The Secret, Mysterious Origins of Nola Blues

If you have ever heard "Nola Blues", you know that it is an acoustic guitar based Delta blues song.  Did you know it actually started out as a song played only on keyboards?

I wrote a whimsical keyboard instrumental called "Traffic Light" that was so-named because it reminded me of the sights and sounds you might experience while stopped at city traffic light.  It was recorded in Ableton Live, and has only five tracks - drums, bass, and three piano tracks - all played on midi instruments using my Alesis QS 8.1 keyboard as the midi controller.

However, I am a die-hard blues lover, so I took the bass and drum tracks from "Traffic Light", added a few bars to the verses, and started playing some guitar blues over them.  I added a lead guitar part and a harmonica solo in the bridge, and "Nola Blues" was born.

Several people have commented that they really like the slide playing in "Nola Blues".  I take that as a compliment, because there is no slide guitar.  There is just one rhythm guitar and one lead guitar that is duplicated and delayed slightly to add a little fullness.

But here is another little secret.  The rhythm guitar, played on my mahogany Guild D-25, is done in a tuning that probably few people in the universe have ever dreamed of.  It is so rare, I don't even know what it is called.  I call it a D5 tuning, and I have used it on several of my songs, including "Put Yourself In My Place" and "What's Gonna Happen".

As for the name "Nola Blues" ...
it could be a girl's name,
it could stand for No. La., as in North Louisiana blues,
or it could be N.O.L.A. for New Orleans, Louisiana, where I first started playing professionally.
You decide.

I'd be willing to bet that if you heard "Traffic Light" and "Nola Blues", you would never know that they are the same song.
Check out the clips of them on the PWCarr Music web site, and see if you can pick out the similarities and differences.

Note that you will have to stop the music player to hear the clip of "Traffic Light", then you can use the player to hear an extended clip of "Nola Blues" and the other two songs I mentioned.

http://www.12path.com/blog/songs/

Get your copy of any or all of Pat Carr's songs at the Music Store.

Recording Stuck With Chuck

When I was still working as a computer test engineer, I decided to start a music business to market my songs.  It was a logical step, since I had been playing music and writing songs for over 20 years.  After I was unceremoniously booted out the door of the computer industry due to "downsizing," I went full time into learning recording technology, music business legalities, internet promotion, and all the tools I would need to sell music online.

The first song I wanted to record was "Stuck With Chuck."  I had never been able to get a good recording of it when I was playing in a band.  I was preparing for it even when I was still working as a test engineer.  Whenever I found a song stuck in my head, I would start singing "Stuck With Chuck" so it would be stuck in my head instead.

I started by laying down a scratch drum track with a simple beat that I could use to record a basic guitar rhythm track.  Then I put a scratch vocal track on it so I would know where I was in the song while I was recording guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards.  Since it was the first song I had ever recorded at home, I was learning the technology as I went.  It was a long process, and I ended up re-recording and remixing it 41 times before it got to the point where I was pretty much satisfied with the result.  It has 16 tracks of rhythm and lead guitars, bass, drums, percussion, piano, organ, and lead and background vocals.

Along the way I learned how to make samples by recording one hit of a drum or cymbal from my Alesis drum machine, then use the samples to build a drum kit in my recording program.  It's not as easy as you might think, because you have to have just the right number of miliseconds of silence at the beginning of the sample.  But you end up with a natural sounding drum kit that you can play with a midi controller.  If you mess up, you can correct and adjust the beats visually in the midi track on the computer.  Pretty cool.

Some of my fans and listeners have told me that "Stuck With Chuck" is one of their favorite songs.  It's about a girl I was enamored with in my school days, and the lyrics are imbued with my characteristic dry wit...tongue planted firmly in cheek.

You can hear a clip of "Stuck With Chuck" on my web site and maybe grab a copy while you are there.
Check it out at http://pwcarrmusic.com/store.html
Enjoy!

Why Do Songwriters and Musicians Promote Their Music?

Have you ever stopped to think about why independent musicians are promoting their music?

I have songs on dozens of internet sites and radio stations. Why?
For one thing, I want to share them. It wouldn't do much good for them to sit on my computer and never be heard.
Music puts me in touch with people. I have friends all over the world because they heard my songs. Some of them I have even been able to meet in person.

Music is a tie that binds us all together. It is something we all have in common, whether we create it, or just love listening. No matter how you are feeling, there is a song that expresses it.

Music can be purely for enjoyment, or it can teach us at the same time.
I believe that at least some of my songs have an important message. They provide a way for me to express my beliefs and feelings, and hopefully resonate with the listeners.

It seems, though, that in our culture songwriters and artists are not as revered as they have been in the past. That's a little strange considering how important they are to us.

I cannot begin to tell how many wonderful comments I have received from people who enjoy my music. I'm grateful for that. It always makes me feel good to know I made someone else feel good.

So why else am I promoting my music?
I put thousands of hours and a lot of dollars into it, and I'm trying to make a living.

I believe it's important to support the people that bring a little joy to our lives. I try to do it as much as possible, and I'm truly grateful to those who have supported me.

Compliments are nice, but they don't pay the bills.

You get a $2.00 discount and no shipping fee on the digital version of Some Kind of Blues.