Introduction: TRJones
Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 9:59 am
Hey folks, Troy here.
Just popping in to say hi and introduce myself. I just started the songfight challenge this year and so far, I'm 8 for 10 titles. I'm having a blast writing and producing these things in such a short time frame, and as you might be able to tell from my recordings, I'm not really a studio guy. The studio (Garageband) is a whole new thing to me, so I'm learning as I go and producing my tunes with the tools I have on hand. I'm a one man band. I don't know that I could collaborate online given the time constrictions. My entries take me a solid 2weeks, usually right down to the wire to produce.
My talent and passion is in the writing. I'm not a fantastic musician, I am merely quite competent in my playing. I write with an acoustic in hand and go with the best seed that comes from hours and hours of mulling the title over and over. Usually I can find it quickly, but sometimes its like pulling teeth to find that seed. And if it doesn't meet my quite-low expectations, then it won't work. The two titles I missed out on were epic songwriting adventures. It wasn't that I didn't do the work, it just never came together as a total package and didn't make the cut.
I also really like to keep those little odd things that make the song interesting and unique, whether it sounds proper or not. So little mistakes, if not too glaring, are kept. And lyrical oddities and twists are another quirky thing I like to keep. Those little things that may seem to come off as odd but tickle my fancy as the singer. For example, in my entry for 'This week we'll see', the line "sting like a butterfly's poison eye..." ??? I dunno what that is, but I like it and its tickled me for weeks trying to figure out what that is. And the chorus line of that same song that rhymes 'like a mat' with, 'where i'm at'... two 'a-mat' lines in a row... spelled differently! Ha! I knew it was a lame line when it came out of me, but after further consideration, it fit so well and had such an oddness to it that I'd be crazy to try and find something better. Most people would have elected for the 'cat' rhyme there, but that would have been so mainstream and it would have broken that rhyme scheme. I am a sucker for those lyrical oddities, so it might be stupid, but this ain't rocket science. Its a poetic license and I'll take full advantage wherever I can. If it works, go with it and don't spend too much time thinking about it.
I'm also not afraid to offend. I've been criticized for some of my redneckisms and foul language. Ah well, as I said, I am not here to please you. I am very honest with myself and what I do comes out of me naturally. It is what it is and I'm not going to clean it up to be radio or consumer-friendly. I actually tend to lean the other way, and purposely drive it as close to the edge as possible.
Whether you like it or not does not matter, any feedback is good feedback. I get a big kick out of that, that people are listening and critiquing my work. I appreciate that alot actually, and I am working to make better recordings with the advice I've received. It will always be about the song at its most basic level for me. I don't have the means nor the talent to produce excellence, but I can still craft a pretty solid tune and I am happy to have found this venue to put some purpose behind my creative drive. Thanks Songfight!
Just popping in to say hi and introduce myself. I just started the songfight challenge this year and so far, I'm 8 for 10 titles. I'm having a blast writing and producing these things in such a short time frame, and as you might be able to tell from my recordings, I'm not really a studio guy. The studio (Garageband) is a whole new thing to me, so I'm learning as I go and producing my tunes with the tools I have on hand. I'm a one man band. I don't know that I could collaborate online given the time constrictions. My entries take me a solid 2weeks, usually right down to the wire to produce.
My talent and passion is in the writing. I'm not a fantastic musician, I am merely quite competent in my playing. I write with an acoustic in hand and go with the best seed that comes from hours and hours of mulling the title over and over. Usually I can find it quickly, but sometimes its like pulling teeth to find that seed. And if it doesn't meet my quite-low expectations, then it won't work. The two titles I missed out on were epic songwriting adventures. It wasn't that I didn't do the work, it just never came together as a total package and didn't make the cut.
I also really like to keep those little odd things that make the song interesting and unique, whether it sounds proper or not. So little mistakes, if not too glaring, are kept. And lyrical oddities and twists are another quirky thing I like to keep. Those little things that may seem to come off as odd but tickle my fancy as the singer. For example, in my entry for 'This week we'll see', the line "sting like a butterfly's poison eye..." ??? I dunno what that is, but I like it and its tickled me for weeks trying to figure out what that is. And the chorus line of that same song that rhymes 'like a mat' with, 'where i'm at'... two 'a-mat' lines in a row... spelled differently! Ha! I knew it was a lame line when it came out of me, but after further consideration, it fit so well and had such an oddness to it that I'd be crazy to try and find something better. Most people would have elected for the 'cat' rhyme there, but that would have been so mainstream and it would have broken that rhyme scheme. I am a sucker for those lyrical oddities, so it might be stupid, but this ain't rocket science. Its a poetic license and I'll take full advantage wherever I can. If it works, go with it and don't spend too much time thinking about it.
I'm also not afraid to offend. I've been criticized for some of my redneckisms and foul language. Ah well, as I said, I am not here to please you. I am very honest with myself and what I do comes out of me naturally. It is what it is and I'm not going to clean it up to be radio or consumer-friendly. I actually tend to lean the other way, and purposely drive it as close to the edge as possible.
Whether you like it or not does not matter, any feedback is good feedback. I get a big kick out of that, that people are listening and critiquing my work. I appreciate that alot actually, and I am working to make better recordings with the advice I've received. It will always be about the song at its most basic level for me. I don't have the means nor the talent to produce excellence, but I can still craft a pretty solid tune and I am happy to have found this venue to put some purpose behind my creative drive. Thanks Songfight!