This video clearly demonstrates how important song lyrics and vocal melody are in writing and how the song arrangement (in this case it’s the chord progression E B C#m A) is a foundation in which the lyrics and melody of the featured songs are built upon.

It’s also very, very funny to watch. Enjoy!

Peace,

Corey

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“Running Out Of Love” is the third song that I’ve collaborated with Adrian Miller on and the first re-write we’ve done together.

This song was actually a half finished piece I had languishing in my archives for a few years called “All Out Of Love.” I loved the melody and the chord structure but the lyrics were something that I needed help on.

First of all the title needed to be changed as “All Out Of Love” reminded me of an Air Supply song far too much and secondly, the story of the song was a little muddled. This is where Adrian’s magic worked the best, he changed the title and sorted out the story and we both rewrote the lyrics to fit in with the new direction of the song.

I absolutely love it now and recording it gave me some fantastic piano practise. The best of both worlds really.

Enjoy,

Running Out Of Love
© 2010 C. Stewart/A. Miller

Chorus
I’m running out of love
Running low on love, it brings me down
I’m running out of love
Running low on love, I’m empty now

I know that I have tried so hard
To show you how I feel for you
And you may feel the same way but
I’ve got no way of knowing that it’s true

Chorus

Another cold and lonely night
Staring at each other through the silence
Going over things that might
Have happened if we only took a chance

What happened to our love?
I’ve tried to work it out
So many little things
Are standing in our way
What happened to our love?
What’s it all about?
Is there anything, anything that I can say?

I’m running out of love
Running low on love, I’m empty now

I have so many half finished songs in my songwriting archive that are in dire need of re-writing, I’ll be busy collaborating for many years to come. Bring it on!

Peace,

Corey

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For a while now I’ve been thinking about starting up another funk project. I’ve been testing the waters and keeping one eye and ear out on the scene for a little while to see if the concept of getting a groovy, funky band together again has some merit.

Jeez, I must be some sort of masochist, a glutton for punishment. Another band?

Well, what can I say, I’m a bass player and I’ve always loved getting down and funky. I love the groove, especially when bass and drums merge their respective sounds into one seething mass of funk. I’m always in search of “the one” and generally, I find it.

For those who don’t know me let me shed some historical light on my forays into the world of funk.

It all started in 2000 when a mate of mine asked me to join a band called FunkStar.

The band was initially formed because this mate of mine managed to negotiate a regular Wednesday night gig at a club called the Enigma Bar and he needed a band to fill it. I accepted his offer and FunkStar was born.

However, we scored our first gig at the Rhino Room even before we had out first rehearsal which meant we had no songs to play with so, in a week and a half we scrambled together three rehearsals and hastily jammed out 15 songs.

Phew, talk about pressure but we played the gig and it was awesome.

One of the things we did really well that night was jam endlessly to make the songs longer than they should be and the rest of the time, just make shit up. It worked a treat and that became the FunkStar formula.

Back then there was a real funk scene in Adelaide and FunkStar rode the crest of the wave. We played everywhere wore lots of orange and our live shows were known for their unpredictability. We were unstoppable but sadly, in 2001 FunkStar broke up and I was left holding the baby so to speak. I was devastated.

In 2002 I decided to reform FunkStar with new members and try to pick up where the first band left off but after slogging it out for about 12 months FunkStar (Mk 2) disbanded.

I then tried the funk again in 2003 with a new band and a new name (Orangutang). We were going for a more edgier but jazzier sensibility but that also lasted about 12 months. I wasn’t having a good run.

After all that I decided to give my funk ambitions an indefinite rest, until now.

I’ve been noticing a resurgence of the funk in Adelaide over the last 12 months spearheaded by the landmark venue for all things funk, the glorious Crown and Sceptre Hotel which has been hosting funk bands on a Friday and Saturday night.

Adelaide has a lot of cool venues and I really think there is room for another groovy, funky outfit to grace its stages.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the funk project concept has some merit but I’m still dipping the toe in the water at the moment. Right now there’s so much to do with so little time but I’ll let you know what I come up in the very near future with so watch this space.

Peace,

Corey

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The song evolved from a conversation that we had in which the concept of having too much choice in this world was discussed. From that conversation the first two lines of the song were born and the rest was written from there.

Enjoy,

Back To Basics
© 2010 C. Stewart/A. Miller

There is so much choice out there
I could so easily lose my way
I could give into temptation, find a new sensation
Each and every single day

There is so much noise out there
I can’t hear a single word you say
There is no communication, but too much information
Swimming around in my brain

Chorus
Let’s get back to basics, keeping only what we need
Let’s get back to basics, what is it we really need?
Let’s get back to basics, looking for simplicity
So let’s get back to basics

It’s a complicated world
It’s so hard just keeping up with the pace
Could it be that maybe, everyone’s gone crazy
Or am I just a hopeless case?

People just don’t seem to care
About anyone else but themselves
No one takes the time to simplify their lives
And compassion can take care of itself

Chorus

You don’t need to try it, you don’t need to buy it
This need to just acquire, it only gives us nothing but trouble
You don’t need the clutter just to make yourself feel better
You cannot take it with you after all is said and done

There is so much choice out there
I could so easily lose my way
I could give into temptation, find a new sensation
Each and every single day

Chorus

Corey

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Whenever the glass is half empty
I reach for a bottle and fill it to the top

The lines remind me of something Tom Waits would write, it sounds negative but in fact it outlines a very positive message with the rest of the song attempting to reinforce the sentiments of that message, that “things are better now”

This recording is also my first real attempt at putting something down in my home studio. The drum backing may be slightly naff but all in all, I’m pretty happy with it.

Enjoy,

Things Are Better Now
© C. Stewart/A. Miller 2010

Whenever the glass is half empty
I reach for a bottle and fill it to the top
I never let misery get me
I treat myself gently, I tell my tears to stop

I keep myself moving
Get through it somehow
I’ve been as far down as a man can go
But things are better now

Whenever I start to feel lonely
I know that it’s only, a matter of time
Till somebody new recognises
That I’m full of surprises, of a very nice kind

Chorus

Once upon a time
I was lost along the way
I could not ease my mind
But that was yesterday
Now I’m looking forward to what each new day brings
Yeah things are better now

Whenever the glass is half empty
I reach for a bottle and fill it to the top
I never let misery get me
I treat myself gently, I tell my tears to stop

Chorus (x2)

Things are better now
Things are better now
Things are better now

Peace,

Corey

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I must confess. I have a bit of a problem that needs to be solved.

I’m recording 18 songs at the moment but ideally I want to release a CD with 12 songs on it which means 6 songs have to be left behind and I’m a little stuck on what songs to choose.

This is where I need your help…

I’ve put up all the recorded guide tracks of the 18 songs on my CD Project page and all I want you to do is to have a listen to the songs and give me your feedback either by contacting me directly or, commenting on the page.

I want to know what you would or wouldn’t keep on the CD and if you have a reason for your choices you can put them down as well, the more information, the better as far as I’m concerned, let me know what you think.

The 18 songs that I’m recording are as follows:

All Good Things Must Come To An End
Back Of My Mind
Billboard Angel
Don’t Turn To Me Now
Don’t Want To Let You Go
Girl Like You
Half Hearted Man
Jigsaw
Just One Kiss
Leave It All Behind
Long Drive Home
Missing You Already
Mountain Top
Nothing Stands In Your Way
Seeing Stars
Shadows
We Can’t Be Together Anymore
What Have We Got To Lose?

I realise that this list may not mean much to some of you at the moment, especially if you’ve just discovered this website and you don’t know me from a bar of soap but please be patient, have a listen, I promise I don’t bite.

I am really excited however, about giving everybody who visits my site an opportunity to have a say in what songs should be on my first CD. A little bit of interactivity goes a long, long way.

Peace,

Corey

Listen to all 18 songs

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By the end of 2009 I found myself in a real bind creatively. There were no completed songs on the horizon but lots and lots of songwriting ideas archived away on paper or recorded as MP3′s somewhere on my computer. As a way to inject new perspectives into my songwriting process I said to myself that this year I’d start collaborating more with others and see how it transpires.

I made this pledge to myself because I have experienced first hand the joys of collaboration.

I’ve written songs with other artists in the past with some really good results but the collaborator contact has been too intermittent for my liking, either I’ve been too busy to keep up the writing relationship or, the other party had something get in the way.

That’s okay, that’s life but now that I have my home recording setup ready to go my desire to write songs with others has been re-ignited and my first collaborator (more like a test subject) in this new phase of my songwriting process is my good friend Adrian Miller.

I’ve known Adrian for a while now and always admired his lyrics and his very broad musical tastes. As musical ideas come to me more than lyrical ones I thought that collaborating with Adrian would be able to address my lack of lyrical inspiration.

It has and much more. We’ve written three songs so far and look I forward to penning even more. I’ll be putting them on the site very, very soon

I enjoy the backwards and forwards bouncing of musical and lyrical ideas and the conversations that evolve from that. For me, collaboration actually forces me to think about (and analyse at times), my songwriting process because no two songwriting styles are truly the same and the inevitable comparisons of each others songwriting styles makes for fascinating insights.

Creativity is a fickle beast sometimes and having a little help from your friends can achieve great results.

Peace,

Corey

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Today, I’ve just joined up for the 50/90 challenge for 2010. It’s my third time in taking the challenge which is to write 50 songs in 90 days starting on July 4th and finishing on October 1st. For those of you interested in checking it out a little more closely, the website is at fiftyninety.fawmers.org

I was also involved in 2009 and 2008 and didn’t really get far but 2010 will be different. I’ll be using this years 50/90 challenge to really get to know my home recording studio, to test out different recording techniques and to really explore Logic Pro 9 in all it’s glory.

Whatever I create I’ll also put up on this site for you to listen to and hopefully comment and give feedback. I’m actually excited about this years 50/90 challenge whereas all the other times I was panicking about it.

Wish me luck,

Corey

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Today is the first day of July which in Australia means that it’s the start of a new financial year which also means that its tax time and APRA live performance returns submission time, yet another couple of large tasks to put onto the ‘to-do’ list however, it has been a very busy week so far.

Monday night was a SCALA board meeting, Tuesday night was Synchronicity Police rehearsal, Wednesday night I was MC’ing the Open Mic @ The Dan and tonight I’m MC’ing the monthly Open Mic @ The Third Cork. Amazingly enough, I get Friday off because of a cancelled gig. Phew!

What was the point of all that? Nothing really, I just wanted to get some things off my chest and to put in some text-links to other projects that I’m involved with but I do want to tell you what happened yesterday. It was a home recording studio nightmare.

You see, yesterday I managed to wipe all of the Logic Pro 9 audio loops from my hard drive. I don’t know how I did it but I’m going to be spending all day re-installing Logic Studio.

How cool is that? Not!

I was doing some recording with good friend and songwriting collaborator Adrian Miller and I immediately had a brilliant idea… Lets use a drum loop from the audio loops library.

I thought it would be as simple as dragging and dropping the loop “Lo-Fi Country Loop 9″ into the prepared audio track but, even though the file was visible on the screen, I press play and it wasn’t working. After half and hour of mucking around I was at the point where I had the problem well and truly licked however, I clicked the wrong dropdown menu function and all of the loops vanished. I went cold and my insides freaked out a little.

I shut down, restarted and opened up a previously recorded song hoping for a miracle but still, no loops but I did get a nice little message saying that there were indeed no loops installed in the library and that I need to use the discs provided to rectify the issue.

Thank goodness I have the full legal copy of Logic Studio.

Now I hear you ask “what lessons have you learnt from this experience?” Well, reading the manual from time to time comes to mind but the most important thing I realised was that if I don’t know it, don’t click it.

I know what Phil Spector would’ve done if he were in my shoes… Is there a gun in the house?

Peace,

Corey

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Now, with the final piece of the home studio puzzle purchased and installed a fortnight ago I have achieved my dream. Here’s a couple of piccies for you.

The engine room

The main keyboard (with Barry in the background)

At the moment I’m using:

• 27″ iMac using Logic Pro 9
• Presonus Firbird audio interface
• Fostex monitor speakers
• Rode NT3
• Rode NT1000
• M-Studio MIDI keyboard
• Some Casio digital piano
• Alesis SR16 drum machine
• Line 6 POD X3

I must admit, the learning curve I’m experiencing has been very, very steep and there have been times that I’ve thrown my hands up in air in frustration convinced that I’m “never going to get this” but if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from all of this is that you learn a lot about yourself when you’re faced with a huge challenge.

I’m going to put some home recording experiments online very soon so feel free to send me feedback but in the meantime, the rain is pelting outside so I’m going to fire the home studio up and make some more music.

Peace,

Corey

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