Sparks from the Fire

As I sit here this morning high up on the 38^th floor, I look out my window at New York City, 5:30 AM, just barely coming awake – the city that never sleeps.  From my perch here high up over the city I have a spectacular view all the way south from 42^nd street to the Statue of Liberty and beyond New York Harbor to Staten Island.  If you’re gonna live in NYC, live above it all if at all possible.

I’ve been fortunate.  I’ve watched the city grow and change from this perch for over 25 years.  I love NY.  It’s been a lifetime sittin’ on top of the world watchin’ 10 million people go by, but I’d leave now if I could.  40 years of concrete and glass can wear you out on certain levels and sometimes the Missus and I just want to take a walk in the woods.

But I can’t leave this wondrous city – at least not yet.  Most of it I’ve seen now and certainly experienced, but there’s one thing that still keeps me here. (more…)

The tools available to make good music have never been more prevalent.  Each month I read cover-to-cover 4-5 industry magazines like Electronic Musician, Mix, Keyboard and EQ.  I’ve done so for many years and find that it’s a good way to keep up with not only the trends in music, but also the incredible advancement of technology.

I’ll have to admit to being a bit of a technology freak myself and often take advantage of some of the latest and greatest gear out there.  More and more in these magazines I find myself skipping the articles and just perusing the ads looking for the new technology to make my musical way easier and more professional.

More and more I find that the advancement of technology is pointed to the amateur musician who doesn’t really have the skills to make good music and needs a little help.  This is a good thing and perhaps a not so good thing.

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OK, so I’m going to talk a little bit today in generalities.  OK, so there are still great songs being written, still great craftsmen out there who really know what they’re doing, still great records being made.  I’ll allow you all this right from the get go, but I think our industry, besides the death of the record business, is in a serious creative low as well.

Sonically, we’re at an all-time high.  The ability to capture the actual sound of the instruments in perfect, pristine quality has never been better.  Those who still grumble about the “coldness” of digital just haven’t been really listening lately.  The advancement of processing power and ram in computers has finally caught up and now the warmth of analog is back.

But much of the rest of the creative part of our industry is mired in mediocrity.  I blame this on humanity and our penchant to always try to attain perfection the easy way.   Nothing wrong with that except when it doesn’t work.

I just wrote a 7-part blog post (The IRA Awards) on great lyrics just to remind us of what could be, of the greatness of craft, of the delight of a well-lyricised song.  I write “remind us” because I think we’re losing track of a great tradition – the well written lyric.

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Bobby Stanton.

You may have heard him featured on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” or playing in one of several Broadway musicals.  You may have also caught his magical fingers strumming with the likes of Mark O’Connor, James Taylor, Richie Havens, Noel Redding, Bo Diddley, Susan Tedeschi, Maureen McGovern, Donny Osmond, The Platters, Fabian, Charlie Daniels, only to name a few.

In his spare time (what spare time could he possible have?) he shares his talent and technique as a teacher of guitar at Berklee College of Music in Boston where he was awarded the first ever “Ovation” Award.

Watchfire Music Artist, Bobby Stanton begins his second Inspirational CD bring his special musical mind and deft guitar playing abilities to a number of world famous hymns.  Due to be released late spring, this album of beloved hymns promises to be a terrific seller for WFM if it’s anything like his first, Shepherd which is one of WFM’s biggest selling CDs of all time.

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Bernie Taupin, Lyricist

Miss the first six parts of The Ira Awards series? Click here to go to Part 1.

Quiz answers in small print at bottom.  No peaking.

1. The name of the lyricist is Hal David. Who was his composer?
2. The name of the lyricist is Bernie Taupin. Who was his composer?
3. The composer for the musical West Side Story was Leonard Bernstein. Who was his lyricist?
4. Harvey Schmidt was the composer of the longest running musical in NYC, The Fantastiks. Who was his lyricist? (Hint: He shared his name with a famous singer)
5. What do Bob Dylan, Jimmy Webb, Cole Porter, Diane Warren and Laura Nyro all have in common?
6. The name of the lyricist is Jacob Brackman. Who is his composer? (more…)

I think one of the most misunderstood words in the English language is “forgiveness”.  To me, simply put, God forgives us when we, ourselves, rectify the mistake, when we truly heal the problem that necessitated the forgiveness.

If one is truly sorry for a mistake, and I see and feel the sorrow and recognize in the other person the desire to rectify the mistake, then forgiveness comes much easier.  Forgiveness comes when we understand the situation from all angles and view points and see that the person who committed the act truly regrets it and changes in their thought and actions.

I believe God works the same way.  When He, She, It recognizes that we have changed in our thought, stopped the mistake, even turned it around and resolved it, then we are forgiven.  Forgiveness of sin comes in the destruction of sin.

At one point in life I was hurt very deeply by someone I loved.  It hurt so bad that I had to leave her and get away to mend.  I couldn’t let go of the hurt.  Every day it haunted me until I just didn’t want to wake up in the morning.  I would begin to awaken and just pull the pillow over my face and refuse to face the day – and the hurt.

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Can comedy be Inspirational?  You bet.  I’m Tired from Mel Brook’s Blazing Saddles sung by the inimitable Lili von Shtupp (Madeline Kahn) and Springtime For Hitler from The Producers both written by Mr. Brooks are two cases in point.  They make you laugh.  They make you feel instantly better.  That’s Inspirational.  Here are my Top 3.

La Mancha

COMEDY
1. Cocktails For Two — Spike Jones / Sam Coslow and Arthur Johnston

Coslow was the first Broadway songwriter to be hired by Paramount. During his decade with Paramount, he wrote songs for many of their films, including most of the early Bing Crosby pictures. “Cocktails For Two” (1934, with Arthur Johnston, for Murder at the Vanities) was one of them.

But it was the Spike Jones approach to the song that really killed me and still does today.  His “send up” arrangements of popular songs of the day were simply hysterical.  Weird Al learned a lot from Spike.

2. I Wanna Go Back To Dixie — Tom Lehrer

Probably may favorite comedy writer of all time, this clever, funny man always made me laugh.  His albums are just full of great satirical songs.  If you don’t know Tom Lehrer’s music and need a good laugh (and who doesn’t?) rush right out and buy a couple of his albums.  Stephen Sondheim said that one of the hardest things to do in a song was to make people laugh out loud.  For Tom Lehrer, it was a breeze.

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“Oh my God!” we both exclaimed as one. Then an opening miraculously appeared and we quickly and deftly swerved off the road sliding to a stop, gravel flying. “Oh… my… God…” as we sat stunned, numbly groping for our cameras, fumbling awkwardly in the front seat, refusing to take our eyes off of what lay before us. We had been chasing just this vision all day without knowing it. Amateur shutterbug, me, and cinematographer, Norm, on a hunt for the perfect image, the perfect capture on film.

I opened my shotgun door while Norm quickly turned off the engine and grabbed the video camera. I stumbled to the edge of the cliff [below was Cape of Good Hope], still refusing to take my eyes off the scene below for fear that it all might somehow slip away and disappear.

But that was not to be. I had missed many a great shot for the last several days driving and focusing, frustrated and missing the moments as they rushed by. But this one would be different.

We had been driving down the mountain, end of day, hurrying to get home for a dinner in our honor given by new South African friends. As we came around the bend, there was the shot. God’s masterpiece of the day painted before us.

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