Mark Shepard: A Life In Song

Archive for February, 2009

The Record Companies Are Dead…
Would You Be My Record Company Instead?

In the olden days it worked like this:

• Really talented musician got “discovered” by a record company talent scout
• Musician signed multi-year record deal and recorded his songs
• The record company paid for all the marketing and promotion which actually came out of the musicians pocket because the musician never saw a dime until the record company paid off their investment. Any “advance” had to be paid off too.
• The radio stations (often paid off in various ways by Record companies) played the music and people heard it for free and liked it enough to run to the record store to buy it.
• Musicians with the right amount of support and talent were able to build large audiences and get their work out into the ears of millions.

Now it works like this.

• The record companies are either dying or all ready dead. Even if they were alive and well, a 48 year old unknown singer/songwriter would be the absolutely last thing they’d be interested in.
• A musician who has talent has to “discover” him or herself and begin to learn how to “do it yourself” or DIY. Marketing, promotion, internet search engine optimization, blogging, social media etc…
• The new musician is competing not only with established acts (in my case James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Leonard Cohen, John Mayer, Peter Gabriel etc.) he is also competing with a gazillion new and unheard of acts. He is also competing with TV, and with all the other gazillion voices, causes, ideas, books, movies, games, sports, people who are clamoring for attention. Paris Hilton is the Michelangelo of the new Attention Age. She has elevated the art of getting attention to the highest art form. But she doesn’t really contribute much of lasting value.( Oops sorry about getting up on my soap box for a moment…:o)
• So now, in order to get even a micro slice of the attention pie, in order to get people to listen, there is a new process. It is still evolving. But it is basically based on me giving away unlimited free downloads of my music. Because unless you listen you will not get a chance to like what you hear and if you do not get that chance you certainly are not going to come to see me live in concert or buy the tee-shirt.
• But here is the question. If I give away my work how do I buy food and pay rent? How do I put gas in my car so that I can drive to the show? In the really olden days I would find a patron or benefactor in the nobility or the church who would support my work. After that it was corporations that did that. Now it’s all comes down to you and me.
• It all hinges around me somehow finding a way to reach out to you so that you will stop what you are doing in your busy life long enough to listen to one or more of my songs. Then if and only then, if you like it, download and share my music. Email it to your friends. Burn it on a mix CD and give it away for Christmas. This is exactly what the old dinosaur record companies are suing college kids for. Those college kids are actually doing the music a huge favor. They are sharing it and spreading it. It’s like when radio first started playing music for free over the air waves. The record companies screamed “Who will buy our music if it’s able to be heard for free?” Well that free listen was what sent us scurrying to buy the LPs back in the day. And then when radio stations started playing the entire side of an LP and people had (gasp!) cassette recorders at home. The record industry screamed again. The end result was that the people won and music grew new audiences.

So I don’t really need you to be my record company in the traditional sense. I don’t want you to be stiff, and closed minded. I need you to be my open minded partner. I need your help. I’m entering a viciously competitive, attention clobbered world where my small voice can barely be heard. I’m not a 20 something hottie. Most people my age are still listening to the stuff they “bonded” with back in their own college days. So I need ears that are willing to try new stuff.

I’ve waited 30 years for this. I’ve overcome immense personal challenges to even be here. I’ve made a deep commitment to preserve and share these tunes that chose me to be their songwriter. I’ve invested thousands and thousands of dollars of my own money on the dozen or so CD’s I’ve already recorded. It’s okay if I don’t make back that money. I’ve preserved the tunes so at the very least my kids will know my life through the songs. But so far I’ve recorded only about half of what I’ve written. I need your help to record the other half and get it out.

I am moving forward with this goal every single day. I would like your company on this road. I will do my best to provide back to you support and a transformative listening experience that can in some small way touch and improve your life or give you the ability to touch and improve the lives of others.

Here’s some specific things you can do to help.

Stage 1: Fan and Enthusiast

1. Go to any open of my song posts and download it by right clicking the little down load link just below the audio player. Put it on your mp3 player. Play it on your computer. Burn it to a cd and play it in your car. burn another copy for a friend. Attach it to an e-mail and send it to a friend who might need to hear whatever the message is in the song.
2. If you like it come back for more or sign up for my weekly news letter or RSS feed. I upload a minimum of 1 song per week so there’s always something new happening. If you opt in I will also give you the option of providing me with your street address to which I will send you a free CD.
3. Share any post by clicking the little buttons at the bottom. With a click of a button you can post to your facebook page, or twitter or stumbleupon or digg etc.
4. If at any point you feel so moved, you can make a donation of any size with the handy donation button at the bottom of each post or in the right sidebar.
5. Wherever possible come to see me live in concert. Introduce yourself, Hang out a bit. Request a song. I’ll do my best to dedicate it and play if for you.

Stage 2 Micro Patronage:
Here’s how you can help me and help your business or favorite cause (or just make your mark on the world).

Earth Patron:
You can sponsor the recording of one of my songs. This will preserve the tune in crisp clear digital sound. Just me and my guitar. No fancy production. Just raw and clear.  Participation Investment $100.00 per song.

You get:

1. Your name and website link listed with the song post (or if you are supporting a favorite cause and choose to be anonymous you can have your cause info here instead)
2. Every time I perform the song I will say “The recording and preservation of this song was made possible by your name here”
3. You will also get the first listen to the new recording.
4. If you are local, and schedule’s permit, you are invited to come to the recording session in person.

Wind Patron:
You can sponsor an entire year of the Life In Song Project (10-15 songs). When I go into the studio I can record several songs at each session. Again this is raw, acoustic Mark Shepard along the lines of Eyes On The Horizon or Ocean of Dreams. Investment: $1,000

You get:

1. Your name and website link listed with each of the songs posted (or if you are supporting a favorite cause and choose to be anonymous you can have your cause info here instead)
2. Every time I perform any the songs in this collection I will say “The recording and preservation of this song was made possible by your name here”
3. You will also get the first listen to the new recording.
4. If you are local, and schedule’s permit, you are invited to come to the recording session in person.
5. You will get the entire session on CD
6. You will get your name on the CD label
7. You will get a dozen CD’s to give away
8. A free house concert at your home. Invite your friends or just keep me to yourself for the evening. Please Note: Unless you want to fly me in to your city, or cover travel expenses, this benefit is for the local folks only within an hour or two drive from New Haven CT.

Fire Patron:
A number of my songs are crying out for other instruments and arrangements that will totally set fire to the raw material of the basic song. In order to produce a song I have to pay other musicians as well as 10-30 hours of studio time and arranging with my long time collaborator Joe Mennonna (at $100 per hour). So each produced song costs anywhere from $1,000-$3000 depending on the complexity of the arrangement. The benefit of producing a song is that it is much more accessible to a wider audience. So your sponsor ship message can reach more. To see how this works compare the Youtube video of Motivation with some of my acoustic videos. At this writing, Motivation has had over 2500 views (just in the MarkShepardSongs channel.

Watch the Video here to see what I’m talking about and imagine your name as patron.

I also have it up in several other channels and video directories across the web that have garnered about 500 views each fromall over the world.

You get:

1. Your name and website link listed with each of the songs posted (or if you are supporting a favorite cause and choose to be anonymous you can have your cause info here instead)
2. Every time I perform any the songs in this collection I will say “The recording and preservation of this song was made possible by your name here“
3. You will also get the first listen to the new recording.
4. If you are local, and schedule’s permit, you are invited to come to the recording session in person and experience the entire process from start to finish.
5. You will get the entire session on CD
6. You will get your name on the CD label You will get 2 dozen CD’s to give away
7. You will get your name on the tee shirt along with the song lyrics.
8. You will get sponsorship mention in the music video The video will be uploaded to over a dozen of the leading video directories on the web. Where appropriate we can even work your photo or one of your favorite photos into the video. Possibly even a cameo appearance. Again, see the Motivation Video. I was able to work photos of Kathy McAfee and her two sons as well as a memorial picture of her brother into the video.
9. A free house concert at your home. Invite your friends or just keep me to yourself for the evening. Please Note: Unless you want to fly me in to your city, or cover travel expenses, this benefit is for the local folks only within an hour or two drive from New Haven CT.

This is obviously still in the formative stage so if you have any other ideas or suggestions on how you can help and how I can support your support please let me know.

Interested? Got Questions?

Please contact me at mark [at] MarkShepard.com or 203-495-8808

1989 – A 25 Song Year!

1. Let My People Go |  January 1989 | Song #120 | Live Unknown CD
2. Don’t Be A Goof Be A Slug  |  February 1989  |  Song # 121  | New Songs/Ancient Stories CD
3. Andrea (version 1)  |  February 24, 1989  |  Song # 122  |
4. Jack ‘N The Bean Stalk  |  January 1989  |  Song # 123  |  Live Unknown CD
5. Living In The Suburbs  |  March 31, 1989  |  Song #124
6. Kite |  April 23, 1989  |  song # 125 | Visions & Voices CD
7. Stuffy the Dragon  |  April 25, 1989 |  Song # 126
8. Waiting for A Sign  |  May 21-24, 1989  |  Song # 127  |  Feather On The W ind CD
9. In The Gentle Falling Of The Rain  |  May 27, 1989  |  Song #128
10. Wanderer  |  May 30, 1989  |  Song # 129
11. The Detective  |  June 12/ 1989  |  Song #130
12. I’m Not Afraid of the Dark  |  June 1989  |  Song # 131
13. All The Money’s Gone  |  June 19, 1989  | Song #132  |  Feather On The Wind CD
14. I Am Such A Fool  |  June 27, 1989  |  Song #133
15. Juliette  |  July 29, 1989  |  Song # 134
16. Rise And Fall |  June – July 1989  |  song # 135  |  Feather On The Wind
17. Just Another Day In The Jungle  |  August 18, 1989  |  Song # 136
18. Nobody Else But You  |  September 1989  |  Song # 137
19. Moon On The River |  September 15, 1989  |  Song #138
20. My Tree House  |  September 29, 1989  |  Song # 139
21. It Must Be Great To Be A Dog  |  october 15, 1989  |  Song # 140
22. It’s A Holy Day  |  October 20, 1989 | Song #141
23. Feather On The Wind  |  October 30, 1989  |  Song #142  |  Feather ON The Wind CD
24. Walls  |  November 22, 1989  |  Song # 143  |  Feather On The Wind CD
25. Dragons Live Forever  |  December 13, 1989  |

Dedicated to the Memory of Jeremiah R. Dineen

Play the song. Download and share it with your friends free!

If you feel so moved to contribute to the Life In Song Project so that I can continue to preserve and share recordings of the close to 400 songs I’ve written over the past 30 years, you can do so with the donate button in the right side bar. Thanks!

The Moon On The River | 9/15/1989 | Song # 138

The moon on the river
Is sapphire, pearl and silver
As it penetrates the windshield of my car

As I drive along the highway
It tags along beside me
And seems to call me upwards to the stars

I’ve passed this way before
And I will again I’m sure
As the same old questions rise to haunt at me…

I walk roads that I’ve been told
Are rough and rocky kinds of roads
But out here on the road,
Despite the stories I’ve been told
I find it straight and smooth
And green with growing grass

Charlie, next door…
Well he lost his wife before
He really had a chance to say goodbye

And the neighbors and the friends
We did our best to comprehend
What it’s like to stay behind when your best friend flies

And the children still will play
Despite those who pass away
And each life that’s left must learn to carry on

We walk roads that we’ve been told
Are rough and rocky kinds of roads
But out there on the road,
Despite the stories we’ve been told
We find it straight and smooth
And green with growing grass

The moon on the river
Is sapphire, pearl and silver
As it penetrates the windshield of my car

As I drive along the highway
It tags along beside me
And seems to call me upwards to the stars

I walk roads that I’ve been told
Are rough and rocky kinds of roads
But out here on the road,
Despite the stories I’ve been told
I find it straight and smooth
And green with growing grass

Commentary: This is one of those songs that truly chose me to write it. I was driving up the Hudson river near Peekskill, NY and the moon was just hypnotically filling the sky and reflected off of the Hudson. I was reflective as well because my elderly next door neighbor Charlie, had just lost his wife. She just passed away suddenly. They’d been together for something like 50 years. We really are just visitors here. Life can change in moments. And then, life went on as it always does. As it will do after each of us takes the path we all must take…

I’m dedicating this song to the memory of my friend Jerry Dineen who passed away recently after a long struggle with cancer. I also grew up with his wife Trish. 30 years have passed in the blink of an eye and every moment is precious.

Tuning: DADGAD

This is the first release of this song.

© 1989-2009 by Mark Shepard http://MarkShepardSongs.come
All commercial rights reserved.
Permission granted to reprint with copyright info and link intact. Permission granted to download and distribute/share the mp3 file for non commercial purposes.

please book mark this, facebook it, twitter it, stumble it, digg it etc. Share this with people who might appreciate hearing from you. thank you.  – Mark Shepard

a Post Valentine’s Day reflection on Love and how absolutely stupid it is…

(that being said I’d sign up for another dose in a minute ) sheesh!)

Here’s the Player, BTW you can download this song for free and share it with all your friends. Just right click the “download” link and choose “save link as” or “save as”. All I ask is that you consider making a contribution to help me keep recording the hundreds of songs I’ve written over the past 30 years. To make a contribution please see the right sidebar…Thanks!

Giving Up On Love Today 11/25/08 Song #389

D                               G                  G7
I’m officially resigning from the act of pining
D             D7
Emotional strip mining
G                      A     D
I’m giving up on love today

I’m tired of the drama and the ensuing trauma
Though I voted for Obama
I’m giving up on love today.

Bm                            F#
Love is just a word for something that’s absurd
G                                     D                       A
It seems like it’s a bird but turns out mostly turd
Bm                                    F#
I hereby give my notice that love is mostly bogus
G                                      D                      A
And so I’ll shift my focus far from it’s hocus pocus

Every time I start feel it. I know I’ll have to heal it
So go ahead and steal it
I’m giving up on love today.

Love is so damn stupid, I feel just like the new kid
On the first day of school wandering like a fool
Head stuck in the clouds oblivious to doubts
Prone to sudden bouts of…being stupid…

I don’t like roller coasters, I’d rather shop for toasters
A puppy or a poster
I’m giving up on love today…

Love is manufactured by a bunch of actors
As the chick flick credits roll away
I need a little sanity, instead of this profanity
I’m giving up on love today

Repeat first two stanzas…

Copyright 2008-2009 by Mark Shepard, All commercial rights reserved. Permission granted to reprint or share for non commercial use as long as credit is given and a link back to this post. http://www.markshepardsongs.com/2009/02/giving-up-on-love

Commentary: Yes this song IS the result of on line dating. Do you have any great online dating horror stories? If so please share in the comments section below. If you want you can even change the names  to protect the “innocent”…or not )

Also, I found a great blog site Queen of Relationships she writes about dating and relationships from a woman’s perspective but as a guy I really enjoy her humor and the chance to “get inside” a woman’s head to better understand…(okay understanding is kind of hopeless but a guy can try can’t he?”

Also if you want to check out some of my less cynical love songs just go up to the categories list in the left hand sidebar and click on Love Songs.  It should bring up all the Love Songs I’ve posted so far…

Plenty more in the archives to follow as well.

Thanks for listening and please feel free to share with your friends and exes!

-Mark

Play the song here. Download it free and share it with someone you love:

Happy Birthday Song | November, 2007 |  Song # 373

Refrain:
Happy Birthday we love you
And may all your dreams come true
As the sun burns off the dew
May your world shine ever new

Another year has come and gone
So many nights so many dawns
Our time is short to sing this song
But our love is long

Refrain:

Here’s a toast to all who live
Who come to life with gifts to give
And here’s a toast to all who’ve passed
Before us on this path

Refrain:

Let us celebrate your start
With love and joy in all our hearts
Every breath leads Home again
Happy birthday my sweet friend

Refrain:

Mark Shepard’s Happy Birthday by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Commentary: Originally wrote this song in November when my daughter Tia and several friends of mine have birthdays. I’m posting on my sister’s 50th Birthday, which a Friday the 13 in February. It turns out to be a very lucky thing to be born on a Friday the 13th. Happy Birthday Lynn!

Please share this song with someone you love on their next birthday!  You can download it and play it everywhere you go! ) Every moment is a gift. And the ride is too short for all there is to see and do and experience. Seize the day!

A nicely naughty song for Valentine’s Day or any other day of the year! From the “Ocean of Dreams” CD

I Want To Soak You In (#379) January 2008

I want to be the puppy
That follows you home
I want to be your own personal
Garden gnome
You be the ice cream
I’ll be the cone
I want to soak you in…

I want to be your quicker picker
Upper paper towel
I want to be the alley
Where the tom cats yowl
You be the consonants and
I’ll be the vowels
I want to soak you in…

Refrain:
I want to soak you in
I want to breathe you in like oxygen
I want to open my pores and
Absorb you through my skin…

I want to dip my bread
In your gravy baby
I want to drown a little bit
So you can save me
I want to be a piece of pie
So you will crave me
I want to soak you in

I want to be the pickle in your brine
I want to be the filthy
Thought that just crossed your mind
Baby you’re the proof
Of intelligent design
I want to soak you in…

Refrain:

I want to lap you up
Like homemade soup
I want to be the main rooster
In your chicken coop
You’re the song in my head
On an endless loop
I want to soak you in

I want to be the tub
Where you take bubble baths
I want to be the muscles
That you use to laugh
You’re the first one that I think of
When it’s time for a nap
I want to soak you in

Refrain:

I want to be the joke
That you just told me
I want to be the avocado
In your holy guacamole
Write up the order cause
You already sold me
I want to soak you in…

I want to rent a little villa in Tuscany
Where we can bask
In each other’s company
Wake up to the song
Of the birds and the bees…
I want to soak you in

Commentary: Love is supposed to be FUN! enough said eh? )

Please share this song with other open minded, passionate, sensual, intelligent People!
Leave a comment!

Thanks for listening!

Mark

Photo from Bold Street Project

Support Mark Shepard’s “Life In Song” Project!
Download this song for only $2.00!

Street People  |  March 1978 | Song #15

Come into the silence of the crowded street
There are some faces I’d like you to meet
The ones that look like locked doors
Concealing what’s inside
The ones who don’t reveal to you
The music of their minds
That man knows his beer glass
Like a jeweler knows his jewels
Another man knows his empty pockets
Like a school boy knows his rules
And the young man who just passed us now
Is searching for a friend
Who understands his solitude
And knows how to make it end…

Refrain:
Stand inside the echoes
Of this cold concrete
It’s like an ever moving photograph
Never to be complete
Hold the silence in your hand
Feel that it is wise
Assemble all your senses
and place them in your eyes

That girl knows the sidewalk
Like a songbird knows its cage
She’s a year from home and tired
Of lying about her age
The business men who know her best
Don’t know her very well
They’re too caught up inside themselves
With what she has to sell

Refrain:
Stand inside the echoes
Of this cold concrete
It’s like an ever moving photograph
Never to be complete
Hold the silence in your hand
Feel that it is wise
Assemble all your senses
and place them in your eyes

See the old man with the spaniel dog?
He loves it like a son
And sometimes in his room at night
He dreams that he is young
Some “victim of society” just stole a lady’s purse
He eats the ground with his strong legs
And accelerates in bursts…

Refrain:
Stand inside the echoes
Of this cold concrete
It’s like an ever moving photograph
Never to be complete
Hold the silence in your hand
Feel that it is wise
Assemble all your senses
and place them in your eyes

© Mark Shepard 1978-2008. All rights reserved.

Commentary: Pretty self explanatory. I just wrote it as I saw it in my mind’s eye. Any photographers out there willing to collaborate with me on a slide show or video for this?

As always, please share this post and help me get these songs out into the ears of people who might appreciate them! Thanks! – Mark