So, what kind of music do you make?

One of the incredibly delightful parts of getting back into the music biz is describing and defining your sound; what kind of music do you make?

Well, what is my Sound?

Not that long ago I'd of just said Rock music, and those who grew up in the age of Rock would probably understand because Rock was a fairly expansive category in popular music, and it was popular. And at the time that's what it was. Now it still is, but not like it was and it now needs further categorization. Is it soft rock, or hard rock, or heavy metal, which in this day and age; assuming you listen to metal at all, is an archaic term, or is it something else?

Hmmm, something else...

When I listen to the albums I've produced, pre-release, and go over the many sub-genres available to label these older albums, all of which were recorded in the early to mid-80's, I inevitably slam into the same wall because to me it's just Rock music. Not Southern Rock, a term that started with the Allman Brother's Band, (who, incidentally, didn't care for the label, it was, as they stated many times just rock n roll), or progressive Rock, or glam, or Rockabilly, or...you get the drift.

Perhaps Rock was the wrong term to begin with, but I don't exactly know. To me, it's simply modern music based on the popular esthetic I was brought up with. But at the time I was growing up all kinds of music was waffling through the air, Rock, Pop, Swing, Jazz, Classical, Country; mostly on their own stations, but quite often there were crossover hits and on TV, back in the three network universe, you were exposed to any number of different acts; just check out the old Ed Sullivan or Dean Martin variety shows of the 60's to see what I mean. All of these influences infused my music. As did the fact that I was in bands, mostly school bands and orchestras, for all of my formative years. I listened to and played a lot of different music.

So how does that answer the question? It doesn't, but I think it aids anyone listening to what I've produced over the years, and this is more true of the music I'm producing now. Once I got into my own little groove and my own little DIY world, the music I've made is basically popular music driven by whatever influence the song found in me, be it Rock or Jazz or Country, whatever. And the albums themselves began taking on themes through which the songs worked. The idea and focus was that the music was a journey, basically 45 minutes long-the product of the limitations of what you could legitimately put on a vinyl record-and meant to be listened to from beginning to end. The time limit has ben amended given what digital recording affords, but I've stuck to that premise whether that's how people listen to it or not.

Did I answer the question? Probably not. Here's my evasive answer; it's just music. And to be fair, I don't really label or categorize the music I listen to beyond basic genres; it's either pop, or rock, or jazz, or country or classical, and I'll stick with that even if it's a bit blurry.

If you still need a better definition, here it is: Mood music flavored with the stylings of pop-rock-country-jazz.

Works for me.