LIVING WITH THE MUSIC OF MY MIND - YOUR PASSIONS ARE EVERYTHING!

Since the third grade I’ve been living with a music soundtrack going in my head. Initially it was music I thought was cool, that I either heard on the radio or in my parents’ music collection, which would play in my head while I engaged in the activities of living. Walking or running, doing chores, playing sports, whatever…music would be running through my head.

Radio, then and now, often worked off of limited playlists or by just playing the hits. What most people don’t know is how much music is created and recorded every year, and the small percentage of music that reaches the airways.

The internet has helped independent artists to bring their music to the fore, allowing for more music to be heard than ever before. The radio industry is in such few hands from an ownership point of view, that greed has played a major hand in what you hear. To generate money, corporate owners believe a formula is the most efficient way to make money in the industry. Less competition leads to a same-ness in our radio waves. NO WONDER THE IPOD AND MP3’S ARE SO POPULAR NOW – PERSONAL CHOICE!

Payola is alive and growing today just as it was 50 years ago in the radio industry. There has been a very direct ploy by media giants to shape the minds of the American people regarding social and political issues. Talk radio is extremely conservative often following an ideology of bigotry and division portrayed under a guise of religion and patriotism.

Music was my bent from the start. Wanting to play piano long before I ever had the opportunity. Fed up with radio and having a desire to create my own music, I started hearing music in my head – original music. Picking up some books on music theory, I began to write songs from what I was hearing in my head. Whether I was purposely wanting to write music or not, the soundtracks just continued. But, it was never to a point of annoyance. I even dreamed music that I later wrote for groups I formed.

Listening to music, I could learn a song verbatim including the instrumental solos. For commercial music that may not be a big deal, however to do it with jazz songs was a whole ‘nother ballgame. Many of my friends who were musicians marveled at how I could repeat improvisational solos verbatim and I wasn’t a musician. When I finally started playing alto saxophone in high school, I used some of those techniques for my own improvisational work.

Mixing music for personal and public use, radio deejaying, spinning in clubs, performing with bands, promoting musical concerts, programming music for clubs, restaurants, and fitness centers to becoming a producer, programmer, composer, musician, and promoter in one phase of my life all stemmed from a passion for music.

There are computer software programs for creating your own music. Pro Tools, Garage Band and Fruity Loops Studios are some of the most popular software programs out. I’ve been using the Fruity Loops Studio since March, 2005 and it’s allowed me to flesh out the things I’ve been hearing in my head without the hassle of getting folks to rehearsals. It’s really like painting a picture only with musical notes, varied instrumental sounds and creative arrangements.

The ninth CD of Sciontists of Soundz (my musical doppelganger), ROAD TUNES SUITE will be released this June, with a mixture of tunes that work well while driving, riding, biking, running, walking, doing housework, skating, skate boarding…anything where a certain energy works for you.

Out of everything I’ve said, that’s only one thread of the several passions I have. We all are multi-passioned! Most of us just don’t know it. Discover your passions and you find the gifts you were born to share with the world. Find your passions in life and open yourself to a passionate life of fulfillment and happiness.