Accidentally Like A Martyr: November 2009

Have you ever been in that hideously frustrating situation where you have everything at your disposal to record a song or piece of music but you don't have a song to write? The general reaction of most songwriters is to sit with pen and paper or at their computer 'willing' a song to emerge. This has such a low success rate that it's barely worth mentioning.

To my way of thinking every songwriter, or every person for that matter, is but a mode of transport for a sequence of lyrics, chords, emotions and arrangements to present themselves in the form of what we term a 'song.'

I have no way of proving this but it is my firm belief that everyone has at least one song in them. Some people have such a passion for creating a song that they go 'the extra hard yard,'....and then some....to make this happen.

Others, on the other hand, for whatever reason do not pursue this aspect of their psyche. I view this a a shame in many ways as so many people have so many songs or stories that come their way but are left to wander off, hopefully to some place where they can be transformed into a musical piece.

A song can be 'sparked' by the most unlikely source. It may be a transient image that becomes so firmly entrenched in the writers' mind that it will eventually come to fruition. It may come from a remark made by a friend, stranger, newsreader, etc. This doesn't necessarily that the writer will write word for word what they have heard. More often than not it is just enough to ignite what is already within the writer.

As writers continue pursue their craft they become more open to external forces and more flexible in adapting their internal notions.

When I first began writing professionally in the late 1980s I had a wealth of poetry stemming back to my days as a kid at school back in Scotland. I found this easy. All that was required was a few

tweaks here and there and finding the best key for our vocalist. This 'easy' phase soon became serious basically through life experience. As serious as it became I still found it easy. My songwriting only became serious in the sense that I was ever-conscious that my 'fresh' material was going to be heard by large audiences.

By the early 1990s my songs became, deliberately, highly politicised as there were some pretty heavy political issues going down in Tasmania at the time. They continued to be well received so I kept my technique the same. As time progressed and the political situation in Tasmania had pretty-well resolved itself I had no 'ignition.' I believe that it was around this time that I really began to fully learn about songwriting for a rock band.

From this point on I maintained my previous attitude to songwriting. I have never written for a target audience or written a song with the aim of pleasing listeners. If I like a song then I'm more than happy enough. The only obstacle that I encountered was getting the band to play a particular track exactly the way that I wanted it to be played, hence the fact that I write, record and mix all tracks myself these days.

Having a multitude of ideas thrown around about regarding how my song should turn out doesn't sit well with me. I've been accused of being stubborn and difficult to work with. I can wear that because such comments usually come from drugged-out 'try-hards' who can barely put pen to paper. I have also been accuse of staying in my 'comfort zone.' I see nothing wrong with being in my comfort-zone. Why leave it if I'm happy being there? Who knows that I may leave it tomorrow if I have an 'ignition' that calls for such a move.

Accidentally Like A Martyr

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

"...And The Sun Refused To Shine...."