Today I went and met up with Cliff Maag at the Record Lab in Provo, Utah. I worked with Cliff before on this same song, but today started work on the new pop version. We laid down scratch vocals and guitar following a click track. The click track allowed me to keep time as I played guitar and sang the lyrics. These tracks will give the musicians a format around which they'll be able to lay their tracks. The next step will be to lay down some guitar tracks and then on to bass and drums. Something interesting happened at the Record Lab.
Just after we were wrapping up the scratch tracks I was introduced to Cliff's son Ryan. I asked him if he would be willing to listen to the song and if he would maybe share his thoughts on its marketability. He didn't even wait for the song to finish before sharing enthusiam for the project. He, Cliff and I carried on a wonderful conversation about our concerns for our country and Ryan looked me straight in the face at one point and said, "I love my country....I really, really love my country." It might not be word for word, but it wasn't what he said that impressed me--it was how he said it.
It was like he wasn't just saying it to be patriotic, but it was like he was a literal part of the American body and could feel the weak and hurting parts of that body. I could feel the pain in his heart in his words and a sense of worry. Cliff said the same things. He was deeply worried and concerned for his country. Neither of them held back their praise for the song or for my desires to get it out into the world to inspire others to start standing up in whatever way they can. An American dream lives as much as we share it with others. I believe that the more I share this song, the more momentum it's going to get.
The power of The American Song incites patriotic conversation. It creates a space for Americans to voice their concerns, fears, joys and frustrations. I really enjoy the dialog that this song inspires. It starts off with talk about problems, but then turns to a problem/solution kind of conversation. This song just might become the song of summer 2016. It might just become the song of the 2016 presidential contest. I really hope it does. I hope it becomes a part of the America that I love. I hope it touches the hearts and minds of others and that it moves our nation toward a better balance between the people who govern and the people governed.
My favorite part of the music business is the creative part of producing a song. There is nothing funner than starting from scratch and being a witness to the creative process. It's one thing to write a song, but to actually bring those lyrics to life with instrumentation and vocals is absolutely fun and amazing to me. It's also very frustrating and tricky when trying to find the right balance between the words, the music and the feeling I want to create. I am rarely satisfied with my work. I just hope I can do this one to the best of my abilities and hope it's good enough to send out into the world to become the anthem of the revolution. Whatever that revolution might be for my fellow Americans.
No comments:
Post a Comment