Thanks to everyone who attended my Tawas shows or my gig with Jeff Pianki at Howell’s Thompson Lake! Many of you recently signed up last night, and I wanted to share my first free song for the Vialator Song Club email list sent out August 1st. To focus on releasing more material, I’ve made a goal to include one new song download with each monthly newsletter. You can find the link the left of this box!
Last night’s kick-off for Howell Melon Festival was my most enjoyable show this summer. It was inspiring to share original music and talk with many supportive attendees from Howell and Brighton. Plus, the Howell Main Street DDA volunteers and staff and Fusion Shows team made last night such a smooth ride for me as a performer.
Also, I’ll be playing at Howell Melon Festival’s main stage this Saturday from 3-4 PM. This set will be a full band set featuring Hannah Fralick and David Mosher. We would love to see you sharing some melon ice-cream at the Howell Western Wear stage!
Thanks for signing up and enjoy the rest of the festival,
Mike Vial
PS: The song attached in the newsletter is “Tiny Giants.”
Get this song for free by joining the Vialator Song Club/Mailing List!
Tiny Giants
There’s a space in my stomach where my fears go to hide
Like tiny giants growing to a bigger size
I can’t close my eyes, I can’t close my eyes
There’s a place for a smile, but I can’t find the disguise
The tiny giants act surprised, they just patronize
I can’t stop the ride, I can’t stop the ride
Like a mountain to my heart, it’s so hard to climb
I’ve gotten good at falling down
But getting back up, it takes a lifetime
I am a crazy dreamer out of control by design
I feel the tiny giants making a meal of my mind
I can’t close my eyes, I can’t close my eyes
The tiny giants won’t rest tonight
* * *
Mike Vial: vocals, 12-string guitar, piano
Recorded by Marshall Block at Real ii Reel Studios, August 5, 2011
Mastered by Marshall Block
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Songwriting Notes
I originally wrote this as a songwriting challenge. I used a tezra-rima poem structure to break myself from the overused rhyming couplet patterns, and the first draft called “Late, Gate” was intended to be a submission in the “ForSongsSake” competition. Sadly, the force rhyme pattern and cadence keep getting in the way of melody line! The first draft experienced a slow, painful death on Tuesday.
Two days later, I read a film submission listing requesting “an emotional song about despair, pain, or loss from the perspective of a male teenager.” I thought parts of my first draft of “Late, Gate” could work, but I needed a new voice for the song. I freed myself slightly from the terza-rima format, spent a few hours working on new music, and made the song more abstract. The running title was “Where Fears Go to Hide.”
Still, I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere until I stumbled upon the image of “Tiny Giants” during the a second hour of writing on Thursday. We’ve all heard the cliche of having butterflies in our stomach; I always feel like I have tiny giants stumbling around my gut whenever I get anxious, worried or upset. Once I found that metaphor and continued rewriting lines, the song became much connected.
This version is still in demo format. Marshall Block and I spent two and a half hours burning the midnight oil at his studio so I could meet the film submission deadline today. All guitars are first takes. Same with the piano track! We only did two takes from vocals and cut-and-paste the best parts from both. A quick mix, a quick master and it was time to leave at 3 AM.
Special thanks to Marshall for working with me so last minute and so late into the morning.
Yesterday, one of my friends said, “Mike, school will be starting soon, and you aren’t going to know what to do with yourself since you aren’t teaching!”
I smiled and said the life of a musician is just as busy as a teacher, if not more. I’m not sure she fully believed me, but it’s true.
My teaching career prepared me for one aspect of the independent musician lifestyle: I’m working all the time. Being a musician is promoting a business. Yesterday was probably a 15 hour work day for me, a unique day spent writing, performing, recording, and submitting a song for consideration for a film placement.
Here’s a little glimpse of my last 32 hours as a musician:
Wednesday:
8 PM – 12 AM – I jammed with a drummer in Hamtramck and discussed future possibilities of creating a full band! Thought to myself, “Maybe I’ll sleep in tomorrow morning.”
Thursday:
1 AM – Returned home, checked my email and saw a posting from Taxi seeking a song for a film due Friday by 1 PM. I immediately starting revising some song ideas I had written early this week.
1-3:30 AM Worked on songwriting.
8:45 AM Woke-up and had breakfast with Natalie.
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM I had an intensely focused songwriting session and finished a song called “Tiny Giants” for my Taxi Film submission. I scheduled a recording session for midnight at Marshall Block’s Real ii Reel Studios in Fenton after my gig. Marshall said, “Yes! I might be sleeping on the couch, but I’ll leave the door open. Wake me up and we will burn the midnight oil.
4:45 PM Packed car, ate dinner, walked dog with Natalie.
6 PM Drove to my gig at the Fenton Hotel.
7-11 PM Played gig. Packed car again. Drove to the studio.
12 AM – 3 AM Recorded, mixed and mastered a demo of “Tiny Giants.”
4 AM Got home. Submitted song to Taxi online. Went to bed.
* * *
In the middle of mixing my song at 2 AM, Marshall mentioned he had been up since 7 AM that morning working with recording clients. “I have to take the work as it comes! You’ve joined the club,” he said.
Cap'n Crunch is the snack that gets us through the day.
OK, it looks like I’ve been slacking, but some important things have gotten in the way of my cover song homework. First, Natalie and I had to make an impromptu visit to Florida for a family emergency. Then, I turned 30 had a fun little gathering at my gig Stout in Brighton to celebrate and a nice family barbecue at my friends the Wojas.
So here I am at week three and about a third of the way through my goal of learning 100 covers. I thought I’d share a few more of the accomplishments and list of songs to learn.
1. For the First Time (the Script)
2. Ooh La La (Rod Stewart/Faces)
3. I Want You to Want Me (Cheap Trick)
4. Hotel California (The Eagles)
5. Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
6. Send Me on My Way (Rusted Root)
7. 867-5309 (Tommy Tutone)
8. Sweet Pea (Amos Lee)
9. Two (Ryan Adams)
10. Homeward Bound (Simon and Garfunkle)
11. Mrs. Robinson (Simon and Garfunkle)
12. Ventura Highway (America)
13. Give a Little Bit
14. Roll to Me (Del Amitri)
15. Don’t Ask Me (Billy Joel)
16. Angel for Montgomery (Bonnie Raitt; John Prime)
17. Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash)
18. Drops of Jupiter (Train)
19. Breakeven (The Script)
20. Danny’s Song (Kenny Loggins)
21. Losing My Religion (REM)
22. Walk Like an Egyptian (the Bangles)
23. Let’s Stay Together (Al Green)
24. Stand By Me (Ben E King)
25. Only the Good Die Young (Billy Joel)
26. One Great City (Weakerthans)
27. Maggie May (Rod Stewart)
28. Hey There Delilah (Plain White T’s)
29. She’s So High (Tal Bachmen)
30. Chariot (Gavin Degraw)
31. Amie (Pure Prairie League)
32. Against the Wind (Bob Seeger)
33. Night Moves (Bob Seeger)
34. You’ll Accompany Me (Bob Seeger)
35. Summer of 69 (Bryan Adams)
36. Don’t Stop Believing (Journey)
37. You’ve Got a Friend (James Taylor)
38. Half of My Heart (John Mayer)
39. Squeeze Box (the Who)
40. Everybody Hurts (REM)
41. Just the Way Your Are (Bruno Mars)
42. The Lazy Song (Bruno Mars)
43. Turn, Turn, Turn (Byrds)
44. A Horse with No Name (America)
Spotify has landed, and yes Sonicbids should care
Did you read Lou’s Sonicbid’s article saying Spotify might be too late to muster consumers in the US? I disagree, and here are four refutations to the article’s four main points:
1. Downloading an app is not an inconvenience, just like downloading iTunes wasn’t (when I used a PC). Just like downloading an app on my iPhone isn’t an inconvenience. Having this app ensures how well the streaming process works. Plus, comparing Pandora to Spotify is like comparing Tape Decks to CDs. Just because they both play music, doesn’t mean they offer the same experience.
2. Arguing the free option won’t last forever doesn’t refute the goal of Spotify’s trial system–in encouraging people to try it! It’s free now so people find out how valuable it is. The free option is how people are going to get hooked, just like how Netflix sends out free month trials. Once people see how amazing it is for $5 or $10 it will make music as addictive as heroin. Sure, this service might go up in price, like Netflix just did, but once there is a market for this type of product, this might encourage competition down the road.
3. Speaking of competition, I agree the best interface is important, but I think the service with the best streaming capabilities and the largest catalogue will win. I haven’t used the other streaming sites mentioned in Sonicbids article. You can tell me your thoughts if you have. OSNews already has already commented, with Spotify offering more music. That’s more important.
4. Itunes Match – Yeah, there could be competition here, but I think Apple doesn’t see itself in this business. Their recent earning margins show iTunes song sales aren’t very important in their revenue. It’s the iPad, iPhone, Apple Air and Macbook Pros that are continually selling beyond predictions. Apple has always seen itself as a hardware seller, and Spotify (like Netflix) encourages more iPad and iPhone sales.
I also don’t see Apple making a streaming product that works on Android, yet Spotify works on a variety of smart phones. Oh, and let’s not forget the forgettable Apple Ping failure! Spotify uses Facebook to share songs back and forth between friends, which I’ve been doing with my friend Alan instantly. (PS: I’m waiting for more of you Facebook friends to start using Spotify so we can share! Come on!)
* * *
Honestly, I think Sonicbids should start brainstorming ways Spotify can be used in their own company model. Listening parties, indie artists using Spotify statistics to motiviate gig pitches, teaming opening acts in market–There is a wealth of information the major labels are discovering with Spotify statistics, as Bob Lefsetz said in his blog, and I wonder if indie artists will one day have access to this information as well. I’d rather hear how Sonicbids is being cutting edge than critical when it comes to Spotify.
