So I’d like to invite you all to join me in a new (business?) venture: Songs For Hire. I’ve yet to come up with a snappy name (maybe SongSmithing or something like that). But here’s the pitch:
What do you get? A one-of-a-kind, unique-to-you original song to enjoy and/or gift.
What do I get? A free song idea, a puzzle to figure out, and, eventually, a cool collection of original songs about people I, quite possibly, hardly know.
I would collect a small fee for my time—we’ll figure that out later—and would retain all rights to the song, of course. I may also offer more boutique-y offers—EPs, album artwork, etc.—for any special negotiated requests.
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To begin, I’d like to hold a contest. I want to offer my first song-for-hire for free to an interested party who replies to this email.
In your email, pitch me the idea for your song—tell me about the person you want it to be about, or the event you want to commemorate, or whatever idea you have. I will pick one request to complete for free to get this project underway.
If you’re interested in a chance to receive a free, original song, please respond to
I will pick one winner and contact you about the particulars.
First in the Old Man Winter collection, Volume 1 features “I Got a New Tattoo for Christmas” and b-side “Same Old New Year’s” and is available for free at my Bandcamp site. Merry Christmas, friends.
Kristen Solecki, who provided the cover art for Crooked Earth, just finished this great illustration for my upcoming original Christmas single “I Got a New Tattoo for Christmas” (b/w “Same Old New Year’s”). I’m combining the two songs and calling them Old Man Winter, Volume 1 because I’ve got lots of other ideas for holiday songs that I hope to come back to every year.
WXPN has chosen the song to be a part of their Philly Local holiday music 12 Days of Christmas. Between December 8th and 23rd, the station will feature one holiday song from a local artist—both during the 9am morning hour and Helen Leicht’s mid-day show. More details about which day will follow.
Both songs will be available soon—for free on my Bandcamp site.
Back in 2007, Missing Palmer West had just released our first EP and it featured an old Wise and Foolish Builders song called “Kill the Soudman.” The song imagines a sad sack soundman, unhappy with his job, and frustrated with nights filled with open mics and chili fries. The video features photos of soundmen culled from Google images. I always thought of it as ode, but the soundmen on the internet, understandably, never much cared for it. (Everyone knows bands are often made up of self-important jerks; it hardly seems necessary to write that song.)
The video has gotten over 31,000 views, certainly a lot more attention than anything else I’ve ever done. Soundmen from around the world continue to take issue with the song’s story. Their comments on the video are all very funny—and, of course, mostly true. They roll in monthly, mostly diatribes on the egotistical musician, his ridiculous demands, and their thankless job. And to be honest, ever since I wrote the song, I’ve worked almost exclusively with really great, helpful soundmen.
It was just a song.
Check out the video at the attached link—but mostly just to read the comments.