Writing a Song

As a songwriter and performer, I have always wanted to be accepted as a musician by a large audience. Fame, fortune, pride. It's all a part of the dream that is inherent in any young musician that picks up a guitar or other instrument and begins to learn it. I am no different in that, but the one thing I have always tried to do is write songs that I like, while at the same time, being marketable. I love to create music, and doing so gives me great joy, especially when it comes together with a band.

I have been writing songs, lyrically speaking, for only 4 years. I found my voice after a stint as a guitarist/backup singer in another band. Being frustrated by the way melodies are so often murdered in today's music, I set out to write some really clever and emotionally relating songs. I feel that I have never compromised my integrity in that, and it shows in our self titled debut album from Seven Mile Ride, available on iTunes, CDBaby, and Digstation. Nothing on this album is trite or meaningless. I find inspiration in many things, such as women, people around me, people i read or hear about, and take how it affects me, and write it in such a way that you can apply it to your life how ever you wish.

That's what makes a songwriter good, but what makes him/her great, is their ability to emotionalize it during a performance, and to be able to step back and ask themselves, is this the best i can do. If the answer is yes, you go for it and never look back.

Writing a song is pretty simple. For me, it starts with the "hook" or the chorus. The point of the song is the starting place, and all verses and bridges stem from that. I usually work from a pre written guitar riff or even complete composition using my acoustic guitar. Once i have the melody and meter, which is very important, I put my words to that. I operate under the rule that if the melody can sell the song by itself, then the words can be whatever you wish, so long as they fit into the song with the right cadence and meter. I take it one step further and put words down that actually do mean something, and if you listen, it makes sense to you on some level.

Remember, though, the melody is what grabs people and makes them listen to the lyrics. There are those that won't care what the music is as long as the lyrics are good, but that person is less common than those who like a good melody. How can I be so sure? Not every song that is a hit has good lyrics, but if they do have stupid lyrics, the melody carries the song. Open the door get on the floor! Everybody walk the dinosaur?? What? Exactly. The song was a hit because it had a good melody set to an even better beat.

Anyway, that's how I write a song. It helps if you can have some heartbreak on a grand scale, but if you do, wait until you're almost over it to write about it, because break up songs are cheesy as hell. People like Fuck you songs better.

CD Release

Hitting the ground running would be nice in this industry called music. It would be of great fortune to any band to produce some songs, hand them to some people, and BOOM, explode onto the scene with a bunch of worldwide hits. Cue the wah wah waaaaaaaaaaaaah music. It doesn't happen that way, I guess. Weird!

So, enter the blogspot world where perhaps millions of racing pulses will flock to check out what the latest Seven Mile Ride blog has to say. Perhaps, more realistically, it will be a few loyal peeps who read the blogs and then move on before the yawn gets them. Either way, Seven Mile Ride is going to begin a campaign to take over the world. It all starts with our brand new release, self titled Seven Mile Ride CD. Take a look Here for a downloadable version of our CD. You can search us on iTunes, also.

Here's how this will ideally work. You listen, like, buy, then come here and rave. Hey, we will even accept any negative bile you wish to throw at us as well. Honesty is great, and telling the world we suck doesn't bother us, either.

So there it is. Our pitch to you. Please buy our CD. Please come to our shows. Please be our friend on myspace - www.myspace.com/sevenmileride

Most of all, Please be good human beings at all times.

Happy New Year!