The “Seeing Stars” Songbook

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Corey Stewart

In the spirit of keeping you all in the loop with what I’m doing, I just wanted to run something by you all… It’s an idea for a different type of product or merchandise?

It will be called the “Seeing Stars” Songbook.

It would be a book with the lyrics and chords for all of the songs on my “Seeing Stars” CD on one page and a detailed description of what the song is about and how it was written on the other page.

I reckon it would be something a bit different to have available at the CD launch however, what do you think about this idea?

Is there anything else you’d like to see in the songbook?
Would this be something you’d be interested in owning?
If so, how much would you be willing to pay for such a product?

I’m looking forward to your honest and candid feedback as always…

Peace,

Corey

Never Again Will I Be Afraid Of Words

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Corey Stewart

One of my primary songwriting goals of 2011 is to never be afraid of words again.

Ideally, what this means for me is that by conquering my fear of words or, more accurately, the fear of my words (and therefore me, as a person) being judged by others, I will be able to increase my songwriting output by finishing all of my half completed songwriting ideas because at the moment a distinct lack of lyrical material is what is standing in the way of me completing my current batch of songwriting ideas.

I have no real idea how I came to the conclusion that writing lyrics is not one of my strong points but that is how I was seeing myself as a musician first and a lyricist (a very distant) second.

I know that the above statement is not true however, I have said it to myself so many times now that my subconscious believes it. It’s like I’m fulfilling some sort of prophesy about my (lack of) songwriting process.

The biggest problem I have with my with lyric writing process is that I self censor far too early in the piece. I need to give myself the permission to put down on paper whatever comes to me, to write what is inside of me no matter whether I consider it crap or not and no matter how bad it might look on paper.

For some reason I’ve succumbed to the belief that I have nothing of value to say to the world through my lyrics. What a way to sabotage my songwriting and my creativity as a whole.

Yes, I’m pretty good at that.

Even though words have the power to change things and therefore, need to be treated with the respect they deserve, they can’t hurt me and my so called fear of them should not silence me.

The best thing I can do is to roll up my sleeves and just write. I know that by doing this I will conquer my fear of words.

One song at a time…

Peace,

Corey

SongDare – Chords And Lyrics To Download

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Corey Stewart

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

SCALA – I’m A Member And You Should Be Too

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Corey Stewart

For those of you who don’t know, SCALA stands for Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association and it was formed in 1987 which makes 2010 its 23rd year of helping songwriters be the best they can be.

I’ve been a proud member of since 1992.

My first ever solo show was at SCALA. It was a Wednesday night, July 29th, 1992 at the Duke Of Brunswick Hotel and I clearly remember how intensely nervous I was.

As a result of those nerves getting the better of me that night I put in a terrible show and afterwards, I was ready to give up (yes I was that bad) except for the amazing support and encouragement of SCALA’s president Rob Childs and the rest of the crew.

I would even go further to say that I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today if it wasn’t for the existence of SCALA in my life. Period!

Over the years I have seen SCALA develop into an organisation that really has the development of emerging songwriters as its primary focus. It provides for its members:

A place to showcase your songs
A website
A song competition
An opportunity to get you song onto CD
A songwriters circle/workshop
An informative newsletter every three months
A message board to find collaborators

Not bad for an organisation running on limited funds and with virtually no volunteer base for the past 23 years.

For a number of years now, I’ve been a member of the SCALA board as well as a resident songwriting judge for its FOOM (Festival Of Original Music) song competitions. I relish in the opportunity to give back to SCALA what it had originally given to me when I was first starting out.

Time, effort and support, the very things that SCALA can give to you now, if you decided to become a member.

I don’t get any money for promoting SCALA, I’m just writing this because I really do believe in the power of community and the grassroots support for the next generation of talented songwriters and artists out there. I mean, my own efforts in running the Open Mic Network has been largely inspired by my involvement with SCALA.

The more I walk on my musical path, the more I realise that we are all in this music business thing together and organisations like SCALA just make the journey a little easier for those who choose to take that first step.

Peace,

Corey

PS: Here are some SCALA links for you to check out – Website | Facebook | MySpace | Twitter

Everybody Has A Story – A Song

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Corey Stewart

This song first started out as a musical idea inspired by me mucking around on the piano which I then hammered out on Logic. Adrian and I then nutted out the lyrics in a separate 3 hour session.

The interesting thing about this songs writing process is that it wasn’t until the very end when we stumbled upon the song title that both Adrian and I knew roughly what the song was about.

There were many times that we both stared blankly into the computer screen not knowing where to go to next however, we triumphed and this is the end result…

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Everybody Has A Story
© 2010 C. Stewart/A. Miller

Somewhere in someone else’s story
I had a minor part to play
I was the kid standing on the corner
Watching the passing parade

Nobody noticed me
Nobody noticed me, but I was there

Where am I when the spotlights shining?
I’m a thousand miles away
I’m the guy standing in the shadows
When they’re handing out accolades

Nobody notices
Nobody notices, but I am there
Nobody notices
Nobody notices, but I am there

I may not be famous, stand out in a crowd
Or shout from the rooftops, noisy and proud
But this is my story and I want you to know
What is important and what can be let go
Stop what you’re doing, a moment or two
I’ll tell you something that I think is true
The more that you listen the sooner you’ll see
That everybody has a story, yes, even me

Someday in another lifetime
On any given day
You might ask me what I was doing
What it was that I had to say

Did you notice me?
Did you notice me? While I was there
Did you notice me?
Did you notice me? While I was there

Everyone does have a story to tell, we just need to take the time to listen to it.

Peace,

Corey

All You Need Is Four Chords To Write A Hit Song

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Corey Stewart

Below is a video of a skit performed by Australian musical comedy act “Axis Of Awesome.”

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

Four Chords Is All You Need: The Limited Nature of Pop Music (wmbriggs.com)
Songwork: Messing with the Skeleton (popdose.com)

Running Out Of Love – A Song

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Corey Stewart

: Image by Kristian D. via Flickr

“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,

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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

Songwork: Messing with the Skeleton (popdose.com)

Back To Basics – A Song

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Corey Stewart

“Back To Basics” is the second song that I’ve collaborated with Adrian Miller on and it’s also my first multi-tracking effort using Logic Pro 9 on my home studio setup.

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,

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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

Peace,

Corey

The Joys Of Collaboration

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Corey Stewart

: Image via Wikipedia

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