As I’m preparing for the SCALA Open Mic Network Showcase gig at Higher Ground today, I remind myself that writing songs is sometimes:

A linear experience
You come across a possible song title that jumps out at you and after writing the first line of the first verse, a first draft is suddenly completed from start to finish.

A puzzle solving exercise
You take a piece here, a song title there, a bit of a verse here and a half written phrase there and, after discovering the common thread that connects everything, a song is eventually completed.

Like incubating an egg
You finish writing a chorus but find you can’t go any further however, after leaving the half finished song for a period of time something triggers in your mind and the song magically completes itself.

Sometimes you start writing a song from the beginning and work forwards, sometimes you start a song from the middle and work outwards and sometimes you start writing at the end and work backwards.

It doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you start somewhere.

Peace,

Corey

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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

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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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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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