Way back in April 2020, I began an interview series here on the blog.  I call it "Amplified" because my intent is to make the voices of artists louder.  We musician types desperately wish to be heard, and although I don't exactly have a mammoth readership, I figured I'd try to get some additional ears to the work of folks I respect.  After all, I'd love for someone to do that for me, and am grateful for every single listener.  Here's a brief summary of a very diverse group of people who agreed to participate this year:

Lauren Light - pop/soul singer/songwriter, podcaster, owner of a licensing company

Nina Pelligra - a capella looper artist, songwriter, engineer

Sarah Rudy - guitarist, songwriter

Dirty Doc - guitarist, songwriter

Shannon Söderlund - bassist, guitarist, songwriter

TINO - rapper, songwriter, performer

Greg Owens - guitarist, singer/songwriter

Treneti - vocalist, bassist, songwriter, producer

Megan Fiely - abstract artist, recovering musician

OriSoaring - multi-instrumentalist classically trained on saxophone, songwriter

If you missed any of these, I encourage you to revisit the interviews at the links.  Listen to the music, look at the artwork, connect with the artists on social media.

Those of you who live in the Dayton area and follow local music are probably already familiar with Doctor Art Jipson, but for readers who are not, I offer a brief introduction.  Doctor Jipson is a professor at the University of Dayton with expertise in sociology and criminal justice.  Yeah, heavy stuff.  When he is not shaping young minds in the classroom, he is shaping them via music, as he is DJ on a WUDR program called Your Tuesday Afternoon Alternative.  I think it's fair to say that there isn't anyone who cheers louder for independent musicians from Dayton and around Ohio than Dr. J.   

Recently, Dr. J has been playing "I Am a Number" on his show.  Now, I didn't release or advertise that particular song as a "single".  All of Anxious Inventions & Fictions is FCC friendly, so all of it could conceivably receive radio play, and while I encourage the folks at college and indie radio who receive the album to play whatever they want, most often folks don't get past the "singles".  Dr. J plays the music he likes, the music that moves him, and I am thoroughly pleased that he likes "I Am a Number" enough to give it airplay.  That being the case, as a gift to him - and also to all of you out there - here's the story of that song.  I hope you enjoy the story, and I hope you like the song as much as Dr. J does.  (Thank you, Dr. J.)

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Ten dollar book filled with twenty cent words
Juxtaposed only to make it absurd
Carelessly tripping your way around diction
Turning your stories from fact into fiction

I had the above lyrics sitting around for several years.  Despite what they sound like given today's climate, they are not about any political figures.  Those lyrics were originally about a certain social media platform with the word "book" in its name, and about how people would share things that are verifiably false or absolute nonsense.  Note that again, I wrote these words long before it became common knowledge that social media is weaponized as a propaganda tool by all sorts of nefarious actors.  It took awhile before I was able to compose any music to fit the lyrics.  When I finally did, I had to simplify the lyrics a bit to make them fit the song, make them easier to sing (a nod to Greg Owens for the idea to turn "tripping" into "trip"), and create some extra alliteration ("stories" became "tale").

I composed the music on piano, like I often do.  The main riff consists of individual notes F, A, and C, followed by a G major chord and two F major chords.  Right from the beginning, I knew I wanted this to be a guitar rock song, and I knew I wanted it to sound like Knoxville's own Superdrag.  John Davis - formerly of Superdrag and currently the man behind The Lees Of Memory - is a strong influence on my songwriting.  You don't always hear it, but on Anxious Inventions & Fictions, that influence is clear on "I Am a Number" and "Promise".  In order to get to the sound I wanted, I recruited Tim Pritchard (who you might know from bands such as The Boxcar Suite and Shrug) to play guitar, since he loves the work of John Davis as much, if not more, than I do.  I told Tim that I wanted it to sound like a Superdrag song, and he knew what to do.  When there were questions about a tonal approach for some of the guitar parts, I asked him to imagine what Brandon Fisher would do, and away we went.

Also, community drummer Brian Hoeflich deserves a special shout-out here.  I asked him to do his best Don Coffey Jr. impression, and he did that.  However, I made an arrangement change at the last moment, in the studio... a couple of deviations from how I had done the demo.  I tried to explain it verbally, but the most effective way to show Brian what I was looking for was to sit at the piano and play/sing the entire song for him.  We went to the piano, he brought a piece of paper, and he charted the entire song as I played it and sang.

I had one music writer tell me that this song reminded him of Hüsker Dü.  Now, I have only listened to three or four Hüsker Dü songs, and although I know how respected Bob Mould is (I see you Joe Anderl), I have only listened to a couple of his solo albums.  I haven't listened to nearly enough of that band to be influenced by them directly... but I have 5 Superdrag albums, and have seen them 3 times... so, any Hüsker Dü influence one might hear in my music comes filtered through John Davis.

I had been playing this one out at Showcase Thursdays and other open mic events on piano before eventually getting in the studio with it.  Strangely enough, even though bass is my main instrument, I didn't write the bass line for the song until the day before tracking it.  Listen closely during the chorus, and you might notice that the bass notes follow the vocal melody, and not necessarily exactly what the guitars are playing. 

As they say, if you can't figure out what the product is on a given tool or website, then YOU are the product.  When it comes to social media, we are the product.  That's something worth keeping in mind.  Obviously, I use social media, I mean, you probably arrived at this blog post via a link from one of the sites where I maintain a presence. These tools have their uses, and I'm not trying to say that they are all evil all of the time.  What I am trying to say is best expressed in the song lyrics:

How great is your stake in me?
This is all marketing data for sale
How much will you lie to me?
This is all marketing, targeted offering
I am a number 

You might remember that last week's blog was about co-writing "Won't Love You Anymore" with the gentleman pictured below.  I figure that this would be a good time for us to all get to know him a bit better.  Interview after the picture:

photo by Jon Estes

1. Let's hear the elevator pitch for your skill set and genre.   

I’m a singer/songwriter that writes and performs songs about, and for people who feel like they’ve been left behind by the world or someone they loved.  

2.  It seems like "Five Years From 21" was written when you were 26 years old.  You're older than that now.  How do you feel your life has changed since then? 

Quite drastically really. When I wrote that song, I was feeling really depressed and defeated. I was 26, working a retail job that I hated with coworkers that were mostly teenagers. I wasn’t playing a ton of music. I just wasn’t pursuing it at the time. I was lost.   

Fast forward to now: I’ve got a great “day job” that is flexible enough for me to still focus on music but also affords me an income to live comfortably. I’m married and couldn’t be happier! I’ve never been more confident in my music and my ability to connect with fans than I am right now. I’m feelin’ pretty damn good! ha  

3.  What was the first album you can remember buying with your own money? 

It probably would’ve been either Gish or Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins. I got the “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” single for Christmas when I was nine and fell in love with the band. One of my siblings already had Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness so I set out to buy the rest of their discography.  

4.  Tell me about the last concert you saw. 

The last concert I saw was in October of last year. Just typing that is really depressing! It was Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at the Ryman here in Nashville. I’ve seen Isbell a handful of times but this may have been my favorite show of his. Our seats were great! We were pretty close (although there’s really not a bad seat at the Ryman). I drank significantly less than I have at past shows which led to less having to get up and get a drink or go to the restroom. Haha That was kinda a revelation! Maybe I don’t need to down 10 beers at a show! The band was fantastic as always. It was just a really great experience.  

5.  I happen to know you love The Smashing Pumpkins, like I do.  Let's get granular here... give me three of your favorite Smashing Pumpkins songs, and tell me specifically why you love them. 

"Bullet With Butterfly Wings" – It’s not a song I listen to regularly now but it had a profound effect on me as a child. I remember getting the single for Christmas as well as a boom box. I sat in my room and played that song over and over. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but something about that music just really spoke to me. I immediately vowed to be a rock star and got my first guitar on my tenth birthday six months later.  

"Geek U.S.A." – Between that crazy guitar solo and Chamberlain’s incredible drumming this is just a straight up bad ass rock song! There’s tons of energy complete with a super quiet down part that then gets loud which is so wonderfully typical of the Pumpkins. It’s perfect.  

"Blissed and Gone"  – This an outtake from Adore. There’s several different versions, but I couldn’t find the original one that I heard anywhere. I think I probably illegally downloaded it on Napster or Kazaa (sorry ☹). It’s one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard and that’s probably why I like it. It’s just super sad. Ha  

6.  You are the first person I have co-written with, and the experience was so positive for me that now I have a music project built around co-writing with a friend.  How has our collaboration influenced you? 

Our collaboration wasn’t the first time I’d co-written with somebody, but it was the first time I was actually happy with the final product! Ha The experience has encouraged me to want to co-write more. It was also cool that we were able to do it remotely. I was kinda surprised we were able to make that work, but we did! 

7.  If you had the power, what would you change about the music industry? 

It’d be easy to say, “I wish it was like the good ole days when people actually paid for music.” However, the major labels were in power back then, and folks like me and you wouldn’t stand a chance. In the digital age, we have more power. As an artist, I guess I’m kinda okay with how it is. As a consumer, I really hate paying extra for TicketMaster fees! Is TicketMaster really necessary?!? 

8.  How do you intend to keep growing as a songwriter and artist? 

When I was younger, I often wrote about my own life. It was very self-absorbed. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started putting myself in other people’s shoes and writing from their point of view. I want to keep on doing that. Getting better at it. Meeting new people with different struggles and shining a light on that with my music. I also started learning how to play harmonica and I really want to step up my guitar game next. Basically, I just want to keep getting better at every aspect of my music. 

***

Why not go visit Greg's website?  You can also find him on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.  I'm not going to ask you to send Greg messages and emails to bug him about when he's going to get around to recording "Won't Love You Anymore" himself, but I'm not going to NOT ask you to do that, either.  Or something.

You can listen to my recording of "Won't Love You Anymore" on all digital streaming services tomorrow, 11th August.  Would you do me the kindness of clicking here to pre-save on Spotify, or here on Apple Music?

when the stars fall out of the sky
and the moon breaks up with the tide
when the sun goes nova with a deafening roar
that's when I won't love you anymore

Those lyrics were around for awhile.  I managed to put a catchy melody and a simple chord progression with them.  That combination made a chorus. This is how a song starts....

And sometimes the song starts and then stops.  I wrote a verse, didn't like it, and discarded it.  I wrote another verse that wasn't any better and discarded it.  I would put the song down for weeks at a time, work on other things musically, and come back to it.  At no point was I able to write a verse that I thought was good enough to go with a decent chorus.  If you are wondering whether that was frustrating, I assure you that it was.  On the good days, the songs kind of write themselves, they just kind of fall out of you and things make sense... at least, that's what many songwriters will tell you.  It rarely happens for me that way, I usually have to put plenty of work in to write a song, but if I keep working at it, eventually I am able to finish.  This one wasn't like that.  It wasn't happening.  Sure I could have picked any of the many pieces I discarded just to call the thing "finished", but I have some perfectionist tendencies, and I didn't wan to settle for mediocre when the potential was there for something better.  

See that paragraph above?  Way too much "I".  There was a point when that had to become "we".  Enter Greg Owens.  

I met the handsome, bearded Mister Owens at a music conference in Nashville. He agreed to have a listen to those lyrics I posted above, as well as the music I had, and try to come up with a verse for it.  Now, if you clicked on the link to his website that I added above and listened to any of his songs, you will notice that we do not write in the same genre .  That said, we both very much love Smashing Pumpkins, so we have some similar influences.  When Greg got back to me with a verse, it was... well, perfect.  

Mostly perfect.  Musically, it was exactly what the song needed.  It complemented the chorus I had written very well, and the chord progression made perfect sense.  Lyrically, it was ok, but I thought we needed to do better.  WE.  Between a couple of Skype conversations and lots of back-and-forth emails, ideas came up, were debated, were traded, were refined.  Greg asked whether we needed a bridge.  I thought we did.  Greg wrote a bridge.  Eventually, we had a finished product.

The finished product is called "Won't Love You Anymore".  It is so much better for having been a collaboration.  This experience taught me that letting go of your pride and asking for help can be a good thing.  Songs are usually so personal to songwriters, but sometimes the best thing to do is open yourself up to another person's creativity and talent.  I am proud of the song that we wrote together.  You'll be able to hear it soon.