Corey Rains – “Journeys to the Crossroads”

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Corey Rains

Corey Rains - Journeys to the Crossroads

Recently, my uncle released his new cd on soundcloud.com for free to anyone who wants to download it. I’m going to list his track titles, and give you a short review of Corey Rains new cd, “Journeys to the Crossroads.”

The tracks on this album can be classified as Country, Blues, and Rock. He used an 8-track digital recorder for all his recordings, and a drum machine and various instruments. He also added some leads and things to 2 tracks that were previously recorded in a studio.

Tracks:

1) Roll with Me

2) Sunshine

3) Crossroads

4) Checker’s Song

5) Fire and Water (Syracuse Blues)

6) Bound to be You

7) Sail Away

8) The Wolf

9) Sweet Carolina

10) Long Island in Key West

Out of the ten songs on the cd, my two favorites would have to be “Sweet Carolina” and “Crossroads.” The other 8 songs are great also, but those two songs I listed above can get stuck in your head for hours, and great to sing along with too. Some of the music may sound alittle different then what your used to listening too when you turn on the radio. This is what makes his music uniquely his.

Overall the cd was great, though I could pick out a few mistakes on “Crossroads” towards the end where he peaked. It was a small quick peak and doesn’t affect the song at all. If you are into country, or acoustic rock music, then Corey Rains is worth giving a listen to!

Want me to review your cd? Contact me with your track details and information.

Porch Picker’s Radio

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I’m going to start up my podcast again here soon. Its been about a year since my first and only podcast, and I’ve just been too busy to continue. But I always come back to it at some point or another, and I love doing the podcasts and playing other independent musicians.

So, that being said…submissions are now re-opened for music to be played on the podcast.

Here are just a few of the guidelines:

  • You must hold the copyrights to anything submitted
  • You will not receive any royalty payments from anything submitted
  • You will keep all rights to your submissions, I will just have the right to play it on the podcast.

Here is how to submit your song:

  1. Email bmroyer@gmail.com
  2. Done!

Hope to see my inbox fill up! Send me anything, country, rock, pop, jazz, blues, bluegrass!  Goodluck!

Songwriting Tips

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Sometimes songwriting can be a daunting task, yet its still enjoyable. After you find your way over the hump, then you can let your mind run free again!

Most songwriter’s run into writer’s block when they are busy thinking of new songs all the time. They will just concentrate on the new song, and forget about the world around them. Other road blocks songwriter’s will run into is trying to find perfect rhymes to finish their verse, the first verse in a song, and how to end the song.The middle part is always easy once you have the beginning and the end…because it just meets those two in the middle :) .

Some Helpful Songwriting Tips:

  • Carry a notebook all the time, and write down what you see, hear, and feel. Keep a sharp eye out, and be a detective. See what other people are doing, are they sad, or happy? Alot can be told about a person’s expressions or actions.
  • Imagine your favorite music artist singing your song. This might help you later on when you are adding music to it, or trying to figure out how your going to sing it. Just imagine your favorite music artist up there on a stage playing and singing your song the way they would sing it.
  • Set aside at-least 30 minutes a day just for songwriting. This could include writing, singing, playing or looking over the notes you have been taking, highlighting your favorite ones. This will help you become a better songwriter because you are writing everyday, and trying new things.
  • Keep with it, never quit. Sometimes songwriter’s will get discouraged and think their songwriting sucks! No matter if your songwriting sucks, if its your passion and you enjoy doing it…then keep doing it! You can only get better..

Drive yourself

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Have you ever just sat around and found excuses not to record, or practice those scales you’ve been wanting to learn? The stupid things you can come up with just so you can sit on your ass all day, and watch tv, or do something that relates to nothing you want to work on. Why do we have these feelings? If you love music so much, then why aren’t you “obsessing” over it like you usually do?

I’ve been battling with this for along time. My excuses range from, “I’ll wait till I learn some lead guitar so I will have more to add to the album.” Or something like, “I’m beat after a hard days work, and in the morning I’m no good because I sleep in, then as soon as I wake up, hell its back to work again! (second shift).

This will go on and on, and nothing will ever get done, period! Pure laziness, and today we are going to find a way to beat it!

Here are something I’ve found that helps motivate and drive my obsession:

  • Read articles online related to music, or songwriting
  • Write a new song, and jam on the guitar.
  • Have a guitar handy all through the house, this way you always walk past one.
  • Write about your problems and the reason why you don’t feel like working on your music anymore.
  • Talk to other musicians online and offline about your problems and find some answers.

Those are just simple things. Also, reading a book to something unrelated to the subject helps sometimes as well. You can’t just procrastinate your whole life. Find a solution, and finish what you started.

Inspiration & Songwriting

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Where does inspiration come from? Life experiences, what your feeling inside, or just dreams that make you jump out of bed and want to write it down? (I know this has happened to me). Wherever it may come from, its your job to do something with it.

I started out songwriting when I was 12 years old, though it was only poetry at the time. I had a crush on a girl from school, and when I got home that same day, I laid in the living room for hours writing it. Once I was finished, I pitched it to my Uncle to see if he could add music to it..(before I started playing guitar.) When he came to visit that same year, he played it for me, and I loved it! Most of my motivation, inspiration, and love of music started from that experience.

If you want to be a better songwriter, waiting around for inspiration isn’t going to help you. You could be waiting for days, months, years! All you need is the songwriter’s toolkit, and you will be ready to jam out those songs! What is the songwriters toolkit? You really don’t know?

Songwriters Toolkit:

  • Notepad
  • Pen
  • Experience the world around you

When I say experience the world around you, I’m talking about opening up your eyes, and study people’s emotions, actions, stories they may tell you. Read the newspaper, watch the news, look at your friends and families Facebook posts. Inspiration is all around you, take it all in…and write it down.