Tuesday 24 March 2015

SAC Challenge....2015....Week 6....The Matt Dusk Song



Well, we're at the end of the challenge....and a real challenge it was. Real world songwriting. Each week we had to write a different type of song, within one week from start to finish....except for the Matt Dusk song. For this one, we had six weeks to pull it together. 

I have two submissions for Matt Dusk.

1. "Unspoken"....R&B vibe....co-written with Maryjane Viejo, Michael Nowak, and Roger Beckett.

2. "I Forget to Breathe"....Latin vibe.....co-written with  Michael Holland, and Dave Stanley Daoust. 
 

"Unspoken"       https://soundcloud.com/midnight-mama-music/unspoken

"I Forget to Breathe"     https://soundcloud.com/michael-holland-11/i-forget-to-breathe

The hardest part of the challenge was the one week time frames for five songs....and interlacing the Matt Dusk song over six weeks. When you're co-writing, you have to accommodate everyone's schedule, and sometimes that means that a song doesn't get started until later in the week; and you might only have two days to finish it. Factor in the time difference between the east coast and the west coast, and it becomes a juggling act at times. 

The best part? Writing with new co-writers, and keying into their energies, and creativity. It's my co-writers that bring the song to life.....and I'm so grateful that they took the time to write with me.

What would I do different? Definitely try to start the songs earlier. That mad rush at the end of the week can be draining. 

Thank you SAC for providing us all with such a powerful challenge! This is the third year that I've done your challenge, and without a doubt, it's the best one!!! I hope that you will continue in this vein, for the coming years. 

Extra big thanks to Debra Alexander and James Linderman. I'm amazed at how much time and effort and expertise that they unfailingly presented through the past six weeks. 

"Unspoken"       https://soundcloud.com/midnight-mama-music/unspoken

"I Forget to Breathe"     https://soundcloud.com/michael-holland-11/i-forget-to-breathe

Monday 23 March 2015

SAC Challenge....2015....Week Six - Rock Song

This week we were presented with two choices.....write a Christmas song, or a radio ready rock song. I was tempted to go with the Christmas song, but decided to tackle a rock song.

I approached Dave Stanley Daoust for a co-write...and together with Nick Smalley, we wrote a song called "Limousine". We started this rather late in the week, so it was a real rush to pull it together.


 https://soundcloud.com/bombastic-bushkin/limo-dave-daoust-lucy-leblanc



Limousine
Dave Stanley Daoust, Nick Smalley, Lucy LeBlanc….March 18, 2015

2 am the cabs are taken
Music from the club reverberatin’
Isn’t that Megan Fox waiting
No I must be mistaken.

You’re with your friends, I’m with mine
A stretch pulls up just in time…White stretch
One ‘C’ note will get us a ride
That’s when we locked eyes

Chorus:
You and me
In this limousine
Riding high
Watching stars go by
Neither of us know
Where this will go
What a way to say hello
In the back of a limo

Standing up through the sunroof
Scream out loud it’s how we do
I’ll take one, I’ll take two
I wanna get closer to you

You’re with your friends, I’m with mine
In this limo looking fine
You’re showing me the sign
Rolling,  I’m on cloud nine

Chorus…..

Bridge:
The tires are spinnin’
This is really livin’

Chorus…..



 https://soundcloud.com/bombastic-bushkin/limo-dave-daoust-lucy-leblanc

Monday 16 March 2015

SAC Challenge..2015...Week 5 - Release your inner darkness

Well, this week is a real change of pace....create a song to pitch to a new Lifetime series, that's kinda like a female "Dexter", but set in the 19th century.


So Joyce Grennan, Robert Campbell, and I set about to embrace the darker side. It wasn't easy to get into that dark feeling. We honed in on lust and danger.

At first we had an idea about the female anti-hero having two faces. One that's kind and sweet, and one that's malevolently dangerous. We tossed out the first couple of lines, in that direction. Before you know it, we had a verse and a pre-chorus.



On the outside she looks perfect
and acts so nice
Nobody knows there’s a part of her
That's as cold as ice

She'll devour you with her passions
She won’t even blink twice



By the time we got to the chorus, somehow the image of the Black Widow appeared. It was a stronger idea to us, than two faces, so we started writing in that direction. Lust and danger. Then a line popped out..."She measures her addiction with precision and delight". Oh yes!

Now we were having fun, keying into the darker elements, while marrying it to lust, and the thought of spiders. Also, the Black Widow has been around for centuries....women who murder their husbands and other people.There was a famous 'Black Widow' (Mary Ann Cotton) who was executed in 1873 for poisoning 21 people. 


We had to change the last line of the first verse, as 'cold as ice', didn't fit in anymore....so now it's 'numb and paralyze' to key into some visual clues to the Black Widow.



On the outside she looks perfect
Acts so nice
Nobody knows that a part of her
Can numb and paralyze  

Devour you with her passions
Won’t even blink twice

And...we changed 'think twice' to 'won't even blink twice'. That fit better with the intent of the song. 


In the second verse, we went right to the victim lying on her satin sheets. It's too late to pray. She's got you now.



On silk sheets you look tasty
She licks her lips
You’re tangled in her threads
Her crucifix

Enslave you with her passions
Seal you with a juicy kiss  

The 'seal you' part came about thinking how spiders wrap up their prey.

Joyce and Robert spent a lot of hours getting the production, and vocals into that dangerous, yet sensual vibe. They hit the mark, dead on.

Here's the completed lyrics and link to Black Widow (from Robert's Soundcloud page):

https://soundcloud.com/campbellandgreen/black-widow-lucy-leblanc-joyce-grennan-robert-campbell-w-johncampbelljohn-gtr



Black Widow…..
© 2015 Joyce Grennan, Robert Campbell, Lucy LeBlanc


On the outside she looks perfect
Acts so nice
Nobody knows that a part of her
Can numb and paralyze  

She'll devour you with her passions
Won’t even blink twice

Chorus:
She’s a hungry black widow
Needs to feed her appetite
Measures her addiction
With precision and delight
It’s too late to pray
You’re in her deadly throes
Don’t get too close
To the hungry black widow

2nd verse:
On silk sheets you look tasty
She licks her lips
You’re tangled in her threads
Her crucifix

Enslave you with her passions
Seal you with a juicy kiss  

Chorus:
She’s a hungry black widow
Needs to feed her appetite
She measures her addiction
With precision and delight
it’s too late to pray
You’re in her deadly throes
Don’t get too close
To the hungry black widow