As I get on with my day to day business that is my life I’m realising more and more that (for most of the time) we are all making up our lives as we go along which comes as a great relief to me, a recovering control freak.

Yes, that’s right, a recovering control freak.

Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I love to be in control, even though that I knew intellectually that the notion of control is but an illusion.

The feeling of being in control made me feel safe and secure with my world.

The upside of this feeling is that I consider myself a very organised person and as someone who prides themselves on being punctual however, the downside to always wanting to be in control is that I would always get highly stressed when situations didn’t go according “to plan.”

I’d get so stressed it would paralyse me at times. I loathed this feeling of being “out of control” but I don’t really know how I could rectify this, a pattern that has been endemic of my life for as long as I remember.

I suppose the realisation that we’re all making it (our lives) up as we go along comes as a great relief because it eliminates the need for me to compare my life with the life of others around me.

Yes, I know that some people have it together more than others and I also know that we are all unique in our abilities, our history, the way we look and so on but deep down we all want the same things like:

• Love
• Respect
• Validation
• Acknowledgement
• Recognition
• Happiness

When I look at life in this way I realise that deep down we’re all in the same boat.

Right now I’m working on creating some sort of balance between my need to have everything in my life catalogued and in its place and being totally spontaneous. Quite a difficult job when you think about it but not an impossible one.

I reckon there’s a song in this…

Peace,

Corey

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What you’ll read below is one of those ideas.

Before I downloaded all of the CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast series I was listening to them one at a time as they were being released. The latest podcast, features an interview with Jack Conte from the duo Pomplamoose.

Pomplamoose has gained massive amounts of exposure worldwide for two main reasons:

1. Their creative “video songs” have been collectively viewed over 10 million times (yes 10,000,000)
2. They use cover songs to their advantage.

Lately I have been getting more and more interested in using video for my own stuff as well as for the Open Mic Network so stumbling across this podcast was very timely indeed.

Until now I had not heard of the term “video song” but CD Baby describe it as a new medium of music video “…in which the imagery is an inside look into how the song is actually created.” Here is an example of one of Pomplamoose’s video songs, an excellent cover of “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire

This leads me to the second part of why Pomplamoose is so successful, it’s their use of COVERS (I can hear you cringing through the computer monitor but hey, hear me out for a second…)

For me, the answer to the covers vs originals questions goes like this…

For me, it all comes down to the attitude you have towards the music you’re covering, there is a difference between an artistic homage to a great song and a blatant rip off just to make some cash. I believe that you can still have artistic integrity while doing covers.

It’s not the song itself but how you cover it that should be the most important thing to consider.

Jack Conte in the interview was saying that for Pomplamoose, making video songs of well known covers enabled them to gain a huge amount of exposure and in turn grow a large fan base who want to be turned on to their own music.

He also goes on to say that covers are a good business decision, in fact it’s your duty as a musician to do covers, how will you stand out in the crowd if you don’t give your audience something to relate to?

Personally, a great song is a great song no matter where it comes from. Whether you wrote it or not a great song should be played, it should be listened to and it should be appreciated for what it is… A work of art.

What do you think about the covers vs originals argument? I know that it’s one of those arguments that will never be resolved but hey, it’s great fun as a conversation topic. Let me know your stance on this I’d love to hear your views.

To end my rant here is another Pomplamoose video song, a classy rewrite of Michael Jackson‘s “Beat It.” Nice!

I’m now inspired to play around with some video and if you’re lucky, I’ll put some up for you to check out.

Peace,

Corey

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My youngest nephew Cooper turned four today and I wanted to wish him a very, very happy birthday. Unfortunately because I have a gig to do I can’t be there with him so I hope that this little dedication to him will be the next best thing.

I have two nephews named Kye and Cooper and it’s amazing watching them both growing up, to see the differences in the two.

Kye, being the first born I suppose, is a very careful individual who takes risks but is very calculated with it whereas Cooper has no fear whatsoever, it’s all or nothing with him and he certainly lets you know about it.

Another major difference is that Kye is very diplomatic and sensitive whereas Cooper is about as tactful as a punch in the face, something which I’ve experienced first hand with him but that’s another story.

Both of my nephews have different ways of expressing themselves and getting the most out of life but what I love most about Cooper is his strength of character and his stubborn and persistent determination to get things done.

He just doesn’t give up and he isn’t afraid of the consequences of not giving up. Admirable qualities in my book.

I’ve learnt a lot from both of them and it’s times like these such as a birthday that you stop and realise how precious a young life is.

Happy Birthday Cooper.

Peace,

(Uncle) Corey

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The Beginning

When I was five years old I asked Mum and Dad if I could have a piano in the house. Dad replied that because there was no room for one I couldn’t. He was right of course but being young I got over that pretty quickly because after all, I still had my imagination to play with.

All through primary school I was writing stories and poems plus, making up songs to go with the poems and drawing pictures to go with the stories. Back then I was an unstoppable ball of creative energy.

It wasn’t until I reached high school that my interest in music really came to the forefront. The school I went to had a very good music program which I was most keen about and it was there that I could really begin to immerse myself in all things musical.

My chosen instrument to learn was saxophone (hey, it was a pretty cool instrument to play in 1983) however, they were all snapped up by other students so the next best thing was learning the clarinet, which I continued to play until I left high school.

Most of my recess and lunch times were spent hanging around the music room practising my clarinet and teaching myself piano. It was an environment in which I really felt I belonged to. Through music theory lessons I was introduced to sheet music, manuscript paper, treble clefs and a vast array of notes to play with.

I wrote my first song a few months after my best friend showed me an A chord on an acoustic guitar which was given to me on my 13th birthday by my Dad, perhaps to compensate not providing me with a piano all those years ago. Having the ability to teach myself guitar at home allowed me to take music home with me after the school day.

Add to that the thrill of writing a new song with each discovery of a new chord and my life was pretty much complete. All of my school friends were budding musicians, my whole life at that time seemed to be revolved around music, it couldn’t get any better than that.

As I left high school (in 1987) and with the spectre of the real world settling in, music became something that allowed me to escape the day to day pressures of living. Music made my growing up a more tolerable experience.

I started up bands which seemed to endlessly rehearse but never played any gigs and at the same time picked up the bass because I could never find a bass player of my own. I was champing at the bit to get out on stage and do my thing but it seemed to be the other members who wanted to make sure everything was “perfect” before setting foot on the stage.

At one time I even had a whole band leave me en masse 24 hours before we were supposed to play a gig. The things I’d put myself through for music.

Wherever I was working at the time I’d carry around a small notebook and pen and scrawl down song lyrics and songwriting ideas at every opportunity. i spent the rest of the time daydreaming what it would be like to play music professionally.

That was my idea of Heaven on Earth and it was my goal to find it.

Sydney

My first taste as a professional musician came in 1994 when I joined yet another band and went to Sydney. We went in convoy with swirling romantic notions in our heads of making it big, bolstered by the fact that the biggest agency in Sydney had decided to put us on their books. We decided that nothing would stop us.

“We’ll play as a cover band to get some money coming in then we’ll start an originals band afterwards” we said to ourselves, “we’ll be able to do both.” Wrong!

After being shunted around every corner of Sydney playing in every shitty dive you could imagine the agency dropped the band after 12 months. We didn’t know this but at the time but we were “that band from Adelaide” that played the venues that no-one else wanted to play at.

With no real Plan B in place and poverty knocking at our door, the band split.

It was at that time I gave up playing music and tried to have a go at living in Sydney as a “normal person.” Four years later, after a nervous breakdown I came back to Adelaide in 1999 with my tail between my legs and the dark cloud of shame and failure in my soul.

Back Home

Even in those really dark times, music never left my side. It would knock on my door but I just wouldn’t let it in. After a few months of not leaving the house (I was living with Mum and Dad at the time) I decided that I’d had enough of this wallowing and that not having music in my life was like living with an amputated limb.

The next time music knocked on my door, I opened it and embraced it with open arms and from that moment on my life was rebuilding.

I was still working day jobs but I was also in bands that had some drive and determination and were wanting to go somewhere. I started to find myself in situations that turned into great opportunities for advancing my music career. In 2006 I had another opportunity to really make a go at playing music professionally which I took with both hands.

“Yes it’s a cover band” I said to myself, “but still, I’ll be doing nothing else.” So, I ran with it and FIGJAM was born. We got our demos together, got out and about and networked like crazy, we played everywhere and for the first time in my life I felt that I was in control of my musical direction plus, I was making a living out of what I loved.

I was a self employed, professional musician.

Even though I was doing what I loved I still came across the same type of ungrateful, difficult, tight-fisted and clueless client/customer that you hear about but think “Nah, I’m a musician, that won’t happen to me.” I started to realise that in my drive to make a living out of music by playing covers I was forgetting the real reason why I wanted to play music in the first place.

Music was starting to become a job and I was starting to burn out.

I hit the wall around 18 months ago and pulled right back from playing gigs which gave me some time to think. I realised that I made the same mistakes I made in Sydney all those years ago. I didn’t have any balance in my life and trying to play covers to fund your originals is not as easy as you might think.

Full Circle

So where am I now? Well, right now I feel like I’ve come out the other side of a long black tunnel. I’m really happy with where I am.

I’m finally doing my CD and that has given me a whole new lease of musical life and I’m starting to play more original gigs now rather than waiting for “the right time” to do it. Doing the Open Mic Network has enabled me to see the real value of a community and to objectively see what opportunities can be found and created for it.

I’ve come full circle. I’m looking at where I am and what I do musically with a fresh pair of eyes and ears and for the first time in a long time, I’m excited about the future.

It comforting to know that music has never let me down, its always been there to pick me up, dust me off and be the means for me to get on with my life. I would hate to think of who I am and where I would be if I didn’t have music in my life. It’s been there for me for as long as I remember and now, just by being true to myself and my chosen craft I have a way in which I can honour and repay the muse.

And repay her I will… In full.

Peace,

Corey

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I’ve decided that I’m going to name my CD “Out With The Old And In With The New”.

It was one of a handful of possible CD titles I’ve had swimming around in my mind however, “Out With The Old And In With The New” really captures the spirit of what this CD is all about and what it means to me recording it.

It actually captures the spirit of what is happening around me in general. Is it my imagination or is there a lot of change going on around here?

For me, this CD is an exercise in getting my songs out of my head, out into the ether and into the ears, hearts and minds of other people no matter where they are in the world.

Right now, creatively, I feel like I’m entering into a new phase of my musical life and this CD signals the closing of a long, long chapter. I don’t see it as a sad occasion though, it’s merely a recognition that everything that has happened in the past has lead me to this very moment and the songs that I choose to go onto the CD will reflect this.

Derek Sivers the man who founded online independent music retailer CD Baby and a man who I admire greatly recently wrote a post on his blog called “My Loss” which captured my attention. In it he was going through some of the massive, life affecting changes that happened to him in 2007 however, the thing that really caught my eye were the last two lines of the post.

“For those of you considering a massive change, I can tell you from experience: It’s awesome here on the other side.”

Now this new phase I’m entering is certainly not as earth shattering as what Derek went through but nevertheless, change can be a scary thing to experience sometimes. Derek also says in his post that “…we all underestimate our ability to massively change our life when it’s gone off track.”

That’s so true, it’s my hope that “Out With The Old And In With The New” will re-address my musical balance and help get back on the right path creatively.

Peace,

Corey

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My Grandfather (my Dads Dad whom I call ‘Pop’) celebrated his 90th birthday with a big party last Saturday night. It was the first time that all of the family on my Dads side have got together in a long time.

It got me thinking about how much my family don’t see each other because we’re all “too busy” which then extended to me thinking about how much I don’t see my friends because of the same reason.

Are we all really just “too busy” or is this a symptom of our lives being allowed to control us instead of it being the other way around? The famous line in John Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy” pops into my head… “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.”

On a more positive note, 90 years is a pretty long time to be on this planet and this is a feat that didn’t go unnoticed. Half of the guests at his party were family and the other half were his friends and the venue was packed to capacity.

He maybe a little slower on his feet but he’s very fit for his age, he still gets his hair cut regularly and is club champion at his bowling club (he’s been playing lawn bowls longer than I’ve been alive). He has one of the driest senses of humour I’ve even come across and he loves to make fun of himself while drinking very good quality scotch whiskey.

In fact, if it wasn’t for him I (and the rest of the family that were at his party) wouldn’t exist. It’s amazing how one person can have a hand at creating so many people.

There are already plans being put together for Pops 100th birthday such is the belief that he will outlive us all. My Pop is also known for his quiet stubbornness, an admirable trait in this case.

Happy Birthday Pop

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Why this blog? Why this site?

I discovered early on in my career that, as a performing songwriter and musician it’s really, really important to have people to play in front of. Seems a simple enough realisation.

Playing to an audience gives me a sense of purpose with my music, an end result to all of the hours practising, rehearsing and writing and of course it satisfies the ego but I also realised that just satisfying the ego was not enough. Performance is a two way street between performer and audience, without one the other ceases to exist.

I realised that for me to be a successful performer I need to be successful at giving the audience a reason to care, to touch move and inspire them and then find a way to keep them all in one group and give them what they want on a regular basis.

Hence this blog, this site. I’m using technology to reach out over the vast expanses of cyberspace to tap you on the shoulder and say “HI!”

I want to build a community of people around me and my music and I’ll be doing that by being me, being open and honest and documenting everything that I’m doing on my musical journey.

I’ll be putting up my music, my images, my videos, my thoughts, feelings and other interesting and useful things I find along the way. All because I want to reach out to you, my audience.

I know that might sound a tad arrogant but, I know that winning you over is not going to come easily. I have to prove my worth to you, prove that I’m worthy of your attention because your time is just as precious as mine so I don’t want to waste it.

If I’m on stage I know where my audience is. When I’m writing for this site I don’t know where you are, it’s exciting and scary all at the same time but it’s worth pursuing. My audience, my community, my friends are out there. I’ve just got to find them.

It is my hope that through this site (and what I put in it) will give you a reason to give me a go, to care enough to tell your friends about what I do, to come to my shows and to allow me to be part of your life through my music. It would be an honour and a privilege to do so.

As you can read, I take community building very seriously. It’s what the music industry is all about.

Peace,

Corey

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My name is Corey Stewart and I’m a singer/songwriter/musician from Australia.

I’ve been writing, recording and playing music for over 20 years and in that time I’ve seen a lot of changes in the music industry and a lot of changes in the way musicians get their product out to an audience.

When I first started it was still a really big deal to independently release your own material. The reason being that, the only way to “make it” was to send out lots of demos and hope to get signed to a record label.

Being an independent musician wasn’t really a viable option. There were no broadcast quality home studios in those days so if you wanted to record independently you needed to have a lot of money behind you.

Record labels rules the airwaves and independence was only afforded to a few artists.

Today, especially with the internet being a huge influence on society as a whole, the tables seemed to have turned. Home studios are everywhere, distribution of music is much easier to manage and putting out a CD is the done thing for bands and artists.

In spite of all this, I haven’t released a CD of my own as yet however, this is where my Grand Experiment begins.

Since 2000 I have been fascinated and excited about the possibilities for musicians who market themselves online. Since 2004 I have maintained a songwriting blog and a music industry blog and branched out my experiences to include web development and online marketing.

Over the last few months I’ve been wondering if it’s possible to have some sort of success as a singer/songwriter/musician through using the internet and open source software only. I’m thinking a kind of independent open source music artist. An Online Music Artist for want of a better phrase.

I have been doing some research and I realise that my ideas are not necessarily treading over virgin territory. Artists such as Brad Sucks, Scott Andrew, Jonathon Coulton and Ben Walker have paved the way before me, producing great music and using the internet to their fullest advantage at the same time.

Reading their stories and watching what they do (I subscribe to a lot of songwriting and indie music blogs) inspire me greatly.

I’m not necessarily here to be a trailblazer, all I want to do is to put my music out to anyone who wants to hear it, I want to perform my music to anyone who wants to see it and I want to produce music for anyone who wants to share it.

This site will document my journey, warts and all. My quest is to be a self sufficient, independent, online music artist.

My journey starts now.

Peace,

Corey

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