Monday, December 31, 2018

Year in Review!

Alright, another year of still doing what I was doing before!
Although true, it's not the whole story.
There was a lot of recording, but for a variety of projects, which means a variety of projects are moving towards the finish line, but won't be completed till 2019. That isn't a bad thing in that it means there will be moments to treasure and new music to hear as we roll along into the new year.

But there's time for that later.
This year, 2018, had some firsts:

Nancy and I started hosting an open mic up in Mill Creek which has been a lot of fun with the great songwriting talent we have here in our part of the world. It allows me to use that PA I bought a few years back, rather than it collecting dust in the closet.

I did get the last of the band albums out. Broken Hearts and the Fabulous Perch

was released in November to thunderous applause. I can believe that if I want!

I also recorded 3 new versions of songs for the Desperate Mothers album,

which will be released on January 25th, 2019. We'll be having a party to celebrate on the 27th. I'll have more on that album in the coming weeks.

I've also been working on an album called Winter, recording new versions from the demos I first recorded in 1984.

With 6 of 10 complete, it should be finished by Spring. More later on that too.

Then there are the brand new songs, versus those that are new to everyone other than me, for an album to be called Primitive Desires.

Other accomplishments and firsts: I co-wrote a song, something I've never done before; yes, the hermetic seal has been broken. Jinah and I wrote a song for an upcoming benefit for the homeless titled, Forgotten. I'll be performing it at:

I'm also going to begin recording videos, now that I have a decent camera with a decent mic, so those of you who aren't in our neck of the woods can check them out.
I'm looking into hosting house concerts as well. Should be interesting.

That's probably enough for now.

Song of the Week: This week's song, The Sailor, from Broken Hearts and the Fabulous Perch, is one of my early forays into dealing with big subjects, in this case Imperialism and Paternalism, using small characters. In this case it's a sailor telling his tall tales to a listener aware of his darker side. You can hear it at mrprimitivemusic.com.

Have a wonderful New Year!

©2018 David William Pearce













Friday, December 7, 2018

You Should Write a Christmas Song



Yes, I should. Will I? Probably not.
Mostly because there's more than enough christmas songs out there. One more isn't going to make Christmas better or more enjoyable. It might even make it worse if I feel obligated to bug people to listen to a great new Christmas tune! 
I wouldn't like that either.
Besides, even the best young artists of today still record their own versions of Christmas classics so you won't have to forever listen to Dean Martin or Tony Bennett or Andy Williams or someone you consider old and so yesterday.
Been there, done that.
There's also the problem of mis-interpretation; the present example being Frank Loesser's Baby It's Cold Outside.
I don't need that.

The other thing is my propensity to write oblique emotionally driven songs. I don't see that as being terribly festive. I could challenge myself to write a festive upbeat holiday song that will be loved through the ages...but that sounds like a lot of work.

Maybe next year.

In the meantime I can always pull up my iPod Xmas list and go from there. With 311 songs, it'll keep me occupied for a while.

***

Speaking of lists and trying to be hit to what's popular, I've been listening, or trying, to the various songlists that Spotify puts together. The pop stuff is such that I'd need a separate blog post to adequately note my concerns, but I would, for those who like instrumental music, or need a break from the thumpy dystopia that is popular music, I recommend the Tastemakers list.
It's quite good and varied.

Album of the Week: 

Yes, I'm still hyping this because I think it's fun and I should give it more than a week before I move on. You can hear it on spotify.com, Apple Music, and of course, at mrprimitivemusic.com.

©2018 David William Pearce