Have any of you ever heard of Google Analytics? This is a very handy add-on you can program into a site that gives you piles of useful statistic about the hits to your site. Nothing specific to the individual but just cities you're getting hits from, how people are getting to your site (a link from facebook/twitter, directly, google search, etc...), how many times pages are being hit, etc... It's extremely interesting handy.
I've had some person in Russia hitting my site occasionally so if that's you e-mail me (myfighttowrite@gmail.com) as I don't know anyone in Russia.
The reason I mention this is because every time I say something about my girlfriend Sam, or put up a photo, the hits for that page usually quadruple (or more) my usual average amount of hits. So I'm wondering if maybe my readers are more interested in Sam than they are in my writing. I do understand this as I'm more interested in Sam than my writing most of the time and then when I am writing I'm most often writing about Sam anyway.
Nonetheless, today is the test.
Here is Sam's current favourite picture of me, taken while we were hiking the Na Pali Coast on the west side of Kauai, Hawaii, earlier this month. Yes, I know - I'm a modest fellow.
Come on people, let's see if I can get as many hits for this photo as I get when I write about Sam or put up a photo of her.
... ... ...
Of course, I'm just being stupid. But I don't think I joke around enough on my blog. Yesterday's post had a poor attempt at humour but I'm certainly a guy who likes to laugh and make people laugh (even if they're laughing at me) and my music doesn't reflect this side of me.
So onto actual creative stuff. Here are a couple of acoustic ideas I wrote today. Let me know what you think.
Remember that if you don't already have an e-mail address for me you can e-mail me at myfighttowrite@gmail.com and show me some love.
As I write this a fairly new but already cherished friend of my, Janice MacLeod, is leaving LA for an indefinite period. Early on in our friendship I adopted the nickname for her of "Blog Mama" (she coined the term) as she provided the inspiration and encouragement that led me to finally bite the bullet and get this blog started after shrugging off the idea for quite a while. For this I shall be eternally grateful and indebted to her.
Janice and I after matzo ball soup and splitting a grilled cheese/tomato at Izzy's Diner in Santa Monica last week
She has a great blog - After The Artists Way - which you should follow as she's very interesting and entertaining and is heading off on an exciting world trip, pursuing inspiration and clarity for writing (plus a whole lot of fun I'm sure).
It's been fantastic to connect with an artist and a person who is so like-minded and so talented. I will miss her very much. But I wish her all the very best in this new chapter of her life. I'm just thankful the world is getting smaller and smaller by the day. I don't know how people such as my grandparents went through 3 years of separation, just after they met, with only "snail" mail (sent by sea at that) to stay in contact. What frustration! I'm very glad to live in this technologically advanced era.
Sam and I gave her a card and in it I wrote this impromptu poem - my first attempt at Hallmark-style comedy, although I would remove the profanity for an actual Hallmark card I imagine. The "..." is where you would open the card. I expect as an actual card it would entail some crazy-looking cartoon fellow acting out the lines of the poem, in the typical cliché card fashion. Looking very romantic and serious on the front...then humorous on the inside. I'll leave that to your imaginations.
As you step into a new unknown
Along the path your heart has shown
You may face times when you feel alone
But when you do just think...
I'm having a fairly uncommon run of being unwell since arriving in LA. I'm not completely feeling myself as a result, and I'm not keeping up with my blog. I have little more to say today, but I will say that I'm loving being in LA and that everything is going great...seemingly my sinuses and bowels (sorry - I know, too much info. but that's just me for those who know me) don't seem to feel the same enthusiasm. They'll adapt I'm sure.
The Swing
I'm on the swing
Hanging from this old tree in my mind
So clear and yet so far behind
Flight on unfeathered wing
The rise slows
Suspended stomach sinks, sort of unexpected
Those black-eyed undead resurrected
Down the swing goes
Soon I'll rise
But not until the bottom's hit
Climbing higher, slowly, bit by bit
And then I realise
The first of the two ideas I've been wanting to turn into a short song. I've been working on some lyrics and here they are. Hopefully I'll get something recorded tomorrow.
It may seem cliché to work with the "life's a journey not a destination" adage but the fact is that it has become a cliché because it's so true. That's often the way with clichéd sayings. I'm hoping to make the song a fun little moment of getting across an idea that's common but too often ignored or not understood.
Destination: Every Day
I remember the time when I
Thought I'd reached the end of the line
But it turned out I had to make a change to stay
Moving toward a brighter day
Endless travelling with my heavy load
Was hard when I didn't how far I had to go
But right when I thought I may just give it away
The destination became every day
So now I just enjoy the ride
And leave behind the tears I've cried
The train keeps moving and the destination's by your side
The first thing to say today is a big thank-you to my brothers as without them I wouldn't have had guitars to write the 11 songs I've written in the past 7 weeks, as my guitars have been on a boat from London to Los Angeles. I got my younger brother (my LA brother) Luke's guitar yesterday so I got back onto some writing.
So as you know I was in Hawaii last week and while there Sam and I did a fair bit of listening to Bob Marley, as we often do. We love the Legend "best of" album as do most but also like to delve a little further back to early Wailers tracks like their 1970 release Soul Rebel, which Sam had playing in the car when she picked me up for our first date. It subsequently got a little mention in the first verse of My First Night On The Town at the 23 second mark.
So it's time for a Bob Marley & The Wailers history lesson as I need you to know what my new song might sound like if it was more than me and a guitar.
In 1971 The Wailers released this track, "Cheer Up", and it is the basis of the feel of my new song.
In 1974 on Bob Marley's first "solo" album as Bob Marley & The Wailers (the original Wailers - Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer - had decided to pursue solo projects) called "Natty Dread" he opens with this track, "Lively Up Yourself", and it's another I reference for this new song.
I want you to imagine there are backing vocals similar to those on the above tracks, such as where you see in brackets in my lyrics "But we got our love" (I know, bad English, but that's reggae) which would be sung by back-up vocalists something like the guitar line I play at that point in the song.
So I hope all that helps you hear this song as is intended, particularly considering this is another of my dodgy computer microphone recordings. If not I hope you learnt something about the legend, Bob Marley.
When You’re By My Side
Walk with me darling tonight
Walk with me darling tonight
Walk with me, talk with me, under staring sky
Coz I am always smiling when you’re by my side
Sit with me baby tonight
Eat with me baby tonight
Fish, fruit or noodles – whatever you like
Coz when you’re next to me I’m always satisfied
Ain’t got much in the bank (But we got our love)
Ain’t got no big name brands (But we got our love)
Coz there’s no big price tag that can buy this love
So drink with me darling tonight
Let’s dance coz this music’s so right
Nothing else matters, this moment is life
And life is always heaven when you’re by my side
Ain’t got much in the bank (But we got our love)
Ain’t got no big name brands (But we got our love)
Coz there’s no big price tag that can buy this love
I've not been very with it today. It seems I'm coming down with something. A lot of sneezing, sore puffy eyes, sinus headache, chronically lethargic, all that stuff.
I sat on the couch to check my e-mail 10 minutes before planning to leave to see my friend Janice, which I was very excited about, and proceeded to have moment of extreme narcolepsy and an hour and half later woke up in the exact spot I was sitting, having rudely stood her up. For those who know us Jones's, suddenly falling asleep is a trait at least my brother Luke and my Mum share, but I'm not normally as bad and was very annoyed with myself that I could've just dropped off to sleep without even a hint of warning to give me time to think "you better set an alarm, you're falling asleep".
Nothing can be done about it now. Janice knows I'm sorry. And I guess the least I can do for Janice in consolation is keep mentioning Janice's name and Janice's Blog with endless links to it to encourage anyone who reads this to go there and show her some love and support after my grossly bad effort standing her up today. Please take a look. She's funny, interesting, and I love her latest post (as always).
So to refer now to my blog title - I was already feeling flat and this situation made me feel worse. Later I saw Sam and after a walk and dinner I felt more positive, so I picked up my Dad's new Ukulele (which he hasn't even gotten yet - thanks Dad) and started playing.
It turns out Ukulele's are always happy. You can't write sad, down songs on the Ukulele. I couldn't help but feel cheered up. I also think being creative just cheers me up. So here are some ideas I was playing with. I think I better get some sleep and hope I feel better tomorrow.
By the time I finish my next trip back to Australia in late June it will be nearly 14 months since I've spent more than 3 months living in one country. Furthermore I've not spent more than 6 weeks straight living in the same house in these cities. I've basically been a vagabond living out of a suitcase.
This has left me a little unsure of where home is. I've listened to the Micheal Buble song "Home" a lot over this time and the song always touches me, but where I imagine home to be has changed a number of times. Certainly Perth has previously been the "home" I've thought of but that has been changing over the past 9 months or more.
I've realised that home is no longer a geographic destination for me. It's just the place where I feel settled and at peace inside and, even more simply, the place I don't want to leave. This place I now know is simply wherever Sam is. For now that is LA. I know the location will change in the future, but the closest company I keep every day I'm "home" will not.
I've written a poem about this. Obviously "we" and "us" is Sam and I.
Home
Home will always be a place
Where peace and joy and love embrace
But right now for me home's not defined
By set geography or time
It's simply where we both are now
And whenever this life will allow
Us to be at each others side
Home is where I'll be tonight
I now think that a minimum of 8 days of no computer and phone off has to become a yearly ritual. It was nice to just disappear for a while and relax with the one I love. Maybe it's time I shared a photo. Here is one of Sam and I on the viewing platform for Wilua Falls, Kauai, Hawaii. You can't see a lot of the falls but it's not the most beautiful thing in the photo anyway...
...Sam is.
Needless to say our time in Hawaii was incredible. But this isn't a travel blog, so on with the creative stuff.
It's Valentine's Day so of course I have a Valentine's Day poem. I've tried to approach this particular poem (I wrote a few for Sam with Valentine's Day in mind) from the perspective of it being suitable for a Valentine's Day card. I'd be interested to know if you would buy a card with this written in it. Feel free to respond "Sorry, too cheesy for me." - although I think it can be said that most Valentine's Day cards are pretty cheesy.
I hope you have a great Valentine's Day, full of love and precious quality time.
My One And Only Valentine
Please say today that you'll be mine
Please say you'll be my Valentine
The one that's meant to be for me
The one that sets my spirit free
For since we met that fateful night
There's been a fire burning bright
Inside me that only burns for you
It's like my soul was born anew
Every day I've felt this great love grow
And this is why I surely know
I'll love you 'til the end of time
My one and only Valentine
It's finally here - the holiday I wrote about in the song, Take A Holiday, that features in the video at the bottom.
I'm in Sydney Airport as I write - converting, editing and uploading the video. I'm 2 hours through the 6.5 hours I have to kill in this airport. Luckily, I'm never short of things to do.
So I'm just a matter or hours from arriving in Hawaii and then just have a few more hours to kill before meeting Sam which, as you would expect if you know her or have read the post I wrote about her, I'm EXTREMELY excited about. But I won't embarrass her with my gushing any more than I already have. Needless to say it's going to be an unbelievably amazing 8 days I'm quite certain.
I've been trying to get my song for the week written and keep up with my blog but despite having many ideas running through my head the time required to actually get ideas developed into songs or poetry simply hasn't happened. I want to keep up my song a week goal but as I've written 10 songs in not quite 6 weeks now I'm far enough ahead of the game to cut myself a little slack for once. And those who know me will understand how much I suck at cutting myself slack.
I played at The Indi Bar in Scarborough on Thursday night and it was a good feeling to be there playing my own songs, rather than someone else's writing, or cover tunes, as I used to do there back in 2001. It was a similar feeling with my Mojo's gig last Monday. I've played original music there before, but not my own. It's a great feeling to know I've written nearly as many songs in the past 12 weeks I wrote in the past 2 years. (Well, in longer actually. But I don't want to embarrass myself too much.) And furthermore, that I've now played them live for people's enjoyment. If you watch the video from Mojo's you can hear at the end some people singing along with the chorus. That was amazing to hear, particularly as it was the first time anyone had heard the song. It's a sign of things to come.
Here's a video of Take A Holiday from my solo spot on Thursday night at the Indi Bar. Enjoy and I'll be back to blogging from Feb 14th. I think it stands to reason I'll have something to post on Valentine's Day...
I'm very sorry but I can't get the video to convert properly. I've converted a number of times a number of different ways and there it always comes out with image playing in slow motion. So you'll have to check back here another time, after my holiday is over, and I've had time to work this out. I'll put a link back to here on a new post once I've got the video onto YouTube. I'm bummed, but nothing can be done now...
Although being busy, sleeping at different houses, going through a band break up and trying to get money earned is keeping me away from my blog more than I'd and generally stifling my creativity it's been a positive week as I've played my new music live. Not only that but at venues where I had previously done original gigs but not playing songs I'd written. It feels good to be back at these venues after between 6 and 10 years and be playing my own music at last, and also music that I'm really enjoying playing.
I did expect to have the song I wrote last week recorded by now but not only can I not sing and play it well enough but I can't even play the picking pattern on it's own well enough to post just the music. I'll have to post it another time. I should probably post the picking pattern played really slow and then show you how it progresses with practice.
Here are some photo edits from tonight's Indi Bar gig. Enjoy.
Sometimes every obstacle seems to come at once. Right now some of the biggest things that get in the way of my writing are happening at once. Inconsistent living arrangements, impending travel arrangements and band dramas. Hence, my inconsistent blog entries. I have been writing though. I'm just less focused, less relaxed and clear-minded and not getting the big blocks of time that I need to get done what I want to do with my blog.
But I'm here now, and that's what really counts. I'll make up for my absence in the next few days.
My first solo gig at Mojo's Bar last night went well. Here is a video of the last song I played called "Hey (I Am Here For You Every Day)" with a special thanks to Arun on percussion for making the gig something extra special for me. I think I will get Arun to feature on my upcoming recordings. What do you think? (i.e. comment below...)
I've also written this poem to commemorate the night and my new direction in music now that The Stuns has been suddenly reduced to just being a guitarist and his computer, due to Ed (the drummer) and I not wanting to work with him anymore but him claiming the name. If you "like" The Stuns on Facebook I advise you show your support for Ed and I by "unliking" them and liking my new Facebook Artist page or Ed's YouTube page. We'll make a new band name sometime soon and continue on with some indie-rock.
I Found My Mojo
It feels real good to say I found my mojo
And it was where I first expected it to be
I didn't find it trying to be something
I found it simply trying to be me
So when you feel confusion and frustration
Trying to be what you're told is cool
The best thing you can do is just keep working
And not be dragged down by the words of try-hard fools
