June 2020
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 25, No. 6
Next meeting Cancelled due to Corona Virus.
However, we will be attempting an on-line Zoom meeting.
Details are at the bottom of this webpagel, and in the Facebook group page.
Any Details not in this newsletter are at:
If you wish to join our Facebook group, please check us out at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/831814850193553/
WebChatter
By CyberToad
Here is a short video (6-1/2 mins) by Disc Makers about Music Rights and Royalty Overview -
Basics of Music Copyrights and Royalties Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONnp5PEJtek They will be continuing the series,
so you might want to subscribe to their channel.
Also, there is a second video by them about copyright (is it necessary??)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQVplBx70SI
On The Record Part 2
By Jackie Mason
This article continues my evaluation of a 2009 interview of head Kink Ray Davies by Will Hodgkinson.
This is the YouTube link to that interview. Split up into eleven parts but finally running chronologically with all eleven parts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8B_LYW1lB0
Like another singer/songwriter, Joni Mitchell, Davies never set out to be a songwriter. Like Mitchell his first love was art.
The Kinks first big hits “You Really Got Me” and “All Day And All Of The Night” were started on piano. That becomes a part
of The Kinks sound, the staccato rhythm. Ray says he wrote for that unique Kink’s sound. Along with that punchy rhythm,
the distorted, screaming guitar became their signature sound. Ray’s vocals are set back in the mix too. He’s not belting out
the vocals. This early sound would influence countless bands. This is punk before there was punk, metal before there was
metal. As soon as one hit dropped down the charts, the record company demanded another. I sense some conflict between
Ray and the record company. He says that he wanted one hit so he could finance a trip to Spain. Joni Mitchell had similar goals.
The money from the music financed other artistic goals. Ray becomes a reluctant pop star. Like other songwriters, Tony Hatch
for example, he says he’s “pretty good at writing on demand. I’m quite good at being commissioned.”
The next song that Ray talks about is “I Need You.” We are treated to a smoking acoustic version of it by Ray and guitarist
Billy Shanley. The interview continues with a discussion about his formal musical training.I love this quote, “If I really had the
technique to think about what I was doing, probably, I wouldn’t have written songs like “All Day And All Of The Night” which is
completely A-Tonal.” He follows this up with another stellar quote, “It’s good to have rules before you know how to break them.”
This relates to an orchestration class he took in his twenties. After a year the instructor told him she didn’t want to inhibit his
natural instincts.
The discussion turns to writing on demand as opposed to writing for oneself. The song released after “All Day And All Of
The Night” was “Everybody’s Gonna Be Happy.” It wasn’t as big a hit and it didn’t have The Kink’s “signature sound.” A sound
that the record company demanded. It’s a foray into a different kind of music. It’s influenced by Cab Calloway, one of his dad’s
favorites. Ray also cites Big Bill Broonzy as another inspiration. I think it must be noted that Ray and his brother arrived as
recording musicians with a vast amount of musical knowledge. Will Hodgkinson calls it listening knowledge. This was acquired
from their sister’s record collections and their dad’s tastes. In the biography “Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else” by Thomas
M. Kitts there is this quote, “He composed “Everybody’s Gonna Be Happy” in the jazzy soul style of The Earl Van Dyke Trio, a
band Ray admired.” It won’t be the last time he breaks from The Kinks sound and writes in music hall and jazz styles. This is a
part of Ray that I have always respected and admired.
This part of the interview concludes with a beautiful, acoustic version of “Set Me Free.” This contains The Kinks signature riff.
It’s a song written for The Kinks. It’s a “write to order” song and was probably far more palatable to the record company.
All of the songs mentioned were released in 1964. By the middle of 1965 The Kinks find themselves banned from the USA
by the American Federation of Musicians. I don’t blame Ray for not wanting to discuss it. They were too English. They had long hair.
They didn’t play the game. It all culminated in an incident in Reno, Nevada. The USA was liberal on both coasts and extremely
conservative in the middle and the South. It’s still like that. You can put it down to mismanagement, bad luck and bad behavior but
that ban changed the trajectory of their career. It took away their best years and as a result Ray’s writing changed.
Ray talks about writing character songs. “Sunny Afternoon” is a radically different song from anything that has come before.
It’s a direct result of the American ban. It’s a song that should have been a bigger hit but they can’t get their records on the US airwaves.
The lyrics are so good. A song about a down on his luck English playboy in a shaky economy. It reflects those times in England. Ray is
experiencing the high taxation of that period.
“The tax man's taken all my dough
And left me in my stately home
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
And I can't sail my yacht
He's taken everything I got
All I've got's this sunny afternoon”
It catches the decadence beautifully. Ray goes on to explain that all the earlier songs were character pieces too. The decision to
underplay the vocal on “You Really Got Me” so that his voice becomes a part of that Kinks sound. He’s not just writing songs, he’s writing
for a sound. This is one of the key revelations in this interview. It’s important to understand what is going on. It’s a big takeaway for us as
songwriters. It leaves us with a lot to ponder.
More to come, next month. Stay safe.
ISG Bulletin Board
Meeting space graciously provided by Central Florida Musicians Association,
Local 389. You are invited to join the largest union in the world, representing the
interests of the professional musician. Visit their website at afm389.org for more
information. You may reach them by phone at: 407-894-8666.
Why isn't your gig or live stream announced here? Members in good standing call SusieCool
with your appearance schedule! 407-760-2153 or e-mail her the details at isgorlando@gmail.com
If you are interested in open mics in the Central Florida area, SusieCool has compiled a list.
https://sites.google.com/site/susiecoolsongs/Home/open-mic-directory-central-florida
SusieCool is the admin for a Facebook group called "Orlando Creative Music Network"
where we give out info on songwriter meetings, playing circles, open mics, workshops and concerts.
We have a Facebook page for this group if you want to join.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/274152179716552/
No Critique for May, since no live meeting.
We were able to have a successful Zoom meeting thanks to Matthew Campbell in Oregon.
Matthew Campbell, Ron Collins, Susan Trewick and Matt Griffin submitted songs.
New members and guests always welcome!
On Sunday June 7th, ISG will have a Zoom meeting hosted by our Critique Chairperson Jeff Evans
ISG members and interested songwriters are invited to submit a song for us
to listen to and critique in the meeting.
We will need an MP3 for music; PDF, Word, or plain text file for lyrics.
If you can send bySaturday night, June 6th.
Please send to: djinandtonic@gmail.com (Jeff Evans)
We are on a free account, so foresee that we will need to run 3 meetings back to back.
Here are the details, so please join our meeting(s). If we need more time Jeff can schedule another meeting at the end of the 3rd one.
Jeff's NOTE: I've set the meetings 45 minutes apart so that people will have a short break between segments.
Topic: ISG June Meeting #1
Time: Jun 7, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71354722849?pwd=OGI5MHdFanR1UHo4anBtQWhpUlY5QT09
Meeting ID: 713 5472 2849
Password: songs
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Topic: ISG June Meeting #2
Time: Jun 7, 2020 05:45 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78896317499?pwd=YlowQWpYMHdtWUNyMFZHL3pjWHRhdz09
Meeting ID: 788 9631 7499
Password: songs
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Topic: ISG June Meeting #3
Time: Jun 7, 2020 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71221622252?pwd=VWQ4YkcyaVJKbmNOcjRhdXRwWHFUQT09
Meeting ID: 712 2162 2252
Password: songs
We will not be scoring the songs, just offering constructive feedback.
© 2020 ISG