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I’ve finally put the updated versions of the 16 remaining songs up on the CD Project page for you all to listen to.
Please bear in mind, even though these songs are recorded with drums, bass, acoustic guitar and guide vocals they are still unmixed, unequalised, unmastered and unfinished.
I am of course still open to any and all feedback, comments and/or suggestions that you may have. You can do that by either contacting me or leaving your comments below.
Peace,
Corey 
I have the privilege of being one of the judges for this years SCALA FOOM (Festival Of Original Music) Song Competition and I’m having a great time doing it.
I’ve already judged one of the live heats a couple of weeks ago and at the moment I’ve shortlisted some songs in the demo section of the competition ready for another listen or two to determine a winner and some highly commended and commended songs.
I love being a songwriting judge because I get to give back to the songwriting community in the way of constructive feedback.
Even through some songs grab me more than others, I always learn something new about my own songwriting in general or, of the songwriter themselves through their songs and its that experience that I value so highly.
Some people have criticised FOOM (and songwriting competitions in general) in the past saying that there’s no room for competition in songwriting or, in fact any artistic endeavour. While I can see their point of view I can also see how the existence of songwriting contests can be of great benefit for some songwriters.
Sometimes a sense of purpose and/or a deadline to work towards can spark amazing feats of creativity in a songwriter and if FOOM or any other song competition can become a catalyst for the creation of new songs then how can that be a bad thing? FOOM gives the songwriter a unique chance to get really concise and constructive feedback on their songs which they can then use to improve their craft.
This feedback is meant to be taken for what it is, thoughts and observations coming from a place of love and respect for the songwriter, the song and the creative process as a whole. It’s not to be taken personally.
The giving of feedback is the thing I take very seriously and it’s something I’d like to see more of as a way of helping songwriters become better at their craft in general.
Peace,
Corey
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Saturday August 21st, 2010 is Australian Federal Election Day
Now, you know what to do, you don’t need me to tell who to vote for, just as long as you make your vote count.
If you’re still unsure who to vote for or, you’re wanting a last minute reminder as to what each major party stands for, go to these websites.
It’s now time to go forth and vote…
Peace,
Corey
At the moment we in Australia are in the grips of a Federal Election Campaign which concludes this Saturday when we all do our duty as citizens and vote.
No, this is not a post on how to vote, who to vote for or the reasons why you should or shouldn’t vote, I wanted to provide an oasis from all of the farcical chest beating, truth bending and self serving rhetoric that we, in Australia have been inundated with over the past 6 weeks or so since the election was called.
If you’re reading this from somewhere outside of Australia then consider this a gift from me to you because for me, this video is the ultimate reality check, a brilliant exercise in demonstrating what’s really important.
It’s one of the most beautifully eloquent monologues I’ve ever heard, read by one of the most brilliant minds of our time, Carl Sagan.
Peace,
Corey
Call me old fashioned but I still prefer writing with pen to paper rather than to use a word processor.
In my music room I have piles of paper with (half finished) song lyrics, to do lists, general ideas and random thoughts, lines, phrases and song titles all neatly presented for future reference.
I’ve attempted to use a computer keyboard and word processor instead of pen and paper to jot down my ramblings and I’ve found that the feeling of continuity between head/heart and computer screen is not the same as the organic scrawl of a really good quality pen.
Somehow the act of putting pen to paper allows me to be an integral part of what I’m writing whereas I feel distant from my ideas if I type it.
Yes, I know that for this very post to exist I would’ve had to have typed the words into a word processor or directly into the WYSIWYG editor in WordPress however, I wrote this particular post on paper first.
I don’t do this with every post however, I got the idea for this post from automatically and randomly writing on pieces of paper as a means of clearing my mind of the stuff it has collected over time. A bit of mental cleaning.
I’m a big fan of technology but at the same time I’d hate to see the art of writing with pen and paper disappear for good.
What do you think? Pen and paper or keyboard and word processor?
Peace,
Corey
Today I’ve been in recovery mode after the TSP vs Pure Blondie show last night. Recharging my batteries so to speak.
I want to personally thank everyone who braved the incredibly shitty weather and turned up. I know you wouldn’t have been disappointed.
For me, the whole night was fantastic and there were a lot of people there enjoying both bands and getting into the spirit of the US vs UK new wave tribute concept.
We started off proceedings at 10pm and for just over an hour we gave the crowd a little bit of a Police history lesson, going through all their hits and a few of their well known album tracks.
People were dancing, singing along to the choruses and getting into the audience participation and the duet that Lisel (from the Pure Blondie show) did on “Wrapped Around Your Finger” went down with the crowd really, really well.
I had a lot of fun…
I managed to catch a little bit of the Pure Blondie show from side of stage while I was waiting for my turn to get up and do my rendition of “Rapture Riders” with the band and I was impressed with the way that all of the band members really got into their collective roles and also for their use of props to really drive the Blondie concept home for their fans.
Personally, I learnt a lot from them in terms of band promotion and merchandising (they had t-shirts for sale at the gig) and at the same time made some friends along the way.
There is another TSP vs Pure Blondie show planned for later on in the year but it’s not confirmed as yet so watch this space.
Now, another working week beckons…
Peace,
Corey
For those of you who don’t know, SCALA stands for Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association and it was formed in 1987 which makes 2010 its 23rd year of helping songwriters be the best they can be.
I’ve been a proud member of since 1992.
My first ever solo show was at SCALA. It was a Wednesday night, July 29th, 1992 at the Duke Of Brunswick Hotel and I clearly remember how intensely nervous I was.
As a result of those nerves getting the better of me that night I put in a terrible show and afterwards, I was ready to give up (yes I was that bad) except for the amazing support and encouragement of SCALA’s president Rob Childs and the rest of the crew.
I would even go further to say that I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today if it wasn’t for the existence of SCALA in my life. Period!
Over the years I have seen SCALA develop into an organisation that really has the development of emerging songwriters as its primary focus. It provides for its members:
Not bad for an organisation running on limited funds and with virtually no volunteer base for the past 23 years.
For a number of years now, I’ve been a member of the SCALA board as well as a resident songwriting judge for its FOOM (Festival Of Original Music) song competitions. I relish in the opportunity to give back to SCALA what it had originally given to me when I was first starting out.
Time, effort and support, the very things that SCALA can give to you now, if you decided to become a member.
I don’t get any money for promoting SCALA, I’m just writing this because I really do believe in the power of community and the grassroots support for the next generation of talented songwriters and artists out there. I mean, my own efforts in running the Open Mic Network has been largely inspired by my involvement with SCALA.
The more I walk on my musical path, the more I realise that we are all in this music business thing together and organisations like SCALA just make the journey a little easier for those who choose to take that first step.
Peace,
Corey
PS: Here are some SCALA links for you to check out – Website | Facebook | MySpace | Twitter
As you would’ve read in my last post Help! I’m Paralysed By Too Much Choice on August 10th, I was having a hard time moving forward and you would’ve also found out that I come across these types of challenges from time to time.
Thankfully this latest challenge was very short lived.
It’s amazing what a chat and a good old fashioned arse-kicking from a close friend can do for you (thanks Romana). I now feel like I’m back on track and much less paralysed by the choices I have to make.
At the moment I’m busily preparing for an upcoming show. The Synchronicity Police at The Arkaba Top Room with the Pure Blondie Tribute Show this coming Saturday August 14th. It’s a kind of UK vs USA new wave band type of thing which should prove very interesting.
The singer for Pure Blondie came up with this crazy idea (so crazy that it just might work) that I do a duet with her in their set and she do a duet with me in our set. The interesting part is the choice of song I’m doing with Pure Blondie…
It’s a remix of “Rapture” called “Rapture Riders” and it has Jim Morrison singing “Riders On The Storm” superimposed over Blondie’s musical backing.
Love the song, here’s the video of it
Hmmm, must see if I can find my leather pants for that one 
Peace,
Corey
The Synchronicity Police vs Pure Blondie at The Arkaba (Top Room) Saturday August 14th. Tickets $15, doors open at 8:30pm with TSP starting at 9:30pm.
This post is about the hazards I’m encountering in trying to build a co-ordinated social networking presence after years of adopting the ‘shotgun’ approach to my online marketing (you know, throw it all up against a wall and see what sticks).
One of the really big jobs (as an online focussed musician) I have ahead of me at the moment is to try and co-ordinate a focussed and strategic web presence for me and my music. In theory this would be done through my website, blog, social media and (very soon) video.
For me to do this properly I need to first of all ascertain how much of me is on the net in the first place.
What I’m finding out is that there’s bits of me all over the place but none of it working in an efficient, streamlined and coherent manner. Therein lies the challenge for me as on online musician/marketer, corralling all of my online bits into a solid web presence.
At the moment I have a bit of a problem and the more I look into this, the more it looks like that finding a solution to this problem is like unscrambling an egg, and we all know how hard that can be.
At this very moment I don’t know where to start, I have so many choices in front of me that I get paralysed by them. It’s happened in the past, give me too many choices and I won’t choose anything.
I know that in a situation like this you need to start at the beginning however, when you don’t know where a clear beginning is… Anyway, I’m thinking the short answer to all of this is to “just start somewhere” and work my way in whatever direction it takes me. I just need to trust that by starting somewhere I’ll see the forest for the trees.
My starting point will be FaceBook!
I’ll blog my progress but it does comfort me to know that if I do stray off target I have you to guide me back.
Peace,
Corey
FIGJAM (you know what it stands for) is a semi acoustic covers duo consisting of myself and guitarist Darren Zaza (my partner in crime for the Open Mic Network) in which we present other peoples songs in a very different way. We base what we do on a simple formula…
Real Music + Real People = Real Fun!
We don’t sound like the original recording (well you can’t really with an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, two voices and not a sequencer and/or drum machine in sight) we instead want to pay proper homage to the music that shaped our lives no matter what era it comes from.
Most of the work that Darren and myself undertake as FIGJAM is as a duo however, we are able to easily morph FIGJAM into a trio or quartet depending on what is required for the task at hand.
The emphasis of FIGJAM is having a great time and musical spontaneity. Both Darren and I love taking a well known song and making it our own and taking a song that might have been forgotten and reinventing it for a new audience.
We pride ourselves on our sonic versatility. We can be used either as a volume savvy acoustic outfit for those laid back Sunday afternoons all the way to a sweaty Friday and Saturday night pub-rock electric experience
If you have any questions, feedback or you want to book FIGJAM for your venue/function please feel free to contact me.
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