Roots, Blues, Rawk
Hey y’all
Here is my offering for this weeks Song a week challenge. It’s called “Golden Rules”. I’ve been listening to lots of old school sounding R n B lately and this was born out of that. Looking forward to working this one with the band. Don’t forget to visit my pal , Tom Savage’s page to check his song of the week as well!
Golden Rules
Hi folks,
Here is week 13. I think we’ve all met the guy in this song somewhere. I’m pretty sure I’ve even seen him in the mirror once or twice. It’s called Ain’t Gonna Lay Down No More. I spent very little time on the recording of it cause that’s the kind of mood i’m in today. Here tis:
also here’s a cool pic my friend Yannick Lambert sent me from my show in Donnacona Quebec.
Have a great week!
Hey folks,
Here’s another installment of the song-a-week-challenge for you. This week’s tune is called “I am The Storm”. I’ve been wanting to write this tune since Memphis. I met a fellow there in my venue during the blues challenge….he and I had quite a nice chat. Lots in common musically. A few things we didn’t have in common though….he lost his wife, son and father and a few other horrible things that happened to him. His home town was blown away by a tornado. I don’t know if those two things are related but that’s how I put the tune together. All of the words are culled form things he told me in one way or another. Maybe someday when I’m not so damn lazy I’ll post some words. This tune was almost called “The Ballad of Vinnie C.” Not sure why it isn’t as I don’t even like the chorus. Who knows, maybe it’ll get switch up in the future. Anyhow, without further pause….
Hey all,
well after missing two weeks on this challenge I’m back in the saddle. Before I get into my description of this weeks number I want to encourage you to get over to Tom Savage’s interweb space and check his latest offering. I was in Kingston playing and Tom and I finally got to meet in person after a couple years of bromancing on the internet sharing gig ideas etc. He’s a great dude and has been super helpful to me and after meeting him I’ve realized we’re cut form the same cloth. He’s also out there making it happen and I take my hat off to him. He also has a special guest on his tune this week…hint hint. Get on over there and show him some love.
Ok so I’ve been solo touring in Ontario since I got back from my awesome trip playing in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. This time of year, and this solo trip, is special to me because it marks my anniversary of being a full time, self-employed, muscianeer. I always get nostalgic and sappy when I’m up here because I’m so grateful for my wonderful life full of generous loving people. It’s these peeps that keep me going and make it all possible for me. SO….this weeks song if for y’all. An homage to anyone and everyone who has ever helped out, whether it’s gigs, places to crash, food to eat, advice…WHATEVER…there are so many folks. I’m fortunate to have a wonderful fan base and friends and family that are crazy enough to support me so selflessly. I thank and love y’all. Here’s YOUR tune…”Shine My Soul”.
Hey y’all
Man this challenge is hard to do on the road. Shit! I drove from NB to Toronto arriving late afternoon. Checked into my hotel, checked my messages and then wrote and recorded this tune. It is by far the fastest and sloppiest I’ve posted a tune from zero to website. So, that down side is, I didn’t spend much time on takes. This was the 3rd i think. I don’t feel comfortable belting it our full volume in my hotel room so I just committed. I’d like to re-record this one at some point and give er a proper go. Anyhow, this one is inspired by my new guitar I got. It’s a mustard yellow 61 re-issue Epiphone SG. It has P-90 pick ups which i typically hate but these sound ok. It was cheap! I wanted something I wouldn’t cry over if it got ruined in Mexico (i leave in the am). It is such a nasty colour that I named her Ugly Juanita after a bar in Memphis. Once I got in the hotel room here I started thinking about my trip and then “pop”, out came this tune and what do you know, the woman’s name is Juanita. I don’t know what will happen next week as I’ll be in Mexico. I’ll try and find a way to get something up on here. Worst case scenario I post it when I get home mid week before I start my solo tour dates here in Ontario….Here tis, Hope you dig.
Hey folks
Whew! Got er done! by late this afternoon I was starting to think I wouldn’t have time to write and record a tune for today but I managed to pull it out of the hat! This is another blues. I think Clarksdale is still on my skin so you may get a few more blues tunes yet before I move on. This one is called “Written in Stone”. I also wrote the first verse at the shack i rented in Clarksdale. On my last night there. Just like it says. I put a little slap back and distortion on in the “mix” to get it a little grittier. Anyhow, here tis…I hope you dig it. (don’t forget to check out my pal Tom Savage‘s weekly song posts too!)
WRITTEN IN STONE
Hi y’all
so I missed last week. Hey thats how it goes. I WAS is Memphis the week before, after all, so I was sorta distracted : )
I didn’t wanna miss this week though and I thought I was going too but I sat down tonight to hash out and idea that hit me on the porch of the Robert Clay Shack Wednesday Morning last week.
I was having my morning coffee and anyone who knows me knows I’m a coffee snob. There is no excuse to serve or drink poor tasting coffee. Anyway, as I was soaking up the last few hours of Clarksdale I thought of the main idea for this tune. It’s a straight up Blues which is a nice tribute to the area I was in AND I haven’t written a straight up blues for quite some time. So, without any further adieu, This weeks song is called Black Coffee. It’s a straight up John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, Morgan Davis rip off. Hope you dig…..
BLACK COFFEE
Hey everyone,
Well I won’t lie, I’m starting to feel the pressure of this challenge. It can get VERY daunting in a busy week to clear my head and sit down to try and write. Last week was crazy for me, what with getting ready for my Memphis fundraiser which was Wednesday (Thanks to all who came out to that, what a wonderful time!). Because of the Wednesday show we rehearsed Tuesday which is usually my writing day. So I was tripping to say the least…WHEN WILL I WRITE!!! OH MY GOD MY SCHEDULE IS OFF!!!! I’m slightly (big time) OCD so when my routine is messed up I freak out a bit (a lot). Anyhow I found hanging at the Dolan’s Band house to be just what I needed (cue the CARS tune) and had no trouble getting my work done. I liked this tune so much I brought it to the band Saturday and we started working out an arrangement. I recorded a little more country version Saturday and then we had another go at it yesterday. I like the energy of yesterdays so that’s what I’m posting. I messed up at some point though so I edited together two takes. All you audio geeks can have a listen and see if you can tell me where the edit is.
This song is tentatively titled “Heart Break Apart”. We’ll see if it stays that way. I usually like to beat people to the comparisons (musicians LOVE hearing “you know who you sound like” ; P ) by telling you what I hear but this week I don’t have much…if it reminds me of anything it would be a Widespread Panic kinda groove it think…I hope you dig it….
Heart break Apart by rossneilsen
Don’t forget to head over to Tom Savage’s interweeb house and check his out too!
Yours in RAWK,
Ross
Hey errr’body!
So it’s Monday and that means it’s time to post the second installment of Song of The Week Challenge. This week’s tune is called “What Love Has Done”. It’s much different than last week’s tune. It’s more of a Leon Redbone, Mississippi John Hurt vibe, if you will. I hope you dig it. Don’t worry too much if you don’t hear the references I’m comparing these songs to. It’s all about what YOU hear. It doesn’t matter if it’s the same thing I hear or feel. I mean, it’s only music after all!
I’m loving all the comments too so keep it up with the feedback. Last weeks tune got so much positive feedback I think I’m going to take the song to the band and work it up proper. I’d like to remind you that these tunes are the rough demo’s and skeletons of what they may or may not become. Try to get past the LOW-FI quality and check the tune. I noticed Tom’s been posting lyrics too. If folks want, I can do the same. Just let me know. Your wish is my command!
If you’ve missed it, my pal Tom Savage has posted his song of the week as well. Dig it right HERE.
Here’s this weeks tune, (only 50 more to go!!!)
WHAT LOVE HAS DONE
What love has done by rossneilsen
Hey y’all
well I just had a nice visit from my pal Tommy Green Jr (formerly of TELFER) and we had a good catch up. Tom’s been working the cruise ships so I haven’t seen him in a while so it was nice to see what he’s been up too!
After he left I realized it’s Monday and that means I’m supposed to upload my song for the first week of The Song a Week Challenge. Tom Savage already put his up. Check it out here. He mentioned a few similar things that I’ve also noticed about this major exercise we’re doing. For me I’ve decided to do this so it forces me to work more on the craft of songwriting. Even thinking about it more helps. You make a point to write down words and melodies so you don’t forget them. I’m stoked that we’re attempting this and excited to see what comes out of it. I think the important part is to try. You know? Just making the effort here to be more creative and not worry about how a song fits a band or anything. Just write a song. Any song. Good or bad. It’s all going to help me get better at the craft.
Anyhow, This weeks song is titled Year of Tears (tomorrow never comes). It’s kind of a Commodores meets Prince meets Jackson Brown thing i guess. It’s about an experience I had seeing a close friend for the last time before he lost his fight with Cancer. I was going to try and get a better recording of it but I just didn’t find the time. This is the first recording I did. It’s clips a little (meaning the record level was too hot and it distorts) here and there but the vocal phrasing was superior to the second version so I’m going with this one. Not sure yet if I like it but my girl does so that’s a good sign! Here it is….if you’re going to comment, please TRY and be nice.
Here’s The Link to my Song of the week Challenge Week One…(only 51 more to go!) Link is in Red Below. If you’re going to share please share the blog page not just the tune so people know what the hell is going on!
Year of Tears Tomorrow Never Comes (clips) by rossneilsen
