Enter at Your Own Risk

Taking the leap from one state to another is no simple undertaking, especially when we don't fully understand where we are going to land. In a world of crowded thoughts I battle through the doubt and push aside the questions that hold me back...I close my eyes and jump through the clouds to the new ground below, armed only with the confidence that I will find footing as the air clears. 

This years Songwriting Challenge put on by the SAC finds me at the beginning of another challenge. Seven Day Songs is a commitment I began at the turn of 2015 where I would write and record a song each week for a year. And as I entered week 6 of my challenge, new information and a tidal wave of songwriting energy crashed into more than 100 songwriters here in Canada. 

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can attack without warning, from any angle and rob us of a much needed resource called sleep. But that is a great affliction to have. And if you are like me at all, when it strikes hard...when it bites down into the heart of your mind and wont let go until you reach physical exhaustion...well...for me...that is what I am looking for every time I sit down to write.

When Matt called out his challenge (and I can call him Matt cuz we are such good friends :) ) I did what most of you did. I started listening to the songs he mentioned as inspiration. I turned off my eyes and cranked my ears up loud and laid back basking in the heat of the hooks that other writers have shared with us all. 

As usual, my heart kept reaching out for my guitar, strumming, plucking, switching up keys, spitting out pieces of songs into my mobile phones recording application. I would scat, or mumble melodies over progressions until something stuck with me and compelled me to move to the next step. This is a common approach for me, and has served rather well...so...not long after I began, I stumbled on a hook...

HOW YOU GONNA LIVE YOUR LIFE LIKE THAT?

Regardless of the influences that Matt threw at us, or the ideas he spoke about...I am under a bit of a waterfall myself these days. It feels like gallons falling hard on my head at times as lifes little hiccups sink in and take hold. I started climbing towards the idea of taking risks like so many of the songwriters in this challenge are doing. Putting yourself out there is no easy feat, and my hat is off to every one of you who have pushed your comfort zone further than you thought possible. Way to go. It truly is the secret to growth...but back to my idea.

So my writing efforts with Matt's challenge will continue with my co-writer Rosanne Baker Thornley. We decided we would team up for that challenge as we have already worked together on a number of other tunes that came out sounding pretty good.

Turn - A song about prisoners looking back on the lives they left behind and the regret they had.

And more recently Deeper than Ink...

We have a number of other songs in the can, which is why I am looking forward to getting into the Matt Challenge.

In the meantime...back to my Seven Day Song idea...

We stand on the edge of things. Fears creep in. Our hands shake as nerves rattle and try and stop us from doing something we wouldn't normally do. Our breath quickens, our voice quivers, heartbeat pounds in our throats as beads of sweat form on foreheads and get ready to roll. We shake our heads, we take a step backwards, we second guess the next move we have. Our fists tighten, our eyes narrow as we block out the incoming thought of failure...dry mouth...butterfly stomach...take flight...run away...but sometimes...

We step forward and challenge the risk that stands in our way of leaping from the ledge into the arms of opportunity. We find calm, we focus, we gather strength from the moment and begin thriving on the adrenaline it creates. The corners of our mouths turn up as confident smiles push us over the edge and down to the waiting world below. It is here, in these moments, that new ground is uncovered, that the boundaries previously placed around us are broken and the freedom we experience is limitless. We fall, blindly into the dark...and we not only love it...we live for it.

SAC CHALLENGE SONG #1 - And Seven Day Song #6

HOW YOU GONNA LIVE YOUR LIFE LIKE THAT
LYRICS
copyright 2015 - north easton

CHORUS:
How you gonna live your life like that
How you gonna live how you gonna live it.
How you gonna live your life like that

VERSE:
ON the edge, you stand, ready to jump
And in your head, a plan, to talk with the sun
And then you start, to lean, only live once,
Its hard to breathe, there's nowhere to run

And then you look, you learn, to live with your ghosts,
And then ya fight the urge, to never let go,
And then ya Tell yourself, its under control,
Swallow the fear and the heart in your throat.

CHORUS:
How you gonna live your life like that
How you gonna live how you gonna live it.
How you gonna live your life like that
How you gonna live your life like that

Verse 2:

Your hands, shake, out on the ledge
And then you...tempt fate...and never forget
That every hard day... Full of regret
is a voice in a cage, waiting under your breath

So you Dig deep and look for the lights,
Cuz your cold feet are ready to fly
And ya cut free and follow the fight
When you give what you got and never think twice.

CHORUS:
How you gonna live your life like that
How you gonna live how you gonna live it.
How you gonna live your life like that
How you gonna live your life like

BRIDGE:
ON your own,  you close your eyes
and then you fall forever,
ON your own, you come alive,
and then you fall forever,

Thanks for taking the time to read and listen to this weeks composition.

To check out more, have a look at www.northeaston.ca

Till next time,

North Easton

A E I O U and sometimes...

I wrote a song a couple years ago for my kids called "Starting Today". I was in the middle of a songwriting experiment to write/record and shoot a music video for an original song each week for a year.

Ambitious? 

Hell ya. In fact, after the 4th week of making mainly live videos with some text, I started to up the production value and try to best myself each week. 5 hours of work soon turned into 40 hours of work...all for a fun little project I thought of taking on. Along the way, I forgot to ask myself a very simple question.

I knew what I was doing. I knew where I was going to do it. I knew how I had to put it all together. The when was obvious because my deadline was seven days after the last one. The who...well...me of course. but the Why? Why this?

According to Simon Sinek, Why is the center of the "Golden Circle". The reason we get out of bed in the morning to do what we do. And in fact the majority of people focus primarily on the what, the when, the where and not the why. Think of the question when you first meet someone..
"So...What do you do?"

Simply changing the question to "Why do you do what you do?" creates an internal thought that can lead you to the center of your beliefs, and in truth can instigate a paradigm shift that changes the way you think about your world forever. And although that thought might scare some...it excited the hell out of me.

As a musician, there are many goals we set out to achieve. After the initial marriage with our instrument of choice, we fall in love with the idea of achieving something great with it. Someone in our past, close to us, tells us how good we are. That we could really succeed if only we (blank blank blank)...Oh, take your pick on the blanks.

"You should try out for THE VOICE, American Idol, America's got talent"
"Have you sent your stuff to radio?" I know a guy who knows the president of Sony Records"

Now don't get me wrong...these are good intentions, but sometimes I see other peoples "Why" trying to tell mine what to do, and a great deal (close to all) have not identified that very thing inside themselves. Over the years, parents have pushed their why's on their children instead of helping them find what makes them tick. "you should be a doctor...a lawyer...an accountant.

So where is my why, and what do I do to find it? 

Start from the inside out. Take a pen, a keyboard, a smart phone or an ipad and begin writing down the things you look forward to the most. Things you have found yourself doing when the clock doesn't even seem to exist. Sleep could be chasing you but your passion keeps you miles ahead of it. You know what I am speaking of...but if not...

Maybe it's writing a book, 

                              Or making a movie

  Playing an instrument

Creating something others just have to have  

Or maybe inspiring others to reach levels they never thought possible. 

For me, I revisit the thought of why I do what I do on any given day. I think of my kids and the hope that they will find a purpose at the core of their beliefs. I think back to the song that I wrote in the middle of my challenge and it all seems a little clearer.

Till next time...


North Easton is an award winning songwriter who has composed more than 1000 songs and collaborated with artists all over Canada. His songs have been played on radio, t.v. and in independent films across the country. With 5 full length albums (Garrity and My Favourite Tragedy) including a completely original christmas album, North continues to write daily in search of the hooks that not only are timeless, but get stuck like gum on the shoe of your brain and never let go. (read more)

CONNECTIONS - OTTAWA REGIONAL WRITERS GROUP (session one recap)

Thank you to all who attended our first session of the Ottawa Regional Writers Group.
Below is a recap and itinerary of some of the things we discussed.

ITINERARY

The Mission - The S.A.C. Regional Writers Group Program is designed to provide members who live in all areas of the country with a series of specific songwriting lessons and a network of fellow writers, lyricists and composers. The program is also designed to keep members informed about issues and changes in the music industry, while establishing unity among songwriters everywhere.

What to Expect from ORWG : 

~ Collaboration Opportunities

~ Lesson Plans

~ Guest Speakers

~ Sharing of contacts, networks, information pertaining to the writing process from the beginning of an idea to the full production and promotion of material.

~ Monthly challenges to increase writing skills

~ Performance and critique from fellow writers (P.A. provided)

~ Additional Resources and lending library (for S.A.C. members) 

This sessions topic was all about Connections. 

CONNECTIONS WITH EACH OTHER - 2 min Introductions - 

Each attendee introduced themselves and talked about their experience. We also shared thoughts on what each member was looking for from the group. Please keep in mind, that writers off all experiences are welcome in this group. Even if you are just interested in writing for the first time, or have won awards, you can benefit from the Regional Writers Group.

CONNECTIONS WITH YOUR INNER WRITER - 

Writing from the heart (songs that have to come out..raw)

Crafting a song 

alternate methods of inspiration

the process

structures

rhyming schemes

chord progressions

literary terms (metaphors, similes, alliteration, personification etc.)

tapping into the senses

*We will continue to touch on all of these topics as the upcoming months unfold.

  

CONNECTIONS WITH THE MUSIC INDUSTRY - (we spoke briefly about)

T.V. and Film. Other artists singing your songs. Radio play. Mentorship and connecting with other successful people in the industry. Recording studios vs home studios. Stage performance and more.

*This will be a topic that will continually be spoken about at each session as interest levels increase. 

CONNECTIONS WITH THE FANS - 

Social Media (youtube, facebook, twitter, sound cloud, reverb nation, blogging, website etc)

At a live show 

Email campaigning

The good ole telephone

Skype

Snail Mail

4. SONGWRITING CHALLENGE - One of the primary goals of this group is to encourage the writing of songs, so, each month, we will put forth a songwriting challenge to share at the next session we have. Being that this first session was all about connecting, we have chosen this broad topic of our first songwriting challenge. 

Examples:

Writing about someone you just met or someone you are going to meet.

That look you share across a room with a stranger 

(interest, flirting, challenge, someone that just rubs you the wrong way)

Connections within the world (a story song about people who may have connected along the way…a firefighter rescuing someone to a faithful companion who never leaves your side. )

You could write about something that connects people, like a book that has passed through the hands of many and the impact it has had on each one. 

People who have shared in a common event (from the extreme, like a car crash - to the witnessing of a baby being born..anything goes)  

The intention is to get the creative juices flowing, providing a goal or a deadline to encourage more songwriting action. Do what you can, a verse, a chorus, a bridge if you so desire…and challenge yourself to do something no matter what. 

You may perform this live at our next session, or make a recording to be played in the room in the event you would rather not perform. 

If at any time throughout the month you have any questions about songwriting, the group or the challenge set forth...please feel free to email me directly.

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL NORTH

I look forward to everyones challenge, and spread the word to other writers you know and encourage them to join the Ottawa Regional Writers Group. 

Till next time. 

North Easton

THE NEXT SESSION is November 25th from 7pm-9:30pm at the Sandy Hill Community Centre

North Easton is an award winning songwriter who has composed more than 1000 songs and collaborated with artists all over Canada. His songs have been played on radio, t.v. and in independent films across the country. With 5 full length albums (Garrity and My Favourite Tragedy) including a completely original christmas album, North continues to write daily in search of the hooks that not only are timeless, but get stuck like gum on the shoe of your brain and never let go. (read more)

Great Experience from a Great Experience. (SAC CHALLENGE 2014 Wrap up)

Finding a clear spot on a desk filled with scraps of paper and coffee cups is no easy task. Like the mind, the desk is jumbled, messy, begging for simplicity but the rain of chaos keeps crashing down upon it. Anxious eyes scan words on a screen searching for the inspiration that will make a hand reach for that old guitar hanging on the wall and rise to the challenge set before him. 

Six songs in six weeks. 

When the email came in, I got excited. Hell, I felt like a kid standing in the cereal aisle with the green light to grab whatever I wanted.

And each week, like many of my fellow songwriters, I pushed the clock, searched my mind and heart, and managed to come out the other side of the challenge...not only a better songwriter, but I made some friends, found some co-writers and added a few new songs to my existing catalogue.

The challenge within the challenge was finding the time each week to complete a full song to a level that would leave me smiling at the end of the day. 

With Christopher Ward steering the ship, and a whole crew of Canadian songwriters aboard, I knew I was in for a pretty cool ride.

 Week # 1 had us creating 5 opening lines, song titles and themes that truly inspired us. I draw your attention now to Mr. Matt Gerber.  Title: "A perfect world." An interesting melody gliding over unique chord changes reminiscent of great Beatles songs.


In week # 2, our challenge was to grow our antennae. Have a look at the outside world and pull a song from something we saw or witnessed.

The tragedy of loss is one of the hardest things we as human beings can ever go through. Knowing that we won't see that familiar smile from someone we knew and loved is haunting, and it follows us for our entire lives.  Sharing the pain of that experience is something that some people never have the ability to do. When I heard Lynn Mantles week #2 song, I stopped. My heart slowed down. I felt the pain in her voice and the memories in her lyrics. This is songwriting in its truest form...emotional and impossible to contain. Thank you for sharing Lynn.



Week #3 had us thinking outside of the box. Switching it all up for us.  "Just Go With It" by Jesse Weeks...is a great example of a song not following all the rules of songwriting.  Not only does it have some extremely unique instrument choices, the chord progression and lyrics leave me hanging on every corner of it waiting to see what comes by next.



In Week #4 we were challenged with spinning a cliche in a different direction. Taking the obvious and making it much less so. In all the blogs I read and songs I listened to that week, it was Allister Bradley who caught my attention.  Not only for his song...or his brilliant voice...or the way he tickles the ivories, but his blog captured what the challenge was all about. A great job. I am providing a link here to his blog and you can play his song "It's a Thin Line" from there.

Week # 5 and the world is spinning. Some of us were not only charged, excited and slightly overwhelmed by the challenge, but this was a week where we were able to let go of what was building up  inside our heads. The subconscious.


From the first week when I heard Scott's introduction song up on the SAC Facebook site, I knew this guy had something pretty cool. Great voice, some great guitar skills, good feel and some interesting perspective on songwriting.



We closed everything out in a collaborative effort in week #6. In that experience, my limits were tested, I opened my mind to others ways of working and learned more than I thought I would in this challenge. Thanks to my co-writers, Robert Campbell, Kristine St. Pierre and most certainly Rosanne Baker Thornley. Rosanne truly pushed me the hardest to expand my horizons...and after our sessions over skype, we had a song that would carry itself further than this challenge and into the eyes and lives of many more people.



As a songwriter who thrives on the heart and the honesty of a great song, this experience has not only made me a better writer, but has given me a new outlook on the landscape of Canadian Songwriters. Thank you Songwriters Association of Canada, and Lily Cheng for doing what you do.

Till next time
North Easton

Prison, Superman and the Open Road

You know that moment when you bite into a fresh slice of pizza. The smell of the baked crust as your fingertips cradle that precious triangle like a lizard on a hot rock lifting its feet every couple seconds to avoid the burn. You can feel the heat on the skin of your face as you bring that long awaited deliciousness to your watering mouth. There is a quick light that flickers in your brain...a warning light perhaps? A memory you just can't seem to grab hold of as you are lured by the distraction of melted cheese hiding delectable sauce over cooked dough. Your mouth opens wide as you ease a corner past your lips and over the tongue. Like an anxious puppy getting ready for a walk, your teeth slam down and your eyes roll back for the moment has finally arrived and the reason you are here...on this day...was to eat this very slice of pizza.

But, it's too late. The damage is done. The scalding melted cheese welds itself to the roof of your mouth, your eyes tear up, your nose pushes air out and the previous width of your jaw pales in comparison to the desperate plea for cold air as you breathe in quickly to minimize the pain. The cheese won't let go. Your teeth cannot cut it, so in that moment you are forced to pull more lava into the opening of your face as your eyes scour the room for those who may bear witness to this incredible feat you have just embarked upon. Its a kitchen dance gone bad as you hop from foot to foot shaking the contents of the inside of your mouth back and forth working up the courage to bring that fire down your throat and rescue you from the horrible ending your pizza dream should have seen coming. 

What does this have to do with songwriting?

Instead of picking someone to collaborate with this week...as given to us in the challenge...I took a big bite of hot pizza and ended up collaborating with 3 SAC songwriters. So my blog will be long for those who wander through it.

The three writers I worked with are Rosanne Baker Thornley, Robert Campbell and Kristine St. Pierre.

Song # 1 - TURN written by North Easton and Rosanne Baker Thornley

 This is Jack. He is 41 years old. He was arrested for drug trafficking 8 months ago and he has 3 years and 4 months left in his sentence. The words surrounding the wall behind Jack are his own. A letter to his younger self. A plea of sorts to urge the younger Jack to make better decisions. To stay true and not be swayed by the pressures of those he shares company with. Taken from the letter he wrote to himself..."Get to work Jack, get clean and avoid the madness because you are good enough to live your dreams and not just have them in your sleep"

When I received an email from fellow songwriter in the SAC challenge (Rosanne Baker Thornley) containing a link to Jack's picture and many other prisoners...I was captivated. Drawn in. Our first skype session was a discussion on the idea of writing a song based on the letters these men had written to themselves.

Writing songs is no easy feat. There are so many components to consider in the journey from the music, to the melody, to the words on the page and how they all tie in to a common point in a matter of 3-4 mins. Finding rhymes that aren't expected, using imagery that captivates the mind and pulls the listener into the setting of the song itself, and then the process of building the audio vision and the presentation afterward.  Music is a place where creativity stands hand in hand with formula and patterns, and its in the recreation of these patterns (words, chords, and melody) that original songs are born. I suppose that's why I love it so much. It is a challenge every time. And the challenge began in the first session me and Rosanne had. Our styles, our rhyming patterns, our thoughts on how to convey an idea. In fact, after our first session, I took to the guitar, climbed inside my studio and sent her back an almost completed song. Both of our ideas were in there...in my mind anyway...and I was truly excited about what I had created. Anxious...I sent it off to her...attached the lyrics and waited patiently for her response.

She wrote back"Hey North...Um...I like the first line in the pre-chorus."

My first thought..."This is not going to be as easy as I had hoped" but the challenge is the collaboration. So meeting number 2 over Skype took place. And we both felt that tension and apprehension as we both mentioned our intentions. We battled back and forth and finally like a crunched up ball of paper (my first version)...I slowly opened up to some of her thoughts and ideas and experienced the true magic of what songwriting collaboration is all about. With the barriers down, everything seemed to not only move quicker...but feel great. Each line got stronger as we analyzed it. The song unfolded and when we added the final polish, we had something not only unique and special, we had captured a little of what challenges these prisoners face every day of their lives.

For those of you who have had a chance to listen, or read Rosanne's lyrics...you know she has a great way of putting things together. All of her songs in this challenge have been fantastic and she truly is a pleasure to work with.  It looks like we are also going to carry on and write another song together.

The Turn for us, is the moment you make a decision to go the other way.

Have a listen:

VERSE:

At 17 a boy don't know bout living smart and moving slow

18 notches on the wall...carved em all

Once a year i mark the day 

I should have turned and walked away.

I had the hopes that young men do

not the strength to see them through

I followed blind, across the line, 

took the fall in  someone else's shoes

If I could go back, back to me I'd say.

Chorus:

Look before you follow, Think before you choose

Its not what you gain, Its in everything you lose

Don't forget your feet, you don't have to stay

You can always turn..... and walk away

In the shadow of my youth

I didn't care about  truth

I was desperate to belong

I could've put it right...but I did it wrong.

And the hardest part in the empty dark

is the quiet pain and the fear I face 

If only I could just go back and say

Chorus:

Look before you follow, Think before you choose

Its not what you gain, Its in everything you lose

Don't forget your feet, you don't have to stay

You can always turn... you can always turn...and walk away

My second collaboration session was with Robert Campbell from Nova Scotia. We bounced some ideas back and forth and had sort of settled on a topic in facebook messages and email. We brainstormed on it for a little while and nothing seemed to be clicking the way a song should...in my opinion. Finding the creative words to explain the subject we had chosen...and then Robert mentioned the word super hero. I know...i know...there are so many super hero songs out there.

And some really good ones. Five for Fighting (it's not easy), Crash Test Dummies (supermans song), 3 Doors Down (Kryptonite)...But at the very least it started the creative juices flowing. We visualized superman staring down at the world wanted to hang up his cape and just lay on some beach somewhere. Grow his hair long...maybe pickup the guitar. But no matter what the song metaphored...the idea itself was as basic as the desire for "THE SIMPLE LIFE"

And then lyric after lyric seemed to find the paper. The verse, the chorus, the bridge, the melody. Robert has a great thought process. He brainstorms well and seems to be neck deep in music. Much respect... And despite our many disconnections through Skype...we collaborated well together and turned out a pretty neat little song in a very short period of time. 

Give it a spin.

THE SIMPLE LIFE written by North Easton and Robert Campbell

Verse:

Maybe I'm just another superman

Standing on the edge of the world looking down

I don't wanna fall, when the fear gets too much

I don't wanna crash into the waiting crowd.

Im tired of facing the same old situations

Gotta get there in the nick of time

I wanna day, give me some space

I wanna sleep straight through the night

Chorus: 

If I had the simple life

I'd sit and celebrate

And in the quiet I would close my eyes and drift away

I'd spend my time in the sun

I would always be young

If only i could taste the simple life

Verse: 

IM sick of chasing those higher expectations

When I never reach the finish line

I'd settle for less, if the rest of the world 

would see that we'll never make it out alive (chorus)

Bridge:

If I could just take off this cape

Give myself a break

Take my time and Save the world another day

But I wont...no i wont.. damn i wont

Chorus

My third collaboration session was in person with Ottawa SAC member Kristine St. Pierre. Kristine drove twice out to my studio in Rockland (25 mins out of Ottawa heading east). We knew of each other over the years as the Ottawa Music Scene is not huge. 

When we sat in the get to know you part of our collaboration, we stumbled upon a common thread between us. A friend of ours. A woman who we both have known for years. I taught her children guitar, she watched over my little ones before as well. She truly is a remarkable person with a great spirit and beautiful heart. There was also another thread between us all as well. We had all lost our mothers.  There is a place in the mind that all of us go to in the hard and trying times of our worlds. Its a place where we lean upon the words and actions of others. They give us energy, advice, hope, belief in something bigger than the everyday. When your mother is gone...that place is harder to find sometimes. I know for me, thankfully, that songwriting allows me to not only feel and see my mother everyday, but it also allows me to share her world, memories and more with my children and as many others as I can. 

Our common friend, walks. She walks for more than just the exercise. Their is a purpose to her steps. Perhaps to find solace in the beauty of nature. Maybe its to breathe in the air from the country side or to raise awareness for causes such as the afflictions that take our loved ones far too early. 

How could this not be the subject matter of our Collaboration. 

When you know what you are writing about, words flow much easier and the song took shape quickly. It is not a song about pain, or pity...It is intended as an inspiration...a song to empower the faith of the lives we live and where we come from. And no matter what happens to us, no matter how hard we are pushed, or how much suffering we endure.. the words that keep pushing back against the challenges that try and knock us down....I'm Still here!

I'M STILL HERE written by North Easton and Kristine St. Pierre

Intro:
Alone on the road in the rain
And she walks with the light again
I'm still here

Verse:
And the sound of the city, Somewhere behind
And all the crowded cars, scream by
In a blinding race, Every step I take

Up comes the dust, Down comes the rain
Fight through the fire ,Calling her name
And suddenly she's, SHouting out...

Chorus:
Im still here


Verse 2
Hard Thoughts, hit me like a brick wall
never let the pain get through from a memory
and everything in front of me
Is like a gun shot, loaded and going off
Fight back but i'm still drowning in honesty
Draining my energy

I'm still here

Bridge:
When it comes to the heart and the courage it takes
All the fear and the worry you faced
And the words that I still hear you speak

And in the dark when i feel myself break
its the road where I go and...You save me

I'm still here..

As the snow slips into the drain pipes on the broken streets, the grass and the trees start waking up from a long winter slumber. The Birds, and the squirrels, and the feet of people everywhere breathe in the outside air...and sadly...because of the turning of the seasons...that little nasty flu bug sidelined my co-writer this morning and the song we intended on releasing took an extra day.

I look forward to sharing it with you all...and many more songs as the challenge to write a song a week continues for North Easton. I have enjoyed this challenge immensely, and the people in it are truly an inspiration to me and the future SAC songwriters.

I will post "I'm still here" tomorrow.

Till next week
North Easton

One Night - SAC Challenge 2014 Trusting the Subconscious

      Trusting the subconscious.

ONE NIGHT-WEEK #5

There is so much happening behind the curtain of our conscious selves. From blinking eyes to beating hearts, the breath that fills our lungs to the yawn that takes us over when we see someone else do the same. It's true that we can play around with trying to control these functions of our bodies...but they don't need us meddling in the everyday actions of their routine. If we were truly aware of every experience we undergo, every conversation we over hear, every little detail we unravel in our memories...there is a good chance we would all be lost in the labrynth of our minds making communication in the outside world almost impossible.

The subconscious songwriter is a pretty magical thing. I am sure I am not the only one who has sat down with a guitar or at a piano and wrote an entire tune as if someone was dictating what to say. In fact the first 100 songs I wrote primarily came out that way. I was protective of them, as if they were works of art that someone had painted and to change them or touch them in any way was against the laws of nature. I do miss those early songs, and the simplicity of how they came about.

The week before music became my life's passion, I was sitting in my video game store. I had purchased it a few years before and during the days things were kinda slow, so I sat in the back staring up at the monitor just in case a customer came in. On the desk in front of me was an open book. Empty pages waiting patiently for me and my guitar to write something new. In this challenged state, I spent 2 hours writing a song called "Broken". My defeat and lack of joy behind the counter of a store when all I really wanted to do was play music, was captured in a song that my brain had put together over the last couple months. The song was in a minor. It was slow...and heartwrenching, and when I reached the end of its creation, I was at the bottom of the ladder. I needed something to pick me up. It was in that moment that I had decided to sell the store and pursue music full time. I spent the next 25 minutes writing a song that would not only be on my first album, but be the lead track, win me the Bear's Rock Search and soon be charting across Canada. 

I was much younger than...for those that know me now. This was filmed in 1998...and well..youtube didn't come out till 7 years later. 

Now back to the subconscious. I am a firm believer that much of what we say, and almost all of what we write is coming from the subconscious. Put together nights, weeks, months and even years before. Its the reason it flows out of us sometimes. It has already been written.

This weeks song came to me out of an actual experience and as I reflected and took part in daily writing...I tapped into all kinds of things from this week and the past that related to the idea.

ONE NIGHT - is the title.

Sometimes we only need to catch up on sleep to put everything back together. I say it to my kids when they wake up in a bad mood...I feel it in myself when I burn the candle and push too hard. The brain is no different than the physical effects we feel in forms of aches and pains...and like our muscles and joints...it needs to not only recuperate...but reprogram and file away the thousands of events that happen to us everyday. If we push to hard, our brain like our bodies and cars need fuel...and coincidentally...this weeks song was written after I ran my vehicle out of gas.

Now you might be wondering, how does one do that. There are warning signs, lights, sounds to remind you. There is a reserve in the tank that should get you to where you are going. And the funniest thing about this running out of gas scenario...its not the first time I have done it. In my life, it has happened 5 times. I have established the primary reason it happens, and a few secondary's. The main reason  is a positive thing. It centers on my belief. I believe I wont run out before I get to the next station. So i push it...to the limit. I'm cocky and think that it won't happen to me...until it does. 

The tow truck that came (i had young children in the car to witness this...lol...proud moment) took almost 2 hours to arrive. I would have walked, but this was on a highway and my kids that were with me are 7 and 9...and for the first time in my life, I had recently purchased CAA. They were hook me up. But two hours? When the guy arrived, I walked up to his Cab trying to speed the process up. You see they give you 10 liters of gas to get you to the next station. As I neared the drivers door, I

saw something quite strange indeed. You see this guy's tow truck was a flat bed. And pinned up against the back on the flat bed itself...scared shitless...was a tiny little cat. On the outside. Shaking, scared...and probably just used up a few of its lives on the 60 minute trip it just took to come and rescue me. The driver was completely unaware that he had a stowaway.

Now what happened next was nothing short of comical. As he went to the compartment on the outside of his truck to retrieve the Gas Container...it was nowhere to be found. This guy travelled 60 minutes to come give me gas...and he brought no gas! 

These are moments when laughter is the only weapon you have. So he hoisted me and my kids up on to the flatbed and drove us to the nearest station.

Even tho, my bad day was nowhere near as bad as this guys...Sometimes staying in bed, seems like a much better idea. Hence the reason for this weeks song.

                            

Thanks for listening, and reading. 

Appreciate it.

North Easton

One Night - North Easton

I don't wanna wait for another bad day to find me
Every time I look there's another closed book behind me
Open up the shutters no I won't get up
Take away my covers but I won't get up
I don't wanna face another bad day
Inside me

One night to clear my head
I'm too tired to make it out of bed
Stuck in the middle of a life that just wont change

One Night to let things go
Too many times I am woah
Stuck in the middle of a riddle I can't escape
Stuck in the middle of a riddle I got, and yes little less thought about the things that make me go.

I dont wanna think about the chase, I dont wanna waste a minute
Focused on the finish line
But everytime i see the same old day after day I stop and
settle for the red light
Roll over but I wont get up
Start over but I wont get up
I dont wanna wait for another bad day to find me.

One night to clear my head
I'm too tired to make it out of bed
Stuck in the middle of a life that just wont change

One Night to let things go
Too many times I am woah
Stuck in the middle of a riddle I can't escape
Stuck in the middle of a riddle I got, and yes little less thought about the things that make me go.

I keep falling..Somebody..catch me. Somebody Catch me
I keep falling...somebody slow me down x2

Suddenly Love is - SAC Challenge Week # 4 The Cliche

There are two kinds of people in this world...

Those who write a cliche into their songs, and those who write many cliche's in their songs. (Check out this collection of TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE movie clips)

An original idea is extremely hard to achieve. Take the image above for example. If you look up love in Google images, you will find countless pictures of silhouetted couples kissing... Although we love great ideas, and new things, we feel comfortable ordering the same food, buying the same clothes, telling the same stories to different people day after day.

My father always told me "That good guys finish last" "You only live once" "If the shoe fits...wear it" "Dont hold your breath" "Quit while you're ahead" "Better late than never" "It never hurts to try"...and "never play leapfrog with a unicorn"

K that last one wasn't his...in fact none of them were, but when I hear or read these expressions, I think of him. A cliche is a very powerful tool in writing, and Christopher Ward "Hit the nail on the head" when he spoke of the importance of a cliche in a hit song. Upon further research...every hit song has a cliche in it...if not many. Think of the ironic cliche of Nickelbacks Rockstar. Nickelback who rose to fame and impacted so many singers with an original voice and great tunes...and then...cliche after cliche song that has turned most of the music world against them. This very song here lists all of the cliches around being a rockstar...which Chad Kroeger now has (hockey rink inside his house in the bastment...studio out back) and of course 56 million views on the video alone. Cliche's work. The big challenge is writing something original around the cliche that makes it stand out.





So for me...this week...I listened...I read...I looked around...and settled on a familiar cliche starting with "LOVE IS". Christopher himself used this in a hit song for Alanah Myles. Brilliant...so why not start there...I thought. Also sticking with last weeks journey...I decided to start this song with the chorus

Suddenly Love is

Chorus:

Suddenly Love is, love is just a place

Suddenly love is love is just another word that you cant explain

Love is love is just a face

That you can't erase 

Verse:  

Lips press down on a cigarette

light another up and you take a breath you

cough and close your eyes and  focus

Climb into the car in the parking lot

Look into the mirror with the same old thought

will anybody even notice

Foot to the floor, and the race is on

Try and get away from a ticking bomb

Drive into the dark before the world it closes (Chorus)

Chorus:

Suddenly Love is, love is just a place

Suddenly love is love is just another word that you cant explain

Love is love is just a face

That you can't erase 

Lost in the riddle of the radio

Heart beat pounds against your throat

Its hard as hell to See the signs  

Flashback  flickers, painful pictures, 

Time is quicker, everytime you wait...for the right..

Time..

And the red light, turns white...You can't stop...

or change your mind...You are caught between 

the faded yellow lines... 

  

Bridge:

Honestly its Hard to breathe,  I see your ghost

Slip into a  memory, cant let go

Honestly Its Hard to breathe breaking glass, the empty street,

the faded past is Out of reach, fear is taking hold

-------------------------------------------------------

I tried to use as many cliche's as possible without stepping on the potential of the song. They are bolded above.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and listen to the tune.

"Until next time" "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" "Another day another dollar" "Always look on the bright side of life"...and blah blah blah.

Cheers everyone
North