First, I got sick right at Thanksgiving and it carried through most of December. Second, I had to address some business requirements for my coaching and writing the 2^nd edition to my career book.

A third reason was to assess and plan what this year is going to look like. More on this later this week.

Indie Music Conference Recap

I spoke at the Indie Music Conference organized by Noel Ramos. It took place at Musician’s Institute in Hollywood and was a great event. The second day of the conference, I attended performance and vocal coach Steven Memel’s workshop. I wrote about that here in Embrace Your Inner Rockstar.

My topic: Don’t Waste Your Time: The Ugly Truth About Social Media – can be found here as 4 videos.

That night, the band performed at the IMC showcase. (see photos below). More importantly, I expanded “Team Matt”.

The Team

I am working with Steven Memel on a few things. I am serving as a coach and mentor to him on Online Presence/Social Media. He is working with me on my vocals and performance dynamics. We are mentoring each other on some of the coaching and speaking we both do and can see the huge potential in this relationship.

I also met producer Steven Leavitt at the conference. We connected recently – he is looking for some social media and online presence ideas and guidance – both for his business and some artists he is associated with.. I am seeking a producer’s ear on our recordings.

I am interviewing some people for the role of Booking & Marketing Assistant – both for solo and band gigs.

Photos from the Indie Music Conference Showcase

Australian songwriter, Fiona Porch, attended the IMC conference and showcase. She sent me these photos from the band’s performance. Thanks Fiona.

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Kali at her post

Becky’s son Ian just returned from Iraq. During his time there, I would listen to the two of them talk. This some came out of those conversations.

Right now, the band and I are in the studio recording this song with the goal of releasing it as a single. The plan is to find a charity through the VA or USO to provide a portion of any proceeds to an organization supporting and assisting the troops.

…

This Star-spangled Life of Mine

Copyright © 2011 – Matthew Moran

I’ve included a video of me performing the song the morning after I wrote it.

VERSE:
Boots on the ground
Dust in the air
Sometimes I wake up at night and think what the hell am I doing here

But day after day
I toe the line
Dreamin’ about the girl back home, my family, and those friends of mine

CHORUS:
Some days I’m lonely, some days I’m scared
Most days I’m just bored out of my mind
I’ve seen the red glare of rockets, bombs bursting in air
I pray that proof will see me through the night

I’m not trying to be a hero. I’m just trying to survive
This Star-Spangled Life of Mine

VERSE:
My buddies John and Del,
Both served their time
One is pushing paper down in New Orleans, one is pushing up daisies in Birmingham

I promised both I’d visit (them)
It’s what I hope to do
A promise born of selfishness. I hope to God I make it through

BRIDGE:
This is for the ones who never make it home
This is for the ones who do but leave something of themselves behind
This is for the prayers of those who wait for the return
The fear, the pride, the worry, and the love….

click to see a full-sized poster...

We won’t be in costume (or will we) but we will be rocking Canoga Park at the Elks Lodge.

I want you there but to get on the list, you do need to send me an email.

Details:
Elks Lodge, Canoga Park – 7PM-9PM-ish
20925 Osborne St., Canoga Park, CA 91304
$10 (includes dinner). Wear a costume, take $2 off

All I Want Is Everything

Copyright © 2011 – Matthew Moran

Behind the Song

In 2009 I had moved back to California. There was some positive movement in a number of critical areas of my life. Music, writing, consulting, etc. But none of it was happening as fast as I would have liked. Isn’t that always the case.

Becky was still in Arizona. During a phone conversation I was frustrated about “things” not happening fast enough. Patience is not a virtue I’ve mastered. I was saying to her, “I just want everything. I want everything now!!”

Becky replied, “All I want is you.” (Everyone say, “aaahhhhhh”)

The next morning at 6:00AM I began texting her to wake her up. I had recorded an acoustic version of this song.

Lyrics

VERSE
She said, Baby I must confess
I’m missing you, yea I’m a mess
I reach out for you and your not here
I call for you and your not there
(chorus)

CHORUS
I hear you saying that you just want everything
Don’t you know I want the same thing too
All I want is everything and baby that means
All I want is you

VERSE
I want the sunlight on your face
To be your storm, your sea, your resting place
To kiss you awake, to kiss you to bed
and a brand new day to do it all again

I want passion that won’t ever end
To be your every lover and your one true friend
I want to fill your mind with fantasy
I want to chain you down, I want to set you free
(chorus)

VERSE:
I want to be your morning & be your night
Be there to make up after every fight
I want the best of you and I want your worst
I want to feed your hunger and quench your thirst

I want your 10 cent and 4-letter words
I want you rational and I want you absurd
I want love that burns hot to the touch
Yeah I want everything, is that too much
(chorus)

During our recent “Roots & Roll” shows with Bill Wickham, I had the pleasure of performing in front of some friends in Palmdale. Butler’s Coffee is an excellent little venue and Kevin Smith does a great job of providing a place for songwriter’s to perform.

Here is a video of my song, Dangerous Girl, performed with Melinda Lima. She sings backup with my band but also comes out for acoustic shows. I love her work on this song. I’ve include some videos below that as well to a couple other songs from those shows. We’ve also put the lyrics in the video. Enjoy!!!

Dangerous Girl: (Watch it on YouTube)

____

Everyday Lies: (Watch it on YouTube)

____

How It Goes with the full band (Watch it on YouTube)

I met songwriter Bill Wickham during the Glendale Folk & Heritage Festival in Arizona. I was immediately impressed with his songwriting and casual nature. We played together a few times in Arizona but now Bill is coming to California.. and so…

The “Roots and Roll” Tour

Okay, tour might be ambitious but Bill and I are playing 3 shows together (as of this writing).  The show dates and locations are below the posters. Click the posters to get a full-sized version and feel free to pass the poster or this page to your friends.

Thursday, September 1st, Butler’s Coffee, Palmdale

Time: 7-9PM
Address: 40125 10th Street West, Palmdale, CA 93551

Friday, September 2nd, Rusty’s Pizza, Ventura

Time: 7-9PM
Address: 444 Santa Clara St., Ventura, CA 93001

Saturday, September 3rd, The Talking Stick, Venice

Time: 6-8PM
Address: 1411-C Lincoln Blvd., Venice Beach, CA 90291

The 1st and 2nd will be acoustic shows. Tom, our drummer, should be back by the 3rd and so most of the band should be at that one.

I look forward to seeing you there.

I used to hate recording. The truth is I find it tedious although it has become more pleasurable. First, having the guys at Easy Street Studio in Simi Valley, CA handle all the technical details is nice.

But anyway you cut it, the studio is NOT the stage. The stage provides immediate gratification. It also allows for “stylistic flexibility” – aka: mistakes. They are there and then gone – you move on, you perform, no one is any wiser. It is energy.

The studio, not so much and that is a critical component. A recent vocal professionally gave me this suggestion.. “Start performing in the studio – capture that energy. Don’t worry as much about pitch and performance. You can do as many takes as possible and you will get pitch but if you don’t perform you won’t get the energy.”

Okay.. that is sort of a paraphrase of a longer and more scattered conversation but the point is well-made and well-taken.

Other Observations & News

Backing Vocals/Harmonies

We are going back to the studio to finalize 8 songs we’ve tracked and start on at least 2 more. First, however, I’m taking some time to work on the backing vocals on those 10 songs and several more.

The same vocal pro referenced above, worked with Melinda and I. (Melinda is new to the band and a beautiful vocalist.. We’ll introduce her soon.) During that time, he encouraged me to stop worrying about the technical harmony – the 3rd – and simply find a new melody line to my song – and test it over my melody line. Practice with several – above and below my line. Of course.. that worked and great headway has been made.

Merchandise & Gigs

We are working hard to create some new t-shirts and book more gigs. The focus on recording took me off this activity but I am back to it again.

Also, we have a couple new t-shirt ideas in the works. Look for announcements.

For current gigs – look here. We are planning a combination of band, solo, and semi-band (me and Elliot, me and Melinda, me and some of the other band members) – NOTE, I AM IN ALL THOSE COMBOS. 

If you get a chance, come on out!

Some songs have a “real life” experience backing them up. This one doesn’t.

Those who know me know that I am “almost” a teetotaler. I drink a glass of wine every other night, maybe. Sort of funny when the bar you play music at gives you free drinks and you are ordering Arnold Palmers – that is my mixed beverage of choice.

This sort of came about as a phrase through some rapid random thoughts.

We had a bottle of wine on the counter next to some cheerios – and I thought.. “wine and cheerios.. breakfast of champions.” Then I thought, “It’s too early for wine and cheerios – so dump the cheerios and go for the wine.”

Almost immediately, the idea of this song arrived. I thought it would be too early for hard liquor and some heartbroken guy could choose wine instead. Hence:
“It’s too early for whiskey so I’m starting with wine.”

I liked it!

I wrote the chorus before I ever picked up my guitar but I knew immediately that it was a honkytonk – simple sort of tune. I’ve played it once before for my band and they like it – although, we’ve yet to adopt it.

CHORUS:
It’s too early for whiskey so I’m starting with wine
Too late for forgiveness, she’s made up her mind
I should be heartbroken but you know I feel fine
It’s too early for whiskey so I’m starting with wine

In my mind I created a scenario – a simple scene played over and over again.  The woman, finally fed up, leaves. In the song, I have her leave her wine so that my anti-hero can drink it the next morning. Rather than “drink it down” he “drunk it down” – which is a purposeful grammatical mishap.

I wrote the chorus, sang it for about 2 weeks before writing the rest of the song. I had the chorus written first, so I usually sing it starting with the chorus.

Here is the song in it’s entirety. Enjoy!

Too Early For Whiskey (so I’m starting with wine)

Copyright © Matthew Moran – 2010

CHORUS:

It’s too early for whiskey so I’m starting with wine
Too late for forgiveness, she’s made up her mind
I should be heartbroken but you know I feel fine
It’s too early for whiskey so I’m starting with wine

VERSE:

The sun comes up and the sorrow starts to make me think
That what I want for breakfast is a long tall drink
But my friends tell me that morning and Jack don’t mix
So this bottle of cheap red wine had better do the trick
(chorus)

VERSE

She finally got the nerve to say she’d had enough
Put her glass of wine down, packed her bags and threw them in the trunk
When I woke the next morning she was nowhere to be found
I took that half-finished glass of wine and I drunk it down
(chorus)

Let me know what you think.

Friday, May 20th, at The Red Cove. We are playing with two heavy funk jam bands – The Hours Before & Jam Stain. I’m not exactly sure what heavy jam funk is but we plan to rock with them in Ventura.

Thursday, June 23rd, we are playing in Santa Barbara at The Creekside Inn.

Monday, June 27th, we are closing the night for Rena Wren at The Talking Stick in Los Angeles.

Check out the poster’s below for details or see the show page.