Sweetly Fading for the Cause by Stephen Prickett

Stephen Prickett of Icharus Flight (based in London Ontario) emailed me to let me know that he wouldn't be able to come to the next Forge Workshop for obvious geographical reasons but if you would like to virtually critique his song, he would love your input on our site or on his myspace. You can listen to the demo at www.myspace.com/icharusflight, and as always here is the lyrics to the song:

Sweetly Fading for the Cause

your lips hold all of the drama
of leaves in thunder
of soil slipping through my fingers
salt water stinging
or ashes drifting

your love is all blood in the gutter
sweetly fading for the cause
or holding hands
storming the wall, screaming
till the bricks fall

but I want to feel the wind strong when I go
I wish to God it would rain and sieze my bones
to hold me for years, love me fierce
I want it to let me feel alone
and tear your words apart from my own

if you say I don't need her I'll say you're right
you say I don't want her, maybe you're right
say I'll never have her again, you can't lie
but to say I can't love her - well I haven't yet died

and I want to feel the wind strong when I go
I wish to God it would rain and sieze my bones
to hold me for years, love me fierce
I want it to let me feel alone
and tear your words apart from my own

Fred Magie: Float, Voices

Here's two songs by Fred Magie who can be heard at websites below.
http://www.fredmagie.com
http://www.myspace.com/fredmagie

Float

Driving snow in the headlights
Through a cold wall of pure white
Christmas storm was blowing through
Trapped me out on the road with you
I can barely see Right in front of me

(Chorus)
I’m gonna float like a star
When this trip comes to an end
I won’t fall for you again
I’m gonna float like a star
When I get out of this car

Letting go of a first love
Crawling out from the under the
Fear that I’m gonna regret
And always wish that I had you back
It’s your siren song
That’s held me down

(Bridge)

You grip the wheel and glare ahead
An angry look and I acquiesce
If I stay I’ll be at your beckon call
I know if I leave
You’ll say it’s my fault

Tires spin on the black ice
Snow drift by the road side
Pushes back like a north wind
Straight up I begin to lift

Voices of Boys

Hearing the voices of boys in your mind
Grow smaller and hollow, they fooled you alright
They linger and haunt you and force you to lie
About things that inspire one to suicide

Sister you may not cross that bridge
That sways over top of your memories
Those cuts in time
Without someone to hold you

Surrounded by family we kids would play
Little moments of gold were stolen away
When breathtaking venom took one at a time
We’re left without our brothers and still don’t know why

You cradle the chase and hope
That you’ll find a way to make
All this noise go away

Your days spent alone you soared to great highs
Disillusioned you went where you’d never dare climb
And fell to the floor drowned in voices of boys
Who live out their lives through mine and yours

tips to sharpen by: Songwriting Tips

Hello Songwriters and Songcritics!

After each meeting of Forge, I thought it would be a good idea to condense some of the discussion into helpful songwriting tips. Please add your own thoughts/tips in the comments section!

Tip #1: Get advice from musicians. 

Since I often primarily focus on the words in songwriting, I was especially impressed by the feedback given by people who are primarily skilled musicians. Skilled musicians can give insights into rhythm, melody, harmony and song structure that most songwriters can hardly imagine existed. 

Tip #2:  Play with obscurity and clarity.

Pop songs tend to err towards clarity, while artsier indie/alternative songwriting tends to err towards poetic obscurity. I believe both clarity and obscurity are necessary for good songwriting. For the pop songwriter who wants to delve deeper, you can try adding elements of mystery to your songs-- unusual turns of phrase, reversed expectations, intentional gaps in the plot, contradictions, paradoxes. For a more poetic songwriter, it may be beneficial to add elements of clarity -- cliches, choruses, repetition, simple language, catch phrases.

Two tips is all I have time for now. I know we discussed much more last week, so please do not hesitate to add your own tips.

First Workshop Review

I was talking to Rick Taylor today and he pointed out that we neglected to post how are first songwriters workshop went last last week. Sorry for being such a negligent blogger. Better late then never...

Well we had a great first night. 11 musicians came out as well as a number of casual Wednesday night listeners and regular passer-byers at the coffee house. The songwriters that were featured last week were Joshua Weresch, Jason Silver, Peter Stewart-Kroeker and our host Thomas Wilson.

The format was that the showcased songwriter would play a song (some people brought copies of their lyrics to read, that was very helpful) and then we as a group of musicians would talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the song for about 20 to 30 minutes. As well as getting input form the other featured songwriters, last weeks musicians also received input from some musicians that have had concerts at The Freeway in the past: Fred Magie, Glen Mcdonald, and Adrian McFarlane (Ophelia Syndrome), as well as myself (2x the Mono).

The Night was a really positive experience for everyone. The top 10 stand outs for me were:

1. Getting to talk to this group of musicians for a prolonged amount of time, instead of just the 10 minute conversations that happen before or after a show. It is great to talk music with other musicians.
2. Adrain (the drummer of the group) suggesting that Tom needs to sing in a more syncopated beat. Figures the drummer would be focused on the rhythm of the voice.
3. Me telling Joshua that his songs could make "Pedro The Lion" cry, and then finding out the next day that he has added that quote to his Myspace page.
4. Hearing Jason say at least 10 times "I know I'm a sell out but..."
   
5. Seeing Tom do a great job of keeping the night moving.
6. Hearing Tom sing his song about Hamilton called Hamilton Mulch. I have already asked to get a copy after he records it. Check out the words to this great song on one of our previous posts.
7. Seeing Peter do some creative knob twisting on his delay pedal. I'm sucker for pedals.
8. Watching Jason perform his song for a second time with the lyric changes he came up with in the discussion time.
9. The great open discussion that happened with the perfect balance of encouragement and helpful criticism.
10. Hearing that people enjoyed themselves and that they are going to tell their friends for next time.
    

Our next workshop will be on Wednesday February 13th, 7:30pm. Come on out and have a great time discussing music and songwriting. If you would like to have one of your songs featured, email our host Thomas at thomas.g.wilson@gmail.com