Search This Blog

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

LIVE MUSIC!!!


                                           Live Music



As a musician, I approach live music from a particular perspective, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I feel it is the most authentic way to do so.

To set the stage, I recall many years ago, I went to a concert at a large concert venue in western Broward County, Florida. Broward County is where Ft. Lauderdale is located and I had been living in Miami/Dade county, the next county south.

I was leaving the event, and there was quite a crowd filing out. Candidly, though everything was moving, it was packed. There was a couple of people directly behind me raving about the performance. I was frankly, quite disappointed with it actually, and had these two behind me talking about how much they liked it. Well, everyone is different, but I felt otherwise, while respecting their enjoyment, which was foaming at the mouth happy.

Then one of them said something that highlighted the difference from what I felt, and what they did. What they said was “That was just fantastic! It was just like the record!”. At this point, I had to say something. I turned around and said politely “That was exactly why I was so disappointed with the performance. I could have saved myself an hour's drive and the price of admission, listened to it at home, and heard the exact same thing. Tonight was a sterile performance. It was a complete canned concert”.

I think the people were a bit taken back by my statement, as they were pretty quiet after that. However, when we got to the main door at the exit, one of them tapped me on the shoulder, smiled and said “Thanks. Good night”.

You see, from my perspective, live music has the opportunity to really be a living organism.

Playing music live, is an entirely different animal that what we do in a studio. In a studio you can do one hundred retakes, Or, the engineer can edit out certain things and add others. On the studio recording, you can also add all sorts of different instruments to a track, plus additional vocals, to the point that if you had all the instruments on stage, it would be the size of the New York Philharmonic. On my song “The Beach!!!!” for instance, we actually have over seventy tracks!

Now, I'm not being critical of studio albums. Not at all. I'm just saying it's a different art.

When playing live, you're can be flying without a net.

Because of this, you will find some musical acts elect to do the exact copy of the record, in live performances. It's a safe route. Additionally, some will change the arrangements for the live tour. However, if you were to follow the tour, you'll find the exact same show, note for note, song for song, night after night. Some actually do it that way year after year. It's a safe comfort zone.

For many, that's acceptable. Hearing a live gig, even if it's canned, as the two above scenarios, is good, especially if it's pumping out of a high grade, 100,000 Watt sound system. Compare that to their computer's two inch speakers at home!

                                         The Grateful Dead

With us, we play in Key West bars, for the most part. Currently we have the original Bose L1 tower system. It certainly gets the job done very well, however it's around ten years old, so we may need a new system before long.


As far as the music goes, we don't go for the “safe” formula. Doing it that was would be the sterile formula. We prefer the flying the trapeze without a net! With The Shanty Hounds it's a seat of the pants affair. That way every performance takes both ourselves and every one there, on a unique voyage.


Having said that, all of our songs have their own individual structure, which to a degree, doesn't change. For instance, lets say we do the song “Landslide”, written by Stevie Nicks. We start it off the same way all the time and the verses all follow suit. When it gets to the solo, I'll start it off with the same two notes, which gives the solo definition. After that, the feeling of the solo remains true, however who the hell knows what notes will follow? I honestly don't have a clue until I'm playing it.


On another vain, Dani's song “I like it Hot”, has an entirely new intro to the song that we added this year. My lead guitar lines are nothing like the saxophone lines on the recorded version. Her vocal verses, are the same arrangement, however on my first solo, we have nothing set as far as how long it will go for. One night it might go for ten progressions (they're short progressions), the next night it might go fifteen. The theme of the solo always carries the same idea, but who knows where it will pop up, of what will be in between? The end of the song is the same idea.


We also cover J.J. Cale's song “Magnolia”. We have an extended solo in it, which usually carries a few different recognizable themes through it, but again, who knows where, or if they'll be, in addition to having any clue whatsoever what else will happen in there? A new part could easily be invented at the spur of the moment.... and often is!

On the other hand, we have a song like my newest, “Yeah, A Harbor”, which is played pretty much the same every time, structure wise. There is no instrumental section where improvisation can take place.



The Set List



What's a set list? We have a song list on Dani's iPad, but that's just a listing of songs we play. A common issue with musicians is not being able to remember what songs to play. I fall into that category. How many times over the years have I seen a solo musician with a song list taped to the upside of their guitar? Bands who do set lists, and always use the same set list, don't have this problem, For them it's always the same. They start off with song “AAA”, then go to song “BBB”, then to “CCC” . It's a routine, so there's never an issue.

However, as I say, our modus oparandi has us up on the high-wire, without a net. That's how we like it! We'll pick one of maybe four different songs to start the gig, but after that it's a matter of “Riding the Gig”. It's a matter of getting the right vibe between us, the crowd, and the venue.



The Shanty Hounds wear a lot of different hats. One song is Rock, the next, is Country, the next is jam band, the next Western Swing, following that something from the island, then a funky number like Yellow Moon. Limiting ourselves to one particular style is not what we do. We like variety!

Listen to Dani's or my albums and you'll find our original music is all over the place genre wise. All of this gets incorporated across the board to our covers as well.

Does it always work?

No.

Having said that, both ourselves, and the crowd we attract, thrive off of the human element of it all!

Like I say, the live gig can either be canned affair, or it can be a living organism.


                                               The Shanty Hounds at Grunts Bar, Key West



We prefer the living organism, and riding the high wire without a net!

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

It's the only way to fly! :-) 










Shanty Hounds Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ShantyHounds/ 

Join the Shanty Hounds friends page! https://www.facebook.com/groups/shantyhoundsnation/ 


Thank you for reading my blog!!!! 

Key West Chris Rehm

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please check out my book, Bar Stories, available on Amazon!!!!




    


Bar Stories! A bit of adventure, a hint of mystery, some gray matter stimulation, laced with travel, and peppered with humor throughout! Take a unique trip with this Trop Rock musician through bars and the unique, odd, and funny goings on in them! Take a trip from Key West to London to Cape Cod, to Miami and more! So grab a libation and join the author on this wild ride! Seventeen 5-Star Ratings!




Also,Please  Check out my music available on iTunes!







 











Saturday, November 26, 2016

ATTENTION SONGWRITERS!

Attention: Songwriters!



How long does it take you to write a song? A very silly question actually. One of my longest songs, “Sarah”, took less than twenty minutes to write. Assemble is perhaps a better for that particular song, which when performed, takes around seven minutes. That is another story unto itself, I'll explain in another blog. However, I've had three-minute songs which have taken two weeks to write, others an afternoon Yet others, somewhere in between.

The reality is that songs, particularly quality songs, which hold both a great melody and a great story, that married the melody in perfect union, don't get written in three minutes, by and large. The time invested may vary, however, a significant time will take place between writing the music, lyrics, and adding the arrangement.

What is your art worth? What is your time invested worth?


If you are a songwriter, how seriously do you take yourself as an artist? Is it something that you take nonchalantly, carefree, and pretty much as a hobby, while your main income may be anything from a mechanic, to a stock broker?

On the other hand, perhaps you perform your songs at venues in order to earn a living, or perhaps augment your income, in addition to the feeling of self-fulfillment and sharing your creations?

Guess what?

Either way, you are entitled to get paid for what you are doing!

There are three organizations in the United States which will help you with this, BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC.




There are several different functions these organizations do, all of which fall under the umbrella of protecting your rights as a writer.

The Performing Rights Royalties are the ones that most of us will be concerned with to start. Here is BMI's explanation:

BMI royalties are performing right royalties, which are earned when a musical work is performed publicly. Public performance occurs when a song is sung or played, recorded or live, on radio and television, as well as through other media such as the Internet, live concerts and programmed music services. BMI grants licenses to perform, use or broadcast music from its extensive repertoire to hundreds of thousands of users of music in public places, such as radio and tv stations, hotels, clubs, colleges, restaurants, stores, and more.

For most of us, the first part of this statement applies: “... when a musical work is performed publicly...”

In other words, when you play one of your songs out at a venue, you will get paid for it. On the same token, if I play your song at a gig, you will again, get paid for it. In other words, I'm playing your song, you have every right to be compensated for it.

Likewise, if your music is being played on a radio station, be it terrestrial or internet, a tv station, or being played on an internet site, you are entitled to be compensated for it. The same holds true for music suppliers to businesses such as Muzac.

It should be noted that artists have the option to give permission to establishments and radio stations in writing, to forgo paying royalties. The logic here is the exposure has the opportunities to the artist of gaining new fans.

We all know that people like say, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Bruno Mars, Carlos Santana, James Taylor, Alecia Keys, Burt Bacharach, Willie Nelson, all get paid their performance royalties. If YOU play their songs, they get paid for it. But guess what? You get the exact same amount as they do for each performance, or media player of one of your songs, weather you play it, I play it, or Willie Nelson plays it! It's an even playing field for everyone!

As a matter of fact, the estates of deceased artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison get paid, even though they've been dead for over forty years! The royalties are in effect for seventy-five years, at which point, the estate can renew for another seventy-five years.

What do you have to do to be part of this?

First:

You'll need to join one of the aforementioned organizations, BMI, ASCAP, or SESAC.

Why? Because in the Performing Rights Royalities, THEY are the ones who pay you.

Second:

You need to report each your performances and at least the songs of your own that you performed.







I'm with BMI since 2000, whom I'me very happy with. I joined them when I signed with McClure and Trowbridge Publishing up in Nashville.  BMI pays quarterly.


One thing you must be careful of is not to report things like House Concerts. In the end, nothing will become of it, but the owners of the house concerts may get a pile of inquiring calls. Bear in mind that radio stations, and venues, such as bars, restaurants, and the like, are required to pay an annual fee to BMI, SESAC, and ASCAP for the right to play your music. House concerts generally don't keep a penny, with all of the proceeds going to the artist.


In short, BMI, SESAC, and ASCAP are the bridge between songwriters and businesses and organizations that wish to play their music publicly. Or, in other words, they make sure that you are compensated fairly for your art, work, and efforts.

If you don't belong to one of the three organizations, pick one that you're happy with, and join.

As I say, BMI works very well for me and I'm very happy with them. They've got me into the largest songwriting festival in the U.S.A. six years running.

However, if you're a songwriter, don't cut yourself short. Get paid for what you do! If you play your songs out, or others do, get paid for it. Likewise with the radio.

If you haven't joined one of the aforementioned organizations, it's time to raise the bar.

You're a professional. Get paid for what you do. Get paid for your art. 

This is part of how you make your living.







Please check out my book, Bar Stories!





Bar Stories! A bit of adventure, a hint of mystery, some gray matter stimulation, laced with travel, and peppered with humor throughout! Take a unique trip with this Trop Rock musician through bars and the unique, odd, and funny goings on in them! Take a trip from Key West to London to Cape Cod, to Miami and more! So grab a libation and join the author on this wild ride! Seventeen 5-Star Ratings!



Friday, November 18, 2016

Story Behind The Song - TULSA

                               



                               Story Behind The Song: "TULSA" 





Tulsa is actually a very surrealistic song. In order to get a Tulsa pulse, if you will, it's written in the Western Swing genre. As the song starts, you'll hear the protagonist lamenting about how he misses Tulsa, and curiously enough, how he says Tulsa misses him as well.



He thinks back to the good times he had in bars, using the metaphor of “Neon Signs” for the bars he frequented and one particular one which he's sure they're holding a long neck bottle just for him.



Here he also speaks of his wife and how he can sometimes hear her thinking of him..... (?)

Like so many people in so many places, he harps on the fact that since he left, Tulsa has changed, However he's certain the city itself remembers him, as though it's a being, or an entity itself, with a consciousness.

In the final verse it all comes together. The protagonist was killed in an automotive accident in 1953 a long way from home. He feels his life was robbed from him. This, of course explains how he “hears” his wife thinking of him, earlier in the song and in his frustration of losing his life, so long ago. His spirit then harps on how his grand kids today are older than he was, when his life ended.

Ending the song he is certain that Tulsa the city, the entity, the energy which lives on and has not forgotten him at all. In between the lines, the protagonist sees himself as part of the energy that is Tulsa, that he's been trying all these years to re-connect with and feels that Tulsa likewise feels it's not complete without him.


TULSA
1

WELL I'M GETTIN' TIRED OF MISSING TULSA
AND TULSA'S TIRED OF WAITING JUST FOR ME
AND I MISS THOSE GOOD TIMES AT THEM NEON SIGNS
AND I KNOW TULSA'S GOT 'EM WAITIN' FOR ME
2

AT A NEIGHBORHOOD BAR BACK IN TULSA
THEY GOT A LONG NECK BOTTLE WAITIN' JUST FOR ME
AND MY WIFE, SHE RE-MARRIED BACK IN TULSA
BUT SOMETIMES I STILL HEAR HER THINKING OF ME

(Bridge)
SINCE I LEFT THE PLACE JUST HASN'T BEEN THE SAME
BUT TULSA HERSELF HAS NOT FORGOTTEN ME
I LEFT MY MARK SURE AS THE SUN SETS
BUT TULSA, SHE REMEMBERS ME
3

THREE HUNDRED MILES OUT OF TULSA
IN '53 A PICKUP BLEW THE LIGHT
AND TODAY I PINE FOR MY STOLEN LIFE
YOU KNOW MY GRAND KIDS ARE OLDER THAN ME

(Bridge)

SINCE I LEFT THE PLACE JUST HASN'T BEEN THE SAME
BUT TULSA HERSELF HAS NOT FORGOTTEN ME
I LEFT MY MARK SURE AS THE SUN SETS
BUT TULSA, SHE REMEMBERS ME
BUT TULSA, SHE REMEMBERS ME
BUT TULSA, SHE REMEMBERS ME
I SAID THAT TULSA REMEMBERS ME


© 1998 Christopher R. Rehm,  BMI


Thank you for reading my blog!

UPDATED!


Please check out The Shanty Hounds NEW LIVE RELEASE!!!


Unleashed! Live at Grunts – Key West”


A true, authentic sound of Key West 

http://theshantyhounds.com/

Also available at:

iTunes Store






Please check out my book "Time Traveler - The Oddities and Adventures of a Key West Bartender". Follow Mark Straight's continuing journies and friendships from current Key West, back to historical Key West and elsewhere!

 Order paperback or download here! Paperback comes with a free download!

 26 Five-Star ratings!







My book “Bar Stories” is available through Amazon!








To obtain my music:

My CD is available on iTunes, CD Baby, CD Universe, Rhapsody, and Beachfront Radio.
Search: Key West Chris

Thank you everyone!!

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Story Behind The Song - Liveaboard

                                      


                                    STORY BEHIND THE SONG

                                             Liveaboard

                                     Liveaboards in Jewfish Creek

The origin for the song Liveaboard was inspired in 2006 when a group of people living on their boats, “Liveaboards”, were informed that they had to leave Boot Key Harbor (part of the city of Marathon, Conch Republic) as the city was going to embark on putting in 100 permanent moorings, which would charge a fee per month. At the time there were around twice that living there, so around one hundred had to go. A lot of these people had been living “On The Hook” for years. Some as long as thirty years.

I put myself in the protagonist's position of one of those being ejected. While the theme above laid the backdrop for the song itself, the story is totally fiction.

While the protagonist in the story is fictional, a complete product of my imagination, it's very possible there may be more than one person who fits this description. It should be noted that I never knew any of the liveaboards in Boot Key, from the time in question. While the main character is fictional, the places in the song are very real however.

When I wrote this song, I'd play it around the house, but that was it. I liked it, but I felt it was not quite up to par for me. My wife at the time, Gigi, always commented when I played it that it was a really good song. She'd say that every time!

Then, one night I was at an open mic and was on my last song. I wasn't sure what to play, so, just to get it out of the way and get off the stage, I played Liveaboard. When I came off the stage a woman rushed up to me asking “Who wrote that song???!!!” I was clearly taken back. When I say she rushed up to me, I mean she literally ran up to me and I didn't even know her. I stammered for a moment and said “uh.. well, that's one of my songs”. She asked where she could get it, which of course it wasn't available as of that point. I thanked her and started back to my seat when another person came up with the exact same question. Then, another. Then Matt Anderson, a solo musician in the southern part of Miami/Dade County came up to me and asked if it would be okay if he added it to his repertoire.

I was dumbfounded!

The exact same thing happened when I moved to Key West in 2008! 

The song became my signature song for many years

Notes:
A) a Liveaboard is someone who lives on a boat.
B) Grits and Grunts is a traditional breakfast in the Florida Keys. Grits are a cereal made from hominy and grunts are a small, tropical salt water fish.


C) Yellowtail is the highest grade snapper.


D) The Dockside Bar is an old bar in Boot Key Harbor


                              Me at Dockside around 2006

E) Gilbert's is a bar on Jewfish Creek, which is the gateway to the Keys in Key Largo, which has a large Liveaboard community.

                                         Gilbert's, Key Largo




                                            LIVEABOARD

IT'S GRITS AND GRUNTS FOR BREAKFAST, I HAD IT IN THE EARLY MORN'

DROPPED A LINE OFF THE STERN AS I DRANK MY COFFEE

AND LAST NIGHT IT WAS YELLOWTAIL, I CALL THAT 'THE GOOD LIFE'

LATER I'LL HEAD TO THE MARINA, I HEAR THEY GOT SOME WORK

BUT I'LL GET OUT IN TIME AND MAKE A BEE LINE

BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

(chorus)

'CAUSE I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

LIVEABOARD

2

THEY THREW ME OUT OF OLD BOOT KEY, YOU KNOW I LIVED THERE FOR YEARS

AND EVERYNIGHT I'D WASH UP TO THAT DOCKSIDE BAR

BUT BIG MONEY MOVED IN AND THEY THREW ME OUT

I AIN'T GOT NO MONEY, AIN'T GOT NOT CLOUT

SO I FIRED UP THE MOTOR AND OFF I GO

BUT I'M OFF THE HIGHWAY AND I'M ON MY WAY TO GREET THE MORNING SUN


(chorus)

'CAUSE I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

LIVEABOARD

(bridge)

BW LIGHT, STERN LIGHT, ANY LIGHT I CAN'T SEE NOTHIN'

I NEED A FOG HORN

BREAK AWAY, ANYWAY I JUST CAN'T WAIT

FOR THE DAWN

3

DROPPED AN ANCHOR IN JEWFISH CREEK

I'D LIKE TO SWIM WITH THE DOLPHINS BUT,

THOSE RED CROCKODILE EYES ARE PATROLLING, KEEPING THEIR WATCH

BUT IT'S A HOT SUMMER DAY, THINK I'LL FIND MY WAY, OVER TO GILBERT'S BAR

WET MY WHISTLE AND TELL MY TALES TO ANYONE WHO WANT'S TO LISTEN

AND I'LL STAY ANCHORED RIGHT HERE UNTIL MY LUCK AND MONEY RUNS OUT

AND I GOTTA SHOVE OFF

(chorus)

'CAUSE I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

LIVEABOARD


©  August 13, 2006 Christopher R. Rehm, BMI






Liveaboard – at the 2012 Key West Songwriter's Festival





My book “Bar Stories” is available through Amazon!









To obtain my music:

My CD is available on iTunes, CD Baby, CD Universe, Rhapsody, and Beachfront Radio.
Search: Key West Chris

Thank you everyone!!