my music. let me know what you guys think!

johntherevelator · Unread post by **johntherevelator** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 4:30 pm

they tico, great work on all of the songs, really. i was wondering, because i really like your style of writing lyrics - i come up with lots of songs on guitar, but im terrible when it comes to writing lyrics. if i sent you a few songs on guitar, maybe you could help me out with the lyrics? or just give me some pointers, cuz i could use em. ive got about 6 songs written without lyrics as of now. any help would be sweet. thanks.

johntherevelator · Unread post by **johntherevelator** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 4:39 pm

ticohans wrote:Go to the site, and then right click on the link for the song you want to download. When you do this, a little pop-up window will appear. From this window, select the heading that says "save target as" or "save as." This will bring up another window of your computer's hard drive. Select where you want to save it (and make sure you remember where you save it) and click "OK" or "Save" or whatever the affirmitive button is. That should do the trick...

lol. you sound just like windows help. i got it though, thanks

slapman24 · Unread post by **slapman24** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 6:40 pm

GREAT JOB man.. i really really love your work! your guitar and vocals are unbelieve and truly inspire me to continue to work at the guitar

95_RipperZ · Unread post by **95_RipperZ** » Wed Jan 22, 2003 5:39 pm

Dude, YOU ROCK. Seriously. I love your music and so does my girlfriend. The guitar is nice and your voice is amazing too. That was the first thing I was expecting not to be that great but it really is unique and sounds great. Keep up the good work. Hope to hear some new stuff too.

-Ryan

ticohans · Unread post by **ticohans** » Wed Jan 22, 2003 6:15 pm

Thanks again folks for the compliments.

I've recieved a few questions from people regarding lyrics and licks: specifically how I come up with stuff and what my inspirations are. The following response is a pm that I sent to slapman, but I figured that I'd post it here so that the others who have asked can have an answer. It also saves me some typing time

(note: specifically, his question was what my inspirations are and how I went about writing)

That's a tough question to answer. I guess I'll start with the guitar riff stuff first. Dave has definitely influenced my style in that I enjoy percussive playing, and am always looking for new chord voicings, usually higher up on the neck with some combination of open and fretted strings. Generally Dave plays in chord voicings that are almost completely fretted, but I like having some strings continually droning and the tonal differences between a fretted note and an open one. That's really where a lot of my riffs come from: messing around with different voicings. I really love melody, and most of my riffs tend to be fairly melodic. I'd say that most of them come out of working with different voicings and finding melodic lines within the voices. The finding of melodic lines within the voices most likely stems from my roots in fingerstyle guitar. I basically taught myself how to play, mostly off of James Taylor, who does a lot of melodic finderstyle. While my music might not sound like his, there are definitely very strong influences. Another thing I try to do with my guitar parts is to keep them creative and different. A lot of people that you hear play basically the same thing over and over again. I refused to let myself fall into that rut. I also have played classical piano since I was four, and have had extensive harmony and theory training, so that undoubtedly influences my stuff. And now, to the lyrics. I personally love good poetry, and spend time reading it. I spend time writing it too, be it for my songs or to stand alone without music. There are a few main things that I try to keep in mind when writing, from a technical side of things. First, I hate really bad and cliche perfect rhyme. Stuff like "I was really sad, Cause she was really bad." With a lot of music, once you hear "sad," you know what's going to come at the end of the next line. That's a really bad example, but I'm sure you know what I mean. I refuse to write stuff like that, and instead use mainly slant rhyme, stuff like "I see all the children laughing/ And how they raise their hands to greet the moring light/ With smiles as fresh as dawn's horizon/ So happy for this new day of life." In that lyric (the first verse for "Strength of a Little Boy") the rhyming words at the end of the lines are "light" and "life." They are not perfect rhymes, but they share that opening "li" sound, which is just enough to suggest a certain familiarity of tone. I also try to use rhyming within lines and alliteration to add continuity to the lines. Finally, I also try to watch the length and rhythm of the lines: they should be smooth and easy, and flow well. Nothing long or choppy or abrasive to the ear, unless you want to do somthing like that, for a specific purpose. That gets in to having the form of your lyrics fit the form of the song. If there's a verse that is very angry and violent, if you can use harsh and percussive sounding words, it will add to the artistry of your work. If you have chorus about the quiet peace of being with someone you love, you want to try and use soft sounding, easy-on-the-ear words. That's all sort of formal consideration. In terms of actually crafting the lyrics, it is always better if you can paint a picture that describes something, as opposed to stating it. My writing teachers have always said things like "show, don't tell." That means, if you're angry about something, show it, describe it, explain it, use imagery and metaphor to illustrate your point. That's always a million times more effective than just saying "I'm mad." Going back to that verse from "Strength of a Little Boy" that I mentioned earlier ("I see all the children laughing/ And how they raise their hands to greet the morning light/ With smiles as fresh as dawn's horizon/ So happy for this new day of life") we can see some of the aforementioned principals at work. For starters, there is an abounding imagery of morning: "greet the morning light," "dawn's horizon," "new day." The continuity of imagery here adds to the potency of the verse. Secondly, I use simile, like "smiles as fresh as dawn's horizon," and I focus on movement: "how they raise their hands." I could have said "I saw children playing early one morning" but that doesn't communicate what I wanted to communicate, even though it describes the same situation. In terms of topics for writing, my songs generally cover a few different areas: love/rejection, relationships, God, personal struggles or triumphs, and political/social concerns. Strength of a Little Boy deals with love, God, personal triumph, and social concern.

Well, that's it for now. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

gravedigger · Unread post by **gravedigger** » Wed Jan 22, 2003 6:39 pm

Thanks for the lesson/advice or whatever you want to call it. You'd make a good music teacher, eh.

hehe I can't stop thinking about that Puddle of Mud song "She Fuckin' Hates Me" that's the main line of the chorus too. I'd say that would be an example of telling, not showing eh?

ticohans · Unread post by **ticohans** » Wed Jan 22, 2003 6:50 pm

Exactamundo

cave_cricket · Unread post by **cave_cricket** » Wed Jan 22, 2003 8:42 pm

gravedigger wrote:Thanks for the lesson/advice or whatever you want to call it. You'd make a good music teacher, eh.

hehe I can't stop thinking about that Puddle of Mud song "She Fuckin' Hates Me" that's the main line of the chorus too. I'd say that would be an example of telling, not showing eh?

Gotta love us Canadians, eh? :lol:

Good advice Tico...when you coming out with an albumn?...and when's the summer tour start?...make sure you do some Canadian dates! :lol:

Pea,ce

johntherevelator · Unread post by **johntherevelator** » Wed Jan 22, 2003 10:21 pm

cave_cricket wrote:
gravedigger wrote:Thanks for the lesson/advice or whatever you want to call it. You'd make a good music teacher, eh.

hehe I can't stop thinking about that Puddle of Mud song "She Fuckin' Hates Me" that's the main line of the chorus too. I'd say that would be an example of telling, not showing eh?

Gotta love us Canadians, eh?

Good advice Tico...when you coming out with an albumn?...and when's the summer tour start?...make sure you do some Canadian dates!

Pea,ce

maple Leaf for Life (hows that for alliteration tico? lol)

gravedigger · Unread post by **gravedigger** » Wed Jan 22, 2003 10:37 pm

johntherevelator wrote: maple Leaf for Life (hows that for alliteration tico? lol)

thank God! at first I thought you said Maple Leafs for life

johntherevelator · Unread post by **johntherevelator** » Wed Jan 22, 2003 10:45 pm

gravedigger wrote:
johntherevelator wrote: maple Leaf for Life (hows that for alliteration tico? lol)
thank God! at first I thought you said Maple Leafs for life

no maple leafs arent my style
ill wait to hear your team before i tell mine though

dont want to get beat up

gravedigger · Unread post by **gravedigger** » Wed Jan 22, 2003 10:47 pm

johntherevelator wrote:
gravedigger wrote:
johntherevelator wrote: maple Leaf for Life (hows that for alliteration tico? lol)
thank God! at first I thought you said Maple Leafs for life
no maple leafs arent my style
ill wait to hear your team before i tell mine though

dont want to get beat up

I used to be a Flames fan, but that faded to nothing shortely after Al MacInnis was traded.

They won the cup in '89 which was the best playoffs I've ever seen. And I was only 9

johntherevelator · Unread post by **johntherevelator** » Wed Jan 22, 2003 10:49 pm

gravedigger wrote:
johntherevelator wrote:
gravedigger wrote:
johntherevelator wrote: maple Leaf for Life (hows that for alliteration tico? lol)
thank God! at first I thought you said Maple Leafs for life
no maple leafs arent my style
ill wait to hear your team before i tell mine though

dont want to get beat up
I used to be a Flames fan, but that faded to nothing shortely after Al MacInnis was traded. They won the cup in '89 which was the best playoffs I've ever seen. And I was only 9

colorado for me

HiFiKing · Unread post by **HiFiKing** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 4:13 pm

I've spent much of the day listening to your tunes, and I have to say that I'm extremely taken in by your ability to convery true "soul" in the strength of you voice and your emotive playing style. Your voice reminds me (if only in timbre and style) of Glenn Phillips (singer for Toad The Wet Sprocket). The lyrics, the sound... all of it golden. You should really consider shopping this... there is plenty of room in the market for talent like yours. Good Show!

Cheers!

[HiFi!]

johntherevelator · Unread post by **johntherevelator** » Fri Jan 24, 2003 4:19 pm

HiFiKing wrote:I've spent much of the day listening to your tunes, and I have to say that I'm extremely taken in by your ability to convery true "soul" in the strength of you voice and your emotive playing style. Your voice reminds me (if only in timbre and style) of Glenn Phillips (singer for Toad The Wet Sprocket). The lyrics, the sound... all of it golden. You should really consider shopping this... there is plenty of room in the market for talent like yours. Good Show!

Cheers!

[HiFi!]

hey hifiking
are you welsh?

DMBTabs.com

my music. let me know what you guys think!

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