Tag Archives: corey stewart

I’m Now President Of SCALA

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Since 1992 I’ve been a member of a global songwriting organisation based in Adelaide called SCALA (which stands for Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association). Its goal since its incorporation in 1987 has been to “encourage original music of any style and genre no matter where you are in the world.”

Now, with the retirement of SCALA’s founder and inaugural President Robert Childs OAM on March 15th the path has been made clear for me to take over the role of leading a songwriting organisation that has been so very instrumental in the shaping of the performing songwriter and professional musician that I am today.

Since I was made President-elect on January 31st I’ve been working very closely with Robert to ensure that the transition from one President to another hasn’t drastically affected the day to day business of running a songwriting organisation that has been a labour of love for Robert for the last 25 years.

Now that I’ve taken the reins fully, I’m very mindful that I’ve essentially been put in charge of Robert’s legacy and because of that, I’ll be doing my very best to make sure that the essence of SCALA, being a grassroots songwriting organisation remains intact while at the same time, have a hand in guiding SCALA into the 21st century and growing its relevance within the general songwriting and music business communities locally, nationally and globally.

This is a role in which I’m extremely humbled and at the same time very proud to be undertaking. I’m deadly serious about making SCALA work and the potential for the organisation to make a difference in the lives of all of it’s members is staggering.

I’ve got some big shoes to fill. Wish me luck and watch this space.

Peace,

Corey :)

FAWM 2013: Song #3 – “Fall In Love With Me”

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Here is song three in my attempt to write 14 songs in 28 days for the FAWM online songwriting challenge.

It’s called “Fall In Love With Me” and it’s about two people finding each other for the first time and the awkwardness that goes along with it.

I must say that FAWM has really made me look at my songwriting process and to take stock of all of the songwriting information I’ve amassed over the years. It’s also made have a look at my songwriting blog All About Songwriting in a different light.

I’m finally taking my own advice.

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Fall In Love With Me 
© C. Stewart 4/2/2013

I am looking your way, so careful not to be seen
But to my surprise you’re smiling back at me
This wasn’t part of my plan, this can’t be happening to me
Because this smile of yours has complicated things

I just don’t know what to do at this moment
Oh, can someone tell me please
How can I get this woman fall in love with me

Towards each other we move, you’re eyes are fixed upon mine
I got swept up in the moment, I feel like I could fly
But as you came a little closer, gliding across the floor
I can see you’re more beautiful, than I ever thought you were

I still don’t know what to do at this moment
Oh, can someone tell me please
How can I get this woman fall in love with me

Instrumental

I stand in front of you and you stand in front of me
The silence between us seems like eternity
I hold out my hand and you place yours in mine
There’s no need for words, the stars have all aligned

I now know what to do at this moment
You can now stop telling me
How I have made this woman fall in love with me

Three down, eleven more songs to go…

Peace,

Corey :)

FAWM 2013: Song #2 – “Don’t Ever Waste Another Minute”

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Here is song number two for the FAWM 2013 Songwriting Challenge and it’s a number inspired a little bit by Ben Folds called “Don’t Ever Waste Another Minute.”

The song is about embracing the life you have no matter where it takes you.

Here it is in all its glory…

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Don’t Ever Waste Another Minute
© C. Stewart 3/2/2013

I wake up in the morning and wonder
How the hell that I didn’t go under
I’m still alive, I have survived the night before
I know there’s things I don’t remember
It’s just as well coz it could be horrendous
It would explain why I’m black and blue and feeling sore

Ooh, ooh, the only way to live your life is to live it
Ooh, ooh, don’t ever wish your life away
You only get it if you’re willing to give it

Don’t ever waste another minute
Don’t ever waste another minute

There’s gonna be some times of pleasure
And then some pain thrown in for good measure
You’ve got to be prepared to take the good as well as the bad
The clock it ticks towards disaster
The more you watch it, it never gets faster
Today you’re gonna have the best time that you ever had

Ooh, ooh, the only way to live your life is to live it
Ooh, ooh, don’t ever wish your life away
You only get it if you’re willing to give it

Don’t ever waste another minute
Don’t ever waste another minute
So many times, you stood and watched, your life just passing you by
Before you know, it will be over in a blink of an eye

Imagine if the world was your oyster
You’d throw away regret and all the assumptions
To concentrate on being the very best that you could ever be
Embracing this world around you
You’ll inspire everyone by your actions
You’ll be remembered by every person that you meet

Ooh, ooh, the only way to live your life is to live it
Ooh, ooh, don’t ever wish your life away
You only get it if you’re willing to give it

Don’t ever waste another minute
Don’t ever waste another minute
Don’t ever waste another minute
Don’t ever waste another minute

I’m really enjoying my time with my home recording setup. I’m learning more and more every time that I use it which will be a lot thanks to FAWM.

Peace,

Corey :)

My Juice Fasting Experiment – Day 4 Of 30

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After recently seeing a video called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead about an Aussie named Joe Cross who attempted a 60 day “juice fast” while doing a road-trip across the US to cure himself from his self inflicted maladies, I was inspired to finally take my health into my own hands and try this juice fasting thing for myself.

For the uninitiated, a juice fast is where you simply drink nothing but fresh fruit and vegetable juice (straight from the juicer, not from the shop) as well as drinking water for a set period of days.

The theory behind a juice fast is that the energy conserved by giving your digestion system a well earned rest will be used to detox and therefore “fix” the body from the inside.

As an experiment I started a 10 day juice fast a day after my birthday (January 8th) and to my amazement found it quite easy to do even though days 2 through to 4 was one constant migraine headache due to my body going through its detoxing process.

After about 2 weeks back on solid foods I decided on January 29th to fully take the plunge and start a 30 day juice fast in an attempt to detox, reboot and rejuvenate my body, mind and spirit completely.

Well that’s the theory.

I have taken a long time to get to this point because I have done a lot of research but now I’m left with the only option of just diving head first into it and seeing what happens.

I’ll keep you posted as to my progress and I promise I won’t get all new age about it. The only thing that’s changing in me is my health, my waistline and my focus.

Peace,

Corey :)

February = A Busy Month For Writing Songs

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Two well known online songwriting challenges, February Album Writing Month (FAWM) and the RPM Challenge are both kicking off tomorrow and I’m going to be part of it.

The goals are to write, record and upload 14 songs (FAWM) and/or 10 songs (RPM Challenge) all in the month of February.

It’s a challenge I’ve found impossible to complete in the past but now I feel that I have everything set up now to take these challenges head on.

My recording studio is ready, my collaborators are ready and my refined songwriting process is ready to tackle the extra workload needed complete the task at hand.

I’m looking forward to experimenting with my home recording setup on a wider scale and I’m using these songwriting challenges to prepare me for future Corey Stewart releases which I’ll be doing in-house from now on in true DIY fashion.

But talk about jumping right in the deep end… I’ve created accounts on both websites and therefore I’ll be a busy little songwriting beaver this month. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Wish me luck, I may need it.

Peace,

Corey :)

“Synchronicity” The Australian Police Show – Adelaide Fringe 2013

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This year for the 2013 Adelaide Fringe I dust off the vocal chords for another round of performing the classic songs of The Police as part of “Synchronicity” The Australian Police Show.

TSP-Poster 2013

As mentioned on the “Synchronicity” Fringe Festival page…

“SYNCHRONICITY” return to this years fringe with a new 90 minute show packed full of power house POLICE hits. This show takes you on a POLICE album journey which will satisfy even the most avid POLICE fan.

Not just a show but a concert event not to be missed!”

It’s going to be HUGE. One show only.

The show is at The Cavern Club located at Station Arcade, North Terrace in the City starting at 8:30pm and the tickets are $28. You can order them online through the Synchronicity Fringe Festival page.

We’re just about to start rehearsals for this show which promises to be better than all our other shows combined. We’ve been out of the loop for a while but we are champing at the bit to get back on stage and channel the greatest band in the world… The Police.

Hope to see you there,

Peace,

Corey :)

We As Art, We As Artists 2013 – Drawing Breath

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Recently I was honoured to be asked to be part of this years We As Art, We As Artists project for the 2013 Adelaide Fringe Festival called “Drawing Breath.”

I accepted the challenge which has then enabled me to be working with such artists as Mary Webb, Leon Hewer, Fergus O’Regan, Kelly Breuer, Michaela Burger and Sarah O’Brien.

I love them all, they’re a fantastic bunch of musicians to work with.

As mentioned on the Fringe website…

“Drawing Breath’, chapter two of collaborative project ‘We as Art, We as Artists’ blends original music, visual art and movement to provide you with a wholesome arts experience. Bathe in gorgeous six part harmonies, live art and story through movement. “…the best live music I have ever seen.” (Fringe Benefits).”

The main aspect about this performance that intrigued me the most is that each songwriter chooses two songs which are then re-arranged for Cello, Violin and up to 6 voices with each of us having to do the re-arranging ourselves using a notation program such as Sibelius or, its open source equivalent, MuseScore.

I chose “Jigsaw” and “Half Hearted Man” as my two songs and because of some time constraints I also wanted to re-arrange them myself using MuseScore.

I had to dig deep into my brain to find my Year 12 music theory knowledge but thankfully it was there where I left it and after I got the hang of operating MuseScore (which had its own steep learning curve) I was getting back into the swing of things again.

This whole exercise has re-ignited my interest in orchestral music in general.

We’ve got some intense rehearsals to get through before the opening night but from what I’ve heard so far it’s going to be a very inspirational time for me. I’m so far away from my musical comfort zone it’s scary but at the same time incredibly satisfying.

The three performances are on February 16th, 21st and 22nd at a new venue called Howl The Moon located at Dunston grove, Linde Reserve, Nelson Street, Stepney from 8pm.

Tickets are $21 with $15 for concession/fringe benefit members and $13 for kids.

For more information or to purchase tickets go to the Drawing Breath page on the Fringe website.

I’m so looking forward to this, I hope to see some familiar faces in the crowd.

Peace,

Corey :)

My Drive Towards 2013

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First of all, I want to say that I hope everyone has had a wonderful Xmas and that your New Years Eve preparations are going to plan.

What am I going to be doing for NYE? Well I’ll be playing at the Port Broughton Hotel as part of FIGJAM Duo which I’m really looking forward to. It’s been a while since I did a gig in the country and Port Broughton is apparently a beautiful place.

However, besides recovering from Xmas festivities and getting ready for NYE, this time of year is where I look back on what I’ve done and start working what I want to do for the year ahead.

I’ve got to say, 2012 was a confusing year for me. I was doing far too many things in my life to the point where every part of my life was suffering including my health and my sanity.

Thankfully moving into a new space and letting go of a few things have gone a long way to remedying this confusion however, I can’t help but think that 2013 is going to be a year of starting things over.

I’m now at a place in my life where I can truthfully say that I know exactly what I want to be doing with my life both musically and domestically. It’s very empowering knowing that I now have the drive, determination and the willingness to walk the path of my own design rather than the path that I was expected to walk on.

Big changes are afoot in 2013…

Musically, I’ll be concentrating my efforts in four areas:

1. Live Performance – In 2013 I’ll be making sure I create the right balance between my songwriting gigs and my covers gigs. I’ve given myself all of next year to sell-out all my copies of “Seeing Stars” by utilising gigs and open mic opportunities to showcase what I can do to the public.

2. Studio – I want to learn everything I can about creating great recordings from home so I can put out my own material in-house rather than use an external studio to record tracks. I’ll be writing a lot more songs and redefining my own sonic palette which I’m very excited about.

3. Online Marketing – I realise that as well as playing more gigs, the best way to let the world know who I am and what I do musically is via the internet. I’ll be expanding my web presence and at the same time streamlining it so it all works like a well oiled machine.

By doing this I’ll be creating opportunities for myself on a global scale rather than just a local and national one.

4. Tuition – I realise I have a lot to offer in terms of experience and knowledge in the areas of songwriting and music business so I’ll be setting up a coaching/consultancy revolving around those two areas and making myself available either on a one on one basis or via Skype.

Domestically, my health, my house and my spirit are the areas that I want to pursue in 2013. I believe that if I can get these domestic areas right then my relationships with others will greatly benefit and my musical endeavours will be greatly enhanced as well.

Everyone wins…

I’ll be posting more information on here as I work out what all of this means but in the meantime, I hope that you stay safe no matter what it is you’ll be doing so that we can reconnect again in 2013.

I, for one am really looking forward to it.

Peace,

Corey :)

The Start Of My Piano Playing Exploits

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On October 17th I did something that I had wanted to do for a very long time but either never had the skill or, the confidence to do

I played a song on keyboards in front of an audience.

This was done at the Open Mic @ The Dan, the song was the Annie Lennox classic “Why” and for me it was a bit of a turning point in my musical development.

Ever since I could remember I have wanted to play the piano, to write songs and perform them on instrument other than a guitar and finally, I made it happen.

It’s a wonderful feeling achieving a lifelong goal such as this and I intend to keep on kicking goals for as long as I can.

Being able to know my way around a piano keyboard has given me a lot more to play in the area of writing songs.

Expect a lot more piano pieces in the future.

Peace,

Corey :)