While in The Netherlands recently, a friend pointed me to the website (or rather the blogspot site) of the Amsterdam Songwriters Guild. As a result I found two great open mics in Amsterdam where I play, Cafe Sappho and Skek. If you’re ever in Amsterdam, check ’em out!
-Rob
For the past week and a half I’ve been in The Netherlands. I was hanging out with Chicago Mike Beck on the Netherlands leg of his European tour. Mike did a presentation about playing in Europe at the Lyons Song School last August, and I decided to come over and check it out. Mike was gracious enough to let me hang out with him, and play a few songs to open his shows here.
Mike plays a rocking acoustic show, mostly blues-rock in style, playing mostly popular covers but also his own songs, which are good. He uses a looping pedal so he can play guitar solos over the chords, and was usually joined by two great Dutch musicians on keyboard and bass, Tim and Eibe. He’s been doing this for several years now and has a following in Holland. Check out his website, mikebeck.us.
Here’s where I played:
Sunday April 28: arrive in Amsterdam.
Monday April 27: open mic/jam at the Oude Pothuys in Utrecht.
Tuesday April 28: open mic at Sappho in Amsterdam.
Wednesday April 29: open for Chicago Mike at Scooters in Drachten.
Thursday April 30: open for Chicago Mike at Scooters in Leeuwarden.
Friday May 1: open for Chicago Mike at Skutsje in Haarlingen.
Saturday May 2: open for Chicago Mike at De Gouden Leeuw in Geldermalsen.
Sunday May 3: open for Chicago Mike at Café de Merckt in Tiel.
Monday May 4: a day off! went to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam.
Tuesday May 5: open mic at Cafe Averecht in Utrecht.
Wednesday May 6: another day off. Slacker.
Thursday May 7: open mic at Skek in Amsterdam.
Friday May 8: back to Denver.
It’s been a good trip. I’ve learned about some of the places to play and made contacts, met some great Dutch musicians and made some new fans. And I learned from Mike about some of the logistics of playing here. I plan to set up some gigs for myself and come back sometime in the next year.
Another thing that was reinforced on this trip is the primacy of the music in songwriting. Almost all the Dutch speak English–some very well. But I could tell when I was singing my songs that, for many of them, they missed the nuances of the lyrics– slang words, metaphors, etc. So in choosing which songs to play, I started using the songs where I created a good melody, and/or had an interesting rhythm. The English language is not universal but music is.
-Rob
It’s not just singer-songwriter; it’s not just two things. It’s four:
1. composer of music
2. lyricist
3. musician (guitar and/or piano, or whatever you perform with)
4. singer
In the “old days”, one person composed the music, another person composed the lyrics, a band of professional musicians played the music, and the singer sang. Sometimes it’s still done that way today. Singer-songwriters are trying to do the jobs of 4 people. No wonder this is so hard. I’m not whining or complaining; I love it. But it explains why it’s so difficult to be good at all 4 things (see my previous blog, “3 Types of Songwriters).
I began as a guitar player. Then I took singing lessons. Then learned how to write songs. Others do it in a different order.
I took piano lessons a few years ago, and took more last year. But my focus for the last 5 years has been songwriting (music and lyric composition). As a result, I’m starting to feel more confident in my songwriting. So now I’m taking singing lessons again, because I think that’s my main weakness.
I’ve got 4 jobs. Not counting my paying job.
When I look at it that way, I don’t call myself lazy anymore.
-Rob
I started this one about a year-and-a-half ago, then it sat for awhile, and I came back to it about a month ago, and feel like it’s at a first draft stage where I can put it out there for feedback. I’m still trying to figure out how to sing it; it’s a little challenging for me. I think that’s because I’m still trying to figure out what the melody should be in some places. (You can here it at www.myspace.com/robroperdemos). And the lyrics may need some tweaking also. The structure is unusual, but that seemed to be what the song wanted musically.
Heart but no Brain
by Rob Roper 3rd draft March 22, 2009
You got a heart but no brain
a voice out in the rain
spoken, never heard
and so much to say
An apprentice with no master
Apollo’s little bastard
left on your own
and time moves ever faster
I can see you’re just a flower
that needs a little water
the neglected middle son
the farmer’s ugly daughter
You just need a little help
but you’re too shy to ask
you don’t want to be a burden
and you’re afraid they will laugh
You’ve got so much inside you
that wants to come out
but no one believes in you
and you’ve got your doubts
You know where you’re going
but you don’t have a map
So you stare at the road
and you feel that you’re trapped
If you quit and gave up
no one would care
nobody knows
what you have to share
And now your forehead
is all black and blue
’cause the brick wall is stubborn
but so are you
(instr over B part)
(repeat V1 and V2)
Over the last few years I’ve been trying to get more disciplined about making time for songwriting, because I want to write more songs, and I now know that, if I put the time in, songs will get written. But for reasons I don’t understand, I frequently procrastinate. I can understand procrastinating over something that’s not enjoyable, like cleaning the bathroom, but I don’t understand why I procrastinate doing something I enjoy. I suppose I could pay a shrink a couple thousand dollars and find out, but I’d rather spend that money on a nice new Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar.
In October I decided that I would focus on songwriting during the 4 winter months, November-February. I’ve learned that I’m an outdoor person, so it’s hard for me to go into my music basement and compose music when the weather is beautiful outside, like it almost always is during the Spring, Summer and Fall in Denver. But if it’s cold and dark outside, there’s no temptation to go out, and I can work on music. My plan was to put in 2 hours a night on 3 weeknights, and one 3-4 hour session on either Saturday or Sunday.
I wrote this in my songwriting journal on October 26, 2008: “The goal is *not* to say I’ll write x number of songs in the next four months. The goal is to put in the time, with no pressure, have fun and learn.”
Today is March 1, so the 4-month hibernation is over. How did I do?
I found it hard to work on music on weeknights. I just couldn’t get going most nights. Maybe my brain was tired from my day job and I just didn’t want to have to use it anymore. I’m not sure why. I did some songwriting on weeknights, but not even close to meeting the goal.
I did much better on weekends. I did songwriting on a Saturday or Sunday–and sometimes both–most weekends. And I took advantage of holidays during Thanksgiving and Christmas, and even took a couple days off work just for songwriting. It was on these days, where I could dedicate a whole day to songwriting, that I was most productive.
I did a lot of composing in the DADGAD guitar tuning. I wrote 3 songs in this tuning, “Let’s Go to the Mountains”, “The Man in the Movies”, and “The Other Side of Nowhere”. I also wrote “Mama Had a Mohawk” and “Misfit” in standard tuning. I started about a half dozen others, but not quite getting them to a first draft stage.
I was also taking piano lessons during this time. I composed one instrumental on the piano, and came up with a few other ideas to be developed later. And I came up with several musical ideas on the guitar which I saved.
Compared to other songwriters, this doesn’t seem very productive for a 4-month period. But for me it was more productive than any other time in my songwriting history. If I can just figure out how to be more disciplined to write on worknights, I could really be productive.
Now I plan to get back out and perform, so more of my music time will be devoted to getting gigs, practicing songs–both myself and with bandmates. But I don’t plan to stop songwriting until next winter. I’d like to have about a 50-50 balance between work for performing and songwriting. I’d still like to write some songs before the next winter hibernation.
I’m not sure why I’m posting this blog. Do I just want people to write and say congrats, good job? Do I want people to write and offer suggestions how to get motivated to be creative on worknights when you’re tired? Do I want free therapy to explain why I procrastinate doing things I love? I don’t know. But for some reason I felt the need to write and post this. Maybe it’s just another form of procrastination; afterall, I could have been working on a song instead of composing this.
-Rob