Josh Gracin Finds "Redemption" On The Road With New Album

It's a rare thing in the music business to find an artist as down to earth as Josh Gracin. In today’s touring market, most artists seem to only be interested in setting up, playing the gig, tearing down and moving on to the next show. More often than should be, fewer artists are taking time to really enjoy a show. This is not the case with Josh. It's very clear both before and during a show that he is excited and totally committed to the performance. Although life on the road...

Songwriting – Push Yourself

I am not going to get into a lot of music theory here. Musicians spend endless hours and entire lifetimes studying music theory. But music theory isn't songwriting. In pop songs there are three kinds of musical structures you need to know: Ballads are slow songs, up-tempo are fast songs, and mid-tempo are somewhere between the other two. That's enough technical jargon for now. Publishers love a great ballad but rarely want one because there are so...

Using Virtual Instruments: Eight Home Recording Tips To Make Your Tracks Sing

With multi-track recording programs like GarageBand, Pro Tools, and Logic becoming nearly ubiquitous amongst tech-savvy musicians, it’s easier than ever to take your own music all the way from first inspiration to finished audio file without leaving your room. But just because these high-powered tools are available, it doesn’t mean we all know how to use them well. One big stumbling block that many up-and-comers encounter is learning to deal with...

Concert Review: Matthew Mayfield and Graham Colton

Matthew Mayfield and Graham Colton, two singer/songwriters, made a welcome appearance at Vinyl in Atlanta, Ga. Both guys came on stage with a mellow sound, emotional lyrics about relationships, and passionate voices. From Birrmingham, Alabama, Matthew Mayfield has released 6 EP’s and one studio album. Some of his music was featured on the dramatic television series, Grey’s Anatomy. Starting the night with a straight forward introduction...

Vince Gill’s Floor Plan for "Guitar Slinger"

“And this,” said Vince Gill, “is the LeAnn Rimes Memorial Bathroom.” It’s a small but comfortable room, just a few steps away from the 32-track recording studio that the CMA Country Music Hall of Fame member built in his Belle Meade, Tenn. home. The only thing that attracts attention is the amplifier positioned just to the left of the doorway. It seems that Rimes was visiting one day during the sessions for Guitar Slinger, Gill’s new album on MCA Nashville...

Concert Review: Jamey Johnson at Wild Bill's in Atlanta, GA

Jamey Johnson, known for his outlaw country rock, took over Wild Bill’s Friday night in Duluth, Ga. The largest dance club in the U.S. was packed full with a diverse crowd. There were the expected cowboys in blue jeans and cowboy boots, but there were also younger people in sequins and club wear. The one thing that everyone in the jam-packed venue shared was a love for Jamey Johnson who doesn’t mince words or distract from the magnificence of the music by trying to “put on” a show.

Concert Review: Music4More Benefit with Alternate Routes, Carter's Chord and Tim Brantley

Alternate Routes, Carter’s Chord, and Tim Brantley are three musical acts with greatly differing styles that came together at Vinyl, a trendy lounge in Atlanta, to support the non-profit organization Music4More, which aims to ensure that music education stays in schools and is made available to all students. The country sister trio, Carter’s Chord, opened up the night, and shared their thoughts on Music4More,“We’re really happy to be here, and we really benefited by having...

Concert Review: The Wombats in Atlanta, GA

Vinyl is a bar/lounge in the busy city streets of downtown Atlanta, GA, that got a very special treat Wednesday night: The Wombats. They came all the way from the UK. It was an interesting crowd that was drawn in to see them. With an even mix of age groups and fashion styles in the audience, people were packed onto the floor in front of the stage, opting to remain standing (jumping, really) instead of having a seat. The energy was contagious.

Songwriting: New Songs Are Like Used Cars

I recently bought a used car and during the process it struck me how much it was like songwriting. Many people can write a song. They can put the elements together and come up with something that may be pretty good. Many people have the basic idea of developing a melody, putting a structure together, and making a lyric coherent enough for a listener to understand what is going on. I know some mechanical things and have a good basic understanding...

The Benefits of Stripping Down Your Song Demos

So You’ve Got A New Song. Let’s begin at the beginning. You’ve written a song and, hopefully, you’re thrilled with it. So thrilled, in fact, that you want to record it right away and use every instrument in both the Western and Eastern musical traditions on the demo. I don’t blame you one bit. There’s nothing more fun than dressing up your songs to go to town. But it might make sense to stop and ask yourself what your goals are for your demo.

Concert Review: Sonia Leigh CD Release Party

Singer-songwriter Sonia Leigh held her CD release at Little Five Point’s Variety Playhouse, what could be called the heart of this country rocker’s home turf in Atlanta, GA. Leigh is signed to Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Artists record label and is swiftly making a name for herself, one memorable performance at a time.The show opened with six-piece band Sol Junky, who exuded strong charisma within the first few notes. The crowd cheerfully approached...

Songwriting: Two Approaches

No two songwriters are exactly the same in approach or method. One of the things teaching songwriters has taught me is that, like any other area of life, everyone has to find their own way. In customizing my help for different writers I have generally noticed two extremes in approach – and found that writers tend in some degree or other to be a variation of one these two methods. The first type of writer I might call the stream of consciousness type writer...

Stories From The Trenches

Arriving in Los Angeles with Australian and Canadian hit song credits under my belt, I thought it would be a breeze to get into the scene. A year and my life savings gone, I couldn’t get arrested as a songwriter, keyboard player or producer. Somehow, I fell into a “B list” session scene which existed for songwriters who needed their songs demoed. I was still a pretty good keyboard player back then. The pay was poor but the work was consistent...

Concert Review: Bret Michaels at Wild Bill's in Atlanta

Bret Michaels’s Get Your Rock On Tour made a stop at Wild Bill's in Duluth, GA, Friday night. This tour follows the summer release of his album, after which the the tour is named. If you haven't seen him on stage since he was sick last year, there's something you should know: Bret Michaels has not lost a bit of his rock or his roll. Friday night’s performance was nothing less than you'd expect from a rocker of his calibre: a packed venue, a muscle shirt, blue jeans...

The Real Housewives "Come Home" To Atlanta

Being one of only three cities in the country to host the Real Housewives tour, Atlanta’s Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center featured the lovely NeNe Leakes, Alex McCord, Melissa Gorga, and Marysol Patton, of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, New York City, New Jersey, and Miami, respectively. These fine ladies came not only to talk with fans and settle some questions about their lives, but also to show that they are more than simply housewives. These women...