tomorrow.

Posted by leonolguin at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)

July 20, 2009

Apollo 11 – July 20, 1969

Everyone’s talking about the Apollo 11 mission and the original Moonwalk today, and why not? It was one of those watershed events in our life as the human collective, and just about everyone who is old enough can remember where they were when they watched man walk on the moon on TV.

I was at my Grandma and Grandpa’s duplex in San Pedro, California, with all my cousins from my mother’s side of the family, watching Armstrong and Aldrin, and I was in awe of the little caption on the screen, “live from the moon.” It was almost impossible to believe (unlike some borderline crazy folk, I do believe it REALLY happened and was not an elaborate ruse cooked up by NASA and Hollywood. If it were, someone would have undoubtedly written a tell-all book about it by now).

I remember going outside and looking up at the moon, and along with millions of others, thinking, “Gee, there are a couple of guys walking around up there.”

It is astonishing to ponder the fact that man landed on the moon a mere 66 years after he first flew an airplane. There were a lot of people alive in 1969 that could remember this incredible milestone, and now they were watching men walk on another celestial body.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll live long enough see men (and women) walk on Mars. 66 years from 1969 puts us at 2035. I’ll only be 77; I could make it!

By the way, you may be wondering what this has to do with music. Well, this may be a tenuous connection, but back in the early 70’s, whenever I would deviate from my assigned piano pieces and begin making up my own music when I was supposed to be practicing, my father would say, “Stop playing that ‘moon music’ and get back to your piano lesson!” I guess my own music was pretty moody. I was a teenager, after all.

Posted by leonolguin at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

July 09, 2009

What People Really Want From a Musician – Connection

Your audience, whether its 300 or 3, wants to believe that you truly care about them.

To illustrate this point, I will embarrass two very special ladies with whom I am privileged to work.

Of course, with Sheryl Paige it goes far beyond work. She has been my wife and partner in music for 28 years. We have played countless gigs together, produced a whole slew of songs together in the studio, and have even written a few things together. She has a great many admirable qualities and abilities, but one I especially appreciate is her extraordinary capacity for connecting with other people. She truly cares about everyone with whom she comes in contact, and is able to communicate that to them.

She does this not only in normal everyday activities, but from the stage as well. When she performs her songs, I can sense in her a sincere desire to communicate, and a real sense of caring for the audience. She wants them to know that she's doing her best for them. She considers it an honor and a privilege to sing to them. The audience can sense this desire and as a result her performance has more impact.

She also projects a winsome humility mixed with a pleasing sense of joy and confidence.

I've been performing with Sybil Gage for almost three years. She is an immensely talented singer, songwriter, and entertainer.

When I first started working with her, there was something she always did at every show that truly impressed me. During her break, instead of leaving the stage and going off to hide somewhere, she would go out and mingle with her fans. She would also stay afterward and visit with the people who came to hear her. She didn't leave until the last audience member did. She signed every CD that someone bought, posed for any picture someone wanted to take, and was always willing to fulfill a special song request. Of course, she still does all these things, and truly connects with her audience.

When she sings, it seems to everyone in the house that she is singing just for them. It is a marvelous thing to watch, and I always have the best seat in the house.

This is the kind of connection people want to have with musicians.

Posted by leonolguin at 09:21 AM | Comments (1)

July 08, 2009

What People Really Want From a Musician – Flexibility

Of course, this doesn't mean that you can bend down and touch your toes (although that would be a good thing), but it means that you are open to trying new ways of doing things.

Sometimes this will involve your audience, at other times your fellow musicians.

Maybe you've written a song that you think it pretty good, and you show it to a fellow songwriter, or play it to the songwriters group, and a few suggestions for improving the song are thrown your way. Do you dismiss them out of hand, or do you take them into consideration?

Maybe you're a songwriter who is used to writing lyrics first. Have you ever considered doing it the other way 'round?

Perhaps you are performing somewhere, and you are asked to play a little overtime. Do you refuse, and pack up and leave at the appointed hour, or do you work something out with your hosts, and play the extra few minutes. (Lest this example seem extreme, I have heard numerous exasperation-tinged reports from my agent of gigging musicians doing this very thing!)

Maybe you are in the studio trying to lay down a vocal track, and its just not happening. Do you keep struggling with it, and end up wasting time (while still paying the studio!) or do you go on to something else, or even end the session?

If you are at an open mic, do you balk at being asked to play a little later (or earlier) than you originally planned?

The ability to change and adapt is crucial in just about any occupation, and so it is with musicians.

Posted by leonolguin at 09:26 AM | Comments (0)

July 07, 2009

What People Really Want From a Musician – Humility

Here's the “flip side” to my post from yesterday.

People want to become fans of musicians who have confidence in their abilities, but these same folks will speak disparagingly of a performer who seems to exhibit a total lack of humility.

You've seen them; performers in love with the sound of their own voice, possessing an unshakable belief in their complete superiority to all around them.

While you need to be confident in your abilities as a musician, you don't want to cross over the line to sheer arrogance. It can be difficult line to walk.

This is a most personal subject for me. I have confidence in my abilities, but I too often downplay them, for fear of becoming a raging egomaniac. My wife Sheryl assures me on a regular basis that I have not “crossed the line,” and indeed, tend to err in the opposite direction.

Fortunately, I don't have to deal with very many overconfident musicians in my work as a performer and as the Project Studio Guy, but I sure have heard some “horror stories" from those who have.

Posted by leonolguin at 07:20 AM | Comments (0)

July 06, 2009

What People Really Want From a Musician – Confidence

Whatever you do as musician, whether it be playing a gig, performing your latest song, playing your latest recording for a friend, showing someone a song in progress, or working with your songwriting partner, allow me to give a piece of friendly advice: NEVER APOLOGIZE OR MAKE EXCUSES.

For example, if you're getting up to perform at an open mic, don't start by announcing that you are just getting over a cold, or by apologizing for the fact that you are not an accomplished guitar player. Just get up there and give it your best.

If you're showing someone a new song, or presenting it to a songwriting group, don't start by trying to explain what the song is about, or by apologizing for the poor quality of the demo. Just do your best beforehand, and play it without comment.

Maybe I'm dropping into “nitpicking mode" here, but there's one other little thing that bugs me: if you're going to play a new song, don't introduce it by saying “I hope you like it.” That phrase makes you sound needy.

Yes, of course you are hoping that your audience will like your song, but if you have confidence in yourself as a writer, if you know that you have put in the necessary effort to really learn the craft, if you have written successful songs in the last, then you KNOW that a certain number of people are going to like your newest creation.

Sure, your song may need further work, and you may be able to determine what to re-work or change depending on the reaction, but you don't need to broadcast your uncertainty.

Although no one may ever say this out loud to you, constantly expressing doubts and apologizing for your work makes people uncomfortable, and they will from that point always think of you as a hesitant performer, and instead of truly connecting with you, will end up feeling a little sorry for you.

Posted by leonolguin at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2009

What People Really Want From a Musician - Integrity

I remember once back in the eighties, a friend of ours told me flatly, “All musicians are flakes.” She then realized to whom she was speaking, and tried to backpedal a bit (actually a lot) but it was too late. She had spoken what she truly believed.

Why did she say it? Well, obviously she had had a run-in with a musician at some point, and the musician in question had most likely displayed some very flake-like behavior.

What did this musician do? Probably showed up unforgivably late for appointment, or perhaps did not show up at all. Perhaps he agreed to perform some task, and never did. Somewhere, a word was not kept, or an agreement was ignored. Hence the universal “musician – flake” label.

I implore anyone who calls himself or herself a musician, to act with the utmost integrity. It doesn't matter whether you do music as a sideline, or as your full-time occupation. Always do what you say you are going to do. Be on time (or a little bit early) for everything. Be completely prepared for whatever you are doing, whether it be a performance, an interview, or a recording session. Pay your bills on time (especially your studio bills!). Be honest and upright in all your dealings.

People want to be able to depend on you. The mature musicians I know fully realize this, and thus give a good name to our profession.

Posted by leonolguin at 05:42 PM | Comments (1)

June 24, 2009

What People Really Want from a Musician - Honesty

If you are (or want to be) a musician, how can you give the public what they want? What do they want? I've got some ideas!

Honesty

This is an important one for singer / songwriters. Before you can really move ahead with your music, you need to answer this question for yourself: “Who am I?”

A pitfall that younger musicians often fall prey to is trying to be “someone else.” Back in the eighties, many young female singers wanted to be “the next Madonna.” In the music business you often see a new artist touted as “the next so and so.” Anyone out there old enough to remember when Bruce Springsteen was publicized as “the next Dylan?” Only when he progressed beyond that label did he become “The Boss.” How did he do it? He was honest about who he was. He didn't consciously try to be the next Dylan.

Nowadays, there seems to be a specific style of singing that goes over big on “American Idol,” so countless young singers strive mightily to emulate that style. In so doing, they end up sounding very much like each other, with wildly varying degrees of ability.

Finding out “who you are” as a musician and staying true to that person, is not an easy task. Sometimes you can't completely define yourself, and who you are evolves over time. Sometimes you make a conscious effort to change, as you find yourself unhappy with certain aspects of the person you have become.

The main point here is not to try and be like someone just because they are popular the moment. Most of the mature musicians I know have pretty much figured out who they are and what they are about, and they are “comfortable in their own skin.”

Posted by leonolguin at 04:16 PM | Comments (1)

June 23, 2009

The PSG is on Facebook

After some gentle persuasion from my dear wife Sheryl, and my good friend Sybil, I have joined Facebook.

Here’s what my face (actually my upper half) looks like:

See? I’m not that scary looking.

Now I’m asking folks, “Do you want to be my friend?” Why do I suddenly feel as though I’m back in 2nd grade?

Actually, Facebook is a pretty good tool for keeping in touch with everyone. However, one must be careful not to spend too much time there.

I still prefer talking with people “face to face!”

Posted by leonolguin at 10:05 AM | Comments (3)

June 22, 2009

It Was Never Funny

Hagar the Horrible

Ha ha ha. This is funny because musicians are losers who can never be counted on to make a living.

I hate cartoons like this. When was this joke first used? 1922?

Posted by leonolguin at 08:51 PM | Comments (2)

June 18, 2009

Our Musical Family

We never refer to our “client list.” Instead, we talk about our “musical family.”

We seem to become close friends with just about everyone we work with in the studio. It would be hard not to. We have the privilege of sharing in the creation of their art. We are helping someone bring his or her dreams to life.

We never take this privilege lightly; we strive to do our best work for everyone who comes in here.

Our musical family has brought immeasurable joy into our lives. When Sheryl began her battle with cancer a year ago, the family rallied around us, and every one of them who were performers, without exception, played at various fund-raising benefits for Sheryl.

This blows my mind when I think about it (which is often, as in every time I look at my wife…). EVERY SINGLE ARTIST who recorded in our studio and still lived in this area came to our aid in some way during our darkest hours in 2008.

Now that we are back working again, our family is coming back to the studio to work on various projects, and Sheryl’s students (also family members!) are coming in to be instructed and encouraged.

I thank God every for our musical family, and I’m thankful for the new members who are joining their ranks.

Posted by leonolguin at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

June 02, 2009

Not Too Late?

Sometimes I get a little wistful when I watch shows like “Legends and Lyrics.”

The feeling comes over me as I listen to the amazing and often moving creations of these master songwriters.

When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I really wanted to be a songwriter. Elton John and Billy Joel were my main inspirations, since they were classically trained piano players, and so was I!

I started writing songs in earnest around that time, and of course, most of them were not any good. I still have some of my lyric books from that time, and I will not show them to anyone. I can barely look at them myself. But I keep them for some reason.

Back in 1978 I had two of my early songs cut by a Contemporary Christian Band called “Tradewind.” One of my songs was even the title cut on their album (we called them albums back then in the pre-CD days).

I was getting two types of feedback on my songwriting efforts at the time.

Type one was from my fellow musicians and some of my college professors. They encouraged me to keep at it. I had some ability that I could develop; there was a chance that I could do something with this.

Type two was coming from my family, and well-meaning relatives. “Cut it out,” was the word, either directly or implied. “You cannot make a living this way. You need to get a real job. Maybe you could be a piano teacher. Wait, you can’t even make a living doing that. Just forget this music thing.”

I chose to listen exclusively to the type two feedback, in an effort to be a “good kid” and keep peace in the family.

Oh, I managed to carve out a career in music. I started out as a church music minister, and served in that capacity in various places until 1990.

Today, I am most fortunate to be able to devote myself to recording and producing music, writing about music, composing instrumental music, and performing music. I continued to write songs well into the 80’s, primarily worship songs for use in the church, but by the early 90’s, after I left the ministry, I had all but given up on songwriting.

I just turned 51. It’s hard not to think of all the great songs I might have written had I kept at it steadily from the time I was 18.

Sheryl, sensing my songwriting melancholy, told me about a songwriter she met in Nashville who retired from his job in his early sixties, and moved to Nashville to pursue his songwriting. As few years into his “second career” he has had a few songs cut. He’s out there, doing what he loves, and having the time of his life.

Let’s see, I had an idea for a lyric the other night, and there’s this melody I came up with…

Posted by leonolguin at 08:32 AM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2009

“Making It”

When someone asks me how to “make it” as a singer /songwriter, my answer is usually, “If you can do anything else, do it!”

If the desire to write songs doesn’t burn in your soul, if you don’t have things you want to say that demand to be said, then don’t bother writing songs. If your desire is to become “rich and famous” then I implore you to stop right now. You’ll save yourself a lot of heartache.

But maybe you aren’t concerned about “making it” in music. Perhaps you are simply in pursuit of the joy of creation, the pleasure of sharing your creations with others, and the camaraderie of your fellow artists. Maybe you are looking for ways to encourage others in their songwriting and performing, ways to get valuable feedback on your work so that you can improve at your craft, and the chance to experience the thrill of creating something beautiful.

If that’s the case: go for it! I will do everything I can to help you.

Posted by leonolguin at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)

May 04, 2009

Who Inspires You?

I have been blessed to know and work with so many inspiring musicians.

What do they inspire me to do? They inspire me to improve myself. I want to work hard at being a better musician, a better arranger, a better recording engineer, and a better person.

How do they inspire me? By doing something to bring themselves closer to their dreams. They want to create a work of art, and so they do it. They want to move people with their music. They want to tell their story through song. They work hard at improving their craft. They are willing to learn and grow as artists, and as people.

But it goes beyond mere musical and songwriting talent. These artists inspire me through the way they treat their fellow musicians, and the way they treat their fans. In their actions I see respect, gratefulness, thoughtfulness, and plain old-fashioned manners. These kinds of things can restore your faith in mankind, especially when you find yourself becoming weary and jaded.

I hope that I may inspire someone every day.

Whom have you inspired?

Posted by leonolguin at 01:31 PM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2009

A Spirit of Encouragement

I believe that every musician ought to posses these qualities:

1. Talent
2. Practice
3. Perseverance
4. Aggressiveness
5. Determination
6. A spirit of encouragement

The first five are pretty standard, but the sixth quality is not included on many lists such as this.

I include this quality as one that every musician needs because encouragement, the giving and receiving of it, has been and will continue to be a major part of my life.

There will be times when you come to doubt your abilities, and start to question the worth of what you are doing. What a blessing it is to have a friend (or even a stranger) come to you and say, “I enjoy listening to you. I like your songs. Keep going. Keep doing what you are doing” (or words to that effect).

There will be times when you run across a fellow creative artist who is having a “down” day (and we all have them, don’t we?). Here’s your opportunity to be an encourager. Have a good word for your downcast colleague, and remind them of their worth.

We spend more time in the studio encouraging an artist to give their best performance and reminding them of the value of their work, than we do setting up mics, running cables, and dialing in proper recording levels. And we are encouraged when they express their appreciation of our work on their behalf.

Bring the spirit of encouragement into every thought and action, and see the effect it will have on your life. In this age of jadedness, cynicism and snarkiness, you will be a definite “breath of fresh air.”

Posted by leonolguin at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

April 23, 2009

Determination

This word, like most in the English Language, has several shades of meaning, some of which are fitting to musicians.

Determination can be the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose. As a musician, you want to have a purpose. You need goals. The goals can be revised as you move along, but you have to start somewhere.

Determination is the quality of being resolute; possessing a firmness of purpose. You will not be knocked off course by every little distraction or difficulty.

Determination also refers to a fixed purpose or intention: It is my determination to pursue my musical dreams.

One caveat as we consider determination. Often this term is paired with the word “grim,” as in “grim determination.” Let this not be so in your case.

Our lot as musicians is not an arduous journey of “grim determination,” but a joyous voyage of creativity, with the privilege of sharing our creations with our appreciative fellow travelers.

Posted by leonolguin at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

April 22, 2009

Aggressiveness

This word admittedly carries with it some negative connotations. One can be aggressive in attacking others without provocation, or in acting in an excessively pushy or menacing manner.

But there are other types of aggressiveness.

To be aggressive can also refer to making an all-out effort to win or succeed. You can succeed in your musical endeavors without necessarily causing someone else to lose. Music is not a “zero sum” game. In other words, for every aggressive winner, there is not necessarily a loser.

Aggressiveness can also refer to vigor, and energy. You can be aggressive in taking the initiative and making things happen for yourself. This has everything to do with knowing what you want and going after it, and nothing to do with pushing people around.

Posted by leonolguin at 09:11 AM | Comments (1)

April 21, 2009

Perseverance

The dictionary defines perseverance as: “steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.”

I like this definition, and if you look at it closely, it contains several key words, around which one could create an inspiring speech.

The outline for such a speech would like something like this:

Perseverance – A Must For the Musician (and everyone else for that matter!)

1. What is involved in perseverance?

a. Steady persistence – This is not a “stop and go” enterprise. Do something every day to help move you toward your dream.

b. A course of action – What will you do? What is your plan? Who is on your team? What will you do to stay motivated?

c. A purpose – What do you want to do? What are your goals? What is your dream? Don’t limit the size of your dream.

d. A state – What do you want your life to look like in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years? What does your life look like now, and what will you change?

e. Difficulties – Don’t be surprised when things go wrong. Don’t expect everything to go wrong, or you will end up a very sour person with few friends. Nevertheless, difficulties will arise. You will encounter difficult circumstances, difficult situations, and difficult people.

f. Obstacles – Things will get in the way. Roadblocks will be put up by life, or by other people. (“You really want to do music? Why?”) How will you break through the obstacles, or go around them?

g. Discouragement – Yes, those days will come when you wonder if you should go on.

2. Conclusion

If you keep reviewing your progress and remember your successes, if you keep in touch with your team, if you write down your goals and review them daily, the discouragement will pass. It will always pass. The difficulties and obstacles will be dealt with. You’ll be moving toward your dream. After all, you have talent. You’ve been practicing. You have people pulling for you. You will persevere!

Maybe I’ll get to deliver this speech someday. I know that portions of it may pop up now and again when I run across a musician who needs some encouragement. I know that I need to hear it myself from time to time.

Posted by leonolguin at 09:16 AM | Comments (1)

April 20, 2009

Practice

I’ve touched on this subject before, but I want to emphasize again the need for practice.

Singer songwriters actually have several skills they would do well to practice.

1. Singing
2. Songwriting
3. Guitar or keyboard playing
4. Performance

This may seem obvious, but I have seen many artists neglect one or more of these things, either through ignorance or arrogance, and consequently they never show much improvement in their overall craft.

Of course I’m not saying that practice will make you a star, but it certainly will never hinder you in your development as an artist!

Some artists don’t seem to realize that one can practice songwriting, or that proper vocal techniques can be learned and applied through practice. Many guitar-playing songwriters seem content to continue using the limited supply of chords they know, and seem reluctant to expand their musical knowledge.

What if you realize that you need to practice, but you don’t know what to practice, and you’re not sure how to proceed? Then you ought to consider taking lessons.

A good teacher will evaluate your skills and find the areas of weakness. They will then show you specifically what to do to improve.

(Those of you who know me may accuse me of subtle promotion, since my wife Sheryl teaches guitar, voice, songwriting, and performance skills!)

Posted by leonolguin at 09:56 AM | Comments (1)

April 17, 2009

The Happiest People in the World

Who are the happiest people in the world?

I believe that they are the people who use their natural talents to the uttermost.

Part of your mission in life is to share your talent with as many people as possible.

Part of MY mission in life is to help others pursue their mission in life!

Posted by leonolguin at 12:40 AM | Comments (0)

April 16, 2009

More on Talent

I believe that everyone comes into this world with some natural talent. Everyone has something that they are naturally good at.

Of course, in my life as the PSG (Project Studio Guy), I run across a lot of people with natural ability as songwriters, singers, and performers. In fact, I would dare say that I have never encountered anyone with a burning desire to pursue music that did not have some modicum of talent. Perhaps the talent was not developed, perhaps the skills needed to support the talent had not yet been honed, but the natural ability was there.

One of my talents is the ability to help others hone their talents.

If a musician is willing to set their ego aside, (that little voice that tells them “You’re already great! You don’t need any help!”) and cultivate within them an insatiable desire to learn, then they will become more and more skilled at their craft, whether it be songwriting, singing, performing, or a combination of all of these.

Posted by leonolguin at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)

April 15, 2009

Talent

What is talent?

Some would call it a gift, an instinct.

Its been called a gift from God, and a total mystery.

Some have been designated as “blessed with talent.” Countless others take stock of themselves and sadly proclaim, “I have no talent.”

Of course, one can have talent in a wide variety of fields. There are talented athletes, chefs, teachers, doctors, etc.

I’m referring to musical talent here.

While it is beyond the scope of this humble blog to present a complete examination of talent, I can begin by stating that the concept of talent is hard to pin down -- it lacks substance, it’s not specific.

That could be part of the reason that so many folks say that they have no talent. They’re not even sure what it is.

I also think that people tend to confuse talent with skill. We need to make a clear distinction between these two terms.

Skill is craft and technique. It is taught, refined, honed and developed. Just about anyone can be taught to play the piano, sing, or even dance! But this does not mean that they have a talent for these activities.

Talent is a combination of intelligence, confidence, desire and natural ability.

And that’s a about a close as I can get to defining it.

I would sure like to read some insightful comments about this!

Posted by leonolguin at 08:36 PM | Comments (0)

April 14, 2009

What Does a Musician Need?

What does it take to “make it” in music? I’m not referring to becoming a “star” or winning on “American Idol” (a show which I never watch, for reasons I may explain someday). I’m taking about making a living, or even part of a living, in music.

There are many musicians who operate “under the radar.” They are making a living in music, but they are not necessarily “famous.”

They have, however, created a body of work that is made available to their fans. They go out regularly and perform their music (and get paid for doing it!). They have built up a loyal following, a large group of folk who attend the concerts, and buy the CDs or downloads.

Accomplishing these things requires years of work, and I believe that certain qualities must be a part of the artist’s make-up.

What are these qualities?

1. Talent
2. Practice
3. Perseverance
4. Aggressiveness
5. Determination
6. A spirit of encouragement

You may be able to think of several other qualities, but these are the ones I have come to see as essential after 36 years as a professional musician.

I have met many of these “under the radar” musicians, and without exception they possess all of these qualities I have listed.

I’d like to briefly expound on each of these over the next week or so.

Posted by leonolguin at 09:59 AM | Comments (0)

March 12, 2009

Musical Enlightenment

We all want to grow and improve as musicians, as performers, as songwriters. We practice, we write and rewrite, we hone our craft, and we ask our fellow musicians to help us.

What makes the process difficult is that our growth is seldom as consistent as we would like.

Some days, we feel as though we are making real progress. Our confidence in our abilities is strong. The voice feels good, the music sounds great, the lyrics are top-notch, and the reaction is encouraging.

Other days, we feel as though we are not making any progress at all, or even regressing. Our confidence is shot, the voice feels ragged, the music sounds muddled, the lyrics make no sense, and no one seems to care whether we do this or not.

I’ve been on this “roller coaster” of musical ups and downs for more years than I would care to admit. (OK, I’ll admit it, I’ve been a professional musician since 1972!)

I’ve learned a few things that have helped me “smooth out the ride” a little, which I will tell you about tomorrow.

Until then, if you are having a “down day,” hang in there!

Posted by leonolguin at 12:53 PM | Comments (0)

March 11, 2009

The Ol’88 – Part 2

The year: circa 1973. The situation: I was a pianist without a piano.

To stop playing and just give up the piano was out of the question. Not to mention it was the only thing I was good at.

I could walk to our church and practice there, but that was rather inconvenient. Nevertheless, that’s what I did for a while.

Now, the details of what came next are lost to the fuzzy memories of youth. All I can recall is that somehow the Rotary Club of San Pedro (my hometown in Southern California) got word of my predicament, and they began to search for an instrument for me. (If I recall correctly, I had an uncle or two who were members of the Rotary…)

Did they just go out and get another upright piano? No, they found me a GRAND PIANO. And not a “baby” grand; a full size grand!

The instrument, whose previous owner remains unknown to me to this day, had been left in storage for several years, and was in superb condition, despite being built in 1928.

I can’t remember how I actually received the piano. I have no memory of any special ceremony held by the Rotary Club, but I do remember coming home from school one day to find this amazing instrument in our living room. It was mine, and it was a gift!

I immediately returned to my daily routine of practicing from the time I got home until dinner. I even arranged my school schedule so that I could finish at lunchtime (12:27PM), walk right home, and practice from 1PM until 5PM, every day.

Since the piano was situated right there in the living room, and was a LOUD instrument, naturally I drove my family crazy.

My name became “Leon Getoffthepiano.”

Posted by leonolguin at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2009

The Ol’ 88

Mr. Teed was here this morning to tune my piano. He’s been doing this once or twice a year for the last 24 years.

My piano is a 1928 Knabe 6’6” grand piano, and it takes up a rather large portion of my living room.

I have been tempted many times over the years to sell the thing, especially during times when finances are tight (like right now!). But eventually the urge to sell always seems to subside and eventually go away all together.

There’s a story behind my acquisition of this instrument that has been a part of my life for over 30 years.

I started taking piano lessons when I was 11, in 1969. Within 6 months of starting lessons, I had won first place at a piano competition (I still have the trophy) and had given a solo recital.

This made me something of a minor celebrity in my hometown, and it all started when my dad bought an old, beat up upright piano. He got the piano to give himself something to have fun on since he played by ear. His big number was “Anchors Away,” which is ironic since he was in the Coast Guard. I started fooling around on the piano, and soon asked to take lessons. That’s when I learned that there was a young piano teacher and her family who conveniently lived next door.

We kept that old upright for a few years, until I started taking from a second piano teacher a few years later (I was still studying with my original teacher as well). He wanted to see me practice on a better instrument, so he arranged to store his unused upright piano at our house. It was an instrument far superior to the one I was used to.

I developed the habit of coming straight home from school, and going right to the piano to commence practicing. I would practice until dinnertime.

One day I came home, and there was no piano! I was a pianist without a piano. And, being the oldest of 6 children, in a one-income household, a piano was not something we could just run out and buy. We didn’t want to get another beat up old piano. In addition, in those days there was no such thing as an inexpensive keyboard with a good piano sound, they had not been invented yet!

So what happened next? Tune in tomorrow!

Posted by leonolguin at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)

March 04, 2009

Return to NSAI

Sorry to miss the last few days. After 2 years, the flu bug finally caught up with me, and knocked me flat. However, I’m on the way back to health now, and ready to ease back into “normal” life. But then again, how normal is life for a Project Studio Guy?

Sheryl and I went to the monthly NSAI meeting for the first time since June 2008. We were a few minutes late, so when we walked in together for the first time in over 8 months, well, Sheryl got a standing ovation. We were very touched, to say the least.

Several of the members had not seen Sheryl since she was diagnosed with Lymphoma back in July 2008. Others had been able to come and visit a few times while she was undergoing treatment.

Our NSAI group was meeting for the first time in a music store in Casselberry, FL. We were housed in a recital hall-type wing of the building lined with practice / lesson rooms on each side.

So as were attempting to discuss songwriting, and listening to and critiquing songs, we did aural battle with numerous attempts to play “When the Saints Go Marching In,” by a budding pianist in one room, a few drums lessons emanating from another, and a group of young, somewhat inaccurate, yet no doubt sincere saxophonists rehearsing music exercises together in a third room. There was even a vocal lesson going on at one time.

We may have to find another meeting place, but it was kind of the music store owners to host us.

After the meeting we went to a nearby restaurant and “closed the joint down” as we ate, drank, laughed and talked.

I was reminded once again of how much we love and care for the members of this group.

I’ll tell you why tomorrow.

Posted by leonolguin at 05:50 PM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2009

The Comeback Begins

As many of you know, my wife Sheryl was diagnosed with Lymphoma back in early July of 2008.

Her last performance in 2008 was on Saturday, June 28th, at a place called the Galaxy Grill (now a different restaurant). She was not feeling well, and had not been herself for some time. Indeed, by the next evening, she was admitted to the hospital in tremendous pain, and we still did not know what was wrong.

After nearly a week in the hospital, and after numerous tests, we finally learned what it was. The rest of the year was taken up with doctor visits and chemotherapy sessions.

So here we are in February 2009. She is done with all treatments, and is now on the long road to recovery. Little by little, day-by-day, she is gaining strength and stamina. (And hair!) She’s started driving again, and was able to walk the dog for the first time in over 8 months this very morning. Albeit, it was just once around the block, but it’s a start!

She’s been playing her guitar more and more in the past several weeks, and the urge to write songs is strong.

And finally, she is stepping into performing again. It’s a “bit by bit” process, she’s not yet up to doing an entire show, but she was able to perform a few songs recently at the And All That Jazz Café.

Tonight she will be doing a couple songs as a special guest during a Songwriters’ Round to be held here in Cocoa, at the Café Unique.

I am so proud of her that I can barely express it in words. I’ll be there cheering her on tonight, just like everyone else who cares deeply about her.

Of course, I’ll enjoy the other songwriters, too!

Posted by leonolguin at 01:06 PM | Comments (1)

February 13, 2009

So Who Cares?

More people watched the Grammies this year than last. While fewer people are buying music, they still care a great deal about music!

Why do they care? I think they want to catch a glimpse of what life for a musician is like. Some musicians like to shroud themselves in mystery and hide behind a carefully constructed persona, but in reality they are just doing a job and trying to get paid for it.

For those who aspire to “make it” (like all those “American Idol” contestants), the big question is, can someone make a living in music?

Obviously, some folks do, but all most people see are the “big stars” that are rich and famous (seemingly!)

The life of an artist is a rich source of fascination. Imagine, making a living doing something you love. Fame and fortune!

But is this life all that it seems?

I’ve been a professional musician for my entire career. There have been a few detours along the way, when I tried to do something more “practical” but I always came back to music. So how do I know that I’m doing the right thing? Should I get a “real job?” Believe me, I still frequently ask myself that very question.

What is it like to make a living in music? Well, here’s how I do it:

I record music (after all, I am still the project studio guy).

I teach music. I teach both privately and in a classroom setting.

I write music (a percentage of my income is made up of royalties from songs and instrumental pieces).

I write about music (this blog, along with eBooks and audio books).

I perform music. I play out regularly with my wife Sheryl Paige, and with prominent local jazz singer Sybil Gage. (Paige and Gage!) You’ll be reading more about them, to be sure!

I supervise musicians. I am the music coordinator at Christ Community Church in Titusville Florida (a part time position).

And yet, still I wonder, is this what I should be doing? I believe this question goes through the mind of almost every musician at one time or another, especially when they experience the inevitable frustrations that plague the life of a music-maker.

But even with all the frustrations, I stick with it. Most days I’m glad I do.

Posted by leonolguin at 10:50 AM | Comments (1)

February 12, 2009

Starting Over

A few years ago I started this blog, planning to write about what it was like to own and operate a small recording studio.

I ended up with a few dedicated readers (thanks Spike and Sandy!) but I soon came to realize that this was a rather limited subject. The average person has little or no interest in recording studios and how they operate.

I let the blog sit for a couple of years. In the meantime, quite a bit has happened! We’ve dealt with all the ups and downs of running a micro-business, and then for over half of 2008, we dealt with Sheryl’s cancer.

From June 2008 until the beginning of 2009, we pretty much shut down the business.

Now, we are rebuilding everything. Without going into all the details, I will say here that we are starting over in just about every way. However, we are grateful that we have been granted a chance to start fresh.

So, I decided to being blogging again. The blog is still titled “Project Studio Guy”, but now I plan to write about music in general.

So, why am I doing this?

A fair question. Here are the reasons I’ve come up with so far:

I want to provide encouragement, and a little practical help to musicians. I’ve known many musicians who wanted to make the leap in to music full-time, and I’ve been able to help a few of them make the leap. I’ve also helped countless others get started doing music part-time.

I want to provide a glimpse into what life is like for the full-time and part-time musician. This is for all the music lovers, not just the music makers.

Occasionally I will offer my humble opinions on what is going on in the “music industry.” There are good things happening, but you rarely read about them in the news.

I’ll talk about the musicians who have blessed us with their talent, and those who have tested our patience.

And of course, we’ll have some fun with the weird stuff!

Posted by leonolguin at 12:24 PM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2009

Art Is Not a Luxury

I read in the paper last week about the great actress Olympia Dukakis. She was giving a talk to a group of arts supporters in Winter Park, Florida, and she quoted the Spanish poet and dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca:

The poem, the song, the picture
Is only water drawn from the well of the people,
And it should be given back to them in a cup of beauty
So that they may drink
And in drinking, understand themselves.

I believe Lorca was saying that the arts help us better understand ourselves and the world around us.

The culture of the United States generally thinks of the arts as a luxury. Something that can be cut when budgets get tight. How many public schools have greatly curtailed their arts programs in tough economic times?

The truth is that the arts are vital essentials in telling our story.

Its one thing to read a textbook about the Holocaust, its quite another to watch a work of art such as Schindler’s List and find oneself deeply moved by the horrors conveyed, and courage displayed.

One can read about the transcendent beauty of certain American landscapes, but their true splendor is captured even more vividly in the work of Ansel Adams.

One can ponder the pain of love gone wrong, the joy of love gone right, or the mysteries of life, but the mind truly soars when encountering these concepts artfully expressed in a well-written song teamed with a passionate performance.

A child who learns to speak confidently on stage will one day make effective presentations in a corporate boardroom.

If you are an artist, you have the opportunity to have a tremendous impact on everyone who sees and hears what you create. The world needs to hear you, as you contribute to its collective story.

You, the artist, are a necessity!

Posted by leonolguin at 12:11 PM | Comments (1)

February 10, 2009

The Game of Tens

Musicians can be prone to jealousy. Remember the old joke:

Q: How many musicians does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: 12. One to screw in the bulb, and 11 to say, “I could do that.”

While the propensity towards jealousy is there, I have seen many musicians largely overcome it, and learn to truly rejoice in the success of another.

Our NSAI group (Nashville Songwriters Association International http://www.nashvillesongwriters.com/) is a good example.

We have had some of our members get songs published and recorded, and the group celebrated their success together. If there was any jealousy it remained well hidden, and in fact I believe that our members have mostly learned to avoid this destructive emotion.

The music industry’s annual ritual that we call the Grammies was held a couple of days ago, and it can be hard to completely quell any lingering feelings of envy when we see the praise and recognition heaped upon those who appear to be less than deserving.

With the advantage of age and a certain degree of maturity, I have found it easy to overcome any jealousy that might arise by playing the “Game of Tens.” I picked up this concept from a chapter of a book I read about the problems that men face in our culture, and their search for meaning and significance.

If you think anyone can find significance through the pursuit of fame, take this pop quiz to determine your “significance IQ.” I’ve adapted these questions for musicians:

· Can you name the ten musicians who have sold the most records in the world?
· Can you name the ten most admired musicians in the world?
· Can you name the ten top selling albums of the past ten years?
· Can you name the past ten winners of the best new artist Grammy?
· Can you name the past ten winners of the Grammy for song of the year?
· Can you name the past ten winners of the Grammy for album of the year?

This seems to be a rather heartless but objective illustrator of the folly of pursuing only fame and fortune, doesn’t it? The highest achievements in our society are like the vapors that appear for a while and then vanish. (That’s a biblical reference: you can look it up, see James 4:14).

There is certainly no reason to be jealous of another’s achievements, but there is every reason to celebrate with them.

Now try playing the “Game of Tens” this way:

· Name ten musicians you personally know whom you greatly admire, not only for their music, but also for the kind of person they are.
· Name ten people who like your music, and who care about you as a person.
· Name ten family members who love you.
· Name ten songs that have touched you deeply.
· Name the ten most memorable concerts you have attended.

Can you think of any other Tens?

Who knows? Maybe you have shown up in someone’s “Game of Tens.”

Posted by leonolguin at 11:32 AM | Comments (1)

January 22, 2007

Denny Doherty (1940 - 2007)

I’m turning the PSG over to my wife Sheryl today: This is an email that she sent out on 1/20 to everyone on her mailing list.

Hello friends...some sad news today…

I got the call a few minutes ago from my friend “Java” John, who is a local artist, and radio host, that Denny Doherty (of the Mamas and Papas) passed away last night, resulting from complications following a surgery.

We had just been talking with our friends, Robin and Eddy (Melbourne FL based duo) a couple weeks ago and they had mentioned his surgery, and that he was planning to come to Florida soon. We were looking forward to seeing Denny again.

Denny was simply a great human being.

I remember that when he did our TV show, Session 31, he had a very quick wit and an encyclopedic recall of music in several genres. He and Leon got on a run of music puns that kept us all laughing.

He was a very positive and up guy and made everyone on the set feel comfortable.

I remember he was a great musician, and cared much more about the music than about the technology. When I asked him about changes he'd seen in the recording industry he quipped "it's still the same to me...just point me to the microphone and I'm fine."

He gave an outstanding performance with Robin and Eddy, told us about his days in the Mamas and Papas, and about his new performances.

We took everyone out to the Sun Shoppe for dinner after the shoot, and Denny grew a little melancholy reminiscing about his first wife, who had passed away just weeks before the show. He obviously cared for her a great deal. We took the time to just listen to the wonderful stories of how they met and their life together, and allowed him the chance to share his loss among friends. It strikes me that we're in that same process now. One thing is for sure, our lives are much richer for having known him, and we'll miss him.

Java John will be hosting a Tribute To Denny Doherty on his On-Line Radio Show Wednesday January 31st

THE ACOUSTIC RECORD
Monday – Friday 9am-1pm (eastern)

www.theacousticrecord.com
www.tropicwaveradio.net

Lots of love and hugs to you all.

Sheryl

Denny Doherty

Posted by leon at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)

January 04, 2007

Out With the Old, in With the New

Today Sheryl went out and replaced the stereo in our van. Ever since we purchased our van four years ago, the stereo has not worked properly. The CD player never worked, and we could only get a couple of AM stations on the radio. So if I was driving around during the afternoon, it was either silence or Rush Limbaugh. Silence proved preferable.

To make matters even worse, in order to play CDs, we used this device where you put this cassette like object into the cassette slot, and it connected somehow to the portable CD player. In attempting to use this device, the cassette got stuck in the stereo, and we had to put up with this constant grinding sound coming from the cassette player. I quickly learned to block out the sound, but it used to drive Sheryl crazy. I was content, we were still able to play CDs, I couldn't see what the problem was. I am now ashamed of my insensitivity.

Finally, Sheryl could take it no more. She ordered a new stereo for the van, and as soon as it was delivered, (which was today) she put it in herself. Naturally, it worked. The first time she tried it.

This started me wondering, how many other things, are there in my life that I put up with? Maybe there are some things that I need to get rid of and replace with something new and improved.

I can't really think of too many material things that I need to replace immediately. Actually, the stereo in the van was one of the few things that didn't work. Other than that, the car is in very good shape, as are all of the major appliances in our house. Everything in my studio works well, there is the occasional technical glitch, but I'm usually able to fix it in a short time.

Our TV is not the latest high definition/plasma model, but it looks fine to me. I don't watch much television, anyway.

We recently got new furniture for the living room, so I have no complaints about that. Our dining room table is 25 years old, but it's still standing! I suppose we'll have to replace it some day.

We will also need to upgrade our computers very soon, but for the time being, they do everything that we need them to do. Well, actually they don't do it all by themselves, we have to help a little bit.

So what am I talking about? I'm talking about attitudes that need to be changed, and new attitudes that need to be developed.

I've been working on developing these attitudes or attributes, if you will, for a long time.

I'm working on developing an attitude of confidence in everything that I do. I was brought up to believe that it was wrong to "toot your own horn.” But if you're never allowed to tell anybody that you're good at what you do, your confidence begins to suffer.

I know from experience that I am very good at what I do. Amazingly, nobody seems to be very offended when I tell them. I've learned that it's actually possible to inform someone that you're good at what you do, and remain humble!

The attitude I'm working hardest on developing in 2007 is the willingness to take risks, and try new things.

During the past several months, I've been working with a very talented jazz singer named Sybil Gage. Now, I've always loved jazz, but I've never really put a great deal of effort into learning how to play it properly. Now that I'm working with Sybil, I am forced to put in the effort! It's been a real learning experience for me. I can feel myself growing as a musician, and I'm enjoying it very much.

Another new thing in my musical life is the Sheryl Paige band. Spike, Sandy, Sheryl and I have put together this group to play casual dates at country clubs and private parties. My good friend and longtime agent, Len Turner, is representing us. We played our first official date on New Years Eve! Talk about baptism by fire. But we made it, and we’re looking forward to playing future dates together.

I'm also planning to put a great deal of effort into building our BurnLounge business. This is definitely something new for me.

I'm also hoping to acquire more business clients. While I enjoy working with musicians, it's a different kind of challenge to work with a business. Most of the work that I do for businesses consists of voiceover work, creating radio spots, or recording podcasts. And I'm sure as the year goes along, I’ll find a few other things I can do for businesses.

These are just a few of the new things that I hope to bring into my life in 2007.

The one old thing in my life that I am most desirous of getting rid of is the fear of the new! I'll keep working on that.

A belated happy new year!

Posted by leon at 07:32 PM | Comments (0)

Its 2007!

Hello everybody!

To quote an old cliché, it's hard to believe that it's already 2007. It seems as though I was just celebrating New Year's Eve 2006, but that was actually so long ago, I can even remember what I was doing.

This past December was one of the busiest that I can remember. I was working on several projects in the studio, and Sheryl and I were preparing for our first New Year's Eve gig together. Along with Sandy Ferris and Spike Dean, we formed the Sheryl Paige Band. We were scheduled to play New Year’s Eve at The Pelican Yacht Club in Ft. Pierce, Florida.

Playing a New Year's Eve gig was not a new experience for me, but it certainly was for Sheryl Spike and Sandy. I was truly impressed at the amount of work that they put into rehearsing for this gig.

So, how did it go? I would say it went really well, the only thing we could have done better was to have more fast party songs in our repertoire. We had a few club members request that we "pick it up a little".

The younger club members wanted to party, and they wanted nothing but loud and fast music!

From my experience playing these types of engagements, I knew that if we played loud, fast and hard right away, the older members would end up leaving. Sometimes you get into situations like these New Year's Eve jobs, where no matter what you do, you're not going to please everyone!

But we made it through, and as my friend and fellow musician Jan Turner used to say, "That's one for the record books.”

So as we begin 2007 were now preparing for our next trip to Nashville. Sheryl will be playing once again at the Bluebird Café, and then also at the Hall of Fame Lounge. What makes this trip special is that not only is our good friend Asli Walker coming with us, my mother-in-law, Bev Purdum is also accompanying us.

I always tease my mother-in-law by saying to her, "I have a terrible problem with you. I don't get to see you often enough!"

Of course, like most people, we've been making our New Year's resolutions, and setting goals. There's a lot we want to accomplish in 2007. I don't think I'll put a list here in the blog, if I start listing everything out; I'm going to get tired.

I hope to be adding to this blog on a more consistent basis. I also plan to put some effort into creating an e-mail newsletter for all my clients and members of my "musical family.”

Talk to you soon!

Posted by leon at 01:22 AM | Comments (0)

November 20, 2006

MIDI Gremlins / Bad Songs

I spent most of today trying to chase down a “gremlin” in my studio. Every time I tried to program a part using MIDI, the sound came out all wobbly (for lack of a better term.)

Now, I must admit right from the start that I am a musician first, and a technician second (a distant second.)

I know enough about the technology in my studio so that I can get the results I want, but I’m very much akin to someone who is a good driver, but does not really know what is going on under the hood.

Of course, I stay in business because:

1. I know people who are well acquainted with all things technological, and I’m not too proud to call on them for help. After all, I’m not a mechanic, but I certainly rely on some good mechanics to take care of my vehicles.

2. I refuse to give up trying to learn how everything works, so I’ve learned a lot over the years.

3. The same problems tend to crop up over and over, so I now know a few places to start when trying to solve a problem.

4. I know that the problem is usually simple in nature, and easily fixed once the cause is found.

I have never failed to solve a technical problem, but that doesn’t make them any less frustrating. Fortunately, these types of problems rarely surface when I have a client in the studio.

So, did I find the “MIDI gremlin?” Yes, I finally did, but the solution was so simple that I’m embarrassed to put it in the entry! Oh well, at least I was alone at the time.

Well, onto to something fun.

Sheryl and I listen to a lot of songs in the course of our work. We often get CDs from musicians hoping to get our opinion on the songwriting. Naturally, we’ve heard some songs that were quite good and well crafted, others that showed enormous potential, but then others that left us speechless. To simply say “that was a bad song” is tantamount to saying “Bach was a pretty good musician.”

One amazing thing about the music industry is that people you have heard of have actually recorded some of “those” songs, and they actually became “hits!” Maybe because they were so bad? Who knows?

Anyway, this thanksgiving themed article reminds you of some songs for which we can give thanks if we never hear them again.

Have fun, and watch out for ear worms!

Posted by leon at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)

October 31, 2006

Candy Day

When I was a kid (which was quite a long time ago) I used to think of Halloween as “candy day.” That’s all it meant to me.

I was raised in one of those old-fashioned households where mom controlled everything we ate. She cooked all the dinners, made the school lunches, and was there to supervise the snacks when we came home from school.

Candy was definitely a “once in a great while” treat. True, we could buy a bag of Sugar Daddies for a nickel, but we had to earn that nickel ourselves, we never got an allowance. (My Dad’s reasoning was: why should I pay you to exist? You work, you get to eat. You do some extra work, you get paid. A little. Maybe.)

So once a year, my siblings and I would adopt various ghost, pirate, or monster costumes, and systematically roam the neighborhood in search of as much free candy as we could find. If someone dared give us an apple, we became quietly indignant.

The glory years were when I was old enough to escort my younger brothers and sisters (I am the oldest of six) but not too young to trick or treat myself. We would go to as many houses as we could before our legs gave out. We each ended up with our own personal mountain of candy, which took days to finish. We usually wound up with an upset tummy, but we endured and persevered until the candy mountain was vanquished, and we began the long, hungry wait for the next October 31.

This window of opportunity only lasted a few years, after which I became too old and too cool (well, too old anyway) to indulge in such childish balderdash.

Never in my childhood did I attach any satanic or evil connotation to Halloween. Sure, we dressed like ghosts, goblins and witches, and we said, “boo,” but no one was worried that we were falling into Satan worship or delving into witchcraft. We would go out trick-or-treating and then go to church the next Sunday, occasionally trying to smuggle a few pieces of candy into Sunday School.

I’ll be working in the studio tonight, and I probably won’t get any trick or treaters. We live out in the country, where the houses are too far apart. Not worth the effort.

Sheryl will be going to Oviedo to help our friend Asli (the blind rocket scientist) hand out Halloween candy. Our friend Spike (of “Sandz of Time”) will be trying to scare the kids by dressing up as a Scotsman, complete with kilt and authentic accent.

Nothing satanic about that. I think.

Happy Halloween. Christmas is coming!

BOO!!!

Posted by leon at 11:04 AM | Comments (0)

October 09, 2006

Cool Jazz and Other Stuff

The cool weather may finally be here. It was 62 degrees when Sheryl and I went out to walk Buddy this morning. Why, that’s almost cold!

Got a lot of work waiting to be done in the studio this week. I’m afraid to start mentioning names since I may leave somebody out. You never know who might be reading this thing. (HI, Sandy!)

I can tell you that I will be working on a Christmas song, country songs, Broadway show tunes, as well as cover tunes from just about every decade since the 1930’s. I certainly never get bored with music.

This Friday I get to play Jazz and Blues with the tremendously talented Sybil Gage, at Mangroves in Cape Canaveral. This lady is a real entertainer; she knows how to put on a show. The first night I got to perform with her is one I will never forget.

So for the next two Friday nights, October 13th and 20th, we get to do it again. 7-10PM.

The contact information for Mangroves:

6615 N Atlantic Ave
Cape Canaveral, FL 32920
(321) 783-4548
cocoabeach.com

The music will be great! (The food is pretty good, too!)

Posted by leon at 02:30 PM | Comments (1)

September 29, 2006

Trying to Getting Caught Up

This has been quite a week. Sheryl has been away at the ABWA conference in Anaheim, CA, and I ended up performing two gigs, (with one more to go) teaching a class, and working on some stuff in the studio.

I’ll try to get back to regular writing next week.

Today I will be performing with three very talented singer / songwriters: Austin Church, Sybil Gage, and Chris Kahl. We’ll be at the Tiger Café in Melbourne, which is located at Holy Trinity Academy on Pineda Causeway between Route 1 and Wickham Road.

This show is the prototype for a "Rolling Thunder Revue", "Traveling Wilburies" style concert series and when it is successful the promoters will bring on more acts and rotate the talent throughout the concert tour.

So, this will be an actual concert, where people pay to get in, and we will be more than mere background music. We’re putting on a show! And it ought to be a great show, considering the talent involved.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

And finally, here are some pictures from our 25th anniversary get-together. We had some high-powered talent in the room, and it was truly a day to remember!

Austin Church sings at our house!

Bill Rice (Who is in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame)

Lathan Hudson (Who is in the Alabama Songwriters Hall of Fame)

Christine Reily

Sandz of Time (Asli Walker, Sandy Ferris, the PSG, and Spike Dean)

Sheryl and Leon (the PSG)

(Photos by Anne DuBois)

Posted by leon at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

September 19, 2006

Pushing the Snowball

One of the difficulties of running a project studio, and depending on it as your main source of income, is the “up and down” nature of the business. When there’s a steady stream of projects coming in, things don’t look too bad. The bills get paid.

Unfortunately, if a few projects are put on hold, things get tight. It’s very much a “feast or famine” situation. It’s also very hard to get ahead. When it’s feast time, you try to set money aside for the famine, so there’s never any extra. During the famines you’re trying to reduce expenses, so there’s never any extra!

Another problem arises if you want to take a vacation. There’s no such thing as a paid vacation when you operate what is essentially a one-man service business. It’s rather like the dentist who complained that he wasn’t making any money unless he had his hand inside someone’s mouth.

It’s basically a problem with cash flow, something that nearly every business faces from time to time.

There must be something in the air. We’ve had several members of our musical family come into hard times. We’ve seen them suffer car accidents, lose the financial backers for their project, deal with unexpected major expenses, or have to work through family problems. As a result, some of them have put their projects on hold, or cancel them altogether.

This means I end up feeling bad for them, and bad for myself at the same time. I don’t like that reaction.

After years of living this way, Sheryl and I decided we needed to create a steady stream of income, without going out and getting a “real job.” Getting a real job would mean, of course, severely curtailing, if not completely shutting down, the activities of the studio, and Sheryl would not be able to do much with her music.

So, we are putting a great deal of effort into building our BurnLounge business. We have seen others do very well in creating regular income through this company, and since it revolves around music, it’s a perfect fit for us.

Of course, just like any business venture, you don’t start out making a lot of money right away. Right now we feel as though we are pushing a huge snowball up a hill. When we get to the top of the hill and start down the other side, we will be glad we made the effort.

Another reason we are excited about our BurnLounge business is that as we build it, we are creating a team made up of many of our friends, and we all have something to gain as we work together. Sheryl and I are not the only ones who want to create some steady income and help others in the process.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being the PSG, and I want to be able to keep going for a long time. There’s a lot of great music and musicians out there waiting to be recorded, and I want to be able to help them without worrying about my next mortgage payment.

Posted by leon at 07:40 AM | Comments (1)

September 15, 2006

My Vision – Part 2

It’s another bright Florida morning. I like to get up early, even before the sun comes up. Since I am a musician, this may seem strange to those who think of us as “night owls”, and indeed my wife Sheryl is a night person, but I like to be up and at it early.

I read, study, meditate. I work on my blog, answer my email.

Our home sits on an acre of land in a semi-rural area of Cocoa, Florida. Everyone out here has at least an acre of land, so we are definitely not crowded.

It’s very quiet out here. (A great place to have a recording studio.)

I pray a silent prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude for all I have and for what I am allowed to do.

When Sheryl gets up, we will either walk the dog, or drive over to the YMCA and work out together, them come back and walk the dog. Got to make sure we take care of Buddy Rodgers, the studio dog.

In the meantime, our daughter leaves for school and / or work while we are out.

Sheryl and I have breakfast together and talk about our day.

Sometimes we are together all day, Sheryl working in her office upstairs, and me in the studio / office downstairs. No commute, no traffic to fight, and we do save a bit on gas.

Some days we leave the office for meetings. We are members of the Chamber of Commerce, and we often meet clients and team members at various places around town to talk business or just get caught up. Sometimes Sheryl and I go together, other times just one of us. We are never apart for too long.

Almost every day we have a member of our music family coming over to record or plan a project.

We have worked with so many bright, creative people over the last 16 years!

Just about every client we’ve ever had has become our friend. They’ve become family.

Our home is their “home away from home.” Here they feel relaxed, cared for, and creative. We are so privileged to be able to serve them in this unique way.

I am committed to personal growth and development every day of my life.

I try to learn something new every day.

I am committed to building my business with integrity and excellence.

I am an encourager, leader and developer of leaders.

My desire is to help everyone I work with to be the best they can be and to settle for nothing less.

I “live to serve.” I serve my wife, my daughter, my extended family, my friends and clients. I never forget the value of service.

There are days when it gets hard. But even when times get difficult, I will not quit. I will not give up or walk away. No one would be served by my giving up. There is so much to do, and so much to be gained.

Sheryl and I are working towards the day where we lack for nothing financially. We already lack for nothing when it comes to friends and loved ones. We have a great family, and a multitude of close friend whom we cherish with all our hearts. We always remember where we came from and what it took to get here.

When I started S.O.L.O. Creative Media, it was all about making money and supporting my family. Well, I still like making money, but I have discovered the real reason for wanting more. With more money, I can do more, give more, and help more people. Having a lot of “things” doesn’t mean much to me.

We joyfully support our church, Christ Community Church in Titusville Florida, both financially and with our time.

I am grateful every day for what God has given us, financially, spiritually and emotionally. I live my life with integrity and took forward to each new day that I am granted.

As Sheryl and I run our business and go out and perform music, we meet people from all walks of life, and we find ways to serve them or assist them.

Every day I have the chance to offer someone a way to improve their life, and escape the boredom and cynicism that seems to have engulfed so many lives.

This is my responsibility, and I accept it gladly.

Posted by leon at 05:26 PM | Comments (0)

September 14, 2006

My Vision – Part 1

Well, I’m up past my bedtime today.

Usually I need my eight hours of sleep, but there are some days I wish I were an android that did not require slumber.

Yeah, like Data from “Star Trek – The Next Generation.”

I envied his ability to glide smoothly from task to task, all the while losing nothing in the way of energy or efficiency. He could literally keep going 24 / 7.

In later episodes he did “sleep”, but it was purely a voluntary thing.

So what’s keeping me up?

Specifically, I have been staying up late learning about how best to run our BurnLounge Business.

Sheryl and I want to build people, not just a business.

We want everyone who works with us in this to have as much to gain as we do.

So how can we best help our team members?

How can we train them, encourage them, educate them?

What tools and systems can we use and put in place that will make this all work?

There is so much material out there on running a home-based business, or on Network Marketing. Where do we start?

Quite often I am struck with just how much I have yet to learn.

To quote a great song by the great Austin Church:

“All I know is that I don’t know
What I thought I knew
When I knew it all”.

(Those may not be the exact words, but you get the idea).

35 years ago I used to think that my education ended when I graduated. I wanted nothing more than to get out of school, get a job, go to work, and make a living.

It seemed easy enough.

I would go to work, put in my time, come home, and forget all about it in front of the TV.

Then get up tomorrow and do it all over again in the same way, day after day, year after year.

That was the ideal life, or so it was modeled for me as I was growing up.

The older I get, the more I see that this is not the life I want.

So what do I want?

What is my vision?

Well, I’ll try to sleep on it, and I’ll get back to it tomorrow.

But I’ll probably end up lying awake for a while thinking about it.

Data (A.K.A. Brent Spiner)

Posted by leon at 12:32 AM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2006

9/11 – We Remember

Unless you’re living in a cave somewhere, cut off from all forms of communication, you know that today marks the five-year anniversary of 9/11.

9/11 was one of those events where you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when it happened.

In the week before 9/11, Sheryl was getting ready to fly out to California to see her dad for perhaps the last time. He had been in declining health for some time and by September 2001 it looked as though the end was near.

She was scheduled to fly out on September 9th. During a layover in Denver, she learned that her father had passed away. He died while Sheryl was on the flight from Orlando to Denver.

She arrived in California to help her mother and family plan the memorial service.

My daughter Rose and I prepared to follow Sheryl out to California. We were scheduled to leave on September 12th.

We never made it.

There are of course, hundreds of thousands of stories similar to ours, concerning that dark day.

Today, many people marked the occasion by journeying to Ground Zero for a Memorial Ceremony, including a solemn reading of the name of every person who perished in the attacks.

Sheryl and I watched it on one channel, but the commentators insisted on talking over the reading of names! Not only that, but they were getting in some not-so-subtle digs at the Bush administration concerning his handling of, well, everything.

We switched to CBS, where they had the decency to show long portions of the ceremony without comment.

I don’t have anything truly profound to add after all that has been written and said today.

We’ll sit down tonight and watch the President’s speech, and we’ll thank God that we are still here, and able to serve those in our circle of influence.

We’ll remind ourselves that while evil men truly exist, there is still a lot of good in the world.

Posted by leon at 02:25 PM | Comments (2)

September 06, 2006

Not-So-Random Stuff

Don’t have time to write much today. We have a recording session booked tonight, another session tomorrow, along with four private lessons that Sheryl will be teaching in the studio, two sessions on Friday, and two more on Saturday.

As usual, I’m not complaining. I’m very grateful that all these talented people want to have us work with them.

On Saturday, September 9th, at 7PM, Sheryl and I will be participating in the “Musical Kottage Open Mic” at the Majestic Restaurant in Titusville. All proceeds from this event will go towards the production of the Music Kottage Compilation CD.

I found an interesting article on one very famous band’s dealings with the concept of selling songs online.

Which famous band is it? All right, I’ll tell you: it’s the Beatles.

Of course, the biggest news of the week has been the sudden death of “The Croc Hunter” Steve Irwin. I didn’t realize how firmly ingrained in the popular culture he had become until he died tragically.

My thoughts went immediately to his wife, children, and the family he left behind. Although we will probably never meet any of them personally, our prayers are with them.

Posted by leon at 11:38 AM | Comments (1)

August 31, 2006

New Challenges

When I was a young piano student, seriously pursuing my studies of classical music, I spent a great deal of time working on my “technique” and “practicing”.

Now, as a non-classical (or “pop” player) I work on my “chops” and “woodshed.”

It’s all the same thing, I’m trying to improve as a musician and a player.

Do you want to get better at music? One way to improve is to take on new challenges.

· Agree to play a three-hour gig, where you will have to do some cover tunes, and you’ll be forced to learn some new songs.

· Write a song in a style that’s not “normal” for you. Sheryl recently wrote a full-on gospel song in collaboration with our friend Lathan Hudson. Rhonda Mallard will be recording it.

· Co-write a song with someone new.

· Work with a songwriting, vocal, or instrument coach.

· Learn to play a different instrument. (I need to pick up that bass!)

· Singing in a new style. (Get your vocal coach to help you!)

· If you’re a self-taught player, learn to read music, and study a little music theory.

· By the same token, if you are a classically trained pianist, learn the “pop” style (which I happen to teach!).

The point here is to stretch yourself musically and mentally. Keep learning new things.

This is not a new concept, but it is so easy to fall back on what we already know, that we need to keep reminding ourselves.

We need to keep finding new challenges.

Posted by leon at 01:02 PM | Comments (0)

August 30, 2006

Just Another Day

Ernesto is here.

It’s raining lightly on and off, and there is no wind to speak of.

Oh, it looks pretty grey out there, and the weather may indeed get worse throughout the day, but the general consensus is that Ernesto is a bust.

We’ll get a lot of rain, not much wind, and we’ll have a pleasant (if somewhat warm) Labor Day Weekend.

Can’t say I’m too disappointed about that!

Of course, now there will be stories about how Florida “dodged another bullet.”

The kids don’t care. They get a day off from school!

The PSG does not get the day off. The power is still on, so the studio will be open for business.

But first, it’s time to go walk Buddy Rogers, the Studio Dog ™. I’ll being an umbrella just in case.

I’ll post this when I get back, and I may be back later today!

Posted by leon at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)

August 28, 2006

Monday, Monday

Here it is, Monday morning, and like many folks, I’m looking over the coming week to see what I need to do.

Sometimes I think that maybe I shouldn’t do that…some weeks there is so much to do and so little time, that it makes we want to go back to bed and hide until next month.

Of course, I won't do that!

But it seems that more and more weeks are like this.

So I have to spend some time deciding what needs to be done right now, and what can safely wait for a day or two.

My problem is that I want to get everything done today, and I don’t want to make anyone wait.

I guess that’s not very realistic, is it?

One of the major struggles in running a project studio business are the times when you are working a great deal, but much of that work is business development. In other words, you are working to get work so that you have work. It’s much different than working for someone, and your work is handed to you.

I think I’ve used the word “work” enough for today!

This week I’ll be working on the music of Kevin Watson, Barbara Brad, and Rhonda Mallard. I’ll also be recording Sandz of Time, and working on bits of music for various other artists.

I’ll also be talking to people about BurnLounge. Sheryl and I are talking to folks about BurnLounge every chance we get.

Why? Go to www.burnlounge.com/solo and click on “Watch the Commercial.”

Rhonda Mallard

Kevin Watson

Posted by leon at 11:36 AM | Comments (2)

August 16, 2006

Various and Sundry Things

This was one of those days when I had recording sessions scheduled, and then for whatever reason they were canceled.

In fact, ALL of my recording sessions for today were cancelled. This can’t be good for business.

The newest member of our musical family was to come in at 11AM today, but somehow she got it in her mind that her session was tomorrow.

Our good friend Kevin Watson was to come in at 6PM today to continue work on his new CD, but he is still recovering from a car accident.

So I spent some time writing music for a website video. Some poignant music that will play over scenes of the burned-out roof of the Central Brevard Humane Society. Sheryl shot the video and she is getting it ready to put up on the Humane Society’s website.

We hope to raise awareness of the needs of the CBHS through this video, which features an interview with Theresa Clifton, the Executive Director.

The other big project: Sheryl and I are writing an eBook about profiting from the changing trends in digital media distribution. We’re trying to get it done as soon as possible.

Well, tomorrow I need to get two or three days work done in one day, since we are going to Lake Wales on Friday to play two nights at the Highlander.

Man, if I keep this up, I may get tired.

You can adopt a pet at the CBHS!

The Highlander, Lake Wales, FL

Posted by leon at 10:13 PM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2006

25 Years!

Tomorrow Sheryl and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary.

Actually, the real date of our wedding is August 22, but tomorrow is the big party!

We’ve invited every member of our musical family, every family member, and all or our friends from Christ Community Church.

We should have a full house, a lot of good food, and a lot of good music. Our guests have been requested not to bring presents, but to come ready to play a song or two. It should be quite a concert!

Sheryl and I have gone through a lot in 25-year journey together.

We’ve endured hard times and enjoyed countless good times.

We have an intelligent, charming and beautiful daughter.

We have met and become friends with so many wonderful people, and worked with so many outstanding musicians and songwriters.

I could write a great deal more, but suffice it to say that we are truly blessed.

My Blushing Bride (Who doesn't look old enough to have been married 25 years!)

Posted by leon at 10:06 AM | Comments (1)

July 19, 2006

Time Flies

As I write today, the entire country is suffering through a record heat wave. Amazingly enough, Central Florida may be one of the coolest places in the country today. The high for today is “only” 87, with our usual afternoon thunderstorms.

So much has happened in the last few days, that my poor brain is still trying to process it all.

Here’s a quick run-down of the PSG’s life since, oh, let’s say July 10:

Monday, July 10 – Crazy Roy came in to record a new song while he is in town. As usual, he recorded his guitar and vocals tracks all at once, and in a couple of takes. My task is now to “add the band” around what he has done.

Late in the afternoon, Kevin Watson (stage name: Kevin J) came in to record scratch vocals and work on basic tracks for his latest recording project.

That evening, I headed to Christ Community Church for last Monday night choir rehearsal before the summer break.

Tuesday, July 11 – Sheryl and I attended the Connections leads group. This is a new group we have recently joined, so that we can meet other business owners in the Brevard County and Orlando area.

Tuesday evening, we were off to our monthly NSAI meeting. Our meetings are normally on the first Tuesday of the month, but this month we waited a week since our normal meeting day would have been July 4th.

After the meeting we went over to a place in Orlando called “Stardust Video and Coffee” to hear Jewly Hight, a friend of ours from Nashville, perform.

The motto of S.V.A.C. should be “Where the young, impossibly hip, and artsy college students hang out.” Actually, it was a pretty cool place, even if I was one of the oldest people there. Good coffee too, even though I always drink decaf at night.

Jewly did a great job and had a fair sized crowd for a Tuesday night. We brought a few members of the NSAI group with us to hear her.

Wednesday, July 12 – We dragged ourselves out of bed (after getting home at 1AM) for our weekly Chamber of Commerce leads group meeting.

From there we went straight to the Brevard Humane Society to shoot video of the facility and tape an interview with director Theresa Clifton.

Unfortunately, several weeks ago a fire severely damaged the Humane Society’s facility, and so they need to raise funds to facilitate repairs. The video and interview will be posted on the Humane Society’s Website after it is edited.

After our time at the Humane Society, we rushed back to the studio for a recording session with Paula Langguth Ryan. She began work on a new audio book “Giving Thanks – the Art of Tithing.”

Immediately upon the conclusion of that session, I headed for a meeting with Virginia Kealser at Bervard Community College. I have been invited to teach my piano classes at the Cocoa and Titusville campuses this Fall and next Spring. I already teach at the Palm Bay and Melbourne Campuses.

That evening we hosted a BurnLounge mixer, where we explained the BurnLounge concept to a few members of our musical family.

Thursday, July 13 was “Candace Crowe” day at SCM. Candace came over to record some voice over work, I recorded some V.O. for her myself, and I spent the rest of the day editing what we had recorded.

Friday, July 14 – Spent the morning finishing up the editing on Candace’s work and getting the audio files delivered to her. We then had to start packing, as Sheryl and I were scheduled to play in Lake Wales both Friday and Saturday evening.

I’d better save that subject for next time.

Posted by leon at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)

July 10, 2006

Crazy Week

It’s the start of what looks to be a very busy week. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, its weeks like this that help “keep the doors open.”

Today I will have two high-powered singers in my studio at the same time: Kevin Watson (Kevin J) and Rhonda Mallard (or “Miz Rhonda” as I call her.)

I’m working on their respective CDs at the same time, and they are singing on each other’s projects.

I’ve known Miz Rhonda since 1990, and hers ("Hearts Full of Love") was the first complete album that I arranged and produced, back in 1993. It was, of course, a great learning experience for both of us. Back then, we had to do most of the pre-production here, and then go to a larger studio to record vocals and instrumental overdubs.

Fortunately, with her current project, we are doing everything “in house” (literally!)

I go back and listen to that CD, and think: “Well some of that holds up pretty well (Rhonda wrote some outstanding songs for that project) but the drum programming! The synth sounds!” They’re not bad, just a little dated, and my skills as a drum programmer have definitely improved.

I have always been grateful to her for entrusting me with such a big project when I didn’t have much of a track record at the time.

She has also personally recommended me as an arranger and recording engineer to more people than anyone else in our musical family. We gained several musical family members, folks who have recorded in our studio, as a direct result of her efforts.

One musician she personally brought to me is Kevin Watson.

Kevin is a talented singer in the “America Idol” mold (but thankfully not as florid vocally) and a strong songwriter. He has already recorded a full-length CD project here, “Without You.” This new project of cover songs will feature contemporary versions of some classic hymns, as well as a few modern songs.

Recording sessions are anything but boring when these two get together. Kevin is like a little brother to the ebullient Miz Rhonda, and she teases him unmercifully. But Kevin can give as good as he gets. It’s all in good fun, and no one’s feelings ever get hurt, but I do have to work to keep them on track occasionally.

Even though this is a busy week, there is much I want to write about. I’ll just have to get up a little early!

Posted by leon at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

July 03, 2006

Goodbye, Wacky Hut

Hope you’re all having a great holiday weekend.

Some folks I know took last Friday off, and also today, thus enabling them to enjoy a five-day weekend.

As for me , I’m doing a little bit of work today, mainly going through files and cleaning out drawers. Definitely not the exciting side of show business, but it’s the kind of stuff we’ve all got do from time to time.

On July 4th, we’ll be meeting with an artist who is seriously thinking about recording her next album at our studio. If she decides to do it, (and we think she will) I’ll tell you who it is!

After our meeting, Sheryl and I will be going to a party with many members of our musical family, at the home of the lady who used to own “The Wacky Hut,” a gift shop / restaurant / night club in Merritt Island, Florida that routinely gave local musicians a chance to come and play their original music for an appreciative audience in a unique outdoor setting.

Unfortunately, the Wacky Hut could not stay in business. Central Florida weather makes running a primarily outdoor venue incredibly difficult at best, and at the worst impossible. You really can’t comfortably do much in the summer, with the almost daily rainstorms, the constant threat of mosquitoes, and the relentless heat and humidity.

Fall, winter and spring can be quite pleasant, but often in the winter is can get too cold.

In the final analysis, there’re just weren’t enough days with “perfect weather”, which you need to have when everyone is sitting outdoors.

The Wacky Hut was, as they say, fun while it lasted, and while Sheryl and I never had the chance to play there together, we did have the opportunity to see many members of our musical family perform there, including Sandz of Time (Spike and Sandy), Asli Walker, and “The Churchman” (a.k.a. Austin Church).

The night Austin Church played, he invited Sheryl up to do a few numbers on her own, so that’s as close as we got to performing together at the Wacky Hut.

We’ll miss the Wacky Hut. Fortunately, we still have places like Nature’s Haven with their "Songwriter Sunday" series, and many other venues around town.

Be careful with those fireworks!

Posted by leon at 05:21 PM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2006

People….People Who Need People

I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth! My apologies for not writing much this past week.

Actually, things have been a little hectic around here lately. I’ll try to sum it up…

1. BurnLounge!
2. New projects in the studio.
3. Meeting new people.
4. Live performing with Sheryl.
5. Life in general!

Let’s see, what shall I concentrate on in the limited amount of time I have today?

New people!

I’ve always been something of an introvert. Wading into a group of strangers, shaking a few hands and introducing myself, has never been high on my list of things I loved to do.

Until recently.

Sheryl and I are constantly meeting new people. Some are musicians; some are newcomers to our church, and others are business owners we meet through our Chamber of Commerce activities. We also meet new people through our work with BurnLounge, my keyboard classes, and our live performances.

What has made this introvert more than happy to met new people?

First of all, many of the folks we’ve met are excited about what they do.

Through the Chamber we meet individuals who are starting new businesses, or have been running their own businesses for years. Either way, you can’t successfully run your own business unless you are excited and enthusiastic about it.

The musicians we are getting to know through our involvement in NSAI, our work in the studio, and the Musical Kottage are also passionate about their art.

Sheryl and I are often in a position to help them realize their dreams through the recording of a CD, songwriting coaching, or private instruction in playing or singing.

The people who are new to our church, Christ Community Church in Titusville, are of course happy to have found a church home, and are eager to be a part of the church’s ministry.

There’s something incredibly invigorating and encouraging about being around positive, exciting people. These are folks who love life and find good in everything. Yes, they have problems just like anyone else, but they don’t stay “down in the dumps.”

There’s nothing like following your passions, realizing your dreams, and experiencing the ups and downs and the excitement of these worthy endeavors as part of a community of like-minded people.

Posted by leon at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2006

Whirlwind

The past week has been a bit of a blur. Ever since we came home from Nashville, I have been working at a somewhat frantic pace.

On Monday we met with our new financial advisor. Our previous advisor retired from the business, and we’ve been feeling the need to get our financial house in better order. Yes, even artists have to think about such matters, as hard as it might be.

On Tuesday morning, I had “The Two Tonys” in the studio. That’s not the name of a singing group; it’s just two old friends, Tony Martin and Tony Esposito.

Tony Martin is an entertainer from Vero Beach, for whom I produce MIDI backing tracks. He told his friend about our studio, and brought him in to record.

Mr. Esposito wanted to record some songs, with just piano accompaniment, for the enjoyment of his friends and family. He and his wife recently celebrated their 50th anniversary, and he wanted to give her a professional recording of his singing. (I love these old romantic guys!)

Picture a lean, hale and hearty gentleman with a genuine smile of joy on his face at all times, an obvious love for life and good songs, topped off with a thick and oddly charming New Jersey (think “New Joisey”) accent. He was kind of like Jimmy Durante with a regular nose.

He had a lot of fun recording, with me playing piano for him. I had a lot of fun recording him!

From Tuesday afternoon until late Wednesday night, Sheryl and I worked on her “Movie Song.” (See Nashville – June 2006 – Day 1, 2 and part of 3)

We spent Tuesday afternoon and evening working on the track, and on Wednesday night we brought in Mike Orrison (a great singer who had done much backing vocal work for us) to sing the lead vocal. After he left we continued working on the track (a lot of guitar stuff!) and didn’t stop until after 2AM (I couldn’t go on, I’m not a young man anymore, I can’t pull all-nighters).

Got a late start Thursday, but I managed to add some keyboards, and mix the track in time to overnight it to where it needed to go in order to be considered for inclusion in the movie.

On Thursday night we produced a 30-second radio spot about S.O.L.O. Creative Media for broadcast on WMEL 920 AM.

Sheryl will be appearing for the 3rd time on "At Home With Matthew Bronson” from 9-12am. She’ll be talking about her music and playing some songs throughout the show.

We also recorded a new theme song for the show, written and performed by Sheryl. Instead of paying us for the new theme song, they will air our radio spot. It will be interesting to see what kind of response we get.

So, if you live in the Brevard County area, listen to Sheryl on Saturday morning on WMEL.

If you're anywhere else in the world, you can still hear the show, just go to the WMEL site and click on "Live Web Streaming."

Posted by leon at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

June 12, 2006

Nashville – June 2006 – Day 7 and 8

Thursday, June 8, 2006

I’m writing this on Monday, June 12, 2006, and already my memories of this day are fading! Now, what did we do?

Ah, yes, we slept in for the first time on this trip, and went to Noshville for breakfast.

Actually, we had most of the day off, so we went and took a walk in Centennial Park, and just relaxed.

That evening we went to another meeting at the NSAI office. This time it was a song critique session with Pete and Pat Luboff.

Afterwards we went to Third and Lindsely to meet up with Jewly Hight and her friend Adrian to see “The Waybacks.”

What a show! And all for only $14 plus the cost of a couple of drinks.

Friday, June 9, 2006

Drove all day. ‘Nuff said.

Posted by leon at 01:47 PM | Comments (0)

June 08, 2006

Nashville – June 2006 – Day 6

Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Sheryl was up until 2AM last night working on songs.

She had a songwriting coaching session today with Rick Beresford, who wrote the hit song "If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will)" for George Jones back in 1980.

She had a new song to show Rick, one she had written as a result of our attendance at the Nashville Screenwriters Association Conference panel discussion concerning placement of songs in film and TV.

As I mentioned in that posting the writers there were encouraged to pitch one song for one of the movie projects we were shown.

So Sheryl wrote a “movie song.” She played it for her songwriting coach, who liked it so much that he didn’t change a thing. He made a few suggestions on how we should produce the demo.

So, when we get back late Friday, there will be no rest for the weary: we’ve got a movie song to record!

After Sheryl’s meeting with Rick, we went to see Susan Tucker at her office on Music Row.

She and Kim Copeland will be coming to Florida on Saturday, June 24, to lead a songwriter’s workshop. Here’s the blurb from their “Songwriters Connection" email newsletter:

Mark Saturday, June 24th on your calendar for a songwriting workshop you don't want to miss! The NSAI Orlando chapter is pleased to present two music industry professionals from Nashville, Kim Copeland and Susan Tucker. The workshop will cover songwriting techniques with an emphasis on co- writing. Co-writing is an important part of growth as a songwriter. For those of you who have been to Nashville, you know that co-writing is very important in that market.

The day's events will include a seminar session in the morning where Kim and Susan will cover choosing an appropriate co-writer, techniques for developing ideas, determining if ideas are good for co-writing or solo writing, and other tips for a successful songwriting session. In the afternoon, we will break up into groups of 3-4 people and co-write songs together.

This workshop will add important skills to your songwriting toolbox. Even if you had never intended on co-writing, this session may change your mind!

Kim is a producer and songwriter, Susan is a publisher and songwriter, and we may even have Rachel Williams, a songwriter and artist, join us. We will all benefit from these multiple perspectives of the music industry!

Kim and Susan have presented some wonderful workshops to us in the past, so we look forward to another excellent experience.

This is also your opportunity to network with other songwriters, and maybe find potential co-writers!

The workshop will be held in Orlando, but the exact location is yet to be determined. The cost for the workshop is below. In the next couple of weeks, you will receive another email with location and registration details.

Workshop Cost:
$45 Pre-registration
$55 at the door
(NSAI Members receive a $10 discount.)

Kim and Susan will also be setting up one-on-one session on Sunday, June 25th at Asli's home in Oviedo (East Orlando). A one-on-one session offers you the opportunity to get your songs critiqued, ask advice, or simply ask your specific questions about the industry. The time is yours to use as you wish! One-on-one sessions will be scheduled on a first come first served basis.

I will begin registering people for these sessions in a couple of weeks. One-on-one sessions cost $50 and last for 50 minutes.
Thanks for your time and hope to see you at the workshop!

Walker
NSAI Orlando Co-coordinator
Central Florida Songtree
CFSongTree@aol.com
(407) 359-0506

In the evening we went to see Rachel Williams perform at the Mystic in downtown Nashville.

It was a tough evening for her. The Mystic is a long, long, narrow bar with two rooms for bands. Rachel was originally to be in the front part of the club, but for some unfathomable reason, even though there was no other band playing they had her set up waaaaaaay in the back!

The sound was horrible, the crowd sparse, but Rachel was a trooper, and led her expert band through a high-energy two-hour set that included several of her originals and some cover tunes.

She showed a lot of poise for someone so young. Another, less mature performer might have complained about the sound quality, or the size of the crowd, but Rachel just got up and did her best.

Special thanks to Susan Tucker! The sound was so loud that it actually hurt. We were thinking of a way to leave gracefully, when Susan came to our rescue by giving us each a pair of earplugs. We were then able to stay to the end, and show our support for Rachel.

When we spoke with Rachel after the show, we found out that she had to wear earplugs too!

Ah, showbiz!

Posted by leon at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)

June 07, 2006

Nashville – June 2006 – Day 5

Tuesday, June 6, 2006

Today was 6/6/06. 666! Kind of spooky and satanic, isn’t it?

Actually, it was a beautiful early summer day in Nashville, and as I sit here in our freshly cleaned room writing this, not one satanic thing has happened to us.

This morning we met with Matt Lindsey, a publisher in Nashville, with an office on “Music Row.”

Sheryl met Matt at an NSAI function a while back and has an open door with Matt to submit any songs she thinks may be suitable. He has been a great encouragement to Sheryl in her songwriting.

We weren’t there to pitch any songs, just to have a short visit, and talk about the music business in general. Just for fun, we gave him a copy of Sheryl’s new children’s album, “I Feel a Song Coming On.”

After our meeting with Matt, we had lunch with Mike Ward, and discussed our strategy for building our BurnLounge business.

Digital downloads are going to replace CDs as the way most people purchase music, and those involved in BurnLounge are in a position to sell that music (millions of songs, and eventually ringtones, audio books, movies and TV shows, etc.).

We want to help our friends, our musical family, and our business associates prosper in this new “digital world.”

Tuesday evening we attended the NSAI Christian Pitch to Label Night, with John Mays, Vice President of A&R for Centricity Records. The meeting was held at the NSAI building.

Basically, those in attendance had the chance to “pitch” one song to Mr. Mays. Their CDs (Or in a few cases, cassettes) were played to the group, usually just the first verse and the chorus. John would then make a few comments about the song, and if he wanted to pursue it further, or consider the song for possible future use, he would take the CD with him.

The submissions ranged from excellent to “interesting.” Out of the 25 or so songs played, he took 2 for further consideration.

Of course, that’s no guarantee that anything will happen for the writer. John may listen to the songs again, and later decide not to use them. But you never know!

We had a chance to meet John after the meeting. He was a presenter at the Xpress Him! Creative Arts Festival, which was held April 20-22 at the Marlton Assembly of God Church in New Jersey. Sheryl and I were presenters at the same festival, but we never got to officially meet him there.

He was very encouraging to the writers present at the NSAI meeting, and advised them to keep creating new songs.

After such a full day, we had to go to Maggie Moo’s for some ice cream, and call our friends back in Florida and find out how their NSAI meeting went.

Hi, Asli!

Posted by leon at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)

June 06, 2006

Nashville – June 2006 – Day 4

Monday, June 5

We spent the morning making phone calls and answering email. We basically had a little office set up in our room here at the Extended Stay America.

After being cooped up all day, we ventured out to a BurnLounge meeting at the Alabama Grill in the Opry Mills Mall.

If you’re reading this blog and don’t know what BurnLounge is, go immediately to this link and watch the video:

http://digitalburnteam.com/faq/burn_lounge_video4.htm

In addition, take a look at www.burnlounge.com/solo

We feel absolutely compelled to tell our friends about BurnLounge. If we don’t at least introduce the concept, many of them may come back in year and ask us, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I’ll be writing more about it, both here and in the Newsletter.

So day 4 in Nashville was uneventful, except for the meeting, where we met some great people, and saw a presentation on BurnLounge.

Posted by leon at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2006

Nashville – June 2006 - Day 1, 2, and part of 3

Day 1: Friday, June 2 – Drove all day! We left at around 7:30AM, thinking we would arrive at our hotel around 7:30PM. We even packed a picnic lunch to save a little time (and money!).

We ended up arriving at around 10:30PM. We passed three accidents on the way up, drove through a few storms, and spent more time in stop and go traffic on this one trip than we had spent all year. Of course, we can go weeks without driving in heavy traffic of any kind, so I’m not going to complain too loudly. The main thing is that we arrived safely!

Day 2: Saturday, June 3 – We attended a panel discussion at the Country Music Hall of Fame as part of the Nashville Screenwriters Association conference. This discussion was on the placing of songs in films and television shows.

The panel consisted of four music supervisors from various studios (Warner, Disney, etc.). We were shown clips of movies in progress, and informed of the types of songs they were looking for.

We learned a little bit about how songs get into films (a subject beyond the scope of this blog, but I plan to include this topic in a future email newsletter) and we were encouraged to pitch one song to one of the supervisors. So Sheryl and I will have to get home and work on a song for a movie!

Day 3: Sunday, June 4 – We attended a church called “Mosaic” with some friends of ours, Bob Nickerson and Jewly Hight. This church, which meets in a building dating from the 1850’s, was geared toward 20-somethings, and I ended up being the oldest person there! To me it felt a bit like attending a church youth group meeting, but the pastor was an effective teacher.

After lunch with Bob and Jewly at a local Thai restaurant, we went out to their place in East Nashville to see their project studio.

They bought a duplex, set up house in one half, and have the studio set up in the other.

Their set up is actually very similar to ours in that it’s a computer hard-drive based recording system, with the main difference being that they have a “tracking room” (where the musicians actually perform and are “tracked”, or recorded) set up in the room next to the control room.

Our “tracking room” is actually our bedroom. Sheryl built a very effective portable sound booth that we set up in the bedroom when it’s time to record someone. We then run all the cables out there, and set up whatever mics we are going to use, depending on what is being recorded.

Someday, we hope to add on to our house, and one of the additional rooms will become our tracking room. We’ll be able to keep mics and instruments permanently set up in there, just as Bob and Jewly do in their tracking room.

After our visit with Bob and Jewly, it was back to our hotel to rest up and prepare for playing at the Bluebird.

More on the Bluebird tomorrow!

Posted by leon at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)

May 31, 2006

Away We Go Again

Early Friday morning Sheryl and I will be leaving for Nashville again.

This coming Sunday (June 4) Sheryl will be performing at the Writers’ Night at the Bluebird Café (for the third time), and we’ll also be playing a couple of other clubs while we’re there.

Sunday Writers Nights at the Bluebird are proceeded by the Sunday Spotlight, which features great bands and up and coming songwriters. They may not have a lot of hits yet, but it’s always a great show.

It just so happens that the spotlight on June 4th will be on Rachel Williams, a friend of ours whom we got to know through our relationship with Kim Copeland and Susan Tucker.

We’ll also be meeting with publishers, some folks at ASCAP, and with Sheryl’s songwriting coach.

This trip will be unique in that Sheryl and I are going alone, and there is no “special event” involved.

I’ve lost track of the number of times we’ve been to Nashville. In the mid 90’s we would go every year for GMAC week (Gospel Music Association) and attend the Dove Awards (Christian music’s equivalent of the Grammies).

We’ve also gone together (or just Sheryl) with members of our NSAI group, and the last time we went was for “Tin Pan South” and the Songwriters’ Symposium put on by NSAI.

This time, we’re going up to play the Bluebird, and keep in contact with folks we’ve come to know along the way.

It’s all about relationships in the music business (which is a good thing) so we’re looking forward to renewing contact with some good people in Nashville.

I will try to post to this Blog while we are there (June 4-9).

Posted by leon at 03:38 PM | Comments (1)

May 30, 2006

Mamapalooza 2006

We made it!

Mamapalooza 2006 is now history, and perhaps a little history has been made.

Putting on an event like this is quite a challenge, especially in its inaugural year.

We learned a lot of lessons that we will apply to Mamapalooza 2007 (and there will be a Mamapalooza 2007! Everyone involved wanted to do it again, bigger and better.)

Unfortunately, we did not draw as many attendees as we were hoping for, so we did not break even financially. But that’s often how it happens in the first year of a planned yearly event.

The non-profits were able to spread the message of their work to the folks who were there, and many of the vendors made some valuable contacts and sold some goods.

The music was fantastic! It was both humbling and exciting to see so many members of our musical family performing at such a high level of excellence.

We plan to invite them all back for 2007.

Those “Crazy Radio Chicks”, Susan Ramon and Jackie McCoy from Tropic Wave Radio did a first-rate job as the emcees for the evening. They kept the show going with their lively banter and infectious enthusiasm, as it was broadcast over the Internet worldwide.

They plan to do the same for Mamapalooza 2007.

For next year we hope to get some additional sponsors, as well as our returning sponsors, more vendors displaying their wares, and more people attending the event.

Of course, we will have more time to put it together. This year Sheryl agreed to coordinate the Cocoa Beach Mamapalooza in March. Not much time! It’s hard to believe the sheer number of things she accomplished in such a short time.

I’m looking forward to seeing what will be accomplished with more time and more help. (And she already has quite a few offers to help!)

Our thanks to everyone involved in Mamapalooza 2006; the artists, the non-profits, the vendors, the sponsors, Tropic Wave Radio, the Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn staff, and all the volunteers. If I tried to personally name everyone involved I would surely omit a few and I don’t want anyone to be left out!

The Crazy Radio Chicks

Sheryl Paige, Jackie and Susan, and the Winner of the Gibson Guitar

Janine (R) and Ronnie (L) had the tough job of going on first.

Ima Jean Pastula - artist and author

Rosemary - Celtic Duo

Tina Suiter, Sandz of Time (Sandy Ferris, Spike Dean)

Marlene Weiss

Sheryl Paige and the Spiny Normans

Magda Hiller

Posted by leon at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

May 25, 2006

Countdown to Mamapalooza

Tomorrow is it! This will be my last post until May 30th.

Tomorrow is Mamapalooza. Today we are making the final preparations.

We have a group of volunteers coming over tonight to help.

Tomorrow, we’ll be at the Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach for over 16 hours.

We found out at the last minute that Fox News, who was originally planning to come and cover the event, decided it was more important to send their reporter out to cover some thing called “American Idol.” (I guess it’s a religious show about idol worship in America.)

Tropic Wave Radio will be broadcasting the entire event live, all over the world.

Since we’ve been operating on less than the optimal amount of sleep for some time now, the adrenaline will most likely run out shortly after 11PM on Friday.

Consequently, we may go to bed on Friday night and get up Sunday morning.

At any rate, we have no plans to work on May 27th. We hope to enjoy our first full day off in quite some time.

Of course, it’s also a holiday weekend, so we don’t plan to go back to work until May 30th, at which time I’m sure I will have much to write about, and a few pictures to show you.

See you tomorrow at Mamapalooza!

Posted by leon at 05:02 PM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2006

The Vortex

Yesterday we went down to the Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn to do a “technical walk through” for Mamapalooza.

We met with the catering manager, and the guys from Tropic Wave Radio. Tropic Wave will be broadcasting the event over the Internet all over the world.

Going back to the Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach was a bit like taking a trip back in time, since during my days as a member of the Len Turner Band, I played several wedding receptions at the Holiday Inn, in the very same ballroom that we are using for Mamapalooza.

Yes, I was one of the original “wedding singers,” long before Adam Sandler made a movie about it.

But that's a story for another day.

Right now we are in the “Mamapalooza Vortex.” Our entire existence is caught up in the organization of this event. Everything we do is connected in some way to it.

It’s getting close to the point where all we can do is say, “We’ve done all we can, the day has come.”

May 26th is the day!

6-11PM at the Holiday Inn in Cocoa Beach.

Check out the official Florida Mamapalooza site for all the information.

Posted by leon at 12:20 PM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2006

Hard Decision

One of the great joys of my life is going out to hear a member of our musical family play live.

Sometimes, however, I end up in the position of wishing I could be in more than one place at the same time.

This last weekend, no less then 6 members of our extended family were out playing in various places.

On Friday evening, Robin and Eddy, who have not only recorded in our studio, but were also guests on the weekly TV show Sheryl and I used to host (there’s a bunch of stories there!), were performing at the Majestic Restaurant in Titusville. I was working in the studio and Sheryl was working on “Mamapalooza” so we weren’t able to go.

On Sunday, Ken and Patty, who comprise the duo “Beautiful Day”, were playing at Erna Nixon Park in Melbourne as part of the “Music in the Park” series of outdoor concerts.

At the same time, Janine and Ronnie were performing at the “New Church” in Rockledge. The “New Church” is actually the name of a new church that is starting up in Rockledge, and yesterday they held an open house for the community.

Here’s where I needed to be a literal “split personality.”

Well, we ended up going to see Janine and Ronnie, since we knew about their performance first.

Fortunately, Ken faithfully sends me the “Beautiful Day” email newsletter, which I read faithfully. I’ll be looking carefully for where they will be playing next!

Check out the “Beautiful Day” site:

http://www.geocities.com/beautifuldaymusic/

Robin and Eddy

http://www.robinandeddy.com/

Posted by leon at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2006

Giving Birth to Mamapalooza

Happy Mother’s Day! (One day late).

I’m tempted to say that planning a big event is a little like childbirth, but what do I know about childbirth?

I can say with confidence that there are endless details to attend to when putting together an event like Mamapalooza.

Personally, I will be helping with the sound system, working on setting up the room for the vendors, the art displays and the musicians, and of course, rehearsing with and playing keyboards for Sheryl, Asli, and Sandy.

That may sound like a lot, but it’s nothing compared with all the particulars Sheryl must focus on.

She is in constant communication with vendors, sponsors, volunteers, and musicians; she’s working with the Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach (where the event will be held on Friday, May 26th, 6-11PM), overseeing on-line ticket sales, generating publicity for the event (including doing several radio and newspaper interviews), designing the posters, and performing countless other tasks that only she as the event coordinator would know about.

Someone asked her what she got out of all this. Well, she’s not getting paid, but she truly loves being around creative people. She gets a real lift from helping and working with folks who are following their own artistic vision.

One of the main purposes of Mamapalooza is to give creative women (especially moms, who really have to work hard to find time to pursue creativity) an outlet for their work, and a chance to meet and support each other.

There are so many talented women out there! I’m looking forward to viewing their art, hearing their stories, and enjoying (and in come cases playing) their songs.

I’d love to have hundreds of others share the experience.

http://www.mamapaloozafl.com

Posted by leon at 05:25 PM | Comments (1)

May 12, 2006

Famous Friends

Today, upon leafing through the “TgIF” Friday supplement from the Florida Today, whom did I find? Hot COCOA!

(Check my entry from January 07, 2006: Caution! Hot Cocoa!)

They were featured in Pam Harbaugh’s “Culture Cues” column (along with a great concert photo).

Quote from HOT COCOA ON TOUR, by Pam Harbaugh:

“Brevard’s singing sensation Hot Cocoa will be touring soon.

“That’s right, just because the women in it are of retirement age doesn’t mean they’re any closer to spending their time in a rocking chair. (I’ll say they aren’t!)

“In fact, they’re rockin’ to Key Biscayne on June 3 to perform for former attorney general Janet Reno’s 50th high school reunion.

“Then, it’s off to Clairmont, N.H., to perform at another high school alumni association.”

Pam goes on to list the members of Hot Cocoa, and reveal a little about them. Well, here’s where I learned a couple of things…

Judi – I’ve been spelling her name wrong all this time. She is a retired R.N., just like my mother-in-law.

Joyce – She was a receptionist.

Hazel - She's a champion tennis player. Now, I didn’t know that!

Jerry – She’s an adjunct professor of English at Rollins College. Now, that I knew!

It is so gratifying to see members of our “musical family” getting out there and doing what they love.

Posted by leon at 05:04 PM | Comments (0)

May 11, 2006

Tia Bea

When Sheryl and I moved out to Florida in 1984, we left behind everyone in both of our families.

Of course, we made a lot of new friends, but we found ourselves missing our relatives.

Fortunately, Sheryl’s parents came out to visit us frequently, as did her sisters, and one of her aunts. Her late grandfather, the great Del Paige, even came out once to see his new great-granddaughter.

Sheryl’s mother still comes out regularly.

I have a standing joke: “You know, I have a terrible problem with my Mother-In-Law, I don’t get to see her often enough!”

My sister and her family lived in Plant City, FL for a time.

We’ve also received visits from my Uncle Leonard, my Uncle Gus, and my cousin Freddie.

And of course, my cousin Jerry and his family recently moved out here, and live just a few miles up the road from us. So now there are two Olguins in the phone book!

I just received another family visitor, my Tia (Aunt) Belia (My Dad's little sister). My siblings and I grew up calling her “Tia Bea.”

She and her friend Paul came to visit on April 29. Unfortunately, Sheryl was away, but Rose and I were there to greet her, and Jerry and his family came over as well.

I got to show them the studio, and give Tia Bea a copy of Sheryl’s CD.

She’s still the Tia Bea I remember growing up. Bright, funny, full of life. Some people never change, and you’re glad they don’t.

Cousin Jerry, the PSG, and Tia Bea

Posted by leon at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2006

The Beautiful Gibson

All right. I just got a look at the Gibson guitar.

Now I don’t know much about guitars (let me rephrase that…I don’t know anything) but this guitar sure looks pretty.

It’s also worth about $1200.00.

Sheryl likes it, and since she’s a guitarist, that means something.

Gibson Guitars has generously donated this instrument as a prize.

Someone’s going to win this guitar at Mamapalooza.

I’m not eligible, since I’m the husband of event’s coordinator.

Of course, I can’t play the guitar, but I’m very close to someone who does.

http://www.mamapaloozafl.com

Posted by leon at 07:27 PM | Comments (0)

May 08, 2006

One of Those Weeks

I didn’t add much to the PSG blog this past week. This classic cartoon from 1959 offers an explanation.

Yes, it was one of those weeks.

We’ve been enveloped in smoke for over a week now, the result of a seemingly endless series of brush fires that have been burning here in Brevard County.

One morning last week, when Buddy Rogers (the famous studio dog) and I went out for our morning constitutional, the smoke and fog were so thick that we could not see for more than a few feet. Needless to say, our walk that morning was fairly short.

In addition, I had one of those weeks where you feel as though nothing you do (or have done) is any good. Maybe it has something to do with the artistic mind-set (and despite my half-hearted protestations to the contrary, I am an artist).

Some days I feel so fortunate to be able to express yourself through art and music, other days the idea of being an artist feels like a curse. Why can’t I just have a job like ordinary people? Maybe a steady paycheck wouldn’t be that bad.

But as it always happens, something comes along to bring me out of my artistic funk.

Our good friends Spike and Sandy invited us to go with them to EPCOT and see Paul Revere and the Raiders. They promised us that we would like the show.

So last Saturday, we met them at Chevy’s over by Disney Marketplace for a tasty Mexican dinner, and then went over to Epcot to see the show.

Sandy, a Disney “cast member” was able to get us all in for free.

Now you may be thinking, “Paul Revere and the Raiders? ‘Indian Reservation’ Paul Revere? The guys who sang about ‘Kicks?’ They’re still around?”

Not only are they still around (they had their first hit in 1960) but they sound pretty darn good.

One of the lead singers was Darrin Medley, the son of “Righteous Brother” Bill Medley. Darrin not only sang lead, but played drums on a couple of songs when the drummer came down to sing lead.

What did Paul Revere do? Well, he was the ringleader, and resident crazy comedian. At age 69 (!) he displayed more energy that many 20-somethings, and had the crowd roaring with laughter at his antics.

What did he do that was so funny? His humor was of the “you had to be there” variety, so there’s not much I can tell you.
The bottom line was, Paul and his band have been playing music for a loooong time, (most of the band members have been with Paul Revere for over 30 years) and during his show at Disney, they looked like they was still getting a kick out of it.

The band was thoroughly professional, they played their hits, and they put on an entertaining show.

I’m sure that Paul Revere has his “down” days, but there’s something about playing music for folks that makes it hard to stay down.

This made me think, I spend a great deal of time enabling artists (including Sandy and Spike!) to realize their “musical dreams.” I am given the privilege of being a part of their art (there’s a snappy rhyme for you).

The artists I’ve worked with then go out and, using the tools I have helped them develop (their CDs, backing tracks, etc.), bring their music to the public, and experience the joys and personal growth that comes with live performance.

Well, that’s not too bad. I’d like to do more of it!

Check our Paul Revere and the Raiders’ site:

http://www.paulrevereraiders.com/main.html

Paul Revere

Darrin Medley
(pictures taken by Spike)

Posted by leon at 02:02 PM | Comments (2)

April 27, 2006

Much to Do, Much to Do…

Just taking a quick break so that I can put something in this blog!

This is one of those times when I feel like I’m deep underwater and swimming frantically towards the surface, hoping I don’t run out of air before I get there.

I’m working on several projects at once, and they all have the same deadline: yesterday!
(Or at least that’s how it seems.)

But fortunately, no one is angry or complaining, everyone is waiting patiently, and I will get everything done.

As I write this in the upstairs office, the CD writer in the studio is busily burning audio files for Jim McDonald’s new CD. I have to keep going down to check on the progress, and start the burning process for each new song.

For Jim’s project I recorded the basic tracks here, and am sending CDs of .wav files (one file for each part of each song, such as piano, bass, guitar, etc.) so that he can use them in the studio in San Diego California, where he will record his vocals and mix.

I’m also working on basic tracks for Kevin Watson’s new project. He has already done one CD with us.

We’re also working with a new client, Sharon Osuna, who writes very clever songs and until now has never recorded in a professional studio. I love helping musicians learn about the recording process first-hand.

I’m producing some accompaniment tracks for a dear friend of mine. This lady has cut my hair for the last 20 years! She’s recently started taking voice lessons, and uses the tracks I create for her for rehearsal and performance.

“Crazy Roy” Thomas is waiting for me to work on the final three songs for his new CD. He comes in and sings and plays guitar, and then leaves it up to me to add the band around him. It’s a bit of a challenge to work this way, but it’s great fun.

I’m also creating MIDI sequences for Tony Martin, an entertainer from Vero Beach, Florida. These are standard MIDI files that he plays through his general MIDI keyboard while he sings. He entertains folks in Country Clubs, retirement centers and other venues throughout the Vero Beach area. I will eventually supply Mr. Martin with over 100 such sequences.

HOT COCOA is coming back on April 28 to do some more recording. These four ladies are always fun to work with!

Also on April 28th, Kevin Browne will be releasing his new CD “Scenery” which we had the privilege of recording here. He’ll be giving a free concert at Christ Community Church on 4/28 at 7PM. The church is located at the corner of Garden and Carpenter in Titusville, just off highway 95.

Well, I think it’s time to go down and check on the CD burner.

http://www.crazyroy.com

http://www.kevinjonline.net

http://kevin-browne.com

http://www.jimmcdonald.org

Posted by leon at 12:12 PM | Comments (1)

April 25, 2006

Journey to New Jersey

We just got back from a trip to Marlton, New Jersey. Sheryl and I were presenters at the Xpress Him! Creative Arts Festival, held April 20-22 at the Marlton Assembly of God Church in New Jersey.

We had the opportunity to talk about the impact of digital downloading on the music industry, and how it affects musicians and worship leaders in the church.

“Xpress Him!”, which was put on by the Northeast Artist's Guild Foundation, offered two days of music, drama, technical, and worship workshops with many nationally known clinicians. There were also evening concerts with recording artist Paul Baloche on Friday and guitar great Phil Keaggy on Saturday.

Here’s what the NEAG has to say about itself.

"NEAG is a non-profit arts equipping ministry organization committed to serving through the arts and bringing top experts with servant hearts in their fields to area musicians, churches and leaders to give increased tools for ministry.”

It was an honor to be a part of the festival, and we hope to go back next year.

I always think I’m going to find time to add to the PSG blog when we are out of town. After all, we had the laptop, we had Internet access, and I just didn’t have any time!

Time is short as we get back into the flow of things here at home, but I hope to have a few pictures and impressions of our journey to New Jersey in the next few days.

In the meantime, I’ve got some work waiting for me in the studio. I’ll tell you a little more about that, too.

Check out the NEAG:

http://www.northeastartistsguild.com

Posted by leon at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2006

You’re Leaving Again?

This week we are going to Marlton, NJ for the Northeast Artists’ Guild conference. We’ll be doing a couple of presentations on digital downloading, and talking to artists about selling music downloads of their own music, and music by others, from their own internet music store.

http://www.northeastartistsguild.com/

Sheryl is also busy raising sponsorship for Mamapalooza. If you know of a business that would like to invest a small amount in publicizing their product or service to hundreds of women (and then men who come with them!) this would be a great opportunity.

The Mamapalooza will be held on Friday evening, May 26th from 6-11PM, at the Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn in the Grand Ballroom!

Tell everyone you know, whether they are mothers or not.

http://www.mamapalooza.com/

http://mamapaloozafl.com

(Our local Mamapalooza page)

Posted by leon at 03:22 PM | Comments (0)

April 13, 2006

Tucked or Untucked?

Every trip seems to develop its own themes. Sheryl and I end up spending a lot of time with our friends and fellow songwriters from our NSAI group during our joint trips to Nashville. As the trip goes on, certain in-jokes begin to develop into themes, and take on a life of their own.

On our most recent trip, one main theme (besides music and songwriting) emerged.

Sheryl had long ago noticed that the style in Nashville (and indeed, pretty much nationwide) was for men and women to wear their shirts “untucked.” Men would usually wear a T-shirt underneath, then a button down the front shirt that was left untucked. Women often wore a more stylish version of this outfit.

I adapted right away, finding the untucked look to be more comfortable. Whenever I tucked in a shirt, it always tended to billow out around the waist after a while, causing me to look somewhat disheveled.

Our dear friend Asli (whose picture appears often in this blog) is blind. Up until about 10 years ago, she was able to see, but unfortunately lost her vision due to a rare genetic condition (her brother is also blind). I greatly admire her for the way she handles her handicap. She treats the situation in a matter-of-fact way, laced with humor, which puts everyone around her at ease. We all take turns helping her find her way around (sometimes vying for the honor). We also make jokes about the fact that not only is she a songwriter; she is indeed a rocket scientist!

Dear Asli, as you might expect, is not too interested in clothing and fashion trends. She is, however (at least until recently) a staunch “tucker-inner.” When Sheryl explained to her what the current fashion was, she was somewhat incredulous. So Sheryl and Sandy (also a “tucker-inner”) began to take an informal tally of everyone they laid eyes on in Nashville.

Soon, their conversations would often degenerate into “Tucked…untucked… untucked… untucked… untucked… untucked…tucked… untucked… untucked…”

The results of this surreptitious poll? Over 75% of Nashville’s denizens, both temporary and permanent, sported the “untucked look.”

This was news to Asli and Sandy. So one morning, without warning, they both emerged from their hotel room….UNTUCKED! I have proof! After a while, Sandy couldn’t take it anymore, and “retucked”. Asli stuck it out (no pun intended). In fact, at our first NSAI meeting after the trip, she showed up untucked, and Sandy followed Asli’s example. I was so proud of them both.

Posted by leon at 11:59 AM | Comments (1)

April 11, 2006

The Joy of Running Errands

Yesterday was one of those days that seemed to slip away from me. It ended up being a day filled with errands and activities that didn’t seem very inspiring, but they had to be done.

What did I do? Well, amongst other things, I:

· Mailed in our tax return. (Can’t avoid that! Thank God for our accountant.)

· Delivered a project to a client and waited around for a check. This particular client was not averse to making me wait around for a while, but I couldn’t get too upset. I came to see them at their place of business, and they had to serve the customers.

(By the way, if you’re ever in Cocoa Beach, make sure to go to Beach Wave on A1A for all of your beach vacation needs!)

· Made a bank deposit. (Too bad all that money has to go right back out again.)

· Mailed a demo project out to another member of our musical family, and mailed out a bunch of other stuff too. (Not an unpleasant task. We patronize a small town post office, and they know me there.)

· Answered various and sundry emails.

On second thought, maybe these activities did appear mundane on the surface, but they were all connected with one of the great joys of my life: making music. Because I spend most of my time recording music, performing music, writing music, teaching music, and writing about music, I get to file tax returns based on my income as a musician, deliver finished products to clients and get paid, and make deposits into our bank account.

Well, time to get into the studio and work on some music.

Before I go, I’ve got some pictures!

Some of these are from our recent trip to Nashville, and a couple from Sheryl’s recent concert at Nature’s Haven on April 9th. (If you weren’t there, you missed a great show, along with my debut on bass and accordion!)

Asli and Her Good Friend Eric
(OK, so he's a cardboard cut-out on display at Corner Music in Nashville...)

Sheryl at the 2006 NSAI Symposium in Nashville

Orlando NSAI Group in Nashville

Sandy and Asli Untucked
(A Story for Another Day!)

Sheryl and Steve Perry at Nature's Haven, April 9, 2006

The PSG and His Cousin Jerry at Nature's Haven
(Can you see the family resemblance? We're the only two Olguins in the phone book!)

Posted by leon at 03:02 PM | Comments (1)

April 07, 2006

Getting Caught Up

Well, you know how it is: you come home from a trip and there’s a pile of stuff waiting for you.

Anyway, we spent the week of March 27 – April 3 in Nashville at Tin Pan South and Symposium.

You can check out the NSAI site for more information about this weeklong event. Every evening we saw some of Nashville’s greatest songwriters perform, including folks like Kim Carnes, Mac Davis, and Tony Arata.

http://www.nashvillesongwriters.com/

Sheryl also received training as an NSAI coordinator, and attended the NSAI Songwriters Symposium, where she and 300 other songwriters received valuable information from publishers and music professionals.

We had 10 members of our Orlando NSAI group attending this event.

We came back on Monday, April 3, and are working to get over our “post trip crash.”

On Sunday, April 9th, Sheryl and I will be performing at Nature’s Haven in Cocoa Village from 2PM – 3:30PM, with an open mic following.

Nature's Haven is located at 602 Brevard Avenue, Cocoa Florida, across from Murdock's Restaurant

Phone (321) 632-1221

Email:
todster77@yahoo.com

Nature's Haven Website
http://www.naturespirit.com

I’ll be back Monday. Time to go sort through some mail!

Posted by leon at 06:31 PM | Comments (0)

April 04, 2006

Whew!

We just got back from Nashville late last night. What were we doing there? I'll get to that.

The last two and a half weeks have been a total blur. Let’s see…the only way I can remember what happened is to go back and look at my calendar:

Saturday, March 18th – Sheryl and I went to a beautiful wedding (see “A Fine Day for a Wedding”). I had been feeling a bit run-down for several days, which I attributed to mere fatigue, or maybe I was coming down with a little cold.

Spike and Sandy (see “Working with Friends” http://www.scmblogs.com/projectstudioguy/archives/2006/01/working_with_fr.html) came over that evening to work on their CD cover with Sheryl and I was going downhill rapidly. This was more than a mere cold. Sheryl made some calls and arranged for other musicians to take over my duties at church the next morning.

By Sunday morning, I could barely move. Monday was more of the same, but now Sheryl was also under the weather, and we had to finish getting all our records together for our accountant. (See “Ah, Show Business!”)
Tuesday evening I was scheduled to teach a class. No way.

By Wednesday, March 22 I was starting to move around a bit, and it was a good thing, since Sheryl was scheduled to play at the Suwannee Springfest (see "Off to the Suwannee Springfest"), and we were going to be camping, something I had never attempted as an adult.

This brings me up to March 23rd, and that’s where I’ll start next time.

Posted by leon at 01:47 PM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2006

Ah, Show Business!

It’s 10:45PM on a Monday night, and Sheryl and I are now both dealing with the flu. So how do we deal with it? By sitting in the upstairs office together, working on getting our “tax stuff” together for our anxiously waiting accountant.

Not exactly the glamorous side of show business.

We have to get well fast, since we are planning to leave on Thursday morning for Live Oak, FL where Sheryl will be taking part in the Suwannee Springfest. As one of six finalists in the songwriting competition, she'll be performing 3 tunes for a panel of judges on Thursday night. (She has to play alone, so I'll be watching and cheering her on!)

We'll be coming back in time for me to play keyboard for Sandz of Time at the Majestic Restaurant in Titusville on Saturday evening. Sunday after church we spend the day getting ready in order to leave at the crack of dawn on Monday for Nashville!

All right, it’s now 11:33PM. I’ll post this tomorrow. Time to get some rest!

…It’s 12 hours later, and I’m back ready to post this bit of writing. One last thing to add – here’s Sheryl’s newest publicity photo.

Ah, now we’re back to the glamorous side of show business.

Must go get some more tea.

Posted by leon at 11:57 AM | Comments (1)

March 20, 2006

A Fine Day for a Wedding

I’m feeling a bit under the weather today. The old flu bug has finally caught up with the PSG. I used to pride myself on rarely getting sick. Well, so much for that.

One bright spot from the past few days…Sheryl and I attended a wedding last Saturday (March 18th.) It was the marriage of our friends Christopher and LeAnn. We got to know them through our activities in the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, and Christopher became one of our clients when Sheryl designed his Website.

The ceremony was held outdoors at the Veterans Memorial Park in Merritt Island, with the Banana River providing a picturesque backdrop.

At the reception, Chris wanted to make the traditional “first dance” with his bride something truly special, so he donned a wireless headset mic and sang the song “Too Marvelous for Words” to his new bride while they danced. It was one of the most romantic things Sheryl and I had ever seen. It went off without a hitch, too.

I would have done something like that at our wedding reception, except for three reasons:

1. I couldn’t sing (at least not 25 years ago).
2. I couldn’t dance (but I’m still willing to learn!)
3. I didn’t think of it. (I just wanted to get through the wedding without falling down, messing up my lines, knocking over the cake, etc.)

In addition, I’m not sure that wireless headset mics had been invented yet. If they had been, they wouldn’t have looked nearly as cool as the one Christopher wore.

The entire ceremony was expertly captured on video by Complete Music and Video, but none of the footage will ever show up on “AFV” (America’s Funniest Home Videos”) since nothing went wrong. No falling wedding cake, no dancers tripping up, no embarrassing toasts, and no wrestling match fought for the bridal bouquet.

Congratulations, Christopher and LeAnn, and our best wishes for a long and happy life together.

“Too Marvelous for Words”

Lyrics by: Johnny Mercer
Music by: Richard Whiting

You're just too marvelous
Too marvelous for words
Like glorious, glamorous
And that old standby amorous

It's all too wonderful
I'll never find the words
That say enough, tell enough
I mean they just aren't swell enough

You're much too much, and just too very very
To ever be, in Webster's dictionary
And so, I'm borrowing a love song from the birds
To tell you that you're marvelous
Too marvelous for words

It may be a cliché, but they just don’t write ‘em like that anymore!

Posted by leon at 05:27 PM | Comments (1)

March 10, 2006

Presidential Pianos – Part 2

My entry yesterday about Presidential Pianos promoted a response and a query: which Presidents actually played the piano?

I know for sure that Harry S Truman did, but I don’t know how good he was.

Recently, I saw on PBS a clip from the Jack Paar show during the early 1960’s, featuring Richard Nixon playing the piano. In fact, I think he was playing one of his own compositions, complete with orchestral accompaniment.

As for the quality of his playing, let’s just say that you won’t find too many Richard Nixon LPs for sale on eBay.

Now of course, Nixon is also famous for some tapes he made later on, but that’s another story.

Posted by leon at 03:01 PM | Comments (1)

March 09, 2006

Presidential Pianos

(Courtesy of the Pierce Piano Atlas)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0911138048/allaboutpianosA/102-4340732-2312945

I’ve always been interested in Presidential trivia. With this list, you’ll always have an answer in case one of your friends should ask: “What kind of piano did Abraham Lincoln have?” (He actually had two pianos, but I don’t know if he owned them both at the same time).

So, here are the presidents and their pianos:

1st President - George Washington - Longman & Broderip Harpsichord; Schoen & Vinsen Pianoforte
2nd President - John Adams - Currier & Co.
3rd President - Thomas Jefferson - Astor Pianoforte
4th President - James Madison - Square Grand (name destroyed by fire)
5th President - James Monroe - Astor Piano
6th President - John Quincy Adams - Currier & Co.
7th President - Andrew Jackson - T. Gilbert & Co. Square Piano
8th President - Martin Van Buren - Hallet & Cumston Square Piano
9th President - William Henry Harrison - Haines Brothers
10th President - John Tyler - Thomas Tomkinson Upright Piano
11th President - James Knox Polk - Astor & Harwood Square Piano
12th President - Zachary Taylor - name unknown
13th President - Millard Fillmore - name unknown
14th President - Franklin Pierce - Chickering Square Piano
15th President - James Buchanan - Chickering Grand Piano
16th President - Abraham Lincoln - Chickering Square Piano & Chickering Upright
17th President - Andrew Johnson - Steinway & Sons Square Piano
18th President - Ulysses S. Grant - Melodeon
19th President - Rutherford B. Hayes - Bradbury Upright & Harpsichord (name destroyed by fire)
20th President - James A. Garfield - Hallet & Davis Upright
21st President - Chester A. Arthur - Piano cannot be located.
22nd President - Grover Cleveland - Combination Piano & Harpsichord (name destroyed by fire)
23rd President - Benjamin Harrison - J. & C. Fischer Upright Piano, Haines Brothers Square
24th President - Grover Cleveland - (same as above)
25th President - William McKinley - A. H. Gale Co. Square Piano
26th President - Theodore Roosevelt - Chickering Upright, Steinway Grand Piano
27th President - William Howard Taft - Baldwin Grand Piano
28th President - Woodrow Wilson - Ernst Rosenkranst Square Piano, Knabe Grand
29th President - Warren G. Harding - A. B. Chase Electric Player Piano
30th President - Calvin Coolidge - Sohmer Upright Piano
31st President - Herbert Hoover - Knabe Grand & A. B. Chase Grand
32nd President - Franklin D. Roosevelt - Hardman Grand
33rd President - Harry S. Truman - Steinway Grand, Baldwin Grand & Steinway Upright
34th President - Dwight D. Eisenhower - Hallet & Cumston Upright
35th President - John F. Kennedy - Ivers & Pond Grand Piano
36th President - Lyndon B. Johnson - Style L. Steinway, Knabe Console
37th President - Richard M. Nixon - Geo. P. Bent Upright, Baldwin Vertical
38th President - Gerald Ford - No personal piano
39th President - James (Jimmy) Carter - Ludden & Bates
40th President - Ronald Reagan - Steinway Grand
41st President - George Bush - Did not own personal piano.
42nd President - William (Bill) Clinton - Baldwin Grand in the Governor's Mansion.
43rd President - George W. Bush - No personal piano. Steinway Grand in the White House residence.

My personal piano? A 1928 Knabe Grand, built in Germany.

Woodrow Wilson owned a Knabe, as did Herbert Hoover and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Our current President does not have a personal piano. Too bad, since playing the piano can be very relaxing, and as you know, his job can sometimes be a bit stressful.

Posted by leon at 01:09 PM | Comments (1)

March 07, 2006

Mamapalooza is Coming!

Sheryl has taken on the job of Regional Coordinator in Central Florida for this upcoming event. She will play a major role in putting this event together.

MAMAPALOOZA 2006 is an international festival that takes place annually in May with the purpose of promoting and celebrating the arts in motherhood.

The theme is simple: “Moms Rock.”

Mamapalooza comprises nearly 40 events held in 30 cities around the world, most of which are in the U.S., and also in the U.K. and Australia.

Our local event will be held at the Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn. Our executive producer, Joy Rose, founded the MAMAPALOOZA movement in 2002 and the movement continues to grow every year.

Our Cocoa Beach Event Details:

Date: Friday May 26th: 5-6PM Sponsor and Artist reception, 6-11PM Concert Event

Location: Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn

Tickets: (price to be determined)

Hors d’oeuvres and cash bar

Proceeds to be donated to: ALR (Lupus Research), Hidden Potentials (Brevard County non-profit assisting disabled children), The Brevard Humane Society, and Unconditional Love (provides food and support to AIDS patients and their families).

Featured mom performers include:

Sheryl Paige, award winning adult contemporary singer/songwriter

Celtic Sessions, acoustic Celtic music

Magda Hiller, Jazz and Contemporary Folk artist

Dianne Carr, Author, doing a reading from “The River Dragon” book

Poetry readings from local writers

Music from local performing songwriters

Displays of artwork from local women in the visual arts (painters, sculptors, etc.)
Other artists to be confirmed

Local businesses can invest in a Vendor Table and set up a display promoting their business.

For more details, contact us.

info@solocreativemedia.com

As we get closer to the event, I’ll give you more details!

Posted by leon at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)

March 01, 2006

Career Shadowing

On Monday, February 27th, I welcomed four high school juniors in to my studio as part of the Brevard County Schools Career Shadowing Program.

This program provides the students with the chance to spend the day at a place of business in line with their interests, and observe and ask questions. I’ve been a participating business for the last several years.

Normally the schools will send me one or two students, but this time they asked me to host four.

My students were Meg Spivey, Shain Honkanen, Ember Everett, and Wesley Anderson.

Meg wanted to learn more about music production. She’s a musician, having studied cello, bass and guitar.

Shain is already a working musician, as guitarist in a band called Vintage. They recently played at the Cocoa Village Mardi Gras.

Ember plays the French Horn and is a singer. She wants to someday work as a wedding planner, but is also interested in music production.

Wesley is also a guitarist, and also wants to find out more about music production.

I began by telling them about the history of S.O.L.O. Creative Media, and then giving them a picture of what a “typical” day in the studio was like.

If you are a regular reader, you know that there are no “typical days!”

I gave a demonstration on mixing, showing them how to process a vocal. Several of them already had experience with soundboards and running sound.

Sheryl came in for a while to record a song demo, and the students were able to observe and ask questions about the recording process. They watched and listened to Sheryl record an acoustic guitar part. I then showed them how I added drums, bass, and piano. We then had Sheryl record a scratch vocal.

After lunch, we gave them a chance to record something themselves. They elected to perform the song “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Shain took the lead guitar part (it was obviously a song he had practiced before!), Wesley handled rhythm acoustic guitar, Meg played the bass, and Ember provided a partly ad-libbed vocal, which included the line, “Mr. Olguin is so cool.” It’s not often that someone literally sings my praises!

These were the kind of students that restore your faith in “young people.” They were all bright, well mannered (Meg even called me “sir!”), and very attentive. My time with them was over before I knew it.

I should mention that they were all from Edgewood Junior / Senior High in Brevard County, FL.

Hey guys, if you’re reading this, thanks for coming over!

Meg, Shain, Wesley, Ember

Shain, Ember, Wesley and Meg with the PSG

Shain, Ember and Wesley

Wesley and Meg play "Sweet Home Alabama"

Posted by leon at 08:54 PM | Comments (2)

February 28, 2006

The Joke’s On Me

I’m not feeling particularly profound today, so here are a few jokes about music and musicians:

Q: What does a trombone player do first thing every morning?
A: Get up and go to his day job.

(You could actually substitute many other instruments in the place of “trombone.” It’s just that the word “trombone” sounds funny to me.)

Q: How many musicians does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: 17. One to screw the light bulb in, and the other 16 to stand around saying, “I could do that.”

Do you ever get the feeling that a great many musicians in the audience at the Grammy Awards are thinking that?

Q: How many lead singers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: One. She holds the bulb while the world revolves around her.

If you found that joke offensive because the lead singer was depicted as female, then here, in the interest of fairness, is another version:

Q: How many lead singers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: One. He holds the bulb while the world revolves around him.

I don’t think this version is any funnier.

Q: What is the difference between an accordion and an onion?
A: No one cries when you chop up an accordion.

Lest you think that I am being insensitive, I actually possess, and occasionally play, my own accordion.

“On behalf of the band, thank you, ladies and gentlemen! You know, we’ve had a lot of requests, but we’re going to keep on playing anyway.”

Posted by leon at 01:27 PM | Comments (1)

February 22, 2006

Coffee Achievers

I remember an ad from the 80’s that touted the benefits of drinking coffee. Those who imbibed regularly were labeled “the coffee achievers.” Somehow, the benefits of regular coffee drinking enabled these chosen ones to achieve untold success in their various endeavors.

The famous rock group Heart were portrayed as “coffee achievers” in one ad, as Ann and Nancy Wilson were shown drinking coffee while recording a hit song in a Hollywood portrayal of a recording studio (huge sound board, a tremendous amount of gear, lots of musician types sitting around listening intently, but oddly enough, no one smoking or drinking anything but coffee).

Interestingly enough, while we always have coffee available in our studio during recording sessions, we have very few takers. Most of the members of our musical family prefer tea.

Sheryl drinks mostly tea, with an occasional cup of decaf coffee (which, as it was once described on David Letterman’s show, is nothing more than “useless brown water.”)

I, however, cling stubbornly to the “coffee achiever” ideal, but I must admit, I have cut down on my coffee consumption. I used to drink a pot a day, but now I’m down to two cups.

There are still hazards to face as a coffee drinker: is the caffeine harmful to you? Will coffee drinking cause your bones to become brittle? Will excessive coffee consumption adversely affect your songwriting? These are significant concerns, but today I encountered a new coffee hazard.

In our refrigerator are two cartons of identical size and shape: one contains the half and half for my coffee, and the other contains egg white.

While preparing my coffee, without looking I reached into the refrigerator for what I thought was half and half…

Need I go on?

While I enjoy Chinese food as much as the next guy, I don’t think that egg-drop coffee is ever going to catch on.

You know, Sheryl does make really good tea.

Posted by leon at 12:38 PM | Comments (2)

February 21, 2006

Around the World With Jim

I spent some time on the phone today with Jim McDonald, a man who has been to more places, sung to more people, and produced more songs with me than anyone else we’ve had the privilege of working with.

He was one of our first clients, dating back to 1991.

I just sent off to him some rough mixes of the tracks for his newest CD, for him to work with while he travels throughout Europe and China for the next month and a half.

When he returns in mid-April, he’ll go into the studio and record his vocals in San Diego.

About a year ago, I arranged, recorded and produced for him a group of backing tracks for some children’s songs.

These tracks have been used by Jim to produce children’s albums in several different countries, including Bosnia, Macedonia, Croatia, and Romania.

The next CD, using the same tracks, will possibly be done with a group of children in China.

These children’s groups are part of the churches where Jim and his wife Katie go to minister. The sales of these CDs are used as fund-raisers for the various churches and ministries involved.

Jim is not paid for these efforts. He makes a large part of his living through the sales of his own CDs back here in the United States.

His concerts and CD sales in the US help fund his ministry overseas.

It is an honor to be associated with such an important work, and with such a dedicated man.

Go to http://www.jimmcdonald.org to find out more.

I get tired just looking at his schedule!

Jim McDonald

Posted by leon at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)

February 09, 2006

Black Hole Week

This has been one of those weeks where I feel as though I have fallen into a black hole of sorts: time seems to have accelerated, everything seems to be happening at once.

I look at the calendar, and I can’t believe it’s Thursday already. I haven’t had time to catch my breath, let alone play the piano for fun, write a new piece of music, or update this blog.

I feel like I’m behind on every project, and I find myself wishing I were temporarily an android so that I could work 24 hours a day and not need any sleep. Then I might be able to get caught up in a few months and return to human form.

It seems I spend so much time doing things that have nothing to do with music, that by the time I get into the studio I feel as though I’ve already worked a full day.

Well, before this starts to sound whiny, I need to remind myself of a few things:

1. I may fret about the work piling up, but the alternative (i.e. no work at all) makes the current situation more bearable.

2. That’s the way it is in this business, periods of relative inactivity (which are used to “plant the seeds” for future projects),
alternating with periods of frenzied activity and not enough sleep.

3. I’ve been through countless “black hole” weeks, and I’ve always made it through with the help of my family and friends, and by the grace of God.

4. The music is always there. My abilities don’t go away, and the desire to make music never wanes. I will get back to it, even if the time is limited some days. I will find the time.

Maybe you’re in the same boat as I am. You want to spend more time on your music, but “life” just seems to get in the way.

Take heart. The music will always be there. Any efforts you make to find time for your music will be worth it.

Posted by leon at 04:55 PM | Comments (1)