Monthly Archives: October 2010

Songwriting – It Doesn’t Matter Where You Start, As Long As You Start Somewhere

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As I’m preparing for the SCALA Open Mic Network Showcase gig at Higher Ground today, I remind myself that writing songs is sometimes:

A linear experience
You come across a possible song title that jumps out at you and after writing the first line of the first verse, a first draft is suddenly completed from start to finish.

A puzzle solving exercise
You take a piece here, a song title there, a bit of a verse here and a half written phrase there and, after discovering the common thread that connects everything, a song is eventually completed.

Like incubating an egg
You finish writing a chorus but find you can’t go any further however, after leaving the half finished song for a period of time something triggers in your mind and the song magically completes itself.

Sometimes you start writing a song from the beginning and work forwards, sometimes you start a song from the middle and work outwards and sometimes you start writing at the end and work backwards.

It doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you start somewhere.

Peace,

Corey :)

Sting’s Songwriting Process – A Video Insight

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I stumbled across this old video of Jools Holland interviewing Sting (circa mid 80′s) recently and it gives a brilliant insight into the way that Sting gathers, processes and demos his songwriting ideas before introducing it to the rest of the Police band members

Even though the video primarily focuses on how he come up with “Message In A Bottle” (one of my all time favourite songs) there are plenty of pearls of wisdom to be had if you listen for it.

Look out for the introduction of Dennis as one of the central characters in his songwriting process.

I loved every minute of this video especially the old recording technology I mean, I used to have one of those Tascam 4 track machines (ahh, the memories of it all). I hope you enjoyed it too, let me know what you think.

Peace,

Corey :)

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Gig Alert – Higher Ground, October 28th

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Yes that’s right, this Thursday I’ll be playing at Higher Ground (Light Square, City) in the Arts Cafe as part of the third Open Mic Network Showcase put on by SCALA (Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association) and my Open Mic Network.

There will be 4 other amazing acts sharing the stage with me:

I’ll be playing songs from my upcoming CD plus, I’ll be playing for the first time, some of the songs I’ve recently collaborated with Adrian Miller which will be interesting in itself.

Here’s hoping my voice recovers by then and if I’m lucky I might be able to get some audio and video of the show as well.

The show starts at 8pm and will finish at around 11pm, I’ll be the last performer on the night. Cover charge is $5 for waged persons, $4 for concession card holders and $3 for SCALA members.

There are no free lists.

Hope to see you there,

Corey :)

I’m Feeling Better… Finally!

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Well, I haven’t posted anything since October 19th and in that time I’ve spent most of my time seeing doctors, taking antibiotics and sleeping. I haven’t been this sick in a very long time.

Over the last 2 weeks that I’ve been out of action I’ve attempted to rejoin the land of the living a couple of times but my illness soon put me back in my place but today is the first day that I feel like some sort of human being.

I can certainly relate to the fact that you really do appreciate what you have when it’s been taken away from you, albeit temporarily. My health has certainly been the main thing in my life that I’ve taken for granted way too much.

I once read somewhere that most of us in western society treat our health in the same way as we do with our cars. We run them into the ground thinking that someone else will be able to fix it.

Cars, maybe but my health, no way.

What this recent illness had taught me is that I am ultimately responsible for my health and wellbeing. I can’t just do what I want with it and expect to be saved at the eleventh hour by some health professional.

Anyway, this post is not an exercise in beating myself up with a big stick, it’s merely an attempt to share with you all the lessons that I’ve learnt and to let everybody know that I’m okay and to also thank everyone again for their emails and messages of support.

I am really lucky to have friends such as yourselves who are willing to put up with me and my (generally) musical rantings. It never ceases to amaze me how the power of love, friendship, community and music has got me through the last couple of weeks.

So, as of today I’m taking the tentative steps necessary to return to the land of the living a little wiser and hopefully a little healthier.

I’ll be taking major steps in getting my health back to where I want it to be and I’ll be using my personal blog to keep track of that and to be held accountable to my goals.

It’s great to feel like a human being again. Now, where is that guitar… I want to play it!

Peace,

Corey :)

I’m Taking The Week Off

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Today has been the first time I’ve been able to get out of bed since the Wheatsheaf Hotel Gig last Friday night.

I thought I was getting better but this chest infection and hacking cough that had plagued me the week leading up to the Wheatsheaf gig hit me for a six the very next day and because of that, I had to cancel my FIGJAM shows at the Third Cork on the Saturday night and the Morphett Vale Function Centre on the Sunday afternoon.

I hate cancelling gigs however, I must thank Catherine from the Third Cork and Cliff from the Morphett Vale Function Centre for their patience, understanding and for making the situation easier to endure. All gigs went ahead with replacements and no one (to my knowledge) was inconvenienced in any way.

Thank goodness for that.

As I have no gigs this coming weekend I’ve decided to take the week from doing anything and just concentrate on getting well and taking the necessary steps to get my health back on track. I’ve cancelled all of my plans and I’m just going to relax and just do the things that I want to do.

This time my health comes first.

For me, I’m treating this recent bout of illness and my recovery as a huge wake up call. It’s time for me to take my life back and gain some sense of control over it.

One of the ways that I’ll be doing this is by starting a personal blog utilising an old wordpress.com account that I’ve had for a while. I’ll be using this blog as a means to track my health, keep a journal and share interesting ideas and information that doesn’t necessarily fit with what Corey Stewart Online talks about.

You can find it at coreystewart.wordpress.com

One upside to what has happened to me over the past couple of weeks, I’ll at least have some great songwriting material waiting to come out. I’m looking forward to that.

Peace,

Corey :)

Wheatsheaf Hotel Gig Tonight (Supporting Joe Murphy & Band)

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I’ll be supporting Joe Murphy and his (yet unnamed) band at the Wheatsheaf Hotel tonight from 9pm.

With the sonic goodness of Darren Zaza on electric by my side I’ll be creating a wonderful atmosphere for Joe’s band to do their thing.

I’ll be playing songs from my upcoming CD plus, one or two choice covers depending on how the night progresses.

Love to see you there as I don’t get out to do original shows that often (but will make more of a habit of in the future). It’s going to be a fantastic night catching up with old friends and meeting up with new ones.

What are you doing tonight?

Peace,

Corey :)

What I’ve Learnt From Being Sick

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I’ve been keeping a low profile since last Sunday because I’ve been cooped up in bed getting over a nasty chest infection which has really knocked me about.

Again! I’m feeling like getting sick is becoming a regular event in my life

Normally, when something like this happens I feel guilty about not being able to do anything and from there start beating up on myself about how lazy I am but this time was different.

I gave myself the time to heal and I was surprised that the more I recovered, the more I liked being in a position of not having to do anything.

And you know what?

My world didn’t fall apart…

I’d forgotten how good it felt to just stop and reflect on, rather than react to, what life throws at me. This was a bit of a revelation, a wake up call, a real “aha” moment.

Being in bed since Sunday has given me a lot of time to think about stuff, and I’ve come up with four things to work on.

1. Take Better Care Of Myself
I have been sick more in the last 12-18 months than I have in a long time and this is really worrying me. I’ve started seeing a GP regularly again recently and that’s a start but I know that is not enough, there’s a lot of work I have to do as well.

2. Stop Worrying About Money
It’s really easy to hop onto the money chasing merry-go-round but it’s really hard to get off it. Although finding work that pays the bills is important when you’re self employed, obsessing over it to the point of not functioning is not the way to go about it.

3. Stop Trying To Constantly Please Others
“You can’t be all things to all people” and “What others say about you is none of your business” are two quotes that sum up my core motivators for doing anything at the moment. I’ve got to learn that no matter what I do there’s going to be someone who doesn’t like it and that by being “the nice guy” at the cost of my own self is the wrong path to take.

4. Immerse Myself In Music Again
I certainly don’t write enough music, play enough music, record enough music and listen to enough music for my liking and this has got to change. I have been far too busy neglecting myself by chasing my own tail trying to make a buck while at the same time trying to please everybody by being the nice guy who does everything for others but nothing for himself.

I see a pattern forming here…

At the moment, I don’t have any answers but I do have a clearer path to take and I choose to walk that path today and use this blog as a means to track my progress from time to time. I am noticing though that as I’m writing this the little voice inside my head is screaming at me:

“What does this post have to do with your music business?”

Well, if I find ways to address these four things and hold myself accountable through this blog then my music business will thrive, I’ll feel better about myself, I’ll get more things done, I’ll get more sleep and generally, I’ll become a better artist, songwriter, musician and human being.

After all, isn’t that what life is all about?

Peace,

Corey :)

SongDare #4 – I Predict A Riot (Kaiser Chiefs)

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Yes, it’s another SongDare. This time I do the Kaiser Chiefs song “I Predict A Riot”

This song was requested by Joel Stibbard.

I must say, I knew very little about this song and the Kaiser Chiefs before I took on this SongDare but I’m glad I learnt this tune because it’s an absolute ripper of a song.

Embedded in the English punkiness of the tune is a serious message about a generation (or even a society) of people who have lost their way and because of this, tensions rise to breaking point. The chorus in the original make you want to shout “OI, OI, OI”

Love it…

Peace,

Corey :)

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SongDare – Chords And Lyrics To Download

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First of all I just wanted to say a big THANKYOU to everybody who has sent in their SongDare’s to me so far. I’ve been surprised by the response and the encouraging feedback.

I’ve been really, really impressed with the quality of songs requested.

It’s quite a refreshing change from the standard crap that drunk punters request during my cover gigs.

What I’m discovering though is that finding time to do the videos is the hardest part of the SongDare process hence, the lack of videos lately but I’ll be rectifying that very soon.

I’ve already had some people ask me for the charts of the songs that I’ve been “dared” to do. In response to this I’ve put up a SongDare page where I’ve embedded the YouTube videos and also put the chords and lyrics of the songs as a PDF on there as well.

Here are the download links to the three SongDare song charts so far.

Waiting For A Girl Like You (Foreigner)
Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden)
Exit Music For A Film (Radiohead)

Remember, if you want to participate in the SongDare project then contact me. For more information please go to the SongDare page.

Peace,

Corey :)

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My Latest Toy – Air Guitar

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Thanks to Romana for my latest toy :)

Seriously though, these air guitars are part of a set (Air Sax, Air Drums and Air Microphone) of air instruments raising money for an organisation called The Song Room, an organisation that provides free, tailored, long term music and arts programs to disadvantaged children.

I like that.

For more information regarding The Song Room or the Air series of instruments, check out these sites:

I’m off to practise some sweep picking with my new toy…

Peace,

Corey :)