February = A Busy Month For Writing Songs

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Corey Stewart

fawm_logo

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

CD Project Update #20 – Not Long To Go Now

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Corey Stewart

My sincere apologies for the sporadic nature of these CD Project updates. I’ll try to do better from now on

In the months since my last CD Project update, the recording process has been a little stop/start with illness or unavailability of either myself or Anthony Stewart getting in the way however, I’m happy to say that all of the instrumental recording were completed a couple of weeks ago.

The Running Sheet

The only thing left to do now are the backing vocals.

Yesterday I had Alex Frost come in and put some vocals on a couple of songs “Seeing Stars” and “A Girl Like You” which turned out really well.

Alex Singing

My goal was to get all recording finished by the end of November and I’m happy to say that this goal is still very achievable.

I’ve now finalised the 12 songs that are going onto the CD. They are (in alphabetical order)

A Girl Like You
Don’t Turn To Me Now
Half Hearted Man
Jigsaw
Just One Kiss
Leave It All Behind
Missing You Already
Nothing Stands In Your Way
Seeing Stars
Shadows
The Back Of My Mind
We Can’t Get Together Anymore

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the tracks that are left over but I’m leaning towards giving some music away as a way of promoting the CD. I’l keep you all posted as to what I decide.

I think now is the time for me to start putting together some ideas for the design and the pre and post launch promotion/marketing of the CD. Maybe a photo session is going to be needed as well.

So much to do, so little time.

Peace,

Corey

Musical Brainwaves – The Finished Song

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Corey Stewart

In previous posts “My Involvement With Musical Brainwaves” and “Musical Brainwaves – Using The Home Recording Studio” you would’ve read about my involvement in this 6 week Songwriting Project held in conjunction with Flinder University and its Community Re-entry Program.

Well, last Friday was the CD launch party of the song “The Second Time Around” written by Heather Frahn, members of the Community Re-Entry Program and myself.

Held at Flinders Uni, it was a very simple affair with about 50 people ranging from members of the project, their carers and Flinders Uni staff and students in attendance.

After an introduction from the Co-ordinator of the Community Re-entry Program it was our turn to give an outline of what we had been doing for the last 6 weeks (well Heather did most of the talking).

Once we finished Heather put on a video collage she made out of all the photos and images taken during the project with the finished song as its soundtrack. Well, there was not a dry eye in the room, it was very powerful stuff. it went down so well Heather was asked to run the video again.

The launch was a great success.

Heather and I during one of our recording sessions

While I was watching the video I was feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and cold shivers running down my spine. This hardly ever happens to me at all but last Friday I was deeply touched, moved and inspired by the event.

I realised that over the past 6 weeks I was provided with proof that music can still matter and that it can still make a profound difference in people’s lives.

I was immensely proud of what we had all achieved with the writing of the song and especially how the finished product sounds as it was totally recorded at home.

Here is the finished product for you to enjoy.

The Second Time Around

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Once I get hold of Heather’s video montage of the song I’ll post it up here.

You have to see it to believe it.

Peace,

Corey

Creating Ambient Music

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Corey Stewart

Relaxation music, meditation music, ambient music…

Call it whatever you like, I’ve always wanted to create, record and perform this type of music ever since my ears heard Brian Eno’s “Music For Airports” and “Music For Films”.

For a start I love Brian Eno and anything he touches however, I was always entranced by his notion that music could be created specifically for the background but, it was artistic at the same time.

A muzak free zone of beautifully blended ambience in which you can say goodbye to the Kenny G inspired Soprano Sax melodies.

I recently completed a project for Pam Mitchell, recording and doing the graphics for a series of five Guided Meditation CD’s. It was a lot of fun and it gave me the opportunity to really muck around in my home recording studio composing some ambient music of my own starting from scratch.

I also did all of the CD artwork as well which turned out pretty well if I say so myself.

Below are some music samples. It’s not Brian Eno, but it’s a start…

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You can find more information about these guided meditation CD’s at Pam Mitchell’s website – www.relaxationforhealthandwellbeing.com

Watch this space, more is coming…

Peace,

Corey

A New Addition To Corey Stewart Online – Articles

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Corey Stewart

In an attempt to streamline my blogging activities and consolidate my online footprint, I’ve decided to add an articles page to Corey Stewart Online.

I’ll be doing this by phasing out my earlier blogs Songwriting Zen, Orangutang Music and Corey Stewart Songwriting Tips and amalgamating all of my content into the Corey Stewart Online articles page.

This is something I have outlined in a previous post.

As well as my own content I’ll also be putting up what I would consider, really informative songwriting, music business and home recording articles that I find through my continuous online research into such topics but don’t worry, I’ll make sure I get the appropriate permissions from the original authors before putting them online.

Creating an articles page on this site and filling it with my past content is just another way that I can simplify my online activity, therefore allowing me to focus on my goals more effectively.

I’ve always been curious about article marketing and how it could help me as an online musician. Now I have my chance to put some theories to the test but I’ll tell you more about that in a later post.

BTW, If you have written or, you know of any content dealing with songwriting, music business or home recording that you want to recommend me put up on Corey Stewart Online, then please contact me.

I’d love to hear from you.

Peace,

Corey

Catching Up With Old Friends

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Corey Stewart

Recently I caught up with an old friend of mine Jeff Smith whom I had lost contact with for about 8 years.

When we finally caught up it was lovely to discover that there was none of the awkwardness or guilt that sometimes comes with a reconnection with a good friend after a long time apart, we just picked up where we left off and interacted as if we saw each other yesterday.

Besides fulfilling a need to reconnect with an old friend, I contacted Jeff to let him know that a song we wrote together way back when called “Billboard Angel” was going to be part of the next SCALA CD release.

I can’t remember how Jeff and I first met but what I do know is that he’s an amazing guitarist, studio engineer and an all round nice guy with unique perspectives on life which make for great conversation and for writing really good songs.

It’s through reconnecting with Jeff that I’ve become really inspired to get stuck into my home studio setup and start recording my songwriting ideas again, something I very thankful for.

I want to finish this post today with another example of a song that Jeff and I wrote. It’s called “Groove With You” and it touches on the concept of two people who just can’t seem to connect fully even though they adore each other. I just love the funkiness of the song.

Enjoy!

Groove With You

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Peace,

Corey

A Pinch And A Punch…

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Corey Stewart

: Image via Wikipedia

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

Logic Pro, Express updated to 9.1.1 (macworld.com)
Make your own loops with Aviary’s free music editor (en.onsoftware.com)
List of Digital Audio Workstation Software (brighthub.com)

Home Recording Experiments

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Corey Stewart

For years I’ve wanted to have my own home recording setup, a songwriting suite where I can, at any time, record my songwriting ideas for either future reference or for pre-production purposes. I remember looking at the home studios of my friends and thinking to myself “one day, I too can have this”

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