Here’s a song about growing older and stopping to take in the scenery. This is the second song in the quarantine sessions series where I just use my iPhone voice memo to record a single take.
Here’s a link to Distrokid (my distributor) and they have links to all the digital services.
After playing all these livestreams, it dawned on me that I could record these raw versions and release them. So I’m doing it.
Here’s the deal.. Single take, no edits no studio magic. Just me+guitar+iPhone.
First song to be released is a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song – “American Girl.”
Here’s the link for all the digital services.
You know the line, “it’s 5 o’clock somewhere”! Well it absolutely applies when you are talking about a livestream at 5pm. Any timezone can watch.
Check it out here on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/memusic/live/
You can also watch past livestreams here.
Since 2015, I’ve been building this playlist which can be generally categorized as Americana, but it contains much more. 42 hours and 52min more to be exact!
Enjoy!
Absolutely epic. This was one of my favorite Rush songs of that era. This group has captured the essence of this song in such a beautiful rendition – without drums.
My first concert was in 1984 and it was Rush at the Rosemont Horizon (now, Allstate Arena). I remember the day vividly. It was June 29th and cold. I stood outside my house waiting to be picked up and remember thinking, ‘this is too cold for June.’ My friend and bandmate, Paul picked me up in his beat up Pinto. We took a wrong turn and went way out of our way. Got to our seats for the last song of the opener, Marillion.
My obsession with Rush started years before in 1981 when my cousin popped in an 8-track of Moving Pictures. Again, it was a vivid moment. I remember staring at the radio, listening intently as I have never heard music like this before. As a classical piano student, which I started in 1976, there was a quality to the Rush songs that affected me on a deeper level like no other band.
So, from the summer of 1981 to somewhere in the mid-90’s, Rush became my most binged music. I was into a lot of other artists, but as far as listening time goes, it was Rush 10:1. I attended a Rush concert every year they toured Chicago during that same period. Then, there was all the time spent learning bass/keys for most songs on Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, GUP and HYF. It’s safe to say I was a Rush junkie.
It’s been 3 days since I heard the news about Neil’s passing and I really think I’m going through the stages. Listening to their 2011 Time Machine album this morning and hearing how wicked Neil’s playing was at age 60 is mind blowing. What Neil had been able to accomplish as a writer and musician, puts him into a class of his own. The complexity, creativity and quantity of his drums parts over the course of 19 studio albums is a body of work that is almost impossible to compare. And, up until 2016, he was performing those songs at near perfection – again – in his 60s! I’m 50 and playing piano/guitar for almost 40 years has taken a toll on my hands. I can’t imagine the toll of that level of playing/touring had taken on Neil. It would be like Tom Brady playing into his 50s.
As a lyricist and drummer, Neil was a pure artist. Never watering down his craft to fit into a more “popular” genre. Yet, by all measurements, Rush is more popular than most pop acts. I can pretty much guarantee Justin Bieber will not be performing at 63 years old.
As a musician and human, I need to thank Neil and Rush for having such a positive influence in my life. They were truly my “companion unobtrusive” for so many years. It’s very tragic that Neil could not get the chance to enjoy his golden years and meet more of the people whose life he changed.
So this new song, “Save Yourself” is not that new. I wrote it years ago and released it as a demo, which is why it may sound familiar. I took it back in the studio with my good friend Chris Walke on pedal steel and Amery Schmeisser as Producer. They really helped transform and evolve the song.
I’m pretty excited about it and now it’s yours, if you want it.
Click to find it on your favorite digital platform. It would mean a lot if you shared it with someone.
If you’re into CDs (cool!), just msg me on FB or email me and I’ll send you a custom CD with this song and a new demo!
And if I were a better man
I would help you through
Your master plan
If I could – I would
And if I were a stronger man
I would lift you up
I would hold your hand
If I could – I would
One more time
Save me from the urge
To keep trying to save you from yourself
Cause I just need to know
That the game we play
Cannot be won or lost – just played
And if I were a better man
I would lift you up
I would hold your hand
If I could – I would
One more time
As a musician, songwriter and co-founder of Gigable, I hear a lot of people saying there is “no good music these days.”
What really strikes me is that I think it’s the opposite! There’s more great music being produced every day than any other time in history. It’s just that the traditional ways to discover pop music are broken – or perhaps obsolete.
My wife asked me the other day, “who’s the next Rolling Stones?”
Well, when Brit-Pop-Blues-Rock comes back for a solid 10-20 years, there will be another Rolling Stones.
The bands from the 60s and 70s that made it big are a household brand, just like Coke. Two generations of music fans were spoon-fed very few options – and it stuck with them.
There’s over 100 million songs that have been recorded. How will you pick the ones you listen to for the next 20-30 years?
Tag #newmusicbiz on Twitter and let me know your thoughts!
@mechlin
Streaming revenue in the U.S. has been growing all recorded music revenues since 2015. It was on a downward trend from 2000-2014.
MMA has been signed with a unanimous vote from House and Senate.
The bottom line for the MMA is a single source of truth with a single database (blockchain anyone?) for all mechanical licenses. This is a major change in copyright treatment and a giant step in the right direction for songwriters and collaborators. Digital streaming services can now use a single master license for all music.
Producers and Engineers are also able to get compensated directly by SoundExchange now as the AMP Act was part of the new law.